Favorite Game?
Feb 3, 2012 8:21:15 GMT -8
Post by ironnikki on Feb 3, 2012 8:21:15 GMT -8
I've played Mage: The Awakening before, and found that I really enjoy it. I've never played Dresden Files, but I've read several of the books, so I have an idea of what you're referring to.
Mechanics-wise, I would imagine it's very similar to Exalted. I've never played Exalted, but I believe that most of WW's games are similar. You have 0-5 dots in skills and attributes, and to make any kind of check, you add your dots together (mostly skill+attribute for non-magical checks,) and roll that many dice. On an 8, 9, or 10 you succeed, and if you roll a 10, you get to roll those again (this is called "10-again".) You then add up all of your successes, and compare that number to the target or the contested roll. In situations where there is nobody contesting the roll, and the task is not particularly difficult, one success is enough to complete the task. Getting five or more over the target number is generally considered an exceptional success, and the effect varies based on what you're doing. If your total dice pool after penalties is reduced to zero or below, you still get to roll one dice, a "chance die," but you only succeed on 10's (10-again still applies.) If you roll a 1 on a chance roll, you get a dramatic failure, and the Storyteller gets to decide what happens >:-] These mechanics are common to all of the nWoD games. When you pick up a supernatural template, such as Mage, things are just added on to this.
(Warning: summarized setting info ahead! Don't continue if you're less interested in this aspect, or you fear the plethora of capitalized words!)
The basic premise of Mage: The Awakening is based on the tale of Atlantis. This lost city was a haven for the Enlightened, but was eventually lost after a group of Mages ascended to the Supernal Realms (where magic comes from.) Sleepers, i.e: normal people, can be Awakened by traveling to one of the Supernal Watchtowers in their dreams and leaving their name upon it's surface, which creates a tie between themselves and the Supernal Realm. From then on, they can practice magic. There's a lot more to it than that, and I won't get into that, but it's really interesting, and is mostly detailed in the core Mage book. Check it out if you're interested.
Mage-specific mechanics are really interesting. Spells are classified into one or more of several Arcana. These are classified by 0-5 dots as well, where a mage with 0 dots in an Arcanum has no control over it, and a mage with 5 dots has complete control in it (and is probably world famous.) So long as a mage has the requisite dots in an arcanum, he or she can do anything they want with it; spells are not limited to what you find in the book, though those are a great place to start. Mages also have a few spells that they're particularly good at casting, called rotes, which are easier to cast. Mages have to be careful when they're slinging spells around though, because casting spells that defy natural laws (termed vulgar magic) can causes Paradoxes, dangerous rips in reality.
Whew. Sorry for all of that! I hope I haven't scared you away yet. There's a lot more to the system and setting than that, but that's a very brief introduction. Mage can be played at any time period, though I always preferred a modern setting. Although mages command great power, they're still human, and are pretty squishy when it comes to other supernatural baddies, so one of the main themes of the game is pride, and knowing when you've gotten over your head. It can make for some very interesting game play.
tl;dr: a condensed list of pros and cons:
Pros
-Expandable to any time period
-Base game mechanics are relatively simple and easy to learn
-Great for imaginative playing; coming up with interesting solutions is one of my favorite parts
-Huge potential for strong roleplaying
-Doesn't typically suffer from hours upon hours of combat
Cons
-Mage has several oddly specific rules that will require a book close at hand most of the time
-The freedom of the magic system can allow PC's to take advantage of it
-Storyteller and players really need to read the book to understand the history
-Seriously, like, cover to cover
If anyone has anything to add, please do. I've got relatively limited experience of the game, so I could be off on a few things, or forgotten to add anything. If you've got any other questions, please ask, and I hope this helped!
Mechanics-wise, I would imagine it's very similar to Exalted. I've never played Exalted, but I believe that most of WW's games are similar. You have 0-5 dots in skills and attributes, and to make any kind of check, you add your dots together (mostly skill+attribute for non-magical checks,) and roll that many dice. On an 8, 9, or 10 you succeed, and if you roll a 10, you get to roll those again (this is called "10-again".) You then add up all of your successes, and compare that number to the target or the contested roll. In situations where there is nobody contesting the roll, and the task is not particularly difficult, one success is enough to complete the task. Getting five or more over the target number is generally considered an exceptional success, and the effect varies based on what you're doing. If your total dice pool after penalties is reduced to zero or below, you still get to roll one dice, a "chance die," but you only succeed on 10's (10-again still applies.) If you roll a 1 on a chance roll, you get a dramatic failure, and the Storyteller gets to decide what happens >:-] These mechanics are common to all of the nWoD games. When you pick up a supernatural template, such as Mage, things are just added on to this.
(Warning: summarized setting info ahead! Don't continue if you're less interested in this aspect, or you fear the plethora of capitalized words!)
The basic premise of Mage: The Awakening is based on the tale of Atlantis. This lost city was a haven for the Enlightened, but was eventually lost after a group of Mages ascended to the Supernal Realms (where magic comes from.) Sleepers, i.e: normal people, can be Awakened by traveling to one of the Supernal Watchtowers in their dreams and leaving their name upon it's surface, which creates a tie between themselves and the Supernal Realm. From then on, they can practice magic. There's a lot more to it than that, and I won't get into that, but it's really interesting, and is mostly detailed in the core Mage book. Check it out if you're interested.
Mage-specific mechanics are really interesting. Spells are classified into one or more of several Arcana. These are classified by 0-5 dots as well, where a mage with 0 dots in an Arcanum has no control over it, and a mage with 5 dots has complete control in it (and is probably world famous.) So long as a mage has the requisite dots in an arcanum, he or she can do anything they want with it; spells are not limited to what you find in the book, though those are a great place to start. Mages also have a few spells that they're particularly good at casting, called rotes, which are easier to cast. Mages have to be careful when they're slinging spells around though, because casting spells that defy natural laws (termed vulgar magic) can causes Paradoxes, dangerous rips in reality.
Whew. Sorry for all of that! I hope I haven't scared you away yet. There's a lot more to the system and setting than that, but that's a very brief introduction. Mage can be played at any time period, though I always preferred a modern setting. Although mages command great power, they're still human, and are pretty squishy when it comes to other supernatural baddies, so one of the main themes of the game is pride, and knowing when you've gotten over your head. It can make for some very interesting game play.
tl;dr: a condensed list of pros and cons:
Pros
-Expandable to any time period
-Base game mechanics are relatively simple and easy to learn
-Great for imaginative playing; coming up with interesting solutions is one of my favorite parts
-Huge potential for strong roleplaying
-Doesn't typically suffer from hours upon hours of combat
Cons
-Mage has several oddly specific rules that will require a book close at hand most of the time
-The freedom of the magic system can allow PC's to take advantage of it
-Storyteller and players really need to read the book to understand the history
-Seriously, like, cover to cover
If anyone has anything to add, please do. I've got relatively limited experience of the game, so I could be off on a few things, or forgotten to add anything. If you've got any other questions, please ask, and I hope this helped!