Mages
Mages
Mages have a Tradition, Craft, Technocratic Group or Nephandic Focus. ( All called Tradition for ease of use.) This gives the mage a lower cost for one Sphere and access to specific Rotes of their tradition.
They also have an Avatar Aspect. The Avatar aspect lowers the exp cost of a single Sphere and associated Rotes. It can be the same or different from the tradition one. Avatar aspect lowers the cost of the sphere rote by 1 xp.
Traits
| Wisdom(spheres mastered) | Max Traits | Max Will |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 12 | 10 |
| 1 | 13 | 10 |
| 2 | 14 | 11 |
| 3 | 15 | 12 |
| 4 | 16 | 13 |
| 5 | 17 | 14 |
Dynamic Magic
Dynamic Magic is mage's ability to bend the world to their will for size of effect. Fundamentally this is a craft check, the mage constructs a miracle shell that has a specific effect once unleashed onto the world. This can reach truly astronomical difficulties. Difficulty can be decreased by time, Making a science check, breaking a Wonder etc. The ST will set a difficulty based on the spheres they determine are required for the effect and the player will make the Arete Check when they feel they're ready. Failing the check will cause a paradox backlash equal to the initial diff. The bluebook action to craft a dynamic magic check is called Weaving and each action reduces the initial difficulty . Aside from these large miracle effects mages can make smaller edits to scenes. Players can only maintain 1 standing dynamic effect on their haven, city etc.
Craft Modifiers
| Method | difficulty Modifier |
|---|---|
| Spheres required for spell | (total spheres*5) |
| Spell effects multiple targets | *2 |
| Spell effects area larger than a block | *2 |
| Spell effects a city | *5 |
| Spell is Vulgar(ST discretion) | *2 |
| Bathed in dragonfire or other special material | -5 |
| Help from a spirit | -[Essence of spirit] |
| Science check | -2 per successful science check diff set by ST |
| Funnels energy from a node | - node rating |
| More time | -1 per action |
| Money | -1 per $100k (max 5) |
Example Dynamic spell I would like a spell that alerts me whenever a vampire enters my city, the spell's concept is fairly simple and the base spheres required are: entropy(1) and correspondence(3) for a total of diff 20, the spell can detect multiple targets so it doubles to 40, they want it to last forever, so it doubles again to 80, the spell effects a city so the spell multiplies a final time to diff 400. A group of 5 mages with 5 actions/month could complete this spell in 16 months. A smaller version to a building would take them 2 months.
Dynamic editing For large scale effects, the crafting difficulties are high, However Mages may declare small edits to a scene such as but not limited to, ( a door being unlocked, an alarm being sound, changing the appearance of their clothes, finding the keys to their own car, having the stoplight be green, etc. for the cost of a Q and a Will.( if they have the sphere that covers that thing) This is the simplest form of magic, and is akin to brute forcing your way through a problem. The ST is the final arbiter of what can be done with Dynamic Editing. You cannot dynamic edit your way out of a problem entirely, but you can dynamic edit your way to making the problem easier.
Paradox
Paradox backlashes can occur at the ST's discretion whenever your total paradox is greater than 5 paradox points, your familiar can increase this threshold, soaking up some paradox for you. A paradox backlash is the world clapbacking you for using magic, below are some of the possible effects of paradox. The maximum paradox a mage can accumulate before a forced backlash is 26(21+ 5 from the familiar). If a mage ever accumulates 26 or more paradox the backlash occurs immediately.
Paradox leaves the sheet at a rate of 2/month if the paradox score is 5 or below. If you have accumulated more than 5 paradox in a game you must see a storyteller so your paradox can be recorded. Paradox above 6 bleeds off at a rate of 1/month.
Possible backlashes
- Make a quiet check
- Gain a permanent flaw
- A paradox spirit appears to whisk the mage away to a paradox realm or punish them. (paradox spirits are mostly unaffected by magick and can and will reduce the sphere of a mage who summoned them to 0 for an amount of time of its choosing, if it is not satisfied with the mage’s conduct at scene’s end)
- Take an amount of Aggravated damage equal to the paradox discharged/2.
- Gain a point of permanent paradox which does not bleed off for any reason.
