04-20-2018, 02:59 AM | #11 | |||||
Join Date: Dec 2012
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Re: GURPS Mage the Awakening
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It hurt the feeling of this magic. Awakening magic doesn't react wildly in it's results - you either get what you wanted, or you don't get it at all. |
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04-20-2018, 08:08 AM | #12 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Re: GURPS Mage the Awakening
Thaumatology includes advice for Syntactic Magic involving cost vs. skill penalties vs. margin of success. In particular, you can take Realm Magic, then declare that the energy costs it dictates instead manifest as skill penalties to the Realm skills (e.g., a 3-point energy cost instead manifests as a -3 penalty). That eliminates the energy costs for most purposes, and lets you reintroduce them in more acceptable ways such as the cost mandated for improvising with Common or Inferior Realms instead of Ruling Realms.
None of the mechanisms currently in print cover the way Paradox works in Awakening; the closest you get is Reactive Reality, and that's based off of Ascension's Paradox mechanics. Fortunately, translating Awakening's Reaching and Paradox mechanics is straightforward. |
04-20-2018, 11:56 AM | #13 | ||||
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Saskatoon, SK, Canada
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Re: GURPS Mage the Awakening
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Note, however, that Distortion Points don't automatically trigger a Distortion Crisis anyway, and it's Distortion Crises that are really closer to a success on a Paradox roll in Awakening. |
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04-20-2018, 02:12 PM | #14 |
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
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Re: GURPS Mage the Awakening
Oh, I'm sorry. I misunderstood the feeling wanted. I thought magic was always a little bit risky in Mage. At least it was back when I played 1st ed.
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Beware, poor communication skills. No offense intended. If offended, it just means that I failed my writing skill check. |
04-20-2018, 02:20 PM | #15 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Re: GURPS Mage the Awakening
Yeah; in the newest edition, Paradox only happens when the mage attempts to push past her usual limits: stuff that would have required extra dots in earlier editions (such as granting Sight to others) now require Reach; and if you Reach too far, you generate Paradox.
As well, that Paradox can manifest in two ways: the mage can choose to internalize it (in which case he risks bad things happening to him), or he can release it (in which case he's OK, but whatever's around him takes a hit). |
04-20-2018, 10:02 PM | #16 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Re: GURPS Mage the Awakening
OK: here's how I'd do the character sheet part of this. I'd start with Realm magic, but then I'd modify it heavily. First, they're called “Arcana”, not “Realms”. This isn't just being pedantic; to the Awakened, Realms have a specific meaning that's related to Arcana but distinct from them.
Second, there is no Magery. Access to the Arcana of Awakened Magic requires Awareness (Supernal Realm). This Advantage gives you what the Awakened refer to as “Mage Sight”. It also allows you to buy Arcana, starting with your Realm's Ruling Arcana. There are some limits: until you have five levels in your highest Arcanum, your next-highest Arcanum is limited to one level below it; your third-highest is limited to one level below your second-highest, and so on. It's specialized to one of the five Supernal Realms, each of which defines two Ruling Arcana and one Inferior Arcanum. Third: each Arcanum has a skill associated with it, as per Realm Magic. It's an IQ-based skill (because Awakened magic involves the mental exercise of crafting an Imago), and is Average for your Ruling Arcana, Hard for your Common Arcana, and Very Hard for your Inferior Arcanum. It's capped to 10 + 2 × levels in the associated Arcanum advantage. You can also develop Techniques corresponding to individual spells, called praxes. Fourth, each level in an Arcanum provides a new capability or two: Level 1: Countermagic, Supernal Summons Level 2: Mage Armor, Lesser Utility Level 3: Targeted Supernal Summons Level 4: Greater Utility Level 5: Create Rote A mage can also acquire one (and only one) Legacy, taking an Unusual Background to represent it. A Legacy has a Primary Arcanum that gives several benefits: • If the Arcanum was Inferior or Common for the mage, it's now treated as Ruling. • If the Arcanum was already Ruling, its associate skill is now treated as Easy instead of Average. • The Legacy grants access to a Power based on the Legacy's concept. The Primary Arcanum doubles as its Power Talent, and the individual Abilities that can be developed are called Attainments. In the original game, the Attainments are arranged in a five-step chain, corresponding to the five levels of the Legacy's Arcanum; I'd be inclined to relax that restriction here. Note that I made no mention of Gnosis. One of my goals here was to see if I could manage without a “power stat”. |
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