[Mage: The Awakening 2nd Ed] The Arcade Code Duello

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

The Ultimate Guide to 
The Duel Arcane
Part Three

The following are social considerations for the Duel Arcane for Mage: the Awakening 2nd Edition, adapted from various sourcebooks from Mage: The Awakening 1st Edition and game hax we have tried out before.  This has been a long time coming, especially after we had the Duel Arcane Tournament during many character's time at the Pentacle Academy.


Our changes are in different colors than the core source text so they can be used or discarded.  It's our system to make duels more dynamic and interesting.

Part One - The Traditional Duel Arcane
Part Two - Other Mystic Duels
Part Three - The Arcane Code Duello

Sources:
- Mage: The Awakening 2nd Ed corebook
- Mage: The Awakening 1st Ed corebook
- Tome of the Mysteries sourcebook for MtA1.0
- Sanctum & Sigil sourcebook for MtA1.0
- Secrets of the Ruined Temple sourcebook for MtA1.0
- The Adamantine Arrow order sourcebook for MtA1.0
- The Silver Ladder order sourcebook for MtA1.0

The Arcane Code Duello

No matter how learned or scholarly a city’s Councilors may be, initiates are known for occasionally finding their own ways to settle disputes. Before they consider forsaking one Consilium for another or turning to an Assembly of the Free Council for guidance, passionate mages resort to more immediate solutions. The Duel Arcane is the most common of these resolutions: a trial by magical combat, usually involving specified parameters of magic.  The Arcane Code Duello is the general set of rules for a one-on-one combat, or duel.  They help regulate dueling and thus help prevent vendettas between families and other social factions.  Each city and Order or faction will have its own specific rules and bi-laws for how a duel can be conducted to maximize resolution of conflict.

While mages can theoretically agree to duel in almost any fashion, the Duel Arcane is the most preeminent form because it does not demand any particular magical skills from the duelists. One mage (typically, but not necessarily a neutral judge or a second) must be able to cast Display of Power.  Mages who want a straightforward fight often prefer it, because the other forms often rely on specialized prowess that can give one participant an edge.

Duels: The Law of the Sword 
Occult knowledge is in finite supply. The Realms Supernal barely touch the Lie and leave Wise, willful prisoners hungry for more. Mages learn, compete and eventually fight for supremacy within a given territorial, ideological or occult domain. Awakened souls are too rare to squander with indiscriminate fighting and murder but too ambitious to easily surrender to external authority. Thus, the Lex Magica recognizes dueling as a legitimate way to resolve disputes.

A Consilium can try and punish wrongdoers, but mages don’t view it as an all-encompassing government in the fashion of Sleeper governments and institutions. Ideally, Consilia guarantee collective security, basic decorum and a court of last resort. Unless the prevailing culture is highly formal, mages who run to the council over every offense are usually thought to be too weak to handle their own affairs. Dueling exists to settle disputes between mages without burdening the Consilium or damaging the common courtesy of Awakened society. Nevertheless, there are those who feel that the whole affair smacks of a primitive, “gunslinging” mentality — and fight duels over delivering such slights. Why do they do it? What are the other advantages of duels?

The Duello

A combination of Western custom and Atlantean lore, the Code Duello (usually shortened to just “duello”) is a set of customs that determine what constitutes proper behavior during any kind of duel. Everything that is against Lex Magica is against the duello, but the reverse is not so; there are many legal ways to violate the duello, from mocking the loser to arriving late to fight. Some Consilia mandate strict adherence to the duello, but most do not. Even though the duello is fairly consistent across the Americas, variations enough exist to prompt travelers to inquire about what customs hold sway. The following describes elements of the duello as it exists in the Americas and most of Europe. Asian and African mages often have far different notions about how to organize ritual combat.

Even in the West, there are enough variations, local traditions and quirky laws to make a full description of the Code Duello impossible. Mages who twist the duello to their own ends are either hated or given a certain amount of grudging respect. Against expectations, the Adamantine Arrow often play fast and loose with the duello. Arrows habitually prepare for unrestricted warfare; by comparison, the average duel is a petty game and treated as such.

Binding Law

First and foremost, mages must do whatever the result of a duel compels them to do. Dueling agreements are legally binding oaths. If a mage promises to gather 10,000 pawns (points) of Mana for the winner in a year or forfeit her life, it has the force of centuries old Lex Magica behind it. If she loses and subsequently breaks her promise, the victor may slay her on a whim. Mages often sanctify dueling conditions with magical oaths (combining  Display of Power with the swearing of Oaths or a Geas), to encourage or ensure the honesty of participants. Consequently, mages should carefully agree upon the dueling conditions in front of sworn seconds. Confusion usually brings in the Consilium, which often rules against both parties to dissuade other dueling fools.

An example Dueling Oath:

I, who am called Zeno, swear this oath without arcane or mysterious compulsion. Should I be victorious according to the common codes of the Duel Arcane, my opponent, called Aurem, will relinquish the apprenticeship of the mage called Arctos to me for 90 days, transferring all solemn bonds and oaths of service. Furthermore, Arctos shall be free to become my apprentice if he wishes it, without interference from Aurem. Finally, Aurem will not entreat me to perform any service by action of thought, word or deed, for a year and a day from the date of the contest.

Should Aurem achieve victory by the Duel Arcane, I vow to pursue the Unclean magus called Angrboda, seeking his irrevocable death and thwarting his desires in all ways, until 90 days have passed, I have died, or I have delivered the head of Angrboda as an assurance of his death. I further vow that I will take the mage called Morvan as my companion and witness in this endeavor. Finally, I will not communicate with the magus Arctos or entertain communications from him for a year and a day from the date of the contest. The contest will be determined according to the common codes of the Duel Arcane, without addendum or alteration.

I acknowledge that the duel is Just, and that I may not seek the Great Right of Nemesis against any participant because of its outcome. Let all know that the oath I swear is law. If I break it, let

the Awakened inflict fair judgment upon me. 

Swift Justice

Any sizeable Consilium is so busy tracking local weirdness, territorial disputes, possible threats and political movements that they welcome duels as a way to offload a great deal of business to the honorable, angry people who want to go about it. Mages who appeal to the council about small matters may have to wait. If Boston suffers under a cannibal cult, why should its mages take time to listen to a petty argument over Mana rights? A duel settles matters then and there, with as much legal force as the Consilium itself can muster.

Privacy

By ancient law, dueling mages are never obligated to tell anyone else the cause of their quarrel. Mages fight over secret love affairs and mystical enigmas that they don’t want anyone else to know about. It’s against the duello to pry, and some Consilia consider using magic to dig up the dirt a minor crime.  Mages who duel for privacy’s sake often stipulate what they may or may not say according to different outcomes from the duel. One Mysterium scholar may silence another’s theories for a month, a year or a lifetime by winning a properly conducted duel.

Reputations

There is no quicker way to gain prestige than a duelist’s career. Most dueling forms rely on magical skill, so continual victory reflects a certain degree of proficiency in the Mysteries. All the same, the Duel Arcane does not require particularly deep knowledge. A duelist can master a few Arcana and hone his will to a fine edge that cuts through enemies without knowing a host of rotes or much about the secret history of the world. Even so, mages glorify duelists because duels are newsworthy, even glamorous. Magical duels are the closest things the Awakened have to a common sport (or less charitably, a Roman circus).

Protection from Reprisal

At the core of dueling law and custom is the idea that a duel is a final settlement. The winner is under no obligation to fight again. Furthermore, no mage may invoke the Right of Nemesis because of any event that proceeded from a properly sworn and witnessed duel. You cannot curse the man who beat your cabal-mate because he defeated her. You  might do so for some other reason, but your enemy can petition the Consilium to investigate your intentions. If the council discovers that you’ve invoked Nemesis under a bogus pretense, it punishes you accordingly. While this rule is taken very seriously, it doesn’t completely protect mages from a cycle of reprisal. Forgetting deception and Consilia corruption for a moment, it’s a fact that many duelists enjoy vendettas. A winner might not be obligated to fight again, but his enemy may insult and cajole him into accepting another duel.

Participants may enjoy protection from Nemesis, but often feel that using it is the coward’s way out. There is a significant subculture of duelists that believe that outside of their oaths, most of the legal protections shield cowards. They do not report infractions and snub mages who do. Subsequently, Consilii controlled by hardcore duelists preside over a highly fractious, violent community.

Law and Custom 
Even though sorcerers are well within their rights to just kill each other, following customs means that a mage claims the Pentacle orders as allies under the law. Cabals mark their emblems with a sword to communicate that they support the duello.

In theory, he challenge is simple: Any mage may approach any other and put forth any demand or insult. If the recipient refuses the demand or refutes the insult, the aggressor may consider it ground for a challenge. Mages who want to get right to a duel typically open with something unreasonable and/or unforgivable: “Give me that library you’ve been using to master soul-eating, you son of a bitch.” This sort of thing will sometimes happen when negotiations break down. Two mages might bargain over mutual aid, argue and end up challenging each other for services. Such duels are more common than those over simple insults, but such affairs of honor were very common at least a century ago.

The challenged party is under no obligation to accept a duel unless the local Ruling Council demands it (as they might to stave off an even more destructive conflict). In a perfect world, this might get rid of duels entirely, but a challenger can do any number of things to drive things to a duel. She could threaten to kill a mage who refuses to duel, intimate that she’ll use theft, blackmail and other forms of skullduggery, or simply ruin his reputation. When an occasion clearly demands a duel, Awakened

society labels those who refuse as cowards.

Conversely, the duello considers a mage who attacks a mage, his allies and his resources someone who has offered a duel. A beleaguered mage can put a stop to such predation by accepting the implied challenge. Of course, the type of sorcerer who simply lets loose with spells and bullets isn’t always honorable enough to move to formal dueling, either.

"When I first was given the position of Interfector in the Concilium of the Cerulean Peace, I went to the first gathering to lay down the law.  The city had dealt with some serious trouble the last couple months and the Guardians were tired of the strain it was putting on the Veil.  With my Iron Mask and concealed identity, I made sure everyone knew that further displays of vulgar magic will be met with swift justice and reprisal.  Stavros was outraged and I, not knowing any better, stood behind my threats.  He challenged me immediately to the Duel Arcane or I had to retract my decree.  Stavros threw the sun at my head.  It was not a great first impression and before the rest of the city's Awakened the Interfector was forced to back down after a crippling loss in the Duel.  I really hate that man." - Agent Jonathan Simmons, The Justicars (cabal)

Cheating:

No Cheating!

Of course, mages can and do sometimes ignore the formal rules of the Duel Arcane. They attempt to cheat in order to gain an advantage in the struggle, or lure an enemy into a duel and then spring a trap.  Cheating in a Duel Arcane essentially involves doing anything other than using magic to attack or defend in the normal fashion. So a mage who casts a spell to harm, weaken or transform an opponent, or to alter the conditions of the battlefield in some way, or who does anything else directly or indirectly to influence the outcome of the struggle forfeits the honor and protection of the duel.

The other mage is entitled to use whatever means to settle the matter from then on. Of course, proving that the other mage cheated can be a somewhat more difficult matter. If cheating can be proven or is evident to onlookers, the offender might be brought up on charges before the Consilium based on the body of law that has accrued around the Duel Arcane. Punishment varies from mild reprimands to incarceration for truly dishonorable acts.

Generally, cheating requires a mage to give up his attack for that turn of the duel in order to cast another spell or to take some other action, but some carefully planned cheats, especially involving
prepared spells or allies, may be done more subtly.

"I've never fought a Duel like the Pit Fights Aja puts on.  It's more like a brutal boxing matching, full contact magic and fists and meanwhile those Aja thugs are climbing all over the wrestling ropes and flinging spells at the two men beating each other to death in the ring.  Bribes, bets, all forms of cheating is highly encouraged and sometimes someone dies.  It's oddly addictive actually..."
- The Lamb, Boot (cabal)

Will & Wisdom: Resolution

Duels end for the following reasons:

1. One duelist meets the victory conditions. This is an ideal, unambiguous victory. The mage scores the first “touch” dueling with Space, blasts away her opponent’s Doors in the Duel Arcane and so on.

2. Both duelists meet the victory conditions. A somewhat awkward conclusion, this occurs when both duelists either score victory simultaneously (mutual “touches” in Spatial duels) or (in a poorly designed duel) both accomplish a task that only one of them was supposed to be able to achieve (binding both rulers of a spirit court without knowing that there were actually two of them). This is usually thought of as an honorable conclusion. Both sides receive the customary protection from reprisal and all non-contradictory demands unless they insist on dueling again (at which point they can renegotiate the terms from the beginning, if they wish).

3. One duelist can no longer continue. Unless the objective of the duel is to incapacitate, this is often thought of as a lesser victory — a loss that the opponent inflicted on herself. Unconsciousness, errant Paradoxes, sudden confusion and other circumstances can force a duelist to throw in the towel, so to speak.

4. Both duelists can no longer continue. This is the mark of fumblers except in the case of martial duels. In such cases, combatants often have such expert timing that they can only strike simultaneously. Japanese mages call this by the sword fighting term, aiuchi (“mutual killing”), since it might spell the deaths of both fighters. Otherwise, mages have been known to knock themselves out with clumsiness and botched magic. In this case, the duel is considered to have never happened. The duelists must make new arrangements or give up their dispute.

5. One duelist surrenders. This is an honorable defeat. According to the duello, the victor should make at least one concession to honor the loser’s good sense. One duelist forfeits by failing to attend. Not only does the no-show automatically lose, Lex Magica entitles the victor to use all necessary means to seize his agreed-upon concessions. The loser is not protected from vendetta in the slightest; the winner can use insults, property damage and assassins to harm him at will. Attempting to prevent

an enemy from showing up at a duel is cheating and against the Lex Magica.

6. There is a No Show.  If a duelist has a good excuse for his absence, it is customary (though not legally required) to reschedule the duel for a later date and to forbear from attacking the absent party. Some duelists refuse to accept such excuses, however, and what constitutes a good excuse varies from region to region. In many cities, it is excusable to miss a duel due to attack, disaster, or order from the Ruling Council. Bad scheduling and magical research are usually not valid excuses, nor is violence that the duelist instigated herself.

7. Neither Show.  If neither duelist shows, there is no formal result, but plenty of informal contempt. They have, after all, wasted the time of their seconds and made a mockery of Awakened customs.

8. The duel is halted by the Ruling Council. A Consilium’s Ruling Council can halt a duel and force a settlement, but most only do so during an emergency. Consilia have, in the past, tried to intervene in every duel, but have almost always drawn the ire of their constituents. Overruling a duel is popularly thought of as a tyrannical act.  The law normally lets duelists demand that the Ruling Council settle the conflict for them or compensate them for anything wasted in preparation for the duel.

9. One or both duelists cheat. Whoever didn’t cheat, wins and furthermore, retains right of Nemesis over the loser; she can hunt him down and kill him, if desired. Furthermore, since the cheat is effectively an oathbreaker, the winner can petition the Consilium for assistance. The Ruling Council also levies additional penalties. One common punishment is a magical oath that compels the mage to describe his crime whenever he enters into an agreement with another willworker. This lasts for at least a year and a day. Less forgiving Consilia may use mutilation, banishment and a host of other sanctions, since oathbreakers are almost universally reviled in a society where trust is so tenuous.

If both duelists cheat, then both are punished as above. The Ruling Council often resolves the dispute for the duelists by depriving them of whatever it was they were fighting over.

Ancient Precedence for Duels

One commonly found room in temples of the Time Before is easily recognized by Diamond Order mages: arenas for the Duel Arcane. Disputes and feuds were apparently frequent in the “perfect kingdom,” and Duels were common method of settling disagreements. Far more elaborate than any used today, these chambers provide each Duelist with an equal footing and entertain those watching.

Many archaeomancers speculate that such challenges also served as an art form and as entertainment in addition to their legal function. The most exquisite battles were recorded for posterity on mosaics and memory stones such as Atroxi Crystals some of which have survived to this day.

Duels and the Silver Ladder

The Duel Arcane are dominantly as Silver Ladder established concept in the Concilia where they are used.  They are minders of ancient law and tradition and the Duello was practically invented by them.

The Duel Arcane also has a special place at Convocations (gatherings of Concilia or Silver Ladder leadership) during the Day of Justice.  The Day of Justice is a time for mages to air formal grievances. The Lex Magica resolves most such disputes before they ever get to Convocation, but when Ruling Council officials, rogues and entire cabals are suspected of a crime, the Magisterium provides a higher authority whose deliberations can be scrutinized by all. Some come to a Convocation hoping for a better form of justice than they’d get from their Consilium or the Duel Arcane.

However, the Free Council of Assemblies claims this day as its own whenever its delegates bother to show up. It uses the day’s theme to challenge traditions by arguing that they violate universal principles of justice. Magisters rarely silence them out of hand but won’t tolerate filibustering or insults

Duels and the Adamantine Arrow
Despite their clear ties to the precepts of conflict, a literal embodiment of their Order, the Adamantine Arrow is divided about the worth of the Duel Arcane. Many Arrows think of it as a way for mages to posture without learning anything useful. The Duel Arcane permits combat in a completely contrived environment, bereft of the risks and chaos of real fighting. The method has its defenders, though, who think that it’s a fine arena to test combatants’ will and creativity.

Regardless of opinion, Arrows don’t  use the Duel Arcane very often. They prefer contests that apply to the wider world (see Other Mystic Duels post link above).  It has been used to test the resolve of someone who declares their desire to join their order and as part of recruitment tournaments.  They also use it as part of the Battle Stage of their training.

Adamantine Arrow Hosted Tournaments:

Mages are just as competitive as other people, and so a good match and a cheering crowd are welcome among the Awakened. The Adamantine Arrow sometimes hosts tournaments, in cities where the order has the resources to do so.

These tournaments vary greatly in their form and purpose. Some are underground, full-contact boxing matches, where mages place bets on which combatant will fall unconscious first and Moros cast spells to prevent clothes from getting bloodstained in close quarters. Others are formalized expressions of the Duel Arcane, with complex rules of propriety and challenge. The Arrow shies away from overt duels of magic for public tournaments, because of the risk of Paradox and because the order would rather incorporate some test of martial skill. Sometimes, though, the Arrow hosts contests of pure athletic skill. Races through the city, sometimes over rooftops parkour-style, are also possible.

Whatever the form the tournament takes, the Arrow invites any mage in the city (and sometimes Sleepwalkers) to qualify and compete. The point isn’t winning, at least not in spirit. The point is competition, excellence and challenge. Plus, though the Arrow never admits to it, hosting tournaments like this injects a sense that being a mage conveys benefits, that mages have an identity and a culture that goes beyond magic, and that being a mage can be fun. The Arrow finds that the best time to host such tournaments is when there are mages in the city who haven’t chosen an order but are trying to make a decision.

[Mage: The Awakening 2nd Ed] Mystic Duels

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

The Ultimate Guide to 
The Duel Arcane
Part Two

The following are consolidated rules for the other mystic duels beyond the traditional Duel Arcane for Mage: the Awakening 2nd Edition, adapted from various sourcebooks from Mage: The Awakening 1st Edition and game hax we have tried out before.  This has been a long time coming, especially after we had the Duel Arcane Tournament during many character's time at the Pentacle Academy.  Our changes are in different colors than the core source text so they can be used or discarded.  It's our system to make duels more dynamic and interesting.

Part One - The Traditional Duel Arcane
Part Two - Other Mystic Duels
Part Three - The Arcane Code Duello


Sources:
- Mage: The Awakening 2nd Ed corebook
- Mage: The Awakening 1st Ed corebook
- Tome of the Mysteries sourcebook for MtA1.0
- Sanctum & Sigil sourcebook for MtA1.0
- Secrets of the Ruined Temple sourcebook for MtA1.0
- The Adamantine Arrow order sourcebook for MtA1.0
- The Silver Ladder order sourcebook for MtA1.0

Other Mystical Duels
Although the Duel Arcane is the most common means of resolving conflict among mages, it is by no means the only one. Other contests of mystic power and capability exist. Note, however, that many of these combats do not involve the same magic as the Duel Arcane; they can be more direct magical confrontations.  Within the Duel Arcane, there are variations designed to suit various whims and needs. Some mages are not satisfied with merely exhausting a hated enemy, while others want the contest to suit their personal talents and aesthetics.

Sanguine Duels
Mages can fight a Duel Arcane past mere exhaustion of their Doors with the proper configuration of the dueling spell. If a mage chooses to fight on regardless, any additional damage from the duel is real (affecting Health) in the form of Bashing damage.  The contest ends when first blood is seen (Bashing wraps to Lethal) or when one opponent passes out from the damage (failing to remain conscious with all Health boxes filled with Bashing Damage.  A mage may yield to the opponent at any time.

Some matches skip the Doors and go right to physical harm.  Even though mages are perfectly capable of killing each other within a normal dueling circle, there are those who believe that fates are best sealed in blood. Mages fight these duels to first blood (typically, the first lethal or aggravated injury), incapacitation (the first to fall unconscious from injury) or worse.

Only a slight variation of the Sanguine Duel, a the Death Duel continues until one opponent is dead or dying (full Aggravated damage) unless there are pre-arranged conditions to surrender or yield before the final blow is struck.  If the opponent loses consciousness before death occurs, the terms of the duel may call that a win or require the winner to strike the final blow after the circle is dropped.

Duels to the death are relatively rare, but they do happen, usually in cases in which a mage prefers death to surrendering to a bitter enemy. Since Duels are meant to resolve conflict without violence and death, a Duel to the Death almost completely undermines what the Duel Arcane was made for.  Still, many find their courage wanting, breaking off a duel and yielding before the final blow is struck.

Sanguine Variations:
- To First Blood (First Lethal or Aggravated wound)
- To Knock Out (fall unconscious from injury)
- Until Surrender/Submission
- To the Death, or until Dying

Group Duels
It’s possible and known for a group of mages to challenge another of equal number to simultaneous one-on-one duels, but the vast majority of the time the Duel Arcane is fought one on one. Should a group of mages have the audacity to challenge a lesser number of opponents (or even a single mage), the challenged is under no obligation to accept. Still, accepting such a lopsided duel may still be preferable to the alternative of facing a larger number of mages in open combat. There are also legends of powerful mages overcoming multiple opponents in a single Duel Arcane.

It is also possible to have entire cabals square off against each other in a mass duel in which every member of one cabal may attack another's.  There is no obligation to accept the challenge unless there are an equal number of opponents.

Curse Contests:
This is perhaps the crudest of magical “duels,” wherein mages simply hurl baneful spells at each other, testing their spellcasting and defenses. The winner is the mage whose spell disables the other contestant first and most thoroughly. Modern mages disdain curse contests as primitive and childish, the sort of battles early mages fought in antiquity. Still, they do happen from time to time.  Cursing Duels and contests tend to differ from the Sanguine Duels in that the spells are aimed to torment and inhibit the opponent without causing physical harm.  But since they are largely unregulated, anything goes.

Mystic Contests:
The two sides choose a particular Arcanum and a particular extended action task, often with the challenger choosing the Arcanum and the challenged choosing the task. Then each side attempts to complete the task faster and better than the other. The range of possible tasks is virtually endless. It may include shaping a sculpture with Matter, navigating a maze using Space (blindfolded, of
course), or contesting command of an elemental with Spirit. Essentially, each mage casts a series
of spells. The first to attain the required number of successes wins. Particularly simple contests, amounting to “magical arm-wrestling,” can be resolved with a single roll: whoever gets the most successes wins.

Example: Space Fencing - Other contests may involve using the Space Arcanum, each trying to score a “touch” on the other, as they teleport, warp space and otherwise try to evade each other.

Similar contests are played out using mind reading (Mind) or even time warping (Time).  Others fight duels in which the participants shift shape, turning into all manner of beasts, birds and other creatures to fight each other tooth and claw. All other uses of magic are forbidden during the duel; the mages rely on physical prowess, knowledge of different shapes, animal cunning and mastery of Life.

The Adamantine Arrow are the biggest supporters of these contests, using them for training, recruitment and a host of other functions.  Contests such as these are dynamic embodiments of many of their tenants.  Path may also flavor the nature of the competitions by virtue of the personal philosophies of participating magi.

Astral Duels:

A location in the Temenos, where both duelists can meet, is sometimes a popular dueling field

for mages who wish to conduct affairs in private. It also guarantees a measure of safety (assuming

a safe route to get there) and is a popular way for two bitter enemies (from different sects) to meet and fight without the possibility of ambush and death.  The dueling circle functions normally here (if used at all) and its virtually impossible to inflict physical damage on the dreamers. Depending on location, the dueling circle may be dropped entirely and the mages can freely battle to the "death" in relative safety. If a mage’s Dream Corpus zero she drops out of astral space as usual and gains the Soulshocked Condition. Astral duels allow mages to safely settle their differences, even when their physical locations are quite distant and occluded from one another.

Yet this method is not without its flaws. First of all, each combatant, witness or other participant must journey into the Temenos.  Secondly, participants must find each other in the chaotic universal dreamscape without the sympathy that would allow them to find each other in the Phemoral World. Although there are few fixed reference points in the Temenos and beyond. An experienced dream traveler can sometimes guide everyone to one that will serve as the field of honor. Otherwise, mages normally find themselves wherever their psyche takes them. It is therefore quite common for duelists to use magic to seek each other out.

Spirit Battles: 
These sorts of duels are fought largely by proxy. The mages conjure, summon and command various spirits as their soldiers, pitting them against each other. It may be a simple contest of one spirit versus another or a more complex battle of spirit armies, a test of strategy and leadership as much as mastery of the Spirit Arcanum.  A very distinct form of this, using proto-spirits and raw magic, is called Shadow Chess (See Shadow Chess below).

Shadow Battles:

Mages who favor the spirit world sometimes conduct their battles in Shadow itself. The Shadow Realm is a forbidding battlefield. Would-be Shadow duelists need a means to cross over into the Shadow. Even though Display of Power is possible, it in no way shields the area from the resonance of combatants. Mages who fight protracted duels here often attract spirits who wish to feed from the energies of their conflict. Duels in the Shadow are not invisible. In fact, they tend to be even more spectacular than the mind’s eye experience of normal duels, as the substance of the Shadow itself crackles with the manifest resonance of the duelists.  A very distinct form Spirit Battle that can occur in the Shadow is called Shadow Chess (see Shadow Chess below).

Vulgar Duels:
Vulgar duels cannot be properly defined as a mode of the Duel Arcane. Combatants use magic to directly affect the enemy or the victory conditions of the duel, instead of channeling it through Sword and Shield Arcana and most don't use the Dueling Circle at all. This could be done with several kinds of contests such as Cursing Duels and Space Fencing (mentioned above).

Despite the name, Vulgar Duels do not necessarily require vulgar magic. Nor are they consistently regarded as lesser contests. Instead, the title refers to the fact that these are more or less direct magical conflicts. Dueling carelessly can reveal magic to the uninitiated, invoke Paradoxes and inflict collateral damage. On the other hand, Vulgar forms involve magical specialties; mages with those particular talents can use them to win. To prevent accidents, some vulgar duels specify that both parties must use covert magic or combine “Target Exemption” (“everyone except my enemy/the objective”) into all spells that affecting anything besides the caster.

There are some though, that take the term "Vulgar" Duel Arcane very seriously...

"The Knights of the Blackened Denarius had everything they wanted.  The hellmouth, the priest, and they could kill us at their leisure.  We were completely outclassed.  So we tried something crazy, tried to get them to honor the protocols of Awakened kind and challenged them to a Duel Arcane.  Their monstrous demon-possessed Scelesti vs our small group of Nameless Disciples.  I guess ole Nick figured he'd just cheat anyway so he might as well agree to the sport of it."  

"And they did cheat almost immediately.  Nicodemus squared the circle and we found ourselves in a group on group Duel Arcane... a literally Vulgar Duel.  Anything we used caused Paradox.  Anything they did caused Paradox.  They used our fight to worship the Abyss and Paradox pooled and mounted in the circle.  Then they started through the Paradox around, throwing it in our faces, letting it go, it was a fucking mess.  I threw up blood and passed out.  Every since that night I get sick whenever Paradox gets really high.  Somehow we won, Loudon struck the last Denarian out of the circle.  Most of us were too hurt to see it."

"Then they just left.  The priest was already ritually mutilated and would be dead in moments, the hellmouth sung with malice.  Guess they got everything they wanted and left us to live to hunt us down later.  To feed on our dread and despair.  They didn't count on Nergal holding Father Forthill's soul in his body long enough to heal him.  They didn't count on us reversing their elaborate ritual.  They didn't count on us, years later, killing all of them in the mouth of hell itself." - Lorekeeper Casstiel, Bridge of Souls

The Duel Mundane:
Even though willworkers exult in their ability to raise the Mysteries against their enemies, it is perfectly legal and customary to duel without using any magic at all. Many such contests could benefit from magical enhancement, but there is a growing movement (especially in the Free Council of Assemblies) to refrain from this. Guardians of the Veil pride themselves on using little or no magic even when it is permitted and so a good old fashion knife fight sometimes does the trick. When the duel forbids magic, it usually falls on a duelist’s second to ensure that the enemy isn’t sneaking a spell in.  These matches often stride the line between “duel” and “game.” Low stakes are more common. Sorcerers can thus test their ability to master common human tasks and beat the Lie at its own game.

Contests include:  Athletic challenges and bloodshed, footraces, sword fighting, hunting and wrestling test a mage’s physical abilities. Mages who enjoy hurting their enemies often prefer mundane fighting, since it’s easier to hurt people this way, but harder to kill them. The Adamantine Arrow believe that these contests strengthen the militant core from which their magic springs.

Azimuth Duels

Gaining popularity among Sleepwalkers and Proximi, Azimuth Duels are magically assisted combat that even someone with little or no magical ability can do.  A specially imbued statue called the Azimuth Focus stands between two psychicly gifted people in the Azimuth Piste.  While Sleepwalkers and Proximi are the only guaranteed non-Awakened beings that can always participate in an Azimuth Duel, many other supernatural beings and fallen hedge wizards have shown the ability to participate as well.

Each duelist selects a Focus Weapon, specially prepared melee weapons, usually staves, wands, rods and the like.  All Focus Weapons are specially prepared Platonic Exemplars which will react to the Azimuth field generated by the Azimuth Piste.  With some preparation, the duelist can attune themselves to the supernal resonance of their chosen Focus weapons.  From there, they can Duel in a manner similar to a Duel Arcane within the Azimuth Field.  They battle by projecting their psychic energies at each other through their Focus Weapons and score points which are tallied.  

Each participant loses Willpower points any time they are hit and once depleted they can no longer launch attacks and have lost.  Usually the owner of the Azimuth Piste is a third party that keeps score.  Mechanically, both Azimuth duelist roll either their rolling their Willpower pool or Clash of Wills (Power Splat + appropriate Attribute) contested against each other.  Excess successes drain Willpower Points from the losing Duelist.  This is repeated until the prerequisite points are scored or until one opponent is out of Willpower Points.  They can forgo either attack and roll their attack pool as a defense pool.  They can also spend Willpower Points during an attack to gain a +3, but they are weakening themselves by doing so.

There are whispers of Mortal Azimuth Duels in which the Azimuth Focus between two opponents is actually Mordite (Abyssally tainted Apeiron).  Opponents exert their will upon the deadly miasma of the Mordite until the cloud touches one of the opponents.  The victor is the one who is not disintegrated...


Riddles & Lore:

Sorcerers test each other’s wisdom with all kinds of puzzles. Some of these require a flare for logic. Others force mages to travel halfway around the world so that they will be the first to uncover ancient ruins or grimoires. Needless to say, Mysterium mages prefer these “duels” above others, but Guardians of the Veil have been known to choose them as well. They normally add the proviso that, if they win, they can hide whatever they have discovered.

Art & Performance:

Grand initiation rituals and paintings riddled with esoteric symbolism were once a mainstay of Silver Ladder social conflict. Modern times have forced the théarchs to abandon such pursuits because

they can no longer conceal them among the secret societies of rich Sleepers. It is troubling, then, that Free Council mages have taken up artistic competition with a crude flair, using modern music, digital video and performance art to establish their own pecking orders. Participants in these contests must agree on who will judge the “duel.”

Appendix A: Shadow Chess:
By adding a component from the Spirit Arcanum (3 or 5 dots) to the Display of Power spell, imagos in the are focused by the duelists’ magical power into animate forms: proto-spirits that fight for the duelists. Some mages prefer “Shadow Chess” to the standard Duel Arcane.  A Disciple of Spirit that Squares the Circle creates a dueling space that must be cast in the Shadow and creates insubstantial proto-spirits that only have substance in the Shadow Realm.  A Spirit Master that Squares the Circle creates a dueling space that can be in the physical or the Shadow Realm and creates proto-spirits that are in the Twilight State in the material world.

"Anything else in the Dueling Circle, whether in the Shadow Realm or the Material Realm is fair game to the Chessmasters.  Sure you only have Fetches in Twilight, but the spell connects to the Supernal World so strongly that it basically lets you create a limited army of the insubstantial.  And in Shadow, if you phase them into the circle, it can rip creatures apart. I've heard of enemies to the duelists getting caught in the circle and ambushed by swarms of spirits created from the imagos and wills of the duelists.  If you can pull it off, it actually has applications as a real-world killbox.  So make a nice big game board..." -Nergal of the Five Horsemen

Duelists within the “Shadow Chess” dueling circle prepare a dueling sword and shield, just as if they were fighting the standard Duel Arcane. Unlike a duel fought conventionally, participants fight using proto-spirit proxies called Dueling Pawns or Chess Pieces. The Chess Pieces attack each other and the enemy mage.  The summoning mage usually gives a Chess piece designation to its spirit (i.e. Pawn, Knight, King, etc) but these are largely arbitrary.  Some mages take the time to set up entire game boards of spirits before they fight each other.

Each success a mage scores with her dueling sword does not (and cannot) inflict damage to
her enemy. Instead, each success temporarily generates a spirit out of the mage’s raw, emotionally charged magical power. The spirit is similar to a Geotic demon in that it resembles a cross between the mage’s Sword Arcanum, a spirit common to the local Shadow and the mage herself. It is still considered a Shadow Spirit but its life only persists for the duration of the dueling spell.  Dueling Pieces cannot ever leave the dueling circle and disintegrate into resonance and magical energy if the circle drops or they are somehow forced out of the ring.

The Proto-Spirit Chess Piece accumulates traits in the following way.  It has a baseline of a Shadow Spirit with Rank 1; Attributes: Power 2, Finesse 2, Resistance 2; Essence: 10/10; Influence: Creating Arcanum 2,  Size: 5, Ban: Cannot disobey creator, cannot leave the circle, must fight the opposing mage and their minions; Bane: the Inferior Arcanum of the Supernal Realm associated with its Arcanum; Manifestations: Twilight Form (Spirit 5 only).  Their derived traits are calculated as normal.

Each additional success provides one of the following benefits:

+1 Rank - max Rank possible based on Spirit Arcanum dots.  Increasing Rank does not increase other stats mentioned below, but does increase baseline armor (Rank dots in General Armor) and Natural Weapons (Rank dots in Lethal damage, though most spirits only take Bashing damage from anything but their Banes)

+2 dots to a single Attribute and any derived traits increase as well.

+1 dots to all three Attributes and any derived traits increase as well.

+3 to Size (Corpus) or Species Factor (for Speed) and derived traits increase as well.

+1 Influence - The Influences a Chess Piece has is almost universally limited to the Arcana and Arcana dots the mage possesses and act almost like improvised spells within the rules for Influences.

+1 Numen or Manifestation - Usually are in line with the theme of the mage or their Arcana and can be Spell-Like Numina that behave the same a Supernal Spells.

A Dueling Piece serves the mage that created it faithfully as an extension of the creator's will. Each turn, a dueling Chessmaster may use the same Sword Arcanum to stack additional successes upon an existing Dueling Pawn or create a new Pawn.  Orders to attack or defend different entities in the dueling circle can be done as a free action. Commands are telepathic in nature but only convey verbal direction.  How well those commands are received depends on the relative intelligence of the Pawn (Rank is a good guard for relative Intelligence dots the Pawns would have).

Pawns inflict Willpower damage to non-spiritual entities first, then Health. They may injure regular spirits and other ephemeral entities normally within the dueling circle.  Any Numina they might acquire that would allow them to inflict direct physical damage conforms to the above rule (Willpower damage first), instead. A dueling mage use normal combat rules.  In the Shadow they are just as solid as they would be in the Material Realm and in the Material World the proto-spirits must have the ability to attack physical beings to harm a Mage not in Twilight.

As they are inextricably linked to the sorcerer’s will, Dueling Pawns can provide energy to stave

off psychic defeat. As a reflexive action, a mage can divert Willpower damage that he suffered to

the Corpus of a Pawn. If this knocks a Pawn’s Corpus to zero, the mage suffers any excess

Willpower point loss and the Pawn is destroyed. Mages cannot sacrifice Pawns to stave off physical injuries  however, so deadly Shadow duels often end in a quick, lethal “checkmate.”

There are Sanguine and Mortal versions of this spell that allow Chess Pieces to immediately inflict Lethal or Aggravated damage to non-spirits instead of destroying Willpower first. These require Prime 3 (Lethal damage) or Prime 5 (Aggravated damage).

[Mage: The Awakening 2nd Ed] The Duel Arcane

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

The Ultimate Guide to 
The Duel Arcane
Part One

The following are consolidated rules for the Duel Arcane for Mage: the Awakening 2nd Edition, adapted from various sourcebooks from Mage: The Awakening 1st Edition and game hax we have tried out before.  This has been a long time coming, especially after we had the Duel Arcane Tournament during many character's time at the Pentacle Academy.

Our changes are in different colors than the core source text so they can be used or discarded.  It's our system to make duels more dynamic and interesting.

Part One - The Traditional Duel Arcane
Part Two - Other Mystic Duels
Part Three - The Arcane Code Duello

Sources:

- Mage: The Awakening 2nd Ed corebook
- Mage: The Awakening 1st Ed corebook
- Tome of the Mysteries sourcebook for MtA1.0
- Sanctum & Sigil sourcebook for MtA1.0
- Secrets of the Ruined Temple sourcebook for MtA1.0
- The Adamantine Arrow order sourcebook for MtA1.0
- The Silver Ladder order sourcebook for MtA1.0

The Traditional Wizard's Duel
Arcane Since time immemorial, mages have struggled against each other. Long ago, the
orders codified and formalized their conflicts to allow the Awakened to settle their differences. Their system is known in common parlance as the Duel Arcane or Wizard’s Duel, a magical battle between mages.

"The practice of the Duel Arcane supposedly dates back to the time of Atlantis, and remains largely unchanged since then. All the orders, even the Seers of the Throne, recognize the validity of a challenge from a fellow mage (although the non-Diamond Orders are more likely to cheat or ignore the results of a lost duel). The ultimate purpose of the Duel Arcane is to allow sorcerers to test their powers, wills and wisdom against each other without immediately fatal results."

"It is a mistake to assume the Duel Arcane is just two mages flinging spells at each other until someone dies. While it can, to the outside, appear that way, the reality is that a Duelist’s real work is internal, as each pushes at not just at the other’s body, but at the mind and soul of the enemy, hoping to lay them bare. The Duel Arcane is what makes one mage more right than another, more wise and more mighty.  You reduce the opponent to nothing or next to nothing by right of might and will." - Stavros, Magister of North America

Perhaps one of the greatest supporters of the Code Duello is Magister Stavros.  Throughout his political career in the Silver Ladder, Stavros has used Wizard's Duels as a hammer to slam down differences of opinion abhorrent to his ideals.  He once ousted a previous Hierarch of San Diego in order to overthrow the Concilium's racist policies.  He truly believes that magical might and power is directly tied to the Wisdom of a mage, that the wisest mage is the most powerful.  If he is able to best an opponent in a duel it means that he is right by virtue of defeating his opponent.

Narratively, the Duel may be a complicated affair with witnesses, ceremony, ritual, and fanfare. The duelists may fling insults, converse, or abuse one another with words while they set up. Intimidate one another with their mystical pedigrees or beg for understanding. The traditions and practices around the Duel vary by city and Order.

Systematically, the Duel is a set of steps listed below:

Step 1: The Challenge

The duel begins with a formal challenge or declaration of hostilities. The challenger informs the challenged of the nature of the dispute and the demands involved. It might be a formal apology over a point of honor, a dispute over possession of a Hallow or Artifact, or rights to a  particular territory.

The challenged mage must either cede the point (thus ending the conflict peaceably) or take up the challenge. The challenge must be a one-on-one duel, one mage versus another.  Otherwise see the Group Duel variation below.

"Hey, you and me, fight now.  Official Pentacle Academy rules only.  You know I almost one the Tournament last year?  Fated to win actually.  If not for that douchebag Overwatch.  He wasn't even a student!  Guess even Fate can get worked around." - The Gamer

Step 2: Conditions
The challenger usually chooses the location and the challenged mage announces the form the duel will take. This can be as simple or convoluted as the participants wish. At this stage each mage should choose a second, who relays messages between the participants.

The duello forbids selecting a dueling form for which one of the participants has little or no skill. It’s dishonorable to demand a fencing contest from a bookworm or spirit summoning from an Obrimos. Strictly speaking, the duello advises against negotiating duels where one participant will obviously demonstrate superior skill. It is supposed to be beneath a master to duel a mere initiate, but mages have been known to hide skill in a key Arcanum or mundane field until the contest requires it.

Neither participant can make any demands that violate Lex Magica by using obvious magic in a public place or endangering non-participants. The time of a duel is either agreed upon by participants or as a matter of local custom. Some Consilia designate a “dueling hour” and send Sentinels to oversee any quarrels that occur.

Finally, the participants negotiate the stakes, outlining the consequences of victory and defeat for each party. Mages who are having second thoughts about dueling use negotiations as a chance to entangle the contest in impractical conditions. There is very little formal law regarding negotiations, so regardless of the duello a challenger could, for example, demand that a duel with a Shadow-blind mage take place in the Shadow Realm. The challenged can counter with an equally impractical location or demand access to an Artifact capable of transporting him — in which case the challenger must have the same Artifact. Legends exist of duels that have been negotiated over decades, to the point where they require enhanced blades, magic diamonds, armies of bound spirits and occult temples. This is an excellent way for all parties to never duel without actually conceding defeat. Once the aggrieved parties settle the details of form, time, place and consequences, they can go about the actual duel. 

Seconds & Their Duties

Seconds are sworn to convey messages from each side accurately, act as honest witnesses and, if

possible, negotiate an honorable resolution without combat. Mages may employ seconds in all matters of Nemesis, but most often use them for duels. Mages do not acknowledge that their seconds

negotiated peace so that they cannot blame them for any shortcomings. Officially, the solution is

the duelists’ own, and is treated as such by law and custom. Seconds tend to be less emotionally involved in events and can develop a joint proposal for the participants. When implemented, these honorably resolve the conflict. Unfortunately, while the duello holds that the participants should not declare Nemesis against each other (just as if they had dueled), the Lex Magica does not count it as a duel. An unsatisfied party can thus break the duello to extort more concessions or overturn the whole agreement. Finally, the second’s role as “honest witness” means that they are supposed to prevent

cheating and see to it that the duel is conducted according to the agreed-upon form. It is a sad fact that many seconds have tried to help their companions cheat instead, so many Consilia send a Sentinel, Herald, or Interfector to bear witness as well.

Determining the Stakes:

What do you want? What does your opponent want? Are you in agreement over the end results for the winner and loser? You may not be. Sometimes duels are fought over territory, mentors, students, social slights, heartbreak, or money. Sometimes they’re fought over more ephemeral concepts like honor or truth. (In these cases, though, declaration of stakes would probably be “he admits in public that I’m right about ghosts.” Or, “She should declare to the Order that I am her superior!” and so on.)

Once the stakes are clearly established with exactly what each mage expects of the other, work with the players to determine what sort of Condition should afflict the loser at the end.  Players and Storyteller should agree to the Conditions as the duelists (perhaps grudgingly) agree on the stakes.

Step 3: Drawing Swords
Once the challenge is offered and accepted, the opponents prepare for battle. They join their wills in a mystical connection, pitting their magical might directly against each other. This is often accompanied by a formal declaration of the duel, although none is actually needed. The silent intent of the mages is sufficient, and some duelists simply glare at each other across the length of a dueling field.

Squaring the Circle:
For the actual duel to begin, a mage of the Prime Arcanum must create the dueling circle, the space where the Duel Arcane takes place. Doing so involves casting the Prime spell Display of Power, Ideally, this caster is a neutral observer or executor, not one of the combatants, although impartiality is not necessary. A challenged person can deny a duel if he is incapable of creating the circle and there is no neutral mage available to do so.

Display of Power (Prime •••)
Practice: Weaving
Primary Factor: Duration
Suggested Rote Skills: Brawl (AA), Occult (GotV/My), Socialize (SL), Expression (FC),
Magic itself falls under the purview of Prime, even its most private functions. By using this spell, a mage stirs the Supernal World, making it respond to mages within the spell’s area. Rather than being wholly internal, Imagos formed by mages within the spell’s effect become visible in the Supernal World to all forms of Active Mage Sight, displayed as magical runes and flashes of symbols hovering around the mage. Mages use this spell as a teaching aid, forming Imagos to display to their students without actually casting. The spell has another role in mage society, though; it is the basis for the Duel Arcane, in which two rival mages display what they could do to one another.
+2 Reach: For one Mana, any attempt to Counterspell a spell cast within the area gains the rote action quality, as the plainly visible Imago makes the spell easy to decipher. (In many duels, seconds are appointed to stand ready to Counterspell attempts at cheating.)
+1 Reach: Attacks in the duel can continue past available doors and inflict Bashing Damage
+1 Reach: Attacks do not open doors but inflict Bashing Damage instead
+2 Reach: Attacks do not open doors but inflict Lethal Damage instead
+3 Reach: Attacks do not open doors but inflict Aggravated Damage instead
+ Spirit 3 - change the spell to create proto-spirits in the Shadow
+ Spirit 5 - change the spell to create proto-spirits in the Shadow of Material Realm

Display of Power and it's Silver Ladder Rote "Squaring the Circle" create a place where the ordinary rules of reality and magic do not entirely apply. They stand projected into the Supernal World.  Within the dueling circle, contestants grapple with the manifest power of opponents’ magical will, wielding their own magical power as both sword and shield. Any mage using Mage Sight can witness the dramatic effects of a Duel Arcane, as described with each Arcanum. Sleepers cannot see the magic. To a mundane observer, the duel consists of the two mages staring intently at each other. One slumps in defeat and the two part ways.

Inside the dueling space, the mages suffer -3 to their perception of the world outside the circle.  They are distracted by the intense overall of the Supernal World and the opponent in front of them.  Ambushing a mage from the outside in the middle of a duel is a nasty way to cheat and for an enemy cabal to kill the duellists.

"Inside the circle, mages can use raw imagos to attack each other.  Their wits, knowledge, understanding of the supernal and pure creative strategy become the mage's sword and shield.  These still count as Spells for the purposes of Dispelling and Counterspelling but they lack actual effects other than striking the opponent's will.  It is a game of chess at the speed of light.  Regular spells can still be cast inside and outside the circle but a duelist casting a spell inside the circle is almost universally considered cheating and it's one of the reasons many duels call for seconds and adjudicators outside the circle to ensure the duel is fair." - Gabrielle, Master Duelist

Another Awakened who dueled her way to the top, Senior Daduchos Gabrielle was a Savant of the Duel Arcane since her time as a young Neokoros in Chicago.  Awarded the title of Duelmaster, she inadvertently challenged and beat the Heirarch of Chicago in the Duel Arcane during the mage wars that left the Guardians in charge of the city and the Seers and Diamond reeling in the wake of the Celestial Flange. As a result of her stunning victory, she was made Hierarch of a hostile ruling council in a time of war.  Faced with a hostile ruling council and an active shadow war, she stepped down as Hierarch after a month and fled for her life.  Leaving Order and concilium politics behind she settled down as a hermit in Beulah, North Dakota.  There she met the newly Awakened Five Horsemen Cabal and instructed them in the ways of magical society and... of course... the Duel Arcane.  She has since re-entered magical society with the encouragement of Jack Bismuth.  She spends most of her free time at the Athenaeum in Los Vegas with her former cabalmates and teaching the Duel Arcane at the Pentacle Academy in the University of California, San Diego.

Fun fact, if someone is hit hard enough to somehow overtake and exceed the willpower dots providing the baseline Doors of the opponent, they are violently knocked out of the circle, taking Bashing damage equal to the willpower dots exceeded.  The only time this happens is when the safeties of the ritual circle are removed and the battle is to continue to physically harm the enemy.

Determining Doors:
Inside the dueling space, the body becomes secondary, and it is the will that the duelists attack. To reflect this, Health levels are forgotten and replaced with Doors. Each Door is closed and sealed, one level of protection against the will of the other sorcerer. Attacks fly at the Doors to force (or nudge) them open. Each character possesses as many Doors as she has dots in Willpower with other possible additions to the numbers of doors.

Door Modifiers

• -1 Door if the characters in conflict are lovers
• +1 Door if the character has previously declared her rival as her nemesis
• +1 Door if the character’s rival has declared his intention to destroy her as a result of the duel
• +1 Door if the character’s rival is from an allied sect (different Order the Pentacle)
• +2 Door if the character’s rival is from a hostile sect (Seers, Banisher, Reapers etc.)

The Trash Talk:

The initial moments when the duelists lock wills is traditionally accompanied by a series of taunts, boasts, threats and recitations of lineage or accomplishments, all aimed at cowing an opponent. These can also be much more cordial, taking the form of negotiation. These displays are not strictly necessary; the contest of wills is what really matters. It’s whichever mage actually blinks first. One Social dice roll (Attribute + Skill) is made by each opponent using whichever tactic they prefer and is contested by the other pool.

Whoever gets the most successes opens a Door before the battle even starts. They can continue rounds of negotiation and social rolls outside of combat, the winner of subsequent rolls can accumulate successes which translate into +1 bonuses to be expended and stacked throughout the duel at any time.

This may continue until one side decides to Draw Swords and begin the duel in earnest or the matter is closed before mystical power is even thrown.  Typically the unnerved mage who is losing the trash talk or negotiation attacks first to prevent the other mage from getting too much of an advantage.  Either mage may also choose to break off and cede the duel at any point. Otherwise, the contest continues.

Step 4: The Contest of Wills
With Doors determined, characters begin the Duel itself. Roll Initiative, but in the Duel Arcane a character’s Initiative modifier is equal to Wits + Composure (Perception-based). If a the loser of the monologue/trash-talk session desires, they may break and attack first, thwarting the initiative order.  Once the turns are set, the Duel Arcane begins in earnest.

On their turns, players have a few choices as to what their characters do for their actions.  Attacking requires that a mage select an Arcanum as their Sword.  When they are attacked they employ another Arcanum that they select as their Shield.

Shifting Sword and Shield: 
Duelists may change their sword, shield or both as a reflexive action, once per turn. Duelists must still use a different Arcanum for each. Each participant reveals their choices simultaneously.  They can use the same Arcana as a previous round's but may be forced to change tactics if they fail to land an attack or defend against an attack they can't use the same Arcanum they used in the attempt in the next round.  They have to change things up until the round after that until they can use their old picks again.

Option One: Attack with Sword Arcanum:
The character flexes her creative use of raw magic and shows the extent of her strength. Her attack roll is any Attribute + Arcana as fits the description of her attack. These descriptions should be loose and liminal, drawing on the forces of the cosmos rather than anything so simple as “I throw a fireball at him.” Because the Duel takes place in the Supernal World, they aren't using spells to attack each other. Rather, the mage demonstrates how she could have performed an effect against her opponent, throwing raw magic, knowledge of the Arcana and their understanding of the Supernal.

Attacks go back and forth and the players use narrative to describe what each is doing. The mechanics are unaffected by great descriptions or ideas unless the Storyteller wants to grant Stunt Bonuses for beautiful, esoteric and detailed descriptions. The duel in the Supernal World space is always dramatic and cinematic.

A dueling character may not use Yantras or spend Reach beyond that she gains for Arcana mastery, and must still account for spell factors, resistance, Withstand and Clash of Wills. Opening a Door with an attack is a binary action. It opens or it does not; successes above and beyond opening the Door are added to the character’s next roll as bonus dice instead of opening additional Doors.

A mage may use a Willpower point (not a door) to add +3 to their attack pool but then cannot use an another Willpower point to defend in the same round.  The same goes for if the Attacker uses a Willpower point to defend before its their turn to attack.

Failing to open a Door means the character must change tactics, and cannot use the same Arcanum a second time on that closed Door.

Option Two: Defend with Shields Arcanum:
By spending a willpower point (not a door), a defender can reflexively subtract one of their Arcana's dots from the Attack pool.  If they already spent a willpower point this round to attack their cannot do this.  If the defender fails to prevent the attack from opening a door, they must use a different Arcanum to defend against the next attack.

As a stronger defensive option, a character may forgo an attack for a turn, and instead rely on her magic entirely to protect her. Any attack rolls made against her become contested, and she weaves a spell from her Attribute + Arcanum of choice just as her attacker did. A mage may not defend with the same Arcana they used to attack last round.

Option Three: Negotiate:
Even in the pitch of battle, the Awakened can (and do) manipulate one another. A character may put an offer on the table to open a Door without attacking. These are promises mystically sealed by the Prime magic that fuels the Dueling space, and as a result, are never made or accepted lightly. To negotiate, a character makes an offer. “I promise no harm will come to your cabal as a result of your actions tonight,” or “I will teach you the Fate spell you’ve been searching for, no matter what,” as examples. The character on the defensive may accept the offer and automatically open a Door. She does not need to accept the offer the moment that it’s made, however;  he may accept it later in the Duel. This is sometimes expected, as accepting the offer can be a graceful way to end a Duel when a mage is surely going to lose. These promises are almost always upheld, as mage society treats breaking one as breaking a sworn vow.  

During combat they can also surrender an instant action on their turn to make a social roll instead of attacking.  If they win the contested social roll they gain their successes as a bonus to their next attack or defense, just like excess successes in an Attack roll.  So sometimes one mage is just defending and talking a frenzied enemy until they can build up enough clout and magic to succeed when they choose to attack a stronger adversary.


Step Five: Supernal Interactions
The following are additional considerations that influence the duel.

Stunt Bonuses
The sword and shield Arcana influence the appearance of the duel in the Supernal World. There is no particular game mechanical benefit to choosing one Arcanum over another (except for higher dots). The visual effects of the duel are just that, purely visual. However, wonderful descriptions and detailed imagos may garner +1 or +2 from the Storyteller on either using the Sword or the Shield. 

Stunt bonuses shouldn't normally be used in a battle between two PCs.  It may be seen as less fair if the player with the best imagination gets an edge (even though that is part of what the Duel is about).  The imagination should really be that of the Characters and therefore limited to the normal dice rules in a PvP match.

To give you some ideas for descriptions, common elements associated with each Arcanum are as follows:

• Death: As a sword, Death strikes with blades or bolts of darkness, a withering power that seems to age its target. A Death sword sometimes manifests as a weapon of bone or a dark scythe. A shield of Death causes attacks to decay into dust and nothingness, or become so feeble through entropy as to be brushed aside. A Death shield may surround a mage in a darkling mantle or a cold and shadowy aura. It could also be armor made of spectral bone or a zombie state of undead flesh.
• Fate: The sword of Fate may turn back an attacker’s own sword, or cause strange accidents to occur. Sometimes it appears like a net of threads, entangling the target further and further in unavoidable cause and effect. It might hem in an enemies failed options with the impossibly heavy weight of destiny.  As a shield, Fate turns attacks aside just enough for them to miss, or grants a stroke of good luck to protect a mage in the nick of time.  It may also be an unstoppable fate that prevents harm from stopping them. A successful attack may prove more (or less) effective than it first appears when Fate is involved. 
• Forces: Forces are quite dynamic as a sword. The mage lashes out with blasts of energy: fire, lightning or light, or perhaps wields a weapon made of pure force. It may also be a force that leeches heat, irradiates or applies more or less gravity. A shield of Forces is similar, surrounding the mage in a burning cloak or blazing aura that turns aside attacks. 
• Life: Life attacks in a duel may take the form of swarms of creatures (particularly insects, arachnids or birds), strangling vines, or savage beasts. They may also appear as transformations of a mage’s body, into an animal, a mythic creature or a bizarre armored and clawed killing machine. Attacks may wither or transform an enemy or infect with debilitating diseases.  A shield of Life is typically an armored carapace, a toughened hide or accelerated regeneration healing at a fantastic rate.
• Matter: A sword of Matter may be a literal one, a fine weapon of the mage’s choice. It might also be lying shards or columns of rock, blasts of wind or water, or even fantastic things like streams of liquid metal or molten rock. A shield of Matter seems just as solid: walls or barriers rise up to protect a mage, or a shield may appear as a literal shield or suit of fine armor fortified by the power of Matter.
• Mind: Attacks of the Mind are subtle but can still be visible. They may be nightmare images, fears or desires brought to independent life, blasts of overwhelming emotion or stress, or traumatic memories sharpened into blades. For some, a sword of Mind is a shimmering weapon striking at the target’s psyche. A Mind shield may be a comforting or happy thought, driving away fear and hate, or a visualized wall or barrier of protection.
• Prime: The sword and shield of Prime are most often formed of pure, burning light, either white or prismatic with the colors of the rainbow. They may also be supernal truths given form for both protection and attack.  For some mages they take on almost material form, but still surrounded by the pure glow of their source.
• Space: As a sword, Space strikes withe strange twists and maddening bends in distance, rending open portals to strange and dangerous places, even twisting an opponent like taffy. As a shield, it causes attacks to veer wildly off target, or swallows them up in warps leading into an endless void.
• Spirit: Spirit attacks manifest in all forms, from spectral creatures to ghostly weapons in a mage’s hands to torrents of ephemeral energy and Numina-like powers. Spirit shields range from phantom walls and guardians to spiritual armor. If a mage has particular totems, allies or familiar spirits, a sword or shield of Spirit can take their forms.
• Time: The sword of Time brings all things to dust. It is typically visible only by its effects, or as a  shimmer or distortion in the air. For some it appears as a handful of glittering sand, water or quicksilver. A shield of Time is likewise mysterious. A mage may move with superhuman speed to avoid attacks, or attacks may slow to a snail’s pace and are easily sidestepped.

The Cycles of the Atlantean Pentacle:
The mages of Atlantis developed an image to illustrate the interrelations of the Arcana: the pentagram. This well-known symbol of magic has been used by various cultures throughout
history to represent different aspects of magic, from the five classical elements (earth, air, fire,
water and spirit) of the West to the five elements (earth, metal, fire, water and wood) of the East.
In the Atlantean configuration, the subtle Arcana form the points while the gross Arcana form the lines between them.

Imagine the pentagram as a clock face with the points marking 12 o’clock, three o’clock, five o’clock, seven o’clock and nine o’clock. Drawing the pentagram, you begin at the top, at 12 o’clock
and make a line from 12 o’clock to five o’clock. This is the “creation” or “invocation” cycle, associated with magic that brings things into existence or that nurtures existing things. It goes like this: Prime marks 12 o’clock, and Forces marks the line from 12 to 5. Fate marks five o’clock, and Time marks the line from 5 to 9. Mind marks nine o’clock, and Space marks the line from 9 to 3.
Spirit marks three o’clock, and Life marks the line from 3 to 7. Death marks seven o’clock, and Matter marks the line from 7 to 12. If you were to start at Death (seven o’clock) and draw backward to three o’clock and so forth, you would draw the “banishing” cycle, which is associated with magic that removes things from existence or that harms existing things.

The power of a mage’s sword and shield fluctuates according to the cycles of the Atlantean pentagram. Some Arcana in their raw forms are susceptible to others because of the nature of the Supernal Realms they come from and the inferior Arcanum of that realm.  As a result of these cyclic interactions, the following situations may provide static bonuses or penalties based on the cycles of Innovation and Banishing.

Invocation	Banishing
Prime	Death
Forces	Time
Fate	Spirit
Time	Forces
Mind	Mind
Space	Matter
Spirit	Fate
Life	Life
Death	Prime
Matter	Space
Prime	Death

* Italics denote Subtle Arcana

Arms of the Banishing Cycle

If a mage’s sword is one step above of the enemy’s shield on the banishing cycle, she gains a +1 bonus to its dice pool, because the blade’s arcane power tends to twist and cleave through weaknesses. If the enemy’s shield is above of the sword on the banishing cycle, the sword suffers a -1 penalty to its roll, because the shield saps the sword’s power.

Arms of the Invocation Cycle
If a duelist’s shield is one step above the enemy’s sword on the invocation cycle, the mage gains a +1 bonus to the defense (if used) provided by the shield, as the enemy’s attack actually feeds power to the duelist. If the shield is one step behind the sword on the invocation cycle, it loses a point of defense (if used) against its attacks — the reverse happens. Modifiers are adjusted as the sword and shield of each combatant changes.

Each Arcana has four Invoking/Banishing related Arcana, which are of the opposite Aspect (Subtle/Gross).  The chart below can help determine what bonus or penalties will apply:

MODIFIER TO ATTACK ROLLS
ATTACKER’S SWORD ARCANA	DEFENDER’S SHIELD ARCANA
	Death	Fate	Forces	Life	Matter	Mind	Prime	Space	Spirit	Time
Death				-1	+1			-1		+1
Fate			-1	+1	-1					+1
Forces		+1				+1	-1		-1
Life	+1	-1					+1		-1
Matter	-1	+1				-1	+1
Mind			-1		+1			+1		-1
Prime			+1	-1	-1			+1
Space	+1					-1	-1		+1
Spirit			+1	+1				-1		-1
Time	-1	-1				+1			+1

If a mage possesses sword and shield Arcana that are one step away on the banishing or invoking cycle, she may command additional benefits. If a mage uses either maneuver, it transforms and consumes both sword and shield. She must choose new Arcana for both on the next turn. Fortunately, the “consumed” Arcana regenerate at the beginning the turn after that, so she may select them again.

Invocation Synergy
If the mage’s combined arms have an invoking relationship between them, the mage may recoup 1 point of lost willpower by making a successful reflexive Gnosis roll, whenever she chooses to defend (rolled contested) without attacking.

Banishing Synergy
If the mage’s combined arms have a banishing relationship between them, she may sacrifice her shield Arcanum to her sword. She adds the shield’s Arcanum dots to her sword’s dice pool, but cannot then subtract the shield from the enemy’s dice pool by spending a Willpower point.

To reduce calculations and references, the following table provides the results of relationships:

SYNERGY MODIFIERS
SWORD ARCANA	SHIELD ARCANA
	Death	Fate	Forces	Life	Matter	Mind	Prime	Space	Spirit	Time
Death	N/A			I	I			B		B
Fate		N/A	I	B	B					I
Forces		I	N/A			B	I		B
Life	I	B		N/A			B		I
Matter	I	B			N/A	B	I
Mind			B		B	N/A		I		I
Prime			I	B	I		N/A	B
Space	B					I	B	N/A	I
Spirit			B	I				I	N/A	B
Time	B	I				I			B	N/A

B – Banishing: may add Shield Arcana to attack pool, instead of defense. I – Invocation: may take full defense action to restore one Willpower

Invoking – Defend without attacking and when attacked roll Gnosis to recoup 1 Willpower point.

Banishing – Attack using your Shield Dots added but no defense possible next round

Step Six: Victory & Last Blood
The winning condition may vary based on the customs and terms of the duel.  Normally its the person who still has Doors or when an opponent has their last Door opened.  But sometimes its judged my adjudicators or judges on a point system.  It may also be the person to strike the first blow is the winner.  It may be the mage who has the most Doors when the spell holding the dueling space fades.

The victorious character refreshes Willpower to full, and feels a surge of confidence as they gain the Triumphant Condition. The loser loses as many points of Willpower as she lost Doors, and suffers the Defeated Condition. If the character loses all Willpower points they also gain the Soul Shocked condition.  If the terms of the Duel were “to the death” or something equally drastic, an execution may proceed — but it happens in the Fallen World, outside of the sacred dueling space.

Resolution:
No matter what the terms of the Duel, when the final Door is opened for one of the duelists, his soul is laid bare, and he is as good as spiritually destroyed. He is helpless against his opponent and has spent himself and must concede the duel and is expected to yield the point of contention to the victor. At that moment, the Duel ends, the magical space created by it fades, and the mages’ view of the Fallen World returns.  The victor, is in turn, expected to gracefully accept and allow the loser to depart peaceably, not pressing the advantage.

Traditionally, a Duel Arcane settles a particular dispute for good. The loser should not challenge the winner over the same matter again (although others may do so). Failure to observe these rules can result in a loss of face for the mage and possible censure or mistrust from peers. A mage who has lost a Duel Arcane is weakened and taking advantage of a vanquished foe in such a state is considered an extreme infraction against the Lex Magica, worthy of convening the Ruling Council to decide on punishment (usually reparation to the injured party or incarceration of the offender).