Magi makin stuff

Hier sitz ich, forme Menschen          Here I sit, forming people
Nach meinem Bilde,                          In my image;
Ein Geschlecht, das mir gleich sei,   A race, to be like me,
Zu leiden, zu weinen,                        To suffer, to weep,
Zu genießen und zu freuen sich,       To enjoy and delight themselves,
Und dein nicht zu achten,                 And to mock you –
Wie ich!                                            As I do!
 ~From Prometheus by Johan Wolfgang von Goethe

“Hateful day when I received life!' I exclaimed in agony. 'Accursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust? God, in pity, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image; but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid even from the very resemblance. Satan had his companions, fellow-devils, to admire and encourage him; but I am solitary and abhorred.' - Frankenstein”

When a Magus seeks to change the world creation is often the first way that the Magus will try. The act of creation has the potential to alter the world in unexpected and long lasting methods. In this post I will be looking at the methods in which a Magus can create things in the world as well as making changes to existing things.

In my previous post on Magi I put together a slightly different dice rolling technique that I think will work better for Magi than what I was using before. I also have been thinking about the setting, and I think I have a few new ideas on how to explain it better so that it is more gameable than it was in the past. With that, on to the heart of this post.

You want to make a creature, item, or feature. Good, this is a good thing. By doing even such a small thing you are altering the world. Once you have created something, the world is just a little bit yours. Of course creation is not always easy, even for one of the wise. There is risk in creation. It could turn out broken, ugly, or...wrong. If you do it right, nothing can be more beautiful.

First you need to know what you are trying to create. This will set the base difficulty for the roll. Then you need to decide how much control of the creation you wish to have. This generally will be done after the roll, during the keep phase, though you can spend fate points to set aside effect dice before the roll. Creating a thing will be using the creation stat, naturally. It is difficult to create by destroying something, or keeping something the same.

Difficulty based on scale
Small thing: A physical object of about the size of your hand or smaller, A nonphysical object of minor use(a fleeting memory, a belief about a non-important issue, a single lucky break), a slight shift in the world(raise temperature in the room, increase or decrease the momentum of something handsized or smaller)
Difficulty +2
Medium thing: A physical object of about man sized or smaller, a non physical object of major use(create a serious relationship/belief from scratch, metaphysical truth of some value in a localized area), a major change in the world(alter one physical law completely in a single zone, make a minor shift in a widespread manner)
Difficulty +4
Big thing: A physical object that is larger than a man(like a building or a battleship or something), a nonphysical object of extreme value/use(create a core belief/worldview, alter a metaphysical truth over a whole supernode), A massive change in the world(Alter one physical law over the whole supernode, alter all/some physical laws a little over a whole super node)
difficulty +6


If you succeed on the roll with no extra effect dice, something is made, but you don't control what it is beyond the briefest of description, the GM will control the actual implementation of the creation

For each effect die you keep you can add an extra to the thing you have made, either a skill point or an extra aspect, or a consequence(one die for each consequence you add). shadows do not get refresh or stunts normally.


So that is my first rough idea on how Magic will work in the new version. I would love to hear your thoughts on how this will play out. I know that the language is not as strong as it could be, nor am I convinced my explanation is fully sufficient. Any help would be appreciated.