Rules

Resonance is active; it begins with activity, radiates outward through activity, and comes back to its source through activity as well. Even Stabilizing Resonance, after all, begins with an activity (making something stable) and manifests in an activity (calming, nurturing, sustaining, protecting, etc.). Resonate means “to sound, to send back, to amplify”… and so, all forms of Resonance do something when they manifest. Therefore, each of the following types of Resonance – and each of the many variations within each type – gets defined by how it starts and what it does.

When deciding upon a type of Resonance, a player or Storyteller ought to consider how that energy starts and then what that energy does. From there, pick an evocative word – a description – that describes its effects. You want an energy that originates in a sense of centered calm and then, in turn, settles people down? Then choose a description that evokes that effect: Calming, Soothing, Reflective, Meditative, Grounding, and so forth. Does your character behave greedily? Then have that Resonance come across in words that reflect and reinforce greed: Grasping, Avaricious, Miserly, Money-Grubbing and, of course, Greedy.

From there, decide on the signature effects that your Resonance has within the story. Maybe that Calming Resonance manifests as waves of peaceful silence, a gentle voice, and a soft touch that promises control, not weakness. The stronger the Resonance Trait is, the more obvious its signatures will be. One Faint dot in Calming would probably just come through in that quiet voice, while five Overwhelming dots would radiate a sense of peace and centeredness even in the most stressful situations. Ideally, both the player and the Storyteller will collaborate on these signatures – the player acting out appropriate phenomena, and the Storyteller narrating the occasional surprise.

Those effects will also help you decide where and how your Resonance will benefit and hinder you. A Calming presence will certainly help in certain social situations, and may boost spells that soothe or comfort people; on the flipside, that same Resonance would diffuse an effort to intimidate someone, and may manifest itself in Paradox backlashes that rob the mage of his strength when he needs it, or else strand him in a realm full of featureless sand and no apparent way out.

It’s worth noting that these four categories aren’t mutually exclusive; you can be Impulsive (Temperamental Resonance) and yet still Calming (Stabilizing Resonance). You could have several variations within the same Resonance type as well: a Depressing person can also be Joyous or Furious at different times. People are complicated, and mages even more so. At times when the different aspects of Resonance come into play, use the rules presented in the Similar or Opposed Energies entry presented on (p. 132).

The following categories reflect both the source of the Resonance within the mage’s behavior, and also the effects that it has upon the mage.

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