Вопросы по механике Старого Мира Тьмы, (Отвечаем на вопросы по игре)

[Lanfir]

Тема соотвественно должна была появиться рано или поздно [[IMG]]"http://forums.rpg-world.org/style_emoticons/:devil: Прошу при задании вопроса уточнять редакцию системы.

[maska]

2 Ларс
Вот некоторые вырезки про кроссовер с магами из вампирского сторителлер хандбука, быть может будут тебе полезны в разрешении твоего вопроса.

Mages
Although the Tremere claim that their Thaumaturgy is superior to the magic practiced by the obscure "Order of Hermes," the Spheres of the mages are more versatile than any Discipline could ever be. Due to the malleable nature of true magic, it is impossible to account for every situation that might arise with a mage. The following rules are a loose framework on which the enterprising Storyteller can build as required.

Sensing

Conflicts involving Auspex versus illusion or invisibility rotes - or Obfuscate or Chimerstry versus sensory effects - are resolved via the rules given above. The level of the Sphere in use (or highest Sphere for conjunctional effects) and the level of the Discipline are compared to determine whether or not there's a chance for one individual to see through the other's illusion, cloak or stealthing effect.

Countermagic

A mage can employ her Spheres to counter Animalism, Dominate, Presence and Thaumaturgy. At the Storyteller's discretion, other Disciplines - or specific powers of Disciplines - that target the mind or the soul may be countered with appropriate Spheres (e.g. the Auspex Level Eight power Psychic Assault may be countered with Mind or Spirit). Additionally, the Storyteller may rule that any vampiric Discipline may be countered by a mage with appropriate knowledge of Spheres - the static powers of Kindred are rarely a match for the versatile sorceries of the willworkers.

In the cases of foiling Animalism, Dominate and Presence, the mage must have some command (at least one dot) of the Mind Sphere. The mage's player (or the Storyteller) rolls Arete (difficulty of the opposing Discipline's level + 3 [maximum 10]); each success cancels one of the vampire's successes.

To use countermagic against Thaumaturgy, the player rolls Arete (difficulty of the vampire's Thaumaturgy rating + 2 [maximum 10]); each success cancels one of the vampire's successes. This may be used to interrupt Thaumaturgical rituals (at +1 difficulty) or to negate and dispel their effects after they are completed (at +3 difficulty).

"Balancing" Mages' Universal Power
Mages are mighty and their potential ability to affect the world with their strength of will far exceeds the Discipline development caps of most Kindred. However, mages should not hold themselves too far above the heads of Caine's descendants. As mortals, they are far more susceptible to physical damage than the undead. Vampires may also create (a theoretically unlimited number of) progeny, which is far easier than Awakening an individual's Avatar, so they have the advantage of numbers. Additionally, vampires often have far greater influence socially than mages, who must spend their time in study rather than cultivating contacts among the police or media. An uppity mage may well find herself the victim of any number of unpleasant circumstances, if not outright physical violence.

In other words, most mages are still mortal and must study almost to the exclusion of other interests. These are their greatest limitations when Kindred opponents are involved.

Vampiric blood magic is quintessential in nature, as it is powered by Cainite vitae. It is much less versatile than Sphere magic, but it's less of an imposition on accepted reality. Because of Thaumaturgy's nature, it can be used to counter a mage's Effects. This does count as the vampire's action for the turn and cannot be a Celerity-generated multiple action. The player rolls Thaumaturgy (difficulty of the mage's Willpower). Every two successes cancel one of the mage's successes. If the vampire has Thaumaturgical Countermagic (see the Guide to the Camarilla, p. 108), each dot adds one level to the character's effective Thaumaturgy rating for purposes of this roll.

Vampires and Life Magic

Vampires are undead creatures. As such, Life magic does not affect them. Most Life Effects that work on mortal bodies (e.g. transformation, temporary increases of Physical Attributes) can be performed on vampires with the Sphere of Matter.

To "heal" a vampire, a mage must use a Matter 3, Prime 2 conjunctional Effect. This Effect is coincidental under the same circumstances that a normal Life healing Effect performed on a mortal would be coincidental. Healing aggravated wounds is always vulgar.

Aggravated Damage

As a general rule of thumb, any damaging Effect (except Life Effects) powered by Prime inflicts aggravated damage on a vampire, as does an attack incorporating Prime 4+ or a fire- or electricity-based Forces attack. Any attempt to cause aggravated damage through the creation of sunlight requires Forces 3 and Prime 2. Creating true sunlight at night is vulgar, as is "channeling" sunlight into the area from the other side of the planet (Correspondence 5).

Blood and the Wizard

A mage, unless she has performed Effects upon herself that alter her blood, has normal mortal blood in her veins. However, mages can derive some benefit from Kindred blood (beyond becoming ghouls, of course). Two blood points of vampire blood are worth one point of Tass. This is usually collected in some form of container - a mage who directly ingests vampire blood becomes a ghoul and also runs the risk of becoming blood bound, though few mages are aware of this.

A mage can be Embraced like any other mortal. However, the Embrace destroys the mage's Avatar, making her a "normal" vampire. Most mages who find themselves in such a condition commit suicide within a few nights.

Restoring Mortality
The reversal of the Embrace through true magic is not an easy task. The mage runs the risk of catastrophic Paradox accumulation, as this is considered a highly vulgar Effect.

The minimum Spheres necessary to undo the Embrace are Entropy 4, Life 4, Matter 4 and Prime 6. This Effect is considered vulgar with witnesses (after all, some would say it's the reversal of a supernatural curse) and is performed at +1 difficulty for every century (or fraction thereof) since the vampire was Embraced and every generation the vampire is below 13th (although it doesn't get any easier at higher generations). Thus, the difficulty to return the mortality of a 550-year-old, eighth-generation elder would be an impossible 24 (or difficulty 10 with 15 successes, should the Storyteller feel generous). Obviously, this Effect is not performed lightly - there are no mages who make a habit of going around restoring lost humanity to the undead, especially the powerful undead. There is no way to restore an Awakened Avatar to a victim of the Embrace, even after successfully reversing that Embrace.

Magic can also be used to break a blood bond. This is a coincidental Effect. The minimum Spheres necessary for this task are Entropy 3, Life 4 (if breaking a bond from which a vampire suffers, Matter 4 instead), Mind 3 and Prime 1. This Effect is at +1 difficulty for every full decade the bond has been in effect. Note that a blood bond does not prevent a mage from using this Effect on himself, but he must be aware of the bond and its nature in order to counter it.

Both of these Effects require the mage to have a high level of Occult: 5 to break a blood bond, 6 to reverse the Embrace. Mages who possess this knowledge are few and far between - the Euthanatoi know the most about vampires, and some Progenitors, Sons of Ether and Verbena have made studies of the undead as well, as have the Nephandi...

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Crossover Example
Andrew, a vampire-hunting Son of Ether mage with Forces 4 (among other things), has caught up with Oliver van Grift, a Malkavian who has Obfuscate 3 in his bag of tricks. Andrew has the treacherous Leech in his sights, but van Grift decides to use a convenient cactus and Unseen Presence (Obfuscate 2) to effect a quick disappearance. Andrew knows the vampire is somewhere in the general area and decides to use a Forces 1 effect to scan the still-warm New Mexico desert for heat sources that are significantly cooler than the background. Since Andrew's Sphere rating of 4 is higher than van Grift's Discipline rating of 3, the mage has a chance to spot the vampire, even though the power that Andrew is using is a lower-level one than van Grift's.

"Has a chance" is what's important here. This system doesn't override the existing rules and is not automatic. The mage must still roll his Arete (just like any other mage using a sensory effect). If he has no successes, then van Grift stays hidden. One success tips off Andrew to the vampire's location.

Now, what if Andrew has only Forces 3? His power is equal to that of van Grift's Obfuscate 3. The result depends on the outcome of a resisted roll. Andrew rolls Arete, while van Grift rolls Wits + Stealth (just like any other vampire using Unseen Presence). Whoever has the most successes wins. If van Grift wins, he remains hidden. If Andrew wins, he pinpoints his target's position. Ties go to the "defender"; in this case, the vampire remains cloaked. Since Andrew is the one actively searching, Oliver gains the benefit of a tied roll.

What if Andrew has only Forces 2? His Forces is lower than van Grift's Obfuscate, and thus, it is not able to penetrate the Unseen Presence. However, the Storyteller should let him roll anyway and simply tell him he detects nothing.

Discipline Werewolf Rank Sphere Rating* Arcanos Art Edge
1 1 1 1 1 1
2 2 2 2 2 2
3 3 3 3 3 3
4 4 4 4 4 4
5 5 5 5 5 5
6 6 6 - -
7-9 - 6+ - -

* In the case of conjunctional effects, use the highest Sphere rating of the effect that the mage is attempting.