of dark magic… and the refreshing scent of pine."
– Another confused Mage player
The release of Mage Revised has stirred up quite a hornet’s nest in the White Wolf community, and everyone seems to have an opinion. Since the book hit shelves, the newsgroups and mailing lists have been filled with commentary; some of it has been scathing, while others have been glowing with praise. Mage Revised is both vilified and exalted by the community, and the discussion is, I’m sure, far from over.
My column this month will NOT add my "two cents worth" to this duel of words; I fired my lone bullet way back in February when I reviewed it. Rather, I wish to examine the one absolutely new addition to Mage Revised that, in my humble opinion, isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on: the Resonance system.
Resonance is an idea that’s been around for quite some time in Mage, but was never fully capitalized on. Even going as far back as the simplistic concepts of "black" and "white" magic, there has always been a notion that magic has a certain feel to it, and that different types of magic have different "flavors", as it were. A calm priest would call upon the power of heaven, and the resulting effects would feel beatific. Meanwhile, the dark witch in her grove who uses blood and innocent flesh for his crafts would certainly feel palpably evil. This carried into Mage as early as first edition, but mechanics were always sadly lacking, as were explanations on which to base such mechanics. With the release of the revised edition, we were promised comprehensive mechanics and explanations for this long missing aspect of magic.
Sadly, what we were presented with in the new rulebook, to use a colloquialism… sucked.
The Problem
Here’s the new resonance system, in a nutshell. According to Mage Revised, all mages have a leaning toward one of three "metaphysical leanings": Stasis, Entropy, and Dynamism. It is this leaning, and the mage’s particular proclivity within this leaning, that determines how the mage’s work resonates. In game terms, each mage starts out with a single dot in one of these three traits. The more dots, the stronger the resonance.
Sounds simple, and something so simple should work beautifully, right? Guess again.
The first major problem with the system is its reliance upon an outside force for the effect. By tying mages to a "metaphysic trinity", the resonance system inevitably ties Mage to those Werewolf staples called the Wyrm, Wyld, and Weaver. The system takes no account of the mage’s avatar or nature whatsoever, tying it to an outside force and making the whole thing "stink of the Wyrm." Mage has always been good at avoiding the Triat as presented in Werewolf; now it is linked to it intimately, taking the feel of magic out of the mage’s hands.
The second problem is more practical. There are NO mechanics given for this supposed "new system." None, nada, zip, empty, non-existent. We are given a new trait with no mechanics on how it is raised or lowered or how it actually effectsmagic at all. The only solid mechanic we’re given is that a particular mage’s resonance can be detected as a "mystic signature" with a Perception + Awareness roll, and even then the book says it should be "immediately noticeable". The term "up to the Storyteller" seems to come up a lot, and yet these same Storytellers are given no way of making these decisions. The job of a new rulebook is to explain things such as this, and yet everyone is left floundering. Worse still, these flimsy resonance traits are now supposed to affect such major game mechanics as Quiet.
This is quite possibly the worst implementation of a new mechanic this writer has ever seen. The new resonance system is, in effect, a useless token. Players have dots on their character sheets that mean absolutely nothing, and Storytellers aren’t even given enough information, for the most part, to rectify the problem.
A New Mechanic
Far be it from me to just lay down and die, though. Knowing the problems we face with the new system, we can take the basic idea of resonance, and the possible utility of an actual Resonance statistic, and redirect it into something far more palatable and useful.
The alternate system I propose seeks to accomplish three major goals. The first is to shift the focus away from the Triat and back into the mage by centering on her avataric Essence and her inner Nature. Second, we create a solid, stable mechanic that aids players and Storytellers in flavoring magical effects. Finally, we give concrete rules for how such resonance affects the working of magic, including interaction with other magi.
A mage’s resonance should be primarily affected by her Essence, the inclinations and desires of the avatar. Dynamic essences tend to be wild and flamboyant, generating unpredictable effects and changing themselves at a moment’s notice. Pattern essences prefer predictable, orderly patterns in magic. Primordial essences "feel" like old magic, carrying an air of mystery and occasionally fear. Questing essences are focused yet creative, preferring effects that get the job done while still looking good. Thus, the mage’s Essence trait replaces the "metaphysic trinity" as the primary trait.
For the secondary trait, we plug in the mage’s Nature. Magic comes from the avatar, but is ultimately shaped by the will of the mage, and using Nature as the secondary trait reflects this. A visionary mage will be creative, yet centered on a goal, while a conniver will be far subtler and eventually overpowering.
The combination of Essence and Nature will result in some interesting combinations, but a properly created character should have no problems fitting the resonance in. Players and Storytellers should work together to come up with magical styles that fit the character concept. For example, a hermit with a Primordial / Loner resonance may call upon elementals and various world spirits that shun society, while another hermit with a Static / Loner resonance may use subtle effects that come only from concentration and discipline. Their magical effects would resonate far differently, but share the edge of being lonely magic. The resonance will radiate from the mage as well, making the Primordial hermit "the creepy guy in the woods" while making the Static one into "a disciplined survivor." The mage begins play with a single dot in this resonance trait, with the range being from one to five.
Resonance can increase and decrease, within certain parameters.
Resonance should increase or decrease in the following circumstances:
- If a mage succeeds at a Seeking, the Storyteller may wish to increase the resonance trait by one to reflect the increased Arete. This should only be done when the mage’s Seeking goes particularly well, and an increase in power is immediately evidenced.
- If a mage’s Avatar rating should ever increase, a single point of Resonance should immediately be given. The powering of an avatar is a tremendous event, and the new levels of power the mage can now tap should be reflected in her resonance. If the mage’s Avatar rating ever decreases, the weakened essence no longer pulses as strongly in the mage’s magic, and the resonance trait should decrease.
- If the mage suffers a Paradox backlash, the Storyteller may increase the resonance trait to reflect a side effect of the event. When reality snaps around you, it is liable to influence your power. Likewise, a strong backlash that truly harms the mage may actually decrease the resonance.
- If the mage’s Nature should ever shift, the resonance should drop severely, possibly back down to one point. The mage’s magic is taking on a whole new tone at that point, and the resonance will take some time to rebuild to reflect the new direction.
As a guideline, the mage’s resonance rating should never climb more than a single dot above the mage’s Avatar rating. Mages with weak avatars will simply not have the mystic wherewithal to resonate strongly; they cannot put enough resonant quintessence into the effect.
As a general rule, the higher the resonance trait, the more magic is affected. This becomes a matter of role-playing for the most part, requiring the player to incorporate how the mage’s magic "looks" into the mage’s background and paradigm. However, there are some tools players and Storytellers can use to help reflect resonance "in-game."
The idea that resonance can be used as a "mystic signature" is good, but the mechanic is a bit flawed. While Awareness + Perception should allow a mage to detect general tendencies in the resonance, true analysis should be far more difficult. Getting a true sense of this signature should require at least one level of one of the spheres used, and an Intelligence + Enigmas roll (at difficulty 10 – Resonance) to truly piece together the various feelings the resonance radiates.
A mage’s magic may be easier to work if she shapes the effect to match her resonance. At the Storyteller’s discretion, a mage that works their magic to fit their resonance should receive a one-point reduction of the difficulty for every TWO points of Resonance. Likewise, an effect that the ST rules is opposite a mage’s resonance should receive +1 to the difficulty per two points of resonance.
A mage may seek to smother her resonance so as not to leave a signature. For each point of resonance the mage seeks to hide, the difficulty of magic increases by one. Mages do not need to hide all their resonance at once, however, if they simply seek to subdue the effect.
Using Tass of a similar primary resonance as the mage lowers mystic difficulties by 1, while using Tass of a different resonance increases the difficulty by at least one. A priest is going to find using that jar of baby’s blood awfully difficult…
When working conjunctual magic, resonance should become a MAJOR factor. Mages with similar resonance (similar meaning same Essence) should perform joined magic at no penalty, while mages of different resonance should find their energies clashing, causing +1 difficulty. If two mages of exactly the same resonance work together, the energies flow together like water, causing a -1 difficulty drop. Stronger resonance should overwhelm weaker ones; for every point of difference between their resonances, the mage with the weaker resonance should gain a +1 penalty to her difficulties, reflecting the difficulty in adding weak magic to strong.
In Conclusion
The above is surely incomplete, and I encourage readers to add to this basic framework as they see fit. What I have sought to do is correct the major problems with the Revised mechanic and make resonance a viable option for gaming. Magic is powerful, and no one should walk into using it ignorantly…
…not even in a role-playing game
NEXT ISSUE: SAD NEWS – Well, it may be a while before I grace the halls of DViE again; I am taking a leave of absence from these pages to fulfill other duties and seek opportunities that have opened before me. I will occasionally come by for visits now and again, and I hope you’ll all be here waiting for me. Until then, may the power of the game take you beyond the Horizon! Feel free to write!