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"What? What the hell are you talking about lady?" You fidget slightly in the back seat of her police cruiser,

trying to break her gaze on you.

She just goes back to looking at the road ahead, that shit-eating grin still on her face. "You really are

clueless, aren't you?" She takes a sharp right, pulling into a parking structure next to the 16th precinct. As

she cruises to her parking spot (with a name plate no less) you try and piece together what she is talking

about.

"Listen, lady, I don't know what-"

"Detective."

"What?"

"I'm a detective, Mr. Santos. And normally I just go about my day job to help people, but sometimes things

happen that can't be explained by normal means." She clicks the engine off and pulls the key out of the

ignition. "Sometimes these things can be handwaved or given a believable, however unlikely excuse. Other

things, well..." She glances around her for a moment, and seeing no one else nearby, she lifts her hand up,

palm facing the ceiling of the car.

"You have to see to believe." Almost instantly, an apple-sized ball of light hovers just a couple of inches

above her open hand, appearing seemingly out of thin air. Only it's not just giving off light, you can feel a

small wave of heat buffering off into you. If you didn't know any better, you'd think she had a miniature Sun

in her hand.

But with what you've seen and done the past hour, maybe it is a miniature Sun.

> What the fuck are you, lady?
> Neat parlor trick
> Pretend to not be impressed
> Other

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> Previous thread: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/36269400/
>QM Twitter: https://twitter.com/MageQM

And page 2, of the spells and rotes we know so far.

And for those curious, here's the exp. table I'm using for now.

Attribute: New dot x 5 (for example, to go from 2 to 3 Wits, we'd need 15 exp)
Skill: New dot x 3 (so 3 exp for Occult 1, 12 exp for Academics 4)
Skill Specialty: 3 (3 exp to gain expertise on a specific subject, like Law in Academics)
Ruling Arcana: New dots x 6 (our ruling arcana are Forces and Spirit)
Common Arcana: New dots x 7 (7 of the other schools of Magic)
Inferior Arcana: New dots x 8 (our Inferior Arcana - the one we suck ass at - is Prime)
Rote: 2 points per dot (Rotes are spells we know instinctually and can cast basically whenever we want, so long as we have the Mana for them)
Merit: new dots x 2 (kinda like feats, these are normally small bonuses to our character)
Gnosis: New dots x 8 (our connection to the Supernal Plane, where we draw our magical power from. More dots means more magical power, and more schools of magic we can eventually master)
Wisdom: New dots x 3 (the morality system in nWoD, hit 0 Wisdom and it's game over. Basically don't abuse your newfound powers and it won't go down)
Willpower: 8 exp (you can blow a willpower point to get a +3 bonus to a roll of a spell you cast, and are also used to learn more Rotes)

There was some concerns/questions about the exp costs being too high, and I'm trying to find out the new numbers they are using in God Machine Chronicles rules update. If a kind anon provides it to me I'll read up on them.

>>36289739
>What the fuck was that creature back there?

>>36289739
> Other
"Don't worry, I just punched a Vampire's jaw off, I think I've seen quite enough."
"That's a pretty cool trick though, I think we could both do with teaching each other some."

>>36289802
>>36289842
This

>>36289715
>MtA quest
mega tits & asses quest

>>36289843
Second

Voting's closed, writing.

>>36289843
>"Don't worry, I just punched a Vampire's jaw off, I think I've seen quite enough."
>"That's a pretty cool trick though,
I like it, say it.

>I think we could both do with teaching each other some."
haha, you know literally NOTHING and you want to teach her?

>>36290219
>haha, you know literally NOTHING and you want to teach her?
It's called flirting. Teach her in bed.

"Well, assuming that creature back there was a vampire, I did just punch it's jaw clean off. But I think I've seen enough supernatural bullshit for one day." You've seen enough horror and action movies to know a vampire when you see one.

"Suit yourself." She closes her hand, and the Sun-like thing simply blinks out of existence, like it was never there to begin with.

"That's a pretty cool trick though, I think we could both do with teaching each other some moves."

"... Are you still hitting on me?" She clamors out of the car, opening the door for you to do the same. "You never know when to give up, do you Mr. Santos?"

"I like to keep my options open," you grin back at her. A quick elevator ride later and you step out onto the main offices of the 16th district. This area itself doesn't seem to have much crime compared to other areas you've had the pleasure of working in, so most of the desks and fixtures in here are in fairly good condition, even if most of it dates back to the early 90's.

"If you would, please." She motions to what looks like a break room, with some beatup but comfy looking couches and chairs in it, along with a small bench with a coffee maker on it. "i'm going to grab some files, be back shortly." She leaves you alone for a moment, running over to a desk a good 40 feet away.

> Make coffee for you both
> Continue trying to flirt
> Ask more questions about magic
> Lounge on the couch
> Other

>>36290233
ah, the phrasing implied he is referring to the magic.

>>36290274
> Make coffee for you both
>Other
"So, is this thing between us our little secret, or are you going to hand me off to some sort of magic police next?"

>>36290274
> Make coffee for you both

>>36290274
>> Make coffee for you both
>> Continue trying to flirt

>>36290274
> Make coffee for you both
> Continue trying to flirt
> Ask more questions about magic
So what's this about towers?

>>36290379
>HFW she finds out we signed up on a 6th tower, previously unknown
or is this a setting change where everyone knows there are 6 towers?

>>36290321
This

>>36290274
>>36290321
Seconded

Voting's closed, writing.

>>36290274
Op, looking at the charter sheet i thought there were two greater arcana and one minor one? I haven't played it in forever so i could be wrong

You go for the coffee pot, thinking that maybe some hot joe keep you going (realizing only now just how tiring all that running and punching took out of you), but the goop inside has the consistency of molassus, so a quick toss of the toxic sludge into the sink and you start brewing up another pot.

"You always this handy, Mr. Santos," she asks, holding onto what looks like an iPad.

"Detective, you'd be amazed what these hands can do." You jab the power button on, and almost instantly it begins to perkelate and put out a fresh batch.

"Well, based on your history, I have a bit of an idea." She motions for you to sit down, as she begins flipping pages on the Pad. "A pretty clean record overall, mainly just a couple scuffles at a local boxing gym you used to frequent."

"Those charges were dropped," you point out.

"Indeed they were. And now you work for a decent-sized law firm in the city as a paralegal. Even went to Berkley for a law degree, but never took the BAR exam." The coffee pot begins to buzz, signalling it's brewing is done. She gets up and pours two cups of coffee. "You take yours with anything, Mr. Santos?"

"Straight black for me, ma'am." She drops a couple cubes of sugar into her glass, stirring her coffee as you sip yours. "And it was a large, square stone structure, giving off an aurora borealis of lights."

"Pardon?"

"The Tower, detective."

For just a moment, her eyes widen, before quickly slipping back into her detective gaze. "Hmm... Ok. So, what now Mr. Santos?"

You glance down at the iPad, then back at her. "Are you going to hand me off to some secret magic police now?"

Her swagger drops, as she sits down next to you. "Just how many of us do you think there are, Mr. Santos?"

> Give her a guess
> Feign for time while you attempt to read the iPad (5d10)
> Press her for more information (5d10)
> Flirt
> Other

>>36290515
No, you are right, we do get a minor Arcana still. No one's given a suggestion as to what it could be though. Someone asked for Life Arcana but it was just a suggestion, not a group consensus occured at the end of the previous quest, so I left it blank.

Rolled 10, 2, 4, 1, 3 = 20 (5d10)

>>36290645
> Feign for time while you attempt to read the iPad (5d10)

Do you guys want me to say exactly what the dice are for (like whats stats and skills I'm basing the numbers off of) or no?

Rolled 5, 7, 4, 3, 7 = 26 (5d10)

>>36290645
>Press her for more information (5d10)
Feed me info woman

Rolled 3, 2, 10, 5, 2 = 22 (5d10)

>>36290645
> Flirt
> Feign for time while you attempt to read the iPad (5d10)


>>36290753
Say it, also Life Arcana seems ok.

Rolled 8, 3, 6, 5, 10 = 32 (5d10)

>>36290645

> Feign for time while you attempt to read the iPad (5d10)

Rolled 3, 5, 2, 3, 8 = 21 (5d10)

>>36290645
> Press her for more information (5d10)
> Flirt

Rolled 7, 3, 6, 7, 2 = 25 (5d10)

>>36290645
>> Feign for time while you attempt to read the iPad (5d10)
>> Flirt

>>36290753
I've always liked mind if we still have the chance to still vote on it

>>36289802
>Ruling: Forces and Spirit
>Inferior: Prime

So really, we're good at kicking ass both physical and ephemeral, but we're gonna get boned if some mage manages to get the materials together for a sympathetic connection. Hope we don't piss off the consillium!

>>36290645
> Give her a guess
lets see, 7 billion people. if 1 in a million that means 7000 mages?
ah, but what of vampires who obey the law and eat only from blood banks? maybe tame werewolves? other mysticals?
shit they could be everywhere.

>>36290753
Oh, I'm rusty on lore in this world are there demons, vampires, zombies, mummies, fey, werewolfs and all that shit?

"Hmm, I dunno detective," you sip the coffee and nearly gag on how even a hot, fresh cup still tastes like sludge. "I mean, this is a pretty big city, not to mention how many tourists we get here every year." You lean forward to make your eyes appear to be looking at her, when in actuality your attention's on the iPad. It is indeed what looks to be a copy of the public records on things anyone can find out with a good enough internet search. Interestingly, it still says you're married, so even the cops don't know that the missus is out of the picture for the time being.

"Please, take a guess."

You lean back on the couch, setting the cup down. The more interesting thing was she had a little, digital post-it note attached to the file, and had typed up something about an aura, Forces, and Spirit. And not just general words, either, she specifically capitalized those two. "I dunno... 10,000."

"Counting you, there are 78 Awoken in the city."

That catches your attention. "Only 78? But this is a city of millions, not to mention the outlying suburbs."

"That included the suburbs."

You whistle loudly at that. "Guess the supernatural isn't as big as I thought it'd be."

"No, it's not." She sets the cup down and picks up the tablet. "And every day it gets smaller and smaller. We're being hunted, Mr. Santos. And I'm doing all I can to keep the peace, but the last thing I need is some hot-shot newbie throwing out a giant neon sign that says, 'I'm a Mage, come and kill me if you can!' "

>[1/2]

>[2/2]
"But I'm not just a normal Mage, am I detective?" You lean forward at her.

"What makes you think that?"

"Your reaction to my Tower. Obviously it's not one you're familiar with, and with there being so few of us in the city, I'm willing to bet you don't think that's a coincidence."

She gives you a cold, hard stare, before sighing and leaning back in her chair. "After being in this game for so long, you know there's no such thing as a coincidence."

> So what Tower did you go to?
> Do you know what's hunting us?
> Why do you keep saying Awoken, Awaken, and capitalizing specific words?
> Other

>>36291260
>> So what Tower did you go to?
>> Why do you keep saying Awoken, Awaken, and capitalizing specific words?
>> Do you know what's hunting us?

>>OTHER:
FLIRT OBVIOUSLY

>>36291260
>> Do you know what's hunting us?

>>36291298
>>36291260
Second

>>36291260
>>36291298
third

>>36291260
>>36291298
Yep.

>>36291260
>> Do you know what's hunting us?
>> Other
"So what difference does what tower you go to make?"

>>36291298
>FLIRT OBVIOUSLY
Why?

>>36291359
good question. add it to >>36291298

>>36291228
>>36291260
Did you actually officially get divorced?

unless we mention this, it comes off as extremely sleazy to flirt with her when she thinks we are married

>>36291395
Could be mentioned in the flirt.

>>36291260

>>36291371
>>36291412
>>36291395


I agree with both of these.

>>36291412
that... I wouldn't include that specifically in a flirt

rather it would be "your tablet thing has outdated info on me, it says i am married". something seperate.

>>36291395
Officially speaking, in the eyes of the law, you are still married to your wife, as no papers were ever filed for a divorce.

Keep in mind that you haven't seen her in almost a year, and do have some guilt over your affair (why she left you in the first place).

>>36291456
Which is an excelent opportunity to lead into a flirt.
I don't actually mean flirting with not being married as subject of it.

>>36291494
We still got some of her jewelry right? Learn some space magic and we got ourselves a way to see if she's even still alive.

If we get fate magic, we could even help her out a bit. Y'know, make her lucky. You can do so much with WoD magic, just gotta watch out for paradox. God I hate manifestations.

Voting's closed, writing. This will take some time as you guys basically said, "I choose option D: all of the above."

>>36291619
When does /tg/ not want the D

OP can we play the technocracy or no?

>>36291711
Please no, we will end up making retarded decisions and destroy the universe

>>36291653
tg never wants the D
they always want to play a futa, if they can't, then a female lesbian. they never want to take the D, always to give it.

>>36291494
>Officially speaking, in the eyes of the law, you are still married to your wife, as no papers were ever filed for a divorce.
oh... that is rather odd for us to be seperated for a year and not divorce.
also, don't we still love her?
maybe we should try to do some restraint

>>36291775
Apart from when they go maximum whore route

>>36291775
Then why don't they pick fucking men.

Swear this makes me so fucking mad every damn time

>>36291813
The quest protagonist is a female? I'm still reading through the first thread.

>>36291792
>Vice: Lust

>>36291836
No, we are a guy. People are just bitching for no reason.

>>36291836
Not this time. But only because nobody realized we could have been a girl.

>>36291813
yea, it pisses me off to
>Lets play a female
>With a dick
>That behaves like a man in every way
>And has a harem of bitches to give her D to
goddammit tg some being so totally gay trans genders

>>36291852
>>36291836
I wasn't refering to this quest anon.
Though yeah, the only reason we're a man is because people didn't realize being a girl was an option.

>>36289739
>Sixth Watchtower
Which are our Ruling and Inferior Arcana?

"So what Tower did you go to?"

"The Watchtower of the Golden Key... In Magical laymen's terms, it is tied to the path of Obrimos." She sips her coffee once more, draining the cup. "Want another?"

"No thanks, your coffee maker is... well..."

She laughs a bit. "Say no more, I know how messed up it is," as she pours a second cup.

"Why do you keep saying Awoken, Awaken, and capitalizing specific words?"

"Names have a meaning and weight to them. When we deal in magic, it gives us something to tie our wills onto." She drops another two cubes of sugar into the cup and stirs it. "It's a little complicated, but generally speaking, when we do magic, we use our force of will to have the spell we cast exist. Naming things makes it easier to anchor said will to them."

"Do you know what's hunting us?"

"No, no one does. And that's why we're freaking the fuck out and trying to stay low." She fiddles with the iPad some more, probably taking more notes.

"Want to go get an actual drink after this, detective?"

At that, she gives you a scowl. "I doubt your wife would like that, Mr. Santos."

Now it's your turn to frown. "The missus left over a year ago... Just haven't gotten around to filing the divorce papers."

"Oh, sorry, I thought..."

The lights on the floor start blinking briefly, then flash off.

"What the fuck," erupts from the police and detectives outside, some mid-typing up a police report, as all the other electronics blink off.

> Make a break for it
> Stay with the detective
> Other

>>36291900
> Stay with the detective
she is the one with experience here.

>>36291900
> Make a break for it

>>36291900
>Other
Ask her if we should get outta here.
>Stay

>>36291900

> Stay with the detective

>>36291898
Ruling Arcana are Forces and Spirit
Inferior Arcana is Prime

>>36291792
The MC has some small hope that he can reconcile with the missus and make it up to her. But with a vice of Lust, he has trouble keeping it in his pants.

>>36291593
We do still have her jewelry. And people have yet to come to a consensus on the third Arcana to pick up. So far I've had people suggest Life, Space, Fate, and Mind. Come to a consensus, and I'll mark it down on the sheet.

>>36291900
> Stay with the detective

>>36291900
>> Stay with the detective
Something unusual happens in a police precinct, and then someone decides to leg it out of the blue? That someone's liable to get tackled, cuffed and/or shot.

>>36291959
Can you talk about them? I never played any Mage, only read a bit of oWoD Mage & Guide To The Technocracy 5 years ago. Still reading the first thread.

>>36292011
Hey Tiger. You the same one from Rags to Riches?

>>36291959
>people have yet to come to a consensus on the third Arcana to pick up.
I have no idea what those things mean, do you mind actually explaining it in quest for those of us who aren't familiar with the system?

>>36291900
> Stay with the detective

>>36291900
> Stay with the detective

>>36291959
We should just vote on it, a consensus isn't going to happen.

>>36291868
With a high enough rating in life, you can become anything you want. Magic is such a wonderful thing.

>>36292075
Dude, no. No.
No futa. God no.
No.
No...

>>36291868
Thank god.

>>36289802
>There was some concerns/questions about the exp costs being too high, and I'm trying to find out the new numbers they are using in God Machine Chronicles rules update. If a kind anon provides it to me I'll read up on them.

The XP system in 2e (aka GMC) is completely different. XP comes in Beats, which is 1/5 of an Experience. A new dot in an Attribute (regardless of which dot it is) is 4 Experiences, or 20 Beats. Skill dots are 2 Experiences (10 Beats). Merit dots and skill specialties are 1 Experience (5 Beats). Arcana all cost 4 Experiences, up to the limit for your Realm (so your first 5 dots in Ruling, 4 dots in Common, and 2 dots in Inferior cost 4 Experiences, and then after that (your fifth dot in a Common Arcanum or third-and-up in your Inferior) is 5 Experiences. Raising Gnosis is 5 Experiences, or 5 of your starting 10 Merit dots (so it's not any more XP efficient to start with Gnosis 2 or 3 anymore).

I forget how much Wisdom costs to increase.

You get beats for: Showing up to a session, accomplishing a character goal (or an OOC goal you have for your character, such as "I want my character to feel what it's like to lose a fight" - in either case these are called Aspirations, and for long-term Aspirations you get a beat as long as you make meaningful progress toward it), doing something cool or noteworthy, getting hurt enough to start taking wound penalties, doing something that makes you roll Wisdom (I think this generates a Beat toward Arcane Experiences) and for divesting yourself of Conditions.

Conditions are basically codified versions of 1e nWoD circumstantial modifiers. An example would be Deprived, where you're an addict who's gone too long without your fix. Pools involving Stamina, Resolve, or Composure are at -1 until you indulge your addiction, at which point the Condition is resolved and you get a Beat.

>>36291868
To be fair, I realized but didn't want to bring up a gender debate and have the futa crowd go into their usual yelling fit. We get it, gender isn't binary, doesn't mean you can't pick an extreme case instead of going middle path every time.

>>36292031
Sure, why not. Arcana 101 for all the new players.

Death Arcana: Ghosts, decay and the Underworld. Is it dead, dying, or undead? Chances are the Death Arcana can do it.

Fate Arcana: Luck, chance, oaths and curses. Throw the odds in your favor, or against your foes.

Forces Arcana: Fire, gravity, storm, water/ice. You want to control weather, turn yourself into a walking nuclear reactor, or just do a plain old Lightning Bolt on some poor sap? This is where you go. Oh, you can also fly with this Arcana.

Life Arcana: Power over all forms of life, from the most basic to the most complex. Become Dr. Frankenstein, life forever, turn yourself into a new person, or unleash a plague on your foes, come here.

Matter Arcana: Stone, metal, plastic. With a bit of ingenuity and elbow grease, you can make almost anything with this arcana.

Mind Arcana: Read people's minds, influence their emotions.

Prime Arcana: raw Magic itself, with Mana, create enchantments and illusions.

Spirit Arcana: Communicate with spirits, and potentially control them.

Space Arcana: Command of space and distance, including teleportation and scrying.

Time Arcana: Clairvoyane of past, present, and future events. Eventually you can control the passage of time itself.

Also, eating dinner, so be back in 30-ish minutes.

>>36292123
Mages also have Obsessions, which are like Aspirations except focused on the supernatural mysteries they're currently involved with or investigating. Accomplishing or making progress toward your Obsessions gets you Arcane Beats.

Arcane Experience can be spent on Gnosis or on Arcana (up until you hit the limit of your Realm and the Arcana cost goes from 4 to 5, at which point you can only spend normal Experiences on Arcana. Personally I recommend reversing this and restricting it to Arcane Experience to encourage people to spend their XP on things other than magic all the time, if that becomes an issue.)

Hope that helps.

You can get the 2e rules changes for free here: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/114078/World-of-Darkness-GodMachine-Rules-Update although the mage-specific ones are currently still scattered throughout Dave Brookshaw's open development blog updates: http://theonyxpath.com/category/projects/magetheawakening/

>>36292192
Which do we have?

I like the sound of Fate, Matter, Prime, and Time.

>>36292044
Yup. That was a while back.

>>36292192
So, we get a bonus to nuking and working with spirits, and a malus to less overt magic?

>>36292192
I'm liking fate

>So what Tower did you go to?
> Do you know what's hunting us?
> Why do you keep saying Awoken, Awaken, and capitalizing specific words?\

and

can u teach me any spells?

>>36292123
>Completely retardedly pointless 4 beat = 1 experience system
why in the fucking bloody hell would you have such stupidity? why not just measure all of it in beats? it makes no goddamn sense!

>>36292256
We're great at Forces and Spirit, we suck at Prime, and we're potentially pretty good at all the other ones.

>>36292256
Just read the PDF on the powers section, some powers take a long time before they become useful

>>36292327
Eh, sure it was.
Just remembered your name from those quests.

I was shep, and now I go back into anonimity.

>>36292192
Mind looks the most interesting to me.

>>36292192
How many of those can we have access to?
Life's "live forever" is of course desirable. But I would rather get it once we are actually old and focus on others first.
So, how many can we expect to get over our career so to speak?

I am most partial to teleporting and luck magic

>>36292192
Life enables more efficient self-healing, fate is always nice, and you do nab shifting sands and acceleration with time.

>>36292256
We currently have forces and spirit at 2 dots. Arcana don't start to get super impressive till you hit 3 dots. At 5 dots, that department of reality essentially becomes your bitch. Things start to get really crazy once gnosis goes up a bit and you can combine multiple arcana into one spell.

Let your imagination run wild, with the proper arcana and enough gnosis and mana, there's practically nothing you can't do.

>>36292123
so wait. raising an arcana from 0 to 1 costs the same as raising it from 4 to 5?
in that case as per >>36292413 we better focus on getting 5 dots linearly before branching out

>>36292123
So, we get a discount for 3 specific arcana? based on our tower I presume? which ones are the discounted ones for ours?

>>36292405
>Life's "live forever"
>implying on life allows you to live forever

>>36292192
Fate > Time > Space > Life > all else

>>36292518
Best one that we have is forces, fate is shit tier

>>36292338
>why in the fucking bloody hell would you have such stupidity? why not just measure all of it in beats? it makes no goddamn sense!

5 beats = 1 experience, technically. And I have no idea why. You can just measure everything in Beats if you want.

In that case Attributes are 20 Beats, Skill dots are 10 Beats, Skill Specialties and Merit dots are 5 Beats, Gnosis is 25 Beats (and can be bought using either Normal or Arcane beats or both), and Arcana is 20 Beats (and can also be bought using Normal or Arcane beats or both). Common Arcanum rating 5 is 25 Beats, Inferior Arcanum rating 3, 4, and 5 are each 25 Beats. Done.

>>36292361
I"ll skim them over, but I'm not too worried about the QM punishing us for being unoptimized. I figure he's more likely to fuck with us for doing stupid shit on impulse because it sounds "cool" or "hilarious".

>>36292527
>Implying i suggested a one point dip
I didn't in any way shape or form imply a one point dip. I did however say we should get it later rather than as our starter set.

You briefly entertain the thought of running for it, but when you look back at the detective, she's got her pistol drawn, pointing it at you, the light from her iPad casting a rather ominous look onto both you and her.

"Whoa, whoa! This isn't me," you say, raising your hands in surrender. "Don't you guys have a backup generator or something?"

"Yes, and it should have clicked on by now," she says, lowering her weapon. "Stay here, I'm going to check it out." She walks out and over to her desk, as other officers start clicking on their flashlights and other handheld devices. "Joshua, lets go check out the generator, figure out what's going on!"

"Yes ma'am!" Another detective (at least, you think it's one; the kid looks barely over 21) runs after her, two large, lit flashlights in his hand, palms one off to her, and the two start climbing down the stairs.

> Read her iPad
> Chase after them
> Run away
> Other

>>36292566
>Best one that we have is forces, fate is shit tier
so wait, giving yourself luck and taking away other people's luck, is shit tier.
blasting someone with fireballs is best one?
so, its exactly the opposite of dnd?

can someone confirm this?

>>36292597
I meant to say implying only life allows us to live forever. There are other ways and life is pretty shitty

>>36292613
> Chase after them
to be honestly, i am scared to be alone right now. i only feel safe near her.

>>36292580
thank you for the correction and conversion.

>>36292617
Forces is versatility. Read the PDF, fate is shit tier

>>36292613

> Chase after them

You can have access to all of them, it's just that some of them cost more or less experience than others.

Refer to what I posted back up in >>36289802 for those specific costs. Remember, our Ruling Arcana are Forces and Spirit, with the Inferior Arcana being Prime.

As for the new exp rules, I'll need to read through them after today's quest and decide if they sound ok or not. Initial guess is that it should be ok for use in this quest, but wait next quest before I say yes or no.

>>36292518
No, new dots are more expensive the higher the rank. For our ruling arcana it's dotx6. Thus, the first dot costs 6, the next 12, third 18, and so on.

Given our frankly limitless options we should pick something to specialize in, a kind of concept. What kind of mage are we? How would we like to solve most of our problems? Answer those and you should be able to narrow it down in terms of what arcana you're gonna want to get high.

>>36292613
>> Read her iPad
I'm curious

>>36292613
>> Read her iPad
We're new. We'll get in the way and be very little help.

>>36292711

I recommend doing what this anon suggests; find a concept for what kind of Mage you'd like Michael to be, and go from there.

But it's up to you guys, I'm just the vehicle for the story, you guys are the ones driving the car.

>>36292751
I don't know much about this whole setting.
But a mage that actually gets up pretty close would be nice, getting physical like we did with the vampire was cool.

>>36292783
Are you suggesting a muscle wizard? If you are, I wholeheartedly approve and support your actions.

>>36292711
The problem is that we don't know WHAT kind of challenges we are going to be facing.
How do you want to solve your challenges is a bit hard to answer in such a case.

Also, I have a hard time coming up with a theme with such myriad diverse options. I mean, we already have:
>Forces Arcana: Fire, gravity, storm, water/ice. You want to control weather, turn yourself into a walking nuclear reactor, or just do a plain old Lightning Bolt on some poor sap? This is where you go. Oh, you can also fly with this Arcana.
>Spirit Arcana: Communicate with spirits, and potentially control them.
this covers a LOT.
pretty well rounded.

Anyways, I am going to say add time or space to that.

what is our arcana? or are we choosing right now? if so , I choose life, matter, time, prime and force, if possible.

life cuz heals and immortality

matter cuz its versetile

prime cuz enchantments and illusions and it will help us del with whatever is coming after mages

time cuz we can find out about the past present and future and will help in investigations

and force cuz lightning hands

as for now

> go after them.

whatever it is it is here for us

>>36292849
would life allow us to get a herculean physique?

>>36292613
>Read her iPad

Running away could get us in deep shit with a police department. She also didn't ask us to come with her. Infact, she told us to stay put. If she let her iPad on, thats her fault.

>>36292711
I wanna do technomagic or maybe time stuff. Or very subtle magic. Technomagic > Subtle Magic > Time

>>36292849
Pretty much.

Here >>36292926
Thats what I like. Or maybe, to fit with our PC so far?

Someone who practices magic by manipulating the laws of the reality via legalese.

Not knowing how much time you'll have, you quickly start pouring through her notes on the iPad. Most of the open files pertain to the warehouse, and her initial police report looks to just have you being a hapless witness to the crime inside, as there is no evidence or motive to suggest you would harm any of the people who worked at it proper. Interestingly, Brock was in the bathroom taking a rather large, loud, and painful dump, so he completely missed out on all the action, and was still on the toilet when the police found him.

> Pry deeper into her files (this is illegal, btw. 5d10, Investigation + Wits, you will spend a good 5-10 minutes pouring over them)
> Wait for them
> Chase after them
> Other

(note, the above action took you about 2 minutes at most)

>>36292860
Punctuation, motherfucker.
Also >>36292699

>>36292849
I want Son Goku powers now, that is the theme I want

And for the people asking about the Technocracy they do exist in this world, but none are in the city at the moment

>>36293002
>Do illegal stuff
>In police station
>Cameras
Are we on camera? oh wait no... power is out.

>>36293002
> Chase after them

>>36293002
> Wait for them

Not about to commit a felony or misdemeanor in a police precinct building, power on or not.

>>36293002
>> Other
Look for the detective

>>36293002
>> Chase after them
If something's hunting da wizzards, it's probably a good idea to not be alone. Also that chick is the only other wiz MC knows, probably best not to have her die right from the start.

Fucking Hunters.

>>36292860
Do you even know what you are saying?

>>36293002
chase after them because what >>36293119 said

>>36292699
I would think that Beats from Conditions would work even more easily in a quest format than in a round-the-table game, given that you can easily impose and resolve them during posts where the plot progresses. Aspirations might be more of a pain, since they'd require people to agree on what the MC's goals are (in the session, in the scene, whatever), so you might just need to hand beats out for accomplishing stuff without specifically worrying about whether it was an Aspiration or not.

Oh, I forgot the last option. You can also voluntarily convert a regular failure into a dramatic failure (which in this edition is less "you fail catastrophically" and more "you fail and now there are new consequences to deal with") once per scene in exchange for a Beat, but getting questgoers to agree on when to do that sounds like a nightmare.

>>36292926
The Free Council would like to inform you that this is a very much approved line of thought in their circles.

>>36293002

> Chase after them

>>36292852
Forces and Spirit are among the most diverse Arcana available, yes. Forces also covers light, sound, heat, and electricity, making it absurdly good for utility casting. Matter's the other really good utility Arcanum.

Spirit is potentially incredibly powerful (mostly in that there are spirits of anything, and therefore via spirit you can potentially do pretty much anything indirectly by finding and controlling a spirit to use its powers for you), but is a lot more dependent on what spirits the ST puts in the area.

>>36293002
>> Wait for them

>>36293228
>Summoning coffee spirits to slow MC's perception of time while using forces for go-fast.
Yes.

Rolled 2, 4, 5, 8, 7 = 26 (5d10)

>pry deeper
>then wait

>>36293002
> Wait for them

>>36293228
To follow up on this Anon, Space 2 allows you to cast spells via sympathetic connections instead of with line-of-sight. It is probably the most common Arcanum for this reason.

Mind is probably the most broken. Hopefully the GMC rules will tune that down somewhat.

>>36289739
Are we Michael De Santa? Because that'd be a pretty useful skillset.

You're tempted to continue reading, but being surrounded by a bunch of cops, looking into open investigations on active cases is at best a slap on the wristand at worst hindering a police investigation, which leads to some hefty jail time.

And it's still dark in the precinct, and it shouldn't take this long for two police officers to go down to it and radio back what the hold up is. You quietly step into the stairwell and chase after them. Along the way, you see little, translucent arrows pointing down the stairs, guiding you where to go. She must've expected you to chase after them.

You really should get her name.

The arrows lead you down into the basement, past the evidence storage, several police equipment lockers, and into a side storage room. The door into it is closed. You hear heavy breathing inside, and some murmurings, but you can't make anything out.

> Bust into the room
> Try and magic up a way to listen in on them (4d10, Forces + Intelligence)
> Go back and call for help
> Look for something in the lockers (5d10, Investigation + Wits)
> Look for something to use in the evidence room (5d10, Investigation + Wits)

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>36293505
>> Try and magic up a way to listen in on them (4d10, Forces + Intelligence)
it would be our second time

Rolled 4, 1, 5, 6 = 16 (4d10)

>>36293505
>> Try and magic up a way to listen in on them (4d10, Forces + Intelligence)
Sure

Rolled 10, 9, 4, 7 = 30 (4d10)

>>36293505
>> Try and magic up a way to listen in on them (4d10, Forces + Intelligence)

Rolled 7, 5, 2, 1 = 15 (4d10)

>>36293505
fucked up my roll this is me>>36293527

Rolled 7, 3, 2, 6, 6 = 24 (5d10)

>>36293505
> Look for something to use in the evidence room (5d10, Investigation + Wits)

>>36293505
>> Bust into the room
What could possibly go wrong.

>>36293505
Do we each roll 1d10 or what? If it's the former, just take the first of every roll made.

Rolled 5, 2, 3, 10 = 20 (4d10)

> Try and magic up a way to listen in on them (4d10, Forces + Intelligence)
> Look for something in the lockers (5d10, Investigation + Wits)
> Look for something to use in the evidence room (5d10, Investigation + Wits)

Rolled 5, 1, 3, 5 = 14 (4d10)

>>36293527
This

Rolled 1, 3, 6, 2, 3 = 15 (5d10)

>>36293581

the rest of the rolls

Rolled 2, 6, 1, 9 = 18 (4d10)

>>36293505
>> Try and magic up a way to listen in on them (4d10, Forces + Intelligence)

>>36293574
It's best of five, and the dice is d10 and based on our pool (the number of dots in a skill and attribute)

>>36293505
> Try and magic up a way to listen in on them (4d10, Forces + Intelligence)
gotta practice

>>36293662
Wont that lead to extremely swingy probability, or push things towards high rolls?

>>36293505
As I fear this will become important soon, if we feel a roll is critical we can declare the use of willpower right? If we get into a fight I want to end it quickly.

is this the same guy who did librarian quest

Rolled 1, 6, 2, 5 = 14 (4d10)

>>36293505
>Try and magic up a way to listen in on them (4d10, Forces + Intelligence)


It's been a while since I read anything about this setting, but the universe punishes you for blatant magic in front of mortals, right?
That would make fate good because luck manipulation is a lot less flashy than throwing a fireball or something, right?

>>36293835
We could also use spirits and shit.

People can't even see those.

Rolled 5, 4, 8, 4 = 21 (4d10)

where's this PDF people keep talking about?

>>36293715
In nWoD, you roll you pool (determined by skill+attribute) against a target number of 8. 8 and above is a "success", you only need one to accomplish a given task, but obviously the more successes the better. With 5 or more successes you get a "dramatic success", which is essentially the same as a crit in other games. You get a bonus positive effect in addition to succeeding.

Tens explode, you roll them again until they stop coming up 10 unless you've got a modifier granting the "9-again" rule, which lets you keep rolling until it stops coming up 9 or 10. Naturally, these count towards your total successes.

>>36293835
Yes it does, paradox is invoked upon you if you use vulgar magic. The "spells" don't really cost you anything, the mana expenditure is really to keep a paradox from happening by easing the spell into the fallen world. Also a sleeper may undo your vulgar spell though the power of disbelief.

So, in general, no vulgar magic in front of mundane people. The way to make a spell not vulgar is to arrange things so that people wouldn't suspect magic. A favored trick is using "call lightning" during a thunderstorm.

Everyone just thinks that guy had rotten luck, not that you called down the wrath of god on his ass (which is what really happened).

Well, you seem to have a knack for things pertaining to energy and motion, what with the spark of electricity and that super-powered punch you threw. And sound is just a bunch of particles in the air moving, right? At least, you think it is, you never were good at the sciency stuff. You press your ear against the door, willing to hear better into it, and the murmuring becomes as clear as day.

"Fucking bastard," you hear the female detective say. "Do you really think I'll let you get away with this!?"

"You aren't in much of a position to stop me, Gemini." Another voice, much deeper and raspy, and definitely not the young kid she asked for help with. "If you stop healing the boy for even a second, he'll bleed out." You hear the telltale sound of a shotgun being pumped, an empty casing clattering on the ground. "Though that's probably going to happen anyway."

> Dramatic entry! (8d10, Forces + Strength + Brawl, +1 die for a surprise bonus)
> Magic up a larger police force (6d10, Forces + Subterfuge + Persuasion + Manipulation)
> Look quickly for a weapon of some kind, hope she can stall for time (4d10, Investigation + Wits, -1 die for hasted action)
> Other

>>36293046
Shame. It would be cool to try to align ourselves with them, but eh. So long as we aren't railroaded to become buddy buddy with new age wiccans, mall goths and hipsters (AKA how White Wolf likes to play Traditions characters outside of the ex-technocracy ones), I'm cool.

Rolled 10, 3, 2, 1, 2, 7, 8, 7 = 40 (8d10)

>>36293960
>> Dramatic entry! (8d10, Forces + Strength + Brawl, +1 die for a surprise bonus)
Super punch is go

>>36293945
Mage: the Awakening. A quick Google search and you should be able to find a PDF of it.

Rolled 4, 10, 9, 5, 2, 6, 6, 9 = 51 (8d10)

>>36293960
Dramatic Entry!

Rolled 4, 8, 7, 5, 9, 2, 4, 7 = 46 (8d10)

>>36293960
>Dramatic entry! (8d10, Forces + Strength + Brawl, +1 die for a surprise bonus)

Rolled 5, 9, 5, 5, 6, 6, 5, 2 = 43 (8d10)

>>36293960
> Dramatic entry! (8d10, Forces + Strength + Brawl, +1 die for a surprise bonus)

Rolled 4, 10, 5, 6, 7, 4 = 36 (6d10)

>>36293960
> Magic up a larger police force (6d10, Forces + Subterfuge + Persuasion + Manipulation)

Dramatic entry and we get shot in the face. Look quickly for a weapon? I doubt we"ll find a gun or flashbang grenade laying out in the open. Those are locked in sealed rooms that are extremely hard to get into.

Rolled 2, 9, 5, 9, 7, 3, 2, 6 = 43 (8d10)

>>36293960
>> Dramatic entry! (8d10, Forces + Strength + Brawl, +1 die for a surprise bonus)

Rolled 6, 7, 3, 4, 6, 8, 4, 9 = 47 (8d10)

>>36293986
wait, is it free? Or should I just pirate it.

>>36293960
Could we perhaps muffle sound so that our entrance doesn't end in our's or someone else's chest being turned into hamburger?

Rolled 8, 8, 5, 7, 3, 6, 6, 5 = 48 (8d10)

>>36293960

> Dramatic entry! (8d10, Forces + Strength + Brawl, +1 die for a surprise bonus)

>>36294083
Based on the sounds you heard inside, your best guess is that the shotgun's pointed at the female detective, the one this individual called Gemini, due to the clatter of the shell casing (it rolled towards the door).

>>36293970
I'm not really that fond of the technocracy to be honest. If I wanted to play an MiB/Sci fi game there's plenty of quests like that out there, even a technocracy game on spacebattles.

Rather just play a muscle wizard instead of a muscle wizard pretending he's a cyborg

>>36293960
Other. completely silence entry, use our control over sound to make the door completely silent as we open it and walk in.

>>36294141
Not really a fan of the technocracy quest there and I've personally seen and played enough muscle wizards in games I've been in.

Writing.

>>36294433
>and I've personally seen and played enough muscle wizards in games I've been in.
I LOVE muscle wizards, but like 90% of wizards on tg are muscle wizards

>Not really a fan of the technocracy quest there
personally I am a fan, but I would like playing a traditionalist anti technocracy mage this time.

Damnit, going for help will mean she gets shot. You aren't even sure if you can magic up a believable police

force to stall for more time, not to mention it took you a good two minutes to get down here. And even if you

could find a gun, you have no clue how to hold it, and are more than likely to shoot your foot off than hit the

bad guy.

So you take the only option available to you.

With as much speed and force as you can muster, you swing the door open and charge into the gunman. "It's

clobbering time," bellows your lips as you shove all your speed, weight, and your magical might into him. It's

a good thing you threw some magic into the charge, as this guy looks like he belongs on the WWE; bulging in

muscles and a good four or five inches taller than you (just a hair over 6 feet), the shotgun in his hands

barely swings away from the two before you connect. In shock, he pulls the trigger, a spray of buck shot

spalttering into the cinderblock wall just to your right, away from the detective and missing you.

Still, the man shoves you off him with one bulging arm, tossing you clean off your feet and into the smouldering

remains of a large generator. (7 points of bashing damage) Slightly dazed, you attempt to scramble to your

feet.

"You're in too deep, kiddo," the man bellows at you, giving his shotgun another pump. "Let the grownups have

their talk."

The room suddenly bursts into a flash of light, as what can only be described as a stream of lightning engulfs

the man. Stuttering and struggling, he turns around towards the detective.

"Nobody fucks with my team," she screams, arcs of lightning coursing from her fingertips.

> Help her with the electricity (5d10, Forces + Dexterity + Athletics)
> Wait for the lightning to disperce, and try and disarm him (7d10, Brawl + Strength + Dexterity)
> Scramble over to the other detective's gun and shoot the muscled man (1d10, Dexterity, -1 die for unskilled)
> Other

Rolled 1, 10, 4, 8, 7 = 30 (5d10)

>>36294555
>Help her with the electricity (5d10, Forces + Dexterity + Athletics)

Why'd it do that?

Damnit, going for help will mean she gets shot. You aren't even sure if you can magic up a believable police force to stall for more time, not to mention it took you a good two minutes to get down here. And even if you could find a gun, you have no clue how to hold it, and are more than likely to shoot your foot off than hit the bad guy.

So you take the only option available to you.

With as much speed and force as you can muster, you swing the door open and charge into the gunman. "It's clobbering time," bellows your lips as you shove all your speed, weight, and your magical might into him. It's a good thing you threw some magic into the charge, as this guy looks like he belongs on the WWE; bulging in muscles and a good four or five inches taller than you (just a hair over 6 feet), the shotgun in his hands barely swings away from the two before you connect. In shock, he pulls the trigger, a spray of buck shot splattering into the cinderblock wall just to your right, away from the detective and missing you.

Still, the man shoves you off him with one bulging arm, tossing you clean off your feet and into the smouldering remains of a large generator. (7 points of bashing damage) Slightly dazed, you attempt to scramble to your feet.

"You're in too deep, kiddo," the man bellows at you, giving his shotgun another pump. "Let the grownups have their talk."

The room suddenly bursts into a flash of light, as what can only be described as a stream of lightning engulfs the man. Stuttering and struggling, he turns around towards the detective.

"Nobody fucks with my team," she screams, arcs of lightning coursing from her fingertips.

> Help her with the electricity (5d10, Forces + Dexterity + Athletics)
> Wait for the lightning to disperce, and try and disarm him (7d10, Brawl + Strength + Dexterity)
> Scramble over to the other detective's gun and shoot the muscled man (1d10, Dexterity, -1 die for unskilled)
> Other

Rolled 10, 3, 8, 8, 9 = 38 (5d10)

>>36294555
> Help her with the electricity

>>36294600
Referring to my initial post, cleaned this one up so it is easier for people to read.

Rolled 4, 3, 4, 5, 7 = 23 (5d10)

>>36294600
> Help her with the electricity (5d10, Forces + Dexterity + Athletics)

>>36294612
Oh hey exceptional success

Rolled 6, 7, 7, 6, 9, 10, 9 = 54 (7d10)

>>36294600
> Wait for the lightning to disperce, and try and disarm him (7d10, Brawl + Strength + Dexterity)

Rolled 6, 1, 1, 5, 2 = 15 (5d10)

>>36294600
>> Help her with the electricity (5d10, Forces + Dexterity + Athletics)

Rolled 9, 5, 8, 4, 7 = 33 (5d10)

>>36294600

> Help her with the electricity

Rolled 7, 9, 10, 6, 10 = 42 (5d10)

>>36294600
>> Help her with the electricity (5d10, Forces + Dexterity + Athletics)

>>36294600
> Help her with the electricity (5d10, Forces + Dexterity + Athletics)

>>36294600
you should really do vote than roll to avoid bandwagoning

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>36294600
>> Scramble over to the other detective's gun and shoot the muscled man (1d10, Dexterity, -1 die for unskilled)

You certainly don't know how she went all Sith Lord on him, but you aren't going to let her have all the fun with electrocuting Mr. Muscle here. You glance back and see the battery from the generator being mostly intact. So you will all the juice from it and aim it at the man, who is still mid-turn and trying to shoot the detective. Your bolt of electricity, while not nearly as jaw-dropping as hers, does in fact strike him square in the groin (how it arched there is your best guess). You wince slightly, hoping that never happens to you.

"Fucking bitch," he squeals out, in a MUCH higher pitch than previously. He aims the shotgun at her head, but when he goes to pull the trigger the whole thing explodes in his face, all the stress of the electricity and lightning super-heating the metal and setting off the gunpowder in the shotgun shells.

She stops shooting lightning, seeing where your trail of electricity is coming from, and pulls out her handgun. "Sit the fuck down, doggie!" She starts firing into him, unloading her pistol faster than you thought possible. The man stands there for a moment, then falls onto his back with a rather loud thud, 12 bullet holes buried into his chest. She walks over and fires another two into his head. "Good boy."

A gurgle escapes from behind her, and she rushes back over to him. "Fuck, I'm sorry Joshua, just hold on!" She goes back to applying pressure to his chest, hands glowing with a heavy green light. "Well don't just stand there, go get help!"

> What the fuck did you just do?
> How are you healing him?
> Run for help
> Other

>>36295055
>Run for help
Yeah okay

>>36295055
>Help her like with the electricity

>>36295055
>"Fuck, I'm a warlock, let me try and help.
>Try and channel that green magic

>>36295055

> Run for help

>>36295055
Ah the wonders of an exceptional success. Lightning right to the family jewels, serves him right.

>>36295055
>How are you healing him?
>Maybe I can help?

>>36295055
we never voted for our third choice, and people have been pretty strong on life.
if we can finally have that proper vote now. if life wins, we could actually help with magic

>>36295055
>How are you healing him?

>>36295055
her iphone was working, this isn't a magical anti electricity thing. this means if we use our own android (because no way are we an apple faggot) we could just look up the nearest hospital and call them. tell them to send an ambulance to the police station.

alternatively, try 911 from the police landline. IIRC that links to a different precinct

>>36295055
> Run for help
>>36295132
>>36295171
You can help by running for help and not trying to shove random magic into a dying man hoping it heals him rather than making him explode or tearing his spirit from his body.

>>36295055
>Run for help

>>36295213
We can if we choose our third arcana and its Life

>>36295171
>Her friend is dying
>She is trying to stabalize him
>Ask stupid questions
we can ask her how AFTER he is safe. right now it would be really inappropriate
also, isn't it obvious? with magic, we have seen QUITE a lot of it today.

>>36295232
>>36295213
even if it is life though, we are a total noob, probably should try to practice on injured animals first. I don't want to crit fail and kill him by accident.

>>36295210
>Use phone to call for help
that is actually better than running.

>>36295055
>Help him with Life magic

>>36295055
>How are you healing him?
He's going to die if she stops healing him and she can't do that if there are other people around

>>36295252
Dude its best out of five, there's a large margin for success

>>36295181
Ok, to make the third choice simple, here's the options, as the ones below were the ones people were interested in.

>Life
>Mind
>Space
>Fate

I'll give it 15 minutes from when this post goes up, and if Life wins, then I'll let voting on the main scene extend another 10 minutes, while people decide if the "other" option turns into:

> Help her heal Joshua (3d10, Life + Intelligence, all successes are added to her healing roll)

Rolled 5, 6, 2 = 13 (3d10)

>>36295280

>>36295280
>Life

>>36295055
>Run for help

>>36295280
>space
Spaaaaaaace! Though we will want to pick up life and mind eventually. Fuck mind readers and fuck not being able to heal ourselves. That only gets vulgar when healing aggravated damage.

>>36295280
>Life

>>36295280
>Life

>>36295280
>>Life

>>36295280
>Mind

>>36295280
space

>>36295280
>>Space
Space is useful. Very much so. So are the others, but not to quite the same degree.

>>36295280
Space

>>36295280
>Space
Because teleportation is awesome. Fuck choosing based on the current situation. And also, we can set up a sympathetic connection in china and use forces and space to summon sunlight at midnight.

>>36295409
yea, it had me at teleport

Rolled 8, 7, 1 = 16 (3d10)

>>36295280
>Fate

>>36295420
>Fuck choosing based on the current situation

actually life had really strong support way before the current situation.
I personally voted for space because teleportation makes me wet and I am not even a woman.
but justifications used for life in quest when we just started arguing it was
>Healing self/others
>Superhuman physique
>Eternal youth/immortality
>Break the world by studying biology

>>36295420
I am in no way, shape or form trying to influence people's decisions on picking Life right now just because of the situation. I just want the potential arguments about this missing point to end so we can get on with the quest.

>>36295486
>I am in no way, shape or form trying to influence people's decisions on picking Life right now just because of the situation.
I wasn't trying to imply it, but sometimes people make decisions based on what's needed at the moment. And sometimes it works out, like HMQ.

Really I just have a boner for space magic and immortality while nice has no real mechanical benefit.

>>36295280
>Life

>>36295486
he wasn't accusing you of that mageqm
he was accusing the players of voting for it now because its currently expedient. but as i said in >>36295453
people have been strongly in support of it well before this situation arose.

>>36295280
>Life

>>36295055
>> Run for help

So Life won with 6 votes, Space has 5.

Voting on the main quest topic will go for another 10 minutes, to see if people want to do:

> Help her heal Joshua (3d10, Life + Intelligence, all successes are added to her healing roll)

>>36295280
>Life

Rolled 2, 4, 4 = 10 (3d10)

>>36295585
>Help her heal Joshua (3d10, Life + Intelligence, all successes are added to her healing roll)

Rolled 7, 2, 2 = 11 (3d10)

>>36295585
>Help her heal Joshua

Rolled 8, 9, 5 = 22 (3d10)

>>36295585

Rolled 6, 7, 5 = 18 (3d10)

>>36295585
> Help her heal Joshua (3d10, Life + Intelligence, all successes are added to her healing roll)

Rolled 6, 6, 3 = 15 (3d10)

>>36295585
>>Help her heal Joshua

>>36295632
Phew, two successes

Rolled 1 (1d2)

We're tied, 5 votes for helping her heal Joshua, 5 votes for running for help.

1 means we heal, 2 means we run for help.

>>36295717
>Rolling on a tie
good job QM. you kept it moving.

"How are you healing him," you say to her, stepping around the deceased man.

"With fucking magic, what else do you think I'm doing!" She looks back down at him, his breathing being labored but otherwise conscious. "Hold on Joshua, just hold on..."

You reach down and hold your hands next to hers, covering up more of the bullet wounds that are still seeping blood. You try and mimic what she's doing, and while it's not nearly as bright, your hands do begin to hum a slight green hue.

"You can... Nevermind," she looks up at you. "I need you to try and see where the bullets are."

"What? How?"

"Use your Life magic, it won't give you a full x-ray view of his body, but you can sense where they will be, and I can pull them out with my magic."

"How will you know where they are if I see them?"

She butts her head up against yours, and you can feel a magical link form between you two, her eyes closed shut. "Hurry up, I can't do this forever!"

You focus your eyes onto his chest, and slowly you can see how the blood flows through his body, and how oxygen enters his bloodstream. You focus your gaze through the hands, and see the cold spheres lodged into his chest. Slowly, you see them rise out of his wounds, and roll off to the side. Almost instantly, the wounds start to close up, and all the damage to his innards begin to repair themselves.

"This is unreal..."

"No, this is the power of magic," she murmurs to you, beads of sweat dripping down from her head.

> Quest End

> Objectives Completed: Telling All you Know, Snooping into Police Files, Finding the Rabbit Hole, Is there a Doctor?, Dynamic Entry!
> Bonus Objective: Lighting up the Family Jewels
> Objectives Missed: Fahrenheit 451, Run like the Wind

Exp gained, 10 points.

Good luck with the quest OP. I'm going to drop it because I'm not a fan of the direction other players are taking it.

>>36295971
> Objectives Completed: ...
> Objectives Missed: Run like the Wind
huh. it seems like some objectives are mutually exclusive.

>>36296041
Which is?

>>36296041
what direction?

>>36296136
He has to plan out for both paths just incase.

>>36289802
so, total noob here... reading through it seems to me that maxing out willpower ASAP gives best returns.

>>36295971
Nicely done OP, I can only hope next thread starts with us convincing her to buy us dinner as compensation for all this insanity.

>>36296155
>>36296185
Playing a cinematic muscle wizard.

>>36296281
Not technically, though as a general rule when it comes to willpower more is always better. You can spend willpower to either get 3 more dice on a roll or grant the 9-again rule to it. It's the resource you spend when you want to be damn sure you don't fail.

Willpower dots can also be burned to "relinquish" a spell. This is required to permanently enchant something but enchanting takes prime, we ain't very good at that.

>>36296347
>>36296257
>cinematic muscle wizard
As opposed to a regular boring wizard?

>>36296360
>As opposed to badwrongfun?

Sure.

>>36296347
we went all palpatine on his ass with lightening and then we did healing.
while i would have preferred it if we had used magic to silence our entry, I don't think we are entirely in the muscle wizard domain.

>>36296403
Just like you dislike the kind we're going for, buddy.

>>36296423
>>>36296423
>Yeah but I'm not going to be an ass about it or say you're playing wizards wrong. I thought you were just curious instead of looking for an excuse to shit on someone.

>>36296347
You're playing Mage: the Awakening, you can cast *anything you can think of* within the limits of your current Arcana dots. You are in no way limited to your Rotes.

>>36296458
I was just curious, but I'm in such a shitty mood I just snapped a bit at ye. My bad anon.

>>36296498
This though, we did healing and ranged spells, no need to be chained down to one type of wizarding.

>>36296498
Speaking of which, OP, think you might want to include a basic overview of which of the 13 Practices we have access to in which Arcana and what they can do?

>>36296540
Alternately, I can try it right now:

-1 dot-
Unveiling: Any spell that expands your senses, allowing you to interpret new information. An Unveiling spell of Forces could give you infrared vision or the ability to pick up radio waves (but not understand them). An Unveiling spell of Spirit could let you see, hear, and talk to a spirit.

Knowing: Basically, spells that grant knowledge directly rather than grant you the ability to perceive something new. An example would be a spell that tells you outright what sort of spirit something is, or a spell that lets you interpret a radio broadcast without a receiver.

Compelling: Minor control over the Arcanum's purview. Compellings of Forces let you guide the direction or flow of heat, light, or sound, for example. Compellings of Spirit let you do things like rouse the spirit of an object so you can talk to it and try to get it to do things for you.

>>36296498
This isn't necessarily Mage the RPG, it's Mage the Quest. Whatever is done is up to the majority of players.

>>36296712
-2 dots-

Shielding: Spells meant to protect. The most common of these spells are used to provide armor.

Veiling: Spells meant to hide. A Veiling of Forces might make you invisible to cameras, for example, or bend light around an object to conceal it.

Ruling: More direct control over the Arcanum's purview. Shape fire, or make it burn more intensely. Hijack radio broadcasts. Alter the friction of an object. Make electricity arc out of a wall socket and electrocute someone. Summon a spirit to you, or strengthen or weaken the barrier between the material and spirit worlds in the area.

I'll review and archive this thread shortly (had to step away for a bit once quest end was posted), but you guys now have 16 exp, so if you want to spend it on stuff go ahead.

>>36296712
Go ahead anon, you'll save me some time typing it out myself.

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Also, our updated stats sheet.

>>36296458
>I thought you were just curious instead of looking for an excuse to shit on someone.
I was curious, the anon shitting on you is someone else.

And again, the table of what we can spend the experience on with your 16 points available.

Attribute: New dot x 5 (for example, to go from 2 to 3 Wits, we'd need 15 exp)
Skill: New dot x 3 (so 3 exp for Occult 1, 12 exp for Academics 4)
Skill Specialty: 3 (3 exp to gain expertise on a specific subject, like Law in Academics)
Ruling Arcana: New dots x 6 (our ruling arcana are Forces and Spirit)
Common Arcana: New dots x 7 (7 of the other schools of Magic)
Inferior Arcana: New dots x 8 (our Inferior Arcana - the one we suck ass at - is Prime)
Rote: 2 points per dot (Rotes are spells we know instinctually and can cast basically whenever we want, so long as we have the Mana for them)
Merit: new dots x 2 (kinda like feats, these are normally small bonuses to our character)
Gnosis: New dots x 8 (our connection to the Supernal Plane, where we draw our magical power from. More dots means more magical power, and more schools of magic we can eventually master)
Wisdom: New dots x 3 (the morality system in nWoD, hit 0 Wisdom and it's game over. Basically don't abuse your newfound powers and it won't go down)
Willpower: 8 exp (you can blow a willpower point to get a +3 bonus to a roll of a spell you cast, and are also used to learn more Rotes)

>>36297482
so, gnosis 2 would cost all our 16 points?

>>36297619
Correct. We are just a bit short of getting Forces 3 or Spirit 3, but we could get Space 1 (like some people wanted) or get Life 2 (this will let us be able to heal ourselves; we'd need Life 3 to heal others).

>>36297482
Spend it on Gnosis

>>36297482
so, what does gnosis actually do for us, mechanically?

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>>36297798
Increases max mana capacity, increases the mana we can spend in one turn, makes "improvised" spellcasting (i.e. non-rote magic) easier, and grants more bonus die to resist magic and any other supernatural powers (i.e. it's our "supernatural tolerance" that makes shrugging off things like vampire disciplines and other shit like that easier).

The only drawback, though, is that the higher it gets, the more paradox die we have to roll when it's invoked. That's the one roll you want to FAIL on. This, in turn, can be mitigated by mana expenditure on a one to one basis. Spending 2 mana on a given spell reduces paradox die rolled by 2. Reduced to zero, it becomes a chance die, and thus very, very unlikely to trigger paradox of any kind. Even if it does, you can eat the successes as resistant bashing damage to make it all good anyway.

Also, once it hits 6 it is possible to become an archmage. That requires mastering (i.e. having 5 dots in) a given arcana and having 3 dots in a few others. It's very risky, and very rewarding if you succeed in becoming one. Archmasters are very rare and very, very powerful. It's a long term goal of most any mage.

>>36297993
thank you. definitely like the sound of all of that.

>>36297798

Gnosis 2 lets us do the following things:

+ If you cast an improvised spell (ie., a spell you have no basis in idea for, like turning your hand into a taser) you roll Gnosis + the Arcanum related to it (in this case, it'd be Gnosis + Forces). Higher Gnosis means more improvised spells.

+ Lets us attempt more rolls whenever we cast a longer-duration spell (usually a ritual spell of some kind). Gnosis 2 doesn't speed it up, but Gnosis 3 turns a ritual roll from once every 3 hours to once every hour.

+ More Gnosis means we can eventually master one or more Arcana. Right now at Gnosis 1, we can only have up to 3 dotes in 4 different Arcana. Gnosis 2 lets us have up to 4 dots in 2 Arcana, and 3 dots in another 3 Arcana.

+ It also increases our maximum mana and mana that can be used per turn. Once we reach Gnosis 6, we can even start to go beyond the scale and have 6 or more dots in our attributes, skills, or Arcana. But once we hit Gnosis 6 we literally start glowing with magical energy, so you will need to mask it somehow (there are Merits that let you do so).

>>36298090
thank you
why do you need to mask it if you are glowing from gnosis 6?

>MTA p290
>Some magic is simply too powerful for even the 5th dot of an Arcanum. The Storyteller might deem that higher dots
are required — in other words, the caster must be an archmage to perform such a superlative effect. Examples of these spells include creating nuclear power. Forces 5 allows a mage to create radiation, but not a nuclear blast. For that, he’d need a higher dot level — how high is really up to the Storyteller. Another example is creating a mythical life form such as a griffin or dragon. Life 5 allows a mage to create such a creature, but he cannot borrow its traits and incorporate them into himself or another, as he can with the traits of base, median and sentient life forms. Such manipulation of an advanced effect requires at least six dots, one dot higher than that required to create the mythical
creature. The Storyteller is free to declare that a certain effect is superlative and thus requires more than five dots of the Arcanum involved.
>Create a dragon at life 5
>Become a dragon at life 6
holy fuck yea! I WANT!

>>36298128
Because you're literally glowing magic, and every Sleeper you run into (a Sleeper is a human that doesn't know that magic exists) will make you roll Paradox dice (because reality says you shouldn't exist, and reality will try to wipe you from existence).

>>36298057
>>36298090
Don't forget legacy attainments. You get those at 3, 5, and 7 gnosis. These can make certain "vulgar" magics immune to paradox. You can even forge your own legacy, at the cost of the attainments coming at 4, 6, and 8 gnosis if going from the ground up.

>>36298128
You make the glow work for you mainly. It's the vulgar magics that tend to invoke your nimbus. Keep it all subtle and you probably won't have a problem. Pity that big threats need big (vulgar) magic to deal with them more often than not.

>>36298157
i see.
but paradox can be mitigated with mana, yes? and seeing magic is how people awaken, yes? and gnosis determines our mana regen rate, yes?
So, if we focused on it, we could awaken a whole lot of people by selectively exposing ourselves to small groups over a period of time?

>>36298157
Only if you work that supernal will in a way that is clearly "impossible" to most people. Even then, maybe the dude's a sleepwalker, a kind of Agent Mulder whose mind is open to such things in a way. They don't make a paradox more likely even if you fire off a goddamned lightning bolt from your fingertips Palpatine-Style.

Too bad the only way to be sure is to actually take that risk in front of them.

>>36298188
No, awakenings are a kind of random event in most cases. The only constant is stress. Pushed to the limit of their own capacities, the sleeper will either awaken to the supernal or die like a bitch. Sleepwalkers are more likely to "awaken" but it is not a prerequisite. MC was being hunted by a supernatural and didn't have an out. It was do or die and he *did*. Thus, he magic now. Both very common and yet very uncommon. For every person that awoke at that critical moment, countless others didn't and died. Tis a very rare thing, to escape the prison of the lie...

>>36298188

No one really knows what makes people Awaken, but most Mages speculate it is being exposed to the unknown, and while you logically (or consciously) know that such a thing is impossible, unconsciously (and in your Soul) know that not only is it possible, it is attainable, and something that it wishes to have once more (as it is a theory that your Soul is from where all magic resides).

Gnosis helps you regain mana, but there are faster ways to gain it, usually by making Hallows (places you craft/bless with magic, basically turning it into a mana gas station).

>>36298326
That takes Prime 5. Sadly, that is our inferior arcanum, so we almost certainly won't be getting that. Fortunately, the detective is an Obrimos. Prime is one of her ruling arcana. We can't use it well, but she can with gusto. Need raise her up in that regard. Always good to have a place to perform a gainful oblation. I wonder what ours are, given that we awoke to a "new" watchtower. That's an hardcore end goal to an archmaster after all. To emulate the oracles...

Shouldn't we lose Wisdom? Harming someone with magic is an act of Hubris and we shot lightning at that guy's crotch

>>36298326
just caught up with my reading.
one more vote for all xp into gnosis

>>36302512
self defense is forbidden? wha?
also, hitting him in the crotch was an accident.

>>36304003
huh, apparently
>Mage is one of the few World of Darkness systems where premeditated murder is better than panicked killing in self defense!
http://theonyxpath.com/sophias-choice-mage-the-awakening/

also p66
>avoid inflicting harm on others, especially those who have no awareness of or defense against magic.
Well, guy was magic himself, so that helps

And also, we didn't actually kill him with our magic. We just slightly stunned him (dude was resilient) so that he could be killed with a gun

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>>36302512
You lose wisdom when you do something...stupid, or downright evil. We were trying to save a life and defend ourselves. That's actually rather commendable. No wise mage would find fault in our actions.

For example, if you save a life anonymously, that's actually conductive to a high wisdom. You did it because you wanted to be a "good" person. Now, if you did it obviously with the intent of being hailed as a kind of saint and/or in the hopes of creating a cult centered around you, *then* you'd roll for degeneration.

Basically, don't abuse your powers. Be a good person more or less in all actions and you will never see your wisdom go down. Thing is, you can do so much, why not leverage it? That's the main theme of mage, you want so much, and you can brute force it once the relevant stats get enough dots. Do you force it at the risk of losing wisdom, or do you cleave to the path of good and retain your humility? Power corrupts, more power, more chances to fall. What would you do if damn near anything was no longer impossible for you to do?

>>36304167
that sounds nothing like what the books actually say.
nor what official articles on the subject say

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>>36304003
>>36304115
harming someone with magic is apparently as bad as manslaughter.

>>36304115
That depends on sleeper presence. If the guy trying to kill you is a sleeper and you fire lightning at him I can see the problem. If some vampire assaults you in a dark alley with no witnesses and you summon true sunlight to defend yourself I'm not seeing an issue.

>>36304251
It's just a ground rule. You obviously risk wisdom if you go Emperor Palpatine on a sleeper to his face on a clear day in the middle of a forest regardless of other considerations.

Magic is supposed to be hidden and never used for actions that could be achieved without it in the presence of those who are ignorant to the supernatural. You can pull a "card trick" without risk easily enough, but if you do something "vulgar" with sleepers present you're being pretty damned arrogant, and stupid because of the increased paradox risk.

Good thing other supernaturals don't increase paradox risk else a mage would be at a severe disadvantage against vampires and the like. Impossible things can be dealt with in impossible ways thankfully.

Does something bad happen if we indulge in our Vice?

What would happen if we used Life to make ourselves more attractive before hitting on someone?

>>36304355
>That depends on sleeper presence. If the guy trying to kill you is a sleeper and you fire lightning at him I can see the problem. If some vampire assaults you in a dark alley with no witnesses and you summon true sunlight to defend yourself I'm not seeing an issue.
The problem is that what you said reads like morality justification rather than a rules discussion. What you say sound like a good house rule, but isn't what the rules actually say.

>>36304411
>What would happen if we used Life to make ourselves more attractive before hitting on someone?
I thought we were going to use life to make ourselves /fit/ for practical reasons. I mean, our main combat maneuver is to punch a guy
Unless our face is ugly and you want a facelift I don't think this will come up.

>>36304432
it was more of a theoretical question about using magic for selfish reasons.

>>36304297
I think that rule needed clarification. I mean, damn near everyone in the Adamantine Arrow would be low wisdom if that was *always* true. Their whole shtick is combat magic. They are all about harming others with it, they developed most of the rotes you'd like to have if you want someone dead violently and a good amount of those are pretty damned vulgar. So there has to be a kind of "standard" rather than a blanket decree.

>>36304411
You get willpower replenishment for indulging. Any scene where you indulge grants you a point of spent willpower. If you got 4 remaining from a max of 5 and you give in, you get that point back. Of course, there are consequences to all actions. Sleep with the boss's daughter, get a willpower point back if your vice is lust. Don't bitch if he comes at you with a shotgun later, you did fuck his daughter after all.

>>36304432
whynotboth.jpg

Getting /fit/ for hitting bad guys and for hitting on the ladies.

>>36305008
>whynotboth.jpg
because we are discussing the morality system.

>You are jealous of your neighbor, murder out of jealously is a sin
>He is a child molester who is somehow able to avoid the law. murdering him would be just
>If you murder him, did you commit a sin or a just act?

>>36305115
Well if more ladies just happen to fall for us and our amazing abs, we won't tell them no will we?