Out of Character (OOC):
- 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.
Determining 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.
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
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:
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.
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:
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.
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).
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
- Mage: The Awakening 2nd Ed corebook
The Ultimate Guide to
The Duel Arcane
Part One
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:
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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 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
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
| ||||||
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.
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.
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).
