[Mage: The Awakening v1.9] Nimbus, Sights, and the Sleeping Curse

(Out of Character (OOC):

Chronicle: Mage 2: The Dethroned Queen

Venue: Mage: The Awakening

Chronicle Storyteller: Jerad Sayler))

More adjustments, clarifications, elaborations and corrections to certain aspects of the new system.  I hope you all enjoy!

Changes in Focused Mage Sights: Scrutiny

•               Scrutiny (Scrutinizing) – Studying the deeper nature of the world and seeing its truth through the len of the Supernal World.

 

-          (Instant) Scrutiny - The mage can take an Instant Action and concentrate on a subject to glean deeper insights.  The mage rolls Intelligence + Occult + 1 (if the applicable sight helps with what they are looking for) + Scrutiny Item Bonuses (Diamonds, glass, and other materials you see through grant bonuses on Scrutinizing things – Resonance Density. Further Successes on this roll cannot be accumulated unless Mana Shaping is used.  The mage can re-attempt to Scrutinize but losses the successes of the last attempt and takes an accumulative -1.

-          (Extended) Scrutiny - As long as the mage can stand to concentrate without taking any other action they can continue to do rolls and accumulate successes by spending 10 minutes a piece.  The number of rolls that can be made is limited to the size of the base dice pool of Intelligence + Occult.

•               Scrutiny (Resonance Density) – Some things are easier to study and scrutinize than others.  This is largely based on the density of the physical object or thing, which is a reflection of how real it is in the Fallen World.  Use the following guidelines to penalize scrutiny rolls:

-           Extremely Dense Subjects – (-3) Supernaturally rereinforced materials -3, lead, uranium, etc

-          Very Dense Subjects – (-2) Stone, metal, concrete, etc

-          Dense Subjects – (-1) a corpse, dead organic material, wood, ivory, bone, etc

-          Normal – (+0) sleepers, living things, magical items, other mages, some minor supernatural templates, spells cast there previously

-          Refined – (+1) mages at Gnosis 6, ephemeral objects, offrendas, some major supernatural templates such as Werewolves, active spells, raw tass,

-          Very Refined – (+2) mages at Gnosis 7, ephemeral beings, ghosts, spirits, artifacts, raw mana

-          Transcendent - (+3-5) – Reserved for beings or items leaking magic or especially other worldly, Archbeings with power splat 8-10, Supernal Entities,

•               Scrutiny (Gleaning Information) – Scrutiny immediately provides information back to the mage.  Here is what kinds of information:

1.        Scrutinizing Spells: (these are guidelines for STs only, players can allocate their successes declaring what they want to learn)

a.        Compositions – one success is needed per Arcana used to create the spell.  An additional success for each arcana used is needed to identify the practice and further will give you a sense of what the spell is intended to do, how its functions.

b.        Potency – 1 success is needed for every 10 points of potency in order to determine the exact strength of the spell.  If they don’t get enough successes they just know its greater than whatever amount they are sure of.

c.        Spell Factors – 1 success is needed per type of spell factor used in the spell.  You gain how many spell factor points could have been used.  How many points were actually allocated for that category requires additional successes, approximately 1 success per point to confirm what was incorporated into the spell.

d.        Yantras – 1 success per Yantra used is required to identify what sort of Yantras were used in the spell.  Further successes will give more exact information.  This is usually 1 success more for improvised spells per Yantra, 3 for Praxis Spells and 5 successes for Rote spells.

e.        Duration – 1 success pins down how long the spell should have lasted with its design, further are needed to identify Time or Fate triggers.

f.         Exact Spell Identification – to pinpoint exactly what the spell does and what it is called as well as how it works 1 success is needed for Improvised Spells and 3 successes are needed for Rote Spells, 2 for Praxis Spells.

g.        Caster Resonance Identification – 1 for Improvised/3 for Praxis /5 successes for Rotes will allow the inspector to compare resonance with resonance previously identified, most importantly, with identifying the caster of the spell.

h.        Caster’s Power – by netting successes equal to the caster’s gnosis the mage can determine a general level of enlightenment of the caster.  This comes as low (1-2 Gnosis), medium (3-4 Gnosis), high (5-6) or masterful (7+)

i.         Caster’s Mastery –  1 for Improvised/3 for Praxis /5 successes for Rotes reveals the caster’s mastery of the primary or dominate Arcanum used to cast the spell.  If other Arcana are used to create the spell additional successes can reveal the knowledge level of the caster at 1 success each.  If the mage Reached for the spell in question these results may be a bit skewed.

2.        Scrutinizing Everything:

a.        Identification - the ability with a few successes to fingerprint a certain resonant component or the subject’s resonance as a whole to be compared with other things.  A mage can remember and get exact matches with resonance they have studied and committed to memory. 

b.        Nature in which every success peels back layers of meaning, truth, and metaphor.  One success provides enough to get a taste of what social archetype they seem to be.  5+ successes reveal something’s true underlying nature of the subject overall.

c.        Concealment – Supernatural beings can obfuscate their powers and nature as well as mages.  Generally there are three types:

                                                               i.      Occulted - Some types of concealment such as Occultation apply a penalty to the scrutiny roll.

                                                              ii.      Masked - Things like Disguise Resonance the mage doesn’t know the subject is tampered with unless they gain more successes on the scrutiny roll that exceed the successes of the concealment power. 

                                                            iii.      Obfuscated - Other concealments hide the fact that a spell, object, or person is there at all.  Usually a perception check using the Peripheral Mage Sights to notice something is around followed by a contested roll between the potency of the concealment verses the perception or scrutiny roll.

d.        Qualities – additional successes can determine the composition of non-spells, seeing the Resonance that makes up the Nature.  1-5 successes per quality can provide a wealth of information and vital clues.

e.        Connection – once a Resonance is scrutinized the mage is considered to have an Acquainted sympathetic connection to it.

•               The Shape of Mana– The mage can release mana while Scrutinizing to see what shape, meaning, and resonance it assumes, being part of the Supernal World.  The mage can expend Mana per turn equal to what their Gnosis rating will allow and take any number of turns of sustained and uninterrupted concentration to expend as much as needed.  For each Mana expended the mage gains Automatic Successes to the Instant Scrutiny rolls.  Extended Scrutiny rolls gain one success per mana spent per roll.  This allows the player/character to bid Mana with the Storyteller in addition to their roll, spending no more Mana then is required to uncover the truth or the clues about something’s nature. 

Changes in Long-Term Nimbus: Potency of Effects

Long-Term Nimbus Potency:

Gnosis 1-2 – Purely random acts of coincidence that occur sporadically. +0 or -0 to subtle influences of the Nimbus.

Gnosis 3-4 – Things associated with the Mage’s nimbus have a way of harmonizing with normal events.  +1 or -1 to subtle influences of the Nimbus.

Gnosis 5-6 – Random but highly unnerving and frequent things happen around the mage with regularity. +2 or -2 to subtle influences of the Nimbus.

Gnosis 7-8 – People, especially sleepers, are compelled to do or say certain things as the nimbus actually bends their will in harmony with the mage’s supernal realm.  +3 or -3 to subtle influences of the Nimbus.

Gnosis 9-10 – The world and people surrounding the Mage are influenced by omens and portents resonant with the mage’s powers and nimbus.  The mage is the curtain in front of their Supernal Realm.  +4-5 or -4-5 to subtle influences of the Nimbus.

Changes in Immediate Nimbus: Nimbus Tilts

Nimbus Flare – When a mage casts a Vulgar Spell the mage’s Nimbus flares brightly for a few seconds. To other supernatural creatures it is a blinding halo, the stuff of raw creation.  Even Sleepers can see these flares albeit a much muted version. All Witnesses must roll to resist The Nimbus Tilt. 

•               Voluntary Uncloaking– A mage can cause a Nimbus Flare on command by rolling Resolve + Gnosis to inflict The Nimbus Tilt. If the mage is being influenced by Conditions.

•               The Nimbus Tilt – Witnesses of a Nimbus Flare must roll to resist the effects of a Tilt unique to the character’s Nimbus.  The character rolls their Resolve + Gnosis vs the Resolve + Power Trait of all witnesses (usually taking the highest Resolve for all sleepers and rolling the supernatural crowds’ separately) and successes denote the strength of the Tilt.  When designing the Nimbus Tilt of a character you can decide if the Tilt will inflict penalties or bonuses to certain actions or some combination.  Keep in mind that the character doesn’t get to decide what his Tilt does but can learn to exploit it. Mages of lower Gnosis are the only ones affected and must Uncloak their Nimbus in order to resist per Class of Wills.  The Duration of the Tilt is determined by the Wisdom of the flaring mage.  In Social settings and where appropriate the Numbus Tilt may be substituted with appropriate Conditions exactly of the level appropriate to the Long-Term Nimbus rules above.

•               Clash of Wills– If a mage is affected by Conditions or Tilts caused by Supernatural Creatures or Aura abilities the mage can Uncloak their Nimbus and roll Resistance Attribute + Gnosis to contest the effect.

•               Sleeper Witnesses – When the Nimbus is uncloaked before sleepers they notice and see it but cannot truly interpret or believe what is seen.  They fall prey to the effects of the Sleeping Curse (The Quiescence) as soon as the Tilt’s duration ends but are subtly or dramatically affected by their Nimbus on a subconscious or psychic level.  Any Vulgar magic that follows from the mage will definitely suffer an increase to Paradox until the mage is out of sight again. The Nimbus does not provoke disbelief. Sleepers do not take a breaking point for this display or succumbing to a Nimbus Tilt as they tend to forget it much more easily than Vulgar magic.

Immediate Nimbus Contested Modifiers: (Potency is based on the Resolve + Gnosis check)

Gnosis 1-2 – +0 to Resolve + Gnosis roll, -0 to class of wills

Gnosis 3-4 +1 to Resolve + Gnosis roll, -1 to class of wills

Gnosis 5-6 – +2 to Resolve + Gnosis roll, -2 to class of wills

Gnosis 7-8 – +3 to Resolve + Gnosis roll, -3 to class of wills

Gnosis 9 – +4 to Resolve + Gnosis roll, -4 to class of wills

Gnosis 10 – +5 to Resolve + Gnosis roll, -5 to class of wills

Immediate Nimbus Tilt Duration:

Wisdom 10 – The Tilt lasts only during the mage’s turn.

Wisdom 9 – The Tilt lasts for one Round

Wisdom 8 – The Tilt lasts for two Rounds

Wisdom 7 – The Tilt lasts for three Rounds

Wisdom 6 – The Tilt lasts for four Rounds

Wisdom 5 – The Tilt lasts for five Rounds

Wisdom 4 – The Tilt lasts for one minute (20 rounds)

Wisdom 3 – The Tilt lasts for three minutes

Wisdom 2 – The Tilt lasts for five minute

Wisdom 1 – The Tilt lasts for ten minutes

Wisdom 0 – The Tilt lasts for the entire Scene

Changes in Paradox: Quiescence

The Sleeping Curse (Quiescence)– When a Sleeper Witnesses Vulgar Mage they suffer a breaking point.  This is the Standard Resolve + Composure + Integrity Modifier +2 or -2 based on applicable Sub-Vice and Sub-Virtue.  This Breaking Point is taken using the following penalties:

Gnosis      Breaking Point Penalty            

1-2            -0

3-4            -1

5-6            -2

7-8            -3

9              -4

10             -5

Quiescence Condition Duration:

Wisdom 10 – The Condition lasts for 30 minutes.

Wisdom 9 – The Condition lasts for one Scene/1 Hour.

Wisdom 8 – The Condition lasts for two hours.

Wisdom 7 – The Condition lasts for 12 hours.

Wisdom 6 – The Condition lasts for 24 hours.

Wisdom 5 – The Condition lasts for two days.

Wisdom 4 – The Condition lasts for one week.

Wisdom 3 – The Condition lasts for two weeks.

Wisdom 2 – The Condition lasts for 1 month.

Wisdom 1 – The Condition lasts for 1 year.

Wisdom 0 – The Condition is indefinite.

Breaking Point Results:

1.        Exceptional Success – The Sleeper recovers one Willpower Point and takes a beat.  They remember everything about their experience will a certain amount of clarity despite what others will say.  Also, they are prone to Awakening, becoming a Sleepwalker, or being affected by other Supernal magics and activities.  They gain the Condition: Receptive

-           (QUIESCENCE) SUPERNALLY RECEPTIVE: Your character has opened to the Supernal World, as result of overcoming the Sleeping Curse for a moment. She cannot resist possession or the effects of Supernal creatures and influences and she bleeds Mana. Every day, she generates Mana equal to her Resolve score. Entities can consume the Mana by touching her but mages must use magic or sacrifice them.  The receptive takes -2 to resist the effects of magic.  The receptive also is considered Manifest “Open” Condition for Supernal entities.  They also can hear High Speech and other magical acts with an intact memory.  Possible Sources: Witnesses Vulgar Magic, contact with Supernal Magic  Resolution: Based on Wisdom Duration  Beat: Your character experiences grave danger as result of her experience with the Supernal World

2.     Success – The Sleeper retains their Integrity score and gains the condition Existential Dissonance and one more condition.

-           (QUIESCENCE) EXISTENTIAL DISSONANCE: Your character continues to struggle against the Sleeping Curse after witnessing Vulgar magic.  They forget what they just saw in a vague way but are deeply unsettled by the experience.  They enter a pseudo-fugue state. Other aspects are manifested by another condition.  Later they can only remember what happened in a foggy vague way.  The memory doesn’t feel real, dream-like, and begins to assert rationality to make up for the negative feelings involved.  Possible Sources: Witnesses Vulgar Magic, contact with Supernal Magic or beings,  Resolution: Based on Wisdom Duration  Beat: Your character’s existential crisis causes a significant problem for them.

-           Other Conditions Applied: (Duration determined by Wisdom of caster)  Pick one condition below to represent the issues mentioned above in addition to Existential Dissoance:

o    Delusional

o    Awestruck (acute)

o    Demoralized

o    Obsession (acute)

o    Amnesia (acute)

o    Shadow Paranoia

o    Cowed

3.     Failure – The Sleeper witness loses one point of Integrity and goes into full denial of all Supernal Magics. The Sleeper instantly forgets everything witnessed as soon as the magic is gone but carries psychic trauma.  This rejection can be so harsh is may cause any number of conditions but almost always Amnesia.  Attempts to dig up these memories are met with direct denials and rejections.  Pick Amnesia and one other condition:

o    Paranoid

o    Unaware

o    Confused

o    Amnesia (Persistent) - always

o    Shaken

o    Spooked

4.     Dramatic Failure – Witnessing the Vulgar spell breaks the mind.  The dissonance between the enforced consensus reality of the Fallen World and the endless possibly and utter subjective Truths of the Supernal World and it rends the mind. The person becomes Manifestation “Open” to Abyssal entities and similar forms of corruption.  They can remember what they saw and what happened but they have been so broken by the experience that it all comes out wrong.  Common conditions include: (Pick one!)

o    Amnesia (Persistent)

o    Broken (Persistent)

o    Fugue (Persistent)

o    Madness (Persistent)

o    Delusional (Persistent)

o    Obsession (Persistent)

o    Shadow Paranoia (Persistent)

5.  

RELATED CONDITIONS:

AWESTRUCK: Your character sees before her a glorious and terrifying figure, and something in her brain kicks her to kneel and grovel. She suffers a –2 penalty to attack rolls against the source of the Condition. She also suffers a –3 penalty to contested rolls against social actions from the source of the Condition, and a –3 penalty to her Composure and Resolve against actions and powers that the source of the Condition uses on her.

Possible Sources: Compulsion from supernatural powers.

Resolution: The source of the Condition leaves your character’s presence

Beat: Your character takes an action that serves the demands of the Condition’s source.

AMNESIA (Persistent): Your character is missing a portion of her memory. An entire period of her life is just gone. This causes massive difficulties with friends and loved ones.

Resolution: You regain your memory and learn the truth. Depending on the circumstances, this may constitute a breaking point.

Beat: Something problematic arises, such as a forgotten arrest warrant or old enemy.

CONFUSED: Your character cannot think straight. She suffers a –2 penalty to all Intelligence and Wits rolls.Possible Sources: Facing overwhelming sensory information, some Gifts.  Resolution: Take half an hour to clear the mind. Take any amount of lethal damage.              Beat: n/a

DEMORALIZED: Your character is demoralized and hesitant in the face of the enemy. Spending a Willpower point only adds one die to her attack pool rather than the usual three. She also suffers a –4 penalty to her Initiative, and a –2 penalty to her Resolve and Composure whenever they are used to resist or contest a dice pool.  Possible Sources: Attempting something momentous and failing at the last hurdle, some powers.  Resolution: The character achieves an exceptional success on an attack roll, wins a combat, or survives a combat unharmed. A week passes.                Beat: n/a

COWED: Your character has been put in her place through the violence and dominance of another. She suffers a –2 penalty on any Physical and Social rolls to oppose the character who inflicted this Condition if she does not spend Willpower.Possible Sources: Having another character determine her superiority to yours, some supernatural powers.  Resolution: The character successfully injures or intimidates the character who inflicted the Condition. The character regains Willpower.                Beat: n/a

DELUSION: Your character cannot make sense of the world she perceives, and because of this, she avoids that which would make her question. When facing the supernatural, or something she suspects to be the source of this Condition, she flees. If she cannot flee, she shuts down. Every action she takes that is not fleeing requires a Willpower point.  Resolution: Your character reaffirms her sense of reality by expending Willpower and learning something new, something deeply secret about the source of the Condition.  Possible Sources: Succumbing to Lunacy.               Beat:

PARANOID: Your character has been reduced to a state of rampant paranoia. She jumps at shadows, sees threats everywhere, and finds it hard to trust. She suffers a –2 penalty to Perception rolls, Social actions, and dice pools to draw upon the Allies, Contacts, Mentor, Retainer, Staff, and Status Merits. (They are part of a conspiracy!)  Possible Sources: Some Gifts.  Resolution: A week without any threat actually manifesting; a friend or ally achieving an exceptional success on a Social action to convince you of their trustworthiness.    Beat: n/a

MADNESS (Persistent): Your character saw or did something that jarred her loose from reality. This isn’t a mental illness born of brain chemistry — that, at least, might be treatable. This madness is the product of supernatural tampering or witnessing something that humanity was never meant to comprehend. The Storyteller has a pool of dice equal to 10 – (character’s Integrity). Once per chapter, the Storyteller can apply those dice as a negative modifier to any Mental or Social roll made for the character.  Possible Sources: Supernatural visions, losing a dot of Integrity.  Resolution: Regain a dot of Integrity, lose another dot of Integrity, or achieve an exceptional success on a breaking point.                   Beat: The character fails a roll because of this Condition.

SHADOW PARANOIA: panic; she is jumpy and on edge, afraid that every shadow might contain sharp teeth and sudden death. She suffers a –2 penalty to all Perception rolls. Any failure on a Perception roll becomes a dramatic failure as she thinks she sees an attacker or threat out of the corner of her eye, and she will react with panic; if she’s carrying a firearm she will likely start firing at shadows. Thinking rationally is difficult in the face of such fear and she suffers a –2 penalty on all Intelligence- and Wits-based dice pools.  Possible Sources: Some Gifts.  Resolution: The character reaches a place of safety. The character achieves an exceptional success on a Perception roll.       Beat: n/a

SHAKEN: Something has severely frightened your character. Any time your character is taking an action where that fear might hinder her, you may  opt to fail the roll and resolve this Condition. This Condition can be imposed by undergoing a breaking point roll.  Possible Sources: Facing a breaking point.  Resolution: The character gives into her fear and fails a roll as described above.                    Beat: n/a

SPOOKED: Your character has seen something supernatural — not overt enough to terrify her, but unmistakably otherworldly How your character responds to this is up to you, but it captivates her and dominates her focus.  Possible Sources: Facing a breaking point, encountering the supernatural.  Resolution: This Condition is resolved when your character’s fear and fascination causes her to do something that hinders the group or complicates things (she goes off alone to investigate a strange noise, stays up all night researching runs away instead of holding her ground, etc.).        Beat: n/a

UNAWARE: Your character has been dazed and confused, distracted, and internalized. He’s so withdrawn inward, that he cannot notice the proverbial (or literal) wolf at his door. Reduce his Composure by ( – 1), with a minimum of –1 — if the Irraka has Cunning 4, it reduces Composure by –3.)  Possible Sources: Vulgar Magic  Resolution: Suffer a wound penalty from lethal or aggravated wounds, or suffer a lethal wound in your character’s last Health box.  Beat: n/a

BROKEN (Persistent):  Whatever you did or saw, something inside you snapped. You can barely muster up the will to do your job anymore, and anything more emotionally intense than a raised voice makes you flinch and back down. Apply a –2 to all Social rolls and rolls involving Resolve and a –5 to all use of the Intimidation Skill.  Resolution: Regain a dot of Integrity, lose another dot of Integrity, or achieve an exceptional success on a breaking point.  Beat: You back down from a confrontation or fail a roll due to this Condition.

FUGUE (Persistent): Something terrible happened. Rather than deal with it or let it break you, your mind shuts it out. You are prone to blackouts and lost time. Whenever circumstances become too similar to the situation that led to your gaining this  Condition, the player rolls Resolve + Composure. If you fail the roll, the Storyteller controls your character for the next scene; your character, left to his own devices, will seek to avoid the conflict and get away from the area.  Resolution: Regain a dot of Integrity, lose another dot of Integrity, or achieve an exceptional success on a breaking point.  Beat: You enter a fugue state as described above.

OBSESSION (Persistent) Your character saw something and just can’t shake it. She gains the 9-again quality on all rolls related to pursuing her obsession. On rolls that are unrelated to her obsession, she loses the 10-again quality. Obsession can be a temporary quality per Storyteller approval.  Resolution: The character sheds or purges her fixation.  Beat: Character fails to fulfill an obligation due to pursuing her obsession.