General Mage Help
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Mage Specific +commands
Suspended till sometime after game play starts
+chantry - displays your chantry information
+chantry/jump - Teleports you to your chantry
Use of the above command is considered IC. Someone could follow you if they wanted to. (get staff if this comes up)
+chantry/info <person> - show you information they player thinks you should know about the character that
pertains to the chantry. (such as tradition, sub-sect of tradition, rank, cabal name, heritage, etc)
&chaninfo me=<information to be shared> - This sets the info that people see with with +chantry/info
+chantry/show - will show you the name of the place the chantry is based earth-side.
Abilities Enhancing Magick
When a character uses an appropriate Ability just before working a magickal Effect – and, in game terms,
it takes at least a turn or two to do so – make a roll to reflect your success with that activity.
Ref: M20 page 533
Each success on the Attribute + Ability roll reduces the difficulty on the associated Effect by -1, to a maximum
reduction of -3.
Magick Enhancing Abilities
The right spell or Procedure can make certain mundane tasks easier, too. A little Mind-magick push, for example, can
beef up a facedown or debate. In this case, you cast the magick just before the task and either keep it running throughout the
task (see below), or else get the ball rolling with magick and then follow through with straight-up skill.
Ref: M20 pg 533
A successful Arete roll lowers the difficulty of the Attribute + Ability roll by a factor of -1 difficulty for each
success rolled with your Arete, to a maximum reduction of -3.
You could lower the difficulty of this Arete roll by any of the standard methods, not to exceed -3.
Surpassing Foci
Mages are sometimes put in dire straits where they may not have time or means to complete their rituals with all their foci.
If your mage is caught without a focus you can still attempt a magical effect by sheer force of will. (Spend 1 willpower)
Attempting to surpass a foci imposes a +3 difficulty to the arete roll(s).
Note: Virtual Adepts, Sons of Ether or Technocratic mages must always have their foci to work magic till they become enlightened enough to drop them.
Miscellaneous Mage Help
Resetting Realties
In the unlikely event you should use 'home' to go to a home that is
Earthside or @tel out of the horizon realm, be aware this will cause
problems with you seeing the proper descs on rooms.
+realreset will reset your realities to the REAL realm only.
Duels and Challenges
Ref: M20 Anniversary, p 430-434
Contests
"When a graceful display of superiority seems sufficient to resolve a dispute..."
- Chess match
- Riddle contest
- A race (either on foot, in vehicles, or through magickal methods like flight or teleportation)
- An insult contest or bragging competition
- A juried argument of theories or some similar debate (popular among Etherites, Hermetics, Choristers, Solificati, Progenitors, and other cerebral sects)
- A challenge of physical might, agility, endurance, or fearlessness (favored among witches, shamans, street-folks, and martial artists)
- A psychic clash of wills (especially prevalent among mages who favor mental and spiritual discipline)
- Sports matches (pretty much anyone)
- Invention contests (a technomancer favorite)
- Scavenger hunts
- Crime sprees
- Shape-changing rivalries
- Acquisition contests (Syndicate reps love this one)
- Debauchery dares
- Battles of the bands
"All of these contests play out through a combination of imaginative roleplaying and a few rolls off the Dramatic Feats chart"
Ordeals
"Ancient customs dared rivals to settle their disputes through trial by ordeal: both rivals undertake a painful experience, and the one who gives up first loses the dispute. Handling hot irons; enduring intense heat or cold; retrieving objects from deep underwater without diving gear; suffering consensual torture or body modification without crying out; pitting one’s self against wild animals, insects, or spirits… all these ordeals, and many others, have places of honor in various cultures. And though modern mages often consider themselves too civilized (read: chicken) to submit to such challenges, willworkers who cherish physical and spiritual vitality – shamans, witches, extreme athletes, martial artists, Ecstatics, Thanatoics, and other people who venerate tribal cultures – tackle such ordeals gladly."
In game terms, players make use of the Dramatic Feats Chart and Physical Feats Chart. Resistance really comes into its own here, as it reflects a character’s ability to withstand pain and fatigue. Again, use extended rolls… extended
and resisted, if the duelists are inflicting the ordeal upon one another. The Storyteller might require Willpower rolls as well for ordeals that involve courage in the face of personal fears or spectacular demise." See Charts for Environmental Hazards.
Flame and Core Wars
Favored among the Mercurial Elite. This is very much an internet based certamen.
Makes use of the Dramatic Feats Chart.
"As the duel rages, the antagonists might need to make Willpower rolls – either extended (as when facing taunts and scorn), or extended and resisted (as when they’re tearing into
one another’s self-esteem). Losers sacrifice temporary points of Willpower, and winners become the Last Ego Standing."
"In a core war – an Internet dueling tradition favored by the Virtual Adepts – each disputing party sets up a Quintessence-pool server core that has been partitioned outside the Digital Web as a whole, to prevent widespread infections from the coming duel."
Step 1: antagonists write virus programs (Intelligence + Computer, difficulty 8) to attack the other servers, and invest a point of Quintessence (from Quintessence Pool)
- "...duelists upgrade their viral champions by spending another point of personal Quintessence. In game terms, these points let a duelist change tactics or lower the difficulty of her attack."
Step 2: As the core war continues, the duelists make extended and resisted Intelligence + Computer. Or change tatics with different Traits – say, Wits + Enigmas, Wits + Computer, Perception + Cryptography,etc. Requires Spending a Quintessence point.
Failed Roll - death for the virus, inflicts 1 level bashing damage on duelist, and requires a new point of Quintessence to respawn the virus.
Botched Roll - inflicts Lethal damage on the duelist, (backlashes as system shock)
Win Scenerio: The first duelist to score 25 successes breaches the core and wins the war… and gets the Quintessence that went into making that core, as well.
Reality Challenges
"In game terms, a reality challenge is a story hook, not a series of rolls." Players should +request to have staff run this for them.
"...a reality challenge resolves a dispute in the most altruistic way possible: by finding a problem among the Sleepers, then seeing who can fix it best."
One major rule dominates all reality challenges: the Sleepers must not know what’s really going on.
- A third party (or Storyteller) picks the situation and then places a certain number of goals that must be fulfilled as victory conditions."
Suitable battle field: "...a situation that cries out for improvement: a crime-ridden neighborhood, a famine, a slave trafficking ring or drug cartel war, an environmental
catastrophe, and so forth."
Winning Scenerio: The duelist who manages to meet the most goals in the time allotted.
OVERT MAGICK (ie, oops, Witnesses!) - "cost the offending mage one goal per incident (as well as any Paradox incurred!), and a Paradox backlash forfeits the duel."
"... the contestants must also inspire hope and self-sufficiency among the Masses…after all, if the people themselves aren’t inspired to change, then very little
has actually improved."
Good Ol' Certamen
| Mage Certamen |
Coincidental vs Vulgar - The Gray Area
As a general rule, please assume that if a Hypothetical Average Bystander (HAB) saw you doing something and that
something looked possible under his or her worldview, then your Effect is coincidental. Yes, you could pull a gun or
business card from your pocket and have it appear to be coincidence even if there hadn’t been one there beforehand.
(This, of course, assumes that no one has gone through your pockets or otherwise proved them to be empty. If you’ve
just taken your pants out of the laundry, you can’t pull a gun from the front pocket. Also, that gun would still have to be
small enough to fit in a pants pocket in the first place; yanking a Desert Eagle from a pair of Daisy Dukes is not gonna
fly.) Any conjured object, however, has to either come from somewhere via a Correspondence/ Matter Effect or else be
created from Matter and Prime Effects… and such acts are often more difficult than carrying that object in the first place.
Ref: M20 page 533
Counter Magick
Counter Magick does count as a mage's magickal action; since a mage can only perform one magickal action in a turn, counter magick
is a defensive tactic.
A mage can abort a magickal (or mundane) action to perform counter magick. The previously started job is scrapped (considered a failure)
and the mage whips out the counter magick instead. If the mage has already done his action for the turn, of course, he's stuck with
the results.
A mage MUST have at least 1 dot in all Sphere being used in the subject's effect.
Counter magick is an arete roll diff 7. Each success blocks out one of the enemy's successes, assuming that you have the right spheres.
It is impossible to counter an Effect you don't know is coming, and its difficult to affect one you don't understand.
Protocols of the Nine
*Metaplot Note: In a realm where resources (Quintessence and Tass) are limited, and being away from concensus of Earth, do the protocols even make sense anymore? Should they still be upheld as they are? Should there be a new set of protocols?
RESPECT THOSE OF GREATER KNOWLEDGE.
This is a rule born of practicality. In the occult and especially the awakened world, knowledge often translates quite directly into power.
A TUTOR'S DEBT MUST BE REPAID.
Education is rarely free; a teacher is generally considered well within his rights to expect significant repayment from his students.
A MAGE'S WORD IS HIS HONOR; BREAK NOT A SWORN VOW.
Tradition society despises oath-breakers. Censure is the most common punishment for this.
A mage with a long history of breaking vows may be branded.
THE WILL OF AN ORACLE MUST ALWAYS BE OBEYED.
This protocol is commonly ignored, since many modern Mages doubt that Oracles - Magi who achieved Ascension and turned back to help others
find the way - even exist. Still, if that suspicion is true then it seems curious that the original council would have ever adopted this
rule all those centuries ago. Few modern mages even believe the Oracle exist. However, the Order's ancient legal texts advocate Censure
of disloyal mages. Such passages present a paradox; did Oracles once exist? And if so, should an Oracle not be powerful enough if miffed
to execute his own punishment on whim?
BETRAY NOT YOUR CABAL OR CHANTRY.
A most serious offense, especially as Mage history has been pockmarked with strings of terrible betrayals. To the Traditions
the only thing worse than an oath-breaker is a traitor. A severe offense during the War of Ascension. Betraying warrants
Branding and/or permanent Ostracism.
CONSPIRE NOT WITH THE ENEMIES OF ASCENSION.
Those caught helping the Technocracy, Marauders, or Nephandi are declared traitors to all of Tradition society, making this the worst
offense possible among the awakened. In the case of being corrupted by the Nephandi, there can be no redemption; the Avatars of the Fallen
are twisted forever, and shall eventually corrupt every future soul they bind to if they are allowed to re-enter the cycle of reincarnation.
For such individuals was the Gilgul devised, a ritual that rends apart an avatar, destroying it and the soul it is attached to utterly. There
has been much debate over the centuries over the sheer horror of the Gilgul rite, but its use continues. Those caught conspiring with the
Technocracy, Marauders or other Enemies (open to interpretation) are sentenced to Branding and permanent Ostracism. If the "enemy of Ascension" is a Nephandus, the punishment Is increased to Gilgul/or Death.
The Technocracy are not an "enemy" of Ascension on this game.
PROTECT THE SLEEPERS; THEY ARE IGNORANT OF WHAT THEY DO.
Those who endanger Sleeper lives are looked down upon by other Mages, although only the most serious offenses are brought before an official
Tribunal. This is due in no small part to necessity: the Adepts and Masters who traditionally serve on Tribunals are hard to find and
harder to entice from the safety of their sanctums.
BE SUBTLE IN YOUR ARTS, LEST SLEEPERS KNOW YOU FOR WHAT YOU ARE.
This is commonly known as the “Rule of Shade”, and it was originally intended to protect Mages from witch-hunters and zealots. Even though
many Sleepers who see an act of blatant magic will rationalize it away, some do not. Sleepers generally don’t take the truth very well,
as many a witch-hunter plagued magi has learned to his regret. In modern times this rule has become even more important, since blatant
magic risks drawing Technocratic attention. Called the "Rule of Shade" this informal protocol was meant to protect magi from
witch-hunters and zealots. While this rule carries no formal punishment, flashy magi are dangerous to associate with. Ostracism is
Chantries and Chantry Background
WORK IN PROGRESS
We are using the M20 version of Chantries with a small modification.
In M20 the Chantry background represents as follows:
X No place to call home.
One pool point or membership in a tiny Squat.
Two pool points or membership in a small Sanctuary.
Three pool points or membership in an average Chantry or Construct.
Four pool points or membership in a Stronghold.
Five pool points or membership in a Power Center.
Chantries of the following sizes are allowed in M20 with modification where marked:
Secure Squat 10-20 point pool
Small Sanctuary 21-30 point pool
Average Chantry 31-45 point pool *
Mystic Chantry 46-70 point pool * (Restricted at staff discretion)
Stronghold 71-100 point pool (not allowed for Player Chantries)
Power Center 101+ point pool (restricted, only applies to Default Chantry)
Chantry 4 is required to become a full member of the default chantry.
Chantry Charters
**At the start of play, player chantries are on hold **
To be granted a charter the members of the cabal to start a new chantry must be in good standing on the game. They must have a proven track record of being active and contributing to the game as a whole. Certain chantry resources that could be bought will not be easy to come by, and thus become very long-term plots.
NPC Chantry will retain oversight rights on the child chantry and any major issues its members create.
In the event that a Mage gets into IC trouble, it will be discussed between on of the First Nine of the realm and Leaders of the chantry the mage belongs to. So everyone knows what is going on. Depending on the degree of the infraction:
First Offense: they will likely be dealt with by their own chantry leaders. (likely punishments are Censure or time-limited Ostracism)
Second offense: The NPC Council Seat of their Tradition will be brought in for a Tribunal.
Third Offense: This assumes the Council didn't rule to Gilgul the questionable mage who should have learned his lesson by now.
The mage will be summarily stripped of his Avatar and his mind wiped of his previous magely life. The mage is now mortal and will live out the rest of his days as such. The Chantry looses any points this mage provided.
Remember ICA=ICC
Chantry Charters must include the following:
1. Name of the Chantry (usually the name of the cabal will transfer into chantry name)
2. type of leadership and who that leader is
3. IC Mission Statement of the chantry
4. Anything requested by staff that might be needed to justify buy-able resources below.
Chantry Building
The physical location of player chantries must be fixed. Mobile chantries are not allowed.
The size of the player chantry building is restricted by the combined resources of all full members (anyone with Chantry 2+) at a ratio TBD.
Not all room quota must be built at the same time to facilitate additional add-ons as needed. However after initial build is approved any additions must go through staff again for building, approval and linking.
Chantry Positions
Governance
Chantries are governed by four modes of rulership:
Democracy: The simplest and yet most difficult, democratic Chantries usually give each member of the Chantry a vote for political decisions. Some decided to grant this vote only to ranking personnel
Triumvirate: Three mages come together to rule the Chantry, often with an advisory council.
Council of Deacons: A council of representatives meets in a council. Sometimes, these deacons are the leaders of all cabals within the Chantry, at other times, they are the most powerful mages in it.
Pedagogical Rule : A single mage rules supreme over all others. The ways in which leadership can change vary; some can be voted out of office by all chantry members, while others have to be defeated in a magical duel.
Roles
Deacon: the founder of a Chantry (Used only by Choristers and Hermetics)
Counselor: works for the psychological stableness of its members and keeps them out of Quiet
Priest/ess: oversees rituals and offers spiritual guidance
Librarian: tends to the Chantries corpus of magical knowledge
Tutors: responsible for teaching students
Justices and Exactors: enforce the Chantries' laws
Sentinels: defend the Chantry from external threats
Heralds: act as the voice of the Chantry to other Chantries
Journeyman: Chantry members that are not in a cabal
Marats: Go-betweens of the Chantry and the mortal world
Chantry Resources
Refer to M20.
At the time of Chartering, a new chantry must declare where/how they are spending their pool of points.
"...Backgrounds that are connected to the Chantry must be purchased separately. The following Backgrounds may be added to a Chantry: Allies, Arcane, Backup, Cult, Familiar, Influence, Library, Mentor, Node, Patron, Retainers, Resources, Sanctum, Spies, and Wonder."
Allies : "..Background refers to unawakened humans or fairly intelligent animals (like a wolf pack or a troupe of apes). They’re probably aware of the weirder side of your life, but they don’t know the details of mage society or your true powers unless you choose to endanger them by sharing those secrets..." May go to 10
Arcane: Scale 0 - 5. Does not stack with personal Arcane.
Backup: "...You can call in the cavalry and expect help when needed…in a limited capacity, anyhow. Thanks to your membership in
some organization, you’re able to request Backup and have a small team of useful folks swoop in and take care of business." May be bought up to 10. (Will allow this to be applied to Tradition chantries as well, they of course don't call them 'agents' or 'temps' though)
You’re on your own, kid!
Two typical agents.
Four basic agents or two skilled “temps.”
Six agents.
Eight agents or four “temps.”
10 agents.
12 agents or six “temps.”
14 agents.
16 agents or eight “temps.”
18 agents.
20 agents, or 10 “temps.”
Must pick the type of team. See M20 pg 306
Cult: Scale: 0 - 5. Any mage with charisma can have friends; this Cult, however, goes beyond mere friendship. These devotees trust
and revere you so deeply that, when gathered and directed, they can lend their beliefs to your rituals.
Familiar: Scale 0 - 5 Currently not allowed for a chantry. Being researched.
Influence: Scale 0 - 10. Must declare a sect/type of influence. Ex. medical, media, etc
Library: Deviation from M20. Instead of calculating a chantry/cabal's library stat as in M20, this will be a separate buy-able, like previous resources.
Mentor: Deviation from M20. Not Buy-able. Parent Chantry and its resources are the Mentor.
Node: Not allowed above 4 dots for a player cabal/chantry. Node amounts still being determined. Must have a room designated for the node.
Patron: Deviation from M20. Not purchasable for player cabal/chantry at this time.
Retainers: Scale 0-5. One retainer per dot. Must be statted out and noted by staff."Retainers aren’t skilled in the mystic Arts or combat; unlike Backup or Spies, they’re not faceless guns or founts of information. Each retainer is a devoted servant, employee, mind-controlled servitor, lab-built construct, or even a very minor spirit who does your bidding with a decent sense of loyalty."
Resources: Deviation from M20. Not currently buy-able for chantry/cabals. Still determining how to figure player chantry resources. Potentially a portion of the of all members that have resources.
Sanctum: This is a communal sanctum to facilitate group working. Must spend 1 build point per tradition the sanctum is to accommodate. Must have a designated room in the chantry for this. It is exceedingly rare for a sanctum to hold all 9 traditions.
Spies: A collection of little birds in various nests keeps you well-informed. These informants aren’t necessarily your friends – they may, in fact, hate you with the burning intensity of a thousand fiery suns. Only 1 or 2 dots allowed for Player Chantry/Cabals
Wonder: Will likely charge double build points for a chantry/cabal wonder. This wonder is meant to reflect your chantry/cabal protective wards. Dice rolls will still have to be witnessed by staff and effects approved.
A Wonder with one small power – that is, a Wonder worth 1-3 points.
A Wonder with one or two powers, probably with some Quintessence and an Arete of its own. (4-6 points.)
A Wonder with a few notable powers or one respectable one. (7-9 points.)
A Wonder with impressive powers or a powerful Effect. (10-12 points.)
A Wonder with mighty powers or a single devastating Effect. (13-15 points.)
Will require 1 quint per success, no matter the size of the wonder.
Chantry Wars
Chantry Wars between Player chantries is allowed, though not encouraged, with good reason. Must be approved through staff and staff will have oversight. Justification must be provided and logs to back this up must be available.
Extended rolls
- Each roll equals an hour of casting time
- Make 1 roll per dot of Stamina
To Continue:
- Must make a successful Stamina roll (base difficulty is same used for the ritual) to get another arete roll
- Difficulty for Stamina roll increased by +1 for each round you continue to 'push yourself' through the ritual.
- A Failed Stamina Roll means you are exhausted. May spend a Willpower to keep going, Stamina roll is now at <current diff +3>
- First Botched Stamina Roll counts as "Interference" must make a Willpower vs 8 to keep from loosing the whole rote.
May continue to roll at an +1 Difficulty - Second Botched Stamina Roll the whole ritual is lost and you must start over.
- At any point, with the exception of botching any stamina roll, you may choose to take the option for a Great Work outlined below.
Great Works
This OPTIONAL RULE' applies to rituals/rotes where 10+ successes are desired. All other rules for casting are observed.
This rule allows you 48 hours in which to finish the rite, as long as the site is undisturbed.
Each break follows the outline below.
A Great Work could take a mage days, weeks or months to finish casting. At any point in the casting you may choose to take a break.
To Take a break, spend a Willpower to hang the spell and come back after a short interval.
To Pick back up: Wits + Esoterica roll (or Wits + Technology for acts of enlightened hypertech). The difficulty begins at the ritual’s base difficulty (no modifiers
allowed), and then goes up by +1 for each break taken after the first one.
One Failed ritual roll ruins the whole process and you must start over.
ROTE STRAIN
PER M20 pg 528-529
How Many Effects Can I Use at Once?
A mage can cast only one Effect per turn, even if she’s using Time 3 magick to speed up her activities. She may, however,
keep any number of Effects running at a time, although it becomes more and more difficult for her to do so.
Game-wise, you add +1 to your difficulty for every two Effects you have running at one time – that is, +1 difficulty for
two Effects, +2 for four Effects, +3 for six Effects, and so on.
And by “running,” we mean an Effect that demands ongoing concentration - a summoning, a force field, weather control,
and so on.
Our Take: You've cast a Mind Shield on yourself and allocated enough success to have it 'last forever'
You've rolled double the successes (10 minimum) in order to make it permanent. -- This does not count towards strain.
Strain example 1:
Round one: your character casts a Forces shield against bullets
Round two: you cast a Time Effect on your friend to give him extra speed while maintaining the previous shield on himself, add +1 to the diff of this effect..
Strain example 2: Affects cast on yourself where you haven't rolled enough successes to be considered "permanent" counts towards rote strain.
Also, when this rote meets the end of the allotted duration if will have to be recast.
Warning: Be aware we do have an awareness code. Any enchanted item you carry, any permanent effect cast on yourself has the chance to ping another mage's awareness. This also applies if you are carrying more quint than your natural limit (avatar rating). Nodes may also ping awareness depending on the strength of it. The higher the sphere used, the larger the node the easier awareness will ping.
Working in Concert
Common Ground
- All participants must maintain a method of free communication. (telepathy, instant message, speech, etc)
- "Those participants need to work out a shared approach to the ritual; after all, an Etherite in a shamanic rite will
probably do more harm than good. That said, mages from distinct yet allied groups – differing Traditions or
Technocratic Conventions – can certainly collaborate if they approach one another’s practices with respect
and attention. Story-wise, those collaborators need to hash out some common cues and protocols… which, in
game terms, will probably involve a few social feat rolls before all is said and done. Once they’ve established a
common base to work from, the allies can focus their intentions through a shared ritual."
Collaborators
- Equal Collaborators: Mages who have all the spheres needed for the ritual get Arete rolls.
Enlightened assistants – that is, mages with less knowledge and experience than the primary caster – add one
automatic success to the Effect, up to a maximum of five successes, total. These successes, however, DO NOT
APPLY to cancel out a botch. If the caster botches the roll, then those assistants’ successes disappear.
The additional successes count only to enhance a successful Effect.
M20 states that only one of these options can be used, we do not follow that rule.
Unawakened Helpers
- Cult background adds 1 dice (per dot of background) to the caster's dice pool, up to 5 dice.
Paradox Backlash
Paradox backlashes will be played out and enforced. These will anywhere from minor inconveniences to nightmarish or Quiet.
Status
This background represents your overall reputation among your Awakened peers, within your tradition. With a Status of 4 or 5 you may be known within your faction; they may call you by your preferred name, open doors for you, small favors, etc.
In game terms, you may add this Background to your dice pool during Social rolls when dealing with your peers; an admired Virtual Adept, for instance, would add four dice to her Social rolls among the Adepts. That bonus is halved (round up) among mages from a different but allied sect; the same Adept would get a two-dice bonus among other Traditions. You don’t get that bonus among enemies or strangers, though they might acknowledge you in story terms. (“Our files on you, Ms. Vasquez – or perhaps I should call you ‘Voodoo’ – are most… impressive…”)
Status must be based on something you do or have done. Beginning mages can not have Status 5. (Basic chargen characters are limited to Status 1 or 2.) This background can not be raised with XP after chargen. This Background is granted, post chargen, by the Storyteller as a reward for your actions throughout the chronicle. You can also lose Status by failing to live up to it; an agent known for cowardice won’t command respect for long.
X No special status.
Acknowledged; your peers recognize your name if it comes up.
Credible; you’re considered noteworthy.
Respected; your word carries weight.
Admired; most people in your group look up to you.
Revered; you’re considered a paragon of your group’s principles.
