Paradox
Every living creature grows up knowing basic truths about
the world. People cannot fly, things
cannot appear from nowhere, and magic doesn’t exist. This belief, a part of every person, plant,
animal, and Mage, gives rise to the vague countermagical field referred to as
Paradox.
Paradox even exists in the Umbra, and even on subtle
spells. There is no such thing as true
‘coincidental’ magic. Much of the force
of Paradox comes from the Mage himself – his human soul fighting against his
Avatar, refusing to allow itself to become corrupted further by magic. Only high-level Prime magic can overcome the
power of Paradox.
Paradox is not in any way intelligent or sentient, rather
simply the immune system of reality.
When magic violates the world, Paradox attacks the source, the
Mage. All a Mage can do to avoid Paradox
is try to avoid using large-scale magic unnecessarily.
Every time a Mage casts a spell, he gains a certain amount
of Paradox. The more powerful the spell,
the more Paradox he gains. The Paradox
accumulates around the character, until it backlashes.
At the beginning of the
game, each player will receive ten white poker chips. As a player casts magic, they must drop a
certain number of white chips. When they
have no more white chips left (having accumulated 10 Paradox) they must
immediately go to a Paradox Station.
Details on this are below.
Some possible backlashes include:
Damage
The
simplest result of minor Paradox backlash is damage. This can take many forms – from a mild,
buzzing headache (a minor Mind backlash) to a Mage’s skin bursting into flames
(a major Forces backlash). A Mage with
enough Paradox may simply disappear from existence in a puff of smoke.
Paradox Flaws
Paradox can
do strange, even impossible things, to a Mage.
Minor annoyances include gold-flecked eyes, feet sticking to the ground,
or the Mage’s shadow being on the wrong side, making it hard to hide one’s
magical nature. More significant
annoyances might include random magic backlashes, reversal of the Mage’s
emotions, or the Mage’s entire skin turning to wood.
The exact
nature of the Paradox Flaw is generally left up to the player. Just remember that this is a flaw – “All the
tens in my wallet become hundreds” is not a Paradox Flaw! Neither is ‘I’m surrounded by an aura that
hurts everyone but me’ – unless your character is a peaceful caregiver.
Minor Flaws: Inconvenient and
troublesome, the flaw may stick around a while, but it’s not likely to be
dangerous. It might include the Mage’s feet
sticking to the ground, an article of clothing turning to ash, or an
uncontrollable sneezing fit. Such
effects generally have no effect, but make it hard to hide one’s magical
nature.
Moderate Flaws: These hamper the Mage
significantly, and can be dangerous.
Examples include suddenly emitting waves of heat or cold, suffering
shifts of the senses, or losing the ability to speak coherently. These effects can make many tasks disorienting
or impossible.
Severe Flaws: Severe Flaws give even the
most headstrong mages pause. The Mage
might find that his facial features have vanished (but he still retains his
senses), or that all cloth items within five feet begin writhing as if
alive. These flaws are often harmful,
definitely strange and noticeable, and a real thorn in any Mage’s side.
Drastic Flaws: These Flaws are
terrifying in their scope, and often can cause permanent damage to the
Mage. Examples include the Mage’s skin
turning to wood and sprouting, causing everyone nearby to fall hopelessly in
love with him, reversing his emotions (friends become enemies), or
uncontrollably firing off magical attacks at anyone in range. It might also make the effects of a Minor or
Moderate Flaw permanent; glowing white eyes, cat-like fur, or spiraling burns
up the Mage’s body.
Paradox Spirits
Severe backlashes of Paradox can
summon an independent entity of Paradox – a dangerous spirit who will take
action against any Mage who did so much damage to reality. These are the enforcers of reality, and they
don’t appreciate Mages trying to screw around with the fundamental fabric of
existence.
Paradox Realms
A Mage who is particularly
disrespectful about Paradox may find himself drawn into a Paradox Realm – a subsection
of the spirit realms, it is a personal hell, a place where the Mage’s pride and
hubris become their shackles, until they overcome the challenges of the Realm.
Resonance
Simply put,
a sizable backlash can increase the Mage’s Resonance, as they lose more control
over their magic.
Quiet
Quiet is a
sort of magical insanity. A Mage in
quiet may see the world as a terrifying land of monsters and darkness – or they
might be perfectly clear, and insane from seeing the inner truths and lies
behind the veil of reality. One way or
another, until a Mage gets snapped out of Quiet, they become an immediate
threat to anyone around them.
Paradox Station
This will consist of a small bowl and some dice, as
well as the table below. Players should
report here whenever they run out of white poker chips (in other words,
whenever they have 10 Paradox). Players
who still have Paradox at the end of the game should also report here, and roll
as many dice as they have remaining Paradox.
After rolling on the
Paradox Table, the player gets 10 more white chips, and may continue the game.
If you get more than 10 Paradox at once (such as being at 9
Paradox, then casting a 3 Paradox spell) remove the additional Paradox from
your 10 white chips as soon as you receive them.