Mage/Rules
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 |
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)
- 'Locking An Effect' section, pg 511-512: Strike the entire section, until the 'Sphere Specialties' section starts.
- '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'
- 'When combining Correspondence with other Spheres, however...' , pg 513: Strike that paragraph.
- 'Also, by combining Correspondence 3 with Forces..., pg 513: Strike the mention of Forces, Life, or Matter. Correspondence can do this on its own.
- '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.