Homebrew: Tuplaic Awakening

[orathaic]

This is a (incomplete) metamorphic awakening, borrowing rules from Geist and Changeling (namely Synergy and Clarity) to represent an Awakening which has gone wrong.

The idea was initially to answer the question 'what would happen if you awakened without gaining Gnosis?' - similar to Harrowed Awakenings having no Wisdom.

The idea that this leaves the character without the understanding of the world most mages gain leads to challenges understanding what is part of the lie and what is supernal truth - making Clarity a perfect mechanic.

Secondly, i came to the idea that the Gnosis still existed somehow, and Synergy might be usable to represent access to that power. However i later read the 2e version of the Rapt, and particularly Walkers (mages who Awakened enraptured, leaving their body in a coma, and the mind trapped in their souls); where their fault allows a Supernal Being to enter the Fallen as a Greater Tupla.

So it became clear that the Synergy should be with a supernal being (whether that is a being created by the awakening, or a Supernal Being who interferes in the awakening causing this metamorphic is something mages would likely debate hotly).

Things i need to add:
An actual name for this kind of entity (the Affected is a placeholder)
Details of how clarity damage works.
Details of how Synergy and Arcana use/increases work.

Google Drive: Tuplaic Awakening

[21C Hermit]

Nitpick: the word is 'Tulpa', not 'Tupla' ......

For the name, I wanna suggest Genius or Avatar. Yes, pun intended.

Not so sure about directly using Synergy and Clarity though...... Maybe they do have Wisdom, but use the linked Entity's Rank in place of Gnosis? But spellcasting dice pool could be that of the linked Entity's (i.e. its Power + Finesse), instead of the usual Gnosis + Arcanum.

[orathaic]

Nitpick: the word is 'Tulpa', not 'Tupla' ......

For the name, I wanna suggest Genius or Avatar. Yes, pun intended.

Not so sure about directly using Synergy and Clarity though...... Maybe they do have Wisdom, but use the linked Entity's Rank in place of Gnosis? But spellcasting dice pool could be that of the linked Entity's (i.e. its Power + Finesse), instead of the usual Gnosis + Arcanum.

Nitpick: noted, it is correct in the google doc. And i can't edit this thread's name

I haven't looked at how Synergy works in detail yet, it seems to fit - so it would be Synergy + Arcana to cast.

I have looked in depth at how clarity works, and modifying it so seeing supernal magic hurts or even other supernatural events that they don't understand... I'd like to add extra dice penalties/damage for the path's inferior Arcana. The only issue is basically all the things a Mage would do to gain Arcane experience will instead cause clarity damage... Which kinda sucks from a character development point of view (mechanically, maybe they could be earning beats for going through shitty things... Giving a mechanical advantage).

I think Synergy works well, and it could be interpreted not as a Supernal Being existing within their Oneiros, but rather their Gnosis personified internally instead of wrapping around their soul - basically it acts like a goetia within their Oneiros which contains all their Gnosis and isn't available to their conscious mind.

[orathaic]

Aside: there is no Supernal Familiar (closest being a Supernal Watcher), while this was not intended to create a justification for a supernal familiar, having it sit in a place similar to the Bound from Geist but with a Supernal entity really works nicely in my head.

It could be a failed awakening, which would have produced a Sleepwalker, but before ending them met a Supernal Being and made a deal to escape (similar to the deal the Bound make with their Geist).

[Satchel]

Important question with a lead-in:

Gnosis is symbolized in the Adyton by the thing the character is striving/searching/questing for, and conclusive failure of one of its tests ends the Lustrum — if you came out of an Awakening without Gnosis, you haven't Awakened. Without Gnosis, the character doesn't have Obsessions or Mage Sight; the Rapt are consumed by their Obsessions to the point where it ruptures their Gnosis.

How are these folks still considered mages?

[orathaic]

Important question with a lead-in:

Gnosis is symbolized in the Adyton by the thing the character is striving/searching/questing for, and conclusive failure of one of its tests ends the Lustrum — if you came out of an Awakening without Gnosis, you haven't Awakened. Without Gnosis, the character doesn't have Obsessions or Mage Sight; the Rapt are consumed by their Obsessions to the point where it ruptures their Gnosis.

How are these folks still considered mages?

That is a good point, and one of the reasons i don't refer to them as mages in the document (having no better placeholder than 'The Affected') - it would come down to how they are actually created - i am assuming the are closer to Sleepwalkers in some senses:

No Obsessions, no mage sight (i think), and also no Quiessence. From a mage society point of view, i would assume they are rarer than Walkers (enraptured by their awakening - not the LA goetia ridden entities also called Walkers).

If they were destined to become Sleepwalkers and instead made a deal with a supernal entity encountered in their Lustrum (which then gets embedded in their soul) then they are not Mages.

If they were destined to awaken, but it was interfered with by some entity (perhaps an Archmages/Exarch) such that their Gnosis became inverted (inside their soul instead of external), then the 'Supernal Being' which appears in their Oneiros is actually their Gnosis. And thus they are Mages - just deeply disturbed ones, without conscious understanding of the Lie vs Supernal Truth.

I think i have suggested at least four possible causes, which would be for each table to deal with as a Mystery - if they wanted to know. But having the Gnosis rupture (and consciousness ride the body of a Supernal Entity/Greater Tulpa) is kind of the reverse - here the Gnosis is sealed tight, and/or the Supernal Entity is riding in the Affected's soul.

But in any case, they would be rare enough that Mages don't know for sure, and debate whether these 'Geniuses'* (or whatever better name i am going to settle on) should be counted as Mages or not.

*I am leaning towards the idea of forcing them to study (spending normal experience) reality to learn Arcana, and become closer to their supernal selves (increase their Synergy) as opposed to directly experiencing it (the way mages gain Arcane experience). Making more academic than the average mage (if only to reduce their risk of Clarity damage) - and in that case Genius might be a good label.

But i would lean towards whatever makes the most compelling and fun to play character. So I'm not 100% on this (though it works in DnD in a Wizard vs Sorcerer class where one studies and the other just naturally understands magic - Mage isn't DnD).

[KaiserAfini]

They sound like a type of Proximi. No Gnosis, need to buy spells, very limited Reach, ability to interact with the supernatural without forgetting, all mechanically accounted for. Their minor Curse is to be Spooked by visions, dreams and omens from whatever being they latched onto (willingly or not). The major curse is to become Delusional in some way chosen by the GM, representing them trying to draw on too much power and being flooded with Supernal symbolism they cannot parse, making them see connections where there are none.

[orathaic]

They sound like a type of Proximi. No Gnosis, need to buy spells, very limited Reach, ability to interact with the supernatural without forgetting, all mechanically accounted for. Their minor Curse is to be Spooked by visions, dreams and omens from whatever being they latched onto (willingly or not). The major curse is to become Delusional in some way chosen by the GM, representing them trying to draw on too much power and being flooded with Supernal symbolism they cannot parse, making them see connections where there are none.

I like the alternative take, but i don't like the promixi rules.

In one sense they have Gnosis, just can't access it directly.

This is closest to a Walker: Rapt mage trapped in their Oneiros, whose messed up awakening lead to them remaining in a comatose state.

But this is a playable character.

I like the clarity rules from Changeling a lot for modelling this kind of messed up mental health /delusional situation, rather than conditions.

And i am not 100% on the Synergy rules being the right fit. Or how it should relate to the Clarity (like Harmony from woof woof, should very high connection have downsides like having mage-sight on all the time? And very low have some make you more messed up by the Supernal?)