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super_science [2014/02/08 18:49] storyteller [Power Matrixes] |
super_science [2014/02/08 18:58] storyteller [Super Science] |
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====== Super Science ====== | ====== Super Science ====== | ||
- | The science of tomorrow brought to you today. Wonders come in many shapes, sizes and categories. | + | The science of tomorrow brought to you today! Wonders come in many shapes, sizes and categories. |
===== Wonders ===== | ===== Wonders ===== | ||
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==== Devices ==== | ==== Devices ==== | ||
+ | ''Devices are infused | ||
+ | with part of the essence of a Technomancer, | ||
+ | the sacrifice of the very will of one of those who crafted the | ||
+ | Wonder. These consummate creations have a magical forcefulness | ||
+ | all their own — in game terms, they have an Arete | ||
+ | rating. By itself, this Arete does nothing. However, when | ||
+ | used as a focus, either as the sacred regalia of a mage's rituals, | ||
+ | or the scientific instruments for a technomage's procedures, | ||
+ | the mage may use the Talisman or Device's Arete instead of | ||
+ | her own. Furthermore, the Talisman may be empowered | ||
+ | with additional capabilities like an Artifact, and its own | ||
+ | Arete can be used for those tasks. Talismans also store | ||
+ | Quintessence much like a Periapt, which they use to empower | ||
+ | their Effects.'' | ||
+ | ''A Talisman can have any number of powers and Effects, | ||
+ | and it often has multiple functions. As a rough estimate, a | ||
+ | Talisman's value is computed as equal to its Arete rating. If | ||
+ | the Talisman has any additional powers, they can be added | ||
+ | to its cost like an Artifact or Periapt. | ||
+ | (Talismans in previous editions of Mage are typically | ||
+ | calculated at twice the item's Arete cost. Count this cost as | ||
+ | the item's Arete value plus the value for the Talisman's | ||
+ | Quintessence storage, which is generally five times the | ||
+ | item's Arete, as per a Periapt. Additional Effects may cost | ||
+ | more. Talismans aren't cheap, especially in this age of dying | ||
+ | magic.)'' | ||
+ | === Device Creation === | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ''Creating a Talisman requires: Prime 3 with a number of | ||
+ | pawns of Tass (of the appropriate Resonance) equal to the | ||
+ | desired Talisman rating; or Prime 4 with the same number of | ||
+ | points of Quintessence invested by the same mage who | ||
+ | grants the point of Willpower; or Prime 5 in the case of | ||
+ | creating a living Talisman, unless you have Tass of the | ||
+ | appropriate Resonance, in which case the may require only | ||
+ | Prime 4. The creation process is generally an extended ritual | ||
+ | requiring successes equal to the Talisman's total rating. | ||
+ | Prime 3 is used for channeling and funneling Quintessence, | ||
+ | infusing an object with existing magical energies, while | ||
+ | Prime 4 is used to mold the Quintessential flow of nonliving | ||
+ | matter selectively. Talismans made thus actually become | ||
+ | vessels for odyllic force, and they may not only hold it (as | ||
+ | does a familiar or a mage's Avatar) but refill themselves | ||
+ | given the right circumstances. In Technocratic terms, Prime | ||
+ | 3 takes existing energies and uses them to power a disposable | ||
+ | item while Prime 4 creates a rechargeable battery pack for a | ||
+ | Device. Prime 5 alters the flow of Prime in living tissue, | ||
+ | creating Relics.'' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ''The creation of Talismans and Relics is also quite | ||
+ | vulgar. To weave a Talisman, a mage enters his Sanctum or | ||
+ | workroom, gathers his ingredients, expends a temporary | ||
+ | point of Willpower, then begins an extended bit of ritual, the | ||
+ | details varying with his paradigm and the task at hand. The | ||
+ | player must then make a roll of Intelligence + an appropriate | ||
+ | Ability. Simply making the item in question may require a | ||
+ | great deal of time and special materials.'' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ''At this point, the player begins the long haul, rolling his | ||
+ | mage's Arete each hour against the normal Effect difficulty | ||
+ | (typically 8 or more, for a Prime 3+ vulgar Effect). For each | ||
+ | point of Arete rating of the Effect he wants the item to | ||
+ | possess, he must score a success and incorporate a point of | ||
+ | Tass with appropriate Resonance into the Grafting of the | ||
+ | Talisman — not the power from his own Avatar. | ||
+ | Every hour the mage works, his player continues to | ||
+ | make Arete rolls until he gets a regular failure — no successes, | ||
+ | but not botches either — at which point he can do no | ||
+ | more work, and the Talisman is done. If he does botch, the | ||
+ | work is ruined, the Tass is wasted, and there may be a | ||
+ | spectacular Paradox accident. Consequently, most mages do | ||
+ | not craft Talismans for hours on end.'' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ''At the end of the creation process, the player cements | ||
+ | the creation by making his temporary Willpower expenditure | ||
+ | permanent. He ties a small portion of the mage's | ||
+ | enlightened will into the object, forever branding it with | ||
+ | magical powers. If the mage does not do so, then the object | ||
+ | is nothing more than a Charm. Its powers can be used once | ||
+ | before it becomes only a hollow shell again.'' | ||
+ | === Relics === | ||
+ | |||
+ | ''By using Prime 5 to reweave the underlying Pattern of | ||
+ | a living being or portion thereof, then investing this Pattern | ||
+ | with other spells, a Master of Prime may create a Relic, or | ||
+ | living Talisman. Many Masters of Prime, particularly of the | ||
+ | Chorus, use this power to imbue their limbs or organs with | ||
+ | mystical properties, allowing them to cast common Effects | ||
+ | and blessings. The Verbena, not to be outdone, have given | ||
+ | birth to children whose bodies are Talismans themselves, | ||
+ | and they enchant coven trees with powerful magic of their | ||
+ | own. Undying roses, magical songbirds and even Tassgathering | ||
+ | bees have also been produced by this Effect. This | ||
+ | Effect can also grant magical blessings to those a Master | ||
+ | favors.'' | ||
+ | === Facets of Devices === | ||
+ | |||
+ | ''Most Talismans are Awakened with some degree of | ||
+ | sentience, but even those that have been lulled to sleep | ||
+ | through magic or simple lack of use still have very strong | ||
+ | Resonance. This Resonance derives from the fact of their | ||
+ | making, since a mage who crafts one sacrifices a permanent | ||
+ | point of his Willpower to place the enchantment. The | ||
+ | Talisman, in fact, is an extension of the will of the mage who | ||
+ | created it, and a mage who has made this sacrifice still | ||
+ | possesses this Willpower as long as the Talisman is in his | ||
+ | possession. For example, if a Hermetic magus were to enchant | ||
+ | his signet ring into a Talisman, he would still have | ||
+ | access to his lost point of Willpower as long as he wore the | ||
+ | ring. If he were to lose the ring, even taking it off to wash his | ||
+ | hands, he would lose that portion of his will until he regained | ||
+ | it. (This Willpower, however, cannot be spent, being reserved | ||
+ | for the Talisman. The mage only possesses it for the | ||
+ | purpose of Willpower checks and rolls.) Relics, being a little | ||
+ | bit harder to lose, are accounted the same way — if you've | ||
+ | enchanted your right index finger into a Wizard's Finger, | ||
+ | you're not going to lose the Willpower until you lose the | ||
+ | digit, but you won't have that Willpower point free to burn | ||
+ | if you need it.'' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ''The connection between a mage, or "smith," as the | ||
+ | crafters of Talismans are often called, and the tools he | ||
+ | creates is very tight. These objects are considered to be at | ||
+ | range zero for purposes of the Correspondence Range Chart, | ||
+ | and the mage who creates them can locate them almost | ||
+ | instantly (or apport them back with Correspondence 2 and | ||
+ | the appropriate Pattern Sphere). Likewise, whenever a | ||
+ | Talisman's magic is invoked by someone other than the rightful owner, its maker's player may make a roll of Perception | ||
+ | + Awareness to note the usage. He may even use | ||
+ | countermagic against this use or open a scrying window if he | ||
+ | so chooses. Using Correspondence, smiths may even puppet | ||
+ | the Talismans they craft, at least in regards to their magical | ||
+ | operation. Using a Correspondence 2/ Forces 2 Effect, a | ||
+ | mage may transmit kinetic energy that allows him to wield | ||
+ | a sword or wave a wand from around the globe, although | ||
+ | Paradox still applies. Particularly grisly tricks may be done | ||
+ | with Correspondence 2/ Life 2 and living Relics. | ||
+ | Since Talismans and Relics are such intensely personal | ||
+ | creations, they resonate strongly with the personality of the | ||
+ | mage who crafted them. Any mage checking for Resonance | ||
+ | will recognize the stamp of the item's creator. Moreover, | ||
+ | anyone who uses a Talisman will be influenced subtly by the | ||
+ | thoughts of the maker and the item's purpose, prompting | ||
+ | him to make use of the item in the way it was intended and | ||
+ | in a fashion with which the maker would approve. Such is | ||
+ | the case even when the mage who made the Talisman or | ||
+ | Relic is dead, since the will that created the Wonder lives on | ||
+ | in the legacy of his creations. Of course, the creations may | ||
+ | take on different personalities after time and successive | ||
+ | owners.'' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ''For those who wish exact mechanics, consider a Talisman | ||
+ | to have the same Nature and Demeanor as its creator, | ||
+ | as well as a Willpower rating equal to its Arete. Roll a contest | ||
+ | of will whenever a circumstance arises that is either antithetical | ||
+ | to its Nature or is in perfect harmony with its Nature | ||
+ | and Demeanor. If the owner attempts to use a Talisman in a | ||
+ | manner contrary to its Nature (like a virtuous Cavalier's | ||
+ | sword hacking up helpless innocents), and the Talisman | ||
+ | wins the contest of will, the wielder is forced to stop. If the | ||
+ | wielder wins, the Talisman may roll its own Arete against | ||
+ | the wielder's use of its power. This contest does nothing to | ||
+ | stop the mundane uses of its physical form, however. When | ||
+ | a circumstance arises that is in perfect harmony with a | ||
+ | Talisman's purpose (like a blessed rosary driving a demon out | ||
+ | of a possessed victim), a similar Willpower contest must be | ||
+ | made if the Talisman's owner tries to resist the urge. The | ||
+ | Technocracy, of course denies that Devices can have personalities, | ||
+ | but this disbelief doesn't change the fact that | ||
+ | Iteration X's tools will generally only work for someone of a | ||
+ | scientific mindset who is similarly cold, calculating and | ||
+ | analytical. Of course, some mages (notably Orphans) and | ||
+ | other Technomancers (such as the Virtual Adepts) have | ||
+ | been able to hotwire them anyway.'' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ''Relics are another matter. In the case of portions of the | ||
+ | mage's own body, the wills are one, and there's no conflict. | ||
+ | However, when a mage grants such power to her progeny | ||
+ | (literally giving birth to it in the case of the Verbena), there | ||
+ | can arise a question of will versus will. In the case of a witch's | ||
+ | daughter, the will of the mage often forces an accommodation | ||
+ | in the life of the child. The child may grow up to be a | ||
+ | miniature copy of her mother, only realizing after the witch's | ||
+ | death the subtle and not-so-subtle influence she had on her. | ||
+ | ("She always knew where I was! And I couldn't use my magic | ||
+ | against her if I tried ! " ) However, in the case of magic power | ||
+ | granted to an older recipient, while the subject's Willpower | ||
+ | is increased, that extra Willpower is not the subject's own, | ||
+ | and he may soon come to fear the link and the legacy. Even | ||
+ | killing the mage who cast the spell will not purge the foreign | ||
+ | will — the only act that will do so is to physically cut off the | ||
+ | enchanted portion of one's anatomy. Of course, if the mage | ||
+ | and the recipient are harmonious in nature, there may not be | ||
+ | any problem — as is usually the case when grafting on some | ||
+ | Relic for the sake of sheer power.'' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === Sentient Devices and Relics === | ||
+ | |||
+ | ''While most Talismans and Relics do not have minds per | ||
+ | se, some do. For example, the Virtual Adepts commonly | ||
+ | install artificial intelligence programs into their laptops | ||
+ | computers, and Iteration X cyborgs have similar programs | ||
+ | running within their internal computers. Some witches and | ||
+ | wizards have Talismans that are also their familiars, like | ||
+ | walking sticks and magic mirrors that actually talk to them | ||
+ | and give them advice. And, as anyone who's read too many | ||
+ | fantasy novels knows, swords can not only sing, but a few of | ||
+ | them talk and have decided opinions as to how to approach | ||
+ | a battle.'' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ''Players who wish for their characters to have a sentient | ||
+ | Talisman or Relic should just use the Mentor or Familiar | ||
+ | Background, as appropriate, and define it as a Talisman. | ||
+ | (Combining a mentor with a Relic, for example, gives a | ||
+ | witch something similar to a familiar, but without the | ||
+ | necessity of pacts or Quintessence, and without the advantage | ||
+ | of a mental link.)'' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ''The most dangerous (and interesting) Talismans and | ||
+ | Relics, however, are those that house a human consciousness, | ||
+ | especially that of an Awakened mage. Using last-ditch | ||
+ | magic, a mage may transfer her consciousness into a Talisman | ||
+ | that is able to do various tricks, including possessing a | ||
+ | suitable host. Indeed, there are some mages whose "immortality" | ||
+ | stems from a sword or ring that passes from one hapless | ||
+ | victim to the next.'' | ||
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