Hearth and home, a sanctum reflects its owner’s Path, favoured symbols, and the theories she uses to join her soul to the Supernal Realms.
It’s a safe place that offers a distraction-free place to perform occult research.
Mages who prefer the wandering life might not possess personal sancta, but that doesn’t mean they don’t use them. Nomads may use communal facilities provided by their Orders, or borrow an ally’s sanctum while “couch surfing.” Communal sancta are only tailored to the individuals who maintain it, and are less effective and comfortable than personal sancta. Thus, experienced sorcerers almost always invest in a personal ritual space.
Sancta include the following places:
- Athenaea and Lore-houses: The Free Council and Mysterium both build communal sancta for their members. For Mystagogues, Athenaeum access depends on a member’s degree of initiation. Some archives might be guarded against all but the most trusted officers of the mystery cult. The Free Council allows any member in good standing to visit a Lore-house.
- Consilium and Caucus Sancta: Many Consilia maintain sancta for occasions when the Consilium’s officials need to cast spells or provide ritual space for important visitors. Well-organized Caucuses build them for member use. In both cases they double as meeting places.
- Personal Sancta: Most sancta are modest personal spaces, highly tailored to the mages who build them.
- Seer Nexuses: Seers of the Throne build communal sancta to satisfy specific needs. The sect’s selfish focus means these are typically spartan places with just enough rooms and ritual design to support ritual casting, as no Seer wants to sacrifice too much of his own resources to keep it running. The most common Nexuses support Space spells for communication and transport.
System
Sancta use the Safe Place and Sanctum Merits. Some sancta (particularly Athenaea and Lore-houses) typically provide other place-based Merits, though visitors use them on the sufferance of their true owners.
Characters must possess the Sanctum Merit or have requisitioned it through their Order to make use of the Merit’s mechanical effects such as extra Spell Control.