Paradox does not fit the epic fantasy setting of Malakai, since magic is a normal part of life. Scourge is closer, but is more suited to a game set in pre-modern Europe. And to tell the truth, both systems are difficult to adjudicate, providing few clear rules or even firm guidelines. The following system is experimental (read: untested). It is intended to limit certain uses of magic and to lend it that unpredictable quality that is part of the definition of Malakai.
In many ways, the system is simpler. Backlashes happen immediately, so there is no Paradox or Scourge trait in the traditional sense. Botches, vulger magic, and certain uses of magic carry consequences for a mage. In other ways, it is more complex, requiring a larger vocabulary of terms and a greater number of rules to remember. As play continues, some changes might be made to this system. If a new kind of Effect consistently causes game balance problems, it is possible to add new penalties to this list. Minor issues might merely penalize on a Backlash, while truly troubling ones could easily carry dire consequences. If the system over-complicates the game, most of these can easily be trimmed, leaving only penalties for botches and vulgar Effects. In this case, traits like Jhor, Misfortune, Payback, and the others might result from the use of the Effects noted, but only in situations in which vulgar magic or a botch is involved.
Botches: A botch results in an immediate random Effect usually related to the intended spell. This Effect employs the same Spheres as the intended Effect with a number of successes equal to the mage’s Arete. An extended roll or ritual increases the number of successes of this random Effect by one for every roll after the first. A botch coupled with a Backlash adds a number of successes to this random Effect equal to the mage’s Arete. If the Effect was Vulgar, a botch causes even more trouble (see Vulgar Magic below).
Behind the Curtain: Malakai’s old Scourge system was a little toothless, and botches were one of the few times when characters gained Scourge. Part of the effort to eliminate the Scourge system from M:EF requires that botched Arete rolls still have consequences. Rather than employing an out-of-place system of Scourge based on Christian virtues and vices, this new system simply causes big mistakes to bite the mage back with a force equal to that sheh was attempting to wield.
Fortune, Blessings, and Curses: Entropy is the magic of fate and fortune, but karma and luck are both two-sided coins. On a Backlash with any fortune-based Entropy Effect, the mage gains a point of Misfortune. Any attempt to completely eliminate chaos or order from a situation results in two points of Misfortune on a Backlassh.
Behind the Curtain: Entropy is not a foolproof or specific, and it tends to break down over time, and Misfortune is intended to reflect that. It’s also intended to prevent flagrant abuses of Entropy magic, such as adding 12 dice to Dodge checks, that are clearly intended to create impossibly powerful defenses.
Killing with Magic: Directly striking another individual with a damaging attack takes a toll on a mage’s soul. On a Backlash, any attack that directly deals lethal damage to an intelligent, living creature that results in death bestows a point of Jhor on the mage. Note that this only applies to Effects that do not require an attack roll and/or do not allow a chance to dodge. A mage may, for example, enchant an arrow to burn with Forces when it hits its target without accumulating Jhor, but an unavoidable ball of flame, Rip the Man Body, or Blight of Aging will result in a rapid accumulation of death madness.
Behind the Curtain: This was added for the sake of game balance on two levels. First, it discourages foolproof attacks by providing them only at a price. Second, it places a tangible moral responsibility on the shoulders of the mage. Too many death spells, and the mage will lose all traces of humanity.
Rapid Travel: Whether it involves Correspondence, Spirit, Forces, or Life, traveling quickly or instantaneously tends to metaphysically stretch out the wanderer between hes point of origin and destination. On a Backlash, rapid transit results in gaining a point of Incorporeality. Instantaneous travel beyond line of sight results in two points of Incorporeality on a Backlash.
Behind the Curtain: Flight, Umbral travel, and teleportation have the potential to cause trouble, especially in a game where setting is essential to the story. In essence, a mage who decides to teleport suffers the magical equivalent of jet lag, a kind of teleportation sickness that takes some time to recover from.
Scrying, Divinations, and Perception Magicks: For each two Spheres of active perception magic (rounding down), all Perception rolls are at +1 difficulty. By using a Mind 1 Effect, it is possible to reduce this penalty by 1. On a Backlash, the mage gains a point of Madness.
Behind the Curtain: The first effect is nested in an obscure part of Sorcerers Crusade, though I've watered in down slightly. The second represents the risk of excessive reliance upon supernatural sight and also the danger of seeing what one expects.
Time Dilation and Contraction: This use of Time does not result in a change in time streams, but it carries dangers of its own. First, a creature or object that is the subject of such dilation or contraction suffers all the results of the modified time. Creatures in a bubble of fast time must eat more often, for example. Second, each factor of increase or decrease grants the mage a point of Distortion (1 for x2 or 1/2, 2 for x3 or 1/3, etc...) that lasts until the Time Effect expires. On a Backlash, the mage gains an additional point of Distortion that does not fade at the end of the Effect.
Behind the Curtain: The first effect can actually be useful to a mage, under the right circumstances. The second discourages certain abuses of time dilation.
Time Travel: Time travel and reversal can get any mage in serious trouble. On a Backlash, minor rewinds like Time Warp earn the mage a point of Inconsistency and Payback. True time travel automatically accumulates a point of Inconsistency and Payback, two points of each on a Backlash. It is possible to rework the same event without the usual difficulty penalties, but additional attempts add a cumulative point of Inconsistency and Payback to the price of manipulation.
Behind the Curtain: Time paradoxes are a huge headache, so I’ve changed the cosmology to avoid them. Each time stream is only one of an infinite number of parallel time streams. Time travel is not actually time travel at all but, rather, a jump out of one time stream and into another, where the time traveler(s) displaces a parallel self. This creates new problems and questions. A mage who jumps from one time stream to another often creates a precedent for hes parallel selves to do the same, possibly displacing hem from hes own time stream and into a troubling situation. Even without the paradoxes ordinary linear time travel provides, this obviously has the potential to create a mess. Add into this that time streams are not identical, and this method of dealing with Time makes more sense.
Transformations: Life Magicks that significantly alter physical features or raise physical Attributes to supernatural levels have certain side effects. First, each significant alteration results in Pattern bleeding, inflicting one health level per day. A subject with Prime can prevent this damage at the cost of 1 Quintessence per day. A mage with Prime 3 can prevent this damage on another at the cost of 1 point of Quintessence per day. Complete transformations take their toll on the psyche of the subject, requiring the expenditure of one point of temporary Willpower each day to prevent complete loss of humanity. A mage changing with Life 5 does not suffer this last complication. A Backlash adds a point of Witchwalk.
Behind the Curtain: Most of these are simply a gathering together of several rules pertaining to the Life Sphere spread out over several pages in two different rulebooks. The last is another little detail to make magic use interesting.
Unnatural Influence: A subtle mage can employ Mind to solve any number of problems without bloodshed. During those times when subtlety is impossible, however, a blast of raw emotion or a desperate conquest of another person’s mind can solve problems. Such methods are messy, however, since the victim is automatically aware of the nature of the attack, allowing a Willpower soak. On a Backlash, vulgar displays result in the loss of a point of temporary Willpower.
Behind the Curtain: Mind magic is supposed to be subtle, and I feel like these limits encourage subtle use of this Sphere.
Vulgar Magic: Mages who employ vulgar magic always pay a price. First, vulgar magic is more difficult (+2 difficulty with or without witnesses). Second, even a successful vulgar working has an element of unpredictability. One success is added or removed from the Effect by the GM, resulting in anything from reduced damage dice to shorter durations to additional targets. Only rarely does this bonus success or failure benefit the mage in some way. A botch with vulgar magic tends to be disastrous. It follows the same rules as a regular botch, but the number of successes is doubled. A botched vulgar Effect with a Backlash triples the number of successes. If the number of successes accumulated by this random Effect is greater than the mage’s Arete x Willpower, the mage lands in a Paradox Realm or receives a visit from a potent Paradox Spirit.
Behind the Curtain: Few Effects are Vulgar on Malakai, but those that are carry a stiff penalty or, at the least, a significan risk.
Distortion, Inconsistency, Incorporeality, Jhor, Madness, Misfortune, Payback, and Witchwalk are all manifestations of Scourge and each point of one of these reduces the maximum number of points of Quintessence the mage’s Pattern can hold (usually 20). Random Effects resulting from Botches add successes of "damage" to this Scourge trait for the duration of the random Effect. The effects of these flavors of Scourge are as follows, though some more fitting punishments are possible at the ST's discretion.
Distortion: Toying with the flow of time tends to thin out the boundary between reality and Chaos. Each point of Distortion lowers the local Gauntlet rating by 1 near the mage. The radius of this effect is a number of yards equal to the mage’s Arete x Willpower. If this would reduce the local Gauntlet to 0 or less, the Gauntlet tears open, pulling the immediate vicinity into another Realm for the duration of the Time Effect.
| Current Gauntlet | Potential Realms: |
| 0 | Middle Umbra |
| -1 - -2 | Chaos Pocket |
| -3 | High Umbra |
| -4 - -5 | Paradox Realm |
| -6 and below | Low Umbra |
Inconsistency: Parallel time streams are not identical. Inconsistency represents the differences between the mage’s native time stream and the current one. Purification alone cannot eliminate Inconsistency. It must be coupled with and expenditure of XP as noted on the chart below. Many of the differences, especially at the higher levels of Inconsistency, would require a major rewrite of the ST’s notes. It is usually easier to rule that while the names and places in the story stay the same, the PC remembers them differently. Encourage roleplaying this mis-remembering.
The Wits + Enigmas checks detailed below are required to recognize and adjust to the differences the mage encounters in a given scene. These represent keeping situations like 'Oh yeah. Sorry about that, Bob. I don't know why I called you George a moment ago. Slip of the tongue' from becoming 'But I KNOW you're George. Why do you keep insisting you name is Bob?" The expenditure of XP does not mean the world changes to one more like the mage's home time stream. It represents learning to cope with the differences by making an effort to learn the rules of the new time stream. It takes time to relearn Knowledges and adapt to the new environment. This should be roleplayed as much as possible, and no one should be able to throw off more than two or three points of Inconsistency in a single chapter.
| Inconsistency Rating | Differences |
| 1-3 | A few minor differences. The mage’s hair might be a different color or an acquaintance’s name might change. The mage can adapt to each change on a successful Wits + Enigmas, dif 4. Each point of Inconsistency at this level may be eliminated at the price of 1 XP per point. |
| 4-6 | Noticeable changes. Two languages might exchange geographical locations. A few points of Backgrounds, Merits, and Flaws might move, appear, or disappear. The mage can adapt to each change on a successful Wits + Enigmas, dif 6. Each point of Inconsistency at this level may be eliminated at the price of 2 XP per point. |
| 7-9 | Significant changes. National boundaries move. Landmarks vanish. A few points of Spheres move, appear, or disappear. Names of close friends and relatives change. The mage can adapt to each change on a successful Wits + Enigmas, dif 7. Each point of Inconsistency at this level may be eliminated at the price of 3 XP per point. |
| 10-12 | Culture Shock. Customs change. Entire cities move. Certain nations cease to exist. Whole Traditions vanish or emerge. The mage’s race or gender might well change. The mage can adapt to each change on a successful Wits + Enigmas, dif 8. Each point of Inconsistency at this level may be eliminated at the price of 4 XP per point. |
| 13-15 | Stranger in a Strange Land. The sky is a different color. Days are longer or shorter. Races change. Continents move. Most Knowledges are rendered useless, and even some Talents and Skills suffer penalties. The mage can adapt to each change on a successful Wits + Enigmas, dif 9. Each point of Inconsistency at this level may be eliminated at the price of 5 XP per point. |
| 16+ | Untranslatable. All the basic assumptions the mage makes about the world no longer apply. Intelligent crystals rule the world. Gravity does not work, and most beings can outrun light on a good day. The mage cannot cope with the changes for more than a few hours before making a fatal mistake. Every hour, the mage must succeed a Wits + Enigmas check against a difficulty of 10 or die. In the unlikely event that the mage should survive for a full day or longer, each point of Inconsistency at this level may be eliminated at the cost of 6 XP per point. |
Incorporeality: The price of rapid travel, Incorporeality represents a lack of presence at the mage’s destination. Until Incorporeality fades, the mage must roll a Wits + Stamina check at the beginning of each scene against a difficulty of 2 + hes Incorporeality rating. If the mage accumulates at least one success, sheh may interact with hes surrounding normally during that turn. If not, sheh and any equipment transported with hem has no physical substance during that scene. While this may provide an advantage in certain situations, the mage is rendered nothing more than an observer for the duration of that scene. Sheh may only employ perception magicks, though knowledge of Correspondence can allow the mage to touch the world around hem.
Jhor: Too much contact with death and killing increases Jhor.
| Jhor Rating | Effect |
| 1-3 | Subtle attraction to death |
| 4-6 | Pallor and morbidity |
| 7-10 | Amoral behavior |
| 11+ | Sociopathic killer |
Madness: Magical perceptions sometimes leave after-images that take time to fade. Madness taints all perceptions, natural and supernatural. At low levels, it means seeing things that are not there (+1 dif on Perception checks). At middle levels, it means strongly experiencing perception magicks that are not actually active (+3 dif on Perception checks). At higher levels, it means the false sensory input grows more real than the mage’s natural senses (+5 dif on Perception checks). At extreme levels, the mage only gets rare glimpses of the real world (+7 dif on Perception checks) and this sensory deprivation completely incapacitates hem until the Madness passes.
| Madness Trait | Effect |
| 1-3 | Minor hallucinations |
| 4-6 | Common delusions and mood swings |
| 7-10 | Wild hallucinations and sensory overload |
| 11+ | Mindscape |
Misfortune: Attempts to manipulate fate or control chance eventually fail. Whenever a mage gains a point of Misfortune, a randomly selected Attribute pays the price. The difficulty of all rolls using this Attribute increases by one each time it is selected. For example, depending on the dice, a mage with three points of Misfortune might a +1 penalty on the difficulties of three Attributes, a + 1 dif on one Attribute and a +2 dif penalty on another, or a +3 difficulty penalty on a single Attribute. Cheat fate one time too many, and it will eventually take you down hard.
Payback: A mage who rewinds or travels through time is only one of many parallel mages with similar abilities and behavior patterns. It follows that a mage who would switch places with a duplicate from another time stream must have duplicates somewhere who would do the same to hem. This temporal karma is called Payback, and it can be a real bitch when it finally discharges. In essence, it changes a good choice into a bad one. The mage fires a Prime bolt at the Big Nasty. Flicker. And he finds himself firing the Prime bolt at a minion, instead. A wise ST saves Payback for a moment of poetic justice. If a Time mage rewound time to prevent an ally from dying, the Payback might cause another ally to suffer a fate sheh would otherwise have avoided. Depending on the consequences of the Payback, each change reduces this trait by 1 to 3 points.
Witchwalk: A mage who regularly alters the shapes of living things tends to pick up odd supernatural quirks. The actual effects of a Witchwalk trait will depend on the mage’s magical style and Resonance, but produces an appropriate Echoes Flaw depending on the level of the Witchwalk trait.
| Witchwalk Rating | Effect |
| 1-2 | Slight manifestations of no real consequences. Milk sours in your presence; bread will not rise; a slight scent of sulfur follows in your wake. |
| 3-5 | The effects become inconvenient. Dogs growl and horses sweat when you’re around; your gaze causes flowers to bloom or fade; cats find you irresistible. |
| 6-9 | The effects are obvious to other mages. The wind blows cold as you pass; flocks of birds or swarms of insects follow you everywhere; you leave grassy footprints everywhere you walk. |
| 10-14 | Your nature is obvious to anyone. Your facial features look like the animal whose form you favor; your shadow is that of another animal; your body is covered with shaggy hair; trees put on leaves whenever you are near or flowers spring from all organic matter in your path. |
| 15+ | Walking force of nature. You have obvious animal features such as paws, fangs, or vestigial wings; animals appear out of thin air around you only to disappear when they leave your vicinity; small animals drop dead in your presence, and larger ones flee in terror |
Scourge traits accumulate over time unless the mage takes steps to keep them under control. There are a few ways of doing this. Some are less pleasant than others. Of the Scourge traits, Inconsistency and Payback may not be eliminated in the following ways. Misfortune resulting from Entropy Effects whose durations have not yet expired cannot be eliminated in these ways, either.
Straightening: If a mage does not use magic, Scourge traits gradually fade. For every full week a mage goes without using magic, a random Scourge trait is reduced by one. Any use of magic during the week immediately resets the clock, but Scourge traits already reduced remain so.
Purification: A mage who retreats from the world for a time to meditate may eliminate Scourge traits. The mage must take virtually no actions for the duration of the Purification effort except for those directly related to meditation. Any break in concentration immediately spoils the Purification attempt. After a number of days equal to the total value of all hes Scourge traits, the mage is cleansed of all Scourge other than Inconsistency, Payback, and active Misfortune.
Castigation: Some wraiths and other spirits have the ability to burn impurities from the soul. The effort usually only takes a few minutes, but the process inflicts one health level of lethal damage per point of Scourge cleansed. This damage must be healed naturally. Magic is all but useless against it. Unlike Straightening, the spirit may choose which Scourge traits to reduce with this power.
Piety: Once per story, a mage with six or more points of Purity may appeal hes patron deity for relief from Scourge. The mage rolls a number of dice equal to hes current Purity rating at a difficulty equal to the total value of all hes Scourge traits (maximum of 10). Each success eliminates a point of one Scourge trait chosen by the patron. This is often random, but a specific appeal might earn the mage a more specific result. On a botch, the mage's Purity score is reduced by 1.
Prime Flushing: With a Prime 5 Effect, the mage may reduce random Scourge traits by 1 per success at the cost of one Quintessence per point of Scourge trait eliminated.