14
votes
What does it mean to not have points in avatar?
Mechanically speaking, not having any points in Avatar means that you cannot spend Quintessence to lower your spellcasting difficulty numbers. (You can't spend it for other purposes, either, but that'...
- 56k
11
votes
Accepted
Does using magick to reversing aging accrue permanent paradox?
There's a fine line between reversing age and just halting aging or considerably slowing it to extend the lifetime.
Aging backward
Aging backward is a Time-Life-Magick effect and is very vulgar. This ...
- 46.9k
11
votes
Accepted
What does it mean to not have points in avatar?
What does the book say?
Avatar/ Genius – Embodiment of the Awakened/
Enlightened Self. 1
By the way, it’s worth remembering that every Mage character
should have at least one dot in the Avatar ...
- 46.9k
10
votes
Accepted
Are there any mechanical differences between how tradition mages and technocratic mages use magick?
Technocrats have a mix of advantages and disadvantages compared to other Mages.
The first, and most obvious, difference between Technocrats and other Mages is that they have access to the variant ...
- 14.1k
10
votes
Accepted
Do Avatars need to have the same personality as their Mage?
No, an Avatar need not have the same personality as their mage. Depending on the mage's paradigm, an Avatar may be perceived as a primal spirit guide, one's higher purpose, their "better self,&...
- 56k
10
votes
What Effect/Spheres Would a Mage Need to Resist or Nullify a Blood Bond?
Vampire blood is both psychologically and spiritually addictive. The blood bond taints both the mind of the mage and their Avatar. While drinking the blood of those cursed by god should be avoided ...
- 37.9k
9
votes
Accepted
How does Mage travel between different realms?
Welcome to Mage, where you may need multiple books for all the realms. One of the best resources is the good old Beyond the
Barriers: The Book of Worlds (BtB:BoW), which actually had some access rules,...
- 46.9k
9
votes
What Effect/Spheres Would a Mage Need to Resist or Nullify a Blood Bond?
The rules are largely silent on this issue, though that may not be the case for long as additional M20 books are scheduled to be released soon (Digital Web 3.0, Victorian Mage, and Rich Bastard’s ...
- 15.1k
8
votes
Accepted
Detecting Magick use by using the Prime Sphere
From just before the part you quoted in M20:
A beginning study of Prime allows the mage to perceive and channel Quintessence from Nodes, Tass, Wonders, and magickal Effects.
So there's a "...
- 708
8
votes
Accepted
Can you use Prime in order to treat businesses as nodes?
Technocrats only.
The alternate spheres are an optional rule for Technocracy games. On page 512 of the M20 core book, it says:
Optional Rule:
Technocratic Alternative Spheres
Three optional Spheres ...
- 56k
7
votes
Accepted
How can a mage gain quintessence besides gathering at a node?
This can be found in the Sacrifice section of How Do You DO That? The most common is Heart's Blood, which used to be called "burning your Pattern" in older editions. With Prime 1, you can ...
- 56k
7
votes
Accepted
How does one pay off flaws?
Storyteller fiat and experience point expenditure.
On page 642 of the 20th Anniversary Edition Core rules for Mage: The Ascension, it reads:
Generally, Merits and Flaws cannot be purchased after ...
- 56k
7
votes
Accepted
What level of Prime is required to use Tass?
First off - are there ways to use Tass other than absorbing the Quintessence into your pattern? Can you spend Tass to gain Quintessence effects like lowering the difficulty of a roll without absorbing ...
- 56k
7
votes
Accepted
What is the meaning of 'fast-casting' in M20
It's a little ill-defined, IMO, but I think these excerpts from the rules will help.
M20, Pg 535 Fast Casting and Working Without Tools
A desperate or reckless mage might try fast-casting her
Effect ...
- 7,118
6
votes
Accepted
Usage of Prime Sphere M20
Generally, from what I remember, Prime is not a sphere you'd usually focus on, but is a necessary supplement to other spheres so they can reach their full potential.
I'm sure there will be other uses....
- 371
6
votes
What happens when a Co-Location copy is harmed or dies?
Based on Core Rules alone, with Co-location you get harmed or die
C4 M1 makes you be in two places at once. Your body is in both places in the same position, doing the same thing with this combo. It's ...
- 46.9k
6
votes
Accepted
Are there any ways for mages to reduce the experience costs of Attributes?
There is a reference in How Do You Do That? p22 (Permanent Modifications). "In the case of increased Attributes, they cost one-half of the normal experience-point expense if they’ve been raised ...
- 76
5
votes
Accepted
Do you have to finish a ritual in one sitting?
Pg 538 MtA 20th:
"By definition, ritual refers to a practiced sequence of events with a desired end."
Pg 539 MtA 20th:
"Some rituals involve brief activity, and others can take hours or ...
- 4,736
5
votes
Passing through solid objects
Correspondence 3
Don't do anything to the wall, just rip open space on one side and on the other, connect the two and step through the wormhole. M20 p.513 & M20 HDYDT p.79: Gates and Portals
...
- 46.9k
5
votes
Usage of Prime Sphere M20
So, as has been called out, Prime is one of the most esoteric spheres, as it's basically the sphere of "realness" — the more quintessential energy a thing has, the more "real" it is on a cosmic level. ...
- 56k
4
votes
Do Avatars need to have the same personality as their Mage?
No
In fact, given the sorts of common personalities Avatars are described to have, it's highly unlikely that many humans can be fully in tune with them. Furthermore, many STs GM games where the one of ...
4
votes
Pentex African Killer Bees!
The Mage alone is capable of making bees with addictive honey.
Simply put, all they need to do is take a Life 3 emotion manipulation effect, put it into a Charm with Prime 2, and then lock the charm-...
- 14.1k
4
votes
What level of supplemental Sphere is required for the effect?
I skimmed through the Spheres' presentation to try to give a good answer with examples.
For example, in the Level 3 of Forces you have this part :
"attach elemental force to material forms – ...
- 41
4
votes
Need some help with spell and ritual rules (taking time to cast, cast retry...)
By rereading I see that the rules concerning the critical failures are much more forgiving during the rituals than during the traditional launches. Indeed, in case of a critical failure, you can spend ...
- 151
3
votes
Accepted
What happens when a Co-Location copy is harmed or dies?
Answer to my question seems to be in How Do You Do That book. I have to add though, that this book is in conflict with Core Rulebook on several occasions, mostly when it comes to setting up Sphere ...
- 3,398
3
votes
What happens to a spirit that crosses a portal from the umbra into the material world?
Parting the Gauntlet doesn't imbue the Umbrood with any particular ability to exist in the Material. A spirit that lacks Materialize, Possession, Inhabit, or some other means of obtaining a physical ...
- 56k
3
votes
Accepted
Do 1s cancel successes on damage and soak rolls?
I have also played games where we ignore 1s on Damage and Soak. But rules as written, this should not be as it.
Depending on the edition that you read, the text changes a little bit, but on most of ...
- 1,852
3
votes
Accepted
How do you abort an action in M20 if there is no declaration phase?
You are missing the beginning of chapter nine Dramatic Systems, which describes how to run the turns. This spans pages 399-401
During those action turns – especially the ones that cover combat ...
- 2,680
2
votes
Does using magick to reversing aging accrue permanent paradox?
Yes, once you start to exceed a human lifespan.
Simply put, yes, magick that allows you to exceed a human lifespan causes you to begin accruing Permanent Paradox once you start exceeding a human ...
- 14.1k
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