Since a lot of our players are new to mage, I wanted to create a thread where people could advice, helpful effects/spells, or anything else that might be useful.

Reducing Difficulties when using Magic:


One thing that can be a bit challenging about mage is that you have a fairly limited number of dice to roll when it comes to creating magical effects and many magical effects require multiple successes.

You will be rolling your arete (which depending on how you made your character will be 2 – 4 dice)

However, there are various ways that you can reduce the difficulty of a roll.  After all, it is much easier to get a success on a d10 if your difficulty is a 3 than it is if your difficulty is a 7.

Keep in mind that you cannot modify your roll more than 3 points in either direction.


Things that reduce your difficulty:

Researched lore on the subject before doing magic:  -1 to -3
Using a personal item from the target:  -1 to -3
Near a node:  -1 to -3
Using a Specialty Focus:  -1
Using a Unique Focus:  -1
Using a Known Procedure:  -1
Taking extra time (spending several turns instead of one):  -1
Spending Quintessence:  -1 per point spent
Appropriate Resonance:  -1
Succeeding on a relevant skill roll (ex. medicine for a healing spell):  -1 per success


Things that increase your difficulty:

Opposed Resonance:  +1
Distant or Hidden Subject:  +1
Juggling Several Effects at Once:  +1 per two effects
Mage Distracted:  +1 to +3
Domino Effect (multiple coincidences in a short time):  +1 per two coincidences after the first
Outlandish or Greater Feat:  +1 to +3


Note:  You may want to cast spells where you quite a few successes as an extended action so that you can make multiple rolls.  Information on extended actions can be found on p. 217 of the core book.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:18, Sat 12 Sept 2020.

Foci

Both Tradition Mages and Technocracy Mages use a variety of tools to assist in the creation of their magical effects.

A tradition mage might use a magic wand, chant, or light candles and pray to a god to cast a spell.

Technocracy agents would use advanced scientific devices and theories to do the same thing.

Some examples of foci that makes sense for Technocracy Agents include:

Armor
Blood and other Fluids
Body Language and Eye Contact
Computers and IT Gear
Devices and Machines
Drugs, Poisons, Powders, and Other Concoctions
Fashion
Formulas, Equations and Advanced Mathematics
Household Tools
Lab Gear
Nanotech
Social Domination
Vehicles
Weapons

Note:  I have no problem with people selecting foci that are not on this list.  It is just meant to provide ideas.

Mages can use multiple foci for a sphere.  The foci being used should make sense.

For instances, a Technocracy Mage with the Forces Sphere might use a specially reinforced suit (armor) to cast a spell to reduce the kinetic force of bullets being shot at them; a scanner (devices and machines) to detect and quantify the energy in an area; and a really big gun (weapons) to add extra damage to her attack.


Standard, Specialty, and Unique Foci

Standard Foci:  These are just the normal objects or rituals that the mage uses to do magic.  For these types of foci, the mage just needs a representative object or action.  These are easily replaced if something happens to them.  If your really big gun gets lost or destroyed, you can easily buy or requisition a new one.

Specialty Foci:  When you build your mage character, decide on one specialty foci for each sphere.  These are the tools that the mage is the most skilled with.  Any time when you cast with that foci, you reduce your difficulty by 1.

Unique Foci:  These are unique, one of a kind, items.  An example might be “the Really Big Gun that was given to me by my father when I graduated from High School.”  Any time you cast with that foci, you reduce your difficulty by 1.  But, unique foci are irreplaceable.  If you lose it or it is destroyed, any time you cast with the sphere it was associated with, you are at a +3 difficulty.   Note:  Since you are technocracy agents you will still have to have to use some type of relevant foci to cast with the sphere.

Specialty Foci and Unique Foci can be stacked for a -2 reduction to your difficulty.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:18, Sat 12 Sept 2020.

Procedures and Rotes


A procedure or rote is a magical effect that has been practiced and refined over years and was probably taught to or shared with your characters as they learned how to perform advanced science/magic.  It could be considered a spell formula, recipe, or checklist.

Using a known procedure or rote gives you a -1 to your arete roll to create that effect.

The relevant rotes listed in the various Mage books can be considered known procedures as can anything else that makes sense.

Most of the magical effects used by the technocracy are done by known procedures.  But occasionally, you will face an unusual situation and will need to improvise.  During those situations, you will not get the -1 to difficulty.

Ultimately, whether you are using a known procedure or improvising is decided more on a roleplaying and “what makes sense” level rather than a mechanical level.

Just a helpful little procedures that most of you would probably have heard about:

Nothing to See Here
(•• or ••• Mind)

The ugly fallout from Reality Deviant insurgencies (and the necessary containments thereof) requires Procedures that keep the Masses and their mundane law-enforcement agencies in the dark. And so, when drastic operations or Consensus-shattering events pose a threat to the security of essential illusions, wise Technocracy operatives invoke the Nothing to See Here Protocol, sealing up the area while scanning for evidence that must, for obvious reasons, be purged.

A few hazard signs or strips of police tape activate a Psychodynamics Procedure that warns people away from the area. Usual security measures simply broadcast a subtle Stay away impulse, whereas high-intensity measures keep all but the most determined trespassers at a distance.

System: In order to complete the procedure, a Technocrat needs to score at least three successes on a coincidental magick roll.  Large areas might need five successes or more.  As noted above, Mind Sphere Effects discourage trespassers from entering the secured area; the Mind 2 variation suggests avoidance, and the Mind 3 version actively drives people away. In order to enter the scene, a character needs to make a Willpower roll that scores more successes than the operative who established the Effect.

This Procedure does not conceal the area from outside observation – it drives people away, but the space itself remains visible a normal sized house would require 3 successes + the successes spent on duration