Mage/Theme/Legacies/Clavicularius

Clavicularius

While King Solomon is known as the founder of the Legacy, one of the most important stories is of a Cadre of Clavicularius known as Les Enfants de Sévérité. This Cadre was known for their efforts when they investigated King Louis XIV, they found nothing other than some occultism and some clumsy political poisoning. The Cadre did discover a trio of Scelesti who used “Black Masses” as a cover for their goals. The Cadre defeated these Scelesti and now most Clavicularius look up to them and some trace their lineage of initiation back to one of its four members.

Master thy demons, least they master you.

The Clavicularius credit King Solomon himself as the inventor of their attainments and spiritual founder of their Legacy. Indeed, the Keepers of the Keys often performed their initiations when he was alive and would initiate them. Other than King Solomon the cadre Les Enfants de Sévérité are also credited towards initiating people into the legacy.

Origins

Parentage: Mastigos or Silver Ladder

Nicknames: Solomonists or Key-Bearers

Background: The first recorded gathering of Clavicularius was in 17th century France when a cadre of Solomonists, Les Enfants de La Sévérité, came to investigate rumors of inernalism in the court of Louis XIV. They found nothing in his court but did find a trio of Scelesti who used the black masses to cover themselves so they could achieve their goals. In the end Les Enfants were able to stop them and to this day most Solomonists trace lineage of initiation back to one of those four.

Appearances: Most Key-Bearers blend in quite well with others of their order and path. Indeed, Solomonists are sometimes thought of as classic Mastigos or Silver Ladder mages in appearance, for the Key-Bearers enjoy fine clothing and a generally powerful appearance. They prefer expensive, tailored clothing, usually the height of political or business fashion. Among the Clavicularius, the idea of a “power tie” is often taken quite seriously. Nearly every member of the Clavicularius bears some article of jewelry inscribed with one of the Keys of Solomon.

Doctrine

Prerequisites: Spirit 2, Mind 1, Occult 2, an occult specialization in Goetia, and one of the following skills at one dot or higher: Academics, Empathy, Persuasion, or Subterfuge

Initiation: Each initiation further into the Mysteries of the Legacy begins with a Greater Rite of Castigation, allowing senior Key-Bearers to judge the member’s self-mastery before initiation. The soul crafting of the Clavicularius is directed towards a specific end — the utter mastery of the mage’s weaknesses and sins

Organization: The Clavicularius are organized only by levels of attainment. Most Clavicularius know several others, even if they don’t live in the same area, and maintain regular contact, especially with their tutors. Intra-Legacy relations are strange to outsiders, for Solomonists seem frank about the kinds of things other mages seek to keep from others failings, nightmares and other weaknesses.

Theory: Solomonists accept that they are fundamentally flawed, broken, and weak beings. Rather than taking this as an excuse for humility or despite, however, Solominists consider weakness a challenge. To this effort they practice the summoning of Goetia and not simply facing and acknowledging these failings. Instead every weakness is hammered out and used as a tool for their own use.

Magic

Ruling Arcanum: Spirit

Yantras: Keys (+1), clothing of leaders (+1), summoning circles (+1 or +2 if made of exotic/expensive components), chanting the secret names of the demons (+2, cannot be used reflexively).

Oblations: The Rite of Castigation. Meditation on past moments of weakness. Engaging in psychological therapy (either as the therapist or as a patient). Scribing the Keys of Solomon in a durable medium such as stone, metal or enamel.

Attainments

First: Tefysah (Perception)

Prerequisites: Initiation

The secret denizens of the world are laid bare to the eye of the Solomonist, by performing an hour-long ritual they gain the ability to see and speak to spirits and goetia in the material world regardless of manifestation condition, including those possessed. The conduit of a spirit reaching across the Gauntlet or a goetia reaching out of the Astral can be detected, but this attainment grants no ability to interact with the entity. This merit functions as Exorcist’s Eye with reach assigned to advanced duration and the Mind 1 conjunctional effect.

Optional: Mind 1

Their obsession with Vice and perfection means that, with but a glance, the Key-Bearer also learns the Virtue and Vice of anyone they view. This attainment functions as the spell Know Nature but only provides Virtue and Vice, and is reflexive. As always, any Withstand applies and powers that provide mental protections cause a Clash of Wills.

Second: Hatzmenah (Invitation)

Prerequisites: Occult 3

The Solomonist is master of the gates, allowing or denying entry to our world. With an hour-long ritual, they can change the Resonant Condition on a subject to the Open Condition or vice versa; this lasts for the Key-Bearer’s Spirit dots on the Advanced Duration table. This spell replicates the effects of Opener of the Way with reach assigned to Advanced Duration.

Optional: Mind 2

The Solomonist can nudge the emotions of others to open or close one of their Doors in a social situation. This spell functions as Emotional Urging with reach assigned to instant casting.

Third: Gomlin (Interaction)

Prerequisites: Spirit 3, Mind 2, Occult 3 and the other skill used to qualify at 2 dots or another qualifying skill at 1 dot.

At this level of understanding the Solomonist can now fully interact with both spirits and goetia, as can anything they are holding (bullets and other projectiles maintain this benefit long enough to strike their targets, but no longer). The attainment is activated during the same ritual as the first attainment, effectively adding “touch” to the “sight and sound” of the first attainment. This attainment replicates Gossamer Touch with the optional ability to affect goetia and reach assigned to advanced duration and allowing equipment to be affected.

Optional: Mind 3

The mind of a trained Solomonist is a bastion against outside influence; any goetia’s numina, influences, or manifestations; any Mind spells; and any other supernatural creature’s mind-affecting abilities provoke a Clash of Wills. Further, if the Key-Bearer is presented with their Vice they can instead roll a Gnosis + Mind vs their own Resolve + Composure, if they succeed they regain a point of Willpower without having to indulge their vice, if they fail they instead must indulge their Vice and do not regain a point of Willpower. This attainment is activated by an hour long ritual and the shielding portion functions as the spell Mental Shield with reach assigned to advanced duration.

Fourth: Tzivui (Commanding)

Prerequisites: Spirit 4, Mind 3, Occult 4, and the other requirements of the previous attainment.

By invoking secret names and treating with spirits and goetia, the Solomonist can place some of those entities’ powers in objects. Only weaker entities can be forced with this attainment, but more powerful entities can be bargained with so that they do not apply their Withstand. This attainment functions as the spell Craft Fetish with the ability to also affect goetia and with reach assigned to Advanced Duration.

Optional Mind 4

The Solomonist that has achieved this level of power can manifest materialized goetia from their own Oneiros. These goetia are not mystically bound to the Key-Bearer but do start with a Perfect impression towards their originator and will go to extreme lengths to protect them (the goetia realize their existence hinges on that of the Mage). While similar to the spell Goetic Summons with the Spirit 2 option to grant the materialized condition and reach assigned to advanced duration and allowing summoning from within the Mage’s own mind, this attainment only allows goetia summoned from within the Mage’s own mind and does not require a way of meditating into the Astral to do so.

Fifth: Akaydah (Binding)

Prerequisites: Spirit 5, Mind 4. In addition to the Occult 4 requirement from the previous attainment, the Key-Bearer must increase the other Skill used to meet the requirements of the Legacy to three, or must attain two dots in a second skill from the list of possible requirements, or one dot in a third skill from that list.

The Solomonist speaks and spirits and goetia listen, compelled to obey and carry out their assigned task. This attainment functions as the spell Bind Spirit with the ability to also affect goetia and reach assigned to instant casting and advanced duration.

Optional Mind 5

With an occult ritual the Solomonist can excise a subject’s Virtue or Vice in order to compel certain behaviors. While their Virtue is removed the subject is more prone to Vice and regains two Willpower instead of one when so indulging (or resisting, if under the effects of the optional third attainment). Sans Vice the subject instead acts wholly in accordance with their Virtue and cannot willingly engage in activities that would constitute a Breaking Point or Act of Hubris. This attainment functions as the spell Amorality with reach assigned to advanced duration.

Credit

Credit for a significant portion of this adaptation belongs to proindrakenzol on the Onyx Path Forums, whose conversion can be found here. Credit must also be given to White Wolf’s Mage the Awakening, Legacies the Sublime.