Trace Gate

Ability Type: Spell, Difficulty 16
Provided By: Basic Gate Magic

Spell Type: Astral, Gate Magic
Form: Touch
Function: Utility
Power Cost: Minimal
Duration: Fleeting

By carefully analysing a Gate Site or Astral Beacon, Trace Gate allows its caster to sense any beacons that retain a connection to it, tracing both fixed connections and those forged temporarily by spells.

When examining a fixed Gate Site the trace automatically succeeds in locating any other Gate Sites that are linked to it, but in order to follow a temporary link forged by a current or recent spell Trace Gate's casting total must equal or exceed that of the spell in question. Gate spells that are no longer active penalise Trace Gate's effective casting total -1 if an hour or more has passed since the spell ended, -2 if six hours or more have passed, -3 for a day or more, -4 for a week or more and -5 for a month or more (only the greatest relevant penalty applies). Gates that have been inactive for more than two months are no longer possible to trace. Traces left by Teleportation effects fade even faster, applying a -1 penalty for every half hour since they were cast.

Trace Gate's caster gains familiarity with the far-end beacon of all links successfully traced by the spell, meaning that he can now make use of those beacons himself. Additionally he senses the distance and direction of those beacons, so long as they are on the same plane as he is. If a traced beacon lies on another plane, he can identify the plane in question so long as he has been there at least once before.

Information Provided: Familiarity with connected Gate Sites or Astral Beacons as well as their distance or direction
Penalty for Non-Active Gates: -1 (hour+), -2 (6 hours+), -3 (1 day+), -4 (week+), -5 (month+)
Penalty for Tracing Teleportation: -3 per half-hour since spell's casting