Life (Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary)
Definition
Life governs organisms, from bacteria to the mage's own body. It is the healing Sphere, the shapeshifting Sphere, and the one that decides whether a wound closes before the cabal finds a hospital. The Verbena hold it as their specialty, and their blood rites and seasonal cycles are how they explain it. Life splits sharply between work on yourself, which comes early, and work on others, which does not. In play, Life is what keeps a cabal alive between stories, so at least one member usually carries it. It rewards planning: healing yourself is easier than healing your friend, and reshaping your own body is easier than reshaping someone else's. It is also a favorite for coincidental magic, since a fever that breaks, a wound less serious than it looked, or improbable stamina all pass without troubling a Sleeper's worldview.
How it works
Tips
Frequently asked questions
Why can I heal myself before I can heal others?
The Sphere is ordered by how well you know the pattern. Rank 2 covers your own light wounds and simple organisms; healing another person arrives at rank 3, which is also the creation cap for a single Sphere.
Can Life heal every kind of damage?
Ordinary injury, yes. The nastier damage types normally want Prime alongside Life, because you are replacing energy that was destroyed rather than knitting a pattern back together.
What does Life do outside a fight?
Diagnosis, disguise, and forensics. Rank 1 reads health, disease, and whether something is alive at all, which answers a lot of investigative questions before anyone throws a punch.