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2.0 Core Rules


Intensity vs Power:

Intensity refers to the effectiveness of a particular casting, it
is determined by the highest single roll in a cooperative or
extended Arete roll.  Power is the total amount of magickal
'energy' involved in an effect, it is determined by the total
number of successes scored on such a roll.  Intensity determines
the damage caused (or healed) by a magickal effect, and, in
general, the degree to which the targets are affected.  Power
determines the range/area and duration of an effect.

Power   Range    

0       The Mage (ie: no power need be applied to range when
                      affecting only yourself)
1       Touch or Area centered on the caster
2       Close (a few yards) 
3       Near (10's of yards)
4       Distant (100's of yds)  
5       Line of Sight 

Power   Duration

0       Instant (ie: effects like attacks require no duration)
1       1 turn
2       1 scene
3       1 day
4       Story (months)
5       Chronicle (years)
10      Lifetime of the Mage
25      Permanent

Power   Area

1       1 target
2       Several Close Targets (room)
3       Group of Near targets (house)
5       Large group of Distant targets (city blocks) 
10      1000's of targets in a large general area (a town) 
25      City, Small Horizon Realm
50      Metropolitan Area, Small Country or State, Horizon Realm
100     Any Contiguous land mass, Near Umbral Realm
1000    Entire World, Deep Umbral Realm

     An area of effect may be made selective (only those targets
     the caster wants to affect are included) at the cost of 1
     Intensity (not power).  It is necessary to reign in one's
     magick in order to keep control of it.

Willpower:  Intensity and Power can be increased by 1 each with
the expenditure of a point of willpower. Power can be further
increased with a Willpower roll (difficulty 8), each success adds
1 to the total power of the effect.  However, if the roll is
botched the extra point of intensity and power from spent
willpower is lost.  The point of Willpower must be spent before
the roll to increase power can be made.

Quintessence:  A mage with the Avatar background can enhance the
power of any effect by spending a point of Quintessence and
rolling her dots in Avatar (difficulty is the same as for the
effect being cast), each success adds one to power.  All mages
can also spend Quintessence to increase the power of effects they
cast - each point of Quintessence increases power by one.  There
is no limit to the amount of Quintessence that can be put towards
increasing power, but it must be channelled at a rate equal to
the mage's Avatar or Prime score per turn.  This expenditure of
Quintessence does not reduce difficulty.


Direct vs Indirect:

Direct magick uses an appropriate sphere to alter, harm or
influence the target.  Direct magick is resisted by the target's
Willpower (difficulty 8) with each success reducing the intensity
of the effect by 1.  The subject of a Direct magickal effect can
choose not to resist if she is aware that the effect is about to
occur.  Otherwise, resistance is instinctive for any being with a
Willpower score.  

       Direct Damage = 3 x Intensity in HL and is not soaked.

       Resisted by:  Willpower (difficulty 8).

Examples of Direct effects would include:  transforming an
opponent using Life magick, reading a subject's mind, slowing
down an attacker with Time magick, and using Prime magick to
'disintegrate' a pattern.


Indirect magick alters the environment around the target.  Though
not resisted by Willpower, indirect effects can almost always be
resisted in some way - those that do damage can be soaked, others
might be dodged or resisted with strength.  

       Indirect Damage = Sphere Level x Intensity in dice.

       Forces effects have +1 Intensity for damage purposes.

       Indirect Damage can be soaked.

Examples would be spawning forces to blast an enemy, using Matter
magick to create bindings to hold a victim fast, or conjuring a
spirit to attack an opponent.


Direct Effects that do Indirect damage:  Some direct effects,
like flooding a pattern with entropy or causing a heart attack,
cause damage indirectly.  Any direct attack that might fail
because of the toughness of the victim is probably doing indirect
damage.  Direct use of Entropic magick always causes damage
indirectly, though it does do so very effectively.

       Indirect Damage = Sphere Level x Intensity in dice.

       Entropic Damage = Entropy Sphere Level x Intensity in HL.

       Intensity is resisted with Willpower (diff 8).

       Damage can be soaked.

Examples of Direct effects that do Indirect damage include: 
using Mind magick to scare a victim 'to death,' Entropic effects
like Slay Machine, Dim Mak, and Wither Life, using Forces to
induce hypothermia, transforming non-living portions of a life
pattern (like hair) into a dangerous substance, using Influence
Life (see appendix) to give a victim a heart attack, and
attacking a Hit Mark with System Havoc.


Direct Magick Table:

                    Direct       Direct doing Indirect Damage
Sphere          Normal   Stun         Normal       Stun 

Correspondence    --      --            --          --
Entropy           --      --             1           5    
Forces            --      --            --          --
Life               4       3             3          --
Matter            --      --            --          --
Mind              --       2             3          --
Prime              5       2            --          -- 
Spirit            --      --            --          --    
Time              --      --             3           3 


Coincidental vs Vulgar:


Static magick functions as part of consensual reality.  This type
of 'magick' can be distinguished from Dynamic magick by the
simple fact that it can be used by the unawakened.  Each
Tradition has a few Static Effects they can call on, the
Technocracy has many.  Static magick is further detailed in an
appendix.

     Dice Pool = Arete or appropriate Ability

     Difficulty = Sphere Level + 3 or 8 for Abilities

     Maximum Intensity cannot exceed the effects a sleeper
              could produce doing the same thing, though it can
              reach maximum potential much more reliably.

     Paradox:  none


Coincidental magick goes with the grain of reality, and so is
somewhat easier to evoke than Vulgar magick and draws less
Paradox.  However, Coincidental effects are often limited in
intensity by the constraints of the coincidence used to cover
their magick.

       Dice Pool = Arete      Difficulty = Sphere Level + 3

       Maximum Intensity = Sphere Level or
                 Successes on a related Ability roll
                 (difficulty 8, requires at least an extra turn).
                      Maximum is applied after Countermagick but,
                      before Resistance.

       Paradox:  on success = 0
                 on botch = possible backlash f/accumulated Paradox.
                 May spend willpower to avoid backlash.


Vulgar magick is more difficult and dangerous than coincidental
magick, but can also be more potent.  Powerful mages with plenty
of quintessence can evoke impressive vulgar effects, but the
price in Paradox can be high.

       Dice Pool = Arete       Difficulty = Sphere Level + 4

       Paradox:  on success = 1 +
                 on botch = 1 + possible backlash.
                 May spend willpower to avoid backlash.
                 
Very powerful Vulgar effects can generate even more Paradox - one
additional Paradox per 10 Power.  Thus a a 27 Power Vulgar effect
would generate 1 Paradox plus 2 more for the Power of the effect.


Vulgar magick in front of witnesses is even riskier than usual. 
Paradox is the major consideration, but the effect is also even
more difficult than with unobserved vulgar magick.

       Dice Pool = Arete       Difficulty = Sphere Level + 5      

       Paradox:  on success = Intensity
                 on botch = 2 + backlash.

Very powerful Vulgar effects in front of witnesses can generate
even more Paradox.  If Power exceeds Intensity, add +1 Paradadox. 
For each additional 10 Power add another point of Paradox.  Thus
a 3 Intensity, 4 Power effect would generate 4 Paradox, and a 3
Intensity, 24 Power effect would generate 6 Paradox.


Spending Quintessence on an Arete roll reduces difficulty by one
for each point spent.  The mage can spend up to:

       his dots in the Avatar Background, or
       his dots in the Prime Sphere,
                                              plus
       1 if the effect is Vulgar, or
       2 if Vulgar in front of Witnesses.


Countermagick:

Standard Countermagick:  Any magickal effect that will include
the caster in its area, whether direct or indirect, can be
countered.  Countermagick is a straightforward response rather
like blocking an attack in melee, and can be performed at any
time simply by declaring the intent to counter an effect. 
Countermagick still uses dice from the mage's Arete pool.  In
order to use standard Countermagick, the mage must have all of
the spheres involved in the effect.  She does not have to be able
to evoke the effect herself, merely to perceive the basic
workings of the magick she is trying to counter is enough.  The
base difficulty of standard Countermagick is Sphere + 3. 
Spending Quintessence can reduce the difficulty, just as with
casting an effect.  
     Successes on Countermagick reduce both the Intensity and
Power of the incoming effect.  Effects reduced to zero Intensity
manifest, but in some trivial, nearly harmless way.  Effects
reduced below the minimum Power needed to affect the area or
range desired fail completely.  However, the Power of an effect
cannot be reduced below it's remaining Intensity.  Thus, a 4
Intensity, 8 Power effect encountering 2 Intensity and 12 Power
worth of Countermagick would be reduced to 2 Intensity and 2
Power.

Instinctive Countermagick:  When a mage is under Direct magickal
attack, her avatar will automatically try to resist.  This is a
very natural, but voluntary response, like ducking.  Unless her
Arete pool has already been used, or is being intentionally
reserved, a mage can add up to her full Arete to her resistance
(Willpower) roll, even if she has none of the spheres being used
against her.  The difficulty is still 8, and only personal
Intensity is reduced - just as with a standard Resistance roll.

Indirect Countermagick:  In addition to self-defense,
countermagick can be used to protect anyone the mage can reach
with her magick.  This 'indirect' form of Countermagick works
like standard countermagick, but the mage must get enough Power
on the Countermagick roll to reach either the caster or the
target area of the effect being countered.  As with standard
Countermagick, the mage can react out of initiative order, though
with a +1 difficulty.

Direct Countermagick:  Most forms of Countermagick are basically
defensive.  However, it is possible to use countermagick in a
more offensive way.  Direct Countermagick is used to defeat
effects that a mage is using only on herself.  This type of
Countermagick can not be used out of initiative order, though it
is, of course, possible to change a declared action to use it (at
the usual +1 difficulty).  The caster must get enough Power
behind the Countermagick to reach the subject, who gets to resist
the Countermagick with a Willpower roll (difficulty 8) just as
with any other Direct effect.  Direct Countermagick is otherwise
similar to standard Countermagick.

Cooperative and Extended Countermagick:  All Countermagick except
the 'Instinctive' variety is automatically cooperative.  Any time
two or more mages attempt to counter the same effect, use the
highest roll as the Countermagick's Intensity, and the total of
all rolls as its Power.  This Intensity and Power is directly
subtracted from that of the target effect, as with Standard
Countermagick.  Extended Countermagick can only be attempted
against a simultaneous Extended magick roll, in such cases, both
parties will often break off their extended magicks in favor of
eliminating each other.  When it does occur, Extended
Countermagick accumulates Power and Intensity just like any other
Extended magick roll.  Remember that a botch ends an extended
attempt, and that Countermagick must go off at the same time as
the effect it is targeting.

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