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I am running a Mage: the Ascension game with mostly new players. Some of them have taken Entropy as their sphere of choice.

I have always had trouble explaining how Entropy can be used with other spheres to create different effects. How can Entropy be applied to other spheres, particularly Spirit, Forces, and Prime?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ First of all, welcome to the site. :) Which edition of Ascension? (I'm not sure it matters - haven't played this game for ages -, but it might.) Also, may we suppose you googled for relevant, homebrew rotes? \$\endgroup\$
    – OpaCitiZen
    Commented Feb 26, 2014 at 22:39
  • \$\begingroup\$ I believe i am using the revised version. and i did google and know several different rotes for entropy, but in general i am a very wordy person and somewhat over anylytical when i try to explain something. Not on purpose, i just have always felt a person truly understands something when they see the whole picture. /n Never really caused to much of an issue in most games i run because the big picture is still relativly small. But in mage i tend to get start spouting off all sorts of metaphysics and other things that somewhat convolute the answer. To resolve that i was looking for a short answ \$\endgroup\$
    – Smurfy
    Commented Feb 27, 2014 at 17:24

2 Answers 2

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As a "mathy" person, Entropy is my favorite Sphere. Entropy, at its core, is the manipulation of probability. By increasing or decreasing the likelihood of an event occurring, the mage can twist reality into getting what they want. And because you're just changing chance, from the outside, you're just incredibly lucky, and so most effects will be coincidental. (To a point. Repeated uses strain credibility and could be considered vulgar.)

A simple example would be a card trick. Pick a card, then replace it in the deck and shuffle it a few times. What are the odds that the card you picked is now on the top of the deck? With Entropy, the mage can manipulate those odds so that it's the top card every single time.

When designing multi-sphere effects using Entropy, use the idea of manipulating the uncertainty factor in a certain direction. Examples:

Entropy/Forces: Reroute the flow of electricity in a building to overload the circuit path most likely to fail. (Entropy 1, Forces 2) (Can be coincidental if done in conjunction with the mage jiggering around in the circuit box.)

Entropy/Prime: Sense the weak spot in an object's Pattern -- the place most vulnerable to attack or exploitation. (Entropy 1, Prime 1)

Entropy/Life: The electrical impulses that generate a heartbeat are described as a chaotic system. By increasing or reducing the amount of chaos/entropy in that system, the mage can create arrhythmias leading to cardiac arrest and death. (Entropy 3, Life 3) (Had a Cultist assassin who loved this one. Depending on the health of the target, it can even be a coincidental effect: "Poor guy's heart finally gave out. It was just a matter of time.")

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    \$\begingroup\$ Entropy 1: Locate Disorder & Weakness; Entropy 3: Like Clockwork / Slay Machine. Although +1 for the Life one. A favorite of mine as well. \$\endgroup\$
    – CatLord
    Commented Feb 27, 2014 at 4:07
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    \$\begingroup\$ Yep, you can definitely achieve the same effect as the Entropy/Forces rote with Entropy 3 alone. As with everything in Mage, there's many different ways to create the same outcome. :) \$\endgroup\$
    – Roger
    Commented Feb 27, 2014 at 14:18
  • \$\begingroup\$ Weak-spots in objects are Entropy/Matter. Entropy/Spirit is like /Life but for spirits. both combined is werewolfs and vampires. \$\endgroup\$
    – Trish
    Commented Nov 10, 2017 at 21:46
  • \$\begingroup\$ I dont see how the Entropy/Life one isn't identical to just Life 3 to attack by causing a heart attack. What does the Entropy buy you? \$\endgroup\$
    – Paul
    Commented Nov 10, 2017 at 22:44
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Entropy/Life: "Devolve" a lizard (or chicken, whatever) into a dinosaur.

Entropy/Correspondence: One or more targets that can move somehow end up next to each other (IE somehow that rake ends up right under that guy's foot); Create a field of chaos for potential scryers.

Entropy/Forces: Make a gun misfire, especially on bullet X (also could work with Matter to make a sword crumble on its first contact or something)

Entropy/Mind: Make people not realize they see or (or not care)

Entropy/Prime: Amplify (or lessen) the backlash a Mage takes from a Vulgar spell

Entropy/Spirit: Hold a seance and actually get the one spirit amongst countless that you want

Entropy/Time: Get information on when certain events will happen

Also, I have found the following Utility: MTA3 Rote Database It seems pretty solid despite the maddening formatting.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Hah! Never thought of using Entropy/Mind to create an SEP Field (hitchhikers.wikia.com/wiki/Somebody_Else's_Problem_field), but it would definitely work. You see it, but you just chalk it up to general weirdness or a freak occurrence that doesn't concern you. \$\endgroup\$
    – Roger
    Commented Feb 27, 2014 at 14:21
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    \$\begingroup\$ I had a Euthanatos in a fully mixed OWoD campaign. Sink or swim. Primed bullets, Dim Mak on the shots, Alloyed armor, and giving someone a botch waiting to happen were all in a day's work \$\endgroup\$
    – CatLord
    Commented Feb 27, 2014 at 15:01

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