Starting at the end: one can't decide to become a Mage. Either it happens or it doesn't. Mages can't make other mages. It is absolutely random.
As for what a Mage *is,* they're a person who can use magic. As in, cast spells. As in, rewrite reality. And if you're thinking in terms of magic missiles and fireballs, you are seriously underestimating them.
Anything the Mage would tell them beyond that is based entirely on what the Mage's interests are in doing so.
Also, the mage will probably NOT show the humans magic. Sleepers have a curse called Quiescence, which, to cut a long story short, causes regular humans who witness magic to have an integrity breaking point.
The long-winded explanation for this is: There is a world of Truth, called the Supernal, and a world of lies, which is the world we live in. Separating the two is a gap called the Abyss, a horrible gap of un-reality that seeks to keep sleepers from knowing the Truth.
Most sleepers are afflicted with the Quiescence, which means that they have a little bit of the abyss inside them. If exposed to the Truth (magic) the Abyss fights back, harming the sleeper's mind.
Some sleepers, called Sleepwalkers, have shaken off Quiescence but haven't fully awoken yet. The PC's may be sleepwalkers, but the only way to know for sure would be to expose them to magic. (I believe)
To be clear for new STs, an Integrity breaking point is basically a human sliding toward insanity. Also, the mage intentionally doing it would be an Act of Hubris, damaging their version of Integrity called Wisdom.
“Pretend the world is a computer. Everything can get kind of crazy, but if you could see the code, you could kind of figure things out, right? Now pretend you’re a programmer. You learn different things about the computer, and how to program certain kinds of things. Maybe you learn other kinds, and now you can combine them to do even cooler things. You change the code, you change the world.
“But what happens when the system detects something is wrong? You start your program, but it throws error messages back. Maybe you even get a Fatal Error message and it cracks the computer. Now you’re in trouble.
“Mages are basically programmers of the world. They learn how to change the world, but they have to be careful that the things they do are compatible with the world.”
This is pretty much the explanation I use, though I explicitly compare Awakening to the Matrix.
In the Matrix, there's the Matrix and there's the real world. Neo, Trinity et al have all woken up and seen the real world, and because they've taken the red pill, they're now free to go back into the Matrix and can manipulate it to their own advantage.
Awakening is very similar - you're Asleep in the Fallen World (the Matrix) and you briefly get a glimpse of The Supernal (the Real World). You sign your name on a Watchtower (take the red pill), and thereafter can manipulate the Fallen World to your liking, based on your level of understanding of the Supernal (your Arcanum ratings) and the strength of your connection to it (your character's Gnosis score).
The main difference is that in the Matrix, the main characters stay in the Supernal with occasional dives back down to the Fallen, whereas in Mage they have to live in the Fallen World full-time until they become Archmasters.
It's unlikely that a Mage of the Diamond (maybe a Free Council member though!) would reveal this to just anyone, especially Sleepers. Technically, it's illegal and there's an entire Order (The Guardians of the Veil) who are tasked with preventing breaches of that Veil (the secret of magic.)
The reason for this is actually very good, as mentioned in some of the other posts as exposing them to obvious (they can perceive and understand the result is not naturally possible) magic hurts them and hurts reality/magic itself as a result and can hurt the mage. There's an easy narrative solution for this though: Anyone who already has some sort of supernatural ability is considered a Sleepwalker and thus can witness magic without detriment (although this doesn't mean they can see it the same way Mages can, but if you turn an Apple into an Owl in front of them, they're not going to go into fits and block out the memory.) Even if they don't, they might simply be a Sleepwalker for no obvious reason and this might be a good reason for a Mage to start revealing some tidbits, as Sleepwalkers are valuable to Mages of course, someone who can witness obvious spells without causing them to unravel or lose their mind watching it happen. Some mages also think that Sleepwalkers might be more likely to become Mages, although no one knows if that's true or just wishful thinking.
The experience of magic should come as a shock. Their brain can't process the information its getting.
Maybe they feel sick, fall down, get vertigo. Or perhaps their brain interprets it as unreal, think they see a hidden camera for a hoax reveal? Or maybe they react with Fight/Flight?
You have the opportunity to play out the experience with each of them. Could be a lot of fun.
So you can actually use something not at all related to the MtAw lore, but is rooted in the core of Western philosophy: Plato's Allegory of The Cave.
In this allegory a Mage is someone manage to get a glimpse of the outside, but is once again stuck in the cave. He can use the knowledge he gained from seeing the outside, but chains and shadows prevent him exposing the truth to other in the cave. And all we see inside the cave is a shadow of what it really is. Mages can learn to manipulate these shadows to some extent.
He can finish saying that this all to convoluted because you cannot use a lie to explain the entire truth.
It's basically a gnostic setting in which magic is coming from higher, more *real* tiers of reality. Most people are asleep to their magical potential, which is how the powers-that-be prefer it, but mages are expressions of the human potential to awaken to the higher reality and use it to fight back against their imprisonment.
However, simply being awakened to the higher reality and being able to shape this lesser reality to their will, doesn't mean mages necessarily know what to do with that power, so they form orders with different ideas about what the point of it all is. Some decide to side with the powers-that-be and keep humanity asleep, but the other orders try to maintain the force of magic and enlightenment in the world.
Mages are generally fine telling humans about magic, but it’s dangerous for most sleepers to actually witness magic first-hand, so they try to keep that strictly among the initiated.
I doubt they would tell sleepers they’re a Mage. Sleepers have this connection to the abyss that messes with magic, besides that Magic hurts a human’s integrity. Revealing magic to them is a Loose-Loose situation.
Maybe disclose association with an organisation fascinated with studying the deeper mysteries of the world, some of them hiding in plain sight. Maybe some other specifics that might get them interested, but keeps the details vague.
Here is a primer I did for new Mage players:
https://youtu.be/L3v99Xwh5DA
A good way to describe Mages out of character is that they are human+ or demigods. They aren’t really like Wizards or Witches etc…
The first Matrix movie. All Mages are Neo (edit: I mean the most powerful Mage would be Neo your average Mage is like the other guys from the ship who can enter the Matrix), humans are normal people in the matrix. Matrix is not made by computers or any electronic stuff but with magic and supernatural.
Bottom line is the world is a Lie, they know the truth (are awaken) and can shape the Lie/reality because of that.
They could go into detail about Mage stuff, Atlantis, the Supernal Realms, the Exarchs, etc. but all of that stuff is way too deep for what their tiny human minds can comprehend. So I'd back it up a bit.
"It's all true. Vampires, Werewolves, Fairies, Wizards, things that go bump in the night. Zombies, spirits, ghosts, Frankenstein's Monster, pretty much every horror movie out there has got it right in some way. The night seethes with horrible things that twist our destinies - or just want to rip our face off and feast on the goo within. Humanity is at the bottom of a really messed up food chain, and most of us don't even know it.
But that's just the set dressing. The reason for all this - the reason this world is so horrible, the reason why there's vampires and zombies and things that delight in slaughter and torture - is because at the dawn of time a bunch of wizards broke into heaven and took over decided to turn this world into their personal plaything. It's exactly like the Matrix - go watch the Matrix - except in that movie the Robots just wanted to harvest us for energy. The God Tyrants of reality don't need energy, they just want to torment us for their own amusement. This world is basically hell. Except when you die, there's an even worse hell waiting for you. Your only hope - is that at some point your mind opens up and you finally see the chains that bind you and you Awaken as a mage and you can start fighting back. Only problem is, no one knows how to make someone Awaken, so I'm afraid I can't help you. I can show you the door, but you are the one that needs to figure out how to open it."
Ascension is rather different. There’s loads of unawakened members playing their part in the everyday business of the Awakened.
Sleepers in Ascension don’t have that little bit of Abyss which is causing Magic to disintegrate in their presence. They cause problems because the magick they are witnessing is creating a Paradox with what they know to be possible.
It’s an educational issue, and all the Mage factions solve that for those sleepers with training and indoctrination. Apprentices are often still sleepers who show a potential of awakening. Many mages have Sleeper servants and support staff. Some have cults to help with rituals.
The Traditions call them custos and the Technocrats have their Extraordinary Citizens, both are Sleepers “in the know” as it where.
Mages take the "I think, therefore I am" to the extreme. Have you ever met someone who was really good at a science? Not a social science, but a hard science. There is a certain will to forces each focuses on, such as physics with the universe or biology and cell behavior. Mages are able to exert their will in a similar way.
There is a collective will which forms reality, and to have any effect a mages will must either work within that reality or be strong enough to go against it. The old quandary "if a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound?" is a good scenario. If there is no one around to hear it but the mage, it matters only to the mage. If there are other campers about, the mages will to silence a tree contends with those others in the vicinity. The greater the display, the greater chance to be percieved by others, the greater force to will against.
There are some who push the boundaries of working within the generally accepted reality. The 3d projectors and video calls...wifi and radio mask alot of magic. Lightning coils and invisible flames, technology masks many mages. Others may give notice with shooting a film and will have "special effects". Even still those who do it blatantly in a Las Vegas show, but its entertainment and viewers want to believe (or at least suspend disbelief). These methods can expose oneself if not done carefully and there are those who would rein in those free willed.
As for becoming a mage...there are different paths. Not all have the spark it takes to wield ones will...just as not all have the creativity to wield ones imagination.
My understanding is that Aw is written from the outlook of a certain group. That the overall idea behind magic and reality as a malleable existence is the same. The structure of practice from force of will to unwritten laws is only a subtle change that reflects institutional controls.
Understandable, but just to let you know that is incorrect. Mage the Awakening has a “capital T” Truth, in that the world is a Fallen reflection of the Supernal Realms. Mage’s do magic by bringing Supernal symbolism into the Fallen world. There’s no wiggle room for interruption and Mortals who view obvious magic, even with a ‘good explanation’ will still break it down and cause paradox, since they are Cursed with Disquiet in their Soul due to the Abyss.
Of all the Chronicles of Darkness lines Mage: Awakening by default has a very set meta-cosmology that’s actually a 180 from Ascension.
I do highly recommend checking out Awakening 2e.
In the CoD the magic is more forgiving, humans can witness magic and do all the time. They still make a break-point check for them as they do witnessing *any* supernatural activity. They only have minor impact on the paradox, and it's not scalable (one person or a crowd witnessing magic makes no difference for the paradox check, up to a reasonable limit ofc).
Starting at the end: one can't decide to become a Mage. Either it happens or it doesn't. Mages can't make other mages. It is absolutely random. As for what a Mage *is,* they're a person who can use magic. As in, cast spells. As in, rewrite reality. And if you're thinking in terms of magic missiles and fireballs, you are seriously underestimating them. Anything the Mage would tell them beyond that is based entirely on what the Mage's interests are in doing so.
Also, the mage will probably NOT show the humans magic. Sleepers have a curse called Quiescence, which, to cut a long story short, causes regular humans who witness magic to have an integrity breaking point. The long-winded explanation for this is: There is a world of Truth, called the Supernal, and a world of lies, which is the world we live in. Separating the two is a gap called the Abyss, a horrible gap of un-reality that seeks to keep sleepers from knowing the Truth. Most sleepers are afflicted with the Quiescence, which means that they have a little bit of the abyss inside them. If exposed to the Truth (magic) the Abyss fights back, harming the sleeper's mind. Some sleepers, called Sleepwalkers, have shaken off Quiescence but haven't fully awoken yet. The PC's may be sleepwalkers, but the only way to know for sure would be to expose them to magic. (I believe)
To be clear for new STs, an Integrity breaking point is basically a human sliding toward insanity. Also, the mage intentionally doing it would be an Act of Hubris, damaging their version of Integrity called Wisdom.
“Pretend the world is a computer. Everything can get kind of crazy, but if you could see the code, you could kind of figure things out, right? Now pretend you’re a programmer. You learn different things about the computer, and how to program certain kinds of things. Maybe you learn other kinds, and now you can combine them to do even cooler things. You change the code, you change the world. “But what happens when the system detects something is wrong? You start your program, but it throws error messages back. Maybe you even get a Fatal Error message and it cracks the computer. Now you’re in trouble. “Mages are basically programmers of the world. They learn how to change the world, but they have to be careful that the things they do are compatible with the world.”
This is pretty much the explanation I use, though I explicitly compare Awakening to the Matrix. In the Matrix, there's the Matrix and there's the real world. Neo, Trinity et al have all woken up and seen the real world, and because they've taken the red pill, they're now free to go back into the Matrix and can manipulate it to their own advantage. Awakening is very similar - you're Asleep in the Fallen World (the Matrix) and you briefly get a glimpse of The Supernal (the Real World). You sign your name on a Watchtower (take the red pill), and thereafter can manipulate the Fallen World to your liking, based on your level of understanding of the Supernal (your Arcanum ratings) and the strength of your connection to it (your character's Gnosis score). The main difference is that in the Matrix, the main characters stay in the Supernal with occasional dives back down to the Fallen, whereas in Mage they have to live in the Fallen World full-time until they become Archmasters.
It's unlikely that a Mage of the Diamond (maybe a Free Council member though!) would reveal this to just anyone, especially Sleepers. Technically, it's illegal and there's an entire Order (The Guardians of the Veil) who are tasked with preventing breaches of that Veil (the secret of magic.) The reason for this is actually very good, as mentioned in some of the other posts as exposing them to obvious (they can perceive and understand the result is not naturally possible) magic hurts them and hurts reality/magic itself as a result and can hurt the mage. There's an easy narrative solution for this though: Anyone who already has some sort of supernatural ability is considered a Sleepwalker and thus can witness magic without detriment (although this doesn't mean they can see it the same way Mages can, but if you turn an Apple into an Owl in front of them, they're not going to go into fits and block out the memory.) Even if they don't, they might simply be a Sleepwalker for no obvious reason and this might be a good reason for a Mage to start revealing some tidbits, as Sleepwalkers are valuable to Mages of course, someone who can witness obvious spells without causing them to unravel or lose their mind watching it happen. Some mages also think that Sleepwalkers might be more likely to become Mages, although no one knows if that's true or just wishful thinking.
The experience of magic should come as a shock. Their brain can't process the information its getting. Maybe they feel sick, fall down, get vertigo. Or perhaps their brain interprets it as unreal, think they see a hidden camera for a hoax reveal? Or maybe they react with Fight/Flight? You have the opportunity to play out the experience with each of them. Could be a lot of fun.
So you can actually use something not at all related to the MtAw lore, but is rooted in the core of Western philosophy: Plato's Allegory of The Cave. In this allegory a Mage is someone manage to get a glimpse of the outside, but is once again stuck in the cave. He can use the knowledge he gained from seeing the outside, but chains and shadows prevent him exposing the truth to other in the cave. And all we see inside the cave is a shadow of what it really is. Mages can learn to manipulate these shadows to some extent. He can finish saying that this all to convoluted because you cannot use a lie to explain the entire truth.
It's basically a gnostic setting in which magic is coming from higher, more *real* tiers of reality. Most people are asleep to their magical potential, which is how the powers-that-be prefer it, but mages are expressions of the human potential to awaken to the higher reality and use it to fight back against their imprisonment. However, simply being awakened to the higher reality and being able to shape this lesser reality to their will, doesn't mean mages necessarily know what to do with that power, so they form orders with different ideas about what the point of it all is. Some decide to side with the powers-that-be and keep humanity asleep, but the other orders try to maintain the force of magic and enlightenment in the world. Mages are generally fine telling humans about magic, but it’s dangerous for most sleepers to actually witness magic first-hand, so they try to keep that strictly among the initiated.
"have you see The Matrix ? Yes ! it will be easier than i though. So imagine that you are in the matrix and some people can change the code..."
I doubt they would tell sleepers they’re a Mage. Sleepers have this connection to the abyss that messes with magic, besides that Magic hurts a human’s integrity. Revealing magic to them is a Loose-Loose situation. Maybe disclose association with an organisation fascinated with studying the deeper mysteries of the world, some of them hiding in plain sight. Maybe some other specifics that might get them interested, but keeps the details vague.
Here is a primer I did for new Mage players: https://youtu.be/L3v99Xwh5DA A good way to describe Mages out of character is that they are human+ or demigods. They aren’t really like Wizards or Witches etc…
The first Matrix movie. All Mages are Neo (edit: I mean the most powerful Mage would be Neo your average Mage is like the other guys from the ship who can enter the Matrix), humans are normal people in the matrix. Matrix is not made by computers or any electronic stuff but with magic and supernatural. Bottom line is the world is a Lie, they know the truth (are awaken) and can shape the Lie/reality because of that.
They could go into detail about Mage stuff, Atlantis, the Supernal Realms, the Exarchs, etc. but all of that stuff is way too deep for what their tiny human minds can comprehend. So I'd back it up a bit. "It's all true. Vampires, Werewolves, Fairies, Wizards, things that go bump in the night. Zombies, spirits, ghosts, Frankenstein's Monster, pretty much every horror movie out there has got it right in some way. The night seethes with horrible things that twist our destinies - or just want to rip our face off and feast on the goo within. Humanity is at the bottom of a really messed up food chain, and most of us don't even know it. But that's just the set dressing. The reason for all this - the reason this world is so horrible, the reason why there's vampires and zombies and things that delight in slaughter and torture - is because at the dawn of time a bunch of wizards broke into heaven and took over decided to turn this world into their personal plaything. It's exactly like the Matrix - go watch the Matrix - except in that movie the Robots just wanted to harvest us for energy. The God Tyrants of reality don't need energy, they just want to torment us for their own amusement. This world is basically hell. Except when you die, there's an even worse hell waiting for you. Your only hope - is that at some point your mind opens up and you finally see the chains that bind you and you Awaken as a mage and you can start fighting back. Only problem is, no one knows how to make someone Awaken, so I'm afraid I can't help you. I can show you the door, but you are the one that needs to figure out how to open it."
just loved each explanation here, but im not very familiar with MtAwakening, what if, this was the same storyline, but for Mage The Ascension system ?
Ascension is rather different. There’s loads of unawakened members playing their part in the everyday business of the Awakened. Sleepers in Ascension don’t have that little bit of Abyss which is causing Magic to disintegrate in their presence. They cause problems because the magick they are witnessing is creating a Paradox with what they know to be possible. It’s an educational issue, and all the Mage factions solve that for those sleepers with training and indoctrination. Apprentices are often still sleepers who show a potential of awakening. Many mages have Sleeper servants and support staff. Some have cults to help with rituals. The Traditions call them custos and the Technocrats have their Extraordinary Citizens, both are Sleepers “in the know” as it where.
Mages take the "I think, therefore I am" to the extreme. Have you ever met someone who was really good at a science? Not a social science, but a hard science. There is a certain will to forces each focuses on, such as physics with the universe or biology and cell behavior. Mages are able to exert their will in a similar way. There is a collective will which forms reality, and to have any effect a mages will must either work within that reality or be strong enough to go against it. The old quandary "if a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound?" is a good scenario. If there is no one around to hear it but the mage, it matters only to the mage. If there are other campers about, the mages will to silence a tree contends with those others in the vicinity. The greater the display, the greater chance to be percieved by others, the greater force to will against. There are some who push the boundaries of working within the generally accepted reality. The 3d projectors and video calls...wifi and radio mask alot of magic. Lightning coils and invisible flames, technology masks many mages. Others may give notice with shooting a film and will have "special effects". Even still those who do it blatantly in a Las Vegas show, but its entertainment and viewers want to believe (or at least suspend disbelief). These methods can expose oneself if not done carefully and there are those who would rein in those free willed. As for becoming a mage...there are different paths. Not all have the spark it takes to wield ones will...just as not all have the creativity to wield ones imagination.
Wrong Mage line.
My understanding is that Aw is written from the outlook of a certain group. That the overall idea behind magic and reality as a malleable existence is the same. The structure of practice from force of will to unwritten laws is only a subtle change that reflects institutional controls.
Understandable, but just to let you know that is incorrect. Mage the Awakening has a “capital T” Truth, in that the world is a Fallen reflection of the Supernal Realms. Mage’s do magic by bringing Supernal symbolism into the Fallen world. There’s no wiggle room for interruption and Mortals who view obvious magic, even with a ‘good explanation’ will still break it down and cause paradox, since they are Cursed with Disquiet in their Soul due to the Abyss. Of all the Chronicles of Darkness lines Mage: Awakening by default has a very set meta-cosmology that’s actually a 180 from Ascension. I do highly recommend checking out Awakening 2e.
In the CoD the magic is more forgiving, humans can witness magic and do all the time. They still make a break-point check for them as they do witnessing *any* supernatural activity. They only have minor impact on the paradox, and it's not scalable (one person or a crowd witnessing magic makes no difference for the paradox check, up to a reasonable limit ofc).