GURPS Mage: The Ascension Second Edition

By Michael Bowman bowman@io.com

GURPS is a registered trademark of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. Mage: The Ascension is a registered trademark of White Wolf Publishing, Inc. This document incorporates the errata for GURPS Mage: The Ascension, which is copyright © Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. This document is copyright © 1997 by Michael Bowman and does not represent the views of either Steve Jackson Games or White Wolf.

P. 41. In the Status Table, a status of 0 corresponds to a Title of Disciple.

P. 44. Under Arete, in the 4th paragraph replace "Sphere skills;" with "Arete skill;". In the Arete Cost Table, the cost for an Arete level of 8 should be 165 pts., not 170. Also, add one to all values in the Maximum Skill column, and change the Maximum Skill for Arete 10 from "No limit" to "21".

P. 45. Add a new Advantage:

Chantry (10 points per level)

A mage with this Advantage is associated with a Chantry. The level determines how powerful the Chantry is. Create Chantries using the Chantry creation system in The Book of Chantries. Average the player characters' levels to determine starting Creation Points, for example, a group of adventurers with an average of 1½ levels of this advantage would start with 15 Creation Points to build their Chantry.

P. 45. Add a new Advantage:

Familiar (Variable)

This Advantage gives the mage a familiar, an intelligent creature of spirit-made matter which is magickally bonded to the mage. The spirit is housed in an animal, or inanimate object for Sons of Ether. Familiars have a variety of abilities.

Familiars are thaumivores. They need to eat Quintessence at the rate of 1-5 points per week. Familiars can also consume the Paradox of their mages. Familiars can not have more levels in these abilities that their mage's Arete level.

Familiars are very knowledgeable creatures and can provide not only answer questions, but can enhance the mage's knowledge (they can add character points to any GM approved mental skill). Familiars can even raise a mage's Arete skill and Arete skill maximum. A mage with an Arete of 4 can have a familiar who raises his Arete skill and maximum by 1, a mage with an Arete of 5 can have a familiar who raises his Arete skill and maximum by 2. Familiars may also be able to train a mage in Spheres, only mages with Arete of 3 or higher can have familiar with this ability.

Cost: IQ of 7 costs 5 points, each level of IQ beyond that costs 10 points. The familiar's ability to speak costs 10 points. -5 points per point of Quintessence the familiar needs to consume weekly. 1 point for each character point added to the mage’s skills (no skill may be raised more than +3, no more than three skills may be increased). 5 points for a familiar that can train the mage in Spheres

P. 47. Add a new Advantage:

Sanctum (Variable)

A mage with this advantage has a safe place to experiment, where reality has been "set" to that mage's version of reality. All of the mage's Effects are coincidental.

Setting up a Sanctum requires some preparation time. The mage selects a suitable site, stocks it with magickal supplies and then works his will upon it, for example, Dreamspeakers may summon a spirit or Cultists of Ecstasy might undergo a visionquest. The mage will occasionally need to "re-set" the Sanctum to maintain the bonus. They may only encompass a room or two, Sanctums can be no larger than 200 square feet or so. Different Traditions are at a -1 to use each other’s Sanctums due to slight magickal differences, as long as the differences are fairly slight (Technomancers would have difficulty using a Dreamspeaker’s Sanctum, for example).

Cost: 5 points for having an area in which the mage's style is coincidental. A mage can also purchase levels of Arcane only usable in the Sanctum (a -40% Accessibility limitation) at 6 points/level. A bonus to Arete for all the mage's Effects cast within the Sanctum if the mage takes his time to cast costs as follows:

P. 47. Add a new Advantage:

Talisman (20 points per level [max. 5 levels])

A mage with this Advantage has an item which can cast magickal effects. Each talisman has an Arete and a pool of Quintessence to power the Effects store within it. Talismans cannot cast Effects of Sphere level higher than the Talisman’s level. Each Talisman can have a number of Effects equal to the Talisman's level. The Talisman has a Arete power equal to double the Talisman's level (for 5 points per level the Talisman's Arete can be increased), maximum possible Arete skill (11 + Arete power) and an amount of Quintessence equal to double Arete power. Each use of the Talisman requires the item to spend one point of Quintessence. Talismans can be recharged (up to the starting amount) using a Prime 3 Effect.

P. 47. Add a new Skill:

Arete (Mental/Very Hard) No default
Prerequisite: Arete Level 1

While an Awakened Avatar gives a mage the potential to shape reality, magickal knowledge shows him how to do so. This skill represents the mages ability to wield magick. Eidetic Memory does not help when learning this skill.

Your Arete level and your Will impose a ceiling on your Arete skill. Arete skill can not be higher than either your Will or your Arete level + 11. However, no matter how low the ceiling on your skill is, you still must spend at least 1 point on the skill, even if this puts you below the level you would get for ½ point; as you gain Arete levels and/or Will, your Arete skill will rise with the ceiling until you reach the actual skill level you purchased, after which you must again spend points to improve.

P. 47. Under Bardic Lore, the skill used for composing new songs is Musical Composition, not Musical Instrument.

P. 48. Remove the Talisman Creation skill. Talismans are created using normal Craft Skills.

P. 50. Under Spheres, there are no longer Sphere skills, they have been replaced by an Arete skill. In addition, Orphans do use foci and, consequently, do not pay a higher cost for the Spheres. Thus, remove paragraph three, sentences two and three from paragraph four, and the last two sentences from paragraph five. Replace the Sphere Level Cost Table with the following:

P. 50. Under the Sphere Level Cost Table, the page reference for Status should be p. 41.

P. 50. Some Sphere levels can lead to the purchase of certain Advantages, as below:

P. 51. Damien's Spheres cost an additional 9 points. Eliminate the Sphere skills and add Arete-15 (4 points). This will bring his point total to 413.

Pp. 56-71. The specific foci listed for each Tradition are guidelines, not requirements. The player develops foci for his character based on that character's personal magickal style. Characters can use different foci for different Effects, not just one per Sphere.

P. 65. Under Sphere/Foci, remove the paragraph. Hollow Ones (and other Orphans) do need to use foci and pay the normal cost for Spheres

P. 82. Under Foci, members of the Technocracy can never discard foci, and Sons of Ether and Virtual Adepts do not begin discarding foci until they reach Arete 5 (and they discard foci for 2 Spheres for each Arete increase from Arete 6 on). This changes the example in the following paragraph.

Pp. 84-85. Under Difficulty and Modifiers, Effects are cast by rolling Arete skill - [highest Sphere level required for the Effect] - 1 [for vulgar magick without Sleeper witnesses] - 2 [for vulgar magick with Sleeper witnesses]. Then apply the following modifiers (total maximum ±3):

P. 85. Under Determine Success, the amount the Arete roll is made by determines the number of successes as in the table below. Some Effects list a number of successes required to successfully cast that Effect. No roll can generate more successes than the caster's Arete (except see Extra Effort, below).

P. 85. Under Determine Success, when a mage is attempting to cast an Effect, the GM determines the Feat level, which determines the amount the roll needs to succeed by required to cast that Effect.

If the Effect is cast as a one-shot and there is no need to worry about damage or duration, the required number of points the roll needs succeed by is subtracted from the mage’s Arete skill (this is beyond the ±3 maximum modifier). Otherwise, calculate the number the roll succeeds by after the roll is made.

If the Effect is going to be cast over an extended period of time, the mage shall roll periodically (GM's discretion on the period) in an attempt to accumulate the required number of points of success. A failed roll has no effect (other than wasting time), a critical failure generates Paradox and requires the mage to start over.

An Effect that fails by no more than half the required number of points is a partial success. The mage accomplished what he set out to do, but not as well as he liked (e.g., Cheshire tried to create a computer; he succeeded, but there are missing or flawed parts). Any failed Effect can be attempted again at a cumulative -1 penalty (which can lead to a modifier of more than -3)

An Effect that succeeds by 1½ times the required number of points is an extraordinary success. The mage not only succeeds, he succeeds brilliantly (Cheshire’s computer would be sturdier, sleeker, have more memory, a faster CD-ROM drive, etc.).

P. 85. Add Extra Effort above the Range Chart.

Mages can tire themselves expending extra effort in two situations: resisting Paradox and casting magick.

If a mage gets a critical failure when casting magick he can spend two long-term Fatigue points to change that critical failure to a normal failure. Long-term Fatigue is the same as losing sleep (p. CII173-174) and each point of long-term Fatigue lost also decreases the mage's DX and IQ (and all skills based on them) by one point. Recovery is as from recovering from lost sleep.

When a mage is casting a magickal Effect, he can choose to expend up to two points of long-term Fatigue, before the die roll, to increase the "Succeed by" result by one per Fatigue point spent. If a failure is rolled, then having spent two Fatigue points will give a "Succeed by" result of zero. A critical failure is still a critical failure, however.

P. 85. Under Determine Success, the Range of Effects is within sight of the mage. To extend the range Correspondence is required. Replace the Range Chart with the following for Correspondence magick:

P. 86. Replace the Duration Chart with the following:

P. 86. Under damage, multiply the number the Effect roll succeeds by and the multiplier from the table below to determine total damage. Replace the Damage Chart with the following:

Note: Successful Forces attacks are treated as if the roll succeeded by two more than it did for calculating damage. Mind attacks are treated as if the roll succeeded by two less than it did for calculating damage. Direct Entropy attacks do no damage at all until the fourth level, but incidental attacks (crumbling walls, etc.) inflict normal damage.

P. 87. Under Paradox, vulgar magick without Sleeper witnesses generates 1 Paradox point automatically, and 1 Paradox point plus 1 point per highest Sphere level employed on critical failures. Vulgar magick with Sleeper witness generates 1 Paradox point automatically and 2 Paradox points plus 2 points per highest Sphere level employed on a critical failure. Paradox backlashes are only rolled for when the mage gaining Paradox gains 6 or more points at one time, or has 10 or more Paradox points already.

P. 87. Under Countermagick, there are multiple types of countermagick:

Basic Countermagick: This negates effects directed at the mage. The mage must have at least one level in the Sphere being countered. Roll a Quick Contest of Skill between the defender's Arete and the Effect's roll. It is only necessary to bring the effect's margin of victory below that required to produce the effect wanted.

Offensive Countermagick: This negates effects directed at others. The mage must have at least one level in the Sphere being countered and Prime-1. Roll a Quick Contest of Arete-1 and the Effect's roll. The results are as above.

If the mage wants to reflect an effect back on the caster, use Arete-2 instead. Each point by which the attacker is beaten is one point towards powering the effect.

Sphere vs. Sphere Countermagick: Other spheres can be used to disrupt magickal effects. Roll vs. Arete-1, rather than Arete.

Anti-Magick: A mage with Prime-2 may use his own stored Quintessence to counter another's magicks. Defender rolls Arete - [the difference between Arete level and Prime] - 3. If the roll succeeds, the defender can spend one point of Quintessence plus an additional point for every two points the roll succeeded by, but never more than his level in Prime, to give the attacker a -1 per point spent.

Unweaving: This disrupts an effect that has already been cast. The mage must know the spheres involved and Prime-1. Roll a Contest of Skills between the defender's Arete-1 and the effect's roll. The mage can continue rolling each turn, accumulating numbers of success, until the caster's roll is beaten. A critical failure ends the attempt, normal failures do not.

Any time a mage is attempting to unweave a caster's effect, the original caster can make an IQ roll at -1 in order to know that the effect is being tampered with.

Pp. 97-101. Correspondence has been slightly altered. The ability to move small objects has been made a Level 2 Effect. Scyring and wards have been made Level 3 Effects. Warping space has been made a Level 5 Effect. Stalking the Void has been made a Level 3 Effect.

Pp. 102-105. Entropy has been slightly expanded and better explained.

Pp. 105-108. Forces has been redefined. The major/minor breakdown is now based on quantity, not on type of force (e.g., a person controlling minor forces can blackout a house, a person controlling major forces can blackout a city block). In addition, Forces is no longer defined in such modern terms. Darkness, sound, stillness, etc. are now considered Forces as well.

Pp. 109-112. Life has been redefined. Heal Self has been made a Level 2 Effect, Heal Life has been made a Level 3 Effect.

Pp. 112-115. Matter has been redefined. Transmutation of basic substances has been made a Level 2 Effect. Creation of Matter requires Prime, Forces or Life, not just Prime. Pattern disassocation has been made a Level 4 Effect. Altering Pproperties has been made a Level 5 Effect.

Pp. 115-118. Mind has been redefined. Pathos and No-Mind have been made Level 1 Effects.

Pp. 122-124. Spirit has been redefined. At Level 2, a mage can also briefly touch entities in the spirit world. At Level 3, the mage can awaken sleeping spirits, or put awaken spirits to sleep. The creation of Realms has been made a Level 5 Effect. At Level 4, a mage can invite possession and exorcise possessing spirits.

P. 122. Replace the Spirit Gauntlet Chart with the following:

Substitute the modifier below for the Sphere level and vulgarity modifiers on the Effect roll. The roll also needs to succeed by the listed amount. For conjunctional Effects, use the Sphere level and vulgarity modifier if they are greater than the modifier listed below. Vulgar and coincidental Effects still incur the usual amounts of Paradox, however.

Technocratic dimensional science treats Technocracy Labs like Nodes

P. 125. Replace the Time Range chart with the following:

Pp. 134–135. Under Paradox Backlashes, when checking for Paradox backlashes, roll on the following table:

The size of the backlash, and the number of Paradox Points expelled in the Backlash, is determined by the amount this roll succeeded, as given below:

Backlashes take the following forms: Paradox flaws (1-5 point backlashes), physical damage (5-15 point backlashes), Paradox spirits (any size, the larger the backlash the more powerful the spirit), Paradox Realm (10+ point backlashes) and Quiet (only with prior preparation).

P. 136. Replace the Quiet Table with the following:

P. 137. Under The Mindscape, a mage trapped in a mindscape can communicate by making a Will roll at -4. To reduce the duration of a mindscape make an Enigmas roll. A successful roll will reduce the duration by 1 week, plus 3½ days for every point the roll succeeded by.

P. 186. Helstrom's Spheres cost an additional 10 points. Eliminate the Sphere skills and add Arete-14 (8 points). His point total is 438.

P. 187. Rhiannon's spheres cost 7 points each. Eliminate the Sphere skills and add Arete-12 (1 point). This will bring her point total down to 489.