Out of Character (OOC):
Chronicle: Mage 2: The Dethroned Queen
Venue: Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition
Chronicle Storyteller: Jerad Sayler
Assistant Storytellers: Hannah Nyland & Alex Van Belkum
General Spellcasting Considerations:
The Thirteen
Magical Practices
Mages divide the art of magic into thirteen Practices of increasing complexity. Demonstrating their expertise with these methodologies is how mages claim rank and privilege: A Thyrsus who has demonstrated the ability to cast Spirit Unmaking spells has earned the right to call herself a Master, for example. When they require further gradation, mages specify the number of Arcana they have achieved their highest rank in: if the same Thyrsus also successfully casts a Life Making spell she may call herself a second-degree Master.
4. Practice of Ruling - Exert elementary command and control over phenomena
6. Practice of Shielding - Protect a target against attacks by providing defenses and armors
Fraying spells degrade things, weakening them and enhancing their flaws. Fraying spells can weaken targets under the Arcanum’s purview: damping a fire (Forces), sapping Strength (Life), or eroding the barrier between worlds (Death, Spirit, or others, depending on the worlds in question). They can also directly attack targets using the energies of the Arcanum: inflicting damage via the chill of the grave (Death), psychic overload (Mind), or a blast of electricity (Forces). Damage inflicted by a direct-attack Fraying spell is always bashing.
9. Practice of Perfecting - Fortify, bolster or improve phenomena
Patterning spells allow a mage to completely transform a target into something else that falls under the Arcanum’s purview. A memory can be replaced wholesale (Mind), the mage can turn herself (or a target) into an animal (Life), or she can teleport by “rewriting” her own location (Space). A spell that transforms the target into something that falls within the Purview of another Arcanum, like transforming into a living pillar of fire (Life and Forces), requires a mage to know the Practice of Patterning for the destination Arcanum.
11. Practice of Unraveling - Seriously mutilate or weaken a target
Making spells allow for the creation of whole new phenomena ex nihilo. The mage can conjure gamma rays(Forces), birth new spirits (Spirit), or create a doorway to the Underworld (Death). Time can be dilated by creating more seconds, hours, or even days (Time).
13. Practice of Unmaking - Destroy or annihilate a target
There is more than one way to skin a cat...
Astute players will likely figure out a multitude of ways to accomplish similar effects with different Arcana, sometimes at different dot levels. This is okay. Just because a Fate ••• spell can do a thing doesn’t mean a Forces • spell that does a similar thing is “broken” or should be disallowed.
Chronicle: Mage 2: The Dethroned Queen
Venue: Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition
Chronicle Storyteller: Jerad Sayler
Assistant Storytellers: Hannah Nyland & Alex Van Belkum
Spellcasting Considerations
& The 13 Supernal Practices
My comments are in yellow and are regarding my reviews of the system and my own personal and Storyteller's perspective recommendations for use in our Chronicle.
Sources: The following text, as written in grey, is straight out of the advanced "beta" version of Mage: The Awakening 2nd edition.
Additional explanation is in this font, when it helps drive the concepts home.
General Spellcasting Considerations:
Down and Dirty Spellcasting
Sometimes characters desire to cast spells or create effects that should be easy and require little risk or effort from the mage. Often these spells are effects that the mage creates on a regular basis, and the risk of failure is small and has little to no impact on the drama of the story. Determining spell factor penalties and Yantra bonuses for these kinds of spells is cumbersome. In these cases, just have players roll Gnosis + Arcanum. Success on the roll equals a successful casting. If the player wanted to affect multiple subjects, or create a large effect with the spellcasting, then the number of success may determine the number of subjects or the size of an area affected by the spell effect.
For example, if a mage wanted to revive all the dead roses in a garden, she could roll Gnosis + Life and each success would equal a 5 meter radius of revived roses.
Clash of Wills
Sometimes, two supernatural powers clearly oppose one another. If the normal systems for the powers fail to resolve this, such as when a mage attempts to observe an effect with his Mage Sight that another has placed under a protective veil, there is a Clash of Wills. In the case of spellcasting and counterspells each mage rolls off using a pool of Gnosis + Arcanum. Other supernatural beings have Clash of Wills dice pools specified in their own rules. Ties reroll until one player has accrued more success than all others. The effect invoked by that player’s character wins out and resolves as usual, while all others fail. Victory of one power in a clash does not mean the immediate cancellation
of the others, save in cases where only one power can possibly endure. If the winning spell in a Clash between two spells runs out of Duration before the other does, the losing spell will take effect when the winner is removed.
Mages may spend Willpower to bolster the contested roll, and are always aware when their spells are clashing. Spells with Advanced Durations and Potency are more enduring in a Clash. Day-long spells add +1 die to the Clash roll, weeklong spells add +2, month-long +3, and year-long and indefinite effects add +4. Advanced Potency adds +1 die.
Mages may spend Willpower to bolster the contested roll, and are always aware when their spells are clashing. Spells with Advanced Durations and Potency are more enduring in a Clash. Day-long spells add +1 die to the Clash roll, weeklong spells add +2, month-long +3, and year-long and indefinite effects add +4. Advanced Potency adds +1 die.
Dispellation
Sometimes mages encounter spell effects that remain in the world long after the caster is gone and wish to remove them with their own magic. Dispellation is itself a spell, with the target spell as its subject.
Countermagic
Mages may wish to prevent spellcasting when they witness it, instead of waiting to dispel the effect later. See the Attainment for details on its use.
Casting During Combat
A mage casting a spell at standard range must successfully touch her subject. See “Touching an Opponent” rules. Mages taking multiple turns to cast a spell (usually because they are utilizing Yantras or spending more Mana than their Gnosis allows) still apply Defense against attacks but may not make combat actions unless another rule such as the Adamant Hand Merit allows it.
Casting During a Grapple
Mages can cast spells in a single turn without making any outward sign. A mage in a grapple (whether he initiated it or not) can cast a spell whether he wins the grapple check for the turn or not, but suffers a –3 penalty to the spellcasting roll if he lost. Mages in a grapple cannot employ any Yantras involving movement, but if the grapple was initiated part-way through casting a spell, any Yantras the caster has already spent turns incorporating into the spell have their full effect.
Spell Stacking
Spell Stacking
When multiple spells affect the same aspect of a character the effects of the spells do not stack, and instead the spell with the highest Potency takes effect. For example, a character benefiting from a spell that grants her +1 Strength casts a spell that grants her +3 Strength. The original spell with +1 Strength is suppressed for the Duration of the new spell. Both spell’s durations continue to lapse, though only the highest Potency spell is active.
Spell Control (Determined by Gnosis)
Spell Control (Determined by Gnosis)
Once a spell is cast, the mage can do very little to alter it. She cannot increase the spell factors short of canceling the spell and recasting it, though she can restrict its effects by reducing factors such as Potency, Duration, or Scale. As an instant action, the mage can reduce the factors of one of her spells in any way she chooses, but although she can reduce the number of subjects if the spell used that form of Scale, all spell factors must still apply equally to all subjects – she can’t weaken a spell for a specific individual without further magic. A mage may cancel any of her active spells as a reflexive action.
Also remember that Sleepwalkers have the unique ability to hold spells for you!
Limits to Spell Control - A mage can have as many active spells as she has dots in Gnosis. Each additional spell requires a Reach, plus another Reach per spell already over the limit.
Partial Relinquishment (Willpower Point)- A mage may relinquish a spell, removing it from the spells counting against her Gnosis without canceling it. The player can spend a Willpower point to leave the spell as though cast by another mage. Without maintenance from the caster, the spell may go awry if left for very long periods. At the beginning of every chapter, the Storyteller rolls one die for every Reach the spell used above the caster’s free Reach, or a chance die if it was within her limits. A dramatic failure means the spell skips the roll for the next chapter; success grants the Storyteller a Reach as though the spell had gained a Paradox; and an exceptional success ends the spell, canceling its remaining Duration.
Stable Relinquishment (Willpower Dot) - Instead of risking the spell going wrong, the player may spend a Willpower dot to relinquish the spell safely. In this case, the spell continues until its Duration runs down or it is dispelled. Most mages only relinquish indefinite spells, as relinquishing safely is extremely taxing. Relinquishing unsafely is illegal in many Consilia, or at least seen as grossly negligent. When a mage dies, all of her spells are immediately relinquished as though the player spent a Willpower point.
The Prices of Power and alternate methods of releasing a spell still work as written in the Tome of the Mysteries sourcebook provided the mages meet the prerequisites. They act as spells temporarily cast upon the original spell in order to tie it off. Once the spell is relinquished the spell used to perform this alternate means of release expires.
Combined Spells
Also remember that Sleepwalkers have the unique ability to hold spells for you!
Limits to Spell Control - A mage can have as many active spells as she has dots in Gnosis. Each additional spell requires a Reach, plus another Reach per spell already over the limit.
Partial Relinquishment (Willpower Point)- A mage may relinquish a spell, removing it from the spells counting against her Gnosis without canceling it. The player can spend a Willpower point to leave the spell as though cast by another mage. Without maintenance from the caster, the spell may go awry if left for very long periods. At the beginning of every chapter, the Storyteller rolls one die for every Reach the spell used above the caster’s free Reach, or a chance die if it was within her limits. A dramatic failure means the spell skips the roll for the next chapter; success grants the Storyteller a Reach as though the spell had gained a Paradox; and an exceptional success ends the spell, canceling its remaining Duration.
Stable Relinquishment (Willpower Dot) - Instead of risking the spell going wrong, the player may spend a Willpower dot to relinquish the spell safely. In this case, the spell continues until its Duration runs down or it is dispelled. Most mages only relinquish indefinite spells, as relinquishing safely is extremely taxing. Relinquishing unsafely is illegal in many Consilia, or at least seen as grossly negligent. When a mage dies, all of her spells are immediately relinquished as though the player spent a Willpower point.
The Prices of Power and alternate methods of releasing a spell still work as written in the Tome of the Mysteries sourcebook provided the mages meet the prerequisites. They act as spells temporarily cast upon the original spell in order to tie it off. Once the spell is relinquished the spell used to perform this alternate means of release expires.
Combined Spells
The Arcanum descriptions explain discrete spells and their effects. Sometimes, a mage wants more than one of these spell effects to take place in a single casting. The result is called a combined spell. The main advantage of a combined spell is that it counts as a single spell toward the total spells a mage can have active, and all its effects activate simultaneously. Mages can combine a number of spells determined by Gnosis (two at Gnosis 3, three at Gnosis 6, and four at Gnosis 9) together
into a single casting. Rotes cannot be combined, but Praxes can if the caster has all of the spells being combined as Praxes
To cast a combined spell, the mage’s base dice pool is her Gnosis + lowest Arcanum of the spells cast; this pool suffers a –2 penalty for each additional spell over the first. Combined Spell's dice pool rolls with lowest Arcanum dots -2 (for each additional effect), Reach based on the highest Arcanum.
For example, a mage with Gnosis 4 would cast a combined Mind 3, Forces 4 spell at Gnosis 4 + Mind 3 – 2.
Errata: You get one set of free Reach determined as normal. If you spend Reach to alter a spell factor, it gets altered for all the spells within the combined spell, but additional Reach effects in a spell's listing must be bought separately. Spell stacking applies if the constituent spells affect the same thing, which even affects instantaneous results like damage - you can't combine two attack spells to do two sets of damage, but you can combine two attack spells to do one set of damage and spend reach on two different secondary effects those attack spells might have.
Spell modifications such as Yantras and spell factors affect the entire spellcasting pool and spell effects. Multiple spell effects must use the same scale unless the mage uses a Reach to separate the effects. Roll results are the same as single-cast spells.
To cast a combined spell, the mage’s base dice pool is her Gnosis + lowest Arcanum of the spells cast; this pool suffers a –2 penalty for each additional spell over the first. Combined Spell's dice pool rolls with lowest Arcanum dots -2 (for each additional effect), Reach based on the highest Arcanum.
For example, a mage with Gnosis 4 would cast a combined Mind 3, Forces 4 spell at Gnosis 4 + Mind 3 – 2.
Errata: You get one set of free Reach determined as normal. If you spend Reach to alter a spell factor, it gets altered for all the spells within the combined spell, but additional Reach effects in a spell's listing must be bought separately. Spell stacking applies if the constituent spells affect the same thing, which even affects instantaneous results like damage - you can't combine two attack spells to do two sets of damage, but you can combine two attack spells to do one set of damage and spend reach on two different secondary effects those attack spells might have.
Spell modifications such as Yantras and spell factors affect the entire spellcasting pool and spell effects. Multiple spell effects must use the same scale unless the mage uses a Reach to separate the effects. Roll results are the same as single-cast spells.
There is no longer a system for Conjunctive Arcana. As long as you are using your understanding in one Arcana (almost always a minimum of 2 dots) to weave a spell to accomplish a single effect this is simply a spell of the primary Arcanum simply written to accept slightly different inputs and outputs.
Game Hack: However! When it comes to conjuctive Spellcasting, after an additional Arcana is incorporated, each additional Arcana that is added requires the willworker to choose the cost of adding in more spell complexity from the following list:
- A point of Mana
- An additional Reach
- The spell takes a -2 spell factor penalty.
The caster is free to mix and match. For example, when Jack Bismuth creates a Ban that incorporates all 10 Arcana he must pay the costs above for the additional 8 Arcana that are built into the spell Conjuctively. This should not be confused with with Combined spellcasting as there is only one spell effect in a Conjuctive spell, its just designed to affect phenomena outside of its purview.
Game Hack: However! When it comes to conjuctive Spellcasting, after an additional Arcana is incorporated, each additional Arcana that is added requires the willworker to choose the cost of adding in more spell complexity from the following list:
- A point of Mana
- An additional Reach
- The spell takes a -2 spell factor penalty.
The caster is free to mix and match. For example, when Jack Bismuth creates a Ban that incorporates all 10 Arcana he must pay the costs above for the additional 8 Arcana that are built into the spell Conjuctively. This should not be confused with with Combined spellcasting as there is only one spell effect in a Conjuctive spell, its just designed to affect phenomena outside of its purview.
Teamwork
Mages may work together towards a common goal for spellcasting. This is handled like any other action where characters combine their efforts. The mages involved in the spellcasting must all have at least one dot in the Arcanum required to cast the spell, while the leader must have the required Arcanum rating to cast it himself. If the leader knows the spell as a Praxis or Rote, the spell gains the benefits of those methods. Any secondary caster who meets the Arcanum requirements rolls her own casting and adds her successes as bonus dice to the leader. If a secondary caster does not meet the Arcanum requirements, she rolls Gnosis (no Arcanum) with a –3 penalty, and provides any successes as bonus dice to the leader. Each participant must roll for Paradox separately; if any one of the casters releases a Paradox instead of containing it, it affects the entire spell. Mages without the Arcanum used at all, Sleepwalkers, and Proximi may also assist in the casting, but do not roll. Instead, the casters may use their participation in the ritual as an environment Yantra.
Magical Practices
Mages divide the art of magic into thirteen Practices of increasing complexity. Demonstrating their expertise with these methodologies is how mages claim rank and privilege: A Thyrsus who has demonstrated the ability to cast Spirit Unmaking spells has earned the right to call herself a Master, for example. When they require further gradation, mages specify the number of Arcana they have achieved their highest rank in: if the same Thyrsus also successfully casts a Life Making spell she may call herself a second-degree Master.
One Dot: Initiate O
1. Practice of Knowing - Gain knowledge and understanding of phenomena.
Knowing spells deliver knowledge about something directly to the mage (or to another target). A mage can divine the cause of a corpse’s death (Death), sense whether someone has a powerful destiny (Fate), or unerringly know which way is north (Space). This knowledge is a direct awareness of Supernal truth; the mage doesn’t have to interpret evidence based on her senses or try to divine the truth out of cryptic riddles.
2. Practice of Compelling - Elementary manipulation of phenomena, enough to activate and/or impart direction.
Compelling spells nudge a preferred but possible outcome into reality. A coin toss can be made to come up tails (Fate), a bored worker can be made to take that coffee break now (Mind), or a spirit can be forced to avoid its bane (Spirit). Making the coin hover and spin in midair, making the worker walk into her boss’s office and quit, or making the spirit ignore its favorite prey are beyond the bounds of a Compelling spell.
3. Practice of Unveiling - Gain sensory perception of phenomena
Unveiling spells expose hidden things to the mage’s senses. She might gain the ability to hear radio waves (Forces), peer across the Gauntlet or perceive things in Twilight (Spirit), or see the flow of Mana across the landscape (Prime).
1. Practice of Knowing - Gain knowledge and understanding of phenomena.
Knowing spells deliver knowledge about something directly to the mage (or to another target). A mage can divine the cause of a corpse’s death (Death), sense whether someone has a powerful destiny (Fate), or unerringly know which way is north (Space). This knowledge is a direct awareness of Supernal truth; the mage doesn’t have to interpret evidence based on her senses or try to divine the truth out of cryptic riddles.
2. Practice of Compelling - Elementary manipulation of phenomena, enough to activate and/or impart direction.
Compelling spells nudge a preferred but possible outcome into reality. A coin toss can be made to come up tails (Fate), a bored worker can be made to take that coffee break now (Mind), or a spirit can be forced to avoid its bane (Spirit). Making the coin hover and spin in midair, making the worker walk into her boss’s office and quit, or making the spirit ignore its favorite prey are beyond the bounds of a Compelling spell.
3. Practice of Unveiling - Gain sensory perception of phenomena
Unveiling spells expose hidden things to the mage’s senses. She might gain the ability to hear radio waves (Forces), peer across the Gauntlet or perceive things in Twilight (Spirit), or see the flow of Mana across the landscape (Prime).
Two Dots: Apprentice OO
4. Practice of Ruling - Exert elementary command and control over phenomena
Ruling spells grant fuller control over phenomena than a mere Compelling spell. Water can be made to flow uphill or into unnatural shapes (Matter), animals (or even human beings) can be commanded (Life or Mind), or time can be momentarily made to accelerate or slow down (Time). A Ruling spell can’t fundamentally alter its target’s abilities: Water can be directed, but not turned solid or gaseous. Time can be altered, but not overwritten. An animal can be commanded, but not made stronger or fiercer.
5. Practice of Veiling - Conceal, camouflage or hide phenomena from scrutiny
5. Practice of Veiling - Conceal, camouflage or hide phenomena from scrutiny
Veiling spells are twofold: Firstly, they can conceal things under the Arcanum’s purview from detection: A target can be made to lose all sense of time (Time), a fire’s heat and light can be hidden from view (Forces), or a building made all but impossible to notice (Matter). Secondly, they can conceal a target from concrete phenomena under the Arcanum’s purview: a mage can render herself invisible to ghosts (Death), or ward a powerful Locus from detection by spirits (Spirit), or walk unnoticed through a crowd (Life or Mind), or past a camera (Forces). Short of archmastery, it’s impossible to Veil something against an abstract concept or force: a mage can’t Veil herself against death or hide from time, for example.
6. Practice of Shielding - Protect a target against attacks by providing defenses and armors
Shielding spells, sometimes called Warding spells, offer protection against phenomena under the Arcanum’s purview. A Shielding spell might protect against a ghost’s Numina (Death), make the mage immune to fire (Forces) or disease (Life), or allow her to survive in a caustic atmosphere (Matter). Mages protect themselves from general harm through the power of their Arcana with the Mage Armor Attainment rather than Shielding spells.
Three Dots: Disciple OOO
7. Practice of Weaving - Alter the capabilities or functions of phenomena
Weaving spells can alter nearly any property of a target without transforming it into something completely different. Solid steel can be transmuted to liquid (Matter), a sword can be enchanted to damage beings in Twilight (Death or Spirit), and so on.
8. Practice of Fraying - Injure or weaken a target
Fraying spells degrade things, weakening them and enhancing their flaws. Fraying spells can weaken targets under the Arcanum’s purview: damping a fire (Forces), sapping Strength (Life), or eroding the barrier between worlds (Death, Spirit, or others, depending on the worlds in question). They can also directly attack targets using the energies of the Arcanum: inflicting damage via the chill of the grave (Death), psychic overload (Mind), or a blast of electricity (Forces). Damage inflicted by a direct-attack Fraying spell is always bashing.
9. Practice of Perfecting - Fortify, bolster or improve phenomena
Perfecting spells are the opposite of Fraying spells in many ways: they bolster, strengthen, and improve rather than weakening and eroding. A Perfecting spell might repair damage to an object or a person (Matter or Life), allow a machine to function perfectly with no wear and tear (Matter), or make a modest destiny into an earth-shaking one (Fate).
Four Dots: Adept OOOO
10. Practice of Patterning - Transform phenomena into a related phenomena or shapes, or replace capabilities or functions with different ones.
Patterning spells allow a mage to completely transform a target into something else that falls under the Arcanum’s purview. A memory can be replaced wholesale (Mind), the mage can turn herself (or a target) into an animal (Life), or she can teleport by “rewriting” her own location (Space). A spell that transforms the target into something that falls within the Purview of another Arcanum, like transforming into a living pillar of fire (Life and Forces), requires a mage to know the Practice of Patterning for the destination Arcanum.
11. Practice of Unraveling - Seriously mutilate or weaken a target
Unraveling spells can significantly impair or damage phenomena under the Arcanum’s purview, or directly inflict severe damage using the forces of an Arcanum. A raging storm might become a calm summer’s day (Forces), or solid iron reduced to dust (Matter); even spells can be torn asunder (Prime). Mages can hurl fire (Forces) at their enemies, or cause aneurysms and heart attacks with a glance (Mind or Life). Damage inflicted by a direct Unraveling attack is lethal, but can be upgraded to aggravated by spending a point of Mana and one Reach.
Five Dots: Master OOOOO
12. Practice of Making - Create Phenomena from nothing
Making spells allow for the creation of whole new phenomena ex nihilo. The mage can conjure gamma rays(Forces), birth new spirits (Spirit), or create a doorway to the Underworld (Death). Time can be dilated by creating more seconds, hours, or even days (Time).
13. Practice of Unmaking - Destroy or annihilate a target
Unmaking spells annihilate subjects under the Arcanum’s purview entirely. Life can be snuffed like a candle (Life), two locations can be forced into each other by destroying the the distance between them (Space), even Hallows and Verges can be wiped from the Earth (Prime). Unmaking spells are beyond inflicting direct damage with attacks; a successful Unmaking destroys the target altogether.
There is more than one way to skin a cat...
Astute players will likely figure out a multitude of ways to accomplish similar effects with different Arcana, sometimes at different dot levels. This is okay. Just because a Fate ••• spell can do a thing doesn’t mean a Forces • spell that does a similar thing is “broken” or should be disallowed.
Take for example influencing the outcome of a coin toss. A simple Compelling of Fate can easily tip the odds toward either heads or tails, but it’s theoretically possible to use a Forces Fraying spell to alter the kinetic energy imparted to the coin, causing it to spin slower, or use a Matter Weaving spell to change the coin’s center of mass. Both are perhaps more complicated than the Fate approach, but they’re valid within the purview of their respective Arcana.
Similarly, a Mind Weaving spell could force a target to feel love, while a Life Ruling spell could cause the target’s brain to release dopamine and other hormones that create a similar effect.
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