[Mage: The Awakening v1.9] Reach: Pushing the Limits

(Out of Character (OOC):

Chronicle: Mage 2: The Dethroned Queen
Venue: Mage: The Awakening
Chronicle Storyteller: Jerad Sayler))

VIII.       Reach Rules (Pushing the Limit)

•        Enough Rope to Hang Yourself – A mage can spend a willpower point and push their understanding and powers in return for additional risk.  Pushing the Limit represents dots of an Arcanum you need to get the spell factors you want or the Practices you need to perform the spell in question.  These are not inherently Vulgar anymore and no longer just add the flat +3 to paradox when used.  They can be used as many times in a scene as a mage dares.

•        Limit Break! – Each time a mage Reaches for more power they spend a Willpower Point, usually risk paradox, and depending on the circumstances may take a Breaking Point.  Paradox accumulates very quickly if everyone starts doing this in the same area.  The Willpower Point, Paradox Pool, and Breaking Point are three things that happen independently of each other.  Reaching doesn’t always Risk Paradox or cause a vulgar spell, a mage can spend a Willpower Point to cast a Vulgar spell ritually and making it Covert instead.  This could still cause a Breaking Point.

-    Reach – Reach is the delta (difference between) your current dots in an Arcanum and the dots you need to cast the spell you want.  Positive Reach is the number of spell factors or practices beyond your current understanding/capability you need to cast the spell you want: (Each aspect you have to reach for is factored and added together).

o   You get +1 Reach for free for every dot in an Arcanum you meet or exceed the requirement for.

o   You can also get +1 Reach for free by turning an Instant cast spell into a Ritual cast spell.  This also makes it Covert unless magic is witnessed overtly.

o   Add a point of Reach if a Practice needed to cast a spell requires a higher dot then you currently possess. You can only cast spells as if you are one dot higher than you are by Reaching for it. You cannot reach more than one dot upward for a practice you need (A mage with Space 3 can spend a will and cast teleport as if they were Space 4).

o   Lose a point to upgrade the range of a spell: (can be done multiple times)

§  -1 Reach to make spell that can only be cast on the Self to affect Touch

§  -2 From Touch to Sensory Range

§  -3 From Sensory Range to Sympathetic Casting (Penalties and restrictions apply)

o   Lose a point of reach to upgrade the duration of a spell:

§  _-1 From a spell that can only last Instant to Transitory

§  -2 from Transitory to Prolonged

§  -3 From Prolonged to Advanced Prolonged

o   Lose a point of reach to upgrade the AOE for a spell:

§  -1 From Single Targets to AOE Table

§  _-2 From AOE to Advanced AOE Table

o   Lose a point to upgrade the amount of time it takes to cast the spell:

§  _{-1 From} Extended Action to Instant Action

§  -2 from Instant Action to Reflexive Action (restrictions apply)

o   Lose a point of Reach to upgrade the damage of your spell beyond your capabilities

§  -1 to upgrade damage from Bashing to Lethal

§  -2 to upgrade damage from Lethal to Aggravated (also costs a Mana)

o   Lose a point of Reach increase your effective Arcana level for purposes of Combining spells

§  -1 increase the effective Arcana dot by 1 for purposes of combining spells

§  -2 increase two effective Arcana dots by 1 for purposes of combining spells

o   Lose a point of Reach to make a Vulgar spell covert (unless witnessed directly).  If you have a negative balance of Reach the spell will still be Vulgar and a waste of time…

•        What is your total? – Once you have reached as far as you need to for power, you have to pay the price for it.  For each point of negative reach you have add your base paradox pool together for a total.  That is how much paradox you just generated.  If the spell was already Vulgar take an additional -1…

         Example One: Bishop needs his zombie minions fast, but only has Space 3 and can only make portals using a Ritual casting of the spell.  He can burn a willpower point and extend his Reach 0 to -1 by pushing his limits and making the Portal spell work instantly.  He also wants the portal to stand open for at least a scene so he also reaches to upgrade the duration of the spell from Transitory to Prolonged.  He comes up with a total Reach balance of -2.  The spell was already Vulgar so it’s -3.  Since Bishop has Gnosis 3 he now risks paradox and 2 + 2 + 2 = 6 paradox dice is what he must deal with because of all the excess supernal magic he pulled down.  The next person to cast a vulgar spell in that area is starting with +7 Paradox dice… things get out of hand quickly.

         Example Two: Casstiel is a Master of the Space Arcanum and needs to Apport many objects to his location or person.  Since he already meets the practice needed by two dots his starting Reach balance is +2.  He spends +1 Reach to make Apportation Covert and another Reach to make the spell remain active for spell factors on the Prolongation table.  This lets him spend a willpower point to cast a Covert version of Apportion Instantly that lasts for at least a scene and allows him to pull objects freely from wherever he stores them (total reach balance = 0). So long as sleepers don’t see him reach into a portal or pull oversized objects out of his coat the spell remains covert.  If he wanted the spell to last longer using the Advanced Prolongation factors he could cast the Apportation spell ritually, granting him +1 Reach and spend that point of Reach to upgrade the duration table further…

•        Using Reach Ritually – A Vulgar spell can now be made covert by casting it ritually.  This can be done with one fewer dot of an Arcanum than is normally needed to cast the spell. That means that all spells basically require one less dot of an Arcanum than they normally did so long as they are cast ritually.  Designing complex spells that require more Reach benefit from this negative value.  Any spells (like Space 3 portal) that require a ritual casting can be done Instantly by reaching for one point.  Or the mage could reach and cast Teleport ritually.

•        Don’t Get Cocky – So what stops mages from Reaching all day long in the comfort of a Demense or Supernal Verge?  Because, paradox accumulated by Reaching and gets pulled into such places and happens anyway.  That makes it a great way to harm the Supernal and corrupt such places with the Abyss.  Doing so is usually a low Wisdom Sin.

•             Profaning the Mysteries -  Reaching in a Demesne can still be Vulgar.  Each soulstone used to create the Demense will cancel out an incident of risking Paradox using Reach in a given 24 hour period.  So with a complete Demense you could incur five Reaches in a day without pulling the Abyss into the Demense. Taxing the Demesne by Reaching too much is a horrible sin against Wisdom.  It desecrates the holy Supernal True by calling down the Abyss to live in the Demesne for a time, even if paradox doesn’t occur.  The intermingling is awful in its repercussions.   For many Mages it may implicates a Wisdom sin of the highest level (1-2).  A Mage, especially those of the Pentacle and the Guardians of the Veil would regard this in many ways as a violation of the codes and intents of the Lex Magica and punishable by banishment from the Concilium, Cabal, and possible death.  Mages who understand what they have done will most likely suffer a breaking point unless they are Left-Handed mages who have committed worse transgressions and are callous against harming the Truth of the universe.

•             Learning to Reach - Learned Mages may not even know they can Reach.  It goes against Pentacle Orthodoxy and unless a mage is put in a lot of combat or has been trained by those who have been forced to face the nasty gritty reality of war.  It is common for Apostates, Banishers, the Left-Handed and the lone Cabal or mage to employ this act.

•             Ultimate Expression of Hubris - The mystical ramifications should be considered in Pushing the Limits.  It is an act of desperation that commits the sin of Hubris more often than not.  Depending on the circumstances it is very likely that Reaching could cause a Breaking Point for the Caster.  Pushing the limit means that training in the mystical arts is unimportant, only power is important.  It is an ultimate expression of selfish hubris and a made grab for more power than one has the knowledge and responsibility to employ.  The act says that the rules and initiations of the Ars Mysterium don’t matter, that they don’t apply to the Mage.  He knows better and thinks he is responsible enough to call down more than he can handle.  In most circumstances the act does not apply any other penalty than more Paradox and the exertion of willpower.  It may save the Mage and his Cabal mates in a desperate situation but used casually it says a lot about how a Mage views the sacred nature of the Supernal and the state of his megalomania.