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[MtAw] Infos zum neuen Mage

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1of3:
Freitag:


--- Zitat ---The Watchtowers

With the Abyss between them and the Supernal World, the source of magic, mages' power began to wane. It became harder and harder to draw the Supernal energies across the void, and when they could be drawn, they sometimes arrived warped and twisted, with effects unwanted by their wielder. In a number of years, all contact with the higher world would be gone and all of humankind would Sleep forever. Then, one by one, the Watchtowers appeared, their flames sending beacons from the Supernal Realms across the vast night to the souls of the Awakened. Legends tell of five Atlantean kings, the mage heirs of the Awakened City who led the fight against the Exarchs. They climbed the ladder and dueled within the celestial palaces. When the ladder shattered, they had remained in the higher world and continued to resist the usurpers of the gods' thrones.

Realizing the danger the Abyss posed for the lower world, these Oracles broke off their fight and set off through the Supernal Realms. Using lore beyond the ken of their enemies—for they were royal heirs, privy to magical knowledge allowed to only nobles—they each erected by magic a tower in a single Supernal Realm, modeled after the tall spire that had guided the first vessels to Atlantis. Five towers from five kings. Each invested into their tower the virtues of their own souls and the sum of their magical knowledge, imbued into the very stones of the structures. The Watchtowers sent visions across the Abyss to mages in the Fallen World, calling to them as Atlantis had once called to their ancestors.

Those who interpreted the visions properly and remembered the old ways retreated to caves or secluded towers, sheltering themselves in the dark. They lay their bodies down and, following the lure of the Watchtowers, sent their souls onto astral roads long untrod.

Through harrowing journeys, some of them finally arrived in astral form at one of the five Watchtowers. There they carved their names into the foundation stones and awoke in their bodies. But they were no longer bound by the Sleeping Curse, for their names had been writ by their own souls. They once more claimed sympathy with the Realms Supernal, although each only in that realm in which her Watchtower stood.

Now, the pretender gods are largely forgotten. If they still exist, they remain unseen. If they act upon the world, they do so in ways that can be interpreted as the works of Nature or the whims of fate. No one remembers that their own kind had once become gods.

No one, that is, but mages.
--- Ende Zitat ---

Das ist dann die Erklärung für die fünf Pfade. Genaueres dazu kommt dann nächste Woche.

Raphael:

--- Zitat ---The Awakened City
[...] Only on Atlantis were the Ars Mysteriorum mastered and codified for others to learn. [...]

--- Ende Zitat ---

"were the artes mysteriorum" wenn schon - Aaaarg!

1of3:
Hey, Lancea Sanctum war schlimmer. Die steigern sich.

OK, auf dem Level von F&S mit dem Potestas-Wert sind sie noch nicht, aber mit ein bischen Übung....

~;D

1of3:
Und der erste der Pfade.


--- Zitat ---Acanthus

Enchanters on the Path of Thistle, Scions of the Watchtower of the Lunargent Thorn in the Realm of Arcadia, Kingdom of Enchantment and Abode of the Fae

A mage who walks the Path of Thistle that winds through the realm of Arcadia to the Watchtower of the Lunargent Thorn (the "moonsilver thorn"). Arcadia is known dimly to Sleepers through the legends of faeries and the nymphs and dryads of the plant kingdom. In Arcadia, everything is enchanted, wearing a magical glamour of intense beauty—or ugliness. Things tend toward extremes; there is very little compromise in the abode of the Fae. Change is common and encouraged; those who walk this Path tend to be fickle and ever eager to try new things.

Acanthus mages are especially adept at performing magic that affects destiny and the fluid progression of time. Fairy stories from around the world reflect the timelessness of the realm, as people who enter places under its influence and spend an evening often exit many years later, as time is measured in the Fallen World. Likewise, a promise or oath is binding, and none can betray it without terrible consequences.

Acanthus, also called "enchanters," are often thought of as the archetypal "divine fools," for they seem to achieve their goals by not trying or by waiting for things to come to them. But this over-reliance on luck can be to their detriment, as they spurn patience and plunge themselves into situations that are perhaps best tackled instead with some degree of foresight and strategy. They are the wild cards of the Awakened world, both loved and hated by others for it.
--- Ende Zitat ---

Meine Meinung: Gefällt mir nicht. Dieses Konzept mit universellen Leuchttürmen, denen ein Magus zugeordnet wird, gefällt mir ganz und gar nicht.

1of3:
OK. Montag kommt der der erste Teil der Demochronik "Gloria Mundi" (Hey, die werden wirklich besser!) und jemand hat schon mal was durchsickern lassen zum System:



--- Zitat ---This is from the introductory booklet. The system is simplified, so it might not be the same as the core book, but things like the morality stat probably will be.

"Gnosis represents the inherent higher understanding of reality a mage has achieved." Like people thought, it's the power stat.

Morality is Wisdom, "a measure of your character's morality, of how well he tempers his growing power over reality with reason. Your character can lose wisdom over the course of play." It seems to follow conventional morality. "At Wisdom 7 (where almost all characters start), laying a curse on someone, shoplifting from a store, or any worse misdeed can cause moral degeneration (a loss of Wisdom). ... (Committing grand theft is three dice; using magic to murder someone is two dice.)
...At Wisdom 6, binding a human being to a place or task can spark such a roll. At Wisdom 4, you can bind a person to do anything you want as long as you don't use your magic to actually harm him. At Wisdom 2, you can harm him to your heart's content as long as you don't actually let him die. At Wisdom 1, you can even go so far as to kill a victim as long as youdon't steal his soul."

"Resonance: Everything has a subtle side, an esoteric spiritual or magical nature that defines it just as much as its physical aspect does. In the case of places, this ethereal element is called resonance. Resonance is marked by certain qualities, most often characterized by emotions (hate, anger, joy, sorrow) or more rarely by concepts (logic, chaos, fascism, democracy). Spirits in the Shadow Realm are attracted to resonance in the physical world that has qualities similar to their own natures. Magic cannot directly affect the resonance of a place (at least not for long), so sorcerers must work to alter it indirectly over time to achieve the qualities they want."

Hallows & Sanctums: Where the pure force of magic, Mana, filters down from the Supernal World (or where that energy is regularly trapped and recycled), it saturates, the lcal area, turning the place into a "Hallow". For those who know how to harness them, such place are invaluable. Hallows often have a strong allure for both Awakened and Sleeper, although the latter don't really understand why.

A sanctum is a mage's stronghold, a place where he can practice his Art away from the eyes of Sleepers and spies.

"The most influential and knowledgeable body of local governance over the Awakened is known as a Consilium. Like a local senate, a Consilium consists of all the local representatives of the orders and cabals at work in a given area, and it works to see to the best interests of the Awakened who live in that area."

Since the true name a mage writes on his chosen watchtower has powerful sympathetic resonance, most mages choose a Shadow Name in mage society.

Mana: ... Casting an improvised spell requires the expenditure of a point of Mana, unless the primary Arcanum used is one of the mage's ruling Arcana. casting a spell on a target beyond sensory range requires the expenditure of a point of mana, as does inflicting aggravated damage with a spell. Also certain spells that significantly alter the laws of nature might require the expenditure of mana.

To regain spent Mana, a mage can do one of several things. He can perform an oblation (a ritual function associated with his path) at a Hallow. Doing so requires an hour of uninterrupted ceremony and a Gnosis + Composure roll. Each success provides one Mana. Mages cannot gain more Mana per day, however, than the Hallow's rating. Mages can also scour their bodies to free up Mana. A mage elects to degrade one of his Physical Attributes by one dot in return for three Mana points. The lost Attribute dot is restored 24 hours later. Scouring takes one full turn. A mage could elect to scour his Health instead. He suffers one lethal wound and gains three Mana points. Magic cannot protect against this damage, and it cannot be healed by Pattern restoration or any known Awakened magic. It heals naturally at the normal rate. Unlike the scouring of Attributes, there is no limit to the number of Health scourings a mage can perform in the same day.

Finally, there is one last and unsavory practice that can also yield up Mana to a mage: the death and blood sacrifice of a living creature. Animals as big as a cat provide one Mana each, although only one such killing per day provides Mana. Sacrificing a human provides one Mana per Health dot. The victim must die; he cannot be bled until he is close to death. Only the one mage who perfoms the sacrifice gains the ill-gotten Mana. This practice is sure to cause a Wisdom degeneration roll.

Spells have aspects: covert, improbable, and vulgar. Covert is like coincidental, the other two are what they sound like. "If a spell is vulgar or improbable, the Stryteller checks for Paradox, rolling a base dice pool based on the caster's Gnosis and modified by various conditions." Gnosis 1 has a base pool of one die.

"The number of successes the Storyteller rolls on the Paradox roll dtermines the nature of the Paradox that occurs when the mage casts his spell. With only one paradox success, the mage loses control of his spell, affecting a different target of the same type somewhere else in his sensory range. With two successes, the mage gains a derangement appropriate to the circumstances for one scene. With three successes, an anomaly of unreality occurs for one scene (hail might fall from a clear blue sky, or the streets might crack and bleed upward into the air). With four successes, the mage is branded as vaguely inhuman in some subtle way for a scene (be it a witch's mark or an indescribable aura of otherness). With five successes, a twisted spirit from the Abyss enters the Fallen World."

"Successes on that roll subtract successes from the player's spellcasting roll (which is why the Paradox roll comes first). What's more, the more improbable or vulgar spell a mage attempts in the same scene, the Storyteller begins to add additional Paradox dice to his pool.

If one or more Sleepers witness a mage casting a vulgar effect, add two dice to the Storyteller's Paradox dice pool on top of everything else. Therefore, if a mage is casting only one improbable or vulgar spell in a scene but is witnessed by Sleepers, the Storyteller rolls three dice against the spell."

With this kind of enforcement, who needs the Guardians of the Veil? I hope this will be different in the book.

Reducing Paradox: If a player doesn't want his mage to run the risk of a severe Paradox problem, he can have his character mitigate the paradox by spending Mana. For every Mana spent (bearing in mind his total allowed expenditure per turn), he removes one of th dice from the Paradox pool the storyteller rolls.

A mage can also reduce the amount of a Paradox by suffering a Backlash. Rather than applying the successes on the paradox roll or having a Paradox occur, the mage suffers a number of bashing wounds equal to the successes on the Paradox roll. This damage can only be healed normally: Pattern restoration and magical healing do not work against it.

The chars all have six points in Arcana. Gnosis is not a limiting factor; all have Gnosis 1 with one having Death 3. Their Path Arcana are equal to or higher than their other ones. All but one has four rotes (one has five), with dots ranging from one to three and usually totalling six. Mage merits are Destiny (two additional dice per game session per dot, but imposes an equal penalty when mage's ban is present), Thrall (someone who owes you favors) and Dream (once per session, can pray and roll Wits + Composure to get info about something).

If there's interest, tomorrow I might post the rotes and general info about the Arcana.
--- Ende Zitat ---

--- Zitat ---I almost got a chance to play in the M:tAw game, but the guy who was thinking of selling his ticket changed his mind.

As for spending Mana, how about a compromise from DA:Mage: if your Gnosis is equal to the highest Arcana, you don't have to pay it.

Things I forgot to mention last time: Enhanced item is another merit, like Wonders from the old game. Orders give a bonus of +1 for rotes involving certain Abilities.
Guardians: Investigation, Stealth, or Subterfuge.
Silver Ladder: Expression, Persuasion, or Subterfuge.
AA: Athletics, Intimidation, or Medicine.
Free Council: Crafts, Persuasion, or Science.
Mysterium: Investigation, Occult, or Survival.

Arcana Capabilities: "*" indicates vulgar.

Universal Effects: All of the Arcana include versions of the following effects: activate Mage Sight (+), bestow Mage Sight (++), creating a shield (++, grants Arcanum dots in armor for a scene; spend one Mana for effect to last a day.)

Death: Discern how someone died and how long ago (+), speak with ghosts (+), assess the strength of someone's soul (+); cuase shadows to move* (++), corrode or rust material* (++), mask the cause of death (++); command a ghost* (+++), destroy material object* (+++), enter a state of death-like stasis (+++), open a gateway into Twilight* (+++).

Fate: Mitigate dice penalties (+), cause simple good fortune (+); swear a binding oath(++), cause more overt turns of luck (++, 1 Mana).

Forces: Listen to radio or cellphone transmissions (+), manipulate existing heat, light, or sound(+); raise an area's temperature (++), brighten or dim light (++), redirect fire or electricity from an existing source* (++), make an immobile object invisible for a scene* (++, 1 Mana).

Life: cleanse the mage's body of toxins (+), sense specific life forms nearby (+), discern age, sex, and health of living things (+); control own metabolism and breathing (++), cleanse others of drugs or poison (++), heal self of bashing or lethal damage (++, 1 Mana), heal plants or animals (++).

Matter: Alter the conductivity of matter (+), discern an object's function (+), detect a specific substance(+); alter the balance or accuracy of a weapon for one scene (++, 1 Mana), change one liquid into another* (++), make a transparent surface opaque and vice versa* (++).

Mind: Detect nearby sentient minds including spirits (+), perform two extended actions at once (+); alter own aura (++), mentally communicate with others in line of sight (++), improve first impressions (++), protect against mental control or attack (++).

Prime: Analyze enchanted items (+), dispel existinf magic (if the mage has at least one dot in the Arcanum used to create the spell) (+, 1 Mana); alter aura to look like a Sleeper (++), counter spells of any Arcana (++, 1 Mana), hide from other mage's Mage Sight (++).

Space: Measure distance between objects effortlessly (+), see 360 dgrees (+), track any item in the mage's area flawlessly(+); cast other spells sympathectically (++, ! Mana), remotely view a location (scrying) (++), create wards against Space magic (++).

Spirit: Hear, see, and speak with spirits (+); touch spirits in Twilight (++), call specific spirits or a general type of spirit without compelling them to appear (++), raise or lower gauntlet at a Halow* (++).

Time: Detect temporal flow (+), act as perfect clock or stopwatch (+), discern if an immediate choice will have good or bad results (+); see the future in a very general sense (++), automatically succeed (or fail) at one action with only two possible outcomes (++, 1 Mana).
--- Ende Zitat ---

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