Legacy: Turing Complete

Turing Complete
 Having arisen from Phi’s desire to quantify magic, much of the thought process behind her legacy’s teachings is based on her personal philosophies. As a member of the Guardians of the Veil her aim for magic was always to make it safer to cast and more discreet. It was her hope that by using magic to enhance her mind she might be able to overcome the threat of falling to hubris, and perhaps ideally, bring some fragment of the ordered thinking inherent in coding to the art of magic.

Those who pursue the legacy primarily gain abilities to augment themselves and modify others with Mind magic in order to better embody the traits of machine intelligence. Exploring the use of these techniques and their knowledge of technology, they can push their abilities to the limit, even going so far as to dampen detrimental emotional responses and ‘updating’ their bodies to perform miraculous physical feats. As group Hackers do not tend to focus on the world around them, instead becoming introspective in an attempt to improve themselves. While upgrading their physical and mental capabilities, this legacy also comes with a higher understanding of how magic works and ultimately how to control it. This enhanced facility goes hand in hand with the Hacker’s skill with Prime magic, which allows them to observe and change magical properties in a similar fashion to how they might alter a digital file. While members of Turing Complete also focus on creating ‘firewalls’ to specify what magic is cast on them; the pinnacle of the Legacy goes so far as to temporarily ban Mages from casting at all.

Origins
Parentage:  Obrimos, or Guardians of the Veil

Nicknames:  Hackers

Background:  Born of a desire to comprehend magic from a logical standpoint, Phi put her understanding of magic into code. With meditation and her Mage Sight aiding her, she found her writings stopped looking like Sleeper code and more like Atlantean Runes. The expansion upon this idea, that magic could be translated into computer code, was ‘Computer code could be translated into magic’.

Appearance:   Phi dresses to be subtle and unremarkable. Clothes that are mid-level quality, with bland colors and no brand names. Little to no makeup, no tattoos and a generic hairstyle.

 

Doctrine
Prerequisites:  Mind 2, Computer 2, and one of Investigation or Academics at 2 or higher. Must have Meditative Mind 1 or above

Initiation:  Attempt to translate a spell into Sleeper code. Once that understanding is obtained, take Conway’s Game of Life and try to translate it into magical terms.

Organization: As Turing Complete is a very new legacy with Phi as it’s only member they cannot truly be considered an organization as of yet. In time perhaps she will take on apprentices, but who can say where that might lead.

 

Magic
Ruling Arcanum:  Mind

Yantras:  Spending extra time to translate a spell completely into code and debugging it before casting [Arcana + Computer extended action with a target of 2*the highest dot rating involved in the spell; roll interval equal to ritual duration] (+2), Using stimulants to maintain focus (+1 or +2 if it creates adverse conditions), Using magic to remain logical or remove attachments (+1), Explaining the workaround to undoing a spell to colleagues (+1), Using code to cast spells (+1)

Oblations:  Encrypting electronic devices; meditating and writing out the code for known spells; solve a logic puzzle through coding; Studying another mage’s defenses for ways to bypass them without destroying them

 

Attainments
As a whole the members of Turing Complete are focused on the use of the principles of computer science to make magic more logical and perhaps ideally, safer. The complexity involved in this; however, far outstrips that of any mortal coding problem and in many ways is actually beyond the mental abilities of a normal human. Thankfully their facility with the Mind arcanum and a general focus on emulation of coded systems permits them to reach those heights, if only barely.

 

First: Conway’s Game of Life
Prerequisites:  Mind 1, Initiation

Parallel Processor (Reach: Casting Time):

Because of the complexity involved in constantly trying to account for the ever changing symbols that underly all reality whilst simultaneously trying to create a logical framework upon which to code their spells, most Hackers become very talented at executing multiple lines of thought at once. By taking a moment to concentrate they gain the benefits of the One  Mind, Two Thoughts spell for a duration based on their Mind dots.

Optional Arcanum:  Prime 1

View Properties (Reach: Casting Time):

The careful scrutiny a Hacker uses to examine all magic as they search for the underlying code upon which it resides results in great acuity when trying to discern information about existing supernatural effects. By concentrating for a moment a member of Turing Complete with this attainment may call up a ‘Properties Window’ in their mind while focusing upon a magical effect they have perceived. This act as the Supernal Vision spell with potency equal to the Hacker’s dots in Prime. If the targeted effect is being obscured in some manner they achieve automatic successes on attempts to pierce this veiling equal to their Prime dots.

Second:  Bit Defender
Prerequisites: Mind 2, Computer 3

Error 403 (Reach: Casting Time):

Much like the real world counterpart to their nickname a member of Turing Complete must often go to some lengths to conceal their work if they wish for the maximum impact, and thus many develop the ability to conceal things from prying eyes. This effect functions similarly to the Incognito Presence spell, lasting for a duration based on their Mind dots using the normal chart, and can be invoked by the Hacker at will simply by touching the object or target to be concealed. Anyone attempting to concentrate to pierce the effect must achieve more successes on their clash of wills than the Hacker has Mind dots.

Optional Arcanum: Prime 2

Firewall (Reach: Advanced Duration):

As any good hacker knows, a system is only as reliable as its security, and if one is inclined to think of themselves as a machine, well...members of Turing Complete intend to be the best. By taking a time to prepare their personal defenses each morning, they benefit from a Wards and Signs effect with a Potency of 2. This defense cannot be deactivated once called up; however, the Hacker may choose to add an individual to their list of “approved users” with an instant action; thereby allowing that person to bypass the effect until the Hacker takes another action to remove them from the list.

Third:  Congratulations! You’ve Won!
Prerequisites: Mind 3,  Investigation or Academics at 3

Human 2.0 (Reach: Casting Speed):

As part of their ongoing efforts to improve themselves, a member of Turing Complete eventually discovers how to deaden their emotions, attaining a state somewhat closer to the logical ideal many aspire to. This acts like an at will activation of the Clear Thoughts spell with a duration based on the user’s Mind dots, and suppresses up to two non-physical conditions or tilts per use. While the Hacker may activate this ability multiple times, stacking the durations to ward off additional conditions or maintain the effect, each effect they have suppressed imposes a -1 penalty to any Empathy, Intimidation, Persuasion, or Socialize rolls due to the emotional detachment they experience while ‘enhanced.’

Optional Arcanum: Prime 3

Spoof Properties (Reach:  Advanced Duration, Expanded Effect):

With deeper understanding of Prime a Hacker begins to realise that while every act of magic might be built upon supernal truths, just which truths those are can be rather more subjective. By taking a scene to code up a false seeming, the Hacker creates an effect that acts similarly to the the Supernal Veil spell, except that rather than suppressing the target entirely the Hacker may instead substitute the nimbus traces they are targeting with the semblance of any other they have previously scrutinised. This false front persists for a duration based on the advanced chart using the Hacker’s Prime dots after being erected and should anyone attempt to pierce this veil the Hacker gains automatic successes to resist equal to their Prime dots.

Fourth:  Admin Rights
Prerequisites:  Mind 4, Computer at 4

System Patch (Reach: Complicated Commands, Advanced Duration, Casting Speed):

With growing mastery of the Mind arcanum a member of Turing Complete begins to warp the boundaries between man and machine, coding ‘patches’ for the minds of others as easily as they might a faulty program. As an instant action the Hacker may write a command in lambent sigils of the high speech, compress the file, and then throw or press it against a target to ‘upload the patch.’  This acts like the Psychic Domination spell with a the advanced reach option for complicated commands, and may be any order that does not endanger the subject. The patch lasts for up to a week, and will affect any target with Resolve lower than the Hacker’s Mind arcanum.

Optional Arcanum: Prime 4

Edit Permissions (Reach: Casting Time):

When attempting to bypass a system it is often better to have access to a temporary back-door than to force your way through, and with this attainment Hackers have just such an option. This attainment acts as the Supernal Dispellation effect, temporarily dispelling any spell with potency lower than the user’s Prime dots for 3 turns.

Fifth:  Neuromancer
Prerequisites: Mind 5, Investigation or Academics at 4

Follow the White Rabbit (Reach: Two Skills, Casting Time):

A master of Turing Complete isn’t quite ‘The One,’ but at this level of enlightenment they’re about as close as an individual can become. By spending an instant action applying a ‘firmware update’ to themselves, the Hacker can enhance their muscle memory and instinctive responses to very near the pinnacle of human ability. This acts as an application of the Gain Skill spell, allowing them to add up to two dots to split as they wish between any Physical skills, provided they do not exceed their Gnosis derived limits. This update lasts for two minutes after implementation.

Optional Arcanum: Prime 5

Banhammer (Reach: Single Target, Primary Factor Potency, Casting Time):

In a perfect emulation of forum culture, a master of the Hacker’s philosophy has learned exactly how to deal with ‘trolling’ mages. By summoning forth a field of constantly fluxing supernal connections in the form of a luminescent hammer, a master of Turing Complete can invoke a targeted version of the Supernal Static spell with the +1 reach effect and a primary factor of Potency. Striking a target with this ‘hammer’ either with a touch attack or by throwing it imposes a penalty equal to their dots in Prime for the next few spells they attempt to cast. This effect lasts for up to 3 turns and will affect a number of spells cast during that period equal to the Hacker’s Prime dots.