Since im requiring you to put whether your roll is Coincidental or Vulgar in your Roll i will do my best to make the difference perfectly clear here.

This information can be found in Mage the Ascension page 136-138.

The Limits of Awakened Magic.

Since the close of the mythic ages the restrictions imposed by material reality have come to hamper the castings of the willworker (or mage) greatly. It has been said wistfully that the first mages had no fear of paradox, as no single consensual reality existed. Whether such a beatific age ever truly existed is unknown, though certainly such an open and free world of magic is a dream for most mages.

Note: You do not live in that world.

In ages since the unchecked population growth of human kind conspired with the advent of mass communication to unite the planet, creating a truly global society and, thereby, a global reality too. Whereas humanity first existed in only isolated pockets whose mercurial belief systems allowed for great displays of magical power, todays worldwide sharing of beliefs in what is and is not possible serve to shackle modern workings of the Art.

Vulgar Magic.

Vulgar magic, also known as Dynamic magic occurs as a result of a mage forcing reality to conform to his preconcieved expectations. Using dynamic magic, a mage may let lightnight fly from his fingertips or transform his enemies into glass. During the time of the renessaince, such magic was referred to as 'vain', an accurate descrïption even today, as only a mage of monumental hubris would dare such effects except under the greatest duress. Such reckless castings rend the Tapestry of reality and invite the not so tender consequences of such changes.

No logical explanation exists for vulgar magic. To sleepers who may view it, its Effect is patently impossible. Truly amazing results are possible, but only at terrible risk to the mage employing Dynamic (Vulgar) magic. Static reality abhors vulgar magic and any mage who uses it. The mage who uses such magic will pay the price, in Resonance if not in paradox.

THe smart mage uses vulgar magic only when the stakes are life and death. Think of Vulgar magic as the tactical nuke of awakened society. It is dangerous and messy, and it has far reaching consequences. Those mages who use such power frivolously dont remain a problem for long.

House interpretation
I extend vulgarity in magic to include Foci. If you foci are blatantly obvious as magical your effect is as well. Glowing tattoos, colorful auras, crawling electricity, strange smells, plasma rifles or other blatantly not normal things can all turn even a simple effect vulgar real quick.

Coincidental Magic

Coincidental magic is the only choice for mages who plan on sticking around for any length of time. By couching magical effects to chance occurences, the mage operates in plain sight with potential sleeper witnesses none the wiser. Such castings are referred to as static magic, as they, like the powers of the sorceror work within the confines of static reality.

If, for example a mage experiences financial problems, it might be possible for her to conjour the money she needs from thin air. Of course there is no way static reality will accept such an occurence as natural. However a much less dangerous adn equally expedient solution would be to return a publishers clearinghouse envelope... and guess who the prize patrol pays a visit right before the IRS seizes their assets? Static reality- and the sleepers responsible for it would find the turn of events incredibly lucky- but in no way magical.

Think of coincidental magic like water flowing down a hill; it will flow around obstacles to reach the bottom. In much the same way magic will follow the path of least resistance to arrive at  an appropriate resolution if it is not forced to conform to specific shapes and results. The mage shapes a particular desire and empowers it, but he lets the cosmos decide the specific effect.

Confronted with an enemy a mage may focus his will and hatred, manipulating the flow of forces around him to await a convenient trigger event like the eruption of a faulty gas pipeline.

Less believable coincidences make magic more difficult as reality can only stretch so much to accomidate a mages whims. Also the more "Accidents" that occur, the more their overall probability is strained, which can lead to what is referred as the 'domino effect'. When an inventive mage uses staticm agic sparingly, however, she can find a way to perform her effects coincidentally and she will find static reality much less likely to rebel against these subtle alterations. By shrouding magic in incidents that sleepers find believable, if lucky, the mage finds that her castings are accepted by humanities collective unconsciousness.

Note: The vast majority of combat spells that damage someone can in no way be construed as coincidental. Forces magic being one of the greatest offenders.

Magical Difficulties

This is the table i use to assign difficulties to rolls for magic.

All Magic is Rolled with ARETE. Just arete, nothing else.

Coincidental: Diff= Highest Sphere used +3.
Vulgar without witnesses: Diff= Highest Sphere +4.
Vulgar With Witnesses: Diff= Highest Sphere +5.

The difficulty is modified up to MAXIMUM of +/-3.

Modifiers include:

Spent quintessence: -1 diff per point spent up to Avatar rating.
* this will usually turn an effect vulgar as Quintessence is flashy and obviously magical.

Used Foci: -1 Diff.

In a Node: -1 Diff, possibly more at ST discretion.

No Foci: +3 diff.

Extra Time (Several turns per roll instead of just one): -1.

Distraction (Such as being shot at): -1 to -3.

These are the most common, the full list can be found on page 208.

Successes Needed
Note: This chart is not used for direct attack magic. See below.

Simple Feats require one success.
Examples: Light a candle by touch, enhance your senses.

Standard feats require 2 successes.
Examples: Creating a small fire at range, sensing someone else with mind or life magic, healing yourself.

Difficult feats require three successes.
Examples: Igniting an object at range, reading a mind or emotions, transforming yourself.

Impressive feats require four successes.
Examples: blasting someone with fire, forcing someone to perform an action, altering someone elses shape in a minor way.

Mighty feats require five to ten successes.
Examples: blowing down a wall, altering memories, conjuring a living creature.

Outlandish feats require ten to twenty successes.
Blowing apart a car, turning a mob into drones, binding a potent spirit.

Godlike feats require 20 and up successes.
Examples: blow up a building, put a city to sleep, rewrite your own pattern permanantly.

Since noone can possibly roll twenty successes at a time; when you need to accumilate more successes than you can get in one roll you have to bust out an extended ritual to accomplish your effect. Successes are added with each turn/roll until the neccessary amount are accumilated. Botches anywhere along the line can be very, VERY bad.  

--Last edited by Radiationjunkie on 2008-09-11 17:46:57 --

Direct damge spells and Duration.

When you attack someone directly, be it with life, mind or forces magic you use this table to determine damage and length of effect.

Scoring Damage: Each success expended to score damage inflicts UP TO 2 LEVELS of damage. For Mind attacks the damage is alwayus bashing; for most other spheres its lethal. Charged with quintessence its aggravated. Forces attacks inflict one extra level of damage automatically.

Scoring Duration: Each success expended on duration extends the duration beyond instant/ one turn. One additional effect extends the duration to a scene, two to a day, three to a full week, four to a month. Five or more are ST discretion.

Scoring Area: Affecting a pattern other than the mage requires a success. Each additional pattern affected after the first requires an additional success. Affecting a large area requires additional successes at ST discretion. A giant ball of flame is harder to make than a single small bolt of fire.

Example of total scoring: A mage scores four successes on a vulgar fire blast. Two successes are used for damage, so it inflicts five levels of aggravated damage (four for the successes, one for a forces effect, agg for fire). One success is used because its affecting a target other than the mage (ALL attacks require at least 2 successes) and the last success is used to strike an additional target.

In this effect, two targets would be struck, and both take five dice worth of aggravated damage from magical fire.