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1 Chapter One 31.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31.2 Characters: It Takes All Sorts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31.3 Qualities and Drawbacks: A Slight Flaw in Her Character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41.4 Skills: She’s The Best At What She Does . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.5 Metaphysics: That Crazy Hoodoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.6 Summary Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81.7 Special Thanks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81.8 Document History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
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Chapter 1
Chapter One
1.1 Introduction
This document presents an adaptation of Mage: the As-cension concepts and mechanics to Unisystem rules, withparticular emphasis on the version of Unisystem pre-sented in WitchCraft 2nd Edition. Mage: the Ascensionand the Storyteller rules system are property of WhiteWolf Game Studio. WitchCraft and Unisystem are prop-erty of Eden Studios. This conversion is purely an homageto two very fun games and their respective authors andpublishers, written out of respect and admiration. It is inno way intended as an infringement on any involved prop-erties. It must be distributed freely and without charge.
Goals
Our primary goal in this conversion is to present a viablealternate rules set for players of Mage who are dissatis-fied with some of the more eccentric characteristics ofthe Storyteller system – the various botch rules, the dicepool mechanic, etc. To that end, we want to replicate themagic system presented in Mage: the Ascension Revisedas faithfully as possible. With the baseline established, wewill present occasional sidebars on how to tweak things toyour liking. We also encourage readers to enact their ownmodifications to suit the needs of their individual games.
Entirely secondary to that goal is making True Magickan option for those wishing to incorporate its mechanicsor ideas into other Unisystem games and settings. Be fore-warned: True Magick may not always ”balance” properlywith other Metaphysics, as that was not the primary inten-tion. As the saying goes, try before you buy.
Thirdly, this is an evolving document. We hope to im-prove the mechanics with testing and suggestions fromyou, our readers. So please feel free to make constructivecomments and criticisms.
So What’s in This Document?
Overall, Storyteller and Unisystem interchange prettywell. Stats use the same one to five scale, as do skills andmetaphysical abilities. If we haven’t mentioned some-thing here, like a particular Storyteller-based skill or abil-ity, it probably ports to Unisystem without any trouble.Also, we won’t get into the setting or concepts behindMage. There are so many interpretations of the game thattrying to insert our own into this conversion would bothbe impossible and hinder our main objective of providingalternate rules. The essence of the game remains whateveryou choose to derive from the source material.
What we cover in this conversion are those thingsthat don’t cleanly travel from Storyteller to Unisystem,or vice versa, such as casting effects with the Unisys-tem mechanic and certain sticky elements like Avatar andQuintessence, respectively.
1.2 Characters: It Takes All Sorts
True Mages
True Mages possess Awakened Avatars, which allow themto perform what has been variously called True Mag-ick, dynamic willworking and Enlightened Science. AnAvatar is part spirit-guide and part catalyst. It enables
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the Mage to bend reality to her will, but also motivatesand pushes her to attain her ultimate potential: Ascension,whatever the GM wishes to define that as.
True Mage characters get 15 points to distribute amongAttributes, 10 points for Qualities (and up to 10 points inDrawbacks), 25 points for Skills and 30 points for Meta-physics. For obvious reasons, Mages must purchase theGift and True Mage Qualities. The Gift is what definesthem, and is the basic prerequisite for their other meta-physical abilities.
Option: For high-flying super-mage action, you maywish to consider using the Greater Gifted character typeand its higher point totals for True Mages (see The Bookof Hod or Armageddon 2nd Edition). Furthermore, theEnlightened Human Quality would put True Mages on parwith the supernatural creatures presented in Armageddon.
Sorcerers (AKA Hedge Wizards)
Sorcerers, sometimes called Hedge Wizards, are charac-ters who practice linear or static magic. To make upfor their lower occult abilities, Cast Members who se-lect this Type are more accomplished in other areas. Al-though they are weaker in the area of Metaphysics, Sor-cerers have higher Attributes and skills than their moresupernaturally-adept counterparts. This is for game bal-ance only. The ”run of the mill,” non-Cast Member Sor-cerer would have Attributes and skills no better than thehuman average of 2.
These characters are less likely to attract the attentionof supernatural beings except when they actually use theirspecial abilities. They have a better chance of living arelatively peaceful existence, although their powers willoften lead them into trouble.
Sorcerers start out with 20 points for Attributes, 15points for Qualities (and up to 10 points in Drawbacks),30 points for Skills and 15 points for Metaphysics. Sor-cerers must buy the Gift Quality.
Sleepers
Sleepers have no supernatural skills whatsoever. Theymay find themselves disadvantaged in the world of Mage,because they lack the ability to face (and in some caseseven perceive) many of the dangers that hide beneath theshadows of reality.
Sleeper Cast Members should be extraordinary individ-uals (perhaps with a few Attributes near or at the humanmaximum), whose great physical or mental prowess al-lows them to be of assistance to their Gifted allies andfriends.
Sleepers start out with 25 points for Attributes, 20points for Qualities (and up to 10 points in Drawbacks)and 35 points for Skills. They get no points to buy Meta-physics (and cannot buy any with extra points gained fromDrawbacks), nor can they purchase many of the Supernat-ural Qualities.
Option:Sleepers as detailed here are the same as Mun-dane PCs in WitchCraft. They are extremely capable, pos-sessing both high Attributes and extensive Skills.
GMs desiring Sleeper characters more in line withthose presented in Storyteller Mage can start with theSleeper guidelines presented here and removing 10 pointsfrom each category, perhaps even 15 if Sleepers are par-ticularly less impressive than True Mages and Sorcer-ers.¡/TD¿
1.3 Qualities and Drawbacks: A SlightFlaw in Her Character
Some Backgrounds, Merits and Flaws are best imple-mented as Unisystem Qualities, while others would bebetter off as elements of Metaphysics. As a rule of thumb,if the Background/Merit/Flaw is a personal trait that is al-ways ”in effect” – that is, it isn’t turned off and on likea Metaphysical ability – such as Arcane or even Dream,consider it a Quality or Drawback, as the details warrant.Storyteller Backgrounds – and Nemeses, if using the op-tion presented in Guide to the Traditions – cost (or grant,in the case of Nemeses)) 2 points per level during charac-ter creation.
Avatar
Variable Supernatural Quality, 1 level per 2 pointsPrerequisites: The Gift and True Mage Qualities
The Avatar is the core of the True Mage. Through herAvatar, the True Mage works her will upon the world. Itis also a measure of her ability to do so. Every level ofAvatar allows the Mage to channel 1 point of Essence perTurn for use in working True Magick; so a Mage with
1.5. METAPHYSICS: THAT CRAZY HOODOO 5
Avatar 2 could channel 2 Essence points in a Turn. TrueMages automatically gain Avatar 1. Mages may furtherbuy up to Avatar 3.
Resources
Variable Social Quality, see text on costResources deserves special note as both Unisystem and
Storyteller have their own versions of this trait. The differ-ence is Unisystem assumes characters are economicallystable by default, while Storyteller starts characters off asdestitute. For comparison’s sake, Resources l equals Re-sources -3 Poor, while Resources 0 (Average) comes injust below Resources lll.
The scale the GM chooses should depend on what kindof game she wants to run. For example, if it were thestraight WoD setting using Unisystem mechanics, thenthe Storyteller Resources scale would be appropriate. Ei-ther way, each level costs 2 points.
True Mage
5 point Supernatural Quality Prerequisite: The GiftQuality
This Quality bestows all the abilities and other char-acteristics of the protagonists of Mage: the Ascension.Knowingly or not, they exert their will over reality, in-fluencing and causing events and actions. True Magesinitially rely on procedures and physical objects to focustheir will; these are known as foci. With time and personaldevelopment, the Mage may learn to discard or internalizeher foci (see Abandoning Foci, pg. 203 of Mage Revised).
1.4 Skills: She’s The Best At What SheDoes
As all Character Type point totals are taken directly fromUnisystem, we recommend using the skill list presented inWitchCraft 2nd Edition. Those wanting to use the shorterskill list of Mage should think about reducing the numberof skill points available to all Character Types by an equalamount, to maintain the proportions relative among them.Consult WitchCraft 2nd Edition for the complete list ofavailable skills. Listed here are a few skills worth specialnote.
Awareness (Special)
For those playing Mage with Unisystem rules, this skill isas per Mage Revised, save that it’s considered a Specialskill in Unisystem – mostly meaning it costs two pointsper level. For those who use True Magick in a WitchCraftgame, the Gifted’s ability to perceive magickal workingsadequately covers this skill.
Cosmology, AKA Umbral or DimensionalNavigation (Special)
As per Mage Revised. It’s worth noting this is distinctfrom WitchCraft’s Occult skill and sub-skills, in that itdeals specifically with the realms and regions of the Um-bra.
1.5 Metaphysics: That Crazy Hoodoo
True Magick
Arete
Willworking depends on a trait of True Mages known asArete. It measures what one might consider spiritual de-velopment, the strength to bend reality or enlightenment.In game terms, Arete controls a Mage’s highest possiblesphere level, as in Storyteller Mage, and forms the basis ofTrue Magick rolls. Arete behaves and is noted on the char-acter sheet in a similar manner to Anchor for the Taintedand Anguish for Disciples of the Flesh (see AbominationCodex and Mystery Codex, respectively).
A beginning Mage gains Arete 1 by virtue of possess-ing the True Mage Quality. During character generation,further levels of Arete cost 5 points apiece, to a startingmaximum of Arete 3.
The Nine Spheres of Magick
The sphere system remains precisely as presented in MageRevised. Use sphere levels and their abilities as written.A sphere level costs 4 points during character creation.Tradition specialty spheres cost 3 points per level. Astheir association bonus, characters receive one free levelof their Tradition’s specialty sphere.
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Creating Magickal Effects
By and large, the determination process described on pg.147-153 of Mage Revised can be used as written. Thealtered elements of casting effects are detailed below.
Rolling
In Unisystem Mage, a mage’s Arete rating acts as a bonusto her effect roll. Specifically, the formula for a magickroll is Arete + Willpower + modifiers + 1d10.
Designer’s Note: This is meant to put Unisystemmages roughly on par with their Storyteller counterparts,if slightly less powerful to compensate for Unisystem’sRule of 10. A typical starting mage with Arete 3 andWillpower 4 has an 70% chance of getting one SuccessLevel (see What Happened?) on a coincidental level 3effect, while an Arete 3 Storyteller mage attempting thesame effect has a 74% chance of getting one success.
Because of the Rule of 10, Unisystem doesn’t put a roofon the results of any one die roll. A Storyteller mage canonly hope to score as many successes as there are dice inher Arete pool. Options to regulate magick include cap-ping the number of successes a mage can accumulate inone turn to their Arete or Avatar ratings.
Difficulty Modifiers
Unlike Storyteller Mage, where an effect’s base difficultyis calculated according to the circumstances and spherelevels of the feat attempted, Unisystem has a target diffi-culty number of 9. Alterations to the difficulty typicallycome in the form of penalties and bonuses included in thestandard Stat + Skill + 1d10 formula. The table belowdetails common modifiers in casting effects in Mage al-tered to suit the 1d10 mechanic. Other modifiers – whichincludes channeling Essence via the Avatar Quality – de-tailed in Mage Revised work per usual, including the totallimit of plus or minus 3 to the difficulty.
Magickal Difficulty ModifiersSituational ModifiersCoincidental -1Vulgar without witnesses -2Vulgar with witnesses -3Sphere Level ModifiersLevel 1 (l) +1Level 2 (ll) +0Level 3 (lll) -1Level 4 (llll) -2Level 5 (lllll) -3Other Modifiers2 Essence Points +1Every two running effects -1
Designer’s Note: In the spirit of Mage Revised’s com-ments that sensory magick should be easy, the sphere leveldifficulty scale starts at +1 to level 1 effects.
What Happened?
You added your stats and modifiers, then rolled your die.How do you know if your mage succeeded, and how well?First, if it all adds up to 9 or more, the effect succeeded.Determining the margin of success uses Success Levels,as described in the Outcome Table, pg. 129 of WitchCraft2nd Edition. For the purposes of magickal effects, oneSuccess Level in Unisystem equals one success in Story-teller.
Damage and Duration
Success Levels are spent on damage and duration justas in the Storyteller version. Damage-wise, one SuccessLevel inflicts 9 Life Points of injury. Forces effects getone free Success Level of damage. (This mechanic canbe extended to determining injury inflicted by the AvatarStorm, if the GM utilizes that setting element.)
Designer’s Note: To determine a ratio between Story-teller Health Levels and Unisystem Life Points, we tookthe weapons the two systems had statted in common andcompared their maximum damage capability. For exam-ple, a .38 revolver does a maximum of 4 HLs or 18 LPs.Since magickal effects inflict whole health levels, withouta chance for soak, it seemed best to average the maxi-mum damage ratings. Of the ten firearms in common –
1.5. METAPHYSICS: THAT CRAZY HOODOO 7
other weapons were excluded because they rely in part onstrength – the ratio averaged to 4.5 Life Points per HealthLevel. Double that, because one Storyteller success in-flicts two Health Levels, and you get 9 Life Points perSuccess Level spent on damage.
Option: To retain the randomized element of Unisys-tem, each Success Level allocated to inflicting injury adds1d10 to the damage roll.
Because Unisystem does not distinguish between typesof damage, all damaging effects reduce Life Points in thesame way. The exception is Mind-based magick, whichreduces characters’ Endurance Points.
Paradox
Paradox accumulates and dissipates at the same rates de-scribed on pg. 194 of Mage Revised. Paradox flaws can beapplied using the guidelines described in the same section.In terms of inflicting damage, when a mage gains five ormore points of Paradox – see the bottom of the ”Creat-ing Magical Effects” sidebar, pg. 207 of Mage Revised –the GM makes a Paradox roll: total number of points ofParadox the mage has + 1d10. Each Success Level inflictsmagickal damage as per usual.
With regards to Essence, every point of Paradox re-duces the mage’s maximum Essence capacity by one. Soif a mage with a normal Essence capacity of 20 were togain 3 Paradox points, her capacity would reduce to 17.
Option: Those incorporating True Magick intoWitchCraft games may wish to consider turning Paradoxinto Taint. Taint negates Essence on a one-to-one ratio, asusual in the WitchCraft setting.
An Example of Play
Suppose then we have an up and coming young Hermeticmage named Jane. Jane’s player wanted her to be prettygood at magick, so she has Willpower 4 and Arete 3, aswell as Avatar 3, Forces 3 and Prime 2.
Exploring the bowels of a reputedly haunted city ten-ement, Jane stumbles across a group of pale, mis-shapencreatures that are decidedly hostile to her unannouncedvisit, going so far as to lunge at her, claws out-stretched.In her defense, Jane uses a rote to call upon the fire ele-mental living in the building’s furnace to strike out at herenemies.
The GM rules this is a coincidental version of theclassic Forces 3, Prime 2 effect. Calculating Arete +Willpower + modifiers + 1d10 yields the following:
3 (Arete)+ 4 (Willpower)
- 1 (level 3 effect)- 1 (coincidental)
+ 1d10
7 - 2 + 1d10
5 + 1d10
For the effect to succeed at all, Jane’s player needs toroll a 4 or better. Whether the effect actually does any-thing depends on how many Success Levels the roll gar-ners.
Permutations of Magick
Acting in Concert
Mage Revised’s group magic rules apply without alter-ation. As an option, or if paradigmatically appropriate,the GM may wish to incorporate Essence or difficultybonuses for mystically significant numbers, as describedin WitchCraft.
Countermagick
Countering another mage’s effects works just as describedin Mage Revised. Each Success Level on an Arete rollwith a -2 penalty negates one of the opposing caster’s Suc-cess Levels.
Multiple Effects
As described in Mage Revised: every two effects incur a-1 difficulty penalty to further Arete rolls.
The Crowd Effect
The thing to remember about WitchCraft’s Crowd Effectis that it’s written for a setting in which magic freely ex-ists. Disbelief, as expressed by the Crowd Effect, is actu-
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ally the unconscious collective channeling of Essence as aform of countermagick. In the Mage setting, however, thecurrent reality is actively hostile to magick. Applying theCrowd Effect to mages’ workings as well as normal Para-dox rules would be a double whammy not appropriate forall games.
1.6 Summary Tables
Character CreationQualitiesAvatar 2 points per levelTrue Mage 5MetaphysicsArete 5 per levelSphere level 4Specialty sphere level 3
Magickal Difficulty ModifiersSituational ModifiersCoincidental -1Vulgar without witnesses -2Vulgar with witnesses -3Sphere Level ModifiersLevel 1 (l) +1Level 2 (ll) +0Level 3 (lll) -1Level 4 (llll) -2Level 5 (lllll) -3Other Modifiers2 Essence Points +1Every two running magickal effects -1
1.7 Special Thanks
Thanks go to:
• Frank Sronce, of RPG.net, for his suggestion on in-corporating sphere levels into difficulty modifiers.
1.8 Document History
4/18/2005: Unisystem Mage v1.0 first published online asHTML document.
4/18/2005: v1.1 posted. Changes include recostingAvatar, True Mage and Paradox’s Essence-reduction ef-fect. Added sphere level costs, sphere level difficultymodifiers, an example of play and a trait summary table.
5/23/2005: v1.2 posted. Changes consist of adding op-tions for Sleeper characters.
7/2/2005: v1.3 posted. Fixed some HTML errors.2/26/2008: v1.4. Converted into PDF format using
LATEX. Remove unncessary skills High Ritual and Hyper-tech. Removed minor typos and clarified sentence struc-ture.
