By Impalpable Deisgn

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5

Dice Modifier Situation

Each Paradox after the first made for the same caster within the same scene. This bonus accumalates with each roll.The Mage is casting a roteThe Mage is using a magical tool while castingOne or more sleepers witnesses the magic (vulgar magic only)

+1

-1-1

+2

Success Severity1 Havoc 2A2 Bedlam 2B3 Anomaly 2C4 Branding 2D 5+ Manifestation 2E

Wisdom Bedlam Anomaly Branding, Manifestation

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Havoc The mage’s spell is no longer under his control and isconsidered a Havoc spell. It affects a randomly chosen target (or targets, if multiple targets were factored into the casting) instead of the caster’s declared target(s). The caster himsel is included in this pool of random victims. The new target must be of the same type — if the mage targeted a living person, then the pool of random targets include only living people. If the mage’s target is an object, then only objects areaffected. If the caster is the only viable target present, he is the target of his own spell (unless he was its originally intended target, in which case the spell affects a target of a different kind, such as an object). The new target — including the mage himself if he is the spell’s new target — can contest or resist the spell if it is normally allowed (see the spell’s description). In addition, the mage’s Wisdom is rolled:

Dramatic Failure: The spell’s desired effect is reversed. Ablessing becomes a curse, a magical perception spell blindsthe mage to all resonance, or an attack spell helps the targetinstead.

Failure: The spell’s desired effect is reversed, as above.

Success: The spell’s effect is unaltered.

Exceptional Success: The spell’s effect is unaltered andthe mage gains a +2 dice bonus for any attempts he mightmake to dispel the Havoc spell.Since the spell is no longer under the caster’s control hecannot dismiss it at will.A Havoc lasts for only as long as the spell’s Duration. Notethat spells with a concentration-based Duration becometransitory; the Storyteller rolls a single die and the result isthe number of turns the spells lasts.

See Page 268

1 Mild derangement2 Mild derangement3 Mild derangement4 Severe derangement5 Severe derangement

In addition, the player rolls Wisdom:

Dramatic Failure: The mage’s madness is contagious. One other mage per dot of the invoker’s Presence also suffers from the Bedlam derangement for as long as the Paradox lasts(based on the invoker’s Wisdom, not the victim’s). Randomly choose targets from within the spell’s range, including any sympathetic targets. The target may contest the Bedlam with a reflexive Resolve + Compo-sure roll. If successful, he is unaffected.

Failure: As above, but only one other target is affected.

Success: Only the mage is affected by Bedlam.

Exceptional Success: Only the mage is affected by Bedlam. See Page 269

Anomaly Reality cracks open and something impossible takes place.The area affected is usually a radius around the caster of 20 yards per dot of the highest Arcanum used in the spell thatinvokes the Paradox. Anomalies are not affected by Sleeper Disbelief. The important thing about Anomalies is that they’re unpredictable. The Storyteller chooses their effects and defines the rules on how they affect the area and/or characters. Examples are provided below based on the invoker’s Path realm, but they’re just that — examples. Storytellers should get creative and strive to confound the caster’s expectations, even using different criteria than Path realms. Note that if two Anomaly in the same area in the same scene, its effects are worsened.

-A storm brews or the weather acts crazy, raining hail in clear skies.-The electrical system goes haywire, shorting out anything plugged into the local grid.-Mana cannot be drawn from any Hallow in the area of the Anomaly for the duration of the Paradox.-Tass cannot be converted to Mana in the area of the Anomaly for the duration of the Paradox.-Mana cannot be solidified into tass in the area of the Anomaly for the duration of the Paradox.-Resonance becomes negatively aspected. This is a lasting effect.-Death spells suffer a –2 penalty (Death is the Aether’s Inferior Ar-canum).

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•-Ill-luck taints the scene, causing everyone there to suffer a reverse of a rote action effect (see pp. 134-135 of the World of Darkness Rulebook) on their rolls: re-roll successes once, not to add new successes to the total but to replace rolled successes if the second roll results in failures. For example, a roll results in three successes and two failures. The successes are re-rolled, and this time the dice yield only two successes.•-People get a powerful sense of deja vu over and over again. They repeat tasks they just accomplished unless they succeed in a Wits + Composure roll.-People and/or things move in slow motion while time outside the area of the Intrusion passes normally.-Forces spells suffer a –2 penalty (Forces is Arcadia’s Inferior Arcanum).A

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Willpower Memory1-4 The Sleeper completely forgets that he ever saw anything unusual.5-7 He forgets what he sees but has a feeling of unease. He might remember events later as if they were something he dreamed. Or he misinterprets what he sees; he might mistake a spell for a technological phenomenon or anything to explain it away in “normal” terms.8-10 He remembers everything.

-Repressed or denied thoughts and emotions rise up and plague everyone’s mind. Any Social rolls suffer a –2 dice penalty.-People become lost and disoriented easily (–2 on any Survival rolls to orient oneself).-Objects sometimes roll uphill or sideways.-Destinations that are close take longer to get to than places farther away, as if they were at least twice the distance apart.-Matter spells suffer a –2 penalty (Death is Pandemonium’s Inferior Arcanum).

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-Everyone on the scene becomes enervated, lacking energy. It is an effort to perform physical actions (–2 to all such rolls), even walking. Speed is halved.-Flowers wither, milk curdles, animals are skittish and on edge.-Some objects become ephemeral, existing only in Twilight. If 3+ dots were used in the spell that invoked the Paradox, objects might be transferred across the Gauntlet.-Malevolent spirits in Twilight are attracted to the scene, or if 3+ dots were used in the spell that invoked the Paradox, they cross over from the Gauntlet.-Slumbering spirits in objects awaken and turn against their wielders.-Mind spells suffer a –2 penalty (Mind is the Primal Wild’s Inferior Arcanum).

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-Ghosts in Twilight are attract-ed to the scene. They are usually malevolent or aroused to anger by the magic that draws them.-Darkness becomes a palpable force, dimming the light even during day.-Things become delicate and breakable (ignore one point of Durability and armor when strik-ing objects).-Spirit spells suffer a –2 penalty (Spirit is Stygia’s Inferior Arca-num).

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The mage’s body is afflicted by his misuse of magic. He wears the spell’s warped skein on his skin.Arcanum DotsArcanum Dots Brand1 Uncanny Nimbus2 Witch’s Mark3 Disfigurement4 Bestial Feature5 Inhuman Feature

The Storyteller should create an appropriate Brand as needed, one that seems to symbolically represent the character’s Vice. Maybe his tail is forked or his eyes glow. Or he might be surrounded by a cloud of flies (Gluttony or Greed), a miasma that causes plants to wither (Sloth or Envy), a herd of crawling vermin (Pride or Lust), or a pall of smoke (Wrath). He suffers a –5 dice penalty to all Social rolls (except Intimidation Skill uses).

Manifestation An entity from the Abyss enters into the Fallen World. It manifests somewhere within the area around the mage who invoked it, usually no farther away than 10 yards per dot of the caster’s Gnosis. It does not necessarily appear withinsight. It might manifest below the mage, in the sewers, or in an unseen room beyond the nearest wall.Arcanum Dots Entity1 The manifestation is a gremlin or imp, a minor spirit with a dark sense of humor that troubles the mage for a short time. It is of Rank 1 (with 5-8 Attribute dots) or 2 (9-14 Attribute dots). This entity exists in Twilight and cannot cause direct harm, but it can cause any number of minor problems. It has some influence over the material world, like a poltergeist. It can open and close doors, tip things over, and send small objects flying across a room.2 A more powerful and menacing entity (Rank 3, with 15-25 Attribute dots) manifests in the material realm. It is malicious and rarely humorous. It has a keen sense of timing, causes various hassles and has powers like those of gremlins, above.3 Entities of this intensity are more complex and capable (Rank 3 or 4, with 26-35 Attribute dots), driven less by pure instinct and emotion and more by thought and planning. They are also powerful enough to manifest a physical form and interact with the material world. They are cunning enough to pretend to have the mage’s interests at heart, while leading him astray. The promises of such creatures are not to be trusted.4 The entity’s power is equal to that of the mage in every respect. Such entities range from murderous monsters that stalk and kill the mage’s loved ones (or enemies, pinning the blame on the mage) to seductive manifestations of the mage’s darkest desires. Some entities this powerful, called doppelgangers, appear exactly like the mage who spawned them. Doppelgangers never appear in the same place as their double. They are always elsewhere, causing mischief. The only means of banishing a doppelganger is for the mage to confront it directly (whereupon is vanishes). Doppelgangers must be restrained in order to do this. They can sense the approach of their double and flee if at all possible.5 The mage draws the attention of a truly powerful entity (Rank 4 or 5, with 36-45 Attribute dots). The entity may try to destroy the mage or possess his body. Alternately, it may attempt to seduce the mage with promises of power, knowledge and the fulfillment of his desires. The entity remains in the world until either banished by the mage who summoned it or until the mage’s death. In the past, the orders have sanctioned the execution of mages responsible for calling such entities into reality.

When a Sleeper encounters magic or the supernatural, he cannot usually cope with what he sees. Supernatural disturbances trouble Sleepers who witness them — until the embrace of Disbelief erases all evidence of the occurrence from their minds. Mages debate endlessly about why this is so. Ancient records have no references to any such effect before the fall of Atlantis and the division of the worlds. It seems that human souls, cut off from the Supernal World and exiled to the Fallen World, cannot cope with the truth of magic. Something violently tries to keep their eyes shut. When a Sleeper witnesses a vulgar act of magic, it always triggers Disbelief. The Sleeper’s reaction depends on his Willpower. In many cases, the effects alter or amend the Sleeper’s memory of the event, but humans have been known to react in unpredictable ways. If multiple humans witness the same vulgar act of magic, each interprets it differently according to his Willpower and the resources his unconscious mind uses to explain the event.