Revision as of 17:12, 16 June 2025

Spheres

20th Anniversary Mage: the Ascension takes some pretty serious liberties with their expectations of the environment that Mage players experience. We have a different set of expectations, chief among them just how much Sphere 'bloat' has cropped up between 2e (2nd Edition) and M20 (20th Anniversary).

Below is a collation of the various rules in M20 that do not exist on RetroMUX. There's... a lot here. A simpler way to look at it is to just play like we did back in 1995: use the 2e rules about what Spheres can do. Officially, here are the edits:

Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition (M20)
1. 'Locking An Effect' section, pg 511-512: Strike the entire section, until the 'Sphere Specialties' section starts.
2. 'Most Effects require touch or close contact...', pg 513: More a clarification than an edit, we consider 'close contact' to be 'about the size of a living room'. Also, any magicks which are purely sensory in nature (predominantly Rank 1 Sphere Effects) have a range of 'as far as you can perceive without assistance'
3. 'When combining Correspondence with other Spheres, however...' , pg 513: Strike that paragraph.
4. 'Also, by combining Correspondence 3 with Forces..., pg 513: Strike the mention of Forces, Life, or Matter. Correspondence can do this on its own.
5. 'In many cases, offensive Mind effects', pg 519: Remove the entire paragraph. Difficulties for Mind rolls are the same as any other Sphere. Storytellers may, at their discretion, assign additional penalties for pushing a target too far outside their regular behaviors.
How Do You Do That? (HDYDT?) -- Strike it. The entire book. It's a dumpster fire.

Arete

In the world of Mage: the Ascension, Arete doesn't really exist (not as something measurable, anyway). The Spheres, on the other hand, do. Rank in the Traditions is measured by demonstrable skill with certain ranks of Spheres, not of Arete. The rules in M20 which limit Spheres based on Arete make sense from a metaphysical standpoint (your understanding of a Sphere cannot outstrip your understanding of Magick), however, they have caused Storytellers all over to be horribly afraid of Arete 5... when really what they should be 'afraid' of is Spheres at 5. This is further reflected in the NPCs we see in books. Quite a few NPCs have Arete 6 but don't have a single Sphere at 5.

Additionally, surpassing Instruments is a big step for a character, and starting with a surpassed Instrument already doesn't make a ton of narrative sense.

Keeping the following in mind, the Arete-based limits have been adjusted thus:

Arete	Techno Inst.	Mystic Inst.	Maximum Spheres
1	-	-	1, 1, 1 Note: The 3 remaining dots from Character Generation are held back, and awarded for free upon Arete 2
2	-	-	2, 2, 2, 1, 1
3	-	-	3, 3, 3, 2, 2
4	-	1	4, 4, 3, 3, 2, 2
5	-	3	4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 2
6	2	4	5, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 2
7	4	6	5, 5, 5, 4, 4, 4, 3, 2
8	6	8	5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 4, 4, 3, 2
9	8	9	NOTE: Not available for PCs

Wonders (Inventions/Fetishes/Artifacts/Talismans)

For Mages and Sorcerers who want to make fetishes and talens, we use the ruleset from FORGED BY THE DRAGON'S FIRE. If you don't know or have that book, it's fine, we'll walk you through the process.

@@ Line 40: / Line 40: @@
 | 9 || 8 || 9 || NOTE: Not available for PCs
 |}
-=Resonance=
-We now use the Book of Secrets 20th Anniversary's Resonance/Flavor/Synergy rules. Every mage should have a resonance trait (see pools) of 1. You can raise it ONLY via RP justification.
-What does this trait do? It allows for bonuses on appropriate backgrounds and arete (YES ARETE) on things RELATED TO YOUR resonance description. In the end, the ST is the final arbiter if your resonance trait adds dice to your roll.  There are many bonuses to this, but also realize the following: The higher the resonance, the more detectable your magick is as your magickal signature becomes more discernable and concrete instead of just impressions and general things.
-Also: Once you reach ADEPT level (Rank 4 in a Sphere), you start manifesting your highest sphere in everyday life.
-# Forces - You might have extra static cling and start to zap people with light electrical charges; you might always run hot
-# Life - You always seem in perfect health
-# Prime - You seem more... REAL.  Like you're more there.  You may shine brightly, you may have an aura of authority, or you may come across as the archetypical example of some known concept.
-# Correspondence/Spirit/Mind - You're kinda spaced out seeing/feeling something else. You might talk to the air (spirit). You might finish another person's sentence (mind). You might be one of those people who can just walk around, not paying attention and never stub their toe/fall/trip (correspondence).
-# Entropy - You're either a center of calmness and order in the middle of chaos or shit breaks around you all the time.
-# Time - You're always punctual/late/early. Time seems to just go by faster when you're around (having fun?)
-Those are some examples, and RP should sort of reflect that. Vampires have their hunger. Shifters have rage.  Mages have weirdness in the form of Resonance.
 =Wonders (Inventions/Fetishes/Artifacts/Talismans)=
 For Mages and Sorcerers who want to make fetishes and talens, we use the ruleset from FORGED BY THE DRAGON'S FIRE. If you don't know or have that book, it's fine, we'll walk you through the process.