>>32728564Some groups are secretive about Magic, most of them for their own good. Not everyone needs to be secretive, though (Sin-eaters, for instance, could go on national television... but most of their powers are completely invisible).
There are also a lot of different types of magic. A Hedge Mage for instance, using some Second Sight powers, or the psychic abilities from Second Sight or the God-Machine Chronicle rules update, is free as a bird to use their powers in public as well, assuming they're willing to pay the price. Heck, even Vampires can use their powers in public... it's just that other vampires will probably kill them for breaking the Masquerade.
As for Magic itself, there's a lot of it that does more than what technology can do. And it can be taken apart within the setting. A character with even a little magic is better armed than someone with a lot of technology. Hell, here's a three page PDF showing what a Sin-eater (someone who died and made a Bargain with a powerful death aspect ghost-spirit to share a body with them) can do at character creation without any additional magic.
Heck, there's also the setting specific stuff, like being able to go to strange realms. But I also did a lot of things as a Mage:
● Sculpted shadows into physical things that I could control with my soul
● Traveled into my dreams, and through them, the dreams of the Worldsoul.
● Summoned supernal beings
● Temporarily "Killed" people for an hour, or until I undid the Suppress Other's Life spell.
● Battled inside someone's mind to defeat their inner demons
● Went to China from Cheyenne in three steps
● Became younger
● Changed my face
● Changed other people's faces
● Turned a bunch of pebbles into BEES (technically they were wasplike insects with scorpion tails, if I recall)
● Transformed my hands into monstrous cat claws and other various transformations
● Shot lightning bolts!
● Blocked a bullet
