Experienced mages perfect their grasp of spell Imagos over time, learning the complexity of the spell and developing skills to recall and cast it with ease.
Masters call these specialized Imagos Rotes, codifying and recording their methods to later teach less experienced mages.
Orders teach Rotes to their members using a set of mnemonic techniques — mudras — to compress, memorize, recall, and cast the spell as quickly and efficiently as Improvised Spells.
Rotes copied onto physical media using the Prime Arcanum are called Grimoires. Anyone able to cast the improvised version of a spell can use a Grimoire to cast the Rote by following the instructions, though the caster may not useReach to cast instantly when casting out of a Grimoire, and the ritual casting time is doubled.
Casting a Rote from a Grimoire rather than from memory, or casting a Rote she designed herself, gives the mage’s spellcasting dice pool the rote quality.
When casting a Rote from memory, using an Order’s recall techniques, the character may use dots in the associated Skill as a Yantra. The character must be free to make the mnemonic gestures to recall the Rote in order to benefit from the Skill bonus.
The caster of a Rote is considered to have five dots in the highest Arcanum used for purposes of how much freeReach she has. In addition, the Signature Nimbus of the caster is indistinct, hiding the caster’s identity unless another mage fully Scrutinizes the spell.
Rotes do not require a point of Mana to cast from Inferior or Common Arcana, but any other Mana costs still apply.
The benefits of Rotes do not stack with the benefits of Praxes. If a mage has the same spell as both a Rote and a Praxis, she must decide at casting which she uses.
Rotes may be purchased for one Experience each, and the character must be capable of casting the spell as an improvised spell before purchasing the Rote.