====== Notes ====== Prime shall remain the only way of dispelling magic. ====== Mage Weapons ====== Tara: do all manifest weapons do lethal damage by default, even if their manifest shape (e.g., quarterstaff) normally does bashing? Anthony: is a manifest weapon upgrade to dishing out aggravated damage possible? what would the cost be like? Chris: we need some minimum dice so that this is a more offensive game than defensive game. Perhaps manifest weapons, like some magical exalted weapons (grand grimcleaver, grand daiklave, grand goremaul), do a certain minimum damage. Based on eminence? This could be an attribute of your eminence level? Mark: but then it becomes a plinking contest. Tara: give the manifest weapon an affinity arcana flavor power that scales as you get more powerful? (e.g., matter gets keen edge, forces gets a blade of fire/ice/whatever, prime gets a mana-leeching blade, etc) Manifest Arcana powers, static (non-scaling):\\ * **space** gets reach? how would this be defined though?\\ * **Time** gets reflexive manifestation? or gets +1 initiative?\\ * **matter** gets an extra +1 to attack? or gets +1 to disarm?\\ * **death** can be used to attack weapon/armor durability with a +1?\\ * **forces** gets an extra +1 attack from elemental damage?\\ * **fate** gets a +1 bonus to called shots?\\ * **spirit** can damage spirits in twilight w/a +1 bonus?\\ * **prime** can steal 1 mana from a person when striking the death blow? or can be used to attack a magical being's "mana" pool instead of health levels?\\ ====== Arcana Streamlining (Mark) ====== **Please note that the contents of the tables are very open to reallocation. The current items in the cells are meant as first-pass example data.** ===== FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT ===== Each magical effect within a given Arcanum, be it Improvised or a Rote, can be completely described with the syntax , where represents the effect and represents the target. Possible are capped by the Arcanum level itself, as per the Arcana chart below. Possible are determined by the Purview chart. Examples: * Influence Heat (Forces 1) * Control Vermin (Life 2) * Detect Zombie (Death 1) * Analyze Aura (Prime 1 or Death 1) ===== Arcana Levels ===== * "Detect" = Determine the presence and location of a purview concept. * "Analyze" = Determine the function, composition, and status of a purview concept. * "Influence" = Affect or reshape the purview concept in some way. Successes (capped at Arcana dots) affect the target as a pool modifier. * "Enhance" = Affect the target in a specific way, adding successes (capped at Arcana dots) to either: an Attribute, Health, Armor, or resistance rolls against attacks from the same Arcanum. * "Attack" = Does damage to the target equal to successes (capped at Arcana dots) using flavor text from a purview concept. * "Transmute" = Changes an inanimate target into an equal or lesser purview concept. * "Control" = Compels an animate target of the appropriate purview concept to behave in a specified manner. * "Create" = Spontaneously conjure a purview concept. * "Destroy" = Spontaneously banishes a target purview concept. ^ ^Detect^Analyze^Influence^Enhance^Attack^Transmute^Control^Create^Destroy^ ^Attribute >|WIT|INT|MAN|STA|COM|RES|PRE|DEX|STR| ^1|Self|Self|Simple|-|-|-|Simple|-|-| ^2|Other|Other|Minor|Self|-|Simple|Minor|-|-| ^3|-|-|Median|Other|Bashing|Minor|Median|Simple|Simple| ^4|-|-|Major|-|Lethal|Median|Major|Minor|Minor| ^5|-|-|Special|-|Aggravated|Major|Special|Median|Median| * "Self" = Caster is recipient of the sensory effect * "Other" = Caster touches another person to make him/her the recipient of the sensory effect //Note: The "Attribute" column designates which should be used in a related Rote.// ===== Purview Concepts by Arcanum ===== ^Arcanum^Simple^Minor^Median^Major^Special^ ^Death :(|Ectoplasm/Ephemera/Shadow|Aura/Twilight|Mana/Spell/Ghost|Corpse/Zombie/Soul/Lifespan|Revenant/Willpower|? ^Fate :(|Die Pool/Final Name|Enigma|Oath|?|?| ^Forces :)|Light/Heat/Sound|Fire/Electricity|Kinetics|Weather/Magnetism|Gravity/Radiation/Sunlight| ^Life :)|Plant|Vermin|Beast|Sentient|Legendary| ^Matter :)|Common Liquid|Common Solid/Rare Liquid|Common Gas/Rare Solid|Rare Gas|Alchemical Substance| ^Mind :)|Vermin|Beast|Greater Beast|Sentient|Legendary| ^Prime :(|Spell/Resonance/Enchanted Item|Aura|Soul/Tass/Phantasm|?|?| ^Space|?|?|?|?|?| ^Spirit|?|?|?|?|?| ^Time|?|?|?|?|?| //Note: It'd be cool if each Purview Concept was linked to a single and flavor-appropriate skill, like Life's Plant = Survival, Vermin/Beast = Animal Ken, and Sentient/Legendary = Medicine. That way each spell effect would be very clear as to what its Rote pool would be. "Control Animal" would be a very logical Presence + Animal Ken + Life, in that example.// ===== Die Pools ===== ==== Casting ==== === Time === * **Normal Action**: One combat action, just like an attack * **Reflexive Action**: One reflexive action (note Willpower cost, below) * **Ritual**: Per "Extended Casting Times" -- casting an effect in Ritual allows for multiple characters to pool their Arcana, Mana, and Willpower === Pool === * **Improvised**: Eminence + Arcana * **Rote**: Attribute + Skill + Arcana ==== Modifiers ==== * **High Speech**: +1 (spell becomes Obvious) * **Touch/Self**: +1 (successful melee attack or willing target with physical contact) * **Sensory**: +0 (target within sensory range) * **Multiple Targets**: -1/additional target (first one is "free") ===== Costs ===== ==== Duration ==== * **Instant/Turn/Concentration**: 0 Mana * **Scene**: 1 Mana * **Permanent (until dispelled)**: 1 committed Mana + 1 committed Willpower * **Reflexive & Improvised**: 1 Willpower * **Reflexive & Rote**: 1 Mana ====== Tara Reverse Engineering ====== - Initiate * Insight: "Detect" * Minor Influence: "Coax" * Mage sight (Self)((Any "Self" spell can be cast on "Others" at +1 Arcana level)) - Apprentice * Major Influence: "Summon (Minor)"((Minor things: +1 Arcana for Medium/Uncommon, +2 for Major/Rare, +3 for Special/Magical/Insanely Powerful)), "Command (Minor)", "Enhance (Minor)", "Degrade (Minor)", "Transform (Minor)" * Boost One applicable Skill/Merit (Self) * Mage shield (Self) - Disciple * Minor Pattern Affecting: "Summon (Medium)", "Command (Medium)", "Enhance (Medium)", "Degrade (Medium)", "Transform (Medium)", "Attack", "Repair" * Boost Multiple applicable Skills (Self) * Boost One Applicable Attribute (Self) * Ritual Gating * Mage Attack: Bashing - Adept * Medium Pattern Affecting: "Summon (Major)", "Command (Major)", "Transform (Major)", "Steal", "Remove", "Give", "Transfer" * Boost Multiple Applicable Attributes (Self) * Instant Gating * Mage Attack: Lethal - Master * Major Pattern Affecting: "Summon (Special)", "Command (Special)", "Destroy", "Takeover" * Creation: Generate (Major) mundane from nothing, Transform similar (Major) munane into (Special/Magical) * Mage Attack: Aggravated