09-20-2015, 12:29 PM
I made some small changes/additions to the wording at the bottom of the XP and Advancement page, where it details prerequisites for Sphere advancement:
Spheres
1-3 - No Prerequisites
4 - Successful Epiphany scene (run by Admin or Admin-approved ST)
5 - Successful Epiphany scene (run by Admin)
Only one sphere level may be purchased per month by the same character. Magical advancement is difficult and time consuming and epiphanies should be spaced out to reflect that.
The first sphere at rank 4 may be combined with the Arete 4 Seeking. Spheres at level 5 are the highest achievement a mage can reach, and will therefor only be handed out after a great deal of time and character growth. Additional requirements may be given, at Admin discretion.
Most of this is not new, but I wanted to re-label the epiphany scenes as such, rather than calling them "seekings" which was not technically accurate. Sphere epiphany scenes can be either mindscape scenes (similar to seekings) or they can be something more grounded in reality - a trial, an intense mentoring session, etc. Of course, anyone can play these scenes out at any level if they want to. Every character has some kind of epiphany moment when they learn a new sphere level. I just haven't required it be done live at lower levels because I think it would be too much hassle for all involved. At high levels though, I think it's important to do something live because earning a sphere at rank 4 or 5 is a significant achievement and should be acknowledged with character growth.
You'll also note I finally made that 'don't buy all your spheres at once' rule an official thing. I think by now a good number of you won't be surprised by that, but for those who haven't heard my explanation before, it's really just because I like to encourage players to focus on one sphere at a time and really think about how their character is learning and expanding their paradigm to accommodate the new knowledge. Having more than one epiphany within the same month is a lot for a character to process, so I like to keep the pacing a little more reasonable.
Spheres
1-3 - No Prerequisites
4 - Successful Epiphany scene (run by Admin or Admin-approved ST)
5 - Successful Epiphany scene (run by Admin)
Only one sphere level may be purchased per month by the same character. Magical advancement is difficult and time consuming and epiphanies should be spaced out to reflect that.
The first sphere at rank 4 may be combined with the Arete 4 Seeking. Spheres at level 5 are the highest achievement a mage can reach, and will therefor only be handed out after a great deal of time and character growth. Additional requirements may be given, at Admin discretion.
Most of this is not new, but I wanted to re-label the epiphany scenes as such, rather than calling them "seekings" which was not technically accurate. Sphere epiphany scenes can be either mindscape scenes (similar to seekings) or they can be something more grounded in reality - a trial, an intense mentoring session, etc. Of course, anyone can play these scenes out at any level if they want to. Every character has some kind of epiphany moment when they learn a new sphere level. I just haven't required it be done live at lower levels because I think it would be too much hassle for all involved. At high levels though, I think it's important to do something live because earning a sphere at rank 4 or 5 is a significant achievement and should be acknowledged with character growth.
You'll also note I finally made that 'don't buy all your spheres at once' rule an official thing. I think by now a good number of you won't be surprised by that, but for those who haven't heard my explanation before, it's really just because I like to encourage players to focus on one sphere at a time and really think about how their character is learning and expanding their paradigm to accommodate the new knowledge. Having more than one epiphany within the same month is a lot for a character to process, so I like to keep the pacing a little more reasonable.