Disclosure of terms: Throughout this text, the term "Magick" w ill come to mean the superior form of reality alteration practiced by the Traditions. Those who practice Magick will be called Mages. Hedge magick, a system of magick which relies on an energy source which does not directly alter reality, will be referred to as "magick," or "magic." Those who practice Hedge magick will be called magi, or wizards, interchangeably.
Mage: the Ascension, does a tremendous job, delineating the reality shaping forces of Magick. The Spheric Magick which the Traditions use derives its power from separating the totality of reality into Nine Spheres, or systems of organization. Quintessence, the raw material of reality, flows into each, and by flowing, creates reality as we perceive it. By changing one or more of these spheres, reality itself is changed in a new and exciting way. The Mages directly manipulate the flow of Quintessence through an item, altering its properties. The field of Prime handles this directly, but each use it in part to establish their effects. In short, a Mage wonders "What are the chances that "X" will happen," and then shifts reality so that X will seem more likely.
The odds can be greatly increased by using Raw Quintessence, or Tass. The best description for tass is a "pocketful of possibilities." It is reality in an untapped form. By tapping into it, a Mage gains substantial control over local reality, transforming Possibility into Probability, and then into Actuality.
Mages have two ways to affect reality: Vulgar and Coincidental Magick. One mage likened the two to the stages of Tass. Vulgar Magick exists as Possibility. All things are possible, but the road from Possibility to Probability is a hard one. Coincidental Magick involves more Probability than possibility. It is thus easier to transform into Actuality.
There is a force that resists the shift from Possibility to Probability to Actuality. It is called Paradox, and is created, not by Quintessence, but rather the unconscious minds of every person on the planet. The human mind generates certain law which it will accept, and anything that conflicts creates the phenomena called Paradox. Paradox acts to snap reality back to its original position, but the purpose of Magick is to bend reality, and make it stick. Thus, the stress of shifting reality in the new position is taken on by the Mage, lest it shift back on its own.
Hedge Magick is any kind of magick that does not feed off of Quintessence directly. It does not permanently alter reality, as Pattern, or Spheric Matter does, but rather pushes it, and sets up temporary braces to hold it into position. The stress of the magick is left in the system, and when the force becomes too great, it will snap back readily. The unconscious minds may at first disbelieve what they see, which creates the stress. When it gives, and "resets" local reality, the minds realize it was all a hallucination, and continue disbelieving. Thus, Hedge Wizards do not suffer from Paradox like Mages do.
The majority of Hedge magick revolves around power derived from a place called the Shadow Empyrean, a place where the run-off Quintessence goes after it has flowed through reality. It is still tass, but has been subtly molded by whatever it flowed through, so that much of its Possibility has been removed, leaving strong Probabilities.
The Shadow Quintessence, or vis, acts to cement a wizard's concept into current reality, and hold it in place long enough for the desired effect to occur. After that point, reality can snap back, or if enough people believe in the change, it will remain in its current position. Whereas Mages rip reality, and reattach as they please, Hedge wizards are content to sculpt reality along certain Probable channels.
There are three major Schools of Hedge Magick Theory:
Symbolic magick: This magick derives from the Traditions, in t hat it organizes reality into subsections, which the wizard has greater control over. Thus, one section would be called "animals," and would allow the mage control over all types of animals. The problem with the school of Symbolic Magick is that the world has become far too complex to organize into neat bundles, as before. Once it was thought all physical Matter could be created from combinations of Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Quintessence (literally, the Fifth Essence). Now physical matter can be broken up into 4 states of matter, or 107 kinds of elements, or 3 kinds of atomic particles, or over 10 kinds of subatomic particles. In some ways, ignorance of the Physical world is bliss.
The Hermetic Order, a society of Hedge Wizards backed by a few powerful Traditions, created a potent system of classification which is still the system of choice amongst many Symbolic Wizards. However, alternative systems have been created, and only a handful are as accepted as the Hermetic Paradigm.
Reflexive Magick: Perhaps the most puzzling of Hedge magickal systems, Reflexive magick takes a mind's eye view of reality. Zen Buddhism teaches that we exist in our minds. All information about the reality around us is contained within. By interacting with matter and the material world, we unlock the doors. Each Reflexive act is an external effect of an internal characteristic. The Reflexive Mage merely extends his consciousness into an object, and gains a certain control over that object. Each of these are based on the Nine characteristics of the body.
Path Magick, or Thaumaturgy: Perhaps the weakest of the Hedge magicks, Path Magick is the discipline of following preascribed methodologies to gain magickal powers. A practitioner of Path Magicks finds himself at the beginning of a long road. Each step along the way teaches him a new ability, a new way of understanding that road. Alas, the road is often too short, and the student cannot venture off the path. Still, so tightly structured is Path Magick that it can be learned in a fraction of the time. Also, these Spells have been tested, and are nearly infallible, unlike the other forms of Magick. Further, the action of pushing aside reality temporarily takes its toll on practitioners of Symbolic and Reflexive Magick. Most of the bugs have been worked out of Path Magick, allowing a user to use the spells again and again with little fear of stressing out.
Now that the Kinds of Hedge Magick have been explained, it is neccessary to show what Hedge magick cannot do. First, it cannot create permanent effects, unless the effects are reasonable in the mind's eye of the people who dwell in a region. Thus, rain can fall as long as clouds are in the sky, but making it rain without a single vapor in the air stretches credulity. A fireball can be created, and thrown at a foe, but the foe cannot be set to burn forever. Eventually reality will take over, and the fire will dwindle and die.
Hedge Magick is limited to the immediate area it effects. Often, magick will be a clash between the Paradigms of one mind versus another. Although a hedge mage has the upper hand in his knowledge that reality is mutable, the Sleeper target also has power in knowing that it can't be moved. Often Magickal effects can only affect a single person, since the clash of internal paradigms is too much for a mage to handle. Hedge Magick is further limited by distance. Reality is a pretty big place, and magick often finds it difficult to displace that much disbelief. Particularly, magickal effects die soon after leaving the mind's eye of the mage who created it.
Finally, Hedge Magick is limited in precisely how much it can do. Basically, a mage is caught in the question of "How much will they believe?" How much will reality resist, before he can push it no farther?
Another factor is timing. Some Hedge magicks are handicapped by making them into rituals. The longer the ritual takes, the more potent it is. The opposite effect can be made to happen. If a mage is faced with a powerful ritual that takes a long time, he can cut the time, but in doing so, he must also cut the effectiveness. This sacrifice is sometimes neccessary however.
Each of the above problems can be overcome by adjusting the force of magick in an area. This is accomplished through five Modifiers, which allow magick to be subtly adjusted, making it more or less potent. The Five modifiers, and their levels of effectiveness, are seen below:
Effect Level Duration Distance Area of Effect Power Ritual
0 Instant Touch Self 0 Instantaneous
1 1 turn 5 feet 1 target 1 1 turn
2 2 turns 10 feet 2 targets 2 2 turns
3 1 scene 20 feet 4 targets 3 1 scene
4 1 hour Line of 8 targets 4 1 hour
Sight
5 1 day 1 mile 16 targets 5 1 day
Hedge Magick is gradiated into effect levels. With the standard "background vis" level, the amount of vis which trickles throu gh the Gauntlet from the Shadow Empyrean, the Maximum standard effect level is 5. Each effect level is a step up in power that is not often perfectly correlated. Thus, the jump between an effect created by Creo Ignem 3 to Creo Ignem 4 can be greater or lesser than the effect created by Path of Healing 3 to Path of Healing 4. If you wanted exactness, stick to science.
As a general rule, Level 1 powers are usually fairly minor Magicks, usually divination in the immediate area, or the creation of minor mgickal effects that have no real impact on game play.
Level two powers are a tad serious. It is here that the Wizard can subtly begin to affect the outside world. This can come in the form of a minor attack (never more than 1-2 health levels), a line of sight divination, or some other effect which begins to change reality around the user.
Level Three is a boost from there. A more serious attack can be launched, (2-3 Health Levels) and the Mage can make his minor effects have true impact on the game. A fire once used for light can now be used to set things aflame, while still cradled in the hand of the Wizard. Also, with Level three, divination is no longer limited to what the five senses say should be there.
Level four allows a much more powerful attack (4-5 Health Levels, or 1-2 Aggravated). Effects can have immediate and vital impact on the game. For instance, the fire which once was used to illuminate and can set things aflame also can now be shaped into objects by the Mage. Spontaneous creation of items also begins here, although they are very temporary in their effect and duration.
Level 5, the most potent of the normal bounds of Hedge wizardry, allows for deadly attacks (5-6 Health levels, 2-3 Aggravated). Effects are completely under the control of the Wizard in question. The flame first created for light by level 1, which was allowed to stick to the Mage's hand by level 2, then was allowed to burn other things by level 3, and could be shaped into a sword by Level 4, will now travel out from the user with level 5. Items created will have a much longer duration (a scene or more). If items that are used commonly are created and used, and reality will accept their use, the effect is permanent. Thus, with level 5, a meal can be made to form. At the end of the scene, the scraps will disappear, but not from the bellies of the eaters (unless this was the intention of the mage).
As it was seen, often, a simple effect is augmented by the five modifiers. Taking the Creo Ignem example used, a mage created a flame which would do 1 Health/round at most. By willing it not to burn him (effectively providing no fuel) it became a level 2 effect. By making an exception, and granting it Power to burn others (One more dice of power, making it 2-3 Health levels), it became level 3. Gaining tangible control over it became level 4, and increasing the distance became level 5. Each step took a common effect, and augmented it with the Five modifiers. This is a handy guide for creating and adjucating effects.
As another example, a character wishes to create food for his troupe, using Reflexive Magick. He wants it to taste good enough to stomach (App 1), provide sustenance (Endurance 2), and affect the 4 people in his troupe (Area of Effect 3). The combined effect is 6. Because of the absolute limit of Five, he must decide whether to feed less, make it unpalatable, or make it less wholesome. As it is, the magick is not long lasting, since no extra Duration was added. If the Mage uses ritual, he can decrease the absolute effect level. Thus, by making it a level 3 Ritual, taking one scene to cast, it suddenly becomes equivalent to a 6-3= Level 3 effect. The Caster can increase duration by Two, making it last for a scene.
Ultimately, Modifiers come into greatest play when Spells are involved. Spells, or Rotes, are pre-arranged Magickal effects that are tried and true. Little flexibility is involved, but at the same time, some bargains may be bought through the Magick. Thus, a spell that purports to have an Effect level of 4, when broken down logically, could cost 6. This is the advantage of spells and Paths: the shortcuts are incredible. However, Modifiers can be used to affect Spells on the fly, making them last longer, shorter, or affect more people. Every spell has an unspoken rating in each of these. For instance, Bob's Irresistable Waltz compels 1 target (AoE 1) to dance (Effect 1) against his will (Effect 2) for a scene (Duration 3). The Person needs to be in line of sight. In all, this was a Effect 6 power. The Path lists it at 5. Bob really knew what he was doing. If, on the fly, you needed it to affect more people (4 in all), the AoE needs to be increased from 1 to 3, a difference of 2. Taking the Listed Effect of the spell (5), the Modified Effect becomes 7, too much for Hedge Magick. Something else has to come down.
Well, say that the Wizard doesn't want it to come down. How can he surpass the Effect 5 limit, and produce some truly spectacular effects? Vis. Vis, when used to augment spells, does one of two things. The most important for Hedge Magick is that it can up the Effect level, on a one for one ratio. A mage has Creo of 4 and Ignem of 5, and wants to really torch some leechies (Damage effect of 3, AoE 2, Distance 3, Power 1 (to add one more die to damage). He has successfully expressed his Effect 9 power (3+2+3+1=9), within his skill, but must overcome the natural limitations in a magically starved environment. By using vis, he can open up channels to the power, allowing more spectacular effects to be gnerated. To generate the 4 extra levels, he needs to consume 4 pawns of vis. Boom. The effect goes off. All four in a 10 ft. Radius takes 2-3 + 1 Health levels.
The other thing vis is good for is to augment power. Any kind of vis can open channels to the power, but, as stated before, vis is tainted by filtering through reality. When it is found and harvested, it has a "taste" to it. The particular taste depends on the Paradigm of the holder. A coke suffused with power can be a terram (earth) pawn, or a Strength pawn, or conform to one of the paths of a holder. If any of these are true, the vis can be translated directly into power. For instance, a mage has Creo 2 Ignem 2, and really wants to generate a Level 5 effect. By using a pawn of either Creo or Ignem, the power is augmented, and the effect goes off. If she wanted to create a level 6, she would first open a channel to a greater power with 1 pawn of any kind, then pump two pawns of Creo or Ignem, to compensate for her shortcomings.
Finally, items and abilities can naturally up the background vis. Mages with faerie blood are known to have partial gateways to the Shadow Empyrean, making max effect 6 or seven. Items also create gateways to the Shadow Empyrean. These are rated 1-5, for each level they can boost the wielder to. Finally, using Prime Ram, the wizard in question creates a hole in the wall between him and the Shadow Empyrean, upping background vis levels to 10.
Is it that simple? Realize your limitations, and make an effect, no problemo? Not quite. After the final effect is ammassed, a roll must be made to make sure it went off correctly. The Difficulty is Final Effect + 3. As in Mage, any ol' vis can lower the difficulty of this roll by one. Depending on how wigged the effect is from reality, a ST can augment the amount of successes needed. For instance, a one shot gout of flames while holding a can of gasoline, then reality resets would require at most 1 success. However, nailing someone with an eternal flame while having no firemaking (symbolic) supplies, or making it rain in a cloudless desert would result in higher and higher successes needed. He can spend willpower to exert his will on reality, and make the effect happen.
A mage who doesn't reach his number of successes finds himself strained by the force of moving that magick. He can either will the effect to fail, and take the difference off with Willpower, with 1 success needed equal to two willpower spent, or take health levels, one per success needed, healing at a rate of one per day, or a combination of either. Or, there is a third, more dangerous option. The mage, realizing his Hedge construct wasn't properly established, and being dangerously low on willpower and Health, can voluntarily take Paradox into his body. This is no mere 1 point of paradox per success needed. It is equivantent in the mage game to six points of paradox. During the time in which the Paradox is in effect, the Paradox total is added to all Effect levels. Thus, to create a simple light (level 1) would be a Level 3 effect. Further, the Paradox plays with the Unawakened Avatar of the Sleeper, giving it flashes of the totality of the universe. Too often, a wizard will lapse into twilight momentarily, and then pop out of it a second later. The only way the Paradox can be vanquished is by downtime, a period of giving into the Paradox. This usually lasts for a month per point of Paradox. However, it must be consecutive. If a wizard has 3 "points" of Paradox, he must take three months of zero spellcasting, and zero studying off. If he uses it for any reason, he gains all three back.
Paradox is dangerous in a hedge wizard, who is unprepared for the complexities of reality. Even a single point, left in for too long, will have permanent effects on the sanity of the wielder. For every month a point of Paradox is kept in a mage, a Current Willpower roll is made, diff 8. Failure or Botch indicates a derangement has been permanently been picked up. During times of extreme stress (fear, anger, anxiety), a similar roll must be made, or the wizard temporarily fades into la la land.
One of the themes very lightly touched on so far is the idea that Magick is far from a permanent effect. Normally limited by the Duration modifier, it is difficult to make a spell last longer than a few turns. However, reality gives a bit of a helping hand sometimes. If an effect would actually tend to increase Paradox by removing the "magickal" aspect, it remains permanent. This tends to be a bit arbitrary, but as a rule of thumb, damage spells are permanent, as are short term healing spells (stop a heart attack, reattach a severed limb, given that you have the other, feeding someone). Most created items will disappear when the spell ends, but any effects those items had will remain. Thus, the same principle that keeps a would hurting long after the bullet which spawned it disappeared will keep a Wizard up on a ledge after conjuring a ladder to take him there.