Casting A Spell
Contents
Casting Magickal Effects
All elements described below are detailed between pp. 528-547. (See: Mage 20th Edition)
Step One – Effect: What Do You Want to Do, and How?
- -- What Effect are you trying to accomplish?
- -- Which Spheres are you using?
Step Two – Ability: Can You Do It?
- -- How does your character focus belief and practice into making it happen?
- -- Which tools and/ or rituals are you using?
- -- How long does it take?
- -- Is what you’re doing vulgar or coincidental?
- -- Are any allies assisting you?
- -- Do you have any mundane skills that might help?
Step Three – Roll: Are You Successful?
- -- Roll your Arete/ Enlightenment versus appropriate difficulty (minimum difficulty is 3):
- Coincidental: Difficulty = highest Sphere + 3
- Vulgar Without Witnesses: Difficulty = highest Sphere + 4
- Vulgar With Witnesses: Difficulty = highest Sphere + 5
- -- Add or subtract modifiers (maximum +3/ -3).
- -- If you need to hit your target, roll appropriate combat Traits.
- -- Spend Quintessence and/ and or Willpower (if desired).
- -- Check the number of your successes.
- -- Do you need to roll more successes?
- -- Repeat for extended rituals/ rolls.
Step Four – Results: What Happens?
- -- What sorts of results did your magick have? (Damage, Duration, apparent effects, etc.)
- -- Did someone dodge, soak, resist, or use counter-magick against your Effect? If so, remove the successes they rolled from your own successes.
- -- Did you succeed? If so, determine its results. (Take Paradox if required.)
- -- Did you fail? If so, Effect fizzles. (Take Paradox.)
- -- Did you botch? If so, take Paradox as below:
- Coincidental Botch: Gain one point of Paradox per dot in the highest Sphere used.
- Vulgar Without Witnesses Botch: Gain one point of Paradox + one point per dot in the highest Sphere.
- Vulgar With Witnesses Botch: Gain two points of Paradox + two points per dot in the highest Sphere. (Paradox has different rules in Mage Revised; see the Paradox Points Generated chart.)
- -- Did you get more than five points of Paradox? If so, Storyteller may roll for backlash.
