The sum total of a mage’s knowledge of the Ars Mysteriorum is usually summarized by the term called "Gnosis", which describes how close the mage is to the Supernal Realms.
Advantages[]
The higher an individual mage’s Gnosis, the more Mana they can store and release at any given time, the more spells they can have active at once, the faster they can cast their extended spells, and the higher their capacity for mastery of the Arcana rises. Very high levels of Gnosis allow a mage to exceed normal mortal limits for physical, mental, or social attributes, becoming stronger, faster, tougher, smarter, and more personable than any regular human.
Disadvantages[]
A mage of sufficiently high Gnosis gains a more powerful Aura, making detection by other mages that much easier. Also, mages of high Gnosis are a magnet for the energies of the Abyss, and mages of higher Gnosis than their peers are correspondingly more vulnerable to the powers of Paradox.
References[]
- MTAw: Mage: The Awakening Rulebook, p. 18, 66, 75-78, 80, 121-123
