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Okay, so that last post was kind of mean. I'll make it up to you. Hereafter, five non-setting or -system details regarding Mage, just to give you a peek behind the curtain. It's freaking huge. Two hundred and seventy-five thousand words huge. For comparison, Vampire and Werewolf came in at about 210,000 and 220,000 words, respectively. It's the least like its predecessor of all three of the core games. As we've gone forward, we've pushed the comfort envelope of familiarity (and will continue to do so in supplementary material). While Mage's overarching theme will remain true to what we've always seen as the core Mage idea, the implementation of that idea via setting is very different. Here's confirmation: The setting appendix covers Boston as Mage's signature city. The Boston sourcebook will be the first supplement for the game, and is currently scheduled for an October release. You're going to see a familiar trait name in the Mage environment, but it's not going to be a trait name that's been used in Mage before. What does that mean? You'll find out later. For now, let the speculation begin. We're already working on the index. Right now, we're actually planning on having two indices, one for the basic book/game topics and a separate one for [undisclosed]. Okay; there you go. Some good stuff and some stuff to make you say, "Hey! What does that mean?" More from us soon.
Tritt niemanden der am Boden liegt!... mach Downstrike, das macht mehr Schaden.
Mythic HistoryThe sea of time grows murky as one approaches the distant past. Ruins, artifacts, cave paintings—all this evidence of history tells an incomplete tale. Even master mages cannot part the curtains of time so far back to see what truly occurred. The magical orders have a mythology about their beginnings, the legend of a fallen civilization and a war for the throne of reality. The names for that civilization are many, most of them lost over the years, but even the Sleeping know one of them and seek evidence of its truth: Atlantis.In the far distant past, mortals suffered at the whim of monsters, hunted by spirits and preyed upon by bloodthirsty revenants. Beset by creatures stronger than they, culled by howling beasts whenever they migrated into territories whose borders they couldn't possibly perceive, mortals found it nigh impossible to advance above their need for survival, to envision ways of living outside of fear.Then came the dragon dreams. Certain mortals, in lands scattered far and wide, began to dream of an island, a lonely land jutting from a windswept sea far from any known coast. A spire rose from the center of the isle, pointing at the pole star; it seemed to the dreamers that this was the axis of the world, the pole upon which the bowl of the sky turned. And upon this pole, at its apex, nested the dragons.In the dreams, these great worms of legend would rise up into the winds, one by one, circle the spire with their beating leathern wings, and set off toward the infinite horizon, to places the dreamers could not imagine. No other creature stirred on the isle and no spirit hunted there; no being dared intrude upon the dragons' lair. As the dreams progressed, the dreamers came to realize that the dragons never returned. Each night, another dragon would leave, so that the remaining numbers grew small. Finally, the last dragon took wing and glided away, to the west, never again to be seen. The dreams continued to come, but now the isle was empty; nothing moved there. For many nights the dreamers saw the isle, abandoned and forlorn, and knew that it waited for them. The island had called to them, compelling them, seeking new inhabitants.
Following the lead of the dreamers, small bands of mortals set out to sea from many different lands, each following the vision given to them in dreams. They sought the island where, far from the lands of predation, they knew they would be free to forge their own destinies, unafraid of the night.They came to the isle, following the pole star, and saw that it was exactly as seen in their dreams. Mortals from many lands, speaking many languages and following different customs, came together, and by silent assent settled in peace with no conflict, for they had traveled far fleeing from struggle.And still they dreamed. The island sent them new visions, and showed them how they might learn to master the strange sights to which their sleeping minds had been privy. They began practicing the techniques of hesychia, the “stillness” or “incubation,” in which they retreated into dark caves and their bodies entered deep sleep while their minds traveled to far astral realms beyond the ken of other mortals. There they met the Others, the daimons of their own souls, the hidden twin of each soul traveler. These judges challenged them to prove by what right they came on astral roads to the Realms Supernal, and set them to a series of tests. Many failed, sent back to their bodies in sorrow, unable to again journey forth in dream. But some succeeded. These few returned with their souls aglow, lit by a celestial fire. They could see into the Realms Invisible and ken the secret workings of Creation, the principles and substances from which everything was wrought. Through the sympathy their far-journeying souls now shared with the Realms Supernal, and the knowledge they gleaned from studying realms visible and invisible, they could call down the ways of heaven, the higher principles that ruled over the lower realms of matter and spirit. They made their very thoughts real, imagination rendered into matter and flesh. They had discovered magic.
Originally posted on ShadownEssence.com__________________________________I Just got home from the SouthEastern Regional Event in Birmingham AL.Will Hindmarch was there and I have to say he is a really great guy to sit down and talk with. I was initially planning on getting him realy drunk and clubbing his NDA over the head until it was uncoscious and then pummping Will for Info on Mage.Fortunately I didn't have to as we Had advance copies of the Quarterly there wherein Bill pretty much gives away the whole show. Thats right 4 pages of Crunchy Mage goodness. You want your Sneak peak?Splat Group oneThe PathsA Mage's Path represents his innate magical connection to a higher reality. . .Acanthus: The path of the thistle, Arcana: Fate and TimeMastigos: Path of Scourging, Arcana: Mind and SpaceMoros: Path of Doom, Arcana: Death and MatterObrimos: Path of the Mighty, Arcana: Forces adn PrimeThyrsus: Path of Ecstacy, Arcana: Life and SpiritSplat groups two: Ordersthe Adamantite Arrows Defends Sanctums and Cabals with its Combat MagicFree Council Seeks to escape the strictures of the past and modernize the craft of MagicGaurdians of the Veil Protect the Mysteries from any who would despoil them or reveal them to the unenlightenedThe Mysterium Searches for valuable lore hidden throughout the material and invisible worldsThe Silver Ladder desires to establish a proper hierarchy of the awakened -- with its members at the topGnosis is the Power stat.Arcana Replaces Spheres. Death, Fate, Forces, Life, Matter, Mind, Prime, Spirit, Space, TimeThe Paths are Inherent. The Affinity splat it looks like. I am rereading it now AGAIN!!. I was drunk the first time i read it and have been REALLY tired every other time this weekend.The setting seems MUCH more mystical in tone than the old one overall.And it also all ties Back to Atlantis.I will post some more Later. I am really tired adn I need to eat something. Also I think the PDF quarterly Might be out tomorrow Anyway ..LOLCheersAcanthus: The Path of thistle, Watchtower of Lunargent Thorn, the realm of Arcadia, kingdom of Enchantment, abode of the fae, ruled by the arcana of fate and time. """"Enchanters""""" epitomize the tarot trump of "the fool" relying on luck and intuition to guide their way.Magistos: the path of scourging, watchtower of the Iron Gauntlet, the realm of pandemonium, Kingdom of Nightmares, abode of deamons, ruled by the Arcana of Mind and Space, """""Warlocks""""" epitomize the trump of "the devil" exulting in unfettered will.Moros: The Path of Doom, Watchtower of the Lead Coin, the Realm of Stygia, Kingdom of crypts, abode of Shades, ruled by the arcana of Death and Matter, """"Necromancers""""" epitomize the tarot trump of death' remaining steadfast througha challenge.Obrimos: The path of the mighty, watchtower of the Golden Key, the Realm of the Aether, Kingdom of the Celstial Speres, abode of Angels, ruled by the Arcana of forces adn prime, """"Theurgists"""" epitomize the tarot trump of "Strength" pursuing a divine mandate.Thyrsus: the Path of Ecstacy, Watchtower of the Stone Book, the realm of the primal wild, kingdom of Totems, abode of Beasts, ruled by the Arcana of Life and Spirit, """"Shamans"""" epitomize the tarot trump of "the moon" following the allure of passion and impulsive action.and then FiveDaysDarkness said:Quote:I too just got back from SERE, and I have to say the spoilers have me totally psyched more so than I already was.One sample spell is given in the Quarterly. Basically, spells seem to be broad, magical effects one can work within a given Arcana (i.e. Sphere).Now, my *guess* is that this equates roughly to the powers of the various Sphere levels of the old system. However now, it seem you take, get or purchase aspects of an Arcana as multiple, broad spells. However, it does not specifically state this so don't take it as the gospel truth. I'm just making a logical assumption.For example, the spell given is Labyrinth. It is a five-dot Space spell that allows you to fold space in ways such as making a looping hallway, a forest where every direction you walk in it brings you back to the center, and so on.In the section on rotes the following is explained:"All mages can cast spells as soon as they learn the proper degree of Arcanum mastery (Space 5 in the given sample). This is called an improvised casting. It calls upon the mage's innate connection to the supernal world (a trait called Gnosis) and his Arcanum rating. This does not always result in a strong dice pool, however, especially for beginning mages. To improve their casting ability with a certain spell, mages can learn that spell as a rote, a tried-and-true crafting. He's a sample rote version of the Labyrinth spell (the spell effect's are the same as listed above, but the dice pool is more favorable):Guardians of the Veil rote: Sundered Pathdice pool: Intelligence + occult + space
The Awakened CityThe loose confederation of immigrants to the island soon organized into a city-state led by the magi. They called it Atlantis, which in their polyglot tongue meant "the ocean spire." Over time, the enlightened founded separate orders to fulfill the roles of governance, from mystical militia to scholars to a priesthood of the Mysteries to guide them all.The magi of Atlantis traveled once more to the forsaken lands whence they had come, searching for new clues into the Mysteries, the tantalizing yet obscure secrets that ruled over everything that was, is, and shall be. Mortals there witnessed their power, and word of them spread as rumors and legends. Many left their homes to seek fabled Atlantis, the island of the magi. Yet no chart marked its place, and the stars no longer guided mariners to its rocky shores. Only those who saw it in dream could find it.Rumors came now and then of foreign sorcerers, men and women who had also attained the Realms Supernal on their own, far from Atlantis, but they were rare. These people more often than not destroyed themselves by misuse of their power or were killed by commoners who feared their wizardry. Only on Atlantis were the Ars Mysteriorum mastered and codified for others to learn.The Celestial LadderYet the power to warp the very skein of Creation soon outstripped the wisdom of those who wielded it. The hubris of the magi rose unchecked. Many generations after the first had established Atlantis, their legacy turned sour. Mage turned on mage, and so was born the first wizards' war. The victors claimed Atlantis as theirs, and drove the losers to the far corners of the earth. Then, combining their power, they wrought a great spell and erected a ladder to the Realms Supernal. They spurned the traditional astral paths by which a sorcerer's soul could approach the higher realms, for they sought to walk the celestial reaches in their own bodies. They stormed the heights and claimed the thrones of the gods for themselves, ruling from on high. No longer bound to earth, even their petty dictates and whims became real, for they stood over the lower realm and influenced it with their very thoughts. The subtle veils were rent, and the higher and lower worlds came together. The pure mixed with the impure, and the universe trembled.Spurred by the imminent destruction and corruption of the world, the exiled mages banded together and assaulted Atlantis, climbing the star ladder and wrestling with the celestial mages in their heavenly palaces. Their struggles were terrible. The two sides clashed in a chaos of realms, and the losers—sorcerers on both sides—were flung from on high back into the lower realm.
What Is a Mage?From the Quarterly:White Wolf Quarterly: So, what is a mage?Bill Bridges: A mage is someone who’s Awakened, whose soul has been freed of an ancient curse afflicting mortals. Most people’s souls are Asleep, unaware of the raw power they can tap to remake their world. The truth has been hidden from them many lifetimes ago; all they know is a lie. Mages can see through the lie and enact humanity’s birthright: magic.WWQ: Thematically, what is Mage about?Bridges: Mage’s core theme is power corrupts. There’s danger in magic. Reweaving the Tapestry of creation can inflate the ego and overwhelm a mage in warped outlooks or lies that he believes to be true. Trapped in a world of his own misperceptions, the mage attempts to rework reality to match his new warped vision.What’s real and what’s not? A mage’s Awakening gives him the power to see the Invisible Truth — and to create new truths. But his own mortal failings might cause him to create falsehoods and virtual realities mistaken for real. What begins as a quest to strip away illusions risks becoming a process of substituting new phantasms for old.WWQ: How about mood? What does Mage: The Awakening feel like?Bridges: I’m going for a sense of ancient mystery. The true nature of reality is an enigma always beyond reach. This cosmic Mystery has a powerful pull on the minds of the Awakened. They’re drawn to seek it out and solve it, even if solving one aspect only reveals a thousand more unanswered questions.This mood is a more metaphysical version of the theme of the World of Darkness as a whole — a dark, secret conspiracy beckoning those in the know.Instead of being a theme for Mage, it is a mood: a pervasive atmosphere of ciphers, secrets and looming cosmic revelations.WWQ: What do mages do?Bridges: There’s a stereotype that mystics mostly contemplate their navels and the awesome secrets of the universe, but that’s not what Mage is about. Mages — especially mages portrayed by players in a Storytelling game — are in the thick of things, always at ground zero for the next, great momentous event. They don’t just think, they act — by casting magic.Mage characters are the secret movers and shakers of the world. Their actions affect the tenor of the Tapestry itself — for good or ill.And yet, they act unseen, their powers invisible to the Sleepers, who are shrouded in their curse, blind to the truth. Worse, if a Sleeper does get a glimpse of the Invisible Truth, the curse reacts to blind him once more — and to punish whomever alerted him.Mages seek ever more cryptic secrets, the keys to greater power. Their quests take them into unimaginable realms and landscapes of the mind. As a mage grows in knowledge and power, he understands more about the world — and realizes that it’s vaster and more unfathomable than he ever imagined.Only a god could possibly master such a universe… and that’s exactly what mages intend to become.The small-mindedness of mortals, however, extends even to the Awakened. Only a select few are open-minded enough to realize that reality is pliable enough to accept multiple outlooks at once. Reprogramming reality brings a mage up against his rivals: mages who violently disagree with his goals and who seek to stop him.Crossing the territorial borders of other mages can often be construed as an act of war.
Sample Spell: Labyrinth (Space OOOOO)The mage can mutate dimensional axes. A hallway can be made to go one for miles (despite the fact tht is in a building that is only a hundred feet across at its widest point).Practice: MakingAction: InstantDuration: Prolonged (one scene)Aspect: VulgarCost: NoneA simple spatial warp, making one direction appear to be another, might levy no penalities, while a complex one, making all roads lead to one junction, might be -3 or more, depending on how much space is affected.The mage is capable of sculpting bizarre vicissitudes of place and distance through this level of space, folindg space in ways tht defy the senses. For instance, the horror move staple of causing every possible path of egress from a given locale to instead lead back into isolated wilderness is possible, as is making a road that a person can visually confirm lead to the store down the street actually go in the opposite direction. Needless to say the use of the Arcanaum can be extraordinarily vulgar and potentially insanity-inducing if practicied in blantant enough ways upon another person (almost assuredly requiring resolve + composure rolls by teh subject in order for him to keep calm and rational).
The PathsA mage's path represents his innate magical connection to a higher reality. It is a result of his Awakening. His soul had journeyed to one of the five Supernal Realms and his name has bee nwriten on the watchtower there. By means of this sympathetic connection the magic can draw down the laws of that Supernal Realm, performing magic.A character's path colors the aura of his magic and it often seeps into his dreams, influencing his imagination and even behavior at times. His Supernal Realm calls to him and he feels most at home amidst places or imagery that evoke its strange lands. Symbology and myths that hint at the places and presences of his realm are also important and vital to his method of practicing his ARt.Mages argue over theories about whether one's path is predestined or chose by the soul's own free will. There is strong evidence for both sides, leaving most to shrug and say that all things are possible in the Supernal World.
OrdersAn order is a social organization for the furthering and betterment of mages, aiding them in honing their practice of the Art for the purposes and gaols to which the order strives. Most orders cliam a truly ancient pedigree stretching back to fabled Atlantis, although one of them is much more modern an dseeks to unite the scientifid and magical worldviews. While the orders often work together, each espouses its own goals and practices. These often caues conflict, especially where ownership of valuable magical resources is concerned.Although a charactr can be initiated into an order during character creation, he can later leave that order and join another (or go it alone as an "apostate"). Mages who leave their orders, however, are often reviled by their previous order and might even be distrusted by members of a new order. If a mage cannot demonstrate the discipline to stay with those who few nutured and tutored him after his Awakening, perhaps he lacks the necessary resolve to attain mastery of the ARt, such mages can endanger others, especially if they are so fickle as to accept any alliance offered to them. Mages do not make easy friendshis: they rely on the wisdom of htir order sto weed out those unworthy of their attention and time.
The Fallen WorldAt war's end, the celestial ladder shattered, leaving the victors beyond the reach of the earthbound mages. Where the ladder had been, reality cracked and fell into itself, creating a rift between the higher and lower realms, a terrible void that sucked life and energy into itself. The Abyss divided the realms once more, keeping the high, pure realm from the taint of the low. But this was no subtle veil, permeable to returning souls. It was a gulf of unreality, an aberration that was never meant to be. What was before a single world became two worlds—the Supernal World and the Fallen World, with a vast Abyss between them.The veil between the worlds of spirit and matter hardened, becoming the daunting Gauntlet, a barrier impassible except through magic. Shaken by the reverberations of the ladder's destruction, the foundations of Atlantis crumbled and the island sank beneath the waves. The mystical place that had birthed the magi was no more.Once again, the enlightened escaped to the far corners of the earth and there began the long, slow process of relearning what was lost. Hunted once again by monsters, their progress was slow, for the needs of survival came before the study of the Mysteries. What's more, those souls that had not already been touched by the Realms Supernal grew dim, like cold lumps of coal hiding dim cinders within. Many forgot their magical heritage and their souls entered a slumber deeper than they had known before. This great decline was known as the Quiescence, the Sleeping Curse. Cut off from the higher realms, divided from their birthright by the Abyss, souls could not maintain their luminosity and so fell into Sleep. Worse—the gravity of the Abyss pulled on them and weighed down the lids of their inner eyes, causing them to refuse any vision of the higher world. The mages—those who remained Awake—could no longer work their magic before those who Slept without invoking the powers of the Abyss. Only a rare few in any place at any time remained Awake, tending the flame of Supernal knowledge, keeping the lore of magic alive.
The WatchtowersWith the Abyss between them and the Supernal World, the source of magic, mages' power began to wane. It became harder and harder to draw the Supernal energies across the void, and when they could be drawn, they sometimes arrived warped and twisted, with effects unwanted by their wielder. In a number of years, all contact with the higher world would be gone and all of humankind would Sleep forever. Then, one by one, the Watchtowers appeared, their flames sending beacons from the Supernal Realms across the vast night to the souls of the Awakened. Legends tell of five Atlantean kings, the mage heirs of the Awakened City who led the fight against the Exarchs. They climbed the ladder and dueled within the celestial palaces. When the ladder shattered, they had remained in the higher world and continued to resist the usurpers of the gods' thrones. Realizing the danger the Abyss posed for the lower world, these Oracles broke off their fight and set off through the Supernal Realms. Using lore beyond the ken of their enemies—for they were royal heirs, privy to magical knowledge allowed to only nobles—they each erected by magic a tower in a single Supernal Realm, modeled after the tall spire that had guided the first vessels to Atlantis. Five towers from five kings. Each invested into their tower the virtues of their own souls and the sum of their magical knowledge, imbued into the very stones of the structures. The Watchtowers sent visions across the Abyss to mages in the Fallen World, calling to them as Atlantis had once called to their ancestors.Those who interpreted the visions properly and remembered the old ways retreated to caves or secluded towers, sheltering themselves in the dark. They lay their bodies down and, following the lure of the Watchtowers, sent their souls onto astral roads long untrod. Through harrowing journeys, some of them finally arrived in astral form at one of the five Watchtowers. There they carved their names into the foundation stones and awoke in their bodies. But they were no longer bound by the Sleeping Curse, for their names had been writ by their own souls. They once more claimed sympathy with the Realms Supernal, although each only in that realm in which her Watchtower stood.Now, the pretender gods are largely forgotten. If they still exist, they remain unseen. If they act upon the world, they do so in ways that can be interpreted as the works of Nature or the whims of fate. No one remembers that their own kind had once become gods.No one, that is, but mages.
The Awakened City[...] Only on Atlantis were the Ars Mysteriorum mastered and codified for others to learn. [...]
AcanthusEnchanters on the Path of Thistle, Scions of the Watchtower of the Lunargent Thorn in the Realm of Arcadia, Kingdom of Enchantment and Abode of the FaeA mage who walks the Path of Thistle that winds through the realm of Arcadia to the Watchtower of the Lunargent Thorn (the "moonsilver thorn"). Arcadia is known dimly to Sleepers through the legends of faeries and the nymphs and dryads of the plant kingdom. In Arcadia, everything is enchanted, wearing a magical glamour of intense beauty—or ugliness. Things tend toward extremes; there is very little compromise in the abode of the Fae. Change is common and encouraged; those who walk this Path tend to be fickle and ever eager to try new things.Acanthus mages are especially adept at performing magic that affects destiny and the fluid progression of time. Fairy stories from around the world reflect the timelessness of the realm, as people who enter places under its influence and spend an evening often exit many years later, as time is measured in the Fallen World. Likewise, a promise or oath is binding, and none can betray it without terrible consequences.Acanthus, also called "enchanters," are often thought of as the archetypal "divine fools," for they seem to achieve their goals by not trying or by waiting for things to come to them. But this over-reliance on luck can be to their detriment, as they spurn patience and plunge themselves into situations that are perhaps best tackled instead with some degree of foresight and strategy. They are the wild cards of the Awakened world, both loved and hated by others for it.
This is from the introductory booklet. The system is simplified, so it might not be the same as the core book, but things like the morality stat probably will be."Gnosis represents the inherent higher understanding of reality a mage has achieved." Like people thought, it's the power stat.Morality is Wisdom, "a measure of your character's morality, of how well he tempers his growing power over reality with reason. Your character can lose wisdom over the course of play." It seems to follow conventional morality. "At Wisdom 7 (where almost all characters start), laying a curse on someone, shoplifting from a store, or any worse misdeed can cause moral degeneration (a loss of Wisdom). ... (Committing grand theft is three dice; using magic to murder someone is two dice.)...At Wisdom 6, binding a human being to a place or task can spark such a roll. At Wisdom 4, you can bind a person to do anything you want as long as you don't use your magic to actually harm him. At Wisdom 2, you can harm him to your heart's content as long as you don't actually let him die. At Wisdom 1, you can even go so far as to kill a victim as long as youdon't steal his soul.""Resonance: Everything has a subtle side, an esoteric spiritual or magical nature that defines it just as much as its physical aspect does. In the case of places, this ethereal element is called resonance. Resonance is marked by certain qualities, most often characterized by emotions (hate, anger, joy, sorrow) or more rarely by concepts (logic, chaos, fascism, democracy). Spirits in the Shadow Realm are attracted to resonance in the physical world that has qualities similar to their own natures. Magic cannot directly affect the resonance of a place (at least not for long), so sorcerers must work to alter it indirectly over time to achieve the qualities they want."Hallows & Sanctums: Where the pure force of magic, Mana, filters down from the Supernal World (or where that energy is regularly trapped and recycled), it saturates, the lcal area, turning the place into a "Hallow". For those who know how to harness them, such place are invaluable. Hallows often have a strong allure for both Awakened and Sleeper, although the latter don't really understand why.A sanctum is a mage's stronghold, a place where he can practice his Art away from the eyes of Sleepers and spies."The most influential and knowledgeable body of local governance over the Awakened is known as a Consilium. Like a local senate, a Consilium consists of all the local representatives of the orders and cabals at work in a given area, and it works to see to the best interests of the Awakened who live in that area."Since the true name a mage writes on his chosen watchtower has powerful sympathetic resonance, most mages choose a Shadow Name in mage society.Mana: ... Casting an improvised spell requires the expenditure of a point of Mana, unless the primary Arcanum used is one of the mage's ruling Arcana. casting a spell on a target beyond sensory range requires the expenditure of a point of mana, as does inflicting aggravated damage with a spell. Also certain spells that significantly alter the laws of nature might require the expenditure of mana.To regain spent Mana, a mage can do one of several things. He can perform an oblation (a ritual function associated with his path) at a Hallow. Doing so requires an hour of uninterrupted ceremony and a Gnosis + Composure roll. Each success provides one Mana. Mages cannot gain more Mana per day, however, than the Hallow's rating. Mages can also scour their bodies to free up Mana. A mage elects to degrade one of his Physical Attributes by one dot in return for three Mana points. The lost Attribute dot is restored 24 hours later. Scouring takes one full turn. A mage could elect to scour his Health instead. He suffers one lethal wound and gains three Mana points. Magic cannot protect against this damage, and it cannot be healed by Pattern restoration or any known Awakened magic. It heals naturally at the normal rate. Unlike the scouring of Attributes, there is no limit to the number of Health scourings a mage can perform in the same day.Finally, there is one last and unsavory practice that can also yield up Mana to a mage: the death and blood sacrifice of a living creature. Animals as big as a cat provide one Mana each, although only one such killing per day provides Mana. Sacrificing a human provides one Mana per Health dot. The victim must die; he cannot be bled until he is close to death. Only the one mage who perfoms the sacrifice gains the ill-gotten Mana. This practice is sure to cause a Wisdom degeneration roll.Spells have aspects: covert, improbable, and vulgar. Covert is like coincidental, the other two are what they sound like. "If a spell is vulgar or improbable, the Stryteller checks for Paradox, rolling a base dice pool based on the caster's Gnosis and modified by various conditions." Gnosis 1 has a base pool of one die."The number of successes the Storyteller rolls on the Paradox roll dtermines the nature of the Paradox that occurs when the mage casts his spell. With only one paradox success, the mage loses control of his spell, affecting a different target of the same type somewhere else in his sensory range. With two successes, the mage gains a derangement appropriate to the circumstances for one scene. With three successes, an anomaly of unreality occurs for one scene (hail might fall from a clear blue sky, or the streets might crack and bleed upward into the air). With four successes, the mage is branded as vaguely inhuman in some subtle way for a scene (be it a witch's mark or an indescribable aura of otherness). With five successes, a twisted spirit from the Abyss enters the Fallen World.""Successes on that roll subtract successes from the player's spellcasting roll (which is why the Paradox roll comes first). What's more, the more improbable or vulgar spell a mage attempts in the same scene, the Storyteller begins to add additional Paradox dice to his pool.If one or more Sleepers witness a mage casting a vulgar effect, add two dice to the Storyteller's Paradox dice pool on top of everything else. Therefore, if a mage is casting only one improbable or vulgar spell in a scene but is witnessed by Sleepers, the Storyteller rolls three dice against the spell."With this kind of enforcement, who needs the Guardians of the Veil? I hope this will be different in the book.Reducing Paradox: If a player doesn't want his mage to run the risk of a severe Paradox problem, he can have his character mitigate the paradox by spending Mana. For every Mana spent (bearing in mind his total allowed expenditure per turn), he removes one of th dice from the Paradox pool the storyteller rolls.A mage can also reduce the amount of a Paradox by suffering a Backlash. Rather than applying the successes on the paradox roll or having a Paradox occur, the mage suffers a number of bashing wounds equal to the successes on the Paradox roll. This damage can only be healed normally: Pattern restoration and magical healing do not work against it.The chars all have six points in Arcana. Gnosis is not a limiting factor; all have Gnosis 1 with one having Death 3. Their Path Arcana are equal to or higher than their other ones. All but one has four rotes (one has five), with dots ranging from one to three and usually totalling six. Mage merits are Destiny (two additional dice per game session per dot, but imposes an equal penalty when mage's ban is present), Thrall (someone who owes you favors) and Dream (once per session, can pray and roll Wits + Composure to get info about something).If there's interest, tomorrow I might post the rotes and general info about the Arcana.
I almost got a chance to play in the M:tAw game, but the guy who was thinking of selling his ticket changed his mind.As for spending Mana, how about a compromise from DA:Mage: if your Gnosis is equal to the highest Arcana, you don't have to pay it.Things I forgot to mention last time: Enhanced item is another merit, like Wonders from the old game. Orders give a bonus of +1 for rotes involving certain Abilities.Guardians: Investigation, Stealth, or Subterfuge.Silver Ladder: Expression, Persuasion, or Subterfuge.AA: Athletics, Intimidation, or Medicine.Free Council: Crafts, Persuasion, or Science.Mysterium: Investigation, Occult, or Survival.Arcana Capabilities: "*" indicates vulgar.Universal Effects: All of the Arcana include versions of the following effects: activate Mage Sight (+), bestow Mage Sight (++), creating a shield (++, grants Arcanum dots in armor for a scene; spend one Mana for effect to last a day.)Death: Discern how someone died and how long ago (+), speak with ghosts (+), assess the strength of someone's soul (+); cuase shadows to move* (++), corrode or rust material* (++), mask the cause of death (++); command a ghost* (+++), destroy material object* (+++), enter a state of death-like stasis (+++), open a gateway into Twilight* (+++).Fate: Mitigate dice penalties (+), cause simple good fortune (+); swear a binding oath(++), cause more overt turns of luck (++, 1 Mana).Forces: Listen to radio or cellphone transmissions (+), manipulate existing heat, light, or sound(+); raise an area's temperature (++), brighten or dim light (++), redirect fire or electricity from an existing source* (++), make an immobile object invisible for a scene* (++, 1 Mana).Life: cleanse the mage's body of toxins (+), sense specific life forms nearby (+), discern age, sex, and health of living things (+); control own metabolism and breathing (++), cleanse others of drugs or poison (++), heal self of bashing or lethal damage (++, 1 Mana), heal plants or animals (++).Matter: Alter the conductivity of matter (+), discern an object's function (+), detect a specific substance(+); alter the balance or accuracy of a weapon for one scene (++, 1 Mana), change one liquid into another* (++), make a transparent surface opaque and vice versa* (++).Mind: Detect nearby sentient minds including spirits (+), perform two extended actions at once (+); alter own aura (++), mentally communicate with others in line of sight (++), improve first impressions (++), protect against mental control or attack (++).Prime: Analyze enchanted items (+), dispel existinf magic (if the mage has at least one dot in the Arcanum used to create the spell) (+, 1 Mana); alter aura to look like a Sleeper (++), counter spells of any Arcana (++, 1 Mana), hide from other mage's Mage Sight (++).Space: Measure distance between objects effortlessly (+), see 360 dgrees (+), track any item in the mage's area flawlessly(+); cast other spells sympathectically (++, ! Mana), remotely view a location (scrying) (++), create wards against Space magic (++).Spirit: Hear, see, and speak with spirits (+); touch spirits in Twilight (++), call specific spirits or a general type of spirit without compelling them to appear (++), raise or lower gauntlet at a Halow* (++).Time: Detect temporal flow (+), act as perfect clock or stopwatch (+), discern if an immediate choice will have good or bad results (+); see the future in a very general sense (++), automatically succeed (or fail) at one action with only two possible outcomes (++, 1 Mana).
