Making Mage the awakening more flashy and light-hearted.

[Bobbybobby99]

I really, really like the rules that Mage has for magic, what with gnosis and the arcana and all of that, but the paradox rules and the emphasis on resource management seem rather... unsuitable to the sort of game I prefer. The system seems like it would be good for a game of magic users, with an emphasis on the magic and flexibility, for a fantasy setting. So I have a few ideas to change it.

Problem 1; Paradox.
It just really seems like this is something that would bog down gameplay. It also seems like it would encourage covert mess, rather than flashiness, which isn't the feel I'm going for.
Option 1. Get rid of paradox all-together. I'm leaning towards this, but it might have unanticipated effects. It would certainly simplify, though.
Option 2. Give a penalty to the role based on using magic staves, wands, and/or rings. Perhaps -5 for a staff, -3 for a wand, and -1 for a ring, stacking with each other. Then make all paradox be absorbed as backlash. Seems workable, but more complex.
Option 3. Give a flat penalty to the role based on Gnosis, perhaps equal to it, and get rid of the bonuses based on gnosis. Eh. I'm not sure about this one.

Problem 3; Mana.
Resource management and acquisition is not fun for me, nor my players.
Option 1. Have mana pools automatically fill up after every seven hour period of restfulness and sleep. I like this idea, but it seems like it would make Prime magic a bit on the weak side, so I'm waffling.
Option 2. Make hallows exponentially more productive, without needing rolls; perhaps have rank 3 hallows automatically give 4 points every oblation, rank 4 hallows 8 points every oblation, and rank 5 hallows 16 points every oblation, then make them not have a daily limit? It doesn't quite feel like enough, though.
Option 3. Make it so that Tass is common as the bees knees, inside and outside of Hallows, so that around 5 minutes searching for odd pieces of rubbish and flowers and such can yield one mana. I'm not sure about this one, since it seems undignified somehow, but it does emphasize the traditional idea of spell components.

Problem 3; Rotes.
I know that rotes are a bit more of a signature fantasy element, but I liked it more back in the old days, where creativity was encouraged and rotes were things that the complacent learned.
Option 1. Get rid of rotes all-together, and make the bonus to improvised magic be twice your gnosis. Eems workable, though lower powered mages are going to be a tad... Lower powered, and gnosis buying with merits would have to be a no-no.
Option 2. Get rid of rotes, and have improvised magic run off of Highest attribute+Applicable skill+Arcana. This seems like it could work, but it's a bit fiddly.
Option 3. Vastly increase the number of rotes a Mage has, so that it still at least feels like they're being spontaneous and creative.

Which options would you recommend I go with? Feel free to suggest Option 4s and Option 5s.

[Katana1515]

Honestly just scrapping paradox has never caused me any problems. I love the concept (though I think the current mechanics are uninspired) but it doesn't jive with the kind of game you want to play, so I recommend ditching it.

Mana: I really dont see that level of resource management as being overly onerous? What annoys you about it, out of curiosity? Prime does take a bit of a blow if you boot the whole concept too.

For a 'high magic' game I would just make Tass a much more common resource. Mages throw it around as minor currency, Hallows are common and potent. I wouldn't make it too common though, as confrontations over tass and Hallows can be fun plot devices.

Rotes: it is annoying to see players spam the same 3 spells just because they have a slightly higher dice pool when they could be using any of a gazillion spells to fix the issue. For the kind of game you are talking about, maybe consider jacking up the players starting gnosis? This makes improvised spell dice pools much more appealing, without the potential headaches that would come with more arcanum dots.

Just my 2 cents

[FlayerIV]

My first recommendation for playing Mage.

Players get TWO dots in arcana that they can spend wherever they want, capped by Gnosis. It makes players actually start as minor mages and it solves a LOT of issues and makes games become less about resource management and more about resource accruement. It also avoids HALF of the problems I have with Mage, or more accurately pushes those problems back for a dozen sessions or more (in the average game I've played in or run it takes between three and four sessions for smart players to start turning themselves into gods with 12 dots or higher in every stat, immunity to most effects, armour over 20, immortality in about three or more different ways and an impossibly secure home base).

Personally I like the idea of paradox, as it encourages mages to stay in hiding, but it's also VERY easy to ruin a mage's day with it: A Fate mage fates you to always have a sleeper appear on the scene whenever you cast a spell. I'd argue pick the solution based on how you want the game to feel rather than how you want it to play (this is mage we're talking about, whatever mechanics you put down mage always finds a way around it or to weaponise it).

Mana: Just take away the rolls. If you want mana to be abundant in Tas that's a story decision, but seriously just take away the roll. I find that most players just walk up to loci/hallows/victims with blood and ask "How much can I get out of this? I stay until I get what I can out of it", which basically makes rolls a question of how much time they spend there.

Rotes: I have always used option 2. It's just plain easier to work with longterm.