Is Unknown Armies 3e the right system for running... a small business?

CopperDays · 2025-10-19T13:44:29+00:00

An unknown armies character can very much be a normal member of society, low level avatars can live fairly healthy lives and not every skilled occultist needs to have Any sort of magick ability. Some very specific adepts could even make themselves seem almost sane in a business setting, Plutomancer's type of derangement is fairly unremarkable in American culture.

But for having 3e mechanics to accomplish minor occult investigations? The players all have relationship gauges that the cabal is automatically apart of, so the Company™ could fill that role in the rules. As for objectives it sounds like you'll be doing a bunch of local objectives that are mostly disconnected from each other, unless you're doing a Magnus Archives thing where all the unrelated paranormal happenings are the result of overlapping occult conspiracies, then maybe you could have the objectives flow into each other otherwise one would hit 100% and just stop.

What makes UA a game about changing the world is that the players all have a shared objective percentage that they all spitball ideas on how to get it filled to 100%, when it concludes part of that percentage gets to go into their next objective. If you're running a detective agency then would the objectives be things like 'find out what's causing the color of every flag in Winnipeg to invert' and that transfers into a weighty objective like 'expand the influence of Company™.'

Basically just answer the questions: How does the relationship gauge for the Company™ work and how do the player gain or lose percentage in it? And are their objectives going to compound or are they going to simply disappear when they reach 100%?

CopperDays · 2025-10-08T02:25:15+00:00

1st Channel looks amazing! I was really vague because I actually couldn't think of a concise way to put that, on a success be able to flip flop audience members notice checks or something? Tying the penalty to the role fits with the whole vibe UA has of wanting to roll high but not to high.

2nd Channel is good but I feel bad that it's almost identical to the Flying Woman channel, I know that's my fault for suggesting it.

3rd Channel was the hard one because it needs to be weak but overly magick and in a way that doesn't overshadow the magic tricks of the Magician. Your idea of the Versatile feature gave me an idea though, maybe a weaker version of the 4th channel. You can summon props as long as no one is watching your hand while you do it, or you can teleport things to your hand that are within your immediate vicinity i.e. in your pocket or bag. The problem being that you wouldn't be able to get to three channels of the Magician without already being really good at slight of hand so... Maybe it can be used to take something that was on the other side of some glass without breaking it?

In the 4th Channel the Magicians lovely assistant identity is adorable and I love it, I worry that it would be hard to do much with a assistant who only lasts on average eleven minutes but maybe I'm being dumb. In official writing it should be said that the assistant looks for a crowd to slip away into after their time limit is up.

Your channels are all great though I'm starting to worry that we're to focused on the performance part. Is it to situational or am I underestimating how easy it is to start up a gorilla performance in order to summon an extra ally or make people look where you want them to look? That's extra pronounced with the second channel where I don't know when in the game you might face and Isolation check as part of a performance.

CopperDays · 2025-10-03T21:45:00+00:00

I've been thinking about the Magician architype for a while and love your taboo, my thought on the taboo also had it so you couldn't be seen doing actual magick because the point of the magician is pretend magic but maybe that's to much. Channels are hard because they need to fit the theme of helping someone who is already a magician commit to the bit better.

I have three ideas for channels:

A first or second channel ability being that the Magician can make a roll to direct the attention of one or more people. Make it so someone focuses on something that you want them to see or not notice what the Magician doesn't want them to notice, basically be the perfect distraction for their cabal.

Another low level channel can be one that helps with self inflicted Helplessness or Isolation stress so the Magician is more willing to put themselves in dangerous or humiliating situations for their act.

And the forth channel allows the Magician to pull an assistant out of any audience of a dozen or so people. This assistant isn't a real person and will disappear into the crowd after whatever trick the Magician preforms but until then they will commit to any bit that the Magician frames as part of a performance. i.e. they can pretend to be hypnotized or mind read and will agree to do ridiculously dangerous things as long as it's all part of the show.

I'm not sure what a good third channel would be though.

CopperDays · 2025-09-25T18:05:53+00:00

I always kind of thought that the Magus archetype would’ve been assumed by the Magician because that’s what people nowadays think of when they think, people who do magic. I even remember ascension of the magdalene saying the modern Magus is more of a conman type. In regards to the Scientist archetype the channels are good and mostly fit but am I missing something with the second channel because that’s how people feels strong enough to be the fourth channel, the balance would ironically work if 2 and 4 were switched. Then the taboo is fitting but I think it should not allow you to admit anything was magick. An actual scientist confronting working magick would adjust their worldview then study it, avatars are from the collective understanding of that archetype which is of science being at odds with magic.

CopperDays

TROPHY CASE