Wonder Creation

[Justin]

Here are rules for wonder creation in our game. They do not deviate from the book very much, but since there are a lot of optional rules, I figured it would be a good idea to place them here.

Step 1: Do you have the skill?

• Prime 3? -Though you can create wonders at this level of Prime, they are quite costly resource-wise to do so. Wonders at this level require you to have 10 motes of Tass that are resonant with each other and hopefully with what you are trying to create. Tass can be harvested from Nodes that have excess quintessence for long periods of time.
  
• Prime 4? -Wonders may be created at this level without the need for extra Tass. The creation of living wonders is also possible at this level, but require the extra resources as described above.
  

Step 2: What do you want it to do?

• Wonders can do just about anything you can think of, but in order to get the effect that you want, your mage must have the sphere requirement for the effect.
  
• Write down the spheres involved with each effect you wish the wonder to possess. This list will be used in later steps to determine crucial aspects of the creation process.
  
• Multiple effects? No problem. Just remember that the more effects a wonder has, the more costly it will be to you and your mage.
  

Step 3: Figure the cost.

• Wonder cost equals the total of all spheres involved in the effects of the wonder multiplied by three in both experience and successes.
  
• Example #1: Vina Verbena wants to make a charm that, when worn, regenerates her pattern continuously. In effect she would have a long lasting Life 2 effect (or Life 3 if she wished it to be able to effectively heal aggravated damage) that refreshes her pattern at intervals of X amount of time. This simple wonder would cost 2x3, 6 (or 3x3, 9) in both experience and successes needed.
  
• Example #2: Hermi the Hermetic wants a wand of Magic Missile and is figuring the things he would need. Beyond being an incredibly silly forces mage with too much time on his hands, he has also set himself up with a complicated endeavour. He would need Forces 3 and Prime 2 to create the "missile" and Correspondance 2 to direct the missile to its target unerringly. (3+2+2=7)x3=21 experience and successes.
  

Step 4: Making it cheaper.

• Although there is no way to make the wonder less strenuous for your mage (successes), it is possible to make it less expensive for you (experience). By adding flaws to a wonder, you can counteract some of the experience cost with the same formula used in the above examples.
  
• Example #1: Vina is happy with her charm the way it is and sees no need to add anything that could be problematic to her or others that use the charm.
  
• Example #2: Hermi wants to make sure that his wand is not used by mistake, and Hermi's player doesn't really want to fork over 21 experience. With the help of Entropy 3, Hermi puts a trigger command on the wand so that it only functions properly when the command is spoken by its user. The resulting counterbalance of 3x3, 9, experience reduces the total cost of the wand down to 21-9=12: a much more agreeable cost.
  

Step 5: Any other needs before the tests of creation?

• One mote of Tass for every point of Arete you wish the wonder to possess. Without its own Arete pool, a wonder functions souly on the will of the user (Vina's charm wouldn't function as planned, because she might as well be casting the spell herself, and Hermi's wand would be useless to any mage that didn't have their own Arete at 3 or higher.) The limit on how much Arete you can give an item is equivlant to your own Arete, and once the wonder has this pool, it is always considered to have rolled max successes.
  
• Special materials, resonant locations, and research. Anything your character can get or do to lower the difficulty of this spectacular feat is definitely worth it. Ask a storyteller what might apply to the task you are attempting, or refer to the mage book and then talk to a storyteller.
  
• Can anyone help you? Just like rituals, wonders can be made with assistance. All that is required for a little extra help is for the assisting mage to have all the related spheres at one or higher and have a paradigm that jives with your mage. For more substantial assistance, the assisting mage should have all the spheres required for the wonder at the levels required for the wonder or higher.
  

Step 6: Finally... the testing begins.

• The difficulty of creating a wonder at Prime 3 is 8. (Highest sphere(3) +3 +wonderous task (2)) Other conditions such as where you choose to cast your magic and whom is watching may increase your difficulty further.
  
• The difficulty of creating a wonder at Prime 4 is 9. (Highest sphere(4) +3 +wonderous task (2)) Conditions apply as above. Something to note is that while more difficult, casting at Prime 4 does not require the degree of precious resources that casting at Prime 3 requires.
  
• Special note on difficulty: The numbers above assume that the spheres being used for the effects of the wonder are not higher than the level of Prime being used. If you used Prime 3 to make a wonder that had an effect requiring Life 5, the difficulty of the wonder would then become 9 with a barrier of 1. (Highest sphere(5) +3 +wonderous task(2)= 10, and difficulty 10 becomes 9 with an extra success required for the effect.)
  
• If your mage spends more time than his Stamina in hours creating the wonder (every test =15 mins) your mage is in danger of suffering fatigue and ritual failure. Every roll past that hour will require a Stamina roll at difficulty 6 +1 for every subsequnet hour. Failing this check further increases the difficulty of your tests by 1. A tired mage is much more prone to mistakes.
  
• Failing a test does not end the ritual, but you must spend a willpower to continue and the difficulty increases by one for the following checks.
  
• Botching ends the ritual and deals out the appropriate amount of paradox. In addition, all resources being utilized to create the wonder are rendered useless.
  

Step #7: Its finished!

• Get a card for it. On the reverse side of the card will be a paradoxical quirk unique to the wonder that is its way of dealing with the paradox it creates. (storyteller's discretion)
  
• Pay the XP cost.
  
• Have fun with it, or give it to friend. Once the Xp cost for a wonder is payed, it never has to be paid for again, so anyone could pick it up and use it if they have the ability. (and some wonders don't even require the user to have Arete: such as Vina's regeneration charm)
  

Thats it. Let me know if you have any questions, and if you are interested in making one of these babies, just bring it to a storytellers attention and we'll help you through the process.

Thanks,
Justin