Out of Character (OOC):
Chronicle: Mage 2: The Dethroned Queen
Venue: Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition
Chronicle Storyteller: Jerad Sayler
Venue: Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition
Chronicle Storyteller: Jerad Sayler
Assistant Storytellers: Hannah Nyland & Alex Van Belkum
The Lore & Study of Paradox
With the rules for Version 2.1 of Paradox post already at 10,000 words I wanted to break out some of the awesome flavor text in a separate post. It's around another 6,000 words but its super interesting and I wanted it consolidated and online somewhere. I also wanted the tweaked mechanics for Dissonance and Quiescence posted somewhere. If you delve into the lore, philosophies and positions the various factions have on Paradox you see the underpinnings of their craft. While I didn't gather up each organizations philosophies on Paradox (how many words would have that been!?) they are just as varied as the individual mage. Also below you will see how Paradox feels when your casting spells.
I think when you read the below you will see strong grounding for our editing decisions in my last post. Pooled paradox, penalties to spells and why paradox is scary (despite mechanics in 1st edition and 2nd edition that fail to support it) are justified with the below text from multiple sources.
Changes to the original post or original mechanics are in red.
Text provided by our Chronicle's Storytellers in gold.
Sources:
- Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition corebook
- Mage: The Awakening 1st Edition corebook
- Tome of the Mysteries sourcebook for Mage: The Awakening 1e
Paradox: An intrusion of Abyssal energies
into the Fallen World caused by a mage’s hubris.
Mages who study the symptoms of the Lie argue that mere social pressure doesn’t explain human reluctance to acknowledge the existence of the supernatural. In fact, some humans possess awareness of some supernatural phenomena (ghosts, spirits, psychic powers, etc.) while remaining blind to the existence of the others. Even those who witness overt displays of undeniable magic on many occasions do not have their eyes opened to the truth. They still deny that anything strange happened, and in many cases they completely forget everything they witnessed.
Mages refer to this infinite capacity to deny the Mysteries as the Quiescence, or the Sleeping curse. Quiescence causes Sleepers to forget any revelation of the Mysteries they happen to encounter. It reinforces the learned impulse to rationalize away the supernatural, causing memories of overt magic to fade like half-remembered dreams. Only the Awakened remember the truth. This aspect of Quiescence presents an obstacle to the work of those mages who hope to open the eyes of all of humanity to the Lie.
The Orders agree that the Lie is too elaborate and too finely targeted to be an accident. There’s a guiding intelligence behind it. Mages know that some symbols have a semblance of life. They summon Supernal entities, pulling them from the Supernal World into the Fallen. Most are content to let mages come to them, but the occult symbols bound up in the Lie are evidence that something, deep in the unseen Supernal Realms, is actively trying to cripple humanity’s ability to perceive beyond the Fallen World. More than trying — it’s succeeding. What this enemy is depends on the tale, but mages use the Greek word for “rule from the outside” — “Exarch.”
Anything that challenges the Lie draws the power of the Abyss into the Fallen World. If the symbols of the Supernal Realms represent everything that’s True, providing meaning to the platonic concepts the Fallen World embodies, then the Abyss is everything that can’t be. Every so often, part of the Fallen World becomes so overwhelmed by the poisonous anti-symbols of the Abyss that impossibility breaks through to become real, an intruding Paradox that damages the world around it. On rare occasions, these intrusions happen “naturally.” More often, mages overextend themselves or fall to a moment’s weakness when casting spells, accidentally allowing something of the Abyss through.
A Paradox is a temporary break in reality caused by the misapplication of magic. Magic is the act of drawing down Supernal reality into the Fallen World, and changing the mundane world by dint of higher laws, which hold precedence over lower laws. This is not a mechanical and efficient process. It’s an Art, made challenging by a mage’s degree of Supernal understanding, and mistakes occur.
Mages refer to this infinite capacity to deny the Mysteries as the Quiescence, or the Sleeping curse. Quiescence causes Sleepers to forget any revelation of the Mysteries they happen to encounter. It reinforces the learned impulse to rationalize away the supernatural, causing memories of overt magic to fade like half-remembered dreams. Only the Awakened remember the truth. This aspect of Quiescence presents an obstacle to the work of those mages who hope to open the eyes of all of humanity to the Lie.
The Orders agree that the Lie is too elaborate and too finely targeted to be an accident. There’s a guiding intelligence behind it. Mages know that some symbols have a semblance of life. They summon Supernal entities, pulling them from the Supernal World into the Fallen. Most are content to let mages come to them, but the occult symbols bound up in the Lie are evidence that something, deep in the unseen Supernal Realms, is actively trying to cripple humanity’s ability to perceive beyond the Fallen World. More than trying — it’s succeeding. What this enemy is depends on the tale, but mages use the Greek word for “rule from the outside” — “Exarch.”
Anything that challenges the Lie draws the power of the Abyss into the Fallen World. If the symbols of the Supernal Realms represent everything that’s True, providing meaning to the platonic concepts the Fallen World embodies, then the Abyss is everything that can’t be. Every so often, part of the Fallen World becomes so overwhelmed by the poisonous anti-symbols of the Abyss that impossibility breaks through to become real, an intruding Paradox that damages the world around it. On rare occasions, these intrusions happen “naturally.” More often, mages overextend themselves or fall to a moment’s weakness when casting spells, accidentally allowing something of the Abyss through.
A Paradox is a temporary break in reality caused by the misapplication of magic. Magic is the act of drawing down Supernal reality into the Fallen World, and changing the mundane world by dint of higher laws, which hold precedence over lower laws. This is not a mechanical and efficient process. It’s an Art, made challenging by a mage’s degree of Supernal understanding, and mistakes occur.
Therein lies the irony: The more a mage knows the Supernal, the less she heeds the Fallen World’s precedents, and the more likely it is that she’ll impose the higher upon the lower too forcefully. Doing so can cause a break or rent in the fabric of reality, a hitch in the Tapestry. This flaw of unreality is called a Paradox. Many mages believe that such flaws or holes in the Tapestry are filled immediately by the Abyss, but its attempts to mold itself into reality are a mockery, expressed through twisted, catastrophic phenomena, from out-of-control spells to a spellcaster’s bout of dementia to an alteration of reality itself to the malformation of the mage to the manifestation of an Abyssal creature. A Paradox is the punishment a mage suffers for misuse of magic, for drawing more supernal power than they can effectively weave into reality without the influence of the Abyss acting upon it.
Mages describe a channel of pure light connecting their soul to their Watchtower and through that Watchtower, their Supernal Realm and their access to all magic. The channel allows a mage to draw down power and higher laws from the Supernal but the power must traverse the Abyss to arrive in the Fallen World. Pull down too much, too forcefully, or with less control and you risk the Abyss influencing and corrupting the spell as it comes through.
Obvious Magic: Covert, Improbable & Vulgar
Covert magic does not trigger Disbelief or Dissonance unless it strains credulity past the Improbable and is becomes Obvious Magic. Also, the powers of supernatural creatures do not trigger Disbelief. Vampires, werewolves, spirits, ghosts and other strange beings can use their powers freely before the eyes of Sleepers. Mages theorize that Disbelief is a Sleeper’s soul denying the truth of the Supernal World, as displayed by vulgar Awakened magic. The powers of other creatures, mages believe, originate in the Fallen World and do not stir the soul’s memory of its fallen tragedy. In a sense, Disbelief is a near Awakening, but one that denies Awakening itself. Mages use a lot of nuanced terms for the handling of magic in front of Sleepers.
The Sleeping Curse strikes a Sleeper when she sees obvious magic, either during the spell’s casting or encountering its effects later. So what’s obvious? The spell must be clearly, openly supernatural ineffect, and the Sleeper must be both conscious and cognizant of the magic’s impossibility. Spells that are not obvious at the moment they are cast escape the Paradox die bonus, but may be subject to Dissonance if they are obvious when a Sleeper later encounters them.
Obvious Magic - This is mage In-Character jargon and term for game mechanic Out of Character. openly and blatant magical effects that will definitely suffer from Dissonance. Dissonance will most likely affect the spell 100% of the time. The term has nothing to do with the spell risking Paradox or not.
Covert Magic - This is only an In-Character term used to convey a few ideas. Covert magic that is subtle and will not suffer Dissonance from it. The spell and its effects are obfuscated and Sleepers will automatically assume the effects are the results of chance, happenstance or mundane rationale. The rough chances the spell will be interpreted and upgraded to Obvious Magic is 35% if that is helpful. Covert magic is also usually a term for magic that doesn't Risk Paradox and therefore doesn't also have to deal with sleeper witnesses.
Improbable Magic - This is an In-Character term used to convey a few ideas. Improbable magic that stretches credulity and may suffer Dissonance if heavily scrutinized for reality breaking effects by Sleepers. The rough chances the spell will be interpreted and upgraded to Obvious Magic is roughly %70. Improbable magic can either Risk Paradox or not, the term is just meant to communicate how Sleepers are likely to interpret it.
Vulgar Magic - This is an In-Character term used to convey a few ideas. Vulgar magic is a slang term used to describe magic that is seen as blatant, flashy, hubristic and reality breaking. While being synonymous with Obvious Magic, this is not guaranteed. Roughly 85% of Vulgar spells will be identified by Sleepers as Obvious Magic. Generally Vulgar magic also refers to spells that risk Paradox, regardless of what a Sleeper would think of them.
The chances of a Paradox occurring increase dramatically whenever Sleepers witness an obvious or even improbable act of magic. Their souls recoil, and the Abyss stirs in response. If their exposure is prolonged, their very disbelief (Dissonance) can unravel spells, like a mage versed in dispelling magic. Very few spells can withstand the long-term scrutiny of a Sleeping soul. Its threads fray and are soon unwoven. The things of the lower world taint the things of the higher world, and poison their enchantments. For this reason, mages avoid casting spells before unenlightened eyes. It is considered a crime to work the Art before Sleepers, and a high crime to speak of the Mysteries to them, lest Supernal wisdom become tainted by Abyssal sympathy. Lest the spell, it's symbols and the Platonic Truths behind them become mundane and never work again.
When you call down too much power and design a spell too complex with too much Reach, the result is a spell that invites Paradox. The spell works outside the bounds of reality and the caster's ability to control the difference. Vulgar magic produces an effect that could not possibly occur through the normal laws of physics, or whose probability of occurrence is so high as to be unthinkable. The Abyss takes notice and reality rebels against such magic, so mages pay a price for vulgar spells. That price is a Paradox. Vulgar magic does not necessarily reveal the spellcaster as the source of the magic, unless the effect obviously comes from him (such as an electrical charge shot forth from his fingertips). Whether onlookers can trace a spell back to its caster based on the circumstances is another matter entirely.
Mages call down a higher reality with their spells, superseding the laws of nature. Their enlightened will guides the merging of worlds, creating a seamless conjunction between disjointed realities. But sometimes their will stumbles. When two realities collide, a Paradox occurs. A Paradox arises from the conflict between the energies channeled from a mage’s Path realm and prevailing reality, compounded by the unenlightened gaze of any Sleepers who witness the mage’s handiwork. The mage’s Path realm says something is possible, common reality says it’s impossible, and a Paradox occurs. The result most often manifests as a strain within the mage’s own Pattern, as the forces of Creation attempt to right the problem. The more the mage changes the universe through force of will, the more the universe may change the mage in turn. Mages who push their powers too far descend into madness and delusion. Paradox can even tear the fabric of reality asunder, allowing strange
things from Outside to find their way in.
Mages believe that the Tapestry was once more supple and yielding to changes wrought by Awakened will. Before the Celestial War of Atlantis, magic did not clash with reality. With the shattering of the Ladder and the creation of the Abyss, however, the Shadow and Fallen Worlds were shifted askew. The risk of a Paradox haunts those mages who are not careful to hide their lights behind bushels.
Paradox & Mage Society
The following is a very generalized breakdown on how each mage organization views Paradox. Again, there are factions within each Order and Ministry that break out various philosophies and opinions on Paradox. Such beliefs, shades and flavors are even unique to every mage. This is just a little simplified break-down off the top of my head. If you disagree or see mistakes please let me know!
How Seers see Paradox comes down to if a given Pylon or Ministry sees Paradox as part of the Exarch's plan, part of the Lie, or as an unintended consequence of the Fall. But in general, the Seers only see restraint of Paradox as good hygiene practices in the Fallen World and making sure the spells they cast do what they need to do. Some see the Abyss and Paradox as a necessary part of the reordering of the cosmos when the Exarchs seized power. The Abyss keeps most of mankind asleep, it keeps Supernal Law from gaining a foothold in the world at an industrial scale. It keeps the status quo. They will hunt down Abyssal threats when they become a problem for them but are just as likely to use Scelesti to fight the Pentacle as they are to snuff them out. The Secret Order of the Gate
Scelesti (Accursed)
It pretty much goes without saying that Scelesti usually see Paradox as their primary means of communing with the Abyss. It is a tool, a power they harness and embrace to serve their blasphemous ideologies.
Timori (Banishers), Reapers & Nephandi (Left-Handed)
As you might guess, how these groups view Paradox is the most varied and subjective. For Banishers in particular, the vileness of Paradox is usually bundled up in their understanding of magic overall and it is easy to see that if you don't distinguish between those things that magic looks all the more repugnant as a result. There are lots of theories out there that the existence of the Banisher phenomena could very well be because of the Abyss.
Silver Ladder
The Ladder sets the status quo in regards to the Diamond Orders' basic understanding of Paradox. They see it as shackles, part of the Lie (intentional or not) that must be cast aside. They want to bring about the Imperium Mysterium, global Awakening and the return of the Awakened Nation. They see Paradox and the Abyss as something that needs to be pushed back by bastions of the Supernal until it finally is burned away. They doesn't usually hesitate to risk Paradox if they think they can handle the results. Magic is humanity's birthright, let them see, let them have the chance to Awaken too.
Mysterium
The Mysterium is perhaps the least opinionated on the matter of Paradox. It is a problem. It also warrants more study and understanding. Magic is a living thing, it wants and needs, it haves behaviors and reactions. Magic must be studied and explorer but also protected. They want to protect magic from Dissonance and permenant harm and the Abyss seems to destroy magic like nothing other. For that reason, it must be worked against as much as possible so that no further harm will come to magic.
Free Council
Libertines recognize that Paradox is a problem but don't agree that it is what the Diamond Orders would have you believe it is. They don't believe it's the result of some Tower of Babel situation from prehistory. There is no unerring proof to confirm that. It appears to be some kind of interference to the way magic is supposed to work. If it happens, it happens. This position drives the Guardians of the Veil nuts. If magic is not just the birthright of mankind but part of every aspect of their society then working with Sleepers is the way to finding away to bypass it once and for all.
Adamantine Arrow
The fog, friction and chance of war is all made greater by the introduction of Paradox. It must be planned for and mitigated as much as possible in order to control the battlespace. It can be used as a weapon to defeat an enemy but doing so is a short-sighted high-risk game that largely creates a bigger mess that must be cleaned up later. The Abyss also represents a lot of threats the Arrow must protect the Diamond orders from, Scelesti and Intruders being big names on the lost.
Guardians of the Veil
The Guardians of the Veil make everyone else's position on Paradox and the Abyss look lukewarm and tame. Paradox is one of the worst things imaginable. Not only does it damage the Supernal, the holiest of holies, sometimes permanently but it also damages the Fallen World. Every Paradox pushes the Fallen World and the Supernal World further apart, and the Fallen World closer to complete dissolution. Every Paradox strengthens the powers of the Abyss and Paradox is the response to the hubris of mages as they play god in the Fallen World. The Abyss is the result of the First Nation's hubris which broke reality itself when they tried to fuse the most high with the gross matter of physical reality. Mages broke the cosmos, and it must never happen again. Guardians will cause Paradox if it cannot be avoided and will usually assume all consequences for the aftereffects. They will also lie, cheat and kill in order to protect the sanctity of magic itself, which means stopping Paradoxes from happening.
Storytelling Paradox
Plan ahead - Look over the Paradox rules and decide on possible results for Paradox Conditions and Anomalies for Storyteller characters before the story begins. Does an antagonist have high Wisdom? Will they contain or release Paradoxes? In what circumstances will they do one or the other? Jot them down with the notes you’ve made about the appropriate character, and check them off when you’ve used them. Havoc, of course, varies from instance to instance and thus is hard to plan for, and Manifestation is such a significant event that this effect should probably become the focus of the story, at least for a short time, if it occurs.
Make Paradoxes work for you - Paradoxes can actually be a tremendous boon for the Storyteller. A well-placed Condition can force a previously tight-lipped mage into revealing an important plot point. An Anomaly can actually tip the odds in the characters’ favor, enhancing their magic. And, of course, a Havoc Paradox can have nearly any effect, allowing it to be a kind of panacea for a struggling plotline. Don’t be afraid to decide what kind of a Paradox a supporting mage suffers and to what degree, regardless of what the dice say, if you can make it benefit the story.
The Lore of Paradox:
Despite many, many efforts in the times since the Fall to analyze and categorize Paradoxes into some sort of pattern that can predict what type will occur and when, no mage has been able to claim an unequivocal success. The unpredictable nature of the beast that is a Paradox defeats them all. Mages have sought correlations in all possible places, examining the effects of the time of day, the planetary alignments, galactic turning, temperature, relative distance to Hallows and Demesnes, the number of mages in proximity and the affected willworker’s age, disposition, health, Path and order.
Throughout history, several mages each century discover some sort of design in what defines a Paradox given certain conditions. Each time, no one else can reproduce the data. There is a special kind of Mad mage among those who believe that such a pattern can be found. These mages deliberately invoke Paradoxes or drive other mages to do so in order to study the “phenomenon.” Such mages typically have short lifespans. Others choose to study the nature of each Paradox itself, rather than try to apply reason to the random. What does it mean, they ask, when a Paradox strikes a mage? There are almost as many answers to that question as there are mages. Most pick up one of the various answers that have a following, but for every mage who accepts another’s theory, there’s another who rejects it and forms her own opinion.
Sensing Paradox:
Mages have an innate sense for Paradox in an environment as a feeling of unease and the drop in the bottom of the stomach detectable with Peripheral Mage Sight (senses). As they risk paradox during a spellcasting they detect how much, in a general sense, the channel between the Supernal World and the mage has degraded and caught the attention of the Abyss. They can feel this channel and the amount of magic they are going to pull down and that the Abyss is going to work upon it. Precise numbers (Paradox dice pool of X dice) are given to the player but vague descriptions are given to the characters (low, moderate, heavy).
Using Mana to Mitigate the Paradox Pool:
Using Mana to mitigate a Paradox can be part of the Imago from the beginning. A mage casting a spell she knows is vulgar might build in this “step” in the casting (even if the casting only takes seconds), using her own magical energy to smooth the disruption of the Fallen World. In this case, the expenditure is painless, though not effortless. One might compare it to lifting a box of heavy books — the lifter knows it will be heavy, and thus uses her legs to lift, bracing herself for the effort.
If the mage doesn’t realize that a Paradox might intrude on her (perhaps she is casting a particular vulgar spell for the first time, or perhaps a Sleeper witness pushes a normally covert spell into the range of “Improbable”), the expenditure of Mana is hasty, a self-preservation reflex meant to shield the mage from the Abyss. Using the same metaphor, the person lifting the box of books might not have realized what it contained, and tried to pick it up hastily only to feel her muscles start to strain. In response, she leans back against a wall, partially drops the box or otherwise tries to alleviate the damage to her body. The results might not be pretty, but hopefully the desired result is still achieved.
The resonance of the Mana doesn’t usually matter when it is used to mitigate a Paradox, since the yawning maw of the Abyss consumes the energy almost immediately. The mage simply feels her energy draining away, hopefully providing a buffer between her magic and the Paradox it creates.
Risking Paradox:
When a mage doesn't risk paradox (within their Reach) and casts away from sleepers they are secure in the knowledge that the Fallen World “agrees” with what he is doing. A mage Reaches too far, though, is taking a risk, and he knows it immediately.
A Paradox actually takes hold as soon as the Imago is complete. Because Paradoxes are so unpredictable, though, a mage can’t incorporate one into the Imago. Therefore, even a “small” Paradox can flummox a spell beyond recognition, which is why many mages choose to work a bit of Mana into the casting to avoid a Paradox. If the mage chooses to trust her luck and hope that a Paradox passes her by, she’ll know the result before the spell takes effect. After she forms the Imago, she releases it, and hopes for a simple pause as the world changes. Often, though, what she gets is a sudden feeling of nausea, a sound of discord or even the scent of ozone, rot or soot. At that point, the mage knows she has caused a Paradox.
Spells often feel weaker in the face of a Paradox, even if the result is what the mage desired. The disjoint in reality caused by channeling the Supernal across the Abyss causes even (especially!) skillful mages’ control of their magic to slip. The mage needs to exert more concentration on making sure the spell even takes effect, and cannot worry too much about the fine details.
The resonance of the Mana doesn’t usually matter when it is used to mitigate a Paradox, since the yawning maw of the Abyss consumes the energy almost immediately. The mage simply feels her energy draining away, hopefully providing a buffer between her magic and the Paradox it creates.
Risking Paradox:
When a mage doesn't risk paradox (within their Reach) and casts away from sleepers they are secure in the knowledge that the Fallen World “agrees” with what he is doing. A mage Reaches too far, though, is taking a risk, and he knows it immediately.
A Paradox actually takes hold as soon as the Imago is complete. Because Paradoxes are so unpredictable, though, a mage can’t incorporate one into the Imago. Therefore, even a “small” Paradox can flummox a spell beyond recognition, which is why many mages choose to work a bit of Mana into the casting to avoid a Paradox. If the mage chooses to trust her luck and hope that a Paradox passes her by, she’ll know the result before the spell takes effect. After she forms the Imago, she releases it, and hopes for a simple pause as the world changes. Often, though, what she gets is a sudden feeling of nausea, a sound of discord or even the scent of ozone, rot or soot. At that point, the mage knows she has caused a Paradox.
Spells often feel weaker in the face of a Paradox, even if the result is what the mage desired. The disjoint in reality caused by channeling the Supernal across the Abyss causes even (especially!) skillful mages’ control of their magic to slip. The mage needs to exert more concentration on making sure the spell even takes effect, and cannot worry too much about the fine details.
Many mages feel as though they are being watched by thousands of people (or simply beings) in the instant before a Paradox hits. The mage has a choice in this instant. She can choose to contain the Paradox within herself, letting it damage her body rather than her spell, or she can choose to let the Paradox run its course. A mage knows if a Paradox is going to be minor or potentially disastrous, and has an idea of what containing or releasing the Paradox may mean. Many mages feel that this adds insult to injury; the spell goes wrong and the mage suffers bodily, but those Awakened who have undergone the horror of a Branding Condition or Manifestation Anomaly would usually prefer to take a few moments of insanity and suffer a splitting headache than go through such an experience again.
When a mage chooses to suffer Backlash, the damage isn’t usually visible to others. Paradox often leave bruises as capillaries and blood vessels break and get bloodshot eyes. The damage manifests as incredible muscle cramps, splitting headaches, mild brain damage, first and second degree burns, nausea and, sometimes, nosebleeds.
When a mage chooses to suffer Backlash, the damage isn’t usually visible to others. Paradox often leave bruises as capillaries and blood vessels break and get bloodshot eyes. The damage manifests as incredible muscle cramps, splitting headaches, mild brain damage, first and second degree burns, nausea and, sometimes, nosebleeds.
Alternately, though, old wounds can reopen or flare up. The damage is painful, but not in itself devastating, and most mages recover from it with a short rest. Of course, an already wounded mage who chooses to absorb a Paradox might be signing her own death warrant, since Paradox damage can “piggyback” on pre-existing wounds. A mage suffering from a gunshot, for instance, might find the bullet burrowing deeper into her flesh if she chooses to absorb a Paradox.
Havoc Anomalies:
Havocs are the simplest of Paradoxes, potentially common even among young mages, is Havoc. Externally, other mages can see the Paradox’s effect: it changes the spell’s target and, sometimes, completely reverses the intent of the spell. To all appearances, the spell’s final target develops at random. When the spell’s effects change, on the other hand, an unknown will seems to guide the magic toward are a result counter to the mage’s original intent.
Hypothesis: The Abyss is Responsible for what the Havoc does
Questions naturally arise among the Awakened because of this juxtaposition. Many willworkers suggest that it is the Abyss personified, reaching into the Fallen World to twist a spell as it is released. This empty malevolence causes the Paradox. The Abyss doesn’t care who suffers the spell’s effects, but it reads the mage’s desire and acts contrarily when the mage is weak enough to let it. The idea that there is an Abyssal awareness, watching over the mages of the Fallen World with enough devilish perception to know what a mage meant and the ability to twist a spell completely around is — frightening. Something reads what the caster wants and bends his magic so it ails instead of aids, helps rather than hinders. Mages who accept this cosmology fight all the more against evoking Paradoxes, because the enemy is already so very strong. An already paranoid society grows more so, and insular, never knowing what is or isn’t the Abyss looking in on them.
Hypothesis: The caster's imperfect Imago is responsible for what the Havoc does
The alternative to this would be that the behavior of the Havoc is the result of the imperfections and fears of the caster directly, making the Havoc's effects self-inflicted. Mages who practice more self-honesty give less credence to an all-aware Abyss. To them, the others’ irresponsibility prevents them from understanding the truth: their casting was flawed. A basic tenet of magic, oft overlooked, is that what the mage sees in his mind’s eye — the Imago — happens. If the spell does something different, then that is what the mage imagined. It is a fl aw in the caster’s focus, not a twist in the spell, itself.
Awakened are, by nature, imaginative. They need that creativity, that flexibility of vision, to even believe that their will could become reality. But the human imagination is not known for its stability, and mages are all too human. Only their training allows them to focus their wills so dependably that they can make their whims truth. For most people, focusing on a single image long enough and clearly enough is difficult. This leads to the cause of Havoc: the imagination is a fluid thing, and a mage makes the mistake of letting his Imago slip. What if, he momentarily thinks, I were to accidentally strike my friend? Or, wondering which of his comrades he should heal might shift the image in his head. Only the most self-disciplined and harsh mages insist on this interpretation of these Paradoxes. For the very reason that these mages prefer it — on whatever grounds, they prefer to blame themselves for their failures than any outside force — most other mages spurn it. It is hard to bear all the blame on one’s own shoulders.
Hypothesis: The Abyss lies to the caster about flaws in the Imago
There is a middle ground to both theories, one held by a number of mages who are not comfortable with either extreme position. They know it is not impossible for even their well-trained minds to stumble, but they also know how to abort a flawed spell before it comes to fruition. Knowing that magic can only act out an Imago, they consider that the Abyss may prey on their own weaknesses for its Paradoxes. When a mage errs, letting his mind wander about the many available targets of a spell or allowing fear of a miscasting to color her imagination, the Abyss is distracting them. The ancient flaw of the Atlanteans returns as a flaw, overconfidence or ignorance or something other, in modern mages, such that they fail to notice their faulty Imagos and cast anyway.
Awakened are, by nature, imaginative. They need that creativity, that flexibility of vision, to even believe that their will could become reality. But the human imagination is not known for its stability, and mages are all too human. Only their training allows them to focus their wills so dependably that they can make their whims truth. For most people, focusing on a single image long enough and clearly enough is difficult. This leads to the cause of Havoc: the imagination is a fluid thing, and a mage makes the mistake of letting his Imago slip. What if, he momentarily thinks, I were to accidentally strike my friend? Or, wondering which of his comrades he should heal might shift the image in his head. Only the most self-disciplined and harsh mages insist on this interpretation of these Paradoxes. For the very reason that these mages prefer it — on whatever grounds, they prefer to blame themselves for their failures than any outside force — most other mages spurn it. It is hard to bear all the blame on one’s own shoulders.
Hypothesis: The Abyss lies to the caster about flaws in the Imago
There is a middle ground to both theories, one held by a number of mages who are not comfortable with either extreme position. They know it is not impossible for even their well-trained minds to stumble, but they also know how to abort a flawed spell before it comes to fruition. Knowing that magic can only act out an Imago, they consider that the Abyss may prey on their own weaknesses for its Paradoxes. When a mage errs, letting his mind wander about the many available targets of a spell or allowing fear of a miscasting to color her imagination, the Abyss is distracting them. The ancient flaw of the Atlanteans returns as a flaw, overconfidence or ignorance or something other, in modern mages, such that they fail to notice their faulty Imagos and cast anyway.
In this case, it is not a malevolent and frighteningly competent Abyss affecting the course of cast magic. Instead, it is the mage’s own fears — fear of a misplaced target, fear of a mistake in the spell or the common fear of a Paradox — that warp his Imago. If the Abyss does anything, it misleads the mage, making him believe his Imago is untarnished or simply distracting him from the truth. Mages who believe this, or one of its many variations, don’t feel blameless. Tighter reins on their enlightened wills, greater confidence to defeat their fears or more humility to notice their deception could all have saved them grief. But at least they know that now.
Limitations on Havocs:
Havocs remain in the Arcana of the Spell: Separate from what the mage is trying to accomplish, she knows what threads of the Tapestry she’s tugging to get it done. A Paradox won’t make her lash out with Telekinesis when she’s trying to look at what happened yesterday, and won’t degrade a pistol to nothing when she’s trying to make it lucky.
Havocs cannot create effects the cannot: A Havoc spell doesn’t get more powerful than anything the caster himself could do with that Arcanum.
Havocs remain in the Arcana of the Spell: Separate from what the mage is trying to accomplish, she knows what threads of the Tapestry she’s tugging to get it done. A Paradox won’t make her lash out with Telekinesis when she’s trying to look at what happened yesterday, and won’t degrade a pistol to nothing when she’s trying to make it lucky.
Havocs cannot create effects the cannot: A Havoc spell doesn’t get more powerful than anything the caster himself could do with that Arcanum.
Havocs oppose the intent, not the event of the spell: In order to have an effective Imago, the mage must keep the desired effect separate from anything else passing through her mind. Even her reasons for casting the spell do not enter into the crystal-clear image of what she makes happen. As a result, when the Imago loses integrity and warps into something different, it changes into an effect contrary to the mage’s spell — but not an effect designed to make the mage’s situation worse. There’s a good chance that it will anyway, but the reversed spell doesn’t have any particular skill at fighting the mage in the longer run.
Havocs must use the original targeting type for the spell: Just a reminder, but the targets for a Havoc spell are only counted from among valid targets of the type in the spell’s original Imago. When dealing with the Life Arcanum, for example, not all effects consider all life forms valid targets until the caster reaches a high enough mastery of that Arcanum. If the Havoc spell’s final effect can’t affect median or higher life, the random target is chosen from among all examples of base life within range.
Havocs aren't always detrimental: It’s worth noting that a Havoc spell is out of control, but doesn’t have to be detrimental. The random target of a healing spell might be another ally, or Havoc might invert the spell into a degrading attack that randomly hits an enemy.
Sensations: During a Havoc Anomaly the mage feels control of the spell slip away from him. He struggles to regain it, but feels as if he is trying to keep hold of a flopping fish or a snapping snake. The magic leaps from his soul to a random target — sometimes doing the opposite of what was intended.
How does casting a spell cause a mage to lose his mind? Many wave away the problem, blaming it on adverse presence of the Abyss and leaving it at that. But there’s no solution there, no wisdom to be gained in an answer so plain as to be almost meaningless. Other mages seek to better themselves and their brethren by pondering the problem more deeply.
When a mage calls down one or more of the higher laws from the Supernal World, those hallowed powers must travel through the taint of the Abyss. Not truly sitting physically between the two worlds, it lies between them sympathetically, like a film of oil on the birdbath. Covert spells make not so much as a ripple, but anything vulgar is metaphysically large enough to drag a little of that yuck along with it. Sometimes a mage is skillful enough to finesse the spell through without much trouble, and sometimes really, really not. That Abyssal taint sticks to the spell. As a result, when the mage contains the spell, the spell gets harder to get off, and may not fully absorbed as a Backlash. Worse, the Abyss can slick off the spell and into the caster’s mind. That’s when a mage starts to go a little crazy — and the crazy sometimes rides along into other mages nearby.
Some mages consider that explanation something of a sophism. As some think of Havoc spells as Paradoxes caused entirely by the Abyss, they also like to think of Paradox Conditions as an unavoidable occasional side effect of exceeding Reach. Their philosophical opponents insist that a mage must accept more responsibility for a Paradox that he causes. Arguing for responsibility, this faction declares that Bedlam does not invent a psychological problem — it only builds on what is already there.
If the Abyss can take advantage of a mage’s weakness to conceal a distorted or wavering Imago, then the next step up might be to amplify the ambiguities and contradictions in a mage’s consciousness, or to quiet all but the most troubling thoughts. Some mages still insist that Bedlam has nothing to do with the Abyss, but is nothing more than a weak mind being disjointed by the stress of casting. They are less common than like-thinkers about Havoc. It’s easier to see a mage losing control of the Imago and casting a wayward spell than it is to see a mage randomly losing her mind.
Studies that examine correlations between a mage’s mental stresses and the forms of his Bedlam do show some connection between the two. An overproud mage might be prone to narcissism in his fits of Bedlam, or an inferiority complex as his pride breaks; a nervous one tends toward a phobia or suspicion. These are hardly hard-and-fast rules, but good guidelines to help you know what might be coming.
Mages suffering from the Bedlam Paradox Condition sometimes don’t notice when Bedlam strikes. They think the spell succeeded or failed as normal and that no Paradox hit, even though it certainly felt like a Paradox happened. Experienced mages, interestingly, tend to be worse at recognizing when Bedlam hits them than neophytes. Their mind has been twisted by the Abyss and they don't realize how their psychology has suddenly been changed.
One facet of Anomaly as a Paradox is that no right minded mages can argue that there’s no tinge of the Abyss in it. No mage has the power to break reality the ways that an Anomaly can. Or mages might, but it’s incredibly difficult and often beyond the understanding of the mage who was supposed to have done it. Whether mages insist that the Abyss flowed into the Fallen World with the spell or through the spell into the mage and her surroundings, no one really believes that the Abyss isn’t there.
Bedlam Paradox Conditions:
With the paranoid discrimination Awakened society levels upon the Mad, no wonder so many fear Bedlam. A mage who is unable to control himself or act with reason and Wisdom is nothing less than a menace, and Supernally powerful menaces must be stopped. Perhaps Bedlam is actually why the orders hate and fear the Mad so much. The orders are afraid that the next Paradox will put them in the same position, and they wonder how many Mad mages put down by the Pentacle were functional and sane just an hour or a day before.
How does casting a spell cause a mage to lose his mind? Many wave away the problem, blaming it on adverse presence of the Abyss and leaving it at that. But there’s no solution there, no wisdom to be gained in an answer so plain as to be almost meaningless. Other mages seek to better themselves and their brethren by pondering the problem more deeply.
When a mage calls down one or more of the higher laws from the Supernal World, those hallowed powers must travel through the taint of the Abyss. Not truly sitting physically between the two worlds, it lies between them sympathetically, like a film of oil on the birdbath. Covert spells make not so much as a ripple, but anything vulgar is metaphysically large enough to drag a little of that yuck along with it. Sometimes a mage is skillful enough to finesse the spell through without much trouble, and sometimes really, really not. That Abyssal taint sticks to the spell. As a result, when the mage contains the spell, the spell gets harder to get off, and may not fully absorbed as a Backlash. Worse, the Abyss can slick off the spell and into the caster’s mind. That’s when a mage starts to go a little crazy — and the crazy sometimes rides along into other mages nearby.
Some mages consider that explanation something of a sophism. As some think of Havoc spells as Paradoxes caused entirely by the Abyss, they also like to think of Paradox Conditions as an unavoidable occasional side effect of exceeding Reach. Their philosophical opponents insist that a mage must accept more responsibility for a Paradox that he causes. Arguing for responsibility, this faction declares that Bedlam does not invent a psychological problem — it only builds on what is already there.
If the Abyss can take advantage of a mage’s weakness to conceal a distorted or wavering Imago, then the next step up might be to amplify the ambiguities and contradictions in a mage’s consciousness, or to quiet all but the most troubling thoughts. Some mages still insist that Bedlam has nothing to do with the Abyss, but is nothing more than a weak mind being disjointed by the stress of casting. They are less common than like-thinkers about Havoc. It’s easier to see a mage losing control of the Imago and casting a wayward spell than it is to see a mage randomly losing her mind.
Studies that examine correlations between a mage’s mental stresses and the forms of his Bedlam do show some connection between the two. An overproud mage might be prone to narcissism in his fits of Bedlam, or an inferiority complex as his pride breaks; a nervous one tends toward a phobia or suspicion. These are hardly hard-and-fast rules, but good guidelines to help you know what might be coming.
Mages suffering from the Bedlam Paradox Condition sometimes don’t notice when Bedlam strikes. They think the spell succeeded or failed as normal and that no Paradox hit, even though it certainly felt like a Paradox happened. Experienced mages, interestingly, tend to be worse at recognizing when Bedlam hits them than neophytes. Their mind has been twisted by the Abyss and they don't realize how their psychology has suddenly been changed.
Branding Paradox Conditions:
Not all Brandings affect the mage’s appearance directly. Some color and taint only the things he touches. No matter Brandings they appear, though, they mark the mage.
A Branding Paradox Condition can feel horrifically painful, as though the mage is being turned inside out, or it can be completely devoid of all sensation. Sometimes a Branding even feels oddly pleasant (though that tends to fade when the mage discovers his new tail, horns or what-have-you).
Environmental Anomalies:
As nearly every text that discusses Environmental Anomalies notes, they are eminently unpredictable. The most common warning a young mage receives about Anomalies is that they might have some effect based on his Path realm. Or not.One facet of Anomaly as a Paradox is that no right minded mages can argue that there’s no tinge of the Abyss in it. No mage has the power to break reality the ways that an Anomaly can. Or mages might, but it’s incredibly difficult and often beyond the understanding of the mage who was supposed to have done it. Whether mages insist that the Abyss flowed into the Fallen World with the spell or through the spell into the mage and her surroundings, no one really believes that the Abyss isn’t there.
Anomalies caused by a mage who is suffering from a Persistent Mental Condition or derangement, whether the product of supernatural or natural instability, may display effects associated with those disorders. Sometimes this even occurs after the mage has worked through his derangement.
For this reason, some mentors temper their admonitions against loosing a Paradox. They hope to let their students make their own mistakes, at a time when the result will be a strong deterrent without being a true danger. Better to warp the world around you than release something nearly godlike from the Abyss.
The Abyss Inside
More so than perhaps any other type of Paradox, the existence of Manifestations leads to some interesting — or bizarre — theories. Among those who believe that a Paradox is an expression of the soul’s inner conflict between expression and secrecy, the possibility that that self-flagellation could produce an entity commonly agreed to be from the Abyss raises questions.
When a mage punishes himself with this sort of Paradox, does he subconsciously open a doorway to the Abyss and pull the demon through? Few, if any, mages know enough about the Mysteries of the Abyss to perform such a feat. The suggestion that the capability is within one of the Awakened, though, is impressive. Or does the mage create the creature, again an enviable skill that few mages could wield even after years of study?
More mages wonder if the Abyss truly rests, metaphysically, between the Fallen World and the Supernal. The ability of a mage to punish himself by releasing one of these creatures into the world suggests that the Abyss is closer to the souls of individuals than the majority of the Awaken believe. What if, some ask, it is not a fault with the world that makes magic difficult, but a problem with the mages? After all, the mages open the Fallen World to the Abyss, and through them the Abyssal entities enter the world. And the acamoth, most famed of the Abyssal choir, needs access to a mage’s Oneiros before the acamoth can commune with its home — why so, if it is not where the Abyss lies?
Perhaps finding true Wisdom will rid a mage of this affliction.
While these questions may never be answered, more than a few cabals are angered to be blamed for the very existence of the Abyss. In short, it’s not a very popular theory, and the mages who hold to it vocally don’t get invited to many parties.
When a Manifestation occurs the mage experiences a moment of slowed time, and perceives the abyss (again, this can take sensory form). Sometimes she feels something pass her, as though a snake brushed her leg in a lake, and sometimes all she feels is a passing sense of dread. How long the Abyssal spirit goes before revealing itself depends on the power and goals of the spirit, of course.
Manifestation Anomalies:
The Abyss isn’t an empty void exploited by the Exarchs, either — it contains multitudes of impossible entities, and whole maddened, stillborn universes mages call the Annunaki, each trying in its own way to infect the Fallen World and twist it into itself. Lesser Abyssal entities twist the laws of the Fallen World, creating regions of corrupted reality or strange, alien entities that mages call Gulmoth. When the Abyss warps the inner Astral worlds of a human soul, it creates an Acamoth, a monster dedicated to making people’s souls more like the Abyss.
For the reckless, it's only a matter of time before they eventually invoke what is potentially the most troublesome of Paradoxes: an Abyssal Manifestation. Young mages may take the words of their elders seriously, taking great care over their use of vulgar magic, and in that way they avoid Paradoxes. But a life without suffering a serious Paradox eventually leads to carelessness, and the time comes when overconfidence takes its toll.
For the reckless, it's only a matter of time before they eventually invoke what is potentially the most troublesome of Paradoxes: an Abyssal Manifestation. Young mages may take the words of their elders seriously, taking great care over their use of vulgar magic, and in that way they avoid Paradoxes. But a life without suffering a serious Paradox eventually leads to carelessness, and the time comes when overconfidence takes its toll.
The Abyss Inside
More so than perhaps any other type of Paradox, the existence of Manifestations leads to some interesting — or bizarre — theories. Among those who believe that a Paradox is an expression of the soul’s inner conflict between expression and secrecy, the possibility that that self-flagellation could produce an entity commonly agreed to be from the Abyss raises questions.
When a mage punishes himself with this sort of Paradox, does he subconsciously open a doorway to the Abyss and pull the demon through? Few, if any, mages know enough about the Mysteries of the Abyss to perform such a feat. The suggestion that the capability is within one of the Awakened, though, is impressive. Or does the mage create the creature, again an enviable skill that few mages could wield even after years of study?
More mages wonder if the Abyss truly rests, metaphysically, between the Fallen World and the Supernal. The ability of a mage to punish himself by releasing one of these creatures into the world suggests that the Abyss is closer to the souls of individuals than the majority of the Awaken believe. What if, some ask, it is not a fault with the world that makes magic difficult, but a problem with the mages? After all, the mages open the Fallen World to the Abyss, and through them the Abyssal entities enter the world. And the acamoth, most famed of the Abyssal choir, needs access to a mage’s Oneiros before the acamoth can commune with its home — why so, if it is not where the Abyss lies?
Perhaps finding true Wisdom will rid a mage of this affliction.
Examples of Gulmoth Manifestions:
The paradox tears a visible or invisible hole in reality, something slips through. Sympathetically linked to caster and every anomaly-based time interval that goes by the being loses an essence. The Gulmoth summoned tend to take on traits and abilities associated with a Mage’s Vice, Path, and Arcanum used to summon them. (Use books like Intruders, Mage: The Awakening, Tome of the Mysteries, and Summoners for ideas.) When they enter the world they do so from a radius from the mage not exceeding the Mage’s Gnosis x 10 yards but can flee after that. The caster is the link to the Gulmoth. If the caster dies the Gulmoth is immediately banished. If the caster destroys the entity it tends to be banished more easily and the link between mage and Abyssal manifestation is a good way to track them.
I wouldn't recommend making them too complex or asymmetric unless you plan on dedicating part of a Story to tracking down and destroying the entity. Gulmoth let into the world by use of a Paradox Manifestation are almost never suitable to long-term survival in the Fallen World like the popular ones repeatedly summoned by Scelesti. While fixated on the mage that let it into the world, they almost never attack and kill them directly because doing so would immediately banish them from the Fallen World. Instead they harass and trouble the mage and what he cares about, using him as a fuel source to remain in reality. Some of the most powerful Abyssal Manifestations can only be destroyed completely by being destroyed by the caster (otherwise they just reconstitute like spirits with no Corpus but some Essence left) or banished by the caster's death.
I wouldn't recommend making them too complex or asymmetric unless you plan on dedicating part of a Story to tracking down and destroying the entity. Gulmoth let into the world by use of a Paradox Manifestation are almost never suitable to long-term survival in the Fallen World like the popular ones repeatedly summoned by Scelesti. While fixated on the mage that let it into the world, they almost never attack and kill them directly because doing so would immediately banish them from the Fallen World. Instead they harass and trouble the mage and what he cares about, using him as a fuel source to remain in reality. Some of the most powerful Abyssal Manifestations can only be destroyed completely by being destroyed by the caster (otherwise they just reconstitute like spirits with no Corpus but some Essence left) or banished by the caster's death.
5 Reach - Rank 2 “Gremlin” (Max trait 7, Max Essence 15, Total traits 9-14) More malicious with little humor and dark intent. Keen sense of timing and can cause a lot of trouble and hassle. Tend to be intangible, incorporeal, ethereal or residing in the Shadow or Twilight. They flee from the caster to cause as much trouble as they can.
6 Reach -Rank 3 “Intruder” (Max trait 9, Max Essence 20, Total traits 15-25) Much more complex and capable these entities that are driven less on pure instinct and emotion and more on thought and planning. They are powerful enough to manifest in physical forms and interact with the material world. They make promises or try to make pacts with mages and are cunning enough to deceive very effectively. They will usually try to find a source of substance or create one so they can extend their stay.
6 Reach -Rank 3 “Intruder” (Max trait 9, Max Essence 20, Total traits 15-25) Much more complex and capable these entities that are driven less on pure instinct and emotion and more on thought and planning. They are powerful enough to manifest in physical forms and interact with the material world. They make promises or try to make pacts with mages and are cunning enough to deceive very effectively. They will usually try to find a source of substance or create one so they can extend their stay.
7 Reach - Rank 4 “Dark Reflection” (Max trait 12, Max Essence 30, Total traits 26-35) These entities are equal to Master mages in every respect. The range from merciless killers that stalk a mage’s loved ones to being a seductive source of a mage’s darkest desires. Sometimes these manifestations are some twisted reflection or Doppelganger of the summoner. They cause mischief and try to reproduce or expand their corruption and influence. Sometimes a direct confrontation by the summoner is the best way to ensure the manifestation doesn’t evolve or persist beyond its demise in some form.
8 Reach - Rank 5 "Dread Lord" (Max trait 15, Max Essence 50, Total traits 36-45) These entities are truly powerful and terrible. They are highly effective at total possession, destruction and corruption of the fallen world. They are a cancer, a virus that corrodes and taints everything it touches. They also can offer powerful bargains and pacts that easily match or exceed the capacities of the Acamoth. They are extremely virulent and hard to destroy. Usually the only way to ensure these minor abyssal gods are banished back into the Abyss is to kill the mage that summoned it.
APPENDIX I: Quiescence
The Sleeping Curse
The Lie means it’s rotten to be Awakened. It means it’s rotten to be Asleep. It means that it’s rotten in those cases when the Awakened accidentally, or purposefully, bother those who Sleep but cannot wake. The Supernal makes up parts of the Fallen World, and those parts show up as messages and symbols direct from the source. But those messages come through the Abyss and are tainted by it. Sleepers, us — most of us anyway, every Joe, Joji, and Amina on the planet — see these warped messages instead of the Truth. A Sleeper’s soul is given a choice, therefore, between a Truth that cannot be understood and a terrible, impossible alternative as offered by the Abyss. Her choice is a non-choice, and so she Sleeps. That non-choice is the Curse. See more on Sleepers here.The Shards of Void
Before the curse, comes Hubris
It is possible, depending on whom you ask, that the existence of the Curse is itself caused by hubris, a conscious and targeted desire to keep the masses ignorant. To believe the Diamond stories of the Exarchs entering the Supernal and closing the way behind them is to believe that the Curse comes from arrogance and pride itself. So it’s no wonder that any time a mage afflicts the Curse’s painful manifestation on a Sleeper, it violates his Wisdom as well as the Sleeper’s Integrity. Causing a Sleeper to risk losing Integrity because of your magic is an Act of Hubris for Enlightened and Understanding Wisdom mages.
The Curse Feeds Paradox
Exposing a Sleeper to the Supernal means she must give thought to the twisted symbols from the Abyss, even if the symbol is pure and perfect (and therefore risks little or no Paradox on its own). By her inability to separate what the Supernal says from the alternate Lie the Abyss suggests, she brings a part of the Abyss with her, corrupting what the Awakened hope to do. Any Sleeper witnesses to an obvious spell increase Paradox risk by a die. This may cause a spell that would otherwise not risk Paradox to do so.
Social Creatures
Integrity & Breaking Points
Instead of Wisdom, Sleepers, Sleepwalkers, and Proximi use an Advantage called Integrity which represents the health of their souls and senses of self. Instead of Acts of Hubris, Sleepers risk breaking points when they suffer psychological stress.
When a Sleeper encounters magic or the supernatural, he cannot usually cope with what he sees. Supernatural disturbances trouble Sleepers who witness them — until the embrace of Disbelief erases all evidence of the occurrence from their minds. The Sleeper’s reaction depends on his Willpower. In many cases, the effects alter or amend the Sleeper’s memory of the event, but humans have been known to react in unpredictable ways. If multiple humans witness the same vulgar act of magic, each interprets it differently according to his Integrity roll and the resources his unconscious mind uses to explain the event.
Sleeper Witnessing Obvious Magic Integrity Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The character’s worldview has been damaged, perhaps beyond repair. The character suffers from traumatic stress. Lose a dot of Integrity, a Willpower Point and choose from the following Conditions: Broken, Fugue, or Madness or other Derangement. Also, take a Beat. Immediately after witnessing Obvious Magic the Sleeper suffers an immediate mental breakdown and suffers the Insane Tilt or Insensate Tilt until resolved or the end of the Scene. After the scene the sleeper remembers everything supernatural and displays of Obvious Magic perfectly. As a result he is tormented by the Lie trying and failing to suppress the Truth and that is the root of his Mental Condition.Failure: The character’s worldview has been shaken and he questions reality itself or his sanity until Sleeping Curse suppresses the event. Lose a dot of Integrity and choose one of the following Conditions: Broken, Fugue, or Madness or other Derangement. After the scene the Sleeper remembers the exposure to Obvious magic but dissociates from the event. The event seems unreal, remembered as a dream or hallucination.
Success: The character has come through the breaking point intact. He might feel guilty or upset about what happened, but he can cope. Choose one of the following Conditions: Guilty, Shaken, or Spooked. The Sleeper is filled with unease about the exposure to Obvious magic but forgets what they actually saw. They misinterprets and rationalizes the Obvious Magic they are exposed to, mistaking it for pranks, special effects, flash advertising, technological phenomenon or anything to explain it away in “normal” terms.
Exceptional Success: The character somehow manages to not only survive the breaking point but to also find meaning in it, to reaffirm his own self-worth, or to pass through fire and be tempered by it. The character takes a Beat and regains a point of Willpower. The Sleeper seamlessly accepts the Lie as it rushes into their mind and soul. They space out during and immediately after the scene and then they completely forget what they witnessed, the trauma and memory of Obvious Magic is buried deeply in their subconscious. They may feel unease of interrogated about the event but largely they are mentally stable and don't question anything about what happened. All mundane events surrounding the Obvious Magic are seamlessly in place. The Sleeper completely forgets that he ever saw anything unusual.
Dissonance: The Power of Disbelief
When a Sleeper struggles with the non-choice she’s been given by reality, it creates internal conflict, and that cycles back into the system. This conflict, this discord between what can and can’t be real, degrades not just her own soul and mind, but also symbols of the Supernal when she is exposed to them. The Awakened call it Dissonance, and it is the brutal aftereffect of the Curse on the magics they attempt to create. Dissonance does not only affect the spells of mages, but any exposure to the Supernal. Worse, it makes Abyssal entities stronger. At the end of a scene in which a Sleeper witnesses obvious Supernal magic, roll her Integrity as a dice pool, Withstood by the spell’s dots, the Rank of a Supernal entity, or a number set by the Storyteller for other magical phenomena. Dissonance against Demesnes is Withstood by the number of soul stones creating the Demesne. Multiple Sleepers do not roll more than once, but apply a dice trick to the roll in the same way as Paradox rolls.
Sleeper Witness Dissonance Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The phenomenon is unaffected, and the Sleeper suffers a breaking point against Integrity. If the magic is Obvious then this means the Sleeper is taking a second breaking point after the first.
Failure: The phenomenon is unaffected.
Success: If the roll achieves successes beyond the phenomenon’s Withstand rating:
• Spells: Each success reduces one spell factor by a level, primary factor last, to a minimum of the lowest level of each factor table. If all factors have been reduced to minimum, any further success destroys the spell.
• Supernal Entities: The entity suffers lethal damage equal to successes.
• Demesnes: The Demesne is suppressed, ceasing to function until no Sleepers have been present for the roll’s successes in weeks.
Exceptional Success: As above, and also;
• Spells: One Reach effect incorporated into the spell is removed.
• Supernal Entities: The damage inflicted is aggravated.
• Demesnes: The Demesne is permanently destroyed. This does not affect the soul stones, which can be used to build a new Demesne.
Legacy Attainments and Emanation Realms are immune to Dissonance. Treat Abyssal beings as Supernal for the dice roll, but they do not Withstand successes and Dissonance heals the roll’s successes in Corpus as well as giving the Abyssal entity successes in points of Essence.
Sleepers have the ability to let go. Simply put, a Sleeper cannot remember witnessing the Supernal and Abyssal after the fact. If there is grace written into the Curse of Quiescence, it’s here. The mercy of forgetting is bittersweet. It means that the Sleeper protects the Lie and even feeds into it, preventing her own ability to Awaken. The alternative is too awful, though. If she could remember the event, she would be confronted with her conflict and suffer it all over again. This would mean each time she thought about the day, the people, the time, those symbols too painful to understand would cause her to break all over again. Forgetting entirely, or more commonly, self-editing the memories to remove Supernal and Abyssal influence, saves the Sleeper a quick trip to total mental collapse. Those mages who work closely with Sleepers sometimes argue that this forgetting is not a part of the Curse, but the resilient human mind finding a way to survive it. In the scene directly following exposure to the Supernal or Abyssal, a Sleeper forgets what she saw, or else changes how she remembers it toward the mundane. Any serious attempt to prod at those false memories, bring them into question, or correct them with magic triggers a breaking point as if she were witnessing the traumatic event again for the first time, followed by the memory being removed again. It is as harrowing in memory is it is in reality; the conflict brought on by the Curse is that powerful. Quiescence, like Dissonance, is not limited to the spells of mages; Sleepers’ memories are also clouded by the interior of ruins of the Time Before, the presence of the Mad, Emanation Realms, and sighting Supernal or Abyssal entities.
APPENDIX II: Befouling - Ways of Scelesti
Abyssal magic comes in three broad forms. Many only practice one form, while others use all of them to enhance their spells. A mage can deliberately infect his spells with Paradox, increasing their power. No Order would admit the fact, but any mage can invite Paradox into his spells. Many only learn how through hidden writings or the suggestions of others who have managed the feat. Though he unleashes Paradoxes on the world, the rush of power is addictive. Some cabals believe in rehabilitating mages who attempt this kind of Abyssal magic, as a user can choose not to — but after a while, that’s like saying an alcoholic can just choose not to drink.
Other Scelesti turn their backs on their Watchtowers and on the Supernal entirely. The Abyss is the antithesis of everything, and that includes the central pillars of the Supernal. Such a Scelestus must abase himself before an Abyssal Ziggurat, which twists his Path into the opposite of what it once was. Though it warps his Path Yantras and Oblations, he gains a measure of control over Paradox in return. The third kind of Scelesti make bargains with the astral reflection of the Abyss, communing with it directly and bargaining for command over Paradox. Though he gives his soul over to the Abyss, he becomes a conduit for Paradox into the Fallen World. He can twist another mage’s spells against her, or infect them with Paradox without her knowledge.
Befouling Spells:
The first step Any mage can invite Paradox into a spell, though doing so is highly addictive (rules in a future post for the addiction part). First he must overcome the inherent wrongness of doing so (requiring a Willpower roll until he is used to doing so). He doesn’t contest the Paradox roll for a casting, but rolls Gnosis. Each success allows him to control one Reach applied by the Paradox roll.
Befouling a spell gives the caster the Addicted Condition, resolved in the usual way. Storytellers have discretion on how often the Deprived Condition comes up as a result. For my own guidelines I am thinking that a possible implementation would be that at the beginning of a Chapter a mage has the Deprived Condition until they Befoul one spell of theirs and then they are good for the Chapter. If they go an entire Story without Befouling their magic once (usually with the Deprived Condition the whole time) they lose the Addicted Condition. As with most Conditions magic can be used to suppress the effects of the Deprived Condition as normal but the mage continues to have cravings.
APPENDIX II: Befouling - Ways of Scelesti
Abyssal magic comes in three broad forms. Many only practice one form, while others use all of them to enhance their spells. A mage can deliberately infect his spells with Paradox, increasing their power. No Order would admit the fact, but any mage can invite Paradox into his spells. Many only learn how through hidden writings or the suggestions of others who have managed the feat. Though he unleashes Paradoxes on the world, the rush of power is addictive. Some cabals believe in rehabilitating mages who attempt this kind of Abyssal magic, as a user can choose not to — but after a while, that’s like saying an alcoholic can just choose not to drink.
Other Scelesti turn their backs on their Watchtowers and on the Supernal entirely. The Abyss is the antithesis of everything, and that includes the central pillars of the Supernal. Such a Scelestus must abase himself before an Abyssal Ziggurat, which twists his Path into the opposite of what it once was. Though it warps his Path Yantras and Oblations, he gains a measure of control over Paradox in return. The third kind of Scelesti make bargains with the astral reflection of the Abyss, communing with it directly and bargaining for command over Paradox. Though he gives his soul over to the Abyss, he becomes a conduit for Paradox into the Fallen World. He can twist another mage’s spells against her, or infect them with Paradox without her knowledge.Befouling Spells:
The first step Any mage can invite Paradox into a spell, though doing so is highly addictive (rules in a future post for the addiction part). First he must overcome the inherent wrongness of doing so (requiring a Willpower roll until he is used to doing so). He doesn’t contest the Paradox roll for a casting, but rolls Gnosis. Each success allows him to control one Reach applied by the Paradox roll.
Befouling a spell gives the caster the Addicted Condition, resolved in the usual way. Storytellers have discretion on how often the Deprived Condition comes up as a result. For my own guidelines I am thinking that a possible implementation would be that at the beginning of a Chapter a mage has the Deprived Condition until they Befoul one spell of theirs and then they are good for the Chapter. If they go an entire Story without Befouling their magic once (usually with the Deprived Condition the whole time) they lose the Addicted Condition. As with most Conditions magic can be used to suppress the effects of the Deprived Condition as normal but the mage continues to have cravings.
Usually if the condition is shed by losing a dot of Wisdom this triggers the mage encountering a Fallen Watchtower and being tempted with the second step of mastering (or being enslaved) by Abyssal Magic.
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