Rules

If and when a Wonder generates Paradox, the mage using it has two options:

• She can choose to let the Wonder absorb the Paradox energies; or…

• she can elect to take them on herself. If she decides to do so, then the Paradox points get added to her Paradox /Quintessence wheel.

The decision must be made before the Wonder gets used. After that, it’s too late to choose.

An unAwakened character has no such option – the Paradox goes directly into the Wonder.

A Wonder can sustain one point of Paradox for every point in its Quintessence Trait. A Device, for example, that holds 10 Quintessence can hold up to 10 points of Paradox. Once the Paradox exceeds the Quintessence trait, the Wonder suffers a backlash – usually exploding, melting, bursting into flames, shattering, or otherwise undergoing a dramatic case of self-annihilation. A Wonder destroyed by Paradox can’t usu­ ally be repaired, although certain simple machines or objects might be fixable with the Storyteller’s consent. For rules about repairing Wonders, see the Crafting Wonders section, below.

Note: The sourcebook Forged by Dragon’s Fire presents some additional rules for Paradox and wonders. Thanks to their complexity, however, those systems can be considered optional. Mage 20 does not use them.

As described in the Wonder Background entry in Mage 20, p. 328, Wonders get rated by their overall power-level: • Minor item worth 1-3 freebie or experience points. •• Notable item worth 4-6 points. ••• Significant item worth 7-9 points. •••• Impressive item worth 10-12 points. ••••• Mighty item worth 13-15 points.

(A Wonder could be worth more than 15 points, especially if it’s a vehicle or some other potent piece of hardware. We do not, however, recommend allowing individual player-char­ acters to own such devastating goodies except as temporary plot-devices that go away at the end of a given story. Ignore this advice at your peril!)

An individual Wonder can have up to one separate power for each dot in that Background. A three-dot Wonder, for in­ stance, can have up to three different powers, although many three-dot Wonders have only one or two abilities.

Because each Wonder uses Sphere-based Effects, those dots depend upon the Sphere Rank of the object’s most powerful Effect. A Talisman, for instance, that uses a Forces 4 /Prime 4 Effect would be a four-dot Background, with an Arete Trait as high as 4.

As an optional rule, a Wonder may have a higher Arete than usual; for one extra Background point, that four-dot Talisman could have an Arete of 5. Generally, Wonders have a capacity of five Quintessence points for each point of Arete. That four-dot Arete 5 Talisman, then, could hold up to 25 Quintessence, and would cost nine freebie or experience points.