[8:01 AM] It’s Max: Hello, my name is Max Jowett. I’m the writer and designer of Urban Mages, a TTRPG where your magic can be based on anything you want. From Fire, Music or Streetlights to Slime, Roald Dahl and Lint. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/umrpg/urban-mages?fbclid=IwAR2NK52DtMRmXTdDGo8Iy0ZGrRFj82XWdbmlUDbqcLgzEnIzZGfkCbsqmxM (Done)
[8:02 AM] Dan Davenport: Thanks, @It’s Max! The floor is open to questions!
[8:02 AM] Dan Davenport: Can you tell us a bit about the setting?
[8:04 AM] It’s Max: The game’s conceit is that it’s set in our modern day reality. Physics, politics and pop culture still stand. But magic and monsters also happen to exist. It’s just that most people are unable to perceive the supernatural. We’re compelled to either ignore it, rationalise it, or forget about the encounter entirely. As Mages, the PCs possess a gift called The Sight that allows them to see the world for what it really is, weirdness and all.
[8:05 AM] Dan Davenport: So magic is something a person is born with?
[8:07 AM] It’s Max: Not necessarily. People can be born with it, or they can acquire it, seemingly at random, in an event known as a Becoming. Anyone from any background can potentially be a Mage.
[8:08 AM] Dan Davenport: How common is magic, and how powerful can it become?
[8:10 AM] It’s Max: If you don’t mind I’ll answer that in two parts. How common is magic? The game’s lore is intentionally flexible. The game has a system for Setting Creation, where the players and GM work together to hammer out the details of their setting during session zero.
[8:11 AM] It’s Max: How powerful can magic become? If you know what you’re doing, even a starting PC can be incredibly powerful.
[8:14 AM] Dan Davenport: I assume that the commonality of monsters depends upon the group as well?
[8:15 AM] It’s Max: It does. I could discuss the mechanics of setting creation in more detail if you’d like.
[8:16 AM] Dan Davenport: Sure!
[8:18 AM] It’s Max: Brilliant! Okay so step 1, the group broadly decides what they want the campaign to be about. Are they friends who’ve known each other since highschool? Are they trying to stop a cult from summoning a world-ending horror? Are they a circus that passes off real magic as stage tricks? That sort of thing.
[8:18 AM] It’s Max: Then each player adds two Factions to the world. This can be a group, a race of creatures, or even an incredibly powerful/influential individual.
[8:19 AM] It’s Max: And finally, each player picks two Factions they’d like their PC to have a connection with. One of these ties must lean positive, and one of these ties must lean negative.
[8:20 AM] It’s Max: By the end of the process, all the players will have a solid idea of the world they’re about to enter. And plot hooks that tie the PCs into that world in meaningful ways.
[8:23 AM] Dan Davenport: Where does the commonality of magic and monsters come in?
[8:26 AM] It’s Max: Details like that are left open-ended, to suit the needs of a specific campaign. One story might benefit from Mages being rare, another might benefit from Mages being commonplace, and I wouldn’t consider it my place to say that one is more valid than another.
[8:27 AM] It’s Max: That’s part of why I find The Sight such a useful conceit. Since magic effectively hides itself, you don’t necessarily need an organisation to keep it secret. Meaning it can be commonplace, but the world could also be recognisable as itself.
[8:27 AM] Catseye: Are there other people besides Mages with ‘The Sight’?
[8:28 AM] It’s Max: Yes there are. The book specifies that every Mage has The Sight, but not everybody with The Sight is a Mage.
[8:28 AM] Catseye: this is becoming far more attractive to me by the moment.1
[8:29 AM] It’s Max: Aww, thank you so much
[8:29 AM] Dan Davenport: What sorts of monsters exist?
[8:33 AM] It’s Max: Theoretically, anything a player or GM could come up with. But more specifically, Chapter 15: Sample Enemies includes Goblins, Elves, Gargoyles, Werewolves, Frankensteinian Monsters, a High Dragon, the Goddess Hera, a living statue that wants to turn every living thing to stone, and an eldritch abomination called The Blank that destroys things so throughly that no can remember they ever existed to begin with.
[8:34 AM] Catseye: I’m an old fan of Mage: The Ascension. But this sounds far more true to the atmosphere to me. Less political, more focused on the mystery and horror.
[8:34 AM] Dan Davenport: What are your Elves like?
[8:37 AM] It’s Max: As ageless beings, Elves are masters of one or more skill. Not necessarily because they’re more talented than humans. But because if you refine your craft for over a century, it stands to reason you’d be great at it eventually. However they’re also creatures of habit. If something has worked well for them for a long time, they’re unlikely to see a reason to change it, and in fact take stubborn pride in clinging to the old ways.
[8:37 AM] It’s Max: So they see factory goods as soulless, mass-produced garbage. They see guns as weapons even a child could use. And don’t even get them started on email. Haven’t these children ever heard of calligraphy!?
[8:37 AM] 13Swords: What do people eat?
[8:37 AM] Dan Davenport: I like your Elves.
[8:38 AM] Catseye: so do I
[8:38 AM] It’s Max: Thank you!
@13SwordsWhat do people eat?[8:38 AM] It’s Max: The game is set in the modern day so… I don’t know. What do you eat?
@It’s MaxThe game is set in the modern day so… I don’t know. What do you eat? [8:39 AM] 13Swords: Neat. So I assume they have grocery stores, factories to produce food, mass farms with tractors, etc.? And that the amount of magic any of these use is established at session 0.
[8:39 AM] 13Swords: such as using teleportation circles to create high-speed internet.
[8:39 AM] It’s Max: Yup. The great thing about urban fantasy is that a lot of the worldbuilding is done for you
[8:41 AM] Dan Davenport: Can you describe what forms magic takes?
[8:43 AM] It’s Max: The game has 17 spells. Blast, Block, Boost, Construct, Curse, Dark Side, Divination, Enchantment, Kinesis, Mesmerise, Metamorphosis, Potions, Reality-Warping, Shapeshifting, Storage, Summoning and Teleportation. Which can work differently depending on your Purview (the theme that all your magic revolves around).
[8:43 AM] It’s Max: You pick 3 spells during characrer creation, and can purchase more as you earn xp.
[8:44 AM] Dan Davenport: What is required for spellcasting?
[8:45 AM] It’s Max: You simply have to know the spell, and be willing to spend 1 MP.
[8:46 AM] Dan Davenport: MP = magic point?
[8:46 AM] It’s Max: Yup
[8:46 AM] Dan Davenport: All spells only cost one point?
[8:47 AM] It’s Max: Yeah. There’s a few that give you an extra effect if you spend extra MP. For example, with Blast you can spend extra MP to zap multiple people. But for the most part it’s just one point.
[8:49 AM] Dan Davenport: So there are no gestures, incantations, rituals, etc. required?
[8:51 AM] It’s Max: There are not. Although I’m not opposed to PCs making gestures and incantations if they’re cool 1
[8:51 AM] Catseye: How does one recover MP?
[8:54 AM] It’s Max: You make a Luck roll. If you fail, the GM gets 2 Misfortune Points. If you succeed, the GM only gets 1 Misfortune. And if you roll really high, the GM gets 0 Misfortune Points. The PC still replenishes their MP no matter what. But the GM can later spend these Misfortune Points to mess with the party (for example, letting NPCs re-roll or turning failures into botches).
[8:54 AM] Dan Davenport: How often do you make that Luck roll?
[8:55 AM] It’s Max: After spending 5 MP.
[8:55 AM] Dan Davenport: And how many MP do PCs have?
[8:56 AM] It’s Max: Five, but you can recharge it as many times as you like.
[8:56 AM] Dan Davenport: Ah! Interesting system.
[8:57 AM] It’s Max: Thank you
[8:57 AM] Dan Davenport: Is there a way to increase total MP level?
[8:57 AM] Catseye: if there is a lot of magic flying, the MP seems to add up fast.
[8:59 AM] It’s Max: You cannot increase your MP level, it’s fixed at 5. And during combat especially, a lot of spells tend to be thrown around. At times like that, whether you invested points into Luck, or made it one of your dump stats can have really meaningful consequences. (edited)
[9:01 AM] Dan Davenport: Hmmm… So you can automatically refill your MP at any time, but if your Luck is low, you’ll be making life Hell for the party.
[9:02 AM] Dan Davenport: Is that right?
[9:02 AM] It’s Max: Pretty much!1
[9:02 AM] Catseye: Personal Peeve. I don’t believe in ‘dump stats’
[9:03 AM] Catseye: every stat is important
[9:03 AM] Dan Davenport: Do you have a character sheet that we can see?
[9:04 AM] It’s Max: I absolutely agree, and really wanted to capture that in this game. In order to make one stat high, you have to make another stat low. And I want there to be consequences for being bad at something. Not just from a perspective of mechanical balance. But because I believe strengths and weaknesses make characters more interesting.
[9:05 AM] It’s Max: Here you go.CHARACTER_SHEET.pdf66.81 KB
[9:06 AM] Dan Davenport: Hmm. A nice, clean character sheet!
[9:06 AM] It’s Max: Thank you
[9:06 AM] Dan Davenport: Can you describe the task resolution system?
[9:08 AM] It’s Max: Your Attributes are rated on a scale from 1-5. When attempting a challenge you roll 1d10 and add whichever Attribute is most relevant. If you roll high enough to meet the Difficulty Level you succeed, and if not you fail.
[9:09 AM] Dan Davenport: How do skills work? It looks like you either have them or you don’t.
[9:11 AM] It’s Max: That’s correct. There are 12 skills that every PC gets for free, called Basic Skills (like Constitution, Reflexes and Notice). And then there are Advanced Skills (like Stealth, Medicine, or Streetwise). If you try to use an Advanced Skill that your character doesn’t have, you roll 1d10+0. (edited)
[9:15 AM] It’s Max: But if you have a Skill, it lets you add an Attribute to the roll. (edited)
[9:16 AM] Dan Davenport: How does combat work?
[9:19 AM] It’s Max: Okay so remember back when I said that PCs could be incredibly powerful? Combat is dangerous and that’s a necessary part of the balancing act. After all Mages are infamously squishy. And peril reminds the players that for all their arcane might, they’re still mortal.
[9:20 AM] It’s Max: Characters have 6 HP unless stated otherwise. When they take a hit they make a Health Save (rolling Constituion against physical attacks, and Willpower against psychic attacks).
[9:21 AM] It’s Max: If they roll a 15 (an Improbable Success) they take 0 damage. If they roll 11 (a Hard Success) they take 1 damage. And if they roll any lower than that, they take 3 damage.
[9:22 AM] Catseye: This is a game that rewards snipers
[9:22 AM] It’s Max: Oh preparation can be a huge advantage! Especially if it gives you time to summon allies, transform into a monster, or drink your potions.
[9:23 AM] Dan Davenport: What effect do weapons have?
[9:23 AM] It’s Max: When a character is reduced to zero hit points, they enter a state called Critical Condition. In Critical Condition, one more hit will take you out of the fight. And afterwards, no matter what, you’ll need medical attention.
[9:24 AM] Catseye: So no insta-death?
[9:24 AM] It’s Max: No insta-death. I’m not a fan of losing a PC because of one unlucky roll.
[9:25 AM] Catseye: that’s actually very refreshing
[9:25 AM] It’s Max: Buuuut, if the GM is feeling extra mean, when you enter Critical Condition they can spend a Misfortune Point to inflict Lasting Trauma. This means the player has to pick a lingering consequence that will affect their PC. Whether that’s a scar, a broken bone, psychological trauma, or something weirder and more supernatural.
@Dan DavenportWhat effect do weapons have?[9:29 AM] It’s Max: To answer your question about weapons. If you try to fight with a weapon your character doesn’t have training in, you take a penalty. On their own weapons don’t have much specific mechanical variation. (For example, a knife won’t inherently inflict less damage than a shot gun.) However weapons can be represented as Advantages.
[9:30 AM] Dan Davenport: So what happens if you shoot someone with a rocket launcher?
[9:32 AM] It’s Max: They either dodge or make a Health Save. But if you fired a rocket launcher, I’d probably treat that as an Area of Effect attack. Meaning you could potentially hit multiple people, but you run the risk of friendly fire.
[9:33 AM] It’s Max: And the distinction can also be meaningful depending on context. For example, let’s say you were fighting someone who could turn into a golem or summon a kaiju. A knife wouldn’t be able to inflict any meaningful damage, but a rocket launcher wouldn’t have that kind of problem. (edited)
[9:35 AM] Dan Davenport: How does spellcasting work in game system terms? What do you roll?
[9:36 AM] It’s Max: For the most part, you have to roll your Magic Attribute. But of course each spell functions differently, and has different demands. Would you like me to give you an example? (edited)
[9:37 AM] Dan Davenport: Please!
[9:38 AM] It’s Max: DIVINATION This Spell allows you to ask the GM a question and they must give an honest answer. However, the question has to either directly relate to your Purview or you must have established a literal/symbolic connection between your Purview and whatever it is you’re trying to ask about. For example, a Camera Mage could learn whether video footage was real or not because it’s a question directly relating to their Purview. Or they could uncover information about somebody just by seeing their photo since this would establish a connection between cameras and the person being asked about. However, before the character asks their question, they make a Challenging Magic Roll (TN:9). If they succeed the GM may give a detailed answer. If they fail, the GM’s answers are limited to “Yes”, “No”, or “It’s complicated.” You cannot use Divination more than [Luck] times per session.
[9:38 AM] Dan Davenport: Cool.
[9:38 AM] It’s Max: Thanks. And that’s not even getting into the Dark Side version
[9:39 AM] Dan Davenport: Yes, what’s up with that?
[9:39 AM] It’s Max: If you have Dark Side, once per session you can cast an upgraded version of a spell you already have. However it’s incredibly unpleasant to use, and comes with potentially dangerous side effects.
[9:40 AM] It’s Max: So here’s the Dark Side version of Divination:
[9:40 AM] It’s Max: Dark Side – You may use Divination to see the future. This involves entering a trance while either surrounded by your Purview or in a place heavily associated with it. Afterwards, when you find yourself in a bad situation you can declare that this was the future you saw and that you’ve already taken precautions against it. These precautions are largely up to you. Maybe you warned a friend, remembered to bring flowers, or snuck into the building earlier that day and filled it with explosives. The GM is the final arbiter of what is and isn’t a valid precaution but they should really lean in the PC’s favour so long as their solution isn’t completely impossible. (edited)
[9:43 AM] Dan Davenport: No game is perfect. What’s your least favorite aspect of this game?
[9:48 AM] It’s Max: Oof, that’s a tough one. I’ve spent years working on this game, and given my natural perfectionism, whenever there’s a problem that seriously bugs me I do my best to fix it. But that being said… I really struggle to do pre-written adventures for this game. I have a blast when I know who the PCs are going to be, and roughly what they’re capable of. But the magic system in this game is so damn flexible that someone could hypothetically break my whole scenario XD
[9:48 AM] Dan Davenport: A fair answer!
[9:50 AM] It’s Max: I once ran an adventure where the PCs had to infiltrate an underground lair. I assumed they’d have to sneak through it. But the party’s Water Mage used Reality-Warping to flood the building. And then the Electricity Mage zapped it, so everyone trying to hold their breath would spasm.
[9:51 AM] It’s Max: “COOL, NOTE TO SELF. NO MORE UNDERGROUND LAIRS.”
[9:51 AM] Dan Davenport: Hah!
[9:52 AM] It’s Max: I don’t regret it though. The players remember it more fondly than anything I actually had planned for that lair. (edited)
[9:52 AM] Dan Davenport: That reminds me of a Warhammer FRP adventure I heard about. It was a mountain dungeon with the entrance at the top. The PCs just bought a butt load of gunpowder barrels and rolled them one at a time into the dungeon, then blowing them.
[9:53 AM] Dan Davenport: In the time remaining, is there anything we haven’t covered that you’d like to bring up?
[9:53 AM] It’s Max: As GM, you handle the problems. The players handle the solutions.1
[9:55 AM] It’s Max: Any ideas for a type of Mage you’d want to play? I’d like to see if I can figure out what cool stuff they could do.
[9:55 AM] Dan Davenport: I don’t know if I could top the spork mage I believe you mentioned.
[9:56 AM] It’s Max: That was fun. If I remember correctly, he could Enchant his spork to give it magical properties. And when he had to get through a door, he used Construct to create sporks with such long and thin handles that they could be used as lockpicks.
[9:57 AM] Dan Davenport: Nice.
[9:57 AM] It’s Max: Thanks. I love it when players use these mechanics in ways I never would have thought of.
[9:58 AM] Dan Davenport: Thanks very much for joining us, @It’s Max!
[9:58 AM] It’s Max: It’s been a pleasure
[9:58 AM] Dan Davenport: Usual reminder: If you’ve enjoyed this Q&A and would like to treat me to a coffee or two, you can do so at https://www.ko-fi.com/gmshoe. Anything’s appreciated! Ko-fiBuy Dan Davenport a Coffee. ko-fi.com/gmshoeBecome a supporter of Dan Davenport today! ❤️ Ko-fi lets you support the creators you love with no fees on donations.
[9:58 AM] Dan Davenport: If you’ll give me a couple of minutes, I’ll get the log posted and link you!
[9:58 AM] It’s Max: Thank you very much.