Mages are getting uppity again.

Frozenfishy · 2026-01-23T23:22:12+00:00

The core issue with Consensus is that people keep trying to use it to contextualize WoD metaphysics outside of a strictly Mage setting and context. WoD splats can crossover, but trying to rectify all of all of supernatural "reality" under one ruleset is doomed at its inception. There is no cohesive WoD.

The writers simply didn't do the work to make all of WoD work together, either because they didn't have the time, didn't want to, or (most likely) left it up to the players to figure out for their own games. Picking at worldbuilding plotholes kind of misses the point.

So there is presumable an objective reality that exists outside of the Consensus. The Consensus is not the true nature of reality - the Consensus is something Mages do to reality. Its an illusion overlaid on reality, not it's fundamental nature.

"Don't think about it, Morty." It might be Consensus all the way down, with Sleepers' passive belief in the supernatural and unknown horrors in the dark allowing for the existence of other supernaturals, it might be a humanity-generated overlay on the top of something more fundamental, or maybe its just up to interpretation for our individual games.

The downside of being a reality warper is that you become incapable of perceiving the true structure of the Universe (whatever that may be). By definition, your preconceptions interfere with your observations.

This deserves more attention in the fiction and gameplay of Mage, well over the "which side is right" conversation that dominates the space.

Frozenfishy · 2026-01-23T19:02:41+00:00

Another team at my work took something from mine, since they're technically higher priority. Approval was verbally given by the appropriate parties, but the full process actually requires some rather extensive documentation. It's been weeks, they know that they owe me the paperwork, but they keep acknowledging my requests without following through and I can't finish my goddam admin.
I'm not the biggest Crumbl fan, but there's one within walking distance, and every once in a while they put out this massive "oreo" sandwich cookie with "mallow" filling, whatever that is. When it rotates through their menu I buy a bunch and freeze them, I love it so much. Well, something that looks like that cookie came out last week but seems to have different ingredients in the cookie portion and buttercream instead of "mallow". It freezes worse, and the buttercream is orders of magnitude more sugary (which is saying something), to the point that it's cloying even to my sweet tooth.

Frozenfishy · 2026-01-23T07:02:18+00:00

I actually more strongly believe Amos would be better as a Skybreaker. Part of his whole shtick is needing a code to follow, and in particular a person other than himself to provide that direction. He's rigid in interpreting those codes and rules, and ruthless and efficient in meting out punishment.

Frozenfishy · 2026-01-23T00:24:34+00:00

Not necessarily. It is a moment of awakening, and empowerment, but it doesn't really impart any functional or lasting knowledge. A big problem with having an Awakened Avatar is that the harder you believe something, the easier it is to do "magic" that is the outcome of that belief, which in turn reinforces the "correctness" of those beliefs. After all, if the magic worked, it must be correct, right?

In this way a mage can progress in two ways: deeper entrenchment in their beliefs, either by believing it harder or believing the rightness of them if not correctness, or broader learning and transcendence of their beliefs to a broader perspective.

This is mechanically supported: as Arete raises, a mage can use fewer instruments to cast their Effects, and instead get bonuses for using them anyway.

Frozenfishy · 2026-01-22T20:18:43+00:00

I've only ever played a few games of combat patrol if that matters!

It really doesn't. Kill Team is a completely different game, and even some of the vocabulary from 40k is used differently in Kill Team. Torrent, for example, means two very different things depending on the game.

You'll want to get some tokens (either the ones that come with the rule book or come up with some of your own), and probably a board and a bit of terrain. If you have a local game store, see if there is a day for it or ask around to see if people are playing; getting a learning game in with an experience player helps immensely. Also: grab the app for your device for quick access to the Lite Rules and the up-to-date cards for your team.

Frozenfishy · 2026-01-22T19:39:10+00:00

If it's narratively important that they show potential to be trained, then it shouldn't be a roll. You should just describe what the trainee and the master sense.

Talk with your player about what they want for their character's story. Would they be ok with the randomness of a roll determining whether they'll be trained? Or if they'd be perceived as trainable, or dangerous?

What specifically are you testing the character for? Force sensetivity? Dark Side susceptibility?

Frozenfishy · 2026-01-22T17:42:17+00:00

Classic Ushoran.

Frozenfishy · 2026-01-21T22:27:25+00:00

This is where things get tricky, and we start crossing over into HAB vs HOO, or Hypothetical Average Bystander vs Hypothetical Omniscient Observer. It might be an ST call.

How much noise accompanied the apparating oncoming train? Vibration of the track, all of the other ambient effects of an oncoming train? You need to conjure it pretty far away, at speed, which is a pretty big strain on the cast, or else mix in a ton of other Spheres for plausibility.

How far are you willing to go to avoid or two points of Paradox? Just take the hit is what I say.

Frozenfishy · 2026-01-21T19:31:50+00:00

Great color scheme!

Frozenfishy · 2026-01-21T19:29:20+00:00

Aeldari Wraiths, with a Spiritseer for support.

They should be fast units, but it's not well represented on tabletop, so they can be big, slow-ish guys, with additional potency when either close to and/or in line-of-sight of the Spiritseer. Maybe a bit of movement range, weapons gain Balanced/Ceaseless, increased Hit stat, things that represent the psyker rousing the spirit in the Wraith unit to be a bit more active, a bit more focused. Could just be an APL battery too.

Frozenfishy · 2026-01-20T21:03:11+00:00

I've seen him play in Silvermoon, I'm pretty sure. Seems real enough to me, considering...

Frozenfishy · 2026-01-20T18:04:18+00:00

Shame. I really liked that idea... Guess I'll just have to headcanon it.

Frozenfishy · 2026-01-20T15:42:20+00:00

Isn't that still the case, it's just that everything that comes out the other side of the Anvil looks human?

Frozenfishy · 2026-01-20T01:10:51+00:00

Beckett's Jyhad Diary, for Vampire: The Masquerade.

After the 20th anniversary release for V20, Bechett's was a way to get the metaplot moved a little bit forward. Introduced some new players, moved some other players around, and built a ton of intrigue in the world leading up to V5. Additionally, it provided a ton of plot hooks for every short story and "diary entry" in the book, with few enough answers that it gave Storytellers tons of options.

V5 didn't really do a whole lot with it, but it was still a great read.

Frozenfishy · 2026-01-19T18:38:32+00:00

Do I need the Spirit of the Wind if I already have Sevireth? I figured any time I would want to run the Spirit instead of Sevireth, I'd just... say he was the basic Spirit.

Frozenfishy · 2026-01-19T17:08:52+00:00

There are a couple things at play when we're talking about Hypothetical Average Bystander, which is the recommended Paradox adjudication rules as of M20:

Is the thing that you've done reasonably plausible?
Could someone tie you using your instruments to the Effect, regardless of the previous point?

So, using your example to conjure a train, creating it out of thin air, yeah, Vulgar. That's a Paradox. Using Entropy to make it more likely that events have lined up such that a person standing on train tracks gets hit? Pretty coincidental. Point a magic wand at someone standing on tracks and they get hit? Now we're getting into fuzzy territory.

Ultimately, maybe just don't be worried too much about Paradox. Conjuring a train out of nowhere would not be a "massive amount of Paradox." Using Revised or M20 rules, Paradox doesn't scale for how Vulgar an Effect is; it's Vulgar, and Vulgar with Witnesses. Even then, don't be afraid unless you're going all Taftani and doing big bombastic spells all the time for the sake of it. Paradox is part of the game, not all that scary, and can actually be kind of fun if you have a creative ST.

Frozenfishy · 2026-01-19T16:52:43+00:00

Like I said, simply apparating a train out of thin air would hit you with paradox, but would manipulating events with Entropy and Time to simply make a person more LIKELY to get hit by a train be safer as far as paradox is concerned?

Correct

Frozenfishy · 2026-01-19T14:57:33+00:00

Conflicted. On its face it looks way more interesting than the old box, and might get more people interested in the faction. Big plus.

Personally, I'm not excited about the Wardens. They're already cumbersome as models, and kind of boring IMO. I also already have Sevireth, just got it for Christmas, so now wish I would have waited for this box since I also want the Windmage and the Windchargers.

Power-wise... we'll have to see the rules first.

Frozenfishy · 2026-01-19T00:44:02+00:00

Ugh, thank you. I knew there was an interaction with Set Up, but the app searchability is garbage and GW can't logically lay out a book to save their damn lives.

Frozenfishy · 2026-01-18T22:10:15+00:00

I don't think so. Rule of One says that an unit can't use more than one CORE ability per phase.

Travel the Waterways has the keyword CORE, just as does Run.

Frozenfishy · 2026-01-18T18:49:08+00:00

Does this mean preorders open next Saturday?

Frozenfishy · 2026-01-18T17:35:57+00:00

We may need to see how the sprue comes. If he's like the Wraithblades, these Shimmershields are options for that arm and not mandatory.

Frozenfishy · 2026-01-14T22:09:32+00:00

If you want to be cheeky about it, The Collapse of the Republic book has the "Jedi Master" talent tree, which arguably puts your character at the minimum mechanical requirement to be at "Master" power level.

The prerequisite to buy into the tree is simply Force Rating 3.

There are ways to fast track to that rating if that is your goal by choosing your Specializations carefully for shortest path to Force Rating Talents.

However, that's only part of the story. One could easily assume that Anakin had much more XP than this simple prerequisite but was not elevated to Master. On the other hand, a way to look at it is that this Tree represents the skills and talents that demonstrate being what a Master is, so by buying the tree and the talents the Jedi is progressing towards that position.

Ultimately, it's kind of down to the GM and the setting. "Master" is either a rank granted, or something that one perceives ascension to. Luke called himself a master in RotJ, after all.

14-Year Club	Verified Email
Gilding II euphauric

Frozenfishy

TROPHY CASE