Addicted to Mystery: What do you want to see in the Fallen World Chronicles?

[Claire Redfield]

What do you want to see in the Fallen World Chronicles, the GMC-era update to our beloved Mage: The Awakening? More magical traditions? More flexibility for the use of Paradox? More cowbell? Discuss it here!

[Strapping Gent]

Flexibility to paradox would be great. I haven't read Intruders so I don't know if that gives more paradox rules, though I'm guessing it does.

Another look at the Orders would be nice, as good as the Orders books are. Maybe just to give more of the nontraditional members time to shine.

Mostly I just want it in my hands, on my shelf, and at my table.

[kaho]

I think New New mage has a lot of potential if they use the opportunity well because of New Demon. New Demon is the new MatrixLike game so mage could a) Be the other new matix-like game wich would suck... a lot. Or b) Become a new animal. Make the game again make something with its own personality and as different from the matrix-like stamp as possible.

Im curious how New Demon is gonna affect the development of mage. I hope its for the better.


things i would like:

Get rid of the Rote economy. It just doesnt work, i have never seen a group of players making a grimoire. And the concept of a rote economy is flawed in the sense that mage as it is now doesnt follow the theme of forbibben knowledge, there is little reward in a grimoire more that a possible rote wich gives you a slightly bigger dice pool. Mage follows the "monkey see, monkey does" as they can just instant cast any spell they see. My idea would be to make rote creation something any mage could do.

Make use of the small talents (second sighters) the gap between a mage and a human is way to big a middle ground is needed beside Mage awakening unified all mages into the "disney Atlantis" paradigm [tongue] so a conection to actual realworld mysticals beliefs is kinda needed. Because, and lets be honest here saying "ohh all those realworld mystical beliefs yeah they are just confused atlantean mages" is kinda restrictive. It makes you wanting to play a mage who dont believe in atlantis like the guy in class who doesnt believe in gravity.

For example: there is mage in boston unveiled "Solitary Mage: Rabbi Tzaddi" page 19. Who is a mage who awakened but wasnt noticed to get inducted by any order and learn the "truth" so he is basically insolated from the rest of the awakened comunity and the books gives you the idea of being the poor towns idiot of the paradigm

He's referring to skill of casting versus system clusterfuck. Right now it's not bad but it could be better. A magical system should be easy. I want to turn Lead into Gold. Should I know chemistry. No. I shouldn't I'm willing reality to turn lead into gold. Same for basic things. Like C-4 which is just a plastic explosive. That shouldn't require science or intelligence. Magic is pretty much wishing something to your specifications and getting it. The reason Mage sight requires intelligence is because you are going beyond a spell and going into reasoning. You are using what you know about magic and analyzing something. A Mage spell that just gives you knowledge and applying it yourself are two different things.

i think a middle ground should apply here. I think Mage should make a differentiation between raw power and knowledge. If you want to make an idiot PC who dont know how to write and read to sundenly cast C4 sure do that but the guy who knows science should cast it better. A central theme in mage is that knowledge is power but if your knowledge of C4 doesnt help you making C4 then the game fails.

Personally, the more I played a mage character the more I realized I'd rather have Ascensions Paradigms with magic without the stupidity of the consensus. The ability to do anything at any given time on the fly is great in theory. In actual play its honestly rather boring because I'd be looking for spells that could do what I wanted at any given time. Which for someone who is really quick at scouring books, I could do it without interrupting the flow of the game.

Indeed the appeal of Creative thaumaturge should be limitless potential not limitless power.

Quoting here from yathzee:

But then again, part of the appeal of building is the effort required to gather materials. That eighty-foot golden cock and balls wouldn't be so satisfyingly turgid if it weren't for the entire continent you had to turn upside-down to find all the ore. And that's what sets it apart from other creativity toys like Garry's Mod. If you can just clap your hands and summon fifty explosive barrels to pile ragdolls around, then the spectacle is as fulfilling as eating your own snot.

Minecraft is a responsible parent. It knows you'll swiftly get bored of your golden cock and balls if it just gives you one, so it pays you five dollars a week to wash its car so you can save up and gain an appreciation for value. And when you finally have your golden cock and balls, you'll love it all the more.

Garry´s mod would be in this example Mage Awakening, it gives you all the toys in the box so even in a certain way it limits you because as a player you would choose the most convenient path always.

You may want to use a pyromancer with forces but the moments that its needed you gonna change back to electricity if it is the most convenient option.

I would preffer if the system allow me to potentially build any mage i want. As it is now if one play one obrimos you play them all.

[Sharpie]

I'd like to see the things that are "unique" to mages more rewarding and intuitive, including:

Ritual Casting
Rote Casting
Hanging Spells/Conditional Triggers/Sympathetic Casting
Mage Sight
Imbued Weapons

Mages should be encouraged to rely on foresight, brainpower, wisdom, planning and intelligence-gathering to succeed. Whereas Werewolves showcase a lot of reflexive actions and brute force, Vampires excel at social manipulation and potent instant disciplines, Mages forte should be ritual casting and the ability to use the information they gather in a more potent manner than the rest.

A prepared mage should feel incredibly dangerous and in control, regardless of arcana used. But the process of getting prepared seems overly long, tedious, and vague. Streamlining extended casting and the methods of common techniques such as hanging a spell, sympathetic casting, conditional triggers (perhaps not requiring Time/Space/Fate, but benefiting from knowing Time/Space/Fate?) would go a long way to making this feel cooler and more like an option rather than a chore.

I'd love to see Mage get a Hunter-esque system, similar to Hunters group tactics. Instead of people filling roles of primary and secondary actors, you can replace them with certain arcana(s) (primary actor[s]) and skills (secondary actors) - (assuming that rote casting no longer uses skills as part of their dice pool, this would encourage Mages to invest experience in them) - and perhaps some informational requirements (true name, date of birth, intimate sympathetic connection, knowledge of species, knowledge of specialization, etc). Basically it would encourage Mages to get investigating, and give them neat and compelling method to use that knowledge. I'd love for it to feel like that fight scene in the 1st new Sherlock Holmes movie where time slows and he analyzes all these different factors, then floors the guy in a flurry of blows. Just an example of one "plan technique" - there could be hundreds of these techniques, each serving different purposes or the same purposes in different ways, some requiring weeks of prep, some seconds, etc...

Conversely, Mage instant cast spells should feel something of a last resort, at least until Master status. They shouldn't be waltzing around throwing down instant spells because the ritual casting system penalizes novice mages heavily for using it. Instant spells should feel like a reward for mastering knowledge, not to "go to" type. If anything, baby mages should feel mechanically encouraged to ritual cast, while adepts/masters should finally begin to feel free to bust out the instant casting.

[Claire Redfield]

Get rid of the Rote economy. It just doesnt work, i have never seen a group of players making a grimoire. And the concept of a rote economy is flawed in the sense that mage as it is now doesnt follow the theme of forbibben knowledge, there is little reward in a grimoire more that a possible rote wich gives you a slightly bigger dice pool. Mage follows the "monkey see, monkey does" as they can just instant cast any spell they see. My idea would be to make rote creation something any mage could do.

I'd actually like to see making grimoires and devising rotes become a bigger part of the game. In fact, I think it might be nice if rotes added a little something extra somehow, so that the trade thereof becomes more desirable. Give it a bit more meat and I think it would be something fun. You could make the designing of rotes a story idea unto itself, really, gathering the pieces and putting them together.

[Epimetheus]

We'd actually have to get better rote rules than what we have. Personally, I think the tome's rules are a good start but they need to be something that you want.

[kaho]

I'd actually like to see making grimoires and devising rotes become a bigger part of the game. In fact, I think it might be nice if rotes added a little something extra somehow, so that the trade thereof becomes more desirable. Give it a bit more meat and I think it would be something fun. You could make the designing of rotes a story idea unto itself, really, gathering the pieces and putting them together.

that could work maybe a rote that automatically has higher aspects (potency, duration, etc) but thats from the top of head

[Claire Redfield]

Or maybe making rotes isn't restricted only to masters, but does require a lot of work. And yeah, perhaps the creator can encode a bonus to one of the spell factors when she creates the rote. Enough that it's worth seeking them out. Make them a bit more rare and a bit more special. A grimoire of rotes would be an incredible find then and jealously guarded. Wars might be fought over a master's legendary grimoire, and quests into dangerous ruins or unknown territories to recover something like that could make for entire stories.

[Malcolm]

I look forward to Dave making at least one bold move that does not depend on self-selected collective permission or projected mass appeal, but his own creative ideas. That's what drives the best development.

[Claire Redfield]

The line is certainly in good hands. All of them are, really. It's just a great time to be a World of Darkness fan.

[kaho]

Or maybe making rotes isn't restricted only to masters, but does require a lot of work. And yeah, perhaps the creator can encode a bonus to one of the spell factors when she creates the rote. Enough that it's worth seeking them out. Make them a bit more rare and a bit more special. A grimoire of rotes would be an incredible find then and jealously guarded. Wars might be fought over a master's legendary grimoire, and quests into dangerous ruins or unknown territories to recover something like that could make for entire stories.

thats a great idea .

[Claire Redfield]

Thanks! I love Mage and just want to see it become even more awesome.

[Sharpie]

You know dat feel when you look at a menu of overwhelming size and wish to God it was smaller?

Sometimes I feel that way about Mage.

Sure, magic can do anything. But sometimes I'd rather do one thing really well, than two things really half-ass. Yet I feel Mage kinda encourages that "do everything but not as good as other splats lol" thing.

I'd like to see some of the Legacies really hone your character. After all they are optional. Instead of giving you even weaker, yet cheatier powers, how about giving the character some specific fortes? My Forces mage specializes in electric or ice. My mind mage specializes in hallucinations. My time mage specializes in reading the past.

Not that all Legacies need to work like that, but I'd like the option of specializing in aspects of an arcana at the expense of other aspects. Or hell, it wouldn't even have to be a Legacy, it could be something new. Just a thought.

I'd actually like to see making grimoires and devising rotes become a bigger part of the game. In fact, I think it might be nice if rotes added a little something extra somehow, so that the trade thereof becomes more desirable. Give it a bit more meat and I think it would be something fun. You could make the designing of rotes a story idea unto itself, really, gathering the pieces and putting them together.

This. ^

I look forward to Dave making at least one bold move that does not depend on self-selected collective permission or projected mass appeal, but his own creative ideas. That's what drives the best development.

Not sure if encouraging or condescending. But yeah, this. ^

[Epimetheus]

I'm hoping that earlier legacies get revamped to look like newer ones. That is, they are more than just straight up rotes and that's it.

[kaho]

You know dat feel when you look at a menu of overwhelming size and wish to God it was smaller?

Sometimes I feel that way about Mage.

Sure, magic can do anything. But sometimes I'd rather do one thing really well, than two things really half-ass. Yet I feel Mage kinda encourages that "do everything but not as good as other splats lol" thing.

It depends, a mage specializing in spirit can leave a werewolf in shame. They can go willy nilly transforming spirtis. "oh a spirit of rage.... now you are a dildo spirit!, DILDO SPIRITS FOR EVERYONE!!!! "

I'd like to see some of the Legacies really hone your character. After all they are optional. Instead of giving you even weaker, yet cheatier powers, how about giving the character some specific fortes? My Forces mage specializes in electric or ice. My mind mage specializes in hallucinations. My time mage specializes in reading the past.

Not that all Legacies need to work like that, but I'd like the option of specializing in aspects of an arcana at the expense of other aspects. Or hell, it wouldn't even have to be a Legacy, it could be something new. Just a thought.

this... yes, a million times yes!

[Octavo]

I would like more attention given to the process of how mages learn their arcana. Do they have dreams that hearken back to their first astral voyage or mystery play? Do they practice spells and experiment? Do they read tomes that contain knowledge about the arcana without teaching rotes?