Mage LARP Rules

23/04/2015 Mage LARP Rules

http://www.greyhawkes.com/larp/mage5.htm 1/33

Mage Live Action Rulesby Gil Richard ([email protected])

Modified for Brevard BeastiaryBy Daniel B Utecht.

Acknowledgments To the Original Version By Gil RichardDuring the playtest of this mess, several people have been invaluable in the developmentof these rules. First of all, Paul Sirota probably knows these rules better than I do, and hasturned the hellish process of a playtest into a moderately hellbent one, Mike McPheewho had a ton of cool ideas (including the original idea for the nomath magical effectsystem based off arete), as well as all the sucker...brave folks who played mages and,besides putting up with the fact that the rules changed daily, brought the strengths andweaknesses of mages, as well as many of the booboos and inefficiencies to light,'specially Andrew Aulenback who kicked me in the head about being anal aboutparadigms the most important facet of any LARP mage. (The orange dove flies west atmidnight...)

Acknowledgments To the Brevard Beastiary Version By Daniel B UtechtTranslating the Mage rules to live action must have been a real nightmare, so much sothat White Wolf has decided that the project would be unworkable. Hats off to Gil forcreating rules for mage that come extremely close to the original sit down game, but canplay nicely with the other live action rules. Because I try to emphasize acting and tempoinstead of rules, I have made some slight modifications to these rules for my game. Notthe rules by Gil were lacking or deficient, but my storytelling style is different from his.These are essentially the unmodified rules, with some clarifications.

Table of Contents

Section 1 ‐ Intro 1.1 ‐ Assumptions 1.2 ‐ Document organizationSection 2 ‐ Basic game mechanics 2.1 ‐ Character creation 2.2 ‐ Avatar 2.3 ‐ AreteSection 3 ‐ magical System 3.1 ‐ Non‐resisted effects 3.2 ‐ Resisted effects 3.3 ‐ magical effect power levels 3.4 ‐ Paradox 3.5 ‐ Paradox effects 3.6 ‐ Quintessence and paradox 3.7 ‐ Positive and negative influences on magical effects 3.8 ‐ Acting in convert 3.9 ‐ Rotes 3.10 ‐ Sigil Signals 3.11 ‐ counter‐magickSection 4 ‐ Other Rules Affecting Casting 4.1 ‐ Willpower and Magick 4.2 ‐ Quiet 4.3 ‐ New AbilitiesSection 5 ‐ The Converted Spheres 5.1 ‐ Correspondence 5.2 ‐ Entropy 5.3 ‐ Forces

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5.4 ‐ Life 5.5 ‐ Matter 5.6 ‐ Mind 5.7 ‐ Prime 5.8 ‐ Spirit 5.9 ‐ TimeSection 6 ‐ Character development 6.1 ‐ XP costs 6.2 ‐ Foci for newly acquired spheres 6.3 ‐ Studying/teachingAppendices A ‐ Merits and Flaws B ‐ Computer Influence

Introduction

1.1 Assumptions For the entirety of this document, I will assume you to have a decent understanding ofMage: The Ascension. If the you does not have this, then you should proceed to get it. I'mnot going to type in explanations of what all the terms and traits are because a) that's justrude, plagerizing someone else's hard work and b) OK, it's illegal too.

1.2 Organization of this Document The character creation section is included first to provide a kind of handson table ofcontents. As you proceed to make a character, you'll run into the various aspects of METMages. There are explanations of all of the concepts elsewhere in the document, so justlook for 'em. At the end, it is suggested you read the rest just to pass over anything youmay have missed, as well as learning about the game mechanics of crafting magicaleffects.

Basic Game Mechanics

2.1 Character Creation

Step 1 Character Concept The first step in creating any character is a concept. Who is your character? What is theirpersonality like? Do they have any particular quirks? You should flesh out your characteras much as possible before you even consider applying traits to them, or else you willprobably end up with a rather shallow character. A good rule of thumb is this if youwere forced to play your character with no traits, no powers, no anything just as apersonality, would you enjoy yourself if you had to play this paperless character for aweek? If the answer is no, then you haven't finished fleshing out your character. Onlywhen it is a complete person, without traits or anything like that, are you finished creatinga character concept.After that, you must decide your mage's magical style how they view the process ofmagick, and how it interacts with them. This is used to generate your foci and magical retest abilities.

Step 2 Group Normally, this section would be entitled 'Tradition', but allowing players to play the badguys adds depth to a story, as long as you don't let it degrade into a munchkinfest, sothere are rules for both the Traditions and the Technocracy. Good and Bad should not bedetermined by a book, but by where you draw your own lines in the sand. Stuff for the



Nephandi should be either taken from Demons rules, or by using Barrabi mages.Marauders, according to how they work in the Book of Madness (which I happen to like alot IMHO) seems to be too much of a pain in the arse to work out, and applying rules thatdefine a 'normal' marauder is, well, silly.

The Traditions

Akashic Brotherhood Akashics may start with a free Brawl, Melee, or Meditationability.Celestial Chorus Choristers may start with a free Religion influence or Occultability or influence.Cult of Ecstasy Cultists may start with a free Street or High Society influence orPerformance ability.Dreamspeakers Dreamspeakers may start with either a free Occult ability orinfluence or Awareness ability.Euthanatos Euthanatos may start with a free Brawl, Melee, Firearms, or OccultAbility.Order of Hermes Order or Hermes mages may receive either an Occult Influenceor Ability for free.Sons of Ether Sons of Ether may start with a Science Influence or Ability, aHealth Influence or Medicine Ability.Verbena Verbena may start with either a Medicine ability, Occult ability orOccult influence for free.Virtual Adepts Virtual Adepts start with one Computer ability or Influence forfree.Hollow Ones/Orphans Hollow Ones and Orphans may pick their Sphere specialtyfor the purposes of the free sphere level at character creation, but do not gain theXP benefits of the specialty.

The Technocracy

Iteration X Iteration X mages start with a free Science or Computer ability, orComputer influence and may have cybertechnological talismans ('devices') builtinto them.New World Order NWO mages may have a free Police, Bureaucracy, Computer,Military or Media influence, and are probably affiliated with some authorityposition, like police officer or secret agent.Progenitors Progenitors may start with a free Medicine ability, Science ability,Health influence or University influence.Syndicate Syndicate mages may start with one Finance ability or one Finance,Media, or Industry influence for free.Void Engineers Void Engineers start with a free Science or Computer ability orUniversity influence.

Step 3 Traits Mages get Physical, Mental and Social traits as per MET, with a distribution of 7primary, 5 secondary, and 3 tertiary. They also get 1 Influence and 5 Abilities (Note thenew Abilities). Mages start with 3 willpower traits, 1 Arete trait and 1 Avatar rating forfree. A mage's maximum physical, social and mental traits are 10 (unless they cheat, ie,use magick).

Step 4 Spheres First of all, each mage gets the Apprentice level in their group's sphere specialty for free(Note that Orphans and Hollow Ones get to pick this free level from any sphere theywish, but this does not count as a specialty for the purposes of XP). After that, they may



choose a total of 4 more levels in spheres, with each extra level counting as one. (ie,Apprentice is 1, Initiate is another 1, Disciple is another 1). No starting player may startwith a sphere rating higher than Disciple, and they must have sufficient Arete traits tolearn that level sphere (ie, 1 Arete Trait for Apprentice, 2 for Initiate, and 3 for Disciple).You can buy extra Arete traits with negative traits (See later).

Step 5 Foci and magical StyleBeginning mages require foci to assist them in manipulating reality. These foci must bechosen at character creation, and should tie in with a mage's magical style. As a result ofthis style and foci, the mage may also pick any appropriate Abilities and use theseabilities to retest failed magical effect tests. Each sphere can have at most one retestability, but this ability can carry over to more than one sphere. Foci should be somethingthat the player can use a real item for if possible. However no weapons fake or real arepermitted in the game. If you have any questions about foci, just ask your storyteller.

Step 6 Negative Traits Mages can get negative traits just like in every other MET game, and they can buy extratraits with them just like every other MET game.

Extra Arete trait 3 negative traits (Max 3)Extra Sphererating Apprentice 2 negative trait

Initiate 3 negative traitsDisciple 4 negative traits(Decrease the cost by one for spherespecialty)

Extra Willpower 2 negative traitsAvatar rating 1 negative trait

That's it! Nice and happy. Now read the rest of this document to learn how to use thatcrap you just bought ;> You should look up your mage's foci in the Mage book (or for theTechnocracy, the appropriate Convention book, or just make 'em up.) and try your best tocomprehend your mage group's paradigm, as it is the key to understanding how yourcharacter does magick, as well as how they organize may have influenced theirpersonality.

2.2 AvatarAn Avatar determines how much Quintessence can be spent on any magical effect.Characters start with an Avatar rating of one, which may be increased by one to amaximum of 5 with one negative trait per level. This determines the size of an Avatar aswell, with a rating 1 avatar being around dog sized, while a rating 5 avatar would be thesize of a house. A mage's avatar also decides how much Quintessence their avatar canhold. A mage can store their avatar's rating in quintessence naturally, and begin the gamewith a fully charged avatar. Quintessence is restored to an Avatar using either theMeditation ability or with a Prime effect.

2.3 AreteA mage's arete is determined by Arete traits. In game terms, before a Mage can learn anysphere at a given level, they must have enough Arete traits to allow them to learn thatsphere level. All mages start with 1 Arete trait. Extra Arete traits may be bought at thebeginning of the game with 3 negative traits, up to a maximum of 3.Arete also governs how well a mage is at crafting magick. The power level of a magicaleffect is determined by the mage's Arete. As well, every Arete trait a mage possessesallows them to transcend the use of one of their foci for one of their spheres, permanently.If they wish to keep their foci, they may this is only an option available to them.



Mages have 'titles', determined by what magical power they wield. These 'titles' representthe maximum level that a mage may buy any sphere level at. The five levels areApprentice, Initiate, Disciple, Adept and Master, each of which has an arete traitrequirement which a mage must have in order to attain that level.

Title RatingApprentice 1Initiate 2Disciple 3Adept 4Master 5+

Arete seekings should be performed whenever a mage wants to buy another arete trait,but this may require taking the mage aside and running a narrative in the old tabletopstyle. Creative storytellers will bring other players into a mage's arete seeking, to increaseplayer interaction and group dynamics. In general, the player's Epiphany should result inthem being given a quest which, properly crafted, can run alongside any other plotlinescurrently running in the game (or amalgamated into it, though this may make the Areteseeking harder, and as such, is only suggested for the Arete seekings of mages withhigher levels of Mastery). The character must spend the experience point requirementbefore the seeking takes place. When the seeking is over, the mage receives their newArete trait.Arete Traits are gained in order.

Arete Rating Trait1 Unschooled2 Talented3 Novice4 Disciplined5 Commanding6 Aware7 Understanding8 Wise9 Enlightened10 Transcendent

Magick System

3.0 Casting magical EffectsEvery magical effect must effect reality in some way. The principal thing to rememberwhen crafting a magical effect is to first of all work the magical effect into your paradigmand magical style. If you cannot do this, then your mage should not believe it possible,and thus the effect cannot be cast. Secondly, if the effect is successfully cast, determinewhat the target or anyone witnessing the magical effect would see or experience as aresult of the magical effect? This second part must also take into account the paradigmand magical style of mage. A Son of Ether casting a Mind effect would look drasticallydifferent than, say, a Verbena casting the same effect. When this is done, when you havedetermined all aspects of the magical effect, only then should you move on to the testing.This is truly the deciding factor as to whether your mage game is going to be a liveactionmage game or a paperrockscissors festival.

3.1 Nonresisted effectsA nonresisted effect is a magical effect that does not directly effect another player. To



cast one, the mage must risk an appropriate trait (mental. physical, or social) and win anArete challenge vs the Sphere Level of the effect. If the mage wins, the magical effect issuccessfully cast with an effect rating equal to the mage's Arete, and may have any or allof the parameters as determined by the tables below. In the case of a tie, and the sphererating of the effect is the same as the mage's Arete, then keep testing until there is awinner. The mage may spend a willpower to temporarily increase his Arete total by onefor the magical effect, but this must be declared before the magical effect is tested. Thedifficulty of the magical effect may be influenced by +/ one with the magical effectinfluences listed below the tables, to a maximum or +/ two. If the mage fails the magicaleffect test, but is eligible to overbid the magical effect test, an appropriate Ability maybe spent to retest the effect. If the mage succeeds the effect is successfully cast at aneffect rating equal to the mage's arete. If the mage fails the second test, it is consideredbotched, and the mage accumulates Paradox as per the Paradox table below.

3.2 Resisted effectsA resisted effect is a magical effect that directly effects another player, who can try toresist the effects of the magical effect. The mage chooses whatever trait category wouldbe the most appropriate to resist the magical effect test (ie, physical for direct damage,mental for mind control), and must defeat the target of the effect in an Arete vs whatevertrait category was deemed most appropriate challenge, where the mage has four timestheir Arete in the case of a tie. Again, the mage may spend a willpower point totemporarily increase their Arete total for the magical effect, which must be declaredbefore any testing is done. Each positive/negative magical effect influence influences theopponent's total in the case of a tie by two, to a maximum of +/ 4. Success has themagical effect casted at an effect rating equal to the mage's Arete rating, and the targetmay be effected with any or all of the parameters specified in the tables below. If themage fails the magical effect, they may spend an Ability to retest as described in theUnresisted Effects section above.

3.3 magical effect power levelsWhen a mage successfully casts a magical effect, the Effect Rating is compared to thebelow table to determine what power level the magical effect has, and the extent to whichit affects the target. The magical effect can have any or all of the parameters listed in thetable, and do not necessarily have to affect at the maximum level listed in the table.

magical effect power level table

EffectRating

MaximumDuration

Max Area Effect(#people/area/volume/mass (weight)

MaxDamage /Healing

1 1 challenge 1 person/1 ft rad/1 cu ft/1 lb 02 1 hour 1 per/5 ft rad/5 cu ft/5 lbs 13 1 day 1 per/20 ft rad/10 cu ft/50 lbs 14 1 week 2 per/300 ft rad/50 cu ft/1000 lbs 25 1 month 3 per/500 ft rad/300 cu ft/2000 lbs 46 1 year 4 per/1000 ft rad/500 cu ft/5000 lbs 67 permanent 5 per/5000 ft rad/1000 cu ft/10000 lbs 88 permanent 6 per/10000 ft rad/5000 cu ft/50000 lbs 10

9 permanent 7 per/50000 ft rad/10000 cu ft/100000lbs 12

10 Whatever you damn well want 20

NOTES



When determining how much of a particular pattern is created for the Spheres ofLife or Matter, use the weight rating of the area of effect by default.Certain Pattern magicks are considered permanent regardless of the effect rating.These are called Immediate effects. They encompass all pattern effects that do notgo against the static nature of the material being changed, so healing a person isconsidered immediate, or changing lead to gold is considered immediate, butchanging the boiling point of lead to room temperature is not, as the resultingpattern conflicts with the static nature of the material (lead's natural boiling point isnot room temperature, whereas the transmutation of lead to gold has the materialactually being gold now.)Damaging forces effects inflict one more level of damage, and damaging mindeffects do one less level of damage as listed.Vulgar life attacks, vulgar prime attacks, direct and vulgar entropy attacks on aliving body, spirit magick that summons spirits to attack living beings, and naturalweaponry of supernatural creatures cause aggravated wounds all else causesnormal. (Unless the effect was cast in a way that exploits a natural weakness of acreature)The difference in area of effect when it comes to number of people affected andvolume of the effect. When a mage elects to have a damaging effect affect morethan one person, they either do an equal amount of damage to the number of peopledenoted by the #people column, OR divides the damage up between multiplepeople in the same cubic foot/square foot/etc of the effect's radius.In the case of Mind effects that alter a target's actions, the duration of the magicaleffect is decreased by an effective rating of one if it goes against the betterjudgment of the target, but is increased by a rating of one if it goes along with thetarget's better judgment. As well, if the target is aware that they are beingmanipulated magically, they may elect to resist the effect by either beating themage in a Willpower vs Arete challenge (no traits need to be bid), or spending awillpower to ignore the effect.

Correspondence Effect Table Gauntlet Penetration TableEffectRating

Range / Connection EffectRating

Gauntlet RatingPenetrated

1 Line of SiteBlood RelationBody Sample

123

24 (Node / Cairn)5 (Deep Wilderness)6 (Rural Countryside)

2 Very Familiar(home/office)Best Friend

Prized Possession

456

7 (Most Urban Areas)8 (Downtown)

9 (Technocracy Lab)

3 Familiar (local mall)CoWorkerPossession

10 Paradox Gauntlet

4 Visited OnceAcquaintance

Anything Used OnceTime Effect Table

Effect Rating Effect Timespan5 Saw or Heard of It

StrangerItem TouchedCasually

123

Within a YearFive Years

Twenty Years

6+ Anywhere on EarthNo Connection

4567

Fifty Years100 Years500 Years700 Years



89

10+

800 Years900 Years1000+ Years

3.4 ParadoxParadox is accumulated depending on the vulgarity of the magical effect and the result ofthe test. Note that 'Sphere rating' is the highest sphere level involved in casting themagical effect. (ie, Apprentice = 1, Initiate = 2, Disciple = 3, Adept = 4, Master = 5).Note that successfully casting a vulgar magical effect always results in the mageaccumulating at least one point of paradox.

Vulgarity TestWon

Test Tied Test Lost

Static or Coincidental none none Sphere RatingVulgar, no witnesses 1 1 Sphere Rating + 1Vulgar, with witnesses 1 2 Sphere Rating x2 + 1

If the mage accumulates 6 or more paradox on one magical effect, OR accumulates a totalof 10 or more paradox total, they will induce a paradox backlash (Explained later).

3.5 Paradox Effects(stolen from Paul Strack ([email protected]) and modified by Gil)The mage may no longer elect to burn off paradox themselves. Paradox will burn itselfoff, either over time, or as a result of a backlash, or whenever a member of game controlis feeling bored. Paradox Backlash normally occurs when the mage gains at six points ormore Paradox at one time, or the mage accumulates 10 or more points of Paradox total.The strength of the backlash is determined by one test.

Winning this test makes the strength 1/4 the total paradox of the mage. Tying this testmakes the strength 1/2 the total paradox of the mage. Losing this test makes the strengththe total paradox pool of the mage.

A number of paradox points equal to the strength of the backlash are expelled as a resultof the backlash. If the mage wishes, they may expend a willpower point to escape theparadox backlash, but the paradox is not expended. This may only be attempted ONCEper effect. If the mage retries the same effect on the same day, and a backlash results,they may not spend a point of willpower to avoid the backlash.

Paradox Backlash will manifest in a physical, spiritual or mental form. This is choseneither by the first available game control or, if none are present, by another test. Winningthe test makes it physical. Tying the test makes it Spiritual. Losing the test makes itmental.

Strength Physical Spiritual Mental1 5 Flaws Paradox Minion Quiet6 9 Damage Paradox Preceptor Quiet /

Realm10 + Explosion Paradox Lord Realm

Flaws Paradox cause physical alterations in a mage or the immediate area. The strongerthe backlash, the more severe the alteration. For more details on Flaws, see below.

Damage The mage receives one Health Level of aggravated damage for every 2 pointsof strength of the Backlash. A backlash this severe can kill the offending mage, especiallyif she was already wounded. This damage cannot be healed with magick.



Explosion A massive explosion results, inflicting Health Levels of aggravated damageequal to the strength of the Backlash, divided evenly amongst everyone within 3 paces ofthe mage. As above, the victims cannot heal the damage magically.

Spirits A paradox spirit appears and plagues the mage. The level of power of the spiritdepends on the strength of the backlash, while the nature of the spirit depends on thesphere of magick the mage was using. Paradox spirits are exceptionally resistant tomagick; they may roll their Gnosis/Arete as countermagick automatically. Usually thereis some way a mage can appease a Paradox spirit so that it will leave her be. The magecan also try and destroy the spirit using nonmagical means. Failing all else, most paradoxspirits will eventually get bored, and wander off to harass some other mage.

Quiet Quiet can be induced as a backlash. However, the strength of the quiet does notdepend on the strength of the backlash. Instead, it depends on the total points of paradoxthe mage had immediately before the backlash. Quiet can be induced by other means,such as the overuse of perceptual magick, or psychic trauma (overextended perceptionsare detailed in the appropriate sphere description). The mage may expend a willpowertrait to stave off a quiet for one day.

Realms Truly horrendous backlash es can remove a mage from reality completely.Some mages view this as an advanced form of Quiet, in which the mage is physicallylocked in a hallucinatory Realm.

In the case of a paradox flaw, a paradox spirit, quiet, or a realm, this must be assigned bya member of game control.

If the mage has 10 or fewer points of paradox, and manages to go an entire day withoutgaining any paradox, one point of paradox drains away with no ill effects.

Below are a list of possible Paradox Flaws, organized by Sphere and Level, for youramusement. Some of them are "coincidental" and others are not. Note that the duration ofa Flaw can also affect its severity. A Level 2 backlash could manifest as a Level 1 Flawthat lasts for days, or a Level 3 Flaw that only lasts for a minute or two. The "standard"duration for a Flaw is a few hours, this can be lengthened to days or shortened to minutes.Level 4 and 5 Flaws last longer; the standard duration is day, which can be shortened tohours, or lengthened to weeks.

Correspondence:

1. The mage can only see behind himself for a few moments.2. The mage's perception of space is altered for a few hours (objects in this mirror

may appear to be closer than they actually are).3. Objects in the mages possession gravitate to his left. His watch appears on his left

hand, his wallet in his left pocket, etc. More significantly, any effect he casts willmanifest several yards to the left of where he targeted it.

4. The mage finds that he no longer can control direction. Anything she does will betargeted in a random direction. A spell she casts will have a randomly determinedtarget, and she will walk in a strange sort of Brownian motion, with no control overher destination. The mage must be guided from one place to another.

5. The mage's body is turned inside out, flesh on the inside, organs on the outside, yetshe mysteriously stays alive. This state is incredibly painful, and the mage can donothing but writhe in agony until the effect passes.

Entropy:



1. The next feat the mage attempts fails automatically (don't bother to test).2. Everything the mage sees is tinged with decay; not unlike the vision of wraiths. In

addition to being rather depressing, it makes it difficult for mages to judge themood of people, and must retest any successful social challenges, aura readings,etc...

3. The mage finds that material objects become rotten and brittle under his touch. Hisequipment may break, or he may fall through holes in the floor.

4. People in the vicinity of the mage will feel ill and out of sorts. Others will suffer a1 trait penalty on any challenge they have to make. The effect never seems toextend to the mage's enemies.

5. The mage finds himself aging rapidly, at a rate of one year per minute. Thiscontinues for hours, yet the mage will not die, becoming a withered husk instead atabout the age of 150 or so. The mage then returns slowly to normal, at a rate of 1year per hour.

Forces

1. The mage's hair stands on end, as if he were subject to static electricity. It goesaway after a minute or two.

2. The mage's perception of the world changes, so that he sees everything in black andwhite.

3. For the next few hours, electrical devices fail to function within about 5 yards ofthe mage.

4. The mage finds herself floating one inch off the floor. This makes it very difficultto get anywhere, since the mage must pull herself along the walls and furniture.

5. The mage is struck completely blind and deaf. Other forms of perceptual magickare ineffective as well. This can last for days.

Life

1. The mage suffers from a sudden, violent muscle spasm, throwing her off balance.2. The mage catches a nasty head cold. Between sneezing, watery eyes and

headaches, the mage is at a 1 trait penalty to most challenges.3. The mage finds that nearby plants grow at an alarming rate, especially if he is in

direct contact with the plant.4. One of the mage's limbs ceases to function.5. The mage suffers from a violent epileptic seizure, that lasts for hours. It will take

him days to recuperate.

Matter

1. Whatever surface the mage is standing on becomes briefly slippery, causing him tofall.

2. One important piece of equipment (perhaps a Foci) breaks.3. The mage finds himself unable to physically interact with some common substance

(metal, wood, etc.); the material passes right through him. This can be quiteembarrassing of the substance is clothes.

4. Any water the mage touches will freeze (large bodies of water only freeze withinabout a foot of the mage).

5. The mage's body crystallizes. He can only move at a rate of one inch per minute,and magick becomes impossible.

Mind

1. For the next few minutes, the mage speaks *exactly* what is on her mind,



broadcasting her thoughts.2. The mage receives a lot of psychic static, random impressions from the minds of

those around her. There is too much "noise" for the mage to learn anything useful,and the effect is rather distracting.

3. The mage finds that he has become a mental chameleon. He involuntarily adoptsthe mannerisms and personality of anyone with whom he spends more than aminute.

4. The mage adopts some form of clinical insanity, such as a severe phobia of somenearby object, or paranoid delusions.

5. The mage's mental processes become completely jumbled, and he finds itimpossible to form any coherent thought.

Prime

1. The mage briefly "flashes" of magical energy, so that his presence is easilyperceived by any magically aware being.

2. One of the rotes the mage is currently maintaining ceases to function.3. All the Quintessence in a mage's pattern bleeds away.4. The mage becomes a "magick magnet", and any effect cast in her vicinity will

target the mage in addition to its normal target.5. The mage loses touch with her Avatar, and is unable to perform any sort of magick

for days (or weeks).

SpiritMost spirit paradoxes result in the manifestation of a Paradox spirit, or the spirit magickthe mage is currently working goes horribly wrong. Other possibilities include having themage shunt involuntarily into the Umbra, attracting malignant (nonparadox) spirits, orbecoming a spirit herself for a period of time.

Time

1. All the timepieces in the mage's area stop.2. The mage's perception of time becomes disjointed, so that he sees everything one

second into the future. He starts to answer questions before people have finishedspeaking. Alternately, the mage sees things one second into the past. It becomesmore difficult to target people in the present (must retest any successful tests)

3. The mage suffers from time dilation, and can only act half as often as everyoneelse. Magick cannot counter this effect.

4. The mage looses his short term memory. He can only remember things thathappened more than five minutes ago. He must act based only on his immediateperceptions.

5. The mage vanishes, only to reappear in the future, at some time of the storytellerschoosing (though not more than a month or two later).

Paradox RotesMages with a greater knowledge of Prime are able to control the Paradox in their patternto a small degree, with the following rotes:

Induce Backlash (Initiate Prime)Many mages choose not to wait for Paradox to strike, and deliberately induce a Paradoxbacklash on themselves, preferably while they are somewhere safe, like their sanctum.The strength of the backlash is still determined randomly. No matter what thecircumstances, this Rote always counts as Vulgar, even in the Umbra or in a mage'sSanctum. Thus, the rote always adds at least one point of Paradox to the mage's totalpool.



Controlled Backlash (Adept Prime, or Initiate Prime + Initiate Entropy)A more advanced version of the above rote, the mage has a greater degree of control overhow much Paradox energy is released. For each effect result rating beyond the first, themage can increase or decrease the strength of the backlash by one point. However, themage still has no control over exactly how the Paradox manifests. This rote is also alwaysVulgar.

3.6 Quintessence and ParadoxA mage can store a maximum of 20 points of quintessence using Apprentice Level Prime.Every point of paradox, however, lowers the maximum number of paradox storable by 1.So 1 point of paradox lowers the maximum number of quintessence stored to 19, 2 pointslowers it to 18, etc. As well, if it should ever occur that a point of paradox lowers themaximum amount of quintessence below the number that the mage currently has, then theexcess quintessence is lost due to the paradox overflow. SO, for example, a mage has 8points of paradox and maximum quintessence, 12 points. If the mage were to accrueanother point of paradox, they would lose a point of quintessence to paradox overflow,leaving them with 9 points of paradox and 11 points of quintessence.

3.7 Positive and Negative Influences on magical EffectsPositive Influences

Researching Lore on subject before using magick (using Occult Library)Has item resonating with target's essence (sympathetic magick)Spending two points of quintessenceUsing tass with an appropriate resonanceExtra time spent on magick (10 seconds = 1, 10 minutes = 2)In a nodeUses a unique focusUses a focus without needing itUsing a rote designed by your paradigm

Negative Influences

Using Tass with opposed resonanceFastCasting (responding to a challenge with a magical effect)Every two magical effects "running' simultaneouslyDistant or hidden subject (ie, Obfuscate/Arcane)Mage distracted (ie, In a mass melee/on fire/etc)In conflict with Avatar (I'll let you know)Domino Effect (Casting more than one coincidental effect within 5 minutes ofanother)Extending Perceptions (Lets someone else share a magical effect's perceptions.Automatically makes effect vulgar. Each extra person counts as a separate negativeinfluence)Using a rote designed by a conflicting paradigmBringing possessions with you when Piercing the Gauntlet

3.8 Acting in ConcertMultiple mages may combine their powers to cast one big magical effect. There are threedifferent 'levels' of acting in concert, each having a different set of requirements.

A Concert of Peers Each participant must have the equivalent sphere ratingsnecessary to cast the magical effect, and must be of the same paradigm. A ritualmust be performed, lasting a span of time equal to 10 minutes per extra person inthe concert. If this is the case, then each mage makes separate magical effect tests



(and separate paradox results), and each effect result is totaled to generate the resultof the acting in concert.A Concert of Lackeys Only one mage has sufficient sphere ratings to cast amagical effect, but has a number of lesserpowerful mages who still have somerating in all of the necessary spheres or all mages have the same rating in all of therequired spheres, but are of a differing paradigm. In this case, the ritual is stillnecessary (extra 10 minutes per lackey), and each lackey in the concert whosuccessfully casts the magical effect adds one rating to the leader's effect resultrating.A Sleeper's Concert If the mage has a number of Unawakened acolytes assistingthe concert, the mage may increase his resulting effect result rating by one forevery 5 acolytes in the concert. The 10 minutes/ acolyte rule still holds. Theacolytes do not count as sleeper witnesses for this effect, however. If the number ofparadox generated by the effect is greater than the total number of acolytes in theconcert, they will all suffer some sort of mystical or psychic trauma as determinedby the storyteller.

Unfortunately, if any mage botches the effect, the entire effect is botched, and all theparadox gained in the effect by any mage who botched the effect is totaled, with EACHmember of the concert receives the paradox total. A mage may spend a willpower trait toavoid taking paradox.

3.9 RotesRotes are a problem. Each one has the possibility of having a different set of rules. So, asa rule, game control must approve any rote to be used in game. If you do not know therules for a rote, *DO NOT MAKE THEM UP*. Get game control to look over andapprove the rote for you.

3.10 Sigil SignalsNow, how to let someone know that you are casting a magical effect? Well, you couldjust state the name of the magical effect, and describe the results of the effect to thetarget. This is a viable system, but lacks the subtlety of the MET system. So as analternative, the equivalent to hand signals for magical effects are sigil signals. If you lookin any of the Mage books put out by the folx at WW, you will notice that each Sphere hasa sigil associated with it. Whenever you cast a magical effect, you should show theperson to whom the effect is affecting the equivalent sigil signal (s).

A sigil signal is simply something that has a number of sigils inscribed on it, one for eachsphere used in the effect. For example, I'm playing poker with someone, and I decide tocheat and use Control Probability on the deal to give me a wicked hand. Before I cast theeffect, I show the dealer a sigil card with an Entropy sigil on it, as the effect is an entropyeffect.

Another example; I want to nuke someone into pudding with the Ball of Abysmal Flamerote. It's a Forces and Prime rote, so I would show the poor fool a sigil card with a Forcessigil and a Prime sigil on it. (And it would probably be the last thing he sees). Lastexample, I want to cast the Curse of the Mayfly rote on someone. It required Adept levelEntropy and Life, so the sigil card would have an Entropy and a Life sigil on it. Thepurpose of this is to let someone know that they can do countermagick if they can see thecard. As a general rule, anyone seeing the sigils can sense the magical effect and iseligible to perform countermagick. So if someone slips you a piece of paper with a mindsigils on it, don't be a prick and hold it up for all to see you got conned; be a sport. Ofcourse, if they don't look at the paper, you have to hold up your sigil so that they can seeit. They have to know that you are casting a magical effect to give them a chance tocounter it, and this is done through sigils.



3.11 countermagickThere are now 5 different types of countermagick. The type of countermagick must bedeclared before any tests take place.

Basic countermagick has the countering mage engage the caster in an aretechallenge. If the countering mage wins, the effect is canceled. You can only usebasic countermagick on yourself, however. The countering mage must have atleast one rating in one of the spheres involved in the effect, and the mage mustknow the effect is coming, either by the Awareness ability, or through some othermethod.Offensive countermagick is when a mage tries to stop a magical effect cast atanother target besides themselves. The countering mage must have at least onerating in one of the spheres involved in the casting, as well as one rating in Prime.To stop the spell, the countering mage must defeat the casting mage in two Aretechallenges. To reflect the spell back at the target, the mage must defeat the caster infour Arete challenges. If the mage tries to reflect an effect, this must declaredbefore any of the tests take place.Sphere vs Sphere countermagick is a variant of Basic countermagick where themage need not know any of the spheres involved in the effect, but rather uses amagical effect to disrupt the casting mage. The effect must be possible to cast, andmust be tailored to distract the casting mage. The effect is countered if thecountering mage defeats the casting mage in two Arete challenges. The counteringeffects do no damage to the caster, just distracts them long enough to cancel theeffect.NOTE : You may now use countermagick on Vampiric Thaumaturgy, FaerieGlamour and Garou Gifts. It must be Sphere vs Sphere countermagick. In the caseof Thaumaturgy, you must defeat the casting vampire in three Arete vs mentalchallenges, where the mage has a total of three times their arete in the case of a tie(the mage may spend a willpower to temporarily increase their effective Arete byone for the purposes of the countermagick). In the case of Fae Glamour, the magemust defeat the fae in two straight Arete vs Glamour challenges. In the case ofGarou Gifts (or Wraith Arcanos, if it's ever converted), the Sphere being used tocounter must be Spirit, and the mage must defeat their opponent in three Arete vsGnosis challenges.AntiMagick has a mage use Quintessence to reenforce reality around a castingmage, making it harder to cast the effect. The countering mage must be at least anInitiate of Prime. The countering mage gets to attempt their Arete rating in complextests, with each success allowing the countering mage to spend a point ofquintessence to give the casting mage a negative magical influence, not subject tothe normal +/ two maximum for modifying the effect difficulty.Unweaving involves removing an alreadyexisting magical effect, such as a wardor ban, that has been placed on an area. Normal countermagick will not work on apreviouslyexisting magical effect unless the countering mage was present at thetime of the casting, and attempted to counter the initial casting. Unweaving amagical effect required the countering mage have at least one rating in all thespheres involved in casting the magical effect, as well as one rating in prime. Thetests for an unweaving are exactly the same as Antimagick, except that each effectresult rating lowers the rating of the ward by one. Each effect result ratinggenerated from the unweaving requires the mage concentrate near the ward for 10minutes per effect result rating. As well, the mage who casted the ward in the firstplace will detect the unweaving if they win a static challenge vs 7.

Countering the effects of a Talisman is handled in the same fashion as the above methods



describe, with the exception of Sphere vs Sphere.

Other Rules Affecting Casting4.1 Willpower and MagickIf a mage has a sphere rating higher than their willpower, they may not use the sphereratings higher than their willpower until their willpower has been increased to a levelsufficient enough to use the sphere rating. This holds true for Arete if a mage has moreArete than Willpower, that extra Arete is not usable by the mage until they increase theirwillpower sufficiently.

4.2 QuietFrom time to time, a narrator may walk up to a mage and, after looking at their charactersheet to determine how many paradox points they have, describe a hallucination the mageis experiencing to the mage and the mage must play this out the mage's perception ofreality has changed. These can be pretty freeform, but you should just describe thesituation of their hallucinations, and let the player go bananas on their own instead ofscripting the whole thing.

4.3 New Abilities

Meditation This Ability reflects a mage's ability to concentrate and keep theirmind free of distraction. If the mage is in an active node, they may recharge theiravatar by meditating inside the node. For every 10 minutes they spend meditatingin the node, their avatar retains one point of quintessence, no tests required. Lastly,a mage may meditate to regain lost Arete traits. For every 15 minutes a magemeditates without disturbance, they will regain one temporarily lost Arete trait.Awareness This ability allows the mage to sense magical energies in their vicinityand, at higher levels, quantify and qualify these energies. Each additionalAwareness trait allows the mage to detect more arcane and esoteric energy.1 trait : The mage can sense magical 'fields' as created by magical effects andautomatically determine what spheres and power levels were involved in thecasting. They can also sense Talismans with a static mental challenge vs 5.2 traits : The mage can sense supernatural 'fields' as created by any type ofsupernatural bogeyman. This includes cairns, wards, freeholds, etc, with a staticmental challenge vs 5. Note that this ability only allows the mage to sense them;the mage must have the appropriate Lore skill to identify any fields/wards/etc theycome across. The sensing will let them know if the field is harmful towards them ornot, however.3 traits : The mage can sense the auras of other creatures. This works just like AuraPerception from MET:The Masquerade, except the mage may only check fordiablerie if they have at least 3 Vampire Lore abilities.4 traits : The mage can sense objects hidden through supernatural means. Considerthis a larger version of Heightened senses, able to pierce any form of supernaturalstealth. If the target being sensed is a being, they must be defeated in a mentalchallenge before they can be sensed. If the target is an object, then a static mentalchallenge vs the number of mental traits the obfuscater has must be won to sensethe object.As well, the mage now senses whenever a supernatural power is being used onthem. The mage must have at least 3 or 4 levels of the appropriate Lore Ability toactually know what the power is, otherwise they just sense supernatural forces atwork, as well as the source and target of this power. Note that if the force doesn't



affect the mage directly, or is not readily visible, there is little chance the mage willsense the power.5 traits : The mage has an innate precognitive sense that alerts them to any dangerto their person. They have a brief flash of the future seconds before it happens,letting the mage react accordingly. The mage cannot be surprised, and is fullyaware of the future when it comes to them being harmed. As well, the mage maysense the nature of another creature by winning a static mental challenge vs 5.Cosmology Allows a mage to navigate the Umbra, as well as successfully interactwith umbral society and culture. ("How to Talk to Spirits and not get Eaten 101")Research Allows a mage to better use tomes and occult libraries, as well asresearching an effect before it is cast (see positive influences on effects)Instruction Allows the mage to teach Sphere levels to another mage. Also allowthe mage to be able to teach certain Abilities, allowing the student to purchase twoof the abilities for the single XP.

The 9 Spheres

5.1 Correspondence First off, as Correspondence is the sphere that deals with range and distance, a range tableis needed, based on how familiar the mage is with the target. This familiarity can comefrom either personal knowledge of the target, or having something that belongs to or issomehow otherwise connected to the target. The general success table for determining therange of the effect is listed in the Correspondence Effect Table.

ApprenticeImmediate Spatial Perceptions The Apprentice of Correspondence is taught how tosense 3dimensional space with keen understanding. They can intuitively sense howobjects relate to space, calculate the exact volume of objects, the distance betweenobjects, and be able to sense objects in their immediate vicinity without having toperceive them through the normal five senses. The mage may determine, to any level ofaccuracy, any aspect of the targets dimensionality (size, shape, distance, location, etc). Inaddition, the mage may choose to just sense the range and dimensionality of an area,effectively giving them a kind of 'sonar' effect. The mage may give themselves the abilityto sense and navigate their surroundings by sensing the shapes, distances, and sizes oftheir surroundings. They would see no colors, only the contours of faces. Note that thiseffect only effects the mage's immediate surroundings this cannot sense outside of Lineof Sight.

InitiateSense Space The mage can now send his or her perceptions to any point in space byshifting their relationship to the Correspondence Point. They may relocate any or all oftheir senses to another point in space. The senses function normally at this new point inspace, but realize that their senses no longer sense the immediate vicinity around theirperson they can only sense the new location. This power also allows the mage to senseif they are being spied upon by a remote observer through some sort of perceptionextension (binoculars/Sense Space/cameras).

Touch Space The mage can, with conjunctional Disciple Life or Matter (or both)teleport small objects to and from themselves. The mage can shift objects up to amaximum size of a house cat. The mage must grasping the object during the teleportation.

Ward The mage may prevent scrying or remote sensing an area of space by reenforcingthe tapestry of an area. Upon a successful magical effect casting, the area of space



effected by the magical effect is protected by this ward for the duration of the effect.Whenever someone wishes to remotely scry this area, their general success rating isdropped by the numeric equivalent of the magical effect result. This effect may be castcumulatively, with this number being increased each time the effect is successfully cast.

DisciplePierce Space At this level of understanding, the mage has an indepth, personalunderstanding of the Theory of Correspondence, and may change their own relationshipto the Correspondence Point. The mage can teleport themselves and everything they arecarrying to another area in space. This can be used to evoke the 'Fair Escape' rule invirtually any situation. Upon success, the mage states that they 'disappear' and walk totheir new location in space, using an outofgame hand signal, and tell the people in thenew area that they reappear, oriented in any way they deem fit. If there are not too manypeople in the vicinity, the mage may call 'Freeze', move to their new location, then call'Unfreeze'. This effect is vulgar or coincidental.Lastly, this power allows the mage to slide objects through space, simulating telekinesisor levitation. Again, objects being moved can be no bigger than a common house cat, butweight is no option only size. This effect can be used cause damage, and is handled bythe General Effect Result table. Vulgar or coincidental.

Seal Gate The mage may also prevent others from remotely spying on an area with thispower. Every Correspondence effect that involves opening or playing with the Tapestryof the area (ie, Remote sensing/Teleportation) has it's magical effect result rating loweredby the numeric equivalent of the magical effect result. This may be cast multiple times,with this number being cumulative.The mage may also ban a certain type of pattern from an area of space by casting thispower conjunctionally with the Disciple level powers of all patterns involved in thebanned pattern, as well as having some connection to the target of the banning. If themage accumulates a magical effect result rating of five or higher, it is impossible for thetarget patterntype to enter that area of space. Note that this effect cannot effect magicaleffects or the incarnations of paradox.

CoLocality Perceptions Also, at this level of understanding, the mage may potentiallyperceive all points in space at the same time. While this may seem to be a stupid idea, itcan be very useful, and also very trippy. The mage may 'stack' their perceptions,perceiving all the wanted points in space at the same time. The result is a convolutedlandscape of many ghostly images. The mage may colocate their perceptions as manytimes as they have mental traits, and differentiating between one scene and anotherrequires a static mental challenge vs a number twice the total number of scenes beingviewed. If the mage wishes to perceive more scenes than they have mental traits, theymay do so by winning a complex challenge. If they succeed, the extra scenes. If they fail,they enter a Quiet of a rating equal to half the number of scenes being perceived.

AdeptRend Space A mage at this rank may extend their control of Correspondence to opening'pathways' through space to join two areas of space via a 'doorway'. These pathwaysusually take the form of a twodimensional 'window', showing what exists on the otherside of the doorway, but can take on another appearance if the mage so desires. The magemay open a 'doorway' between two areas of space. Passage through this doorway is freeas long as the doorway remains open. This effect is quite vulgar.

Reality Bubble The mage may create 'pockets' of space that do not interact with the restof space. This creates a pocket dimension within threedimensional space which is cut offfrom the rest of space, roughly humansized. Larger bubbles or moving bubbles require atleast a result rating of four. This effect is quite vulgar.



MasterMutate Localities At this level of Mastery, the Mage is taught how to distort space.Mages can affect distances and sizes around them, stretching and shrinking them howeverthey seem fit. The mass of the area of space or object being changed cannot change, butthe size and shape is fair game to the mage. The mage may warp space about themhowever they desire.

Colocation The mage may take two area of space and 'stack' them, having them bothoccupy the same 'area' of space simultaneously. Interaction is free between the two area.Nothing inside the areas of space is damaged when two objects occupy the same area ofspace, they simply do not interact until they are separated.

Polyappearance The mage may exist at multiple areas at the same time. Read the effecton page 191 of 2nd Edition Mage:The Ascension. The part about extra damage levels forpolyappearance attacks applies the numeric rating of a magical result is added to thebase amount of damage caused by the attack.

5.2 Entropy

ApprenticeSense Fate & Fortune The beginning of all teaching concerning Entropy starts withbeing able to identify Entropy as a distinct phenomenon in reality. Apprentices of entropycan intuitively discern the weakness in any system, be it a person, or a group, or aconcept. As well, the mage may also intuitively discern the strengths of a system, whichparts are more favored or lucky. The mage ascertains where entropy would manifestnaturally in the target and how much, or how little, the target has been subjected to theforces of Entropy already. The mage can identify any weak spots in anything, as well asthe amount of decay, degeneracy, or corruption the target has been subject to.Conversely, the mage may also sense which aspects of the target will be favored in thefuture, where entropy does not manifest itself as strongly./ In game terms, the mage willbe have the option to retest a failed challenge IF that challenge is of a nature beingsensed by the effect, for the duration of the effect (this is not cumulative). The nature ofthe challenge and target must be known at the time of casting.

Ring of Truth The mage may use their sense of Destiny and entropy to discern ifsomething being said to them is prophetic in some way, or is a falsehood. In the case ofprophetic words, every level of the effect result rating will grant the mage a little more ofa sense of understanding concerning the words that were spoken. For discerning the truth,the mage must achieve an effect result rating equal to or greater than the potential liar'stotal Subterfuge abilities.

InitiateControl Probability By starting small, the Initiate of entropy can affect very small eventsby manipulating random chance. The mage can affect who the waiter will serve first in arestaurant, which chamber houses the bullet in Russian Roulette, which cards are dealtwhere in a game of cards. Note, however, that the Mage cannot nullify or supersaturate anevent with randomness that would require the creation of entropic energy, or theimmunization from the selfsame energy, something even the Masters of Entropy cannotdo. The mage can merely affect the probabilities involved with a single event that is onlycontrolled by one instance of random chance. It can seem that this level of knowledge ispretty lame, but control over random chance can be very handy at times, and this level ofknowledge can be used conjunctionally with other spheres to inject randomness andchaos into a system over and above what normally occurs. Every two effect result ratingsallows the mage a retest in any nonmagical effect test in which the mage has 2 or fewer



Ability traits (See "Beginner's Luck"). The mage can also dictate what the outcome of asingle random event will be, as in all of the above examples. The event must becontrolled by random chance. This is a coincidental effect, as all things are possiblewithin a random system, but repeated uses of this in the same situation will eventuallystart pushing the boundaries of acceptable probability, and paradox may take notice. (See"The Domino Effect")

DiscipleAffect Predictable Patterns At the disciple level, the mage learns how rates of decay arecontrolled and with this knowledge can exert their will upon reality to either speed up orslow down the natural entropic processes that degrade matter patterns. The Mage canincrease or decease the rate at which metals rust, woods decay, fabric rots, etc. With anynumber of effect result ratings, the mage may make a complex piece of machinery breakdown. With 2 or more effect result ratings, an amount of physical matter as determinedby the area of effect can be eroded. Conversely, any number of effect result ratings cancause a complex machine to function without flaw for the duration of the effect. With 2or more effect result ratings, the rate of decay on a mass of matter as determined by thearea of effect can be slowed considerably, with the physical matter not being affectedfrom the natural entropic processes for the duration of the effect.

AdeptAffect Life The Adept of Entropy has progressed beyond the scope of inorganic objectsto the complex realm of Life. The Adept studies the multitudes of ways that living thingswither and die as their bodies eventually break down and cease to function, as well as themany facets of heredity, and how it affects evolution and growth. From these processes,the Adept learns to control these random, degenerative processes, giving them immensepowers to destroy life and control growth. They can age targets 5 years for every magicaleffect result rating, or reduce the probability for deformity and disease, with a effectresult rating of 3 making a child insulated from any sort of disease, short of a massiveplague, for life. Note that this only affects probability, not vitality or beauty. Note thatdirect and vulgar entropy attacks cause aggravated damage.

MasterAffect Thought The Masters of Entropy expand their control over the forces of Entropyby studying the ways in which entropy affects ideas and thoughts. Unlike the physicalaspects of Entropy, in which the outcomes are pretty straight forward, the effects ofentropy upon the mind can lead to some pretty farfetched ideas. Entropy's reach is veryfar, even to the Ivory towers of intelligence. Forgetfulness, Distractions, Short attentionspans, even Deranged and damaged minds fall under this category. Some call dynamicgrowth of ideas the inverse of Entropy, that old ideas are cast aside to make way for thenew, but the fact that ideas are cast away makes even progress the result of Entropy, ofold concepts withering away and dying. The limit of the Master of Entropy is theindividual the Master can destroy the thought of an individual, not the base conceptupon which the thought was formed. They cannot erode entire philosophies on a societallevel, but it is rumored that the Oracles of Entropy can perform such feats as erasingentire towns from the collective conscious. The Effect Result rating necessary to destroymental structures is thusly listed:

ThoughtIdeaTrain of ThoughtConcept ‐ 1AbilityAdd a derangement ‐ 2Mental TraitRote/Ritual ‐ 3



Philosophy ‐ 4Arete Trait ‐ 5Sphere ratings Apprentice ‐ 6 Initiate ‐ 7 Disciple ‐ 8 Adept ‐ 9 Master ‐ 10

Binding Oath When cast, this effect ensures that a pact or promise is carried through.The mage administering or giving that oath may call down the force of Destiny to witnessthe proceedings and punish anyone who breaks the oath. Read the effect description onpage 195 of 2nd Edition Mage:The Ascension for a full description of the effect.

5.3 ForcesBecause Forces is a pattern magick, Initiate level Prime is required to create energy. Ifyour effect requires in increase of energy, you must be an Initiate of prime.

ApprenticePerceive Forces The Apprentice of Forces first learns to understand the constructs thatmake up all of the Energies of Forces. As such, the apprentice of Forces first learns toperceive Forces, so they will know exactly what they are manipulating when they achievehigher levels of understanding. They may sense any energy they wish, or the lack thereof, letting them see in the dark, perceive xrays, sense motion, or hear the slightest ofnoises. Any degree of effect result rating will allow a mage to see a force that is notcluttered or jumbled with background noise. A 'noisy' background, however, will requirea greater effect result rating as determined by the closest narrator.

InitiateControl Minor Forces With this level the mage can manipulate both the positive forces(sound, light, heat, etc), as well as the negative forces (silence, darkness, cold, etc). Themage cannot fundamentally change the force they are manipulating; the force must retainit's polarity (positive/ negative), the mage can merely change it's direction of force. Amage may disguise their voice, eavesdrop on a conversation occurring over a crowdedroom, cloak themselves in a field of silence, bend and refract light, displace their image,wrap themselves in shadow, create a mirage or focus a flashlight into a fine laser. Heatand cold may be shuffled about, gravity may be redirected, etc. The amount of force thatcan be affected at this level is quite limited a mage may shortcircuit a car or house, butnot an apartment block or power plant. A mage could black out a house, but not a cityblock. They could change the velocity and trajectory of a bullet or skateboard, but not amack truck. The degree to which the forces may be manipulated are generated by the areaof effect column of the General effect table. Remember that a force may ONLY be redirected, not increased or dispelled, so darkening a room would make an adjacent roombrighter by an equal amount. Living beings being struck by Electrical force will bestunned for a number of challenges (roughly 4 seconds apiece) equal to the damage ratingof the effect minus one for every staminarelated trait they possess.

DiscipleTransmute Minor Forces The mage may now change one force to another; flip positiveto negative, or create or destroy forces at will. One force may be transmuted into another;Radiation can be transmuted to sound, kinetic energy to electricity, heat into cold ordarkness into light. Unlike the Disciple level of this effect, a force may be dispelledinstead of redirected, and a force may be generated instead of concentrated. This effectmay be casted conjunctionally with the spheres of matter or life to transmute the patternsof those spheres to a force, or vice versa. The amount of forces that can be manipulated isalso determined by the General effect result table.



AdeptControl Major Forces This sphere works like the Initiate level of this sphere, but themaximum amount of force controllable by that level of forces is the minimum for thisone. The mage may focus the light of the sun onto a powerful laser, cloak football fieldswith prismatic illusions, redirect missiles in midflight, melt glaciers, or throw aroundmack trucks like rag dolls. The mage may also erect protective wards against these selfsame forces, fireproofing themselves or a building, protecting ships from storms, etc. Theparameters of the effect are generated by the general effect result table.

MasterTransmute Major Forces This level of forces master functions like the Disciple level ofthis sphere, but like the Adept level, it's maximum degree of control is this level'sminimum. The amount of control at this level is almost limitless. Technomancers haveused this level of control to create atomic explosions, leveling cities. A Master of forcescan conjure (as well as dispel and guard against) hurricanes, firestorms, tidal waves,earthquakes, and nuclear blasts.

5.4 LifeLife magick is a pattern magick. If your effect requires the creation of life patterns, youmust be an Initiate of Prime. As well, the Life sphere divides all life into 2 divisions simple life patterns, such as plants, virii, bacteria, insects, shellfish, anything invertebrate,and complex life patterns, such as cats, rats, puppy dogs, people, duckbilled platypus ses,humans, bears, etc..

ApprenticeSense Life The mage can read the patterns of life, learning a lot about it it's age, sex,race, etc. Any degree of success can be used with this level of Life, but the greater thedegree of success, the greater the detail of the information.

InitiateAlter Simple Patterns The mage can alter, heal or destroy any simple life pattern. Themage may change the shape, health or form of any simple life pattern. The base structureof the pattern cannot fundamentally change a tree will still be a tree, even if it haspoisonous fruit now. Healing aggravated damage is considered vulgar, always. Thenumber of health levels the mage can heal is determined by the general effect table.

Heal Self The mage can heal damage to their own life pattern. The number of healthlevels healed by this effect is determined by the general effect table.

DiscipleAlter Self The mage may now alter their own form. They cannot change theirfundamental form (human) (hopefully), but they change their appearance, sex, modifythemselves go give them fur, gills, or natural weaponry, or improve their stats. They mayreceive one new physical trait for every effect result rating of the effect, for the durationof the effect (any duration over one day causes aggravated damage due to PatternBleeding) (see below), but if this total goes over the maximum number of trait for theirrace, they gain a permanent point of paradox for each trait above their trait maximum. Ifthis modification is nullified, the permanent paradox point goes away. If the mage givesthemselves natural weaponry, and decide to make it permanent, they do not suffer frompattern bleeding, but still retain the permanent paradox points.Pattern Bleeding is caused by imperfect modifications of a mage's Life Pattern causing itto 'leak' raw quintessence. Every full day that a mage's pattern is modified by a magicalLife effect, the mage takes a level of aggravated damage which CANNOT BE HEALEDTHROUGH MAGICKAL MEANS. The mage may resist this damage if they are anInitiate of Prime and have some Quintessence to spend spending a point of quintessence



for every extra trait will nullify the effects of pattern bleeding for one day. If the mageuses experience to purchase the extra traits, they no longer suffer the effects of patternbleeding, but if the trait total is over the normal race maximum for the mage's race, thepermanent paradox points remain.

Heal Life As with the Initiate level of this effect, the mage may heal (or harm) othercomplex life patterns. The number of health levels healed (or inflicted) on the targetpattern is determined by the general effect table, and heal aggravated damage is stillvulgar. As well, vulgar life effects cause aggravated damage.

Transform/Create Simple Life Patterns The structure of simple life patterns are now atthe beck and call of the mage. The mage can turn them inside out, change one intoanother, or create them from other patterns, using conjunctional Matter, Forces or Primeeffects. Although nothing that the mage makes has a mind of it's own, but with mostsimple life patterns that is rarely a drawback. Instinctive reflexes may be imbued into thetarget, but that is the limit. The mass of the patterns the mage can alter or create isdetermined by the general effect result table.

AdeptAlter Complex Patterns The mage can control complex life patterns, such as humans,dogs, rats, cats, elephants, and platypus ses. They can change their form, give them weirdnew organs, heal them, or kill them. They may be imbued with new physical traits orhave physical traits removed for the duration of the effect (see Pattern Bleeding in AlterSelf, for it applies here as well). See the Initiate Level of this effect for the gamemechanics of modification. They may also completely change their appearance for theduration of the effect (see pattern bleeding).

Transform Self The Adept of Life may also alter their form to resemble that of any otherform of an equivalent size. They may become a deer, not a mouse. Special abilities alsodo not carry over without additional Life effects, and navigating in the new form doestake some time to do.

MasterTransform Complex Patterns The mage may now transform others in the same fashionas the Adept level of this power. These tests are considered resisted challenges. The samerules for Transform Self apply here.

Create Complex Forms The mage can now create complex life forms like humans, dogs,rats, cats, and platypus ses. Their creations have no minds or souls, but can be giveninstinctive reactions that can fake some instances of instinctual intelligence, and if thepattern was created by transmuting one pattern into the complex life pattern, it will stillretain the resonance of it's previous form. A handgun changed into a hamster will be astupid, yet bloodthirsty, hamster.

Perfect Metamorphosis The mage's control of transformation, however, is perfect whenapplied to themselves. There is no period of adjustment, and the mage retains their mindand magical abilities regardless of the form they assume. They also gain all the naturalabilities of their new form without extra Life effects.

5.5 MatterLike the previous two spheres, Matter is a pattern magick. If any effect you wish to castrequires you creating new matter, you must be an Initiate of Prime.

ApprenticeMatter Perceptions The mage can sense the patterns of Matter, letting them know their



composition, structure, if anything is hidden inside them, any property of matter. Anydegree of success will elicit information about the pattern (s) in question, but moresuccesses will merit more information.

InitiateBasic Transformation The mage may transform one base substance into another,without changing it's shape, temperature, or basic state (solid, liquid, gas). The moredrastic the transformation, the greater the effect result rating must be. Changing waterinto wine would require a rating of one, changing water into sulfuric acid would require arating of three. Turning sourdough into rye bread would require a rating of one, whereasturning bread into stone would require a rating of three. Casting this effectconjunctionally with the appropriate levels of other pattern magicks can transform onepattern to another, although this requires at least an effect rating of three. If the mattermage is an Initiate of Prime, they may create (or unravel) any simple, basic thingcomposed of one homogeneous substance. A boulder vaguely shaped like a woman ispossible, but a dainty china shepherdess is not. Complex artificial substances such asplutonium are also not possible until Master. Elaborate creations cannot be created untilAdept. Any matter created is considered at the ambient temperature of the surroundingsunless the effect is cast conjunctionally with Disciple Forces and Initiate Prime. The massof substance that can be created/Transformed is determined by the General effect resulttable.

DiscipleAlter Form The mage can change the shape or other properties of matter patterns, suchas boiling point, melting point, color, or density. These changes last for as long as theeffect duration, then resume their normal configuration afterwards. Permanent changesare not possible until Mastery has been achieved. The degree of change is at the whim ofthe mage, but must still be within the realm of common sense. The mass of substance thatcan be altered is determined by the General effect result table.

AdeptComplex Transmutation The mage may now perform radical changes to physicalmaterials and craft complex and intricate items involving several common substances of afew rare ones, as well as moving parts. Any sort of regular matter may be changed intoany other a squirt pistol into a loaded zip gun requires an effect result rating of three,whereas changing a dumpster into a tank requires an effect result rating of five. Theamount of mass that can be created or altered is determined by the area of effect chart.The complexity of whatever is created is still bound by the cutting edge of currenttechnology.

MasterAlter Properties The master of matter can make really weird stuff. The same as theprevious levels of transmutation, alteration and creation, but the rules are out the window.Silk as strong as steel, Steel you can fold up like paper, pieces of asphalt that conductelectricity, etc. The mage can dictate the properties like density, surface tension,melting/boiling point, viscosity, electromagnetic response, the whole kit and kaboodle.(Yes, transparent aluminum, Scotty). The mage can make whatever they damn well wantas determined by the General effect result table.

Pattern Disassociation This is a cool effect. You take two matter patterns and, if thiseffect is successfully casted, those two matter patterns cannot interact with each other atall they will pass through each other as if the other wasn't there. Both patterns must bematter patterns, and of a size equivalent to what is determined by the general effect resulttable.



5.6 Mind

ApprenticeSense Thoughts and Emotions The mage can sense the thought around them. They cannot yet read them, but can get general impressions about the mind of those around them.If the mage obtains any effect result rating, they may read the target's aura to determinetheir emotional state. The mage may also be able to sense psychic impressions left onobjects. By obtaining any level of success on an effect, they may sense 'good' or 'bad'vibes about an object or area. This includes the resonance of objects, like Tass or a Node.

Empower Self The apprentice of Mind has a higher degree of control over their ownmind. Eidetic memory, lightningfast computation, mindoverbody control of biologicalprocesses, everything of that sort is available to the apprentice of Mind. They may changetheir emotional state of mind, trains of thought, speed up or slow down their rate ofthought, edit their own memories, control biological processes, etc.The mage may also form a mental barrier to prevent mental intrusion. The effect resultrating of the mental barrier subtracts it's rating from any attempt to read the mage'sthoughts or aura. This also affects nonmagical aura perceptions, allowing the mage toadd twice the effect rating of the magical effect to their mental trait total while the barrieris active.This power can also be used to defend against nonmagical mind effects, ie, Dominate,Presence, Obfuscate, etc, the mage must be at an equivalent power level to even attemptit. For example, the correlation between other supernatural powers and Mage spheres isBasic = Apprentice, Disciple = Intermediate and Master = Advanced. What this allowsthe mage to do is retest a nonmagical mind control power that succeeded against them,assuming the mage is of a suitable level of mastery, and has been under the influence ofone of these powers before. The retest is considered a magical effect, and so the positiveand negative influences on a magical effect may be utilized, and the mage uses four timestheir Arete total instead of their mental traits for the purposes of the retest.

InitiateSubliminal Impulse The mage may transmit a simple command to their target, whichaffects them in a very insidious manner. If the mage attains an effect result rating higherthan their target's willpower, the mage may issue a subliminal impulse to them whichthey must obey. The need to go to the bathroom, the opinion of someone, a sudden idea,etc. The command cannot be obviously suicidal or go against the nature of the target.

Read Surface Thoughts The mage can now read the surface thoughts of minds, as wellas sense memories attached to objects (basic psychometry). By getting an effect resultrating higher than the target's willpower, the mage may read whatever is on the surface ofthe target's mind. Note that the mage cannot form a mental link with this level of power each reading requires a separate magical effect.

Window Dressing With a successful magical effect, the mage may erect fake mentalstructures, such as changing their surface thoughts, or auras. Every effect result ratingallows the mage to modify one aspect of their surface thoughts or color of aura to fool orconfuse those attempting to read them.

DiscipleMental Link The mage may communicate freely with someone by establishing a mentallink with them. Once the mental link is established, it can only be ceased by the castingmage, or by the effect duration running out. If the subject is willing, no test is required. Ifthe subject is not willing, their willpower rating must be overcome with an effect resultrating. Once the connection is established, the two parties may communicate freely to oneanother, using either words or mental imagery. The casting mage may try to read the



mind of the target, and can do so by beating them in a mental challenge. The castingmage may also project perceptual illusions into the mind of the other party and, if theybeat them in a mental challenge, the target believes that illusion to be true. Illusions maybe of any perception that is deemed necessary.

Walk Among Dreams The mage may also make journeys into the dreams of others. Bygetting a higher effect result rating than the target has willpower, the mage may enter thedream of their target and run amok. This may be dangerous, however, as the dreamer canaffect the mage as well while in their dream, and nasty beasties sometimes live in thedreams of sleepers, and do like to be disturbed.

AdeptControl Conscious Mind At this level, the mage can now control the thoughts ofanother. Once a mental link is established, the mage gains control of the target. They maysend complex commands to the target which must be obeyed, even suicidal actions oractions that would violate the target's nature. The mage can also change the memory oftarget, or may implant mental barriers or blocks, cure or create mental imbalances, oralter the target's aura to display color and textures of the mage's choosing. Each change inthe mind of the target is a separate magical effect. If the effect wears off from theduration expiring, the target mind reasserts itself. The thoughts and memories remainintact, but their Demeanor will remain in the state the mage left it in.

Astral Projection The mage may make short excursions into the penumbra by leavingtheir dream. Every effect result rating allows the mage to leave their body for 10 minutes.They may return to their body at any time.

MasterControl Subconscious At this level of mastery, the mage may completely rewrite anindividual's personality, not only modifying their thoughts and memories, but rewritingtheir subconscious personality as well. A mental link must still be established, and eachmodification is still a magical effect, but any aspect of the target's mind may be modifiedat this level.

Untether This level allows the mage to unattach their mind from their body and leave itan empty shell while they transcend to higher levels of intellectual existence. Read thedescription in the book for a description of what happens to the untethered mind (or theBook of Madness for a discussion on the High Umbra). Untethering your mind requires amagical effect result rating of at least three. Reattaching yourself to an empty shell is thesame. Invading another's mind and splicing the two cords together is a magical effect inwhich the rating of the effect must be higher than the targets willpower.

Forge Psyche The mage may now create another conscious, rational mind from nothing,and implant it into another object. The mind will be whatever the mage wishes it to be. Ithas a number of mental and social traits equal to the effect result rating of the effect, to anormal human maximum. The mage themselves may add extra mental traits tothemselves via the same process as the Life Effect Alter Self.

5.7 Prime

ApprenticeEtheric Senses The mage can sense quintessence and the amount of quintessence that isbeing stored. The mage can sense the free quintessence whether it is stored in a talisman,stored in a pattern, stored in an avatar, coming out of a node, or in the form of tass) andthe amount of quintessence that is there. Sensing Tass or a node is the easiest, onlyrequiring an effect rating one one. Sensing quintessence stored in a talisman or prime



stored using Store Prime requires a rating of two, sensing quintessence stored in any otherpattern or an Avatar requires three.

Store Prime (immediate) The normal amount of quintessence a mage can store withoutInitiate rank in Prime is determined by their avatar. The Apprentice of prime may use thisSphere power to store excess quintessence on the outside of their body. This allows themage to store a maximum number of 20 points of free quintessence both on their bodyand in their avatar. The mage may store a number quintessence equal to the result ratingof the magical effect, and may only use this effect once per quintessence source. Thisstored quintessence is not stored in their avatar, so this effect stores quintessence aboveand beyond their avatar rating.

InitiateWeave Idyllic Force The mage has not attained some level of control over the shiftingpatterns of prime, and may now infuse this magical energy into objects or divert smallstreams of the stuff. The mage may infuse a weapon with Primal force, allowing it to toaggravated damage to supernatural creatures if the mage attains a minimum effect ratingof three. This enchantment lasts as long as the duration of the effect, and then wears off.Each time the weapon is used to inflict an aggravated level of damage, one point ofquintessence must be spent. If the weapon enchanted is being used by a nonmage, thenthe casting mage may 'charge' the effect with a number of quintessence points by castingthis conjunctionally with Channel Quintessence. In this case, the charged quintessence isused instead of the user's quintessence. Also, the mage may divert a small amount of aLife pattern's quintessence flow away, causing a great amount of pain and disruption tothem, and they start to flicker in and out of reality. Upon successful casting, the target ofthe spell is stunned and cannot function for the duration of the effect, which is effectivelyone rating lower than normal. The target may spend a point of quintessence to smooththis ripple effect out (Or a Disciple of prime may spend it for them with any degree ofsuccess on their magical effect). The target may also spend a willpower trait to allowthemselves to act for 10 minutes.

Fuel Pattern This is needed to create any of the Pattern magicks: Forces, Life andMatter. If a mage wishes to create a pattern, the pattern magick must be castedconjunctionally with this level of prime, or else it does not work.

DiscipleChannel Quintessence The mage may act as a conduit for free quintessence (for adiscussion on the difference between Raw and free quintessence, read the description forthis effect in Mage:The Ascension, 2nd Edition). The mage may channel up to five pointsof free quintessence from one pattern to either themselves or another pattern for everyeffect rating result they acquire.

Create Talisman (immediate) The mage may now create talismans. To create a talismantakes time, a node, and usually a horizon realm.First off, the talisman must have a pattern into which the power will be placed. This canbe any pattern, but a forces pattern is not suggested (Unless it's been frozen in time,which is kinda cool, but anyway). As soon as the pattern is located, the pattern must beprepared to be able to contain magical effects. This is done with a vulgar Adept PrimeRote, which requires expending a *PERMANENT* point of willpower and accumulatinga total number of effect result ratings of 10 or more, each magical effect taking a a day. After this, the talisman is ready to receive it's capacity to work magick. This action iswhat requires Disciplelevel Prime to do. The mage focuses 10 points of quintessence forevery Arete trait the talisman is to have. Every 10 points of quintessence must be slowlyfocused in over a complete day. A mage cannot create a talisman with more Arete traitsthan they have themselves. After this, the mage can add whatever effects the talisman is



to have. Each effect must be considered static in the realm the talisman is being createdin, and requires one point of quintessence per Mastery level of the effect, and a completedays' uninterrupted work. At the end of the day, the mage does the tests that normallywould be required to cast the desired effect. The mage must accumulate a total magicaleffect rating of 4 or more before the effect is successfully put into the talisman. Note thata talisman cannot have more effects than it has Arete Traits.After all of the effects have been put into the talisman, the mage must initially charge itwith an Adept level Prime effect, which mimics Channel Quintessence for gamemechanics. The talisman can hold five times it's Mastery level in quintessence.

AdeptExpel Base Energy The mage may pull raw quintessence out of static patterns, changingthe degree to which they manifest in reality. The raw quintessence is recycled back intothe Universal pool of quintessence, and cannot be captured by the mage. The mage mayextract the quintessence from the pattern and have it fade into nothingness. This affectcan be used conjunctionally with the Initiate level of the pattern magick to dissolvecertain parts of a pattern, otherwise the entire pattern is affected. So solids could becomeinsubstantial, a magnet could have only one pole, remove a chemical's ability to formnuclear bonds with other chemicals, or cause an object to lose it's weight while sillremaining solid.Note that effects the recycle the raw quintessence of patterns is considered a damagingmagical effect, which does damage as per the general effect result table, and if the effectis vulgar, the effect does aggravated damage.

MasterAlter Flow The mage may control established flows of quintessence, such as those thatflow between a life pattern and the pool of quintessence. As with Expel Base Energy, thequintessence is recycled back into the universal quintessence pool. The mage mayattempt to extinguish the spark of life within a pattern, having it fall dead then fade intonothingness. The amount of damage done by this effect is determined by the generaleffect result table, and this damage is aggravated (if the effect is vulgar). A mage withInitiate level Life knowledge may cast this effect conjunctionally with Initiate level Lifeto affect only part of the Life pattern, otherwise the effect affects the entire pattern. Aswell, the mage may instantly recharge their avatar, whether they are in a node or not, butcasting this effect vulgarly. The amount of quintessence gained is equal to the effectresult rating. Lastly, a mage may channel a quintessence blast in a way that nullifiesparadox energy not stored within a pattern. A number of freefloating paradox is dispelledequal to the effect result rating of the magical effect.

5.8 SpiritAny effects which need to pierce the gauntlet must have an effect result rating sufficientenough to pierce the gauntlet of the area. See the Gauntlet Penetration table.

ApprenticeSpirit Sight/Sense The initiate of Spirit may send their perceptions into the Umbra. Byattaining an effect result rating sufficient enough to pierce the gaunt they can send theirperceptions into the umbra. To have umbral excursions, go grab a narrator. Note thatwhile your perceptions are in the Umbra, they are not in your body, so whateverperceptions you send into the umbra (you don't need to send them all) you cannot use inphysical reality.To move your senses in the Umbra, you have to move your physical body (or useCorrespondence). The mage may also detect the auras of beings, and depending on thedegree of success, the mage can read a target's aura to determine what type of creaturethey are. Spirits, ghosts and Wraiths require am effect result rating of one, Shapeshifters



require a result rating of two, whereas anything else requires three. The mage may alsodetermine the gauntlet level of an area by winning a simple test.

InitiateTouch Spirit The mage may briefly touch the other side of the gauntlet with this level.The mage can pick up a fetish stick dropped by a Garou, push a spirit out of a room, or hitone over the head with something from the Umbra. Objects may not be brought over thegauntlet yet, simply manipulated from the other side if the mage attains a sphere effectrating sufficient to overcome the gauntlet of the area.

Call Spirit The mage may also send their voice through the gauntlet with the same gamemechanics as Touch Spirit. If the mage succeeds, they may ask the spirit to come to them.The spirit does not necessarily have to come to the calling, however.

Manipulate Gauntlet The mage may also change the level of the gauntlet in an area in aminor fashion. Every effect result rating will raise or lower the gauntlet rating of the areaby one for the duration of the effect. The mage cannot lower the gauntlet below 4 withthis effect, however.

DisciplePierce Gauntlet The mage can physically transport themselves and their possessions tothe Umbra. By achieving an effect result rating sufficient to defeat the gauntlet of thearea, the mage may transform themselves and their possessions to ephemera, the stuff ofspirit, but which will possess a kind of a glow which denizens of the Umbra will detect asbelonging to a living being. After the mage reaches the penumbra, they can go whereverthey like (assuming they have Cosmology or a spirit guide), up to the borders which markthe Horizon and the Deep Umbra. In other words, go grab a narrator.

Rouse and Lull Spirit The mage may now also attempt to contact spirits that are 'asleep'.By defeating the gauntlet rating in effect result ratings, the mage may contact spirits thathave been out of contact for extended periods of time. The spirit, however, may notappreciate this disturbance. The mage may summon angry spirits to attack a person,which does the mage's damage rating according to the General effect table. Note that thisdamage is aggravated.

AdeptRend Gauntlet/Seal Breach A larger version of Manipulate Gauntlet, the mage may nowraise or lower the gauntlet rating of the area to whatever they want, determined by theeffect result rating of their effect. Note that tearing holes in the gauntlet is quite vulgarand, in most situations, also quite stupid. This effect can be used to trap beings in thegauntlet. By pulsing the gauntlet of the ara, the mage may trap a being in the gauntlet. Ifthe mage can obtain an effect result rating greater than the gauntlet level of the area, thepoor fool will be trapped inside the gauntlet until they are released by some nice spirittraveler. Beings trapped in the gauntlet in this fashion appear as ghostlike imagesfloating in midair near the area where they were imprisoned.

Bind Spirit The mage may also compel a spirit to do the mage's bidding. if the mage canaccumulate an effect result rating higher than the spirit's power, then the spirit must dothe mage's bidding for the duration of the effect. Note that when this wears off, the spiritwill be free, and will probably not be very happy. An angry spirit can be bound into aperson, turning the person into a living fetish, doing the mage's damage rating asdetermined by the general effect table, and the pain it causes may stun the opponent if theamount of damage dealt is higher than the number of stamina related traits the targetpossesses. If this is the case, the target is stunned for a number of challenges (roughly 4seconds) equal to the difference between the amount of damage done and their number of



staminarelated traits. This effect may also be used to make fetishes. The mage mustaccumulate a total effect result rating of 10+, with each magical effect casting taking aday. When this is done, the item is capable of housing spiritual entities. A mage may alsopetition a spirit to inhabit them and give the mage access to the powers that the spirit has.If the mage succeeds in breaching the gauntlet, and either gains the spirit's consent toallow this, or defeats it in a Binding effect, the mage has access to all of the spirit'scharms, and one or two of the spirit's abilities (waterbreathing for nixies, plantblooming for dryads, etc). As well, the mage effectively gains four Cosmology traits, andthree extra physical traits appropriate for the spirit. While inhabited by the spirit, themage cannot cast any magical effects. If the spirit does not wish to leave, the mage mayattempt to banish the spirit from their body by spending a Willpower trait and winning anumber of simple tests equal to the spirit's willpower rating.Lastly, this effect may be used to Exorcize spirits. By spending a willpower trait andwinning a number of simple tests equal to the spirit's willpower, the mage may banish aspirit back to it's point of origin. Disciple Prime can assist in this every magical effectresult rating in the Prime effect counts as one successful test against the spirit'swillpower. Master

Forge Ephemera At this level, the mage may create and destroy fields of spirit. TheMaster of Spirit may heal spirit's power (The number of Power healed is determined bythe Healing category in the general effect table). They may also Fabricate Domains in theUmbra, which are described in the Book of Chantries and in the Mage book. Lastly, thedreaded Gilgul rite is possible at this level of mastery. A Master of Spirit may attack amage's Avatar. This is always considered vulgar. A Master of spirit must inflict twice theavatars' rating in damage to destroy an Avatar. Scary stuff.

Outwards Journeys The Master of Spirit can break through Gaia's horizon and cantraverse the Deep Umbra. The Mage must be in the Horizon to do this, and they mustaccumulate a magical effect result rating of ten to pierce the Horizon and enter the DeepUmbra. If the mage uses an Anchorhead, the result rating need only be a five. In otherwords, grab a narrator. In order to travel in the spirit, the mage must first create a spiritfield around them to keep them alive in the near Umbra. This is done using FabricateSpirit, and as long as the spirit field exists (ie, it's effect duration). When it runs out, well,it's time to make a new character.

5.9 Time

ApprenticeTime Sense The mage intuitively knows what time it is, regardless of where they are,and can sense 'weird stuff' with respect to time (Programmed events, slow time fields,etc.). The higher the magical effect result rating, the more sensitive the mage is to thetime effects.

InitiatePast/Future Sight The mage can send their perceptions backwards and forwards in time.While their perceptions are not in the present, they cannot sense the present only thepast. When they send their senses back in time, they see what happened in that area in thepast. When they send their perceptions into the future, they get what will *PROBABLY*happen in the future the future is not set, and anything can happen. The length of timethe mage can send their perceptions is determined by the Time Effect table. Note thatsome areas of time may be guarded or warded against peeping toms from the future, sotimescrying mages be forewarned. (Punny!)

DiscipleTime Contraction/Dilation The mage can slow down time in an area. Everything in that



area moves slower looking in at it from the outside, and looking outside from it,everything moves quicker. When someone is in a slow time field, they move muchslower. Every effect result rating above the second of a time effect determines how manyextra followup attacks the target of a Time Dilation effect gets or, in the case of a TimeContraction, how many challenges go by before the target of the Time Dilation gets toperform an action. A vampire may use Celerity to counter this, with each extra followupattack countering one rating of the dilation effect. The same holds for a Garou's rage.Lastly, the mage may also cast a dilation effect on a target to allow them to automaticallypreempt a physical action taken up against them. When compared to a Vampire'sAlacrity Discipline, the effect rating of the mage is compared to the Discipline level ofthe Vampire. These lasts for the effect's duration, but extended use of them, as well asattaining 3 or more extra follow up attacks makes this effect vulgar.

AdeptTime Determinism (special) The mage may make absolute shifts in the rate at whichtime flows in an area of space. (Or, if casted conjunctionally with a Disciple level patternmagick, a particular pattern). The mage may freeze time in the area affected for a lengthof time determined by the Time Effect table. The mage may freeze an event in time, suchas a cup falling, or a magical effect, or a message, or a bucket above a door. Static reality,however, will interpose and cancel a frozen time field if something else affects it. Ifsomeone were to come up and grab the cup hovering in midair, the time field wouldreturn to normal. As well, the mage may increase the rate at which time progresses.

MasterTime Immunity The mage can now pluck themselves out of time. Each effect resultrating allows the mage to freeze time for 10 minutes, and during this duration, no onemay do anything until the mage either calls 'Continue', or the time duration for the effectruns out. It may be more practical for longer durations to just remove yourself from thegame and go tell a narrator what you did over the length of time in your stay. Whileoutside of Time, he mage may affect reality in the normal sense, but reality is frozen.This effect can be cast conjunctionally with Disciple Life or Matter to bring objects ofother people with you outside of time. Anything brought with the master of time cannotaffect anything while outside of the time stream only the casting mage can. If the Masterleaves them there, two perspectives occur. From the abandoned person's perspective, theyremain in that frozen point in time a length of time as determined by the Time Effectchart, trapped in a timeless hell. From the perspective of everyone inside the timestream,they appear a moment later, having aged hundreds of years.

Future Travel (immediate) The mage may move things into the future. The mage mustachieve a magical effect result rating sufficient enough to jump the timespan desired. Arating of one skips the mage up to 10 minutes, two skips the mage up to an day, threeskips the mage up to a week, four skips the mage up to a month, five skips the mage up toa year, six skips the mage up to a decade, seven skips the mage up to century, eight skipsthe mage up to 500 years, nine skips the mage up to 1000 years and ten skips the magewherever the hell that want. This effect can be cast conjunctionally with a Disciple levelpattern magick to skip the objects affected ahead in time that far. That area disappears inthe current time, and reappears in the future. The effect can be canceled at any time,'pulling back' the item sent into the future back to the present.

Character Development

6.1 New Traits XP costs



Mental/Physical/Social trait/New Ability 1 XPWillpower 2 XPArete Traits 4*current rating, plus an Arete SeekingNew Sphere Level Apprentice and Initiate 4 XP/1 DayDisciple and Adept 7XP/1 WeekMaster 10xp/1 MonthLower the XP cost for a mage's sphere specialty by 1. Note that Hollow Ones and Orphans do not receive the XP bonus for spherespecialty.

6.2 Foci for newly acquired SpheresAny new sphere achieved by a Mage has a foci which is required by the mage to castmagical effects for that sphere. Even if the mage has enough Arete traits to ignore thatfoci, they are still forced to use that foci for the first 2 weeks of that new knowledge.After those 2 weeks pass, they may choose to ignore the foci. When casting a magicaleffect, act out how your foci is being used to create the magical effect. This has potentialto add a lot of good cheese to the game, with Sons of Ether wearing funny goggles,dancing Euthanatos, chanting Order of Hermes mages. Ham it up.

6.3 Studying/TeachingStudy points can no longer be gained (although you can use any study points you haveaccumulated during the game). If you wish to study a tome or get another mage (with thedesired knowledge) to assist your learning a new sphere level: The time required to learn the new sphere is increased by 1 week. This week must be spent with a daily 4 hours of solid reading/ teaching. If you are goingto use your character during this timespan, you must study/teach for at least 1/2 hour ofgame play. You may cram, which lowers the time to learn to 3 game days, but you cannot bringyour character in during that time.If this cycle is disturbed, the mage must immediate win a simple test or have to start overagain from the beginning. A research trait may be expended to retest a failed test in thecase of studying a tome, or the teacher of the mage may expend an instruction trait toallow the mage to retest. At the end of this timespan, the mage gets a number of complex tests equal to the ratingof the tome they are studying, OR the teachers' rating in the topic sphere. Each successlowers the XP cost of the learning process by 1 to a minimum of 1.

Appendix

Appendix A: Magespecific Merits and Flaws

Avatar (1 or 2 pt merit)This merit gives the mage a more potent avatar, allowing them to work morepowerful effects through channeling more quintessence into an effect, assuming themage has the quintessence. Every point of this merit increases a mage's avatarrating by 2, to a maximum of 5.Node (15 pt merit)The mage starts the game in possession of a node whose rating is equal to thenumber of points spent in the merit. For a full description and discussion on nodesand what they do, see Mage:The Ascension. The conversion to LARP in terms oftass output is exactly the same.magical Library (15 pt merit)The mage starts with a body of information containing both occult and magical



information. The mage may use this library to both research information and assistthem in learning spheres. See the Assisted Learning section for more informationon how to use this merit.Talisman (variable pt merit)The mage starts the game with a Talisman. Talisman creation must be done with aStoryteller at the time of character creation. First of all, the player must create abackground for the talisman. Why it was made, who made it, when it was made,etc. After that, they must decide what effects the talisman is to have. It costs twotraits per initial Mastery level. This gives the talisman the base number of Aretetraits necessary for that level of Mastery (ie, Apprentice:1 /Initiate:2 /Disciple:3/Adept:4 /Master:5). Any additional Arete traits may be purchased with anadditional merit.With that decided, a talisman cannot have more effects than it's Arete, and thetalisman must have a sufficient Arete to cast the effects placed within it.Only Awakened beings can use most talismans (normally only mages can operatetalismans, but the storyteller may make exceptions at their discretion.) When atalisman's power is being used, a minimum of one point of it's internalQuintessence is spent, and it gets a magical effect test.Paradox created by the talisman is passed on to the user.Arcane (15 pt merit)This merit makes it very difficult to track down a mage. Paper trails seem todisappear, no one remembers the mage passing, records of passing are destroyed infreak meteor showers, etc.. All tests involving tracking the mage down have theirdifficulties increased by 3. As well, the mage has a tendency to be ignored whennot bringing attention to themselves. This power is analogous to the Werewolf gift'Blur of the Milky Eye', and interested players should look the power up inWerewolf: The Apocalypse. For the purposes of seeing through the Arcane of amage, the mage is considered to have twice their Arcane rating in traits.Permanent Paradox flaw (26 pt flaw)The mage starts the game with a permanent paradox flaw. This is assumed to havebeen accrued before the game started. The level of the paradox flaw determines thetrait level of the flaw. See the section on Paradox for a description of Paradox, orlook in Mage: The Ascension.Sanctum/magical Lab (15 pt merit)The mage starts the game with a magical laboratory. This laboratory is paradigmspecific, so a Verbena could not do research in a Son of Ether's lab, etc. As well,the lab's paradigm is tailored to the mage's paradigm at it's creation. In game terms,a one or two rating sanctum has all sphere effects of the mage's sphere specialtytailored to the mage's paradigm be considered coincidental. A rating three or fourhas all the effects of the mage's sphere specialty tailored to the mage's paradigm beconsidered static, and all the rest of the spheres being cast in the mage's paradigmbe considered coincidental. Lastly, a rating five sanctum has all the magical effectsof the mage's paradigm be considered static.

Appendix B

New Influence ComputerThe Computer Influence allows access to and control over the nonmagical aspects of allglobal telecommunications, focusing mainly on the users and running of it.

Computer Influence

Trait Requirement Example Influence 1 Contact anyone with Computer influence Find out major trends in telecommunications/net.culture



2 Find contraband information (anarchy files, etc) Get pirate data Modify individual telephone services (register a residential phone as a pay phones, cut off services, etc..) 3 Arrange for fake phone calls/faxes/email/etc Arrange for small‐scale lags and crashes Modify telephone services in a regional area (register all residential phones as pay phones, cut off all services, etc..) 4 Bring down local network access Disable city‐wide telephone services 5 Affect nation‐wide telecommunication access (Major TELCOS/net providers/satellite communications)

Well, that's it for my mage rules. If you like them, that's cool please mail me and tell mewhy; I need the ego stroke. If you hate them, that's cool; please mail me and tell me why.Maybe we can fix them so you can gain instant fame and glory. (or not ;>).Gil Richard ([email protected])

This page will be modified as I see fit and time permits. Good job, Gil.Daniel B Utecht



Documents

Mage LARP Rules