Ask a simple question, Awakened edition

[Suleri Drals]

I reopen the thread : (Original author : Archmage Joda)

To restart :

Q1 : Camelot was created by Imperium Rite or Practice ?

[Mrmdubois]

Umbragos being an Abyssal probably broke the rules. It could very well have relied on an ability to get sympathy or empathy from
spirits that spirits aren’t supposed to have because it exists as the sole exception due to its Abyssal nature.

[Scarlet Witch]

Can spirits feel sympathy or empathy? I know they're single-minded and ultimately only care about essence, but I am specifically thinking of 1E's "Umbragos" from... uhh was it Intruders or was it Night Horrors?

Anyway Umbragos is a gulmoth that in text uses a sob story to earn followers and some are spirits... but like how or why? I don't think it was covered that well.

Should I chalk that up to a difference in portrayal from the more cohesive Werewolf-centric take on Spirits more prevalent in 2E books? Or is there a way for spirits to feel emotions unrelated to their Natures as long as theyre not *contrary* to their Natures/Influences?

[Mrmdubois]

Do prime spells that veil magic veil themselves automatically or do you have to have the spell target itself?

Well, Veiling spells in general don't ping PMS is the key thing. AMS will invoke a CoW regardless if the right arcana are in use. So, use a Veiling spell so no one bothers to use AMS and you're fine. If a Mage uses AMS and gets into a CoW and loses they don't know they had a CoW by the way, but the Mage with the Veil up knows they were in a CoW and won. Obviously if the Mage with a Veil up loses, then both parties in the CoW knows they lost.

[WalkingEye]

Do prime spells that veil magic veil themselves automatically or do you have to have the spell target itself?

[Mrmdubois]

Thanks for the previous answers, but I as always have a question. Can you dispel/counterspell any kind of Mage Sight? Or Veiling practice (of corresponded arcane) is only method to withstand mage Sight?

You cannot turn off a Mage's Mage Sight. If you mean can you fool it, then yeah Veiling is pretty much the only way, but they get a Clash of Wills. They are not aware however if they lose that Clash of Wills while using their Mage Sight because Mages only automatically know they are in a Clash of Wills if it involves their spells.

[OsuNeko]

Thanks for the previous answers, but I as always have a question. Can you dispel/counterspell any kind of Mage Sight? Or Veiling practice (of corresponded arcane) is only method to withstand mage Sight?

[nofather]

Reducing Paradox dice from Reaching beyond your safe limits is the big one.

Yeah. Five is a nice point to aim for, since you need it if you want any Arcana at 5. But at that point your Paradox dice for Reach are 3 a pop. And going higher can be nice for big dicepools, for spellcasting and Withstand, not to mention getting your other arcana to 5.

[Satchel]

Hmn, the high Gnosis becomes useless. It's hard for me to imagine what you can spend mana more than 3-5 per round, if not for boosting cast.

Reducing Paradox dice from Reaching beyond your safe limits is the big one.

[nofather]

Is it not so that supernatural beings can use their core power (Gnosis/Primal Urge/Blood Potency) for protecting themselves?

Against normal contests, yes, but they decided to use Withstand so you could cast against higher Gnosis Mages and other supernaturals easier. If you had to cast against a Power Stat 7 whatever, you would need to have Potency 8 in addition to whatever the rest of your factors were. So it's an Attribute, which usually remains lower, but also is meant to encourage research of spell targets.

Using Supernatural Tolerance for Withstand is a common houserule in crossover games, though. And things like Beast have stealth bonuses to trick mages.

[OsuNeko]

Mana don't give you dice, no idea what the 6xGnosis means. Factors are not multiplied. Adding a factor that doesn't come for free by being a primary factor is -2 dice to get +1 factor. Factors aren't dice though.

Hmn, the high Gnosis becomes useless. It's hard for me to imagine what you can spend mana more than 3-5 per round, if not for boosting cast.

Withstand is whatever the resistance attribute is, and that's it, Gnosis isn't a part of Withstand. If they have another source of Withstand it adds +1 to the Withstand score. So for instance if you target something that is Withstood by Composure and they have Composure 3, then their Withstand is 3. If they have Composure 3, and they have Wards and Signs cast on them, then they get the Potency of Wards and Signs as their Withstand and they add +1 from their Composure. If the spell is being cast Sympathetically then they get the Potency from Wards and Signs +1 from Composure and +1 from it coming at them via Sympathy if the caster is using anything less than a Connected Sympathy to target them. Some Merits may grant a Withstand, but it's either going to be the value that the Merit says, or it's going to add +1 as it's an additional Withstand.

Is it not so that supernatural beings can use their core power (Gnosis/Primal Urge/Blood Potency) for protecting themselves?

[Mrmdubois]

This is not a question, but rather a test of one’s own understanding. In general, the company is developing in the manner in which I expect it. Players have fun, and I'm interested in telling them stories. But sometimes they roll out a pile of dies, which periodically surprises me. Do I understand correctly that a player can collect the next hand?
Gnosis (1 - 10 dies) + Arcane (1 - 5) + prolonged cast (1 - 5) + mana (if prolonged, 6 x Gnosis) + Yantras and Factors (number x power (2 - 6) x (1 - 5) - Factors) + 3 for Will.
Do i forgot something?
And is Withstand factor only Resist Attribute + Gnosis + Some Merits?
For that matter, Gnosis and Supernatural Resistance merit add up?

Mana don't give you dice, no idea what the 6xGnosis means. Factors are not multiplied. Adding a factor that doesn't come for free by being a primary factor is -2 dice to get +1 factor. Factors aren't dice though.

Withstand is whatever the resistance attribute is, and that's it, Gnosis isn't a part of Withstand. If they have another source of Withstand it adds +1 to the Withstand score. So for instance if you target something that is Withstood by Composure and they have Composure 3, then their Withstand is 3. If they have Composure 3, and they have Wards and Signs cast on them, then they get the Potency of Wards and Signs as their Withstand and they add +1 from their Composure. If the spell is being cast Sympathetically then they get the Potency from Wards and Signs +1 from Composure and +1 from it coming at them via Sympathy if the caster is using anything less than a Connected Sympathy to target them. Some Merits may grant a Withstand, but it's either going to be the value that the Merit says, or it's going to add +1 as it's an additional Withstand.

[OsuNeko]

This is not a question, but rather a test of one’s own understanding. In general, the company is developing in the manner in which I expect it. Players have fun, and I'm interested in telling them stories. But sometimes they roll out a pile of dies, which periodically surprises me. Do I understand correctly that a player can collect the next hand?
Gnosis (1 - 10 dies) + Arcane (1 - 5) + prolonged cast (1 - 5) + mana (if prolonged, 6 x Gnosis) + Yantras and Factors (number x power (2 - 6) x (1 - 5) - Factors) + 3 for Will.
Do i forgot something?
And is Withstand factor only Resist Attribute + Gnosis + Some Merits?
For that matter, Gnosis and Supernatural Resistance merit add up?

[Mrmdubois]

Pretty sure the Duration is for the gate effect, unless you’re using the Reach effect in which case it’s on the translation of the subject into ephemera.

I assume that Death Twilight is qualitatively different than Spirit Twilight which is why these kinds of differences exist between transitions into those respective modes of Twilight.

[Michael]

The Reach effect does something a bit more complex than the base spell presumably. It doesn't potentially leave a gate to be exploited, it doesn't destroy your stuff, you have a guaranteed exit strategy from Twilight that can be Reflexively activated if you've cast it on yourself, those are just the benefits I can think of.

Just to clarify, I am right in thinking that the spell duration is on the portal, not the transition into Twilight? That seems like a potentially really handy thing.

I guess what I'm wondering is why is the spell written to include a gateway in the first place. Like, Transubstantiation doesn't create a gateway that alters matter, it just alters matter. Is the implication that ghost gates are a phenomena that the spell merely activates?

Looking for comparison, there's Twilit Body for transforming into Spirit Ephemera in Twilight at 4 dots.