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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Charlaquin" data-source="post: 8542758" data-attributes="member: 6779196">I really like how Mage the Awakening 2e does it. That’s one of my favorite magic systems in an RPG, and certainly my favorite version of a gamble mechanic. Basically, you have your various Arcana (essentially schools of magic) which determine the base effects you can produce, which default to single target, touch range, instantaneous duration, etc. and then you have a resource called “Reach” that you can expend to scale those factors up - kind of like Metamagic in D&D. As your mastery of an Arcanum increases, you get more base effects, and extra Reach to spend on spells using the lower-level effects within that Arcanum. The kicker is, you can actually spend more Reach than you technically “have”, but if you do, the GM gets to roll some “Paradox dice”, and successes allow them to cancel out some of your Reach effects or add additional ones of their choosing. I’m simplifying a bit, but that’s the basic premise. The important part for this conversation is that it creates a feeling that magic is extremely flexible, but risky to attempt to perform feats that are beyond your level of mastery. If you stick to simple stuff you’ve done a million times and know you can do safely, it’s quite reliable. But if you push yourself to do more, the magic can escape your control. (Sort of; in the lore there’s more going on there than the magic itself being chaotic).Steering the topic back to esoterica, the other cool thing about Awakening 2e’s magic system is that you can give yourself bonus dice (which can help you contain the effects of paradox - you only need one success to achieve your intended effect, and you can spend additional successes to cancel out the effects of the GM’s successes on their Paradox dice) by using symbolic and ritual elements in the casting. Theoretically a mage can do magic naked, blindfolded, and gagged with their hands behind their back. But using magic words, gestures, tools, and other accoutrements makes it easier to reliably achieve your desired effects, and reduces the risk associated with over-reaching.</blockquote>

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