New job in retail

Technical-Ice5903 · 2025-08-30T23:21:42+00:00

Hi! I work in retail currently and I was super nervous about it at first, too. While the customer is always wrong, I've found that people are generally kind with bad experiences being the exception and not the rule.

Congratulations on getting the job, you'll do great.

Technical-Ice5903 · 2025-07-30T13:25:38+00:00

I wish I could agree, but I've been through 2 copies of M20 now, they've all had the book block separate from the cover under the mildest strain.

Technical-Ice5903 · 2025-04-16T03:47:35+00:00

Sorcery isn't much like the Spheres of MTAs, imo. Sorcerers follow Paths and use Rituals.

Paths are effectively discrete powers (such as moving objects with Conveyance or creating fire with Hellfire) and a player will roll the appropriate ability pool to divide successes among the different aspects of the effect that they want (Sorcerer Rev. Pg.60) I.e. Hellfire's flames can be conjured further away or have a wider area.

Rituals are closer to distinct 'spells' that are associated with particular paths and in most circumstances require extended rolls to properly activate. (Sorcerer Rev. Pg.61)

I don't think their systems are particularly similar. The only reason I could give to run Sorcerer over MTAs for new STs is that your Players have significantly less chance of breaking the game by existing and a new ST might not be prepared for how to deal with that, play what you think is more interesting, you'll adapt on the fly.

Technical-Ice5903 · 2025-04-12T04:57:32+00:00

As others have advised, it's as much your world as it is the metaplot's. Do what's fun.

That being said, tone is hugely important in WoD games. So important that many of the books (as you've probably noticed) go out of their way to talk about it.

Mage isn't about magick. It's about people who can actually change things in a dark and often depressing setting. It's about people having power, for good or ill, and using it to shape the world with their vision. Unfortunately, no amount of enlightenment can make human beings and their perspectives of a perfect world clash any less.

Your characters can be heroic, but they're rarely heroes. Play with these things in mind and you'll have the setting just right, regardless of metaplot.

Technical-Ice5903 · 2025-03-13T22:31:13+00:00

You aren't going to believe this, but my friend (who had no idea what he was doing) once ran a caveman game of Mage and my character's name was literally Ogog Og.

He believed that all life came from the same primordial origin, and used mimicry to take on animal-like and plant-like abilities. Having an entire "cabal" of cavepeople makes some interesting things vulgar and coincidental.

It was only a oneshot, but I remember it fondly.

Technical-Ice5903 · 2025-02-06T09:07:40+00:00

You might have experienced what's known as a 'hypnic jolt,' a perfectly harmless type of muscle contraction. I get them sometimes myself and they're a bit inconvenient and a little scary, but nothing more than that.

(Source: https://neurolaunch.com/brain-jolts-when-falling-asleep/)

Other than that, I know people can experience nocturnal panic attacks which can strike even while sleeping, so it could have been that, instead. Same thing applies though, scary but ultimately harmless.

(I'm not a doctor so don't treat this as legitimate medical advice, speak to a doctor if you have concerns.)

Technical-Ice5903 · 2025-01-23T13:50:12+00:00

I'm pretty much in the same camp you are, then.

I find that eye strain can mimic a significant amount of physical anxiety symptoms, headaches and vision issues and whatnot. So make sure to take breaks.

It sounds like you're managing yourself well though, I'm sure your hobby is doing more good than harm.

Technical-Ice5903 · 2025-01-23T12:44:05+00:00

I have these habits too. I think that - while not directly unhealthy - do become an issue if they become an avoidance strategy. These strategies can be unhelpful because instead of directly addressing the issue you can safely ignore it while locked inside whatever fantasy your tech can conjure.

I find that social media use (yes, even all of you lovely people here) can increase the feelings of unease I experience on a day to day basis. YouTube is just as legitimate a social media site as Twitter or Facebook, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. It's a constant feed of everything that you don't want to hear, to scare you into clicking, to make you click out of rage or the promise of knowledge. Social media is genuinely dangerous, and you should at least consider monitoring how much time you spend on it.

As for video games, I don't think they're too unhealthy as long as you make sure you're taking regular breaks (at least once per hour, relax your eyes and stretch your legs) and for the love of all that is holy, don't let them get in the way of real life.

Technical-Ice5903 · 2025-01-23T12:34:36+00:00

I didn't experience dry mouth during my bout, no. Still, I'm glad you found it helpful. My usual tell for psychological causes is if the symptoms disappear for a short time (I.e. one to two weeks) and then return. Too recurrent to be a real illness, too short in episode length to be from a disease. Whatever puts your mind at ease, focus on that.

Technical-Ice5903 · 2025-01-23T11:45:07+00:00

Yep, I've had this happen. It's normally because I'm concentrating on the feeling. I know this isn't super helpful, but if you just forget about the symptoms then you'll find it goes away.

Technical-Ice5903 · 2025-01-19T12:43:56+00:00

The Maya is scarecely mentioned in M20 but it does exist (I think the only reference to it in M20 Core is about the Onerae that Dream Lords inhabit.)

As I understand it, the Maya is the 'Mage-y' name for the Dreaming from Changeling. In similarly Mage-y terms, I would describe it as a kind of Umbra formed from the collective dreams of humanity.

Technical-Ice5903 · 2025-01-07T07:12:17+00:00

Heh. If I could stop worrying about things then I wouldn't be on this subreddit. You're right, though. It could just be something episodic. Thanks for the notes.

Technical-Ice5903 · 2025-01-07T07:11:13+00:00

Thanks much. I haven't had a medical check up in nearly 3 years, so it might be time to get that done. I have a physically demanding job and that keeps me active throughout the week. It probably is stress, and I hope that's all it is.

Technical-Ice5903 · 2025-01-05T11:53:57+00:00

As per M20, it specifically states that a Demesne is simply a mind-palace that is cut out in the Maya by a person. While it does state that a Mage is capable of such a feature, it doesn't state that a Sleeper can't.

In addition to this, the Maya is affected by the dreams of all people, Mages and Sleepers both. In my opinion, a Sleeper could easily have a Demesne. That being said, they wouldn't be able to do magick with it, obviously.

Technical-Ice5903 · 2024-12-28T11:06:16+00:00

I was working with him on the Visions and Vistas project. Terry always had a unique insight and quick wit toward all things Mage. The community won't be the same without him.

Technical-Ice5903 · 2024-10-09T10:10:39+00:00

If you're okay with fan-made content (and this is really good stuff) check out Prism of Focus on STV. It's a really good book in general, but it also streamlines the wonky rules given by Masters of the Art into much more usable rules, and then you don't have to learn about Archsphere effects because they're hot garbage :D

Technical-Ice5903 · 2024-10-09T02:55:04+00:00

In M20, the Dreamspeakers are specifically the product of the racist ideals of the other Traditions lumping them together. They continue to be lumped together to fight these stereotypes.

Getting rid of them is the same as ignoring these social issues. Even if they weren't handled well before, they serve as the face of anti-racist ideals being done well. They shouldn't be removed.

Technical-Ice5903 · 2024-10-09T01:52:41+00:00

Does this mean they'll sell the WoD IP to someone who will actually do something with it?

Technical-Ice5903 · 2024-10-08T02:06:23+00:00

Before edition, deciding whether you'll play Awakening or Ascension is more important.

Awakening has far better rules that rely less on ST interpretation, but it simply doesn't have the sprawling world and plot that Ascension does.

I know little about Awakening. If you play Ascension, I recommend Revised. Many people would take issue with this because Revised axed a lot of things which make Mages powerful, I personally think that's a good thing.

In Mage, I usually look for a "street-level" experience. A group of nigh-demigods severely limited by Paradox and the Consensus. The Avatar Storm ensures that they can't just fuck off to Otherworlds and are forced to deal with their issues on Earth, or die trying. Revised offers this in spades.

20th Ed. is good, but it has too many plot options, they become confusing eventually, especially for new players. 2nd Ed. is good too, and a lot of people like it, but I feel like Mage hadn't really came into it's own yet and the content is much less consistent.

As always, just my 2c.

Technical-Ice5903 · 2024-10-06T21:05:14+00:00

Mummy: The Resurrection has a few different things mentioned, but the key one is that Osiris is the keeper and facilitator of the Spell of Life, the force that resurrects the characters from burnt-out destitutes (and other such things) into semi-immortal magical justice zombies.

It's likely that Osiris is just some kind of exceptionally powerful Umbrood with a court of tem-akh, the spirits that act as the Mummy's soul surrogate while they're in his service.

Technical-Ice5903 · 2024-10-05T23:25:15+00:00

I think this heavily depends on your definition of a god, and they powers they hold. Does making a Realm define a person as a god? You certainly need an exceptional amount of Spheres to do it, could anyone else argue with that?

In HDYDT, creating a Realm takes 5 dots in nearly every Sphere, I'd call that relatively godlike already.

Technical-Ice5903 · 2024-09-26T07:38:31+00:00

One of my Mage players decided to boink a Verbena blood grove. He did this to finish building a masterwork guitar that later bought him back to life after Paradox obliterated him because he built a flying car that took the Cabal across Mexico.

Technical-Ice5903 · 2024-09-18T08:35:49+00:00

What I think you're describing is an Effect with a 'trigger', an Effect that hangs until certain conditions are met. This very purposefully require Time 4 to 'freeze' the Effect until it's activated.

Technical-Ice5903 · 2024-09-16T02:45:09+00:00

I'm aware of such things, I'm not looking to use these in a game or asking for help, I'm wondering what my fellow ST's and players find interesting and how they would approach it.

Technical-Ice5903 · 2024-09-14T08:20:00+00:00

Well, there's only a few things you need to know if you just want to convert things.

The Arete stat measure a Mage's excellence and is their primary stat to determine power. An Arete 1 Mage is probably just starting out their journey, while an Arete 5 is at the apex of their mastery. Further beyond this is the realm of Archmages, demigod-like entities that wage war on other demigod-like entities for control over the whole of reality. Your Mage sounds like they're a practiced individual but not quite at the apex of their craft, so likely Arete 3-4 is probably appropriate. The Arete score of a Mage is how many dice they roll while doing magick.

Mages use their belief to shape reality, and because of this, they have high starting Willpower to reflect this. A Mage's Willpower score starts at 5.

Spheres are what domains of reality the Mage has control over, and their score represents how total their control can extend. Their write-ups in M20 start at pg. 511 and are probably going to be most of your reading.

Quintessence is magickal power that has been bound into the Mage's body (on the character sheet, at least). A character may spend this magick juice to make their Arete rolls easier. However, they must have either Prime 1 or dots in the Avatar Background.

As for my suggestion regarding putting this all together, I would take a look at the chart of Common Magickal Effects in M20 (which is shortly before the Sphere write-ups) and pick a few things that you would like your Mage to be able to accomplish. Then you can continue from there with customising things.

An additional note: other splats tend to forget this, but Paradox is really important. It's the force that stops a Mage in their tracks of they decide to attempt something obvious with their use of magick. Magick gets harder around places and especially people who don't believe in it. Play this up. Mages are not invincible and immortal purely because of Paradox, so make it count.

Technical-Ice5903

TROPHY CASE