a game of magic and shit.
i use the pronoun 'he' throughout this magnum opus for simplicity only. anybody can be a mage, magic don't discriminate. however, even though a woman can play god, god is still a man (only a man could be such a cosmic bastard).
maybe you have wondered sometimes, is there a god? yes, there is a god but he's a bastard. he created the world as a play set and people are his action figures. everybody goes through their pathetic little life thinking they have at least a little control but god runs everything. sometimes good things happen because he's in a good mood, but most of the time bad stuff happens because he needs a good laugh or he's just bored or mad and wants to piss all over your head. einstein was wrong god does play at dice. whenever somebody wants something god sometimes rolls a die and looks at the following chart
| mundane shit like eating without choking or crossing the street without getting hit by a car | 2 or better |
| stuff really important to you like getting that new job or getting to fuck that cute girl/guy you just met at the bar | 4 or better |
| life or death stuff like getting out of a burning car that god that sadistic asshole got you into in the first place | 6 |
if god rolls a 1 you are fucked, you choke to death on a chicken bone or get maimed crossing the street or that cute girl or guy has aids or the new job sucks ass and you get fired and go broke. most of the time though god will just make shit up to throw at people depending on what mood he's in. so nearly everybody on earth is at the mercy and whims of a cruel and insane supreme being who is really nothing more than a pathetic game master in some twisted role-playing game. nearly everybody that is except you. you are special, you know magic. you are a mage.
for some reason you are different, you have magic on your side (notice i keep spelling magic with no k cause everybody does that nowadays and i could care less about trendy crap). mages can use what's called mana to cause stuff to happen that they really want. mana is basically energy that god accidentally left behind when he got through shitting out the world and was too lazy to clean it up or he just plain forgot, and you know how to use it. that's the good news. the bad news is that this pisses god off really really bad and he's out to get you.
mana basically comes in four delicious colors
| mana color | aspect |
|---|---|
| red | trickery and illusion, speed and movement, agility, machines |
| green | money, nature, fortune, electronics |
| blue | strength, strong emotions (courage, passion, fear), healing and protection, ass-kicking |
| purple | summoning, divination, insight and perception, knowledge |
use something to keep track of these, those glass bead thingies are OK but you can use marbles or
whatever for all i care. you'll need them in these 4 colors, plus some for black and white
mana.
a mage has to pick one color to be really good at, you can still use the other 3 but its harder.
when you want to do something you have to spend mana of the color that goes with what you are trying to do.
stuff you want to do has a minimum mana cost from 1 to 6 that god (the person running the game) will set,
probably based on how hard he thinks it is but most likely he just makes shit up as he goes along or just
rolls a die (the trick is that god won't tell you what this difficulty is). you can be successful even if you only spend 1 mana.
that's great cause you only have so
much to spend, but its not so great cause of black mana. you can spend more if you want which gives you
white mana (black mana? white mana? hold on cowboy i'm gettin' to that) which can be good or bad.
nope not aquaman's wussy foe from the superfriends. black mana is bad shit. you get black mana when you spend less mana than the minimum for doing something, one for each mana less than the minimum. when you get black mana equal to your crazy (explained later, dude) then you suffer crazy shit. crazy shit is a backlash cause you didn't use enough mana to break gods rules the way you wanted. crazy shit can be anything bad, but its always gonna be real real bad. god will tell you what the crazy shit is (and he's gonna really fuck you over if he's a sick bastard).
here's some good crazy shit for ideas- your magic randomly fails, you have really bad luck, you turn a funny color, you have laughing or crying jags for no reason, or your dick falls off (temporary of course, hehheh). even better the crazy shit should have something to do with the magic color your mage is really good at. the only good thing is that all the black mana goes away once the crazy shit happens.
whenever you spend more mana than the minimum you get white mana, one for each extra mana above the minimum. remember i said white mana can be good or bad? its good because you can spend 5 white mana to get rid of one black mana. this may make you think you want to always spend more mana than you need to and hoard that white mana like a hopped-up squirrel. whoa there. you ain't gandalf, you can only spend so much each time (ill get to that too). also, too much white mana is kinda like getting too much oxygen. when you get white mana equal to your happy (later) you roll a dice, if a 1 comes up you go into a happy funk. a happy funk is kinda like being stoned but you can't really do anything except laugh like a little girl and stare at all the pretty colors, its kinda like being high on too much magic. if you go into a happy funk you're out of it at least for a while, maybe the rest of the nights game. every white mana point above your happy adds 1 to the chance of having a happy funk. yep that means if you get 5 above your happy you will automatically have one. all that white mana is gone once you go into the happy funk.
you can also burn off 5 white mana and do a blowout. a blowout lets you add 5 mana to the mana you spend, even if it's more than your mojo, but it has to be same color as that mana. you don't get any extra white mana, but you get 2 points of black mana when you do this, so save it for when you really need to get your ass outta the fire. you can't do this if you've already gone into a happy funk.
ok you know how magic works so how do you create a mage? ok, lets get to it.
a mage has a bunch of traits or attributes or whatever rpgs are calling them these days (lets call them traits cause its easier to type). here they are and what they do
mundane - this is the everyday shit you're good at like accounting or police work or bagging groceries or playing xbox all day. your mundane should be fairly mundane, don't say you're an ace detective or millionaire or anything.
mana - this is the total amount of mana you can have at one time, it starts at 20
mojo - this is the total amount of mana you can spend for one magical thing you try to do, it starts at 2
recharge - this is how much mana you can regain when you are resting or at a node, it starts at 1
happy - this is how much white mana you can store up until you go into a happy funk, it starts at 2
crazy - this is how much black mana you can have before you get crazy shit happenin' to your ass, it starts at 2
color - this is the color mana you are really good at
mundane and color don't have any rating or anything. you get 3 points when
you're making your mage that
you can increase the other traits with so you can be different from all the other mages, they all cost
one of these points to increase by one except for mana, you get +5 to your mana for one point.
you also have to pick a ban. a ban which is something that limits your
mage's magic ability, you have to
have one of these cause using magic is bitchin' hard and humans have to have something to concentrate
their mind on to use magic and cause i said so. you can still use magic without your ban (or with it if
its a condition) but you can only spend one mana, no matter what your mojo or color is.
totem - you have to have a single item to use your magic, like a lucky rabbits foot or a beat up old coat
or a baseball bat or something. it has to be specific, you can't substitute like any old baseball bat you
bought at wal-mart if you lose it (but if it breaks or something it can be replaced but its really really
hard). you can get one free mana whenever you are using your totem, but the downside is that you get one
extra black mana when you do this (you always get at least one no matter what).
ritual - this is something physical you have to do when you use your magic like making up a shitty haiku or cracking your knuckles and doing some calisthenics or being sky clad (that's naked for all you non-wiccans). this is bad because if somebody that wants to do bad shit to you knows what your ritual is they can tie you up or gag your mouth or make you wear a really ugly outfit or something to where you can't do your magic.
focus - a focus is something that you need to make your magic work like holly or black candles or drawing a pentagram on the ground in blood. the difference between this and a totem is that these don't have to be a specific thing but a bunch of the same thing, but its still tough if you have to go down to safeway at 3 am to find some black candles when you're fresh out.
condition - this means that you can't use your magic
or it is much less powerful unless some condition is met (or not met) like if
there are seven believers present or only at night or every other day or something, this condition should
not be too harsh or you are pretty much a limpdick.
you also have to have 2 more traits (jesus christ is this not over yet?) that don't
have a number or
anything.
quest - being a mage gives you lots of power but you have to channel it somehow or you'll go nuts. a quest is something you really really want to get or accomplish before you die, like being the most powerful mage or learning the secret of life or killing all the bad monsters in the world or finding true love. you have to follow your quest as best you can or else god will give you black mana to punish you.
quirk - being a mage gives you lots of power but it fucks up your mind. a quirk is some odd behavior or habit you have like being afraid of heights or being cruel to small animals or maybe just being batshit insane. if you don't act out your mage's quirk at least sometimes then god will give you black mana to punish you (god is a nasty sumbitch ain't he).
at the start of every gaming session (unless god says otherwise), you get 1/2 your
mana in the mana color your mage is really good at, and the other 1/2 is picked from the magic grab-bag.
god puts a bunch of random color mana in a bag and you draw, its kinda like forest gump you never know what
you're gonna get.
if your mana is an odd number then that 1 extra mana is your color.
if you are using a color of mana you're good at, you can spend as much as you want up to your mojo.
if you are using a color you're not good at, you can only spend 1/2 your mojo (round down cause god hates
you). as the game goes on you can recharge mana by resting or going to a node (a magical place).
when your mage is at a node, look at your recharge, you get that much mana back in your color free, plus you
get to draw that number from the magic grab-bag. if you want a specific color
mana you're not good at, you have to ditch one of your color and one you drew.
if you are resting you get mana of your color equal to your recharge, you can ditch it and draw one from the magic grab-bag.
hey, i can't figure all that out you may say. ok, here's an example- say your mage is at a node and you have recharge 2 and you're a red mage. you get 2 red mana and you pick 2 from the magic grab-bag. say you drew a red and a green and you really need blue. you can ditch 1 of the free red mana and one you drew and get a blue one free, or you can ditch them all and get 2 blue ones. if your mage is resting you get 2 red mana, you can ditch one red mana and draw from the magic grab-bag (if you don't draw a blue one then you're shit outta luck).
god will put the mana you ditched back into the magic grab-bag. of course you already figured out that you never have more mana than your mage's mana rating.
how often can i recharge? it's usually one mana every few hours if you are resting, nodes will be quicker depending on how powerful they are (usually it's per hour).
a node is a magical place that puts out mana, any place with magic or belief or joy or beauty. it can be an old library, a nondenominational church, a toy store, a wiccan's magic shoppe, or just a stream out in the woods. nobody really knows how or where they spring up cause it just seems to happen at random. all mages can sense that a place is a node and kinda how powerful it is. some nodes are temporary and some are permanent. all nodes are rated in mana which is how much mana can be drawn from the node per day. most nodes let mages recharge mana every hour, but some really powerful ones can be faster. some nodes only have one or two colors of mana.
you may think you can just sit around all day at a node and drain
as much mana as you need to, but nothing pisses off other mages like a node squatter.
oh, one more thing, you can try to draw extra mana above your recharge, but god will roll a
die and you have a one in six chance for each extra one drained of permanently reducing the nodes
mana by
the extra amount.
this will probably get you a major asskicking by the other mages that go to that node.
so don't bogart the node, dude.
an anti-node is the opposite of a node, its a place of nonbelief or sadness or anger or mundanity, like
an irs office or a hospital. anti-nodes actually drain mana from a mage's mana, how much depends on how
powerful they are.
most places in the world are neutral, they don't produce mana but they don't drain it either.
if you are in a showdown with another mage then you both spend as much mana as you can, the one who spends the most wins and the loser is at the winners mercy. oh yeah and the loser sucks up black mana equal to what he was beat by.
nobody wants to play a mage that never gets more powerful. god should give players points (lets go D&D and call the damn things XP) they can use to raise their mage's traits, how many and how often depends on how well they played and what they did and shit like that. raising stuff costs the same as it did when creating the mage. mojo, recharge, happy, and crazy cost 1 XP to raise 1 and can't go above 6. mana cost 1 XP to raise 5 and can't go above 60. god can allow a mage to pick another color to be good at, that should cost at least 5 XP.
players can't just spend XP to get more powerful though. the player must create some sort of experience or insight that the mage goes through and him and god play it out during the game. it must be something creative and related to what the mage is spending the XP on.
there are also items that have mana and magical powers just like mages. some items are just portable nodes that contain a small amount of mana that mages can draw from to recharge, these are called mana batteries by most mages. mana batteries usually don't recharge their mana once its gone. most mana batteries only have one color mana. some mana batteries allow the mage to burn 5 mana at once to do a blowout, but this can use up all the mana in the battery (god should roll a die).
other items can have limited magical powers, they have mana, mojo, or recharge just like mages. all items like this only have one color mana and only have magical effects based on that color, and it looks mostly or totally that color. the items effects are related to what the item is. almost all magic items that are not mana batteries have some sort of limit as well. a mage does not need to spend any mana to use a magic item, the mana comes from the item's mana pool. magic items are cool and players love to have them so create at least a few, but not too many or they'll be too powerful. here are some possible magic items
pink cadillac - mana-30, mojo-3, recharge-5, red. a pink cadillac lets the mages get around in style. it ignores things like potholes, closed bridges, and road construction (just sails right over or through them without stopping). the tires never go flat. it can go up to 180 miles per hour, and carries up to four passengers and 200 to 300 pounds of cargo. a pink cadillac can only be filled up at a node, and it breaks down if it goes into an anti-node area (a mage has to use red mana to repair it). the pink cadillac gets 15 miles per mana.
puff the magic drag - mana-10, mojo-1, purple. puff the magic drag looks like a regular joint wrapped in purple rolling paper. when a mage takes a toke he gets 1 purple mana for free, but he kinda goes into a mild happy funk for an hour or two, and gets the munchies real bad when he comes down. this can also lead to insights to justify spending XP. puff the magic drag is good for 10 hits before it smokes out, but it can be puffed for more than 1 mana at a time.
belt of strength - mana-15, mojo-6, recharge-1, blue. a belt of strength gives the user 6 mojo for the purposes of lifting things and hitting people. it looks like a gaudy wide blue weightlifter's belt, complete with stupid insignia.
universal atm card - mana-5, mojo-5, recharge-0, green. this is a magic atm card that can be used in any atm machine worldwide, when it is inserted it will give the mage money based on the mojo spent (how much is up to god). the receipt will also have a small fortune for the mage (like a fortune cookie, vague but relevant). the recharge is zero because it's permanent, but it can only be used up to its mana per day, any mana not used is wasted but it resets for the next day (you only get one fortune per day). mages often like to go to more than one atm machine and spend less mana at one time so nobody will get suspicious (and you socially-conscious mages don't worry, the money doesn't come out of any specific bank account).
cool toys, right, but you may ask how can i make them myself? if such items come into your possession during the game (bought, gifted, borrowed, stolen) then it doesn't cost anything. god may also let you start play with one if you nag and whine enough. if he won't, and you want to roll your own, then use these rules.
first of all, decide what the item is and what it
does. give it a cool name and decide all the functions that it has.
remember that each item only has one color mana, so use the mana color table as
a guide. next thing you need to do is figure out if the thing is a one-use
item or if it is permanent. next decide the mana, mojo, and recharge (if
it's permanent). the last thing is to pick any limits on the item.
to pay for all this you have to spend mana, how much spent is listed on the
following chart. oh did i mention that when you spend this mana that it's
gone and can only be recovered by spending XP? what, you thought this was
gonna be easy? there's gotta be SOME reason that every jack-ass mage
doesn't crank out a flood of these things...
| item | mana cost |
|---|---|
| mana | 1 per 10 mana |
| mojo | 1 per 2 mojo |
| recharge | 1 per 2 recharge |
| function | +1 or +2 for multiple or extremely useful functions (this should be judged by god) |
| limits | -1 per limit (god should judge whether something is a limit). a mana battery counts as a limit. |
| not your color | the item costs double if it is not the mage's color |
| non-permanent | divide final cost of item by 3 (round up) |
an item always costs at least one mana, no matter how many limits are on it. half mana points are ok, but you should round up on the final total (before doubling for not your color or dividing by 3 for non-permanent items). some aspects of the item don't need to be paid for, they are just special properties and should be judged by god (such as the miles per mana of the pink cadillac).
the order of figuring out the final mana cost is: add up mana, mojo, recharge, and function; then apply limits; round this total up; then double the cost for an item not in your color; then apply the non-permanent bonus; then round up. so, according to the above chart, puff the magic drag would cost a purple mage 1 mana (1 for 10 mana + 0.5 for 1 mojo = 1.5 rounded up to 2, divided by 3 for non-permanent = 2/3, rounded up to 1). a pink cadillac costs a red mage 6 mana (3 for 30 mana + 1.5 for 3 mojo [the mojo is used as a general guide for speed and carrying capacity] + 2.5 for 5 recharge + 1 for function - 2 for limits [must be recharged at a node; breaks down at an anti-node] = 6).
creating a magic item usually takes one hour per final mana cost. complex items may take several hours up to a day per final mana cost. a mage spends one mana per time increment when creating the item. two mages can contribute their mana however they want to split it up, but no more than two mages can work on an item together. god may give mages a -1 to the final cost or lower the time increment if the mage has a specialty or a mundane that applies if he's in a good mood. if a mage is interrupted for some reason he can continue where he left off at no penalty. oh, one more twist. god may also allow mages to make multiple non-permanent items at a discount, like say 5 for the cost of one, taking the same amount of time (good news for you drug-dealing mages out there).
so remember that as god you are really really pissed at the mages.
god has to make up stuff like magical creatures and bad situations and enemy mages to throw at them.
magic itself is not really good or evil its just the person using it. god shouldn't
forget to punish the mages if they don't follow their quest or
quirk by giving them black mana. god should also come up with sick and sadistic crazy shit to throw at
mages that eat too much black mana. as god you are trying to screw over the mages but
don't get too
carried away or you'll piss the players off and they wont play in your stupid game anymore,
they'll go
watch star trek or something.
when mages try to do something mundane (without magic that is) god just decides how important it is to
them or how much he wants to fuck them over and rolls a die. if they are using magic then god sets the
minimum mana to do whatever it is. god has to decide how hard it is or how important it is to them (or
how much god don't want them to do it), or just say fuck it and roll a die.
of course god can just use dramatic license or gm fiat or some other pompous game design term and simply say what
happens (god should not do this too often and never without good reason).
if it's some sort of contest, then god should use rounds or turns or whatever and let everybody have one
or two actions. to decide who goes first, let everybody roll a die or pick a number or what the fuck ever, or
just go left to right (god's left). god shouldn't forget that mages can't spend more
mana than their mojo each turn, but they can split it among different actions
any way they want. god should also remember two very important things:
as far as what color mana the mages have to use for an action, god should use the colors as a guide. if something isn't there god should just add it to the color that seems right. god can also allow different effects using the colors. like say a fancy pants red mage wants to act more often in a round, god can let him spend red mana and get one extra action for each red mana he spends. creative shit like this that the players come up with should be allowed and rewarded, unless god is in a really pissy mood.
god can also decide that a mage who puts extra mana above the minimum is more successful. what that means depends on what the mage is trying to do, so if they are trying to kill the big bad monster they can wound it, or kill the fucker outright stone dead by pumping more mana into the attack. maybe a red mage wants to turn his friends invisible, not just himself, god can let him spend one extra red mana to do it.
monsters and shit usually only have one number telling how tough they are and how much of an ass-whupping they can give the mages, but many of them are magical. of course there are also mages that may attack the players for whatever fucked-up reason god can come up with, and they would have traits just like any other mage. for normal joes god should just roll a die and decide if the mage is hurt/fucked/killed/whatever if they aren't using mana to defend themselves, most normal attacks should fail if the mage is using mana though.
damage and effects is supposed to be up to god, but before somebody starts bitching about it i'm gonna put in a table for it. it's called the hurt table:
| hurt | -1 to mojo, maybe stunned 1 round |
| really hurt | -2 to mojo, maybe stunned 1-6 rounds |
| fucked up | incapacitated/dead/gotta go to the hospital |
mages will do one hurt level with an attack and more if they put more mana into it. hurt adds up, so if you take 2 levels of hurt you are really hurt and so on. note that any mana color can be used for defense against normal attacks (punches, bullets, claws, rotten tomatoes), but only blue mana can be used for attack and defense against magical attacks (some bad-ass monsters have magical attacks). of course you could always just go out and buy a .44 magnum, but then god's gonna be rolling the die for you...
if somebody tries to use blue magic to heal someone, god can say the minimum mana is the hurt level plus one or something, but he change it from time to time as usual.
if for some reason god wants to make combats take a little longer, he can just double or triple the hurt levels- so, if it's doubled, four levels of hurt is really hurt, and so on; you must go two over the minimum mana to get to the next hurt level. healing with blue magic should be affected as well if god does this.
before god gets carried away trying to fuck over the players, he should keep in mind the tone of the game. mages are not just normal joes, they can use magic to do all sorts of cool junk (within the limits of their powers, that is). mages are rebels, loners, anarchists, losers, outcasts, petty criminals, sarcastic assholes, loonies, and worse, but the one thing they all have in common is that they have the power to alter their fate using magic. god should let them do so as much as possible without letting the players completely steamroller him (the secret of how to balance that is the essence of a good game master).
another thing god should be is flexible. god shouldn't try to railroad the players (force 'em into his plots and situations). god shouldn't plan a game session around what he thinks should happen, god should plan it around what could happen. god should just have an outline of major locations, plot events, and some simple stats on monsters and other guys the mages will run into, and be prepared to wing it if the players go off on some half-assed tangent.
most games of mage should take place in an urban setting. remember that god has to throw quests and monsters and stuff at them to make their life hard yet interesting and give them something to spend that mana on. but god shouldn't forget the little touches either- a bar fight, a search for clues, a dick-sizing contest with a rival mage, stumbling on a crime scene, or even just a night on the town can be just as entertaining as going on a major quest or fighting beasties. god can run the game as a campaign, an overall quest the mages are on, or just as episodic- sort of like a tv show with continuing characters but different stories each time that may or may not be related. it's really up to how god and the players want to do it.
as far as the general tone, that's up to you guys as well. it can be deadly street-level gritty, soap-opera melodramatic, laid-back comic, cheech & chong gonzo, or whatever you want. to make it really fun god should try mixing it up and changing the style from game to game.
what about the everyday world and how mages fit in? joe schmo on the street don't know nothin' bout no magic. most mages at least try to be subtle when using magic in front of mundane people, if for no other reason that to keep from drawing attention to themselves. there is no universal force that keeps a mage from blatantly using magic in front of a crowd of people- forget mage: the ascension and all that paradox stuff. black and white mana is the only thing that keeps mages in check, and that just barely. the best thing that keeps mages in check are the other mages. a mage can pretty much expect a beat-down for ignoring the unwritten no blatancy rule.
as far as the magical beasties, most attribute those to normal missing persons, deranged serial killers, and the ravings of lunatics. the few mutilated bodies found are usually homeless people the critters habitually prey upon, and they are just carted off to the morgue. these monsters are at least smart enough to know that they have to stay out of the light to better their survival chances and try to cover their tracks as best they can. many of them use red mana to hide their presence. there are some people who are beginning to suspect that there is something very weird loose in the world- though most of those people are relegated to the lunatic fringe, some of them are in positions of power...
ok so i meant this game to be as simple as possible, but the forge posse was all like 'man, it's a pretty cool game but its kinda minimalist- what you need there is more fleshed out rules, more examples and stuff'. i decided they have a good point since many role-players (myself included) need more direction from time to time. so here are some optional rules to make stuff a little more complicated but maybe more playable. use 'em or ignore 'em as you see fit (that's why they're labeled 'optional', amigo).
to differentiate the different colors of mana and
make them more useful (and to let the mages break the rules hehheh) here are some special stunts a mage can do with
them. mages can use the trick that matches their color by spending one
mana of that color, if it's not in his specialty then it still cost one mana but
the mage automatically gets a black mana. a mage can only use mana for one
of these uses once per game session.
| mana color | kewl powerz | explanation |
|---|---|---|
| red | speedball | by burning one red mana, a mage can double both his recharge and cut the recharge time in half (resting or at a node) |
| green | fortune's favor | also called 'stickin' it to god', this lets the mage force god to re-roll a die for any mundane actions involving the mage or his friends by spending one green mana (god doesn't have to tell him what the rolls were, but he has to give the mage the better one) |
| blue | power surge | the mage can spend one blue mana to temporarily boost his mojo by half it's value (round down), this boost lasts for one action |
| purple | divine vision | the mage can spend one purple mana to force god to reveal what the exact difficulty of an action is (mundane or magical) or what he rolled on the die |
to keep mages from all looking alike, you can allow specialties. a specialty is simply a specific use of a mana color that the mage is really good at. a mage can only specialize in his color. god should allow any reasonable specialty that fits with the mana color and the mage's abilities and personality (c'mon, god, this ain't the time to be an asshole). a specialty allows a mage to get one extra point of effect when using it without spending any extra mana (you always have to spend at least one mana though). for examples, why don'tcha eyeball the example mages down below to get some ideas.
remember i said that mundane must be just that? well with this option, a mage can choose a mundane that's not really that mundane if he wants. if a mage tries something without using magic that his mundane applies to, he can add one to god's die roll. you're still fucked if god rolls a one, though.
if god is feeling particularly generous (sh'yeah, right), then the mage's mundane can function as a specialty once per game.
some guy on the forge was sayin', hey man, i kinda
dig your game, but i just hate those colored stones, y'know? i don't have
any around, anyway. so, man, no problemo- just use cards instead.
just assign a suit to each mana color. keep up with your mana color with a
pencil and paper, and when you need to draw from the magic grab-bag, just draw a
card. i'm gonna go ahead and assign the suits because some people like
stuff written out (i went ahead and repeated the full mana color table):
| mana color | suit | aspects |
|---|---|---|
| red | hearts | trickery and illusion, speed and movement, agility, machines |
| green | diamonds | money, nature, fortune, electronics |
| blue | clubs | strength, strong emotions (courage, passion, fear), healing and protection, ass-kicking |
| purple | spades | summoning, divination, insight and perception, knowledge |
if you have the marvel saga game you can use the colors as they are. you have to leave out the doom cards, unless you want them to mean something (maybe extra black mana if you're a cruel and vengeful god).
for your viewing pleasure, here are some example mages and magical beasties. these mages are meant as character creation examples and are built as starting characters, so they can be played with little or no changes (except for the master) or used as non-player characters the mages may run into. some of them are particularly good sources of information and other types of help (like, if you're flush with cash but not mana, and you really want a pink cadillac then you can go see uncle al), god should feel free to power them up or down as needed. the mages use the optional rules as much as possible. the mage's specialty is listed next to their color, and the details of the ban are listed as well.
| jennifer coyote | |
|---|---|
| mundane | petty thief |
| mana | 25 |
| mojo | 2 |
| recharge | 2 |
| happy | 2 |
| crazy | 3 |
| color | red (trickery and illusion) |
| ban | totem (small wooden coyote carving) |
| quirk | inveterate trickster |
| quest | find her true inner nature |
| description | jennifer is an apache red mage who was awakened to her true nature by the tribal shaman, who gave her a carving of a coyote as a symbol of her power and nature. she is a petty thief and has little regard for white man's law. she takes what she wants (by deceit and trickery), but she tries not to steal from those who cannot afford it, and never takes items of sentimental value. jennifer considers herself the embodiment of the trickster god of native american legend, and is a practical joker and heavily into mythology. coyote's favorite trick is to create multiple images of herself to cause confusion. her quest is to seek her true inner nature and her connection with the cosmos. |
| manuel 'pachuco' gonzalez | |
|---|---|
| mundane | drug dealer |
| mana | 30 |
| mojo | 3 |
| recharge | 1 |
| happy | 2 |
| crazy | 2 |
| color | purple (mind- and perception-alteration) |
| ban | totem (zoot suit) |
| quirk | very vain and cocky |
| quest | become the most powerful purple mage |
| description | manuel is a purple mage, a drug dealer and a ladies' man. manuel sells all kinds of good stuff, like puff the magic drag and 'little reds', little red pills that give you extra speed. if you need to be hooked up, manuel is the man. manuel goes around in a purple zoot suit and large purple hat, and is very vain and confident but friendly. he prefers to be called 'pachuco' or 'tyrendell'- he doesn't answer to 'manuel' and calling him 'manny' will get you on his bad side real quick. manuel's quest is to become the most powerful purple mage around. |
| jonathan edwards | |
|---|---|
| mundane | money man |
| mana | 20 |
| mojo | 4 |
| recharge | 1 |
| happy | 2 |
| crazy | 3 |
| color | green (finance) |
| ban | condition (jonathan is only at 1/2 mojo unless he is using green mana to do finance-type stuff) |
| quirk | very extravagant tastes |
| quest | retire from 'the business' |
| description | jonathan was a money man for the mob until he found out his true nature and the nature of god from one of the made men. he decided to get away from mob life and go straight. 'nobody ever really leaves the mafia', and he couldn't keep a normal job, so he drifted back into his old ways to support himself, using green magic to boost his abilities. johnny has what you would call 'extravagant tastes', so he pisses away money as fast as he makes it. jonathan still does money jobs for the mob from time to time (money laundering, fencing, phony stocks, cooking books, and counterfeiting) in exchange for them not killing him. jonathan's quest is to finally make (and keep) enough money to retire and leave 'the life' for good. |
| albert 'uncle al' stolynsky | |
|---|---|
| mundane | auto repair and sales |
| mana | 30 |
| mojo | 2 |
| recharge | 2 |
| happy | 2 |
| crazy | 2 |
| color | red (automobiles and similar machines) |
| ban | focus (tool kit) |
| quirk | always looking to sell anything to anybody |
| quest | expand the business |
| description | 'uncle al' is a red mage who runs automotive sales and repair shops around town. uncle al deals in vehicles and parts, both mundane and magical, not all of which are strictly legal (in usage or in where they came from). uncle al is a large friendly man with a beard and a hearty laugh who usually wears a beat-up red baseball cap. if you need a boss ride, or your own tricked out, uncle al is the man to see. uncle al's quest is to open up auto shops all over the u.s. and canada. |
| leroy 'bad blue' jefferson | |
|---|---|
| mundane | muscleman |
| mana | 20 |
| mojo | 5 |
| recharge | 1 |
| happy | 2 |
| crazy | 2 |
| color | blue (strength) |
| ban | ritual (leroy flexes his muscles and strikes a body builder pose) |
| quirk | bit of a bully |
| quest | rid chicago of monsters |
| description | leroy grew up in inner-city chicago surrounded by violence and crime. his mother died when he was little, and he was left in the care of his granmama. he became a bully at a young age, and when granmama taught him 'the way' as she called it, he used the blue magic to become even more of a bully. granmama died not knowing this, and leroy became a strongarm for a criminal gang when he got older. granmama's sister from detroit found him and magically whupped his ass for what he was doing with his life. great auntie then sent leroy on a quest to make up for all the bad he had done. leroy flies straight nowadays, but he is still somewhat of a bully when trying to get his way. leroy is big and muscular, supernaturally strong (when he uses blue magic), and wears blue muscle-t's to show off his physique. his quest is to rid chicago of all the magical beasties preying on the weak and innocent, as great auntie made him promise. |
| madame laroux | |
|---|---|
| mundane | high-class prostitute |
| mana | 25 |
| mojo | 4 |
| recharge | 1 |
| happy | 2 |
| crazy | 2 |
| color | blue (passion and sex) |
| ban | condition (must make intimate physical contact) |
| quirk | finicky and aloof |
| quest | find true love |
| description | madame laroux is an exotic high-class prostitute from france living in new orleans. she uses blue magic to enhance her clients' sexual experiences to incredible heights. madame leroux has a lot of clients and is a good person to go to when you need to find someone or get information about them (her clients tend to tell her things). people seeking information must pay the same as any other client. madame laroux takes cash, credit cards, or mana. she dresses very elegantly in fine jewelry (turquoise, sapphire, and lapiz lazuli) and blue silk dresses. her quest is to find someone who loves her for who she is and not what she does. |
| starflower mackenzie | |
|---|---|
| mundane | hacker |
| mana | 20 |
| mojo | 2 |
| recharge | 2 |
| happy | 4 |
| crazy | 2 |
| color | green (hacking computers and other machines) |
| ban | ritual (starflower curses loudly and bangs on a machine when she hacks it) |
| quirk | bad attitude |
| quest | find acceptance |
| description | goth grrl, street urchin, skateboard punk and cyberninja. uses her green magic to hack computers, atm machines, and payphones. starflower's parents were latter-day hippies who never paid her much attention, and she was bounced around foster homes after they were busted for possession and child neglect and lost custody of her. starflower has a healthy disrespect for authority and a bad attitude, but she is really a good kid at heart. starflower wears black t-shirts that say 'god sux', and is heavily pierced with green hair. goes by 'livingdeadgirl', if you call her 'starflower' she'll hit you in the face with one of her piercings. starflower's quest is to just be loved and accepted (but she would never admit that to anyone). |
| jeremy 'dark shadows' smith | |
|---|---|
| mundane | occult researcher |
| mana | 20 |
| mojo | 2 |
| recharge | 2 |
| happy | 3 |
| crazy | 3 |
| color | purple (occult knowledge and summoning) |
| ban | focus (magic tomes and texts) |
| quirk | always dresses in black; speaks in fake shakespearian accent |
| quest | knowledge |
| description | jeremy is a purple mage specializing in the occult (monsters, summoning demons, old magic texts, and stuff like that). he's tall pale and rail thin, and always wears black outfits with small purple wire-rim glasses. he smokes clove cigarettes and speaks in a fake british shakespearian accent. some mages think jeremy is a poser, but he really does have a great deal of knowledge. he has an extensive library of old books, and he runs a website devoted to the occult (he posts to the forums as 'darkshadows'). jeremy is always eager to share what he knows with whoever will listen. jeremy's quest is to learn all there is to know about magic and the occult. |
| the master | |
|---|---|
| mundane | housewife |
| mana | 60 |
| mojo | 6 |
| recharge | 6 |
| happy | 6 |
| crazy | 6 |
| color | purple (insight leading to power) |
| ban | focus (smoking marlboros) |
| quirk | chain smoker with questionable fashion sense |
| quest | help mages to become more powerful |
| description | the master is a powerful purple mage that young mages seek to increase their power. mages will typically be given many quests to complete and cryptic riddles to solve by the older mages until they find the master- they are usually shocked to find out that the master is a middle-aged chain-smoking overweight housewife named arlene jenkins who lives in a trailer in the foothills of rural alabama. the quests and riddles are a running joke among the older mages, who all had to go through this. when a mage finally finds arlene, she is usually wearing a gaudy purple dress from wal-mart, smoking and reading a romance novel with her husband larry passed out drunk in front of the tv. mages must give her old hound dog a biscuit to get arlene to receive them, and give arlene a carton of marlboros before she helps them begin their quest. arlene takes them to the back of the trailer and throws the empty beer cans and liquor bottles into the hall, then shuts the door (sometimes she has to kick larry and the dog out). no mage ever speaks of what goes on in there, but all who enter emerge more aware (another running joke, all arlene does is speaks some words in her husky smoker voice while the mage meditates). arlene rarely leaves her trailer and will not help mages in any other way. her trailer sits on a mana 20 node, but arlene will kick you out if you hang around too long. |
shadows - toughness-3, special attack. shadows are dark creatures made of pure shadow. they only exists within other shadows and can only be hurt by magic. they can drain your soul by just touching your shadow (this is a magical attack), how strong the attack is depends on the amount of shadows around. a mage that has been taken to fucked up hurt by a shadow has his soul cursed and it will return as a shadow in one day unless the soul is returned to the body (exactly how the mage's buddies do this is up to god, but it should involve blue magic and be very difficult if not dangerous). shadows can't come out in pure darkness.
lich - toughness-5, mana-variable, mojo-variable, recharge-1. a lich is a powerful mage that was reduced to a sort of un-life state by dabbling in black mana (nasty, foul shit). their souls are evil and corrupt and they use black mana to perform their vile sorcery (raising the dead and the like). a lich gets black mana from any node like other mages get normal mana, but it will foul the node after a while (reducing the available mana). lichs only take half effect from anti-nodes.
vampires - toughness-3, mojo-5 (special attack). vampires are what's left of mages that sucked up too much black mana. they are like anti-nodes, feeding off the mana of other mages to sustain their life (treat it as a magical attack equal to the vampire's mojo, the vampire drains the difference in the target's mana if he wins). anti-nodes actually make vampires stronger.
chimera - toughness-4. chimera are the nightmares of people given literal form. even though chimera all have the same toughness, no two look alike, though they are all horrible to look at in the extreme. they all have another thing in common- they love to kill and eat people. some will torture or stalk their victims before killing them. some chimera have magical attacks and a few can even use mana- a mana-using chimera must be assigned a mana, mojo, and recharge and uses magic just like mages, except they ignore black and white mana.