Mage Charts
Base difficulty and Paradox
| Type | Base difficulty | Paradox (non-botch) | Paradox (botch) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coincidental | Highest sphere level + 3 | none | Highest sphere level |
| Vulgar without witnesses | Highest sphere level + 4 | 1 | Highest sphere level + 1 |
| Vulgar with witnesses | Highest sphere level + 5 | 1 | (Highest sphere level * 2) + 2 |
For rituals and acting in concert, see '+rules mage rituals'.
Modifiers
- Total of all modifiers is capped at +3/-3
- Some of these are house-ruled clarifications
| Condition | Modifier |
|---|---|
| Personalized (specialty) instrument | -1 |
| Unique instrument* | -1 |
| Unfamiliar instrument | +1 to +2 |
| No instrument** | +3 |
| Unneeded instrument (mystics with Arete 3+) | -1 |
| Personal item from target (sympathetic magick) | -1 to -3 |
| Appropriate resonance | -1 |
| Opposed resonance | +1 |
| Manipulate Mythic Threads / hypernarrative*** | -1 |
| Spend Quintessence | -1 each, max 3 |
| Spend extra time (combat) | -1 per turn per roll, max -3 |
| Fast-cast (combat)**** | +1 |
| Reverse time (not just scry) | +3 |
| Research lore about subject | -1 per N successes (N = highest sphere level) |
| Near node | -1 per three dots |
| Distant/hidden target/subject | +1 |
| Ongoing effects | +1 per two |
| Distracted | +1 to +3 |
| In conflict with Avatar | +1 to +3 |
| Domino Effect | +1 per two coincidences after first |
| Outlandish/godlike feat | +1 per 10 successes already achieved |
* Also counts as personalized
** Also requires spending a Willpower just to try (M20 566-567), can spend a second Willpower for auto-success
*** Cannot also make the effect coincidental (M20 588)
**** Does not apply if the mage uses martial arts as practice, weapons as instruments, or rolled for the ritual before the combat
Allocate successes
- M20 502 lists total successes required for some examples
- M20 508-510 and HDYDT list sphere(s)/level(s) needed for many types of effects
| Aspect | Successes |
|---|---|
| Base effect | 1 |
| Correspondence/Data range | +1 or more, see below |
| Damage/healing | +1 per 2 levels |
| Quintessence transfer | +1 per 2 units |
| Teleportation | +1 to +6 |
| Targets | +1 per target other than yourself |
| Gauntlet | +1 or more, see below |
| Time scrying | +1 or more, see below |
| Time feats | +3 or more, see below |
Correspondence
| Successes | Range | Connection |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Line of sight | Body sample |
| 2 | Very familiar | Close possession/companion |
| 3 | Familiar | Possession, casual friend |
| 4 | Visited once | Object used once, casual acquaintance |
| 5 | Described | Object briefly touched, person briefly met |
| 6 | Anywhere on Earth | Anything on Earth |
Data
| Minimum sphere level | Successes | Length of procedure | Connection |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 4 hours | Subject's presence or body sample, full source code, government ID database info |
| 2 | 6 | 2 hours | Treasured possession, intimate companion, sample code, personal e-mail or social media account |
| 3 | 4 | 1 hour | Casual possession/associate, legacy code, Internet sock puppet, throwaway e-mail or social media account |
| 4 | 3 | 1 minute | Acquaintance, item, derivative code, IP address |
| 5 | 2 | 1 minute | Person briefly met, item briefly touched, code from same language, rerouted IP string |
Gauntlet
- See also: +help +gauntlet
- Dimensional Science treats Technocratic labs as level 3
| Level | Successes |
|---|---|
| 4 or less | 1 |
| 5 | 2 |
| 6 | 3 |
| 7 | 4 |
| 8 or more | 5 |
Time scrying
- Time scrying is only as clear and reliable as the ST wants it to be (M20 522)
| Successes | Time span |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 year |
| 2 | 5 years |
| 3 | 20 years |
| 4 | 50 years |
| 5 | 100 years |
| 6+ | 500 years |
| 10+ | 1,000+ years |
Time feats
- Almost always vulgar
| Successes | Remove from normal time flow | Aging |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Yourself | Minor |
| 4 | Someone else | Noticeable |
| 5 | Group or 10' x 10' area | Severe |
| 8 | 25' x 25' area | Decrepitude |
| 10+ | Larger area | Brink of destruction |
| 20+ | Freeze/isolate large/dynamic area | Out of existence |
Paradox backlash
- Spend a Willpower to delay until end of scene
- Roll Paradox vs 6
- Permanent Paradox is just that, it is never lost until/unless a relevant circumstance (e.g. Enhancement) goes away
- Damage bypasses the mage's external armor
- 10+ successes = explosion (M20 437)
- Shedding Paradox
- 1 to 4: 1 per week of nothing but perception magick
- 5 to 9: 1 per month of no magick at all
- Nullifying Paradox: Prime 5 + Quintessence (1:1)
| Successes | Discharge | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Botch | All | None |
| Fail | None | None |
| 1 to 5 | 1 per success | 1 level bashing per success and trivial flaw (M20 551) |
| 6 to 10 | 1 per success | 1 level bashing per success or minor flaw |
| 11 to 15 | 1 per success | 1 die lethal per 2 successes or significant flaw or Paradox Spirit or mild Quiet |
| 16 to 20 | 1 per success | Lethal as above and 1 permanent Paradox, or two of (severe flaw, Paradox Spirit, moderate Quiet, Paradox Realm) |
| 21+ | 1 per success | 1 level aggravated per 2 successes and one of (2 permanent Paradox, drastic flaw, Paradox Spirit, severe Quiet, Paradox Realm) |
