Mage v3

[Corey White]

https://coreywhitemagic.com/mage.html

Like most roleplaying games played around a table,
This game uses dice to determine the whims of
chance. Anytime a character performs an action
under adverse conditions or when the outcome is
unclear, his player rolls dice to see whether the task
succeeds or fails.

You just need two six sided dice to play. I have
changed this from the original game, Mage: The Ascension
from rolling a ten sided dice. I did a little math and it
just made since.

For a success in this game, rolling a 7 or 11 with two
6 sided dice has the odds of 2/9 which is 0.2222.

A success in Mage is made by rolling a 8, 9, or 10 on
one 10 sided die, which has the odds of 3/10 which is 0.3.

So, with a few other modifications the game mechanics
are basically the same.

Traits

Characters possess a variety of traits, describing
their innate capabilities, trained skills, and even
how many wounds they can suffer before dying.
Two types of trait are especially important:
Attributes and Skills. Each of these traits is rated in
dots (●), ranging from 1 to 5, much like the five-
star system many critics use to rate movies. For
example, a character might have a Dexterity
Attribute of ●●● (3 dots) and a Firearms Skill of
●● (2 dots).

Whenever your character performs an action that
calls for dice rolls, you most often add the most
appropriate Attribute to the most appropriate Skill.
When your character shoots a gun, you add his Dexterity
to his Firearms for a total number of dice rolls.

Modifiers

Various conditions and circumstances can greatly
improve or hinder your characters tasks,
represented by bonuses and/or penalties to your dice
rolls. On one hand, quality tools might give him a
bonus to repair a car. On the other hand, a
thunderstorm might cause hazardous driving conditions,
levying a penalty on any driving rolls, and a distant
target is hard to hit with a gun, represented by
range penalties.

For example, when shooting a target 30 yards away
with his Glock 17 pistol, your character suffers a
-2 penalty.

The Storyteller determines whether or not any
circumstance imposes dice-roll modifiers and how
great those modifiers are.

Dice Rolls

So, we can say that that the number of times you
get to roll the dice is determined like so:
Attribute + Skill + modifiers (if any) In general,
bonuses are always added before penalties are applied.

Rolling the Dice

Now that you know what to roll, lets see how to
read the results. Each roll uses two dice, and a
result of 7, or 11 is considered a success. You might
have more than one of these, in which case you have
multiple successes. The dice dontt just tell you
whether your character succeeds or fails it shows you
how well he does. If none of your die rolls succeed,
your roll fails. Obviously, the more die rolls you have
the better your characters chances of success, and the
greater your odds of gaining multiple successes.

Snake Eyes

If one of your rolls turn up snake eyes, it cancel out
one success. If you roll snake eyes, and none of you other
rolls succeed it is a botch.

Second Tries

When a roll fails, you can try again with a +1 difficulty
modifier.

Combat Fighting is a series of die rolls, until someone
surrenders or is rendered unable to fight. The rolls
determines whether or not your character hits and
how much damage he inflicts on his target. The number
of dice rolls is determined as above, but a knife is
more deadly than a fist, and a gun is more deadly
than all. Each success gained on your attack roll
represents a point of damage inflicted against the
targets Health trait. If the target has no more
Health left, he is unconscious or dead (depending
on the type of damage done).

There are two types of damage: bashing (caused
by blunt weapons such as fists or clubs; these
wounds heal quickly), lethal (caused by sharp
weapons such as knives and bullets; these wounds
heal slowly). There are a number of complications
involved in combat, such as a targets Defense Rolls.
(which are subtracted from any attack successs
targeted against him), Roll to hit and apply
successes as damage minus any successful deffense
rolls.

Example

Lets see how it looks in action. Your character tries
to shoot at a thug who just killed his friend. Your
characters Dexterity is 3, his Firearms 2, and hes
using a Glock 9mm pistol. You therefore get to roll the
dice five times. The thug is about 30 yards away which
is a -1 penalty. So, you are reduced to 4 dice rolls.
But thats not all. Its raining cats and dogs. The
Storyteller decides that theres an additional -1 penalty
for poor visibility. That leaves you just 3 dice rolls.
If a roll yields a 7 or 11 that is one success. If the
thug is hit. He suffers 1 points of lethal damage to his
Health for every success. Lets say you make 2 successs.
It hurts, but it might not be enough to stop him. and he
staggers away. Your character needs to decide whether to
give chase and close the distance, or try to fire again.


The number of times you roll for an action is made up
of an attribute added to an abillity. Each of these
are given a rating from 1 to five:

1) Poor
2) Average
3) Good
4) Exceptional
5) World Class

That dice pool is then subtracted by a difficulty level
from 0 to 6.

0) Easy
1) Routine
2) Moderate
3) Difficult
4) Challenging
5) Hard
6) Exceptional

The number of successes you have is also given a
rating from one to five:

1) Marginal
2) Moderate
3) Good
4) Excellent
5) Phenomenal

The attributes your character has are listed here,
they are devided into 3 categories:

Physical:

Strenght - Physical Power
Dexterity - Athleticism
Stamina - Toughness

Social:

Charisma - Charm
Manipulation - Persuasion
Appearance - Attractiveness

Mental:

Perception - Insight To Surroundings
Intelligence - Pure IQ
Wits - Intuition & Instincts

Abilities are also devided into 3 categories:

Talents:

Alertness - Attention to Your Surroundings
Athletics - A Talent With Sports
Awareness - You Can Sense The Presence of Magic
Brawl - Skill With Unarmed Combat
Dodge - Avoiding Physical Danger
Expression - The Art of Communication
Intimidation - Flexing Your Muscles
Leadership - You Are Respected
Streetwise - Youre a Part Of The Underworld
Subterfuge - You Can Hide Your Motives

Skills:

Crafts - Working With Your Hands
Drive - Handling The Road
Etiquette - Managing Social Situations
Firearms - Firing Guns
Meditation - Regenerates Magic
Melee - Hand To Hand Weapons
Performance - Specialized as music etc.
Stealth - Hiding From Sight
Survival - Living In Difficult Environments
Technology - Reparing And Working WIth Machines

Knowledges:

Academics - Higher Education In A Field
Computer - From Typing To Hacking
Cosmology - Knowledge Of The Spirit World
Enigmas - Solving Puzzles Or Riddles
Investigation - Forensics Detective Work
Law - Professional Practice In Law
Linguistics - Specializing In Other Languages
Medicine - First Aid, & Surgery Etc.
Occult - Knowledge Of Magic Practices
Science - Engineering, Chemistry, & Physics

There are also some other very important traits:

Avatar - Represents your abillity to store quintessence
Arete - Your mastery of magick
Willpower - Can be used to force success
Quintessence - The raw power of magic
Paradox - The backlash from magic into insanity
Health - The ammount of damage you can take

Getting Started

Now that you know the basics of the Storytelling
System, you can proceed to create your own
characters. Youll be able to judge what sort of traits
youll need based on their titles (theyre mostly self-
explanatory), and know that the more dots you have
in a trait the better your character will be when
accomplishing tasks with it.

Here is a quick overview of how to begin the character
creation process:

The 3 categories of attributes are devided into 3 levels
of points: 7/5/3

The 3 categories of abillities are also devided in 3 levels
of points: 13/9/5

You get 7 points to go into Backgrounds.

You also get 6 dots that can go into your Mages magical
knowledge called Spheres. The catch is that none of them
can be higher than your level of Arete.

Arete starts at 1 and cant begin higher than 3
willpower starts at 5 and cant begin higher than 7

You also get 15 Freebie Points:

To increase an Attribute requires 5 freebie points.
To increase an Ability requires 2 freebie points.
To increase a Background requires 1 freebie point.
To increase Willpower requires 1 freebie point.
To increase Arete requires 4 freebie points.
To increasae a Sphere requires 7 freebie points.

Prioritize the categories with 3 levels of points

Select Attributes (7/5/3)

Physical: Strenght, Dexterity, Stamina
Social: Charisma, Manipulation, Appearance
Mental: Perception, Intelligence, Wits

Select Abilities (13/9/5)

Talents: Alertness, Athletics, Awareness
Brawl, Dodge, Expression, Intimidation
Leadership, Streetwise, Subterfuge

Skills: Crafts, Drive, Etiquette, Firearms
Meditation, Melee, Performance, Stealth
Survival, Technology

Knowledges: Academics, Computer, Cosmology
Enigmas, Investigation, Law, Linguistics
Medicine, Occult, Science

Additionally characters also have a number of
advantages called Backgrounds listed here:

Backgrounds:

Allies - Friends who help you
Arcane - You are unnoticed as a Mage
Avatar - The Strength of the soul
Contacts - Information sources
Destiny - A greater purpose
Dream - Visions from the unknown
Influence - Pull over the mortal world
Library - Access to metaphysical knowledge
Node - A place of magical power
Resources - Extra Money
Wonder - A Magical talisman or device

We will now go over the combat system. It is
very simple.

Combat is broken down into three steps,
Initiative, Attack, and Resolution.

During initiative both players roll Dexterity +
Wits. Whoever has more successes gets to go first.

Each player declares either to attack or deffend.

It is also possible to ambush someone with:
Dexterity + Stealth vs Perception + Alertness

Stage two - Attack

The attacker rolls one of these:

Unarmed Combat: Strength + Brawl
Armed Combat: Strength + Weaponry
Firearms: Dexterity + Firearms
Throwing Objects: Dexterity + Athletics

Then the defender either takes the hit,
or if they chose to deffend they roll:

Block: Dexterity + Brawl
Dodge: Dexterity + Dodge
Parry: Dexterity + Melee

The successes of the attack roll minus the defense
roll equal damage, which is either Bashing or Lethal.

If a weapon is being used the story teller can increase
the modifier for an attack by up to +3. Some guns allow
you to shoot multiple times in a turn.

Stage three - Resolution

Roll as many times as your Stamina points to eliminate
a point of bashing damage for each success.

If the fighting continues you roll again for initiative.

Keep track of the damage to your health with this chart:

Health

1) Bruised -0
2) Hurt -1
3) Injured -2
4) Wounded -3
5) Mauled -4
6) Crippled -5
7) Unconscious


Each point of damage is marked with a / for bashing damage
and an X for lethal damage. If you aquire 7 bashing damage you
are unconscious, further bashing damage can become lethal damage.
Either way you apply a penalty to everything you roll as the
damage goes up. If you aquire more than 7 in lethal damage you
can die.

Finally your character needs to learn magic!

Overview

There are 12 Spheres in this system that are divided
into coincidental & vulgar magic. The first three
levels of each sphere are limited to coincidental
effects, and the highest levels of the sphere are
divided into two levels of more advanced magic.

The Twelve Spheres in alphabetical order are:

Control, Destruction, Feeling, Influence,
Penetration, Production, Revelation, Restoration,
Transformation, Travel, Understanding, and
Vanishing

These are the degrees of power for the Spheres:

1) Awareness
2) Sympathetic
3) Coincidental
4) Manipulative
5) Miraculous

1) Awareness
Allows the Mage to sense things with their magic.

2) Sympathetic
The Mage can effect things theyre personally
connected to.

3) Coincidental
The Mage can work magic as long as it doesnt defy
physics.

4) Manipulative
The Mage can manipulate and bend the laws of
physics.

5) Miraculous
The Mage can now create impossible miracles.

Mechanics

Arete

Arete is the Mages level of enlightenment. In game
terms it is the number of dice rolls a Mage makes when
casting their spells. No Sphere can be higher than
your level of Arete. You can also only spend up to
your level of Arete in quintessence on a single spell.
A mage can optionally roll less dice than their Arete
to avoid a potential botch.

Avatar

A Mages Avatar is the maximum Quintessence they
can store.

Quintessence

Quintessence is the power source for Magic.
Spending Quintessence reduces the difficulty of a
spell, up to a modifier of -3. Meditation is required
to regain Quintessence for at least an hour at a place
of power. Quintessence can also be stored in things
that are carried by a Mage.

Willpower

One point of willpower generates 1 success
Willpower can resist mind magic
WIllpower can fight Quiet
Willpower can ignore penalties from fear & damage
Willpower can be regained after role play

Difficulty

The difficulty of a spell is the level of the Sphere
you are using. You then add +3 difficulty for
coincidental magic, and +4 for Vulgar magic if there
are no witnesses. Add +5 for Vulgar magic witnessed by
Sleepers.

Successes

Simple magic requires only one success, two
successes are required for more powerful magic,
and larger effects can take even more. If your level
of Arete is at least one point higher than the Sphere
you are using, you can succeed without a dice roll.

Botches

If a Mage rolls a failure when casting a spell & they
also roll snake eyes on any of their dice then they botch.
This is a dangerous situation.

Spheres

Understanding

Power: Wisdom / ESP

Knowledge: Realization - Unveiling the inner
knowledge within.

Description: The Power of Understanding manifests
as inspiration and insight, granting effortless access
to answers and discoveries beyond conventional
understanding. It endows the practitioner with the
gift of foreknowledge. The key to unlocking this
power lies in the realization that all knowledge
already resides within oneself.

1) Elevated Mental Attributes
2) Predicting Outcomes
3) Seeing the Past
4) Seeing the Future
5) Stopping Time

Feeling

Power: Empathy / Telepathy

Knowledge: Association - Recognizing the
interconnectedness of all things.

Description: The Power of Feeling enables one to
empathize and understand others deeply, perceiving
their thoughts and emotions without the need for
words. It stems from the profound insight into
Association, the intrinsic link that binds all living
beings together.

1) Reading Mindstates
2) Bonus to Social Attributes
3) Mental Shield
4) Reading Thoughts
5) Mental Link

Production

Power: Attraction / Creation

Knowledge: Synchronicity - Uniting the threads of
existence.

Description: The Power of Production empowers a
wizard to draw situations and desires into their
reality. This ability stems from a profound
understanding of Synchronicity, the cosmic
principle that everything is interconnected and
influences each other. It acknowledges that the
power to attract lies within, awaiting manifestation.

1) Sensing Opportunity
2) Arranging situations
3) Attracting Wealth
4) Produce Small Objects
5) Win Lotteries & Elections

Influence

Power: Charisma / Hypnotism

Knowledge: Possession - Will shaping the realm of
the mind.

Description: The Power of Influence grants a
wizard the power to captivate others. Known as
Possession, it allows one to enchant and charm,
eliciting positive perceptions or even gaining
control over anothers thoughts and actions. The
essence of this mastery lies in the understanding
that ones will can wield dominion over the minds
of others.

1) Sensing Willpower
2) Social Influence
3) Hypnotic Suggestion
4) Mind Control
5) Altering Identities

Penetration

Power: Escape / Intangibility

Knowledge: Spiritualism - Perceiving the world as a
realm of spirit.

Description: The Power of Penetration delves into
the realm of Spiritualism. It unveils the truth that
the world is fundamentally composed of spirit,
allowing a wizard to transcend physical boundaries
and become intangible. Chains and locks lose their
hold, dissolving effortlessly under the wizards
touch.

1) Find Exits
2) Open Locks
3) Escape From Restraints
4) Escape From Prisons
5) Becoming Intangible

Control

Power: Energy / Telekinesis

Knowledge: Evocation - Harnessing the forces of
the spiritual realm.

Description: The Power of Control enables a wizard
to command powerful forces. Through evocation,
the practitioner can manipulate energy and bend it
to their will. This understanding arises from
recognizing that spiritual entities are themselves
embodiments of force and possess the capacity to
shape and impact the physical world.

1) Quick Reactions
2) Bonus to Physical Abilities
3) Influencing Physical Outcomes
4) Moving Objects
5) Controlling Natural Forces

Restoration

Power: Renewal / Healing

Knowledge: Forgiveness - Liberating from suffering
caused by transgressions.

Description: The Power of Restoration holds the
gift of healing. It grants the ability to alleviate pain,
cure diseases, and bring renewal to the afflicted.
This power emerges from the understanding of
Forgiveness, recognizing that suffering often stems
from transgressions. By embracing forgiveness, a
wizard becomes a conduit for healing and
restoration.

1) Sense illness
2) Relieve Pain
3) Protection from Disease
4) Heal Sickness / Damage
5) Resurrection

Vanishing

Power: Stealth / Invisibility

Knowledge: Misdirection - Manipulating attention
and perception.

Description: The Power of Vanishing encompasses
the art of Misdirection. It allows a wizard to control
focus and attention, rendering themselves unseen
and secrets concealed. Meticulous study and
practice grant the ability to achieve complete
invisibility as the wizard manipulates perception
and directs attention elsewhere.

1) Safeguard Secrets
2) See in The Dark
3) Stealth
4) Disguise
5) Invisibility

Travel

Power: Direction / Teleportation

Knowledge: Unity - Dissolving the illusion of
separation.

Description: The Power of Travel operates on the
understanding that all separation is illusory. By
harnessing this power, a wizard can navigate
without traditional directions and locate objects or
places that are lost or hidden. A skilled practitioner
can transcend distance, stepping from one location
to any desired destination.

1) Locate Lost Objects
2) Find Directions
3) See at a Distance
4) Teleport Objects
5) Make a Portal

Transformation

Power: Developing / Shapeshifting

Knowledge: Personification - Authoring ones own
identity.

Description: The Power of Transformation allows a
wizard to assume the form and essence of another
being, whether it be an abstract concept, an animal,
or even a deity. The essence of this mastery lies in
the understanding that one has the power to create
and define their own identity, refusing to be shaped
by external forces. The power of transformation can
also be used to improve who you already are.

1) Sense Others Attributes
2) Bonus to Attributes
3) Developing Attributes
4) Shapeshifting
5) Transmutation

Destruction

Power: Curses / Annihilation

Knowledge: Pragmatism - Dissolving the constructs
of right and wrong.

Description: The Power of Destruction holds
immense power that should be wielded with
caution. It encompasses the ability to curse,
annihilate, and disrupt the natural order. However,
the utilization of this power draws one away from
their true path and blurs the distinction between
right and wrong.

1) Sense Black Magic
2) Protection from Curses
3) Curse Enemies
4) Cause Physical Damage
5) Kill & Destroy

Revelation

Power: Visions / Rapture

Knowledge: Above as Below - The symbiotic
connection between gods, angels, and humanity.

Description: The Power of Revelation unveils
profound visions and grants enlightenment to the
practitioner. It is rooted in the understanding of the
symbiotic connection between gods, angels, and
humanity. By tapping into this power, a wizard
gains access to celestial knowledge, perceiving the
intricate tapestry that binds all realms and entities
together.

1) Sense Spirits
2) Speak with Spirits
3) Banish Spirits
4) Summon Spirits
5) Spirit Travel

Paradox & Quiet

The official rules say Paradox is caused by Vulgar
magic. In these alternative rules Paradox happens
when a Mage fails at casting their spells.
When a Mage fails a magic roll they gain a Paradox
point. A botched roll will then releases that Paradox
in the form of a Quiet (Insanity).

If a Mage has a Paradox level of 1-3, the Quiet
happens in one of three ways:

Hallucinations, Fixations, or Depression

If they have a Paradox level of 4-6, the Quiet
happens in three more ways:

Delusions & Mood Swings, Reoccurring Behavior
Patterns, or Anti-Social Behavior

If they have a Paradox level of 7-10, the Quiet
happens as:

Wild Hallucinations, Obsession, or Self Harm

If they have a Paradox level of 11+, the Quiet
happens in more severe ways:

Complete Madness, Living Repetitive Loops, or
Becoming a Serial Killer

Quintessence can be spent to reduce Paradox, but it
has to be done before the Insanity of Quiet occurs.
If Paradox reaches a level greater than 10 it is
released automatically.

Occult

This system of magic can connect to occult themes,
for interesting role playing.

There are 12 Spheres in this system. Each Sphere
connects to one of the 12 signs of the Zodiac. And
each Zodiac sign connects to one of 10 planets in
Astrology. The 10 planets and 12 signs connect with
the 22 Major Arcana of the Tarot.

Control:
Energy / Telekinesis
(Aries / Emperor) + (Mars / Tower)

Transformation:
Developing / Shapeshifting
(Taurus / Hierophant) + (Venus / Empress)

Understanding:
Wisdom / ESP
(Libra / Justice) + (Venus / Empress)

Revelation:
Visions / Rapture
(Pisces / High Priestess) + (Neptune /
Hanged Man)

Feeling:
Empathy / Telepathy
(Virgo / Hermit) + (Mercury / Magician)

Influence:
Charisma / Hypnotism
(Leo / Strength) + (Sun / Sun)

Penetration:
Escape / Intangibility
(Gemini / Lovers) + (Mercury / Magician)

Travel:
Direction / Teleportation
(Sagittarius / Temperance) + (Jupiter /
Wheel of Fortune)

Production:
Attraction / Creation
(Capricorn / Devil) + (Saturn / World)

Restoration:
Renewal / Healing
(Aquarius / Star) + (Uranus / Fool)

Vanishing:
Stealth / Invisibility
(Cancer / Chariot) + (Moon / Moon)

Destruction:
Curses / Annihilation
(Scorpio / Death) + (Pluto / Judgement)

Also, here are some examples of how to attempt
other actions using the abillities and attributes
already mentioned:

Climbing - Dexterity + Athletics
Driving - Dexterity + Drive
Encumbrance - Strength
Intrusion - Dexterity or Intelligence + Technology
Jumping - Strength or Strength + Athletics
Lifting / Breaking - Strength or Willpower
Pursuit - Dexterity + Athletics / Drive
Shadowing - Dexterity + Stealth
Sleight of Hand - Dexterity + Stealth
Sneaking - Dexterity + Stealth
Stealing - Dexterity + Stealth, Perception + Streetwise
Swimming - Stamina + Athletics
Throwing - Dexterity + Athletics
Fast Talk - Manipulation + Subterfuge
Fitting In - Charisma + Expression
Impersonation - Charisma + Expression or Manipulation + Subterfuge
Interrogation - Manipulation + Intimidation or Charisma + Intimidation
Oration - Charisma + Leadership
Performance - Charisma + Performance
Academic Knowledge - Intelligence + Academics
Building Devices - Intelligence + Technology
Cryptography - Intelligence + Linguistics or Intelligence + Computer
Detecting The Supernatural - Perception + Awareness
Foraging - Intelligence + Survival
Fortune Telling - Perception + Awareness
Hacking - Intelligence / Wits + Computer
Inventing - Intelligence + Science
Investigation - Perception + Investigation
Meditation - Stamina / Intelligence + Meditation
Repair - Dexterity + Technology
Research - Intelligence + Investigation / Computer
Surveillance - Perception + Alertness, Dexterity + Stealth
Tracking - Perception + Survival

[Corey White]

I've realized that my rules for casting magic are a
bit confusing. I think a better way to do it is make
your dice pool your Arete level + your Sphere level.
Then the difficulty is -4 for coincidental, and -5
for more powerful magic. With and additional -1 if
anyone sees the magic actually happen. You can reduce
the difficulty by up to 3 points if you spend
quintessence. Of course you can't do magic higher
than the level of your Sphere, and further difficulty
modifiers could be added by the story teller. Another
idea is to allow multiple rolls over time to increase
the power of the spell, or to combine a ritual with
other mages.