Second Edition's intimacy and depth is sometimes viewed as a radical departure from First Edition's cosmic stories but what are the nuts and bolts of the differences? Was the change sudden or gradual and how was Brucato's vision implemented in a core book? Adam and Terry talk about how mechanics, mood, setting, and metaplot changed and what you should remember when looking back on Second Edition's groundbreaking release and what got left behind from 2e's strict page count.
Changes:
Mechanics
- Difficulties change for vulgar from rolling sphere to rolling arete in all cases
- Focuses opened up and focus-specific time requirements dropped
- Orphans progress at same rate as other mages but require focuses
- Bonuses for being near a node no longer swing as wildly, capped at -3 instead of -5
- Can now re-try failed effects without blowing willpower
- Damage chart unified and one-off modifiers listed for Spheres (Mind does bashing, etc)
- Coincidental now process
- Much of the content of Book of Shadows is baked in
- More difficulty modifiers introduced
Mood
- Game less cosmic interaction of avatars for the metaphysical trinity to something more personal
- Mage less might-makes-right with mages delivering sleepers from Technocratic control. Technocrats no longer fighting for strict rigid equality.
- 1e was "conflict between utopias". Utopia not visible in 2e.
Setting
- Pure Ones no longer believed in by all mages
- Void Engineers no longer viewed as infected by the fae and no longer wish to destroy space
- Continuum dropped as a term
- Marauders no longer universally fighting for a return of the Mythic Age and in 2e are generally less sane
- Fight for Nodes and Quintessence less front and center
- Penumbra established, no longer just Near Umbra
- Nephandi no longer strictly star-squid cultists
- Oracles no longer those near Ascension but those who've stepped back from it
- No longer one Chantry per Tradition
- All nine spheres now used in metaphysical cycle rather than just six
- Essence de-emphasized
- Rotes change
Metaplot
- Syndicate un-disappeared
- Amanda revealed to share avatar with former Sennex apprentice who went barabbus
- Fors Collegis Mercuris evacuated to Cerberus after Nephandi and Technocratic attack