A point about Stewart Wieck’s original vision of Mage: dynamism is what mages are supposed to be about. A vulgar effect used once shouldn’t bring down a ton of paradox. A vulgar effect used repeatedly should be punished.
1st Edition had clunky Paradox rules. Pg 243 lists Paradox flaws that would themselves cause Paradox. However, remember subjective Paradox. Sleepers see the Paradox flaw as something ordinary.
In 1st Edition the only way to reduce Paradox points was to take a flaw or have a backlash. 2nd Edition said Paradox points fade away 1 per week if the mage has less than 10 Paradox. Mage 20 says less than 5 can bleed off at 1 point per week. Revised Ed. says Paradox points fade away 1 per week if no additional Paradox is gained and the total is less than 11. Higher Paradox penalties and backlashes at 5 points or more. Every magic effect botch causes backlash.
Mage20 has interesting idea on pg. 551 that additional Paradox make current Paradox flaws more severe.
Pg. 176 2nd Ed core has good numbers for handling Paradox.
Mage20 has 3 Paradox Backlash charts: Mage20 core, Mage20 Quickstart, Technocracy Reloaded Quickstart
Mages can’t always tell the difference between a Paradox flaw and an actual injury or health condition. Wouldn’t it be a common occurrence to approach a mage with knowledge of Prime & ask if their problem is Paradox?
IDEA: roll for Paradox behind the ST screen. Make the Paradox flaw or spirit look like an enemy attack or part of the environment. By the time the players discover it was Paradox, they’ll learn to fear it more.