Mage Rules

NOTE: This page is a work in progress.

Spheres

Arete

This is how you must have your Spheres spread, depending on your Arete. It also dictates how long a ritual roll takes (usually). If you have questions, please feel free to ask.

Arete	Ritual Time	Sphere spread
1	3 hours	1, 1, 1
2	3 hours	2, 1, 1, 1, 1
3	1 hour	3, 2, 2, 1, 1
4	1 hour	4, 4, 3, 2, 2, 1
5	30 minutes	5, 4, 3, 3, 2, 1
6	30 minutes	5, 5, 4, 4, 3, 2, 1
7	10 minutes	5, 5, 5, 4, 4, 3, 2, 1

Justifications

We do not ask for a lot of justification, but on raising these things, we do ask the following:

Spheres: One paragraph on a quick story of how you did it. What happened? Who you learned it from and how you learned it is important to see if it affects your paradigm.

Arete: Give us dates on when you can play out a seeking, and describe your last successful and unsuccessful seeking. What did they look like? What is the overall goal(s) of your avatar for your character? What would your avatar like to achieve in this incarnation?

Paradigms

When casting a spell, telling the ST HOW YOU DO IT and WHAT YOU BELIEVE ENABLES YOU TO DO IT will determine the required sphere levels for a given spell. If you can justify with your paradigm that you can work weather patterns at forces 3 instead of 4, then go for it! If you can justify weaponizing garlic with Entropy 1 instead of Prime 2, do it! Mage is open to interpretation and the paradigm aspect is what makes it beautiful (to us at least).

Resonance

We now use the Book of Secrets 20th Anniversary's Resonance/Flavor/Synergy rules. Every mage should have a resonance trait (see pools) of 1. You can raise it ONLY via RP justification and potentially seekings/achieving mastery.

What does this trait do? It allows for bonuses on appropriate backgrounds and arete (YES ARETE) on things RELATED TO YOUR resonance description. In the end, the ST is the final arbiter if your resonance trait adds dice to your roll.

There are many bonuses to this, but also realize the following: The higher the resonance, the more detectable your magick is as your magickal signature becomes more discernable and concrete instead of just impressions and general things.

Also: Once you reach ADEPT level, you start manifesting your highest sphere in everyday life.

Forces - You might have extra static cling and start to zap people with light electrical charges; you might always run hot Life - You always seem in perfect health Prime - You seem more... REAL. Like you're more there. You shine bright and have an aura of authority. Correspondence/Spirit/Mind - You're kinda spaced out seeing/feeling something else. You might talk to the air (spirit). You might finish another person's sentence (mind). You might be one of those people who can just walk around, not paying attention and never stub their toe/fall/trip (correspondence). Entropy - You're either a center of calmness and order in the middle of chaos or shit breaks around you all the time. Time - You're always punctual/late/early. Time seems to just go by faster when you're around (having fun?)

Those are some examples, and poses should sort of reflect that. Vampires have their hunger. Shifters have rage. Mages have weirdness in the form of resonance.

Rotes

Rotes! They're spells that give you a little difficulty modifier. Mages can start with up to arete number of rotes, and then each rote will be purchased with XP (2 x level of highest sphere used).

What do you need in the rote?

Name: Spheres Involved: How it's cast: Be as precise as you can be with this. Once you've formalized a rote being done in ONE WAY, then that is the way you do it if you want the rote bonus. Effect: What the spell does.

Please setup each rote as its own note, and then submit a request when you want your rotes reviewed.

Taking inspiration from Mage the Awakening (I know), you cannot create a rote for a given sphere unless you are AT ADEPT LEVEL. You can put in lower level CONJUNCTIONAL SPHERES into an effect, but a CORR 3 ROTE will need CORR 4 to be created.

Wait Times

Mages are limited to raising 1 sphere per month. Even if you have the XP, you've gotta wait for the next month to learn another sphere.

Wards

The way wards/bans are described in M20 SUCK ASS. These are the proposed rules on them. Keep in mind as we're in beta, this can change, but if people want to play test it and see how it works, do let me know.

Trigger Conditions - Wards and Trigger spells are confusing because the depend on something that is never given rules: sometimes spells need to be able to sense or determine or in some other way restrict themselves to their intended targets. Trigger spells need to be able to determine when the trigger conditions happen. Your ward needs to be set for Vampires.

This always takes the relevant spheres at rank 2. Setting triggers does not involve transmuting, altering, or in any way affecting a pattern so the rank doesn't vary with the target. Instead it functions like sensory magic. Rank 1 is sufficient to detect anything appropriate to the sphere. Rank 2 is sufficient to add that to a spell. Setting triggers against iron is Matter 2, against cats is Life 2, and against Vampires is Life 2/Matter 2 with Entropy 2.

Wards - By default Correspondence 2 can set wards that inhibit or enhance the actions of targets within the ward (difficulty modifiers) and Ward 4 can actually bar entry or exit. Anything else requires adding that capacity. Because this does affect the relevant patterns it requires the Spheres at the appropriate level to cast the effect being added to the ward. SEP fields (Somebody Else's Problem) require Mind 2, for instance, and fire attacks require Forces 2 and an appropriate source of fire.

Unlike teleports this does not require higher levels of Correspondence for higher associated spheres.

So your vampire ward is Corr 2 (for the ward), Life 2/Entropy 2 or Matter2/Entropy 2 (to set it for Vampires), and Forces 2 or Forces 3/Prime 2.