Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary sphere
Forces
Forces is a sphere in Mage M20: energy and motion, from perceiving forces to reshaping fire, gravity, and lightning.
Last reviewed
Key facts
- Specialty
- Order of Hermes
Overview
Forces covers everything that moves or radiates: heat, light, sound, electricity, gravity, kinetic energy, and weather. It is the default combat Sphere, and the Order of Hermes hold it as their specialty. It is also the Sphere most likely to land you in trouble, because the gap between rank 2 and rank 4 is the gap between guiding a spark and calling down a storm. In play Forces is where a cabal's firepower comes from, and where the paradigm question gets sharpest: a Hermetic invokes a name, a Son of Ether points a device, a Virtual Adept reroutes a substation. Settle your focus before you need it. Note that the Sphere turns at rank 3: below that you shape energy that is already present, above it you convert one force into another, which is usually where an exploding streetlight stops being coincidental and starts adding Paradox.
How it works
Level 1: Perceive forces directly: heat, radiation, current, and the vectors of anything already in motion Level 2: Control minor forces that exist nearby, redirecting a flame, a gust, a sound, or a falling weight Level 3: Transmute minor forces, turning light into heat or motion into current, and produce small effects from nothing Level 4: Control major forces: a building fire, a storm front, the gravity filling a room Level 5: Transmute major forces, remaking one large-scale energy as another
Tips and playstyle
Best For: Combat mages, technomantic paradigms, and cabals that need a dependable way to hurt something. Order of Hermes take it as their Tradition specialty. Synergies: Prime to create energy rather than borrow it, Correspondence to strike at range, Matter to affect whatever you are aiming at, Entropy to make the damage read as an accident.
Frequently asked questions
How much Forces do I need to throw fire?
Rank 2 if there is already a flame or a spark to redirect. Producing fire from nothing wants rank 3, and if you want it to be real rather than borrowed heat, add a dot of Prime.
Is Forces always vulgar magic?
No, but it is the easiest Sphere to make vulgar. A short circuit, a gas leak, or a sudden gust fits the Consensus fine. Lightning from your open hand in front of witnesses does not, and Paradox runs from 0 to 20.
Why does the Order of Hermes favor Forces?
It is their specialty Sphere, and their formula-driven paradigm maps cleanly onto a Sphere with tidy tiers. A Hermetic naming and binding an element is doing exactly what Forces models.