Vulgar Magic, Backlash, and Corruption Points

Malakai is a fantasy world where magic is widely accepted as a normal part of life. As such, there is no worldwide Consensual Reality. However, each race has its own understanding of magic, and their beliefs generate localized paradigms in those areas in which they dominate. While each of the fourteen most influential Traditions has its own underlying paradigms, all of them tend to fall into one of four broad categories - Internal, External, and Method. A Mage whose Tradition (or broad paradigm) falls within a region's acceptable broad paradigms rarely has a problem with Vulgar magic in that area. As long as such a mage uses a focus for hes Effects, it is always coincidental. Producing an Effect by pure force of will (by surpassing foci) is always Vulgar. If the local paradigm does not support the mage's, all hes noticeable Effects are Vulgar. This can still be gotten around if the mage can pass the Effect off as a coincidence (just like the Coincidental magic rules in M:tA). If a Mage with a paradigm incompatible with that of the regional paradigm can make it appear that hes Effect is caused by something the local paradigm would consider viable (a Truthspeaker could speak in a foreign language and wave his hands like a Weard to make it seem like he is using a magic of Method instead of an Internal paradigm, for example), it is possible to make the Effect Coincidental, though this imposes a +1 penalty to the difficulty of the Effect. Thus, the Mage avoids the unpredictable added success or failure, but it is still not as easy as it would be if hes paradigm was compatible. While a spell that drops a ball of flame on a small army is considered within the realm of possibility in a high-magic world like Malakai, incredibly huge Effects are still Vulgar. No mage can move a celestial body, vaporize an entire city, or sink an island without great danger of failure and a severe Backlash.

Difficulty of coincidental Effects - Highest Sphere + 3

Difficulty of vulgar Effects - Highest Sphere + 5

Whenever you make an Arete roll, one of your dice - chosen before you roll - also becomes your Scourge Die. If the Scourge Die comes up a 1 when you are attempting a Vulgar Effect or one carrying consequences as noted below, your character suffers a Backlash. A Backlash can range from a nuissance, for a mage who Backlashed at a bad moment, to outright annihilation, for a mage who has come too close to rivaling the power of deities. Often, Backlash affects the mage in a way related to the action that triggered the Backlash.

Internal: The Mage's power comes from within, whether it requires willpower, creativity, compassion, discipline, confidence, or a unity of mind, body, and soul.

Internal Paradigms include Epagans, Makers, Monks, and Truthspeakers.

External: The Mage's power comes from some outside entity or force. This might be a deity, nature, the spirit world, or the Wheel of Life.

External Paradigms include Druanae, Euthanatoi, Faithful, Guiltbearers, and Mystics.

Method: The Mage does not possess power, per se. Rather, sheh possesses a knowledge of series of actions, words, symbols, materials, and/or devices that, if employed in the correct way, produce hes magical Effects.

Method Paradigms include Artificers, Runeworkers, Travellers, Troubadours and Weards.

The Epagans and Euthanatoi sit on the border between External and Internal. Certainly, some Epagans believe in a higher power that grants them their healing powers, and many Euthanatoi see their tending the dead as a spiritual quest, not a religious calling. Depending on the personality of the character, Euthanatoi and Epagans, at the beginning of their careers, may choose either a Paradigm of Faith or a Paradigm of Motive for the purposes of Vulgar and Coincidental magick within a local paradigm.

If the region is dominated by a single race, magic falling into one of that race's broad paradigms is considered Coincidental in that area. If two races are equally common, both races' acceptable paradigms are Coincidental in that area.

© 2001 by Eric Zawadzki

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