Paradox

Mages call down a higher reality with their spells, superseding the laws of nature. Their enlightened will guides the merging of worlds, creating a seamless conjunction between disjointed realities. But sometimes their will stumbles. When to realities collide, a Paradox occurs.

A Paradox arises from the conflict between the energies channeled from a mage’s Path realm and prevailing reality, compounded by the unenlightened gaze of any Sleepers who witness the mage’s handiwork. The mage’s Path realm says something is possible, common reality says it’s impossible, and a Paradox occurs. The result most often manifests as a strain within the mage’s own Pattern, as the forces of Creation attempt to right the problem. The more the mage changes the universe through force of will, the more the universe may change the mage in turn. Mages who push their powers too far descend into madness and delusion. Paradox can even tear the fabric of reality asunder, allowing strange things from Outside to find their way in.

Mages believe that the Tapestry was once more supple and yielding to changes wrought by Awakened will. Before the Celestial War of Atlantis, magic did not clash with reality. With the shattering of the Ladder and the creation of the Abyss, however, the Shadow and Fallen Worlds were shifted askew. The risk of a Paradox haunts those mages who are not careful to hide their lights behind bushels.

Roll Results

Dramatic Failure: The mage does not invoke a Paradox and the next Paradox roll made for him in the same scene (for an instant casting) or within the same day (for an extended casting) does not suffer the usual, cumulative +1 dice modifier.

Failure: The mage does not invoke a Paradox. Success: A Paradox occurs, regardless of the casting’s success or failure (see “Casting the Spell” below). The number of successes on the Paradox roll determines its severity.

*Note: In addition, the caster’s player subtracts one die per Paradox success from his casting roll. The worse the Paradox, the greater the chance that the spell doesn’t succeed, or at least doesn’t succeed as well as it otherwise would have. Either way, the Paradox still takes effect.

Exceptional Success: The mage suffers a Manifestation Paradox.

House Rule

Current House Rules on Paradox and Vulgar Spells Explanation

Spell Aspect & Paradox

Spell Aspect (whether a Spell is Covert or Vulgar) will now be solely determined by it's Proficiency level (dot rating). The actual effect of the spell is completely irrelevant -- it's going to be how much and how hard you push against the Lie that gives the Abyss a chance to seep through.
● and ●● Spells: Covert
●●● Spells: Vulgar -1 Paradox die
●●●● Spells: Vulgar
●●●●● Spells: Vulgar +1 Paradox die

• This goes for all Arcana.
• All Sympathetic Spells (including Temporal Sympathy) remain auto-Vulgar
• Spells which have +1 Proficiency for changes such as Advanced Spell Factors or Combined Casting will be considered the base Spell for Paradox.

Paradox Accumulation (Multiple Vulgars in the Same Scene)

+1 dice for every two additional spells.

Base Pools/Paradox Results

• +1 Each Paradox roll after the first made for the same caster within the same scene. This bonus accumulates with each roll, so the third roll made for a mage within a scene has a +2 modifier. In the case of an extended casting, this modifier applies to successive Paradox rolls made within the same day. (This has been House Ruled, see above)
• +2 dice if one or more One or more Sleepers witnesses the magic (vulgar magic only)
• -1 dice if the mage is casting a rote
• -1 dice if the mage is using a Magical Tool

Havoc

The mage’s spell is no longer under his control and is considered a Havoc spell. It affects a randomly chosen target (or targets, if multiple targets were factored into the casting) instead of the caster’s declared target(s). The caster himself is included in this pool of random victims. The new target must be of the same type — if the mage targeted a living person, then the pool of random targets include only living people. If the mage’s target is an object, then only objects are affected. If the caster is the only viable target present, he is the target of his own spell (unless he was its originally intended target, in which case the spell affects a target of a different kind, such as an object).

The new target — including the mage himself if he is the spell’s new target — can contest or resist the spell if it is normally allowed (see the spell’s description).

In addition, the mage’s Wisdom is rolled:

Dramatic Failure: The spell’s desired effect is reversed. A blessing becomes a curse, a magical perception spell blinds the mage to all resonance, or an attack spell helps the target instead.

Failure: The spell’s desired effect is reversed, as above.

Success: The spell’s effect is unaltered.

Exceptional Success: The spell’s effect is unaltered and the mage gains a +2 dice bonus for any attempts he might make to dispel the Havoc spell. Since the spell is no longer under the caster’s control he cannot dismiss it at will.

A Havoc lasts for only as long as the spell’s Duration. Note that spells with a concentration-based Duration become transitory; the Storyteller rolls a single die and the result is the number of turns the spells lasts.

Bedlam