Perception (Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary)
Definition
Perception measures a mage's awareness of their surroundings, attention to detail, and sensory acuity. For Awakened characters, Perception is especially significant because noticing the subtle flows of reality is how mages first sensed their connection to the Tapestry. Perception governs not just mundane senses but a mage's ability to notice when something in the world is off, even before invoking any Sphere. In the Ascension War, Perception keeps mages alive. Noticing a Technocracy surveillance team, spotting a ward before triggering it, reading the subtle signs that someone is under Mind control, or detecting that a location has been touched by Paradox all fall under Perception. Mages who fail to pay attention to their surroundings rarely survive long.
How it works
Tips
Frequently asked questions
Does Perception help with magical sensing?
Perception provides the baseline alertness that helps mages notice magical phenomena. Prime 1 allows sensing Quintessence and active magick, but the Storyteller often calls for Perception + Awareness to determine if the mage notices something worth investigating with Spheres.
What is the difference between Perception and Intelligence?
Perception is noticing information. Intelligence is understanding it. A mage with high Perception but low Intelligence spots the ward glyph on a door but may not know what it does. A mage with high Intelligence but low Perception might walk right past it.