Mage the Awakening Arcanum Complexity

Brief ratings of the complexity of the 10 different Arcanums in Mage the Awakening, Second Edition.

Fate - 1/5

These spells are simple, clear, effective, and nearly always useful. Most of them don't require a lot of preparation and can be performed on the fly.

Time - 3/5

With many spells based on investigation, it's up to the player to be somewhat creative with their use. There are plenty of options for combat and on-the-fly spells. Temporal Sympathy can get a bit challenging, but it's not bad.

Mind - 1/5

Biggest hurdle is the player deciding on how much is enough and how much is too much. Spells are straightforward and mechanics aren't complex.

Space - 4/5

Sympathies are quite a learning curve, and require a lot of back and forth with the storyteller. It's not just the dice - it's the mechanics plus story plus relationships plus creativity to make it work. There are spells that don't require sympathies, but generally the entire arcanum is made stronger with that understanding.

Death - 3/5

Ghosts are fairly commonly interacted with, and there are rules for making stats for them, but are generally the easiest to understand. They were human, and now they aren't, but they share a lot of what they were with their past living selves. Some creativity is required between player and storyteller to decide on who and where for ghosts, and what they want to trade for information. Non-ghost spells are generally simple.

Matter - 2/5

Always present, always useful; the world is made of matter. It doesn't take being too clever to find uses for these spells. A solid understanding of reaches in spellcasting for size and duration is well-served here.

Prime - 3/5

Many of these spells require understanding of the various types of nimbuses and supernatural powers, but many spells deal with "truth" and don't require being cast on or around other magic.

Forces - 1/5

As matter surrounds the world, so too do forces. Creativity is the limit here, and the understanding entry cost is low. A basic understanding of conditions vs tilts would do well.

Spirit - 5/5

Probably the least-explained set of spells, many of them effectively exclusively require continued conversations between storyteller and player. This isn't just difficult for the player, but also for the storyteller. Spirits are far more prevalent than ghosts, but far more alien to mages. Many of the spells revolve around interaction with spirits, from finding them to communicating to getting favors and cutting deals. Lots of talking, lots of reading.

Life - 1/5

Simple and effective. Many of these spells mirror or share similarities with spells from other fantasy games.