hi arcana and arcanum of wod

[duburu]

i dont know where to post this.
but can you tell me what can high tier mage in WoD can do?
what the different between the old one and new one.

[AuraTwilight]

1) You should've posted this in the "Older/Other Games" category
2) A high-enough tier Mage can do literally anything. Seriously.
3) The differences between the two games are, honestly, pretty vast. Game mechanics aside, they are completely different settings/universes with different themes and story intentions, and the nature of how magic works is also fundamentally different in a lot of ways.

As for the differences between games, that really requires knowing the differences between the old and new World of Darkness systems. I won't patronize you by assuming you don't know anything about this, but do I need to go on?

[JeenLeen]

For old World of Darkness, what a mage can do is based off their rank in a given Sphere. It varies a lot from Sphere to Sphere what can be done at what level, but here's a simple run-down.

Also, the rules for what Sphere can do what vary greatly between editions (1st, 2nd, 2nd revised) and even within a given book the rules are not consistent. (It's frustrating, and I recommend either a rules-light perspective or the Storyteller houseruling what works at what Spheres.)

Players are really only expected to get to ranks 1-5. I'd recommend starting with at least a 2, probably a 3, in a Sphere at char-gen, lest you be too weak to do anything well.

Rank 1 = often just sensory abilities.
Rank 2 = manipulate the thing in question, better sensory abilities. (Ex. manipulate forces (fire, shadow, etc.), look through time, transmute things.)
Rank 3 = better than rank 2. Also, create things.
Rank 4 = really powerful version of rank 2-3.
Rank 5 = much more powerful version of rank 2-4.
Rank 6 - 8 (9?) = archmage level. Very powerful. Can do almost anything with their Sphere of focus.
Rank 9? and 10 = Oracle level. Power on par with gods, Antedeluvians, etc. At 10, can do essentially anything. Also probably immortal and unkillable.

[Juhn]

For New Mage (although note that this may change significantly once the Fallen World Chronicle comes out in Septemberish):

First dot: Practices of Compelling, Knowing, and Unveiling - Make yourself capable of discerning things under the Arcanum's purview for Unveiling (e.g. give yourself thermovision is an example of Unveiling of Forces), just grant yourself knowledge outright for Knowing (e.g. "Will this action have good or bad consequences for me" for Knowing of Fate, give yourself an exact sense of direction for Knowing of Space), or make minor nudges to your Arcanum's purview for Compelling (e.g. you just happen to show up for your appointment right on time for a Compelling of Time).

Second dot: Practices of Shielding, Veiling, and Ruling, as well as advanced/more powerful applications of first-dot Practices (e.g. give somebody else minor good luck, instead of just yourself). Shielding involves either defending yourself using, or defending yourself against, your Arcanum's purview. A spell that would help protect against extremes of temperature would be a Shielding practice of Forces. Ruling is basically just more powerful/more advanced/more direct applications of Compelling. You're more asserting control over your Arcanum's Purview, as oppossed to Compelling's attempts to nudge it into doing what you want. For example, causing electricity to jump out of a wall socket and hit somebody you don't like is a Ruling practice of Forces. Veiling either hides you from your Arcanum's purview, or uses your Arcanum's purview to hide you (e.g. making yourself really hard to see as important or noticeable is a Veiling Practice of Mind).

Third dot: Fraying, Weaving, and Perfecting. Fraying involves causing minor damage either to or using your Arcanum's purview. Extinguishing a fire with magic is a Fraying Practice of Forces. Brightening a room by eradicating the shadows in it is a Fraying Practice of Death. Cursing somebody (by destroying their good fortune) is a Fraying Practice of Fate. Perfecting is the practice of improvement and repair. Everything from making your refrigerator run at peak efficiency (Forces) to perfectly repairing a smashed vase (Matter, or maybe even Fate if you're really esoteric about it) to making yourself smarter or more charismatic (Mind) to healing injury (Life). Weaving is pretty much a catchall for manipulation at this level of power that doesn't fall under the other two. Altering a thing without fundamentally changing what it is. E.g. giving yourself bear claws would be a Weaving practice of Life, while turning yourself into a bear outright would be a Patterning effect (and require four dots in Life). The third dot is also required for more advanced versions of Ruling, Shielding, and Veiling (e.g. commanding reasonably intelligent animals would be a third-dot Ruling of Life or Mind, while commanding insects and the like would be a second-dot Ruling of Life or Mind).

Fourth dot: Patterning and Unravelling. Patterning is kind of like Weaving except more potent and even more of a catchall. If it's four dots, it's not obviously some other existing practice, and it doesn't involve damaging or undoing something, it's probably a Patterning effect. Anything from turning yourself into a bear, to rewriting people's memories, to turning yourself into a person-shaped fire, to producing a pocket dimension, to a whole bunch of other things. Unravelling is basically Fraying but more powerful. Instead of just doing basic damage, unmake something into its component parts, or actively make something worse (e.g. damaging someone's attributes, or inflicting a crippling illness). Also yet more advanced practices of lower-dot effects.

Fifth dot: Making and Unmaking. Making involves conjuring something out of absolutely nothing (casting a spell and then a human body appears, or creating a disembodied psyche out of nothing, or making a dragon or some other creature that doesn't exist, or calling down Biblical plagues, creating miniature suns complete with whatever holy mystical whatsit that makes sunlight destroy vampires, to making a labyrinth that's impossible to escape from, and many other things besides). Unmaking involves absolute obliteration of a thing into nothing, rather than just damaging it or unravelling it into a lesser form or its components. An Unmaking of Death can kill any spell outright. An Unmaking of space can cause two things to occupy the same space and then force one to annihilate the other to resolve this impossibility. Also, once again, more advanced versions of lower-dot spells.

And these are all just examples. Mages can do a ton of stuff. You're actively encouraged to invent your own effects on the fly, and treat the spells in the books as just examples and springboards for coming up with your own spells.

After reaching a certain level of power, the question becomes less "Can I do this" (because the answer is "Yes"), and more "Should I do this" and "What's the best way for me to do this with minimal side-effects". The primary theme of the game is regular people being given incredible cosmic power, and how humans are really not equipped to wield that kind of power responsibly.

Also that Mages tend not to be nearly as all-powerful and all-knowing as they think they are. Yes, you can do incredible things (and practically anything you set your mind to, with enough preparation), but there are bigger, scarier things out there, and you are going to catch their notice. Hell, if you're like most Mages, you're going to actively seek some of them out, no matter how unwise that is.