The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
(nMage) Its the Little Abuses That Make Life Sweet [Magic in Daily Life]
gavindel
The reason all your softwareis brokenRegistered User regular
The reason all your softwareis brokenRegistered User regular
The World of Darkness - much like our own, but tattered. Worn down and weighed down by the shadows and the dark things. In a world ruled by ancient, cruel bloodsuckers and furry, rage-filled abominations, the Awakened stand as a beacon of hope and prowess to protect mankind itself.
But, when the magi aren't creating small suns in the middle of a Harpy's speech, what kind of creep is there in their own lives? Even magic becomes normal after a few decades, and a few little alterations here and there don't hurt anyone, do they?
In my own Mage games, home rules relax some of the vice on permanent magic effects, and so its not uncommon for a large city to have a Life mage or two who sell youth, beauty, and boob jobs for a couple million each. Mind mages who will create your utmost fantasy for a fee. An underground economy of all of life's best vices and a libertarian economist's wet dream all in one.
Even without moving away from the Rules As Written, though, a clever mage can fix up their life in a thousand little ways. It costs literally nothing (as long as you stay in your Ruling spheres), and who is hurt by little things? What harm is there in keeping that old beater of a car running for a few more years? You risk your life for ignorant mortals day in and day out - why should you have to deal with mud on the carpet?
When you have the force of the cosmos at your hands, is it really that big of a deal to tug gently on the strings of Fate for some free pizza?
In this vein of hubris-endangering provocation, I have a short formative list of simple magics. Nothing that should grant more than a small bonus to a roll or a circumstantial convenience. Tiny, harmless magics to smooth out the kinks of life. Go ahead and chip in. After all:
You're the Awakened. And you deserve it. (tm)
Time
Perfect Alarm:
A silent, mystical nudge at exactly the right time to wake a sleeping mage.
Fresh Eyed Day
By gentle massage of a mage’s sense of time, the caster feels as though she woke at whatever time she desires. Have to wake up at 5AM? Tell your body its 10AM! Offsets up to 2 points of penalty from sleep deprivation, or adds +1 for the first hour of wakefulness in that day.
Offset the clock
Change the time on any clock in sight (whether digital, analog, or mystic) to any time of your choosing.
Fate
Never-Lost Keys
Fate 1: Minor items are always where you need them to be. This spell won’t give you a gun if someone breaks into your house, but it will make it so you can find your toothbrush groping about in the dark.
Best Parking Space
Fate 1: Find the parking you’re looking for. Not capable of creating miracles (such as free parking in New York).
Remember
Remember that thing you forgot but that needs done. Yes, that thing! The one you never wrote on the calendar five months ago!
Life
One Snap Shower
Life 1: Banish body odor and sweat with a snap of the finger. Functions like a good shower with none of the harsh chemicals.
Weight Loss:
Life 1: This spell suppresses routine food cravings, aiding a mage in losing weight by reducing intake. Jenny Craig would murder for this.
Hair Where no Hair Has Gone Before
Life 1: Encourages the growth of body hair. Rather than cause an instant explosion of follicles, this spell encourages what growth already takes place to accelerate.
Rogaine
Life 1: Exactly what it says on the tin.
Don’t You Have Somewhere to Be?
Life 1: Instigates a need to use the restroom in the chosen victim. Does nothing to someone with an empty bladder. Caution (or a rubber mat) is recommended for use on small children, the elderly, or dogs.
Spirit
The Informed Customer
Feel out the essence of your purchases for signs of trouble by the resonance of the Essence within. Won’t fix an Illuminati conspiracy, but it will give you a nudge when your car’s essence is greed, profit, and obsolence.
Mystic Aura
Imbue an area with a fragment of the Shadow Realm, creating a sense of isolation and strange occurences in those who pass within. This effect is purely a special effect, but every good magician knows that mood is crucial.
Burn the Runes
With a flick of a hand, a twirl, or even a clap, the mage can construct a small white ritual circle, lined with runes of her choosing. The circle is outlined in spiritual chalk and acts in every manner as normal chalk.
Mind
Never Pay for a Drink
This spell weaves a small bubble of forgetfulness regarding small or modest, mundane bills. This won’t get you out of owing the mob, but it will let you walk out of a bar without a worry about your tab. (Remember: theft is a sin against wisdom!)
Petty Theft
(or Forces) By trick of the eye or prestidigitation, make that coveted new CD or game fall into your jacket without any incriminating hands on.
Sleeping Babe
Cast this spell upon a lump of pillows under the sheets to create a foolproof facsimile of a teenager sleeping soundly in their bed…as long as “foolproof” means “while the lights are off and no one touches it.”
Space
Luggage
Amaze airline stewardesses as you fit all your luggage into that carry on. Carry an improbably well equipped purse. Fit three cell phones and a wallet in your skinny jeans.
Watch Your Step
Attuned to the ripples of the dimensions around her, a mage who maintains this spell never stubbes her toe on a slip or gets a heel caught in a sidewalk crack.
Alone in a Crowded Subway
Provide yourself with a little breathing room by subtle pushes against the space manifold. Good for fighting claustrophobia.
Death
Clear a Room
Conjure the smell of rot and decay as if a sewer main burst or someone left the garbage to rot in the rain. Myraid uses for the clever or prank-inclined; spell is not responsible for visits by health and sanitation.
Preservative
Automatic pickling, canning, or smoking of food stuff. Does not provide any additional flavor.
Shut that Thing Up
Kill a mundane electronic item (like the booming stereo of the passing car) and prevent its functioning for a short period of time.
Matter
Grime Proof
When the spell is cast, the mage chooses a single mundane substance to repel. This can be dirt, oil, blood, etc. The substance in question refuses to stain their clothes or skin. This does not cause the substance to leap off the mage. (If you try to use this to justify walking on water, the GM should laugh at you.)
Spit Shine
A good cleaning for a regular item. May need to be cast repeatedly for large objects like cars. This will remove cosmetic rust, fix small blemishes, help chrome shine like new, etc.
Perfect Silverware
Adorn eating utensils with the perfect coating, preventing cheese build up and keeping the silver shining.
Prime
Hey, Look over There!
Cause a flicker in the corner of the eye of the victim.
No, Really, I’m Eighteen!
Selectively smear the writing on a document just enough to make it thinly plausible that the mage is telling the truth.
All the world a stage
Everyone needs a little bit of good lighting now and then, right?
Forces
Muffle
Quiet noises to about the equivalent of good foam padding or a pillow on top. Shuts up a cell phone or hides that ill timed fart.
Honey, I’m Home:
This spell causes all desired electronics within a mage’s domain to turn on as soon as she casts it. These applicances require power as normal, but its nice to never again have to fumble for a light switch.
Third Hand
This spell allows a mage to leave a book hovering at its open page, a door to remain ajar, or other such minor telekinetic convenience. Beware the mage chef who has mastered this spell.
But, when the magi aren't creating small suns in the middle of a Harpy's speech, what kind of creep is there in their own lives? Even magic becomes normal after a few decades, and a few little alterations here and there don't hurt anyone, do they?
In my own Mage games, home rules relax some of the vice on permanent magic effects, and so its not uncommon for a large city to have a Life mage or two who sell youth, beauty, and boob jobs for a couple million each. Mind mages who will create your utmost fantasy for a fee. An underground economy of all of life's best vices and a libertarian economist's wet dream all in one.
Even without moving away from the Rules As Written, though, a clever mage can fix up their life in a thousand little ways. It costs literally nothing (as long as you stay in your Ruling spheres), and who is hurt by little things? What harm is there in keeping that old beater of a car running for a few more years? You risk your life for ignorant mortals day in and day out - why should you have to deal with mud on the carpet?
When you have the force of the cosmos at your hands, is it really that big of a deal to tug gently on the strings of Fate for some free pizza?
In this vein of hubris-endangering provocation, I have a short formative list of simple magics. Nothing that should grant more than a small bonus to a roll or a circumstantial convenience. Tiny, harmless magics to smooth out the kinks of life. Go ahead and chip in. After all:
You're the Awakened. And you deserve it. (tm)
Time
Perfect Alarm:
A silent, mystical nudge at exactly the right time to wake a sleeping mage.
Fresh Eyed Day
By gentle massage of a mage’s sense of time, the caster feels as though she woke at whatever time she desires. Have to wake up at 5AM? Tell your body its 10AM! Offsets up to 2 points of penalty from sleep deprivation, or adds +1 for the first hour of wakefulness in that day.
Offset the clock
Change the time on any clock in sight (whether digital, analog, or mystic) to any time of your choosing.
Fate
Never-Lost Keys
Fate 1: Minor items are always where you need them to be. This spell won’t give you a gun if someone breaks into your house, but it will make it so you can find your toothbrush groping about in the dark.
Best Parking Space
Fate 1: Find the parking you’re looking for. Not capable of creating miracles (such as free parking in New York).
Remember
Remember that thing you forgot but that needs done. Yes, that thing! The one you never wrote on the calendar five months ago!
Life
One Snap Shower
Life 1: Banish body odor and sweat with a snap of the finger. Functions like a good shower with none of the harsh chemicals.
Weight Loss:
Life 1: This spell suppresses routine food cravings, aiding a mage in losing weight by reducing intake. Jenny Craig would murder for this.
Hair Where no Hair Has Gone Before
Life 1: Encourages the growth of body hair. Rather than cause an instant explosion of follicles, this spell encourages what growth already takes place to accelerate.
Rogaine
Life 1: Exactly what it says on the tin.
Don’t You Have Somewhere to Be?
Life 1: Instigates a need to use the restroom in the chosen victim. Does nothing to someone with an empty bladder. Caution (or a rubber mat) is recommended for use on small children, the elderly, or dogs.
Spirit
The Informed Customer
Feel out the essence of your purchases for signs of trouble by the resonance of the Essence within. Won’t fix an Illuminati conspiracy, but it will give you a nudge when your car’s essence is greed, profit, and obsolence.
Mystic Aura
Imbue an area with a fragment of the Shadow Realm, creating a sense of isolation and strange occurences in those who pass within. This effect is purely a special effect, but every good magician knows that mood is crucial.
Burn the Runes
With a flick of a hand, a twirl, or even a clap, the mage can construct a small white ritual circle, lined with runes of her choosing. The circle is outlined in spiritual chalk and acts in every manner as normal chalk.
Mind
Never Pay for a Drink
This spell weaves a small bubble of forgetfulness regarding small or modest, mundane bills. This won’t get you out of owing the mob, but it will let you walk out of a bar without a worry about your tab. (Remember: theft is a sin against wisdom!)
Petty Theft
(or Forces) By trick of the eye or prestidigitation, make that coveted new CD or game fall into your jacket without any incriminating hands on.
Sleeping Babe
Cast this spell upon a lump of pillows under the sheets to create a foolproof facsimile of a teenager sleeping soundly in their bed…as long as “foolproof” means “while the lights are off and no one touches it.”
Space
Luggage
Amaze airline stewardesses as you fit all your luggage into that carry on. Carry an improbably well equipped purse. Fit three cell phones and a wallet in your skinny jeans.
Watch Your Step
Attuned to the ripples of the dimensions around her, a mage who maintains this spell never stubbes her toe on a slip or gets a heel caught in a sidewalk crack.
Alone in a Crowded Subway
Provide yourself with a little breathing room by subtle pushes against the space manifold. Good for fighting claustrophobia.
Death
Clear a Room
Conjure the smell of rot and decay as if a sewer main burst or someone left the garbage to rot in the rain. Myraid uses for the clever or prank-inclined; spell is not responsible for visits by health and sanitation.
Preservative
Automatic pickling, canning, or smoking of food stuff. Does not provide any additional flavor.
Shut that Thing Up
Kill a mundane electronic item (like the booming stereo of the passing car) and prevent its functioning for a short period of time.
Matter
Grime Proof
When the spell is cast, the mage chooses a single mundane substance to repel. This can be dirt, oil, blood, etc. The substance in question refuses to stain their clothes or skin. This does not cause the substance to leap off the mage. (If you try to use this to justify walking on water, the GM should laugh at you.)
Spit Shine
A good cleaning for a regular item. May need to be cast repeatedly for large objects like cars. This will remove cosmetic rust, fix small blemishes, help chrome shine like new, etc.
Perfect Silverware
Adorn eating utensils with the perfect coating, preventing cheese build up and keeping the silver shining.
Prime
Hey, Look over There!
Cause a flicker in the corner of the eye of the victim.
No, Really, I’m Eighteen!
Selectively smear the writing on a document just enough to make it thinly plausible that the mage is telling the truth.
All the world a stage
Everyone needs a little bit of good lighting now and then, right?
Forces
Muffle
Quiet noises to about the equivalent of good foam padding or a pillow on top. Shuts up a cell phone or hides that ill timed fart.
Honey, I’m Home:
This spell causes all desired electronics within a mage’s domain to turn on as soon as she casts it. These applicances require power as normal, but its nice to never again have to fumble for a light switch.
Third Hand
This spell allows a mage to leave a book hovering at its open page, a door to remain ajar, or other such minor telekinetic convenience. Beware the mage chef who has mastered this spell.
Book - Royal road - Free! Seraphim === TTRPG - Wuxia - Free! Seln Alora
0
Posts
Correspondence:
Get back here!: Cause a small object (coin, pen, etc) you just dropped to bounce back toward you and land within easy reach.
For your Clear the Room effect, you could easily use Life and/or Matter to conjure some skunk spray or putriscine.
IOS Game Center ID: Isotope-X
And its not over-reliance on magic. Its treating yourself properly! Here at GavinCo, we're ready to offer suggestions for optimization of the most humdrum activities!
Forces:
Reception. A perfect five bar signal (as long as a signal can be found.)
Anonymity. My IP address? Fjord. You ain't tracing this one.
Life and/or Mind:
Sometimes You Just Need to Relax: Instantly bring yourself to orgasm.
Space Mountain: Lengthen arousal time and delay orgasm
Good Hair Day: Clear up minor appearance issues (dry skin, minor acne, small scars, etc.)
It'll Be Better In The Morning: Put yourself into a restful sleep. A natural partner for your Perfect Alarm.
Tums Tums Tums Tums: Clear up digestive ills (indigestion, constipation) and restore appetite
Forces:
Hack All The IP's!: Engage in computer hacking without actual knowledge. Rapid fire typing makes it coincidental.
Mood Lighting: Change the color scheme of ambient lighting in the area
Indoor Voice: Alter the acoustics in a room to enhance your voice. Useful for teachers, stock traders, etc.
Allez Cuisine: Maintain food at optimum temperature, prevent burning and drying out (may require Matter)
IOS Game Center ID: Isotope-X
For example, someone with Forces two could hack into the best website in the world, hands down. Well, sure...if magic hacking was just mortal hacking+. But magic hacking means that you have to face the Spirit guardian of that network, as well as fight against the metaphysical current of hundreds of manhours devoted solely to security. In order to get in, what if you have to power your Forces hacking with a ley line "connection" between you and the target?
Mage is a game about the metaphysical and the strange...and that's why its totally not against Wisdom to have an imbued toothbrush.
Time:
Delayed Reaction - Suck up that blanche or disgusted face and save it for five minutes from now when no one is looking!
Death:
Poker Face - Keep your expression as impartial as an undertaker with a sliver of the Underworld! (Warning: repeated use may cause face to get stuck like that, just like your mother warned)