tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55219561646303063412024-03-12T19:35:45.871-07:00Musings of a StorytellerEldaeroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12703184260563933018noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521956164630306341.post-86456688009058946132014-04-20T20:00:00.000-07:002014-05-11T05:43:23.729-07:00Mage: Episode 4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In this episode, brought to you by another of our players, <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/104034913018417633316" target="_blank">+William Oakes</a>, our intrepid mages encounter werewolves for the first time. Unfortunately it isn't the most pleasant of introductions. Read on to learn more!<br />
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Episode 4: The Big Bad Wolf (Chapter 1)</h2>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Noticia Text';"><b>Game Sessions 13 & 14</b></span></div>
The session opened with Oghma being sent to check on a questionable package that might be enroute to Sydney. While searching a warehouse office (and the worst filing cabinet ever created) he found the file he was searching for, and some other rather odd files he found to be interesting. Being a curious sort, he couldn’t help but to go through them and make notes. As he prepared to leave, using his magic to wipe any trace of his presence, it happened.<br />
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A man came flying through the wall of the warehouse, followed quickly by what Oghma assumed (from the movies) was a werewolf. Oghma immediately took cover, only to hear the sound of bones snapping and stomach-churning biting and gnashing from somewhere below. When the sounds abated he glanced back out the window to see the creature staring back up at him from the hole in the wall, holding a finger up to it’s grinning mouth in warning.<br />
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The following day Oghma made a call to Jessica and Malphas and explained to them as coherently as possible (which wasn’t very) what had happened. The group met at the Liberty before heading down to the Gore Cove docks district to find the warehouse now an abandoned crime scene. Oghma was eventually coaxed into entering the building, but was visibly shaken and clearly didn’t enjoy being there, the events of last night still far too fresh in his mind. Nothing was left but blood stains and crime scene tape. Jessica , not able to believe the sketchy account given by Oghma, peered through time to see what really happened here.<br />
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She was shocked to see the body come flying through the corrugated steel wall, landing in a bloody slump, barely able to utter the word please before something came in after it. She was unable to see what it was at first; a bubble of distortion made seeing whatever it was extremely difficult. With effort she was able to pierce the veil and saw something she immediately regretted; she assumed it was a werewolf, but it was much larger than anything she had ever seen in a movie. The creature was easily 12 feet tall, a mixture of drool and blood dripping from its mouth. She was horrified, terror taking hold of her as she gazed upon the creature, it seeming far too real despite being no more than a vision. As the creature lifted the man’s body and tore its arm off, she froze her vision, unable to look anymore, feeling her grip on her sanity loosen dangerously.<br />
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Jessica had dropped her concentration on the creature, happily letting it fall back into obscurity and focused instead on any clues that might help her figure out who was here and why. Still looking back in the past, she found a boot lying outside, which was still sitting there in the present for Oghma to examine. Using his attainment, Oghma found out details about the victim. In particular, he has a ranger at the Lane Cove National Park.<br />
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Meanwhile, Malphas was up in the office of the building, searching for a clue as to why the creature or man were here, but was unable to find anything that he found useful. Irritated, he moved back downstairs only to find Jessica and Oghma missing, but eventually heard them outside and moved to rendezvous with them. On his way out he took note of the blood stains and realised there was really no chance of the man surviving.<br />
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Malphas met up with the other two mages outside and used his magic to calm Jessica and repair her damaged psyche, which was emotionally traumatised from witnessing the horrible creature and its attack.<br />
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The group decided to make their way to the park immediately, as something very wrong was going on and they wanted to make sure that no more innocents were going to die. Oghma made a call to Shiryo on his way to the park, telling him some of the things that were happening. They agreed that if anything did happen, it would be good to have someone of his skills nearby.<br />
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The group met up at the park, with Shiryo, Jessica, and Oghma heading towards a nearby campsite with a lot of noise coming from it. Malphas headed towards the ranger station to try and find information on the victim. The trio of mages, sneaking up upon the campsite, noted four men around a fire, and a further eight playing some sort of ball game, possibly rugby, in the nearby clearing.<br />
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The men at the fire noticed the approaching mages immediately, and after Jessica notifies the men that she believed one of their friends was dead, things got tense. While Jessica and Oghma spoke to the leader of the group, an older man named Isaac, the two mages used their abilities to learn more about the men. Jessica found their auras to clearly not be human while Oghma brushed over their emotions and found them to be growing in anger. They both considered to leave and as they prepared to they noticed that the people playing in the clearing had stopped and have since moved towards the fire. Jessica and Oghma began to leave, but it was too late. They were invited to stay with some not too subtle threats, and decided to accept the generous invitation rather than fight the large crowd.<br />
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Elsewhere, Malphas found the ranger station and located a picture of the victim with his name as well as his work schedule. He reached out with his mind to Jessica to see if she had any information just in time to hear they were in trouble. He climbed into his car and drove back across the park, trying to get there as quickly as possible.<br />
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Jessica, Oghma and Shiryo sat at the fire where Jessica began to unload with complete honesty everything she could think of to smooth things over with the men. They eventually seemed to calm down, and invited the group of mages to kindly keep out of their business. As a fight broke out between two of the men towards the back of the group the three mages departed and made their way to Malphas at the entrance to the park.<br />
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As they recounted what happened to Malphas there were screams and roars from back near the camp, both signs of imaginable danger. Malphas decided he had enough chasing the unknown, and began to walk back towards the camp in frustration. Shiryo and Oghma followed, the first out of a sense of duty, and the second out of a sense of debt to Malphas for assisting Jessica in her time of extreme mental duress. Jessica then followed because she didn’t want to see any of her friends harmed, but brought along her motorcycle in case she needed to get out in a hurry.<br />
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As the group made their way towards the camp, they saw the RVs and caravans from other campsites quickly leaving the park. Something terrible was happening and people were trying to get the hell out.<br />
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Things took a turn for the worse as the group neared the camp. The stars went out and darkness grew around them unnaturally. Jessica was thrown from her motorcycle after a dog ran in front of it, barely clipping it as it moved past. Similar dog-like forms rushed past the others, running quickly away from the direction camp. The odour of blood filled the air, while the roars, growls, and sound of general unpleasantness continued to grow. Jessica picked up her bike, the light illuminating the old man, Isaac, holding a bloody sword in his hand, screaming into the night sky:<br />
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"Come back you traitors! You shall pay for what you have done. There is no hiding from the debt you owe!"</blockquote>
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Feeling he could handle the situation and calm the angry man, Malphas reached deep within himself and reached out with his Mind magic. The spell pushed through the man’s mental defences, latching onto his psyche with such force that when Malphas said “Set your sword down and start talking”, the man did exactly that. He dropped his sword and began talking about traitors to father not deserving of their blessing, and continuing to ramble non-stop for almost a minute before his speech stopped abruptly, a sword bursting forth from his chest.<br />
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The sword was ripped upward, nearly leaving him in two pieces as a shape rose up behind the man. It was a werewolf, seven feet of muscle, claws and teeth wielding a gigantic blade. The sight of Isaac’s bloody demise and the appearance of the creature sent waves of panic through the mages. Oghma freaked out, turning and sprinting back towards the entrance without another thought. Jess followed after him, shaken, but with enough mind to try and help him, wishing he would calm down.<br />
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Having taken control of Isaac so easily before, Malphas, a little shaken from the creature’s appearance, lashed out with another Mind spell, demanding the werewolf protect the group. Unfortunately this time his magic faltered, the beast enraged at the mage’s demands. Malphas stood frozen in place, unable to believe his magic had failed him when he needed it most, as the werewolf charged forward with unnatural speed. Shiryo couldn’t respond fast enough to defend his colleague, the werewolf’s blade crashing down into Malphas’ arm, shattering the bone and leaving shards of it sticking out.<br />
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Malphas collapsed to the ground from the sheer amount of pain, surrendering to the darkness, his mind unable to process it all. Shiryo summoned the blade he had prepared during the talk with the man, afraid a fight was coming back then, and swung it at the werewolf with all his might. He fueled his resolve with everything he cared about; promises, saving friends, proving his own worth. The blow struck true, nearly severing the monster’s arm, leaving it hanging uselessly from its side as it fled.<br />
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Shiryo picked up the body of Malphas, applying a simple tourniquet and splint to the wound and carrying him out as quickly as he could, hoping his friend would survive. Elsewhere, Jessica found Oghma hiding under a tree, eventually getting him back to the entrance.<br />
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The group immediately called upon Isis for assistance, and as a member of the Council she was obliged to help. She used her Life magic to reduce the severity of the injury to a simple break, but informed the group that Malphas would still need medical treatment. Fortunately Malphas’ sister, Dr Sarah Williams, was working in the emergency rooms that evening, and ensured that Malphas was looked after.Eldaeroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12703184260563933018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521956164630306341.post-79183805067685133012014-04-06T20:00:00.000-07:002014-05-08T04:52:27.349-07:00Mage: Interlude 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This session we took a page from Dungeon World and tried starting <i>in medias res</i>, throwing together the session with a few quick questions as we were between major storylines and didn't have anything planned.<br />
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Interlude 2: Madness in the Streets</h2>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Noticia Text';"><b>Game Session 12</b></span></div>
It began with Shiryo, Jess and Malphas bursting into one of the several board rooms that made up the floor of the office building, with what could loosely be described as a ‘zombie’ right on their tails. As the creature slammed its arms on the door with unnatural strength, the trio of mages discussed their plan whilst simultaneously grilling Malphas as to why he was being attacked by a zombie of all things. Professing innocence, Malphas explained that he had simply been working late when the half-decayed man burst into his office and started attacking him, although he did seem vaguely familiar.<br />
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At that moment the creature burst through the door, spurring Shiryo to call forth a phantasmal two-handed sword with Prime magic as Jess accelerated his movement with Time. Only when Jess confirmed that the creature was indeed simply a corpse possessed by a spirit did Shiryo cut it down with terrifying speed and power.<br />
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Moving downstairs to street level, the mages found the entire block in an uproar. A literal riot was taking place as spirits of wrath, violence, and similar concepts in twilight were urging nearby humans into a frenzy of madness.<br />
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Jess, noticing her father assisting with the nearby police blockade, rushed over to see him, only to be intercepted by a thuggish man with a baseball bat. Like many others nearby, the armed man too had a spirit urging him as he grabbed onto Jess and started dragging her into the alley. Jess screamed.<br />
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Hearing her screams, Shiryo left Malphas to deal with a woman charging at him, high heels grasped in either hand as makeshift weapons. Shiryo rushed to Jess’ side, slamming the man to the ground with a quick elbow to the head. His anger at the man’s actions built up with every moment as he continued to beat on the now helpless man, spurned on by actions of a nearby spirit of wrath.<br />
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Meanwhile, Malphas quickly gained control of the frenzied woman’s mind, despite some initial resistance, leaving her to stand dumbstruck as he strutted towards his fellow magi, his pride stoked by another spirit.<br />
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He arrives in the alley to find Shiryo still furiously beating on the man that had attacked Jess, whose pained begging and whimpering had long since ended. Jess stood nearby, trying to convince Shiryo to stop as she resisted the urgings forced upon her by another spirit to fall upon her saviour in a sexual embrace. It was only after Malphas forcefully made Shiryo see reason did he relent in his anger, shocked at how easily he had simply let go.<br />
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At that moment Detective Wolf, Jess’ father, rounded the corner to find her daughter and two men standing over a badly beaten man. Taking in the scene slowly, he made the decision to send them on their way, too distracted from current events to deal with prosecuting his own daughter as well.Eldaeroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12703184260563933018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521956164630306341.post-89028276114581732202014-03-30T20:00:00.000-07:002014-05-07T05:59:16.830-07:00Mage: Episode 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This episode, run by one of our other players <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/101960905928174607946" target="_blank">+T.J. Hafer</a>, the group discussed the future of Sydney and their plans for it before encountering an unusual man that would shine some light on their unique awakenings.<br />
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Episode 3: The Traveller</h2>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Noticia Text';"><b>Game Sessions 10 & 11</b></span></div>
The session began with Tanuwa calling the group to meet him at the Liberty following their six weeks of training with mentors offered to them by the Council. After a short catch up, Tanuwa expressed his distrust of the Council and their motives, which led into the first item of his agenda: the creation of the ‘High Covenant of Sydney’, a group dedicated to the betterment of Sydney, and the world, on their terms and no one else's. Membership was offered to each member of the group, Council member or no, but with a catch: should there be a time when the goals of the Council and the Covenant come into conflict, the members of the Covenant were bound to follow its wishes, rather than that of the Council.<br />
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Jess, with no obligation to the Council, happily accepted Tanuwa’s invitation, although the others were a little more apprehensive. Oghma commented that, while Tanuwa may mean well, it was far too early to be making such absolute decisions with regard to future events. If such a situation would arise he would decide which side to support there and then, and no sooner. Shiryo and Malphas echoed similar sentiments before the matter was dropped, but not before Tanuwa warned that should the Council attempt to interfere in the work of the Covenant, he would make it difficult for them. The three Council mages let the comment slip, but couldn’t help but feel concerned about the veiled threat behind Tanuwa’s words.<br />
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Moving on to other matters, Oghma brought up his grandfather’s old tome, and his progress in unveiling the mystery behind it, which unfortunately amounted to not much. He invited the group back to his estate where he hoped that together they might glean a little more from the mysterious book.<br />
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Upon arriving back at the estate they found the front doors slightly ajar. The upstair windows were likewise slightly open, which struck the group as slightly odd. Concerned for the well being of his head of staff, Oghma moved into the mansion without a second thought. Meanwhile, Jess examined the building with her mage sight, finding that everything was just a bit off. The scene before her was tilted, in an indistinct, unnatural sense. It was almost like a wobbly checkerboard, where each space represented time thrown slightly out of sync. The flows of energy stopped and started, instead of flowing naturally, in ways she hadn’t seen before.<br />
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Inside the building Oghma asked Malphas to use his magic to sense out any sentient minds in the area in hopes to find James. Instead, Malphas picked up on a strange, indistinct concentration of mental energy coming from the general area of the archives. He couldn’t make out exactly what it was, but it was definitely strong enough that it could only be coming from one or more intelligent beings.<br />
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Informing the others that someone was down in the hidden archives Oghma rushed down there to confront whoever had invaded his home, with the others close behind. He descended the stairs to see a man standing in the middle of the room with his back to the group, holding Oghma’s grandfather's book in one hand and paging through it with the other. All the light sources in the room seemed to be oscillating in an irregular, circular fashion - as if something that stifles light itself were whirling around the room and dimming them as it passed. Some of the shelves seemed to be slightly off-kilter, and particles of dust seemed to hang in the air perfectly still.<br />
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When Oghma demanded to know who the intruder was, the man whirled around and shut the book, placing it on the nearest desk as the strange phenomenon slowly faded away. The man, who identified himself only as a traveller of sorts, spoke to the mages about their awakenings, whilst also providing them answers to their own questions. An answer for an answer.<br />
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Through the man’s cryptic replies they were able to determine that ‘the plan’ had been altered, but, for whatever reason, a particular part of said plan had been reverted back by an unknown force. That part was their collective awakenings. The man was intrigued by it because it was something that he had not encountered before, which was highly usual. He also noted that their ‘visions’ that they had been experiencing were lightly due to this tampering.<br />
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The mages wanted to know more, but the man replied that his window was closing. At that point the mages watched on as the man and the room around him seemed to close like the aperture of a camera, the edges fading into an image of outside the manor. Moments later, the mage found themselves standing once more before Ashfield Castle, although this time nothing was out of place. It was as if they had never entered.<br />
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Rushing inside, Oghma found that the archives were secure, although strangely enough the tome was sitting where the strange man had left it, now open at a page that described the Traveller, or at least an entity like him, who had interacted with mages for at least the last century. He was depicted as commonly beneficial to the mages in question, though he often does so in exchange for help in obtaining information.<br />
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The session closed with the group agreeing that the tome required more protection than what Oghma’s archives provided, with Oghma stating that he would take the book to the Council’s own archives, where they would have the means to ensure that it remained safe.Eldaeroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12703184260563933018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521956164630306341.post-85056534586698098642014-03-09T20:00:00.000-07:002014-05-07T04:29:34.298-07:00Mage: Interlude 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It’s been quite some time since my last update, most due to life catching up to me, amongst other things. The plus side is that you get several sessions worth of material to read in a few short days! First up we have the group’s first encounter with other mages, and of course the associated politics!<br />
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Interlude 1: The Council</h2>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Noticia Text';"><b>Game Session 9</b></span></div>
This week’s session began with Tanuwa receiving a call from Fjolnir (Finn) informing him that another mage going by the name of Isis had been asking around for him and his friends. Apparently their recently exploits with the spider spirits had fathered some attention from out of town.<br />
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Agreeing to meet with her, Tanuwa called the group together at the Liberty where Isis waited for them, albeit rather impatiently. Addressing them with disinterested, business-like efficiency, the unfamiliar mage informed them that the Council of Magi wished to meet them. After a brief discussion the group agreed to follow her.<br />
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She led them into the Liberty’s back room and politely asked Finn if they could make use of his Way. Finn shrugged, insisting there was no need for formalities before Isis opened a nearby door to revealed a thick, snow-laden forest. Ignoring the group’s surprise Isis led them onwards through the forest, opening another portal at the base of a large cliff face with an ornate dagger. This brought them into what appeared to be a volcano, which in turn led to the busy back streets of Tokyo City, Japan. A limo awaited them as they arrived on the main street, swiftly taking them to a high-rise office building in the centre of the CBD.<br />
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On one of the upper floors of the building Isis showed them to a large boardroom, set up with chairs on either side in preparation for a meeting. As the group took their seats five individuals walked in, each one representing one of the five paths that make up the Council.<br />
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The Council, as they called themselves, explained that they acted as an advisory and oversight council for mages operating in the region, ensuring that mages were supported in their actions when they required it, or stopped should their actions endanger the safety of others. They had recently heard of the group’s exploits in Sydney and sent Isis to gather some information before they had invited the group here.<br />
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Of their questions, the most pressing was what the group’s awakenings had been like, and if they knew any reason as to why they had all awakened at the same time. As the group did not truly understand what had happened themselves, they could not offer any concrete answers.<br />
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Dropping that line of inquiry, the Council discussed the major factions that made up the organisation, speaking to each member of the group individually rather than as a whole. The organisations offered the mages mentorship and resources should they join them. Seeing an opportunity, Malphas, Oghma and Shiryo put forward their interests in taking up the Path of the Watcher, Lorekeeper, and Guardian respectively. Tanuwa and Jessica politely declined, stating they did not wish to join the Council at this time.<br />
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With the meeting over, Isis led the group back to Sydney, albeit taking a different route to the initial journey. Instead of coming back at the Liberty, the mysterious mage had lead them back to another office building, which it soon became apparent were the Headquarters of Slate Industries, a global military contracting firm. Isis brought the group to Donovan Slate’s office, where he greeted them warmly and offered drinks. During the brief discussion he had with them, he offered to assist them at any time should they run into any problems, either mundane or magical in nature.<br />
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Eldaeroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12703184260563933018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521956164630306341.post-10317959246399335252014-03-02T20:00:00.000-08:002014-05-07T05:44:27.543-07:00Mage: Episode 2 (Part 5)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It was quite the session this weekend as we wrapped up this episode and saw Sally (finally) brought to justice of a sort.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h2>
Episode 2: Along Came A Spider (Part 5)</h2>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Noticia Text';"><b>Game Session 8</b></span><br />
The session opened with the group meeting at the Liberty to discuss their plans now that they had learned where Sally was when <a href="http://peterjgates.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/mage-session-7.html">she attacked Jessica’s father</a>, Detective Wolf, the previous evening. Oghma passed out several Bluetooth headsets he picked up during the day, suggesting that they would be useful for the group to stay in touch during their ‘work’. Malphas raised the question as to why they were bothering to it in the first place. Oghma responded by asking him if he preferred that Sally continue to wreak havoc on the streets. Tanuwa agreed with Oghma, and added that it would also garner them some respect within the supernatural community, which could go a long way.<br />
<br />
They arrived at the rundown abandoned warehouse that was two-and-a-half high. Yellow police tape was set up hastily across the door, and was already starting to peel away with the force of the rain.<br />
<br />
Using Life magic Tanuwa shifted his fingers into long, hooked climbing claws and scaled the old brick structure, attempting to get a better vantage point via the upper windows. Meanwhile, Malphas scanned the building with Mind magic, finding no other sentient minds within. Both mages experienced the same resistance to their spellcasting they did back in the vampire’s apartment the previous evening; when Jess attempted to use Space magic to look inside the warehouse, she found herself unable to muster enough power.<br />
<br />
Judging the cost was clear, Tanuwa called the others inside while he remained as a look out. While the others searched around the building, Oghma moved to the centre of the warehouse and prepared a hastily constructed ritual circle in order to assist him with his magic. He then stretched out his senses, getting an idea of all the materials in the warehouse, including the presence of a woman’s blood stains on the concrete floor, about 24-hours old, and unusual chemical components in the far corner of the warehouse. Investigating, Jessica found a metal box filled with syringes and several vials, now mostly empty of their contents. Using his investigation skills Malphas also identified that a fight had took place. It was short and quick, with the assailant taking her victim by surprised before escaping, but not before she had been injured – the source of the blood trail.<br />
<br />
At that moment Tanuwa and Malphas were suddenly attacked by several large, malformed spiders about the size of grapefruits. Fending them off before they could do any real damage, the mages quickly grab the box of medical equipment and left, leaving the spiders to skitter back into wherever they had come from.<br />
<br />
The mages examined the contents of the box more carefully and identified that the equipment had come from a 24-hour clinic located near the warehouse. Jessica used to her magic to also learn that Sally had been given the equipment by a Doctor Andrew Franklin. With that information the group decided to pay the good doctor a visit.<br />
<br />
Arriving at the clinic, a small, tired establishment tucked away in a side street, the mages found that the interior seemed to be washed out and muted in colour beyond simple interior decorating. Even the receptionist, an old lady sporting the name tag ‘Daisy’, seemed overly strained and weary. The mages also sensed an even greater impedance to their magic here than the other two locations, which they surmised must have been affecting the material as well.<br />
<br />
Not in the mood to play games after being attacked by the spiders at the warehouse, Malphas used his Mind magic to force the woman to show him where the doctor was. She complied and introduced them to the doctor who was in the middle of speaking to a patient, asking them to wait outside while he finished. Malphas pressed the issue. Once again using his magic, he attempted to convince the doctor they were police detectives, but found the man’s unusually strong will difficult to overcome when coupled with the magical impedance of the area.<br />
<br />
The doctor asked them to leave before he called the real police, at which point Jess noticed a woman in a hoodie attempting to sneak out the back door. She called out Sally’s name, and the woman stopped suddenly before making a run for it. Jessica and Tanuwa quickly gave chase, with Malphas and Shiryo preparing to following just as the doctor’s expression changed.<br />
<br />
Dropping the façade of a caring doctor, the man lashed out at Malphas, trying to stop him from assisting his friends catching Sally. Shiryo stepped in to assist Malphas, using his martial skills to subdue the doctor while Malphas distracted him by throwing office supplies at him. At that point the doctor’s patient politely asked if he could leave. Malphas quickly wiped his mind and let him go as they noticed several small spiders scurrying away from the doctor’s body.<br />
<br />
At that point Oghma arrived in the hallway, restrained by one of the apparent ‘patients’ with a syringe held at Oghma’s neck. Malphas used his magic to make the man release Oghma and drop the syringe, before the trio rushed to assist Tanuwa and Jess.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, in the loading bay of the clinic, Tanuwa and Jess found Sally standing alongside the man that smelled of vinegar. Upon seeing the man’s mostly decayed body, the pair of mages realised that it was not vinegar they smelled, rather the preservation fluid used by morticians to preserve a body to be displayed at a funeral. Then, as the pair of mages watched on, several fist-sized malformed spiders dropped from beneath the man’s heavy trench coat and onto the floor, before swarming towards Jess. At the same time, Sally attacked Tanuwa.<br />
<br />
As Tanuwa began besting Sally, the decaying man joined the fight. He grabbed Jessica, using his unnatural strength to restrain her as he bit into her shoulder with a pair of spider fangs hidden in the roof of his jaw, poisoning her with deadly venom. At that moment Shiryo burst in, using his natural speed to move ahead of Malphas and Oghma, and punched the man off of Jess, breaking his nose before following up with a solid kick to his chest, splintering his fragile rib cage. Defeated, the man collapsed as hundreds of tiny spiders swarmed out of his mouth, nose, and ears. Malphas, having just arrived, attempted to control Sally with his magic, but she just smiled wickedly and said "You can't stop mother" before likewise collapsing, spiders bursting from her just like her colleague. Tanuwa quickly moved to Jess and used his magic to purge the venom from her system just as she started going into convulsions, saving her life.<br />
<br />
With Sally and those working with her defeated, the mages cleaned any evidence of their passing at the clinic, cleaning the security tapes and using magic to decay the bodies, eliminating any trace of them. In their search of the premises the group found more strange vials of the poison used on the vampires, as well as several human corpses in garbage bags. Investigation into the bodies revealed that they had been bodies that <a href="http://peterjgates.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/mage-session-4.html">Dr Williams had mentioned</a> who had gone missing from the morgue earlier. The decayed man they fought was one of those bodies, although he had been missing for about four weeks.<br />
<br />
After they finished at the clinic, Tanuwa made contact with the vampires. He informed them that they had dealt with the situation and had evidence that cleared Sil of his so called crimes against the masquerade, earning them some respect with the vampires, and a friend in the form of Sil.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Eldaeroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12703184260563933018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521956164630306341.post-47551597273234877462014-02-23T01:52:00.000-08:002014-03-05T02:42:42.375-08:00Lex Arcanum: Part 6<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
As there has been a fair amount of referencing the cosmology of my Lex Arcanum setting in recent play reports, I though it about time that I write something up that goes into a little more detail (at least, how I imagine it at the moment, as I'm still hashing out all the details).<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Lex Arcanum</span></h2>
<span style="color: #97918f; font-size: large;">A Fate Core Conversion for Mage: the Awakening</span><br />
<span style="color: #97918f; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h2>
The Fallen World, the Otherworlds, and the Beyond</h2>
<div>
There exists three major layers of reality, the mundane or Fallen world, the Spirit Wilds and the Beyond. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Fallen World</h3>
<div>
The Fallen World is the world we know and understand, where we live, go about our business, and generally understand how things work, like gravity, and don't expect them to suddenly change on any given day.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
The Gauntlet</h3>
<div>
Between the Fallen world and the Spirit World exists a barrier known as the Gauntlet that acts as a wall between worlds and ensuring that the two worlds do not collapse upon one another, allowing the denizens of the Wilds free reign over the mortal world. As mages draw their magic through the Gauntlet, using their soul as a conduit, any variations in the wall (either weakening or strengthening) can alter the effects of a mage’s magic, as well as other supernatural creatures that draw their power from the Wilds.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
The Otherworlds</h3>
<div>
<div>
The Otherworlds is a reality that co-exists with ours, a shadow of a material and yet a separate world unto itself. It is where entities such as Fae, Spirits, Gods, and other entities come from. These entities have a connection to the Fallen world in that they, either directly or indirectly, must feed from the Fallen world to live.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
Within it’s borders exists three different types of regions, changing the further one travels from the Fallen world to the depths of the Otherworlds, and eventually the Beyond.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><b>The Shadowlands</b>. The lands closest to the mortal world, and those most heavily influenced by it, and often appear almost indistinguishable from mortal reality. They are often stylized, but rarely out-and-out alien. They represent a fundamental overlap between the Fallen World and the Otherworlds, and as such, exist in and as both.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>The Marches</b>. An encompassing region that includes such lands as Arcadia, the Underworld, the Spirit Wilds, the Aether, Asgard, Olympus, and many others. These are the lands formed out of the Will of the Marcher Lords that reside over them, shaping the essence of the Marches into a reflection of their own selves. The environment of the Marches shifts and changes to that envisioned by the Lord the closer you move towards their domain.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>The Wastes</b>. A battlefront between the Otherworlds and the Beyond, the landscape scorched and twisted, with an ever looming darkness staining the horizon. It is a battle that has been continuing before the beginning of man. But, slowly and surely the Beyond is crumbling away the Otherworlds and reaching ever closer to the Fallen world, sending its agents to open pathways to the Fallen world and hasten the decay of reality.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
The Beyond</h3>
<div>
Unlike the Otherworlds, the Beyond has no connection to the Fallen world, and thus has nothing to ground is chaotic, maddening landscape. Existing in the spaces outside (and between the cracks) of the Otherworlds, it is a place where nothing is static, with the laws of reality twisting and changing with every passing moment with no rhyme or reason. The entities that exist in this place as so foreign that they completely defy human comprehension. It is a land that calls up such imagery of cults worshipping mad, twisted gods that lie far beyond human comprehension. It is all that, and worse.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h2>
Supernatural Creatures </h2>
<div>
In order to determine how certain magic work given this new cosmology, supernatural creatures have been split into five broad categories. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Fallen Natives</h3>
<div>
The first category are natives of the Fallen World, they are created and exist entirely (save for a few exceptions) within the Fallen world. These include such creatures as angels (created by the God Machine from the fabric of the Fallen World to carry out its grand design), and their counterparts, demons.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Touched</h3>
<div>
The second category are individuals and creatures native to the Fallen World touched by the Otherworlds in some way. This includes vampires, ghouls, ghosts, mages, and to an extent, werefolk and changelings, although they have a stronger connection to the Wilds than most. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Awakened</h4>
<div>
Awakened, or mages, are humans that have had their souls travel to the Spirit Wilds and develop a connection to this realm. Their soul, now resting part in the Fallen World, part in the Spirit Wilds, acts as a conduit through which this power can flow, drawing upon the energy of the Wilds to manipulate the very fabric of the Fallen world around them.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
When a mage causes paradox they pull too much energy down through their connection to the Spirit Wilds and, unable to control it, create a pathway through which the chaos of the Beyond can bypass the Spirit Wilds and enter the Fallen World in the form of twisted magic, or in the extreme case, a manifestation of an entity from the chaotic realm.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Through this connection with the Spirit Wilds, mages also have a natural sensitivity to other supernatural creatures that their powers from that plane, sensing when they use their abilities in the mage's vicinity.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Vampires</h4>
<div>
<div>
Vampires are human bodies that, upon being <a href="http://whitewolf.wikia.com/wiki/Embrace_(VTM)">embraced</a> by their sire, transform into bloodthirsty monsters craving mortal blood to sate the hunger that burns within them. Some speculate that the source of this hunger, the 'Beast' as vampires call it, is a parasite-like entity. It is believed that the entity is spread through the flow of blood from sire to childe during the embrace, and is responsible for maintaining the vampire's immortal state and their unnatural abilities.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Werefolk</h4>
<div>
Werefolk are individuals that have part of their souls partially bound with wild animal spirits. These people usually live normal lives up until their soul ‘awakens’ to its true nature, and the individual undergoes their first change (which in itself is a traumatic and painful experience) and their soul merges fully with the animal spirit. Once this has occurred the werewolf is now able to assume the form of it’s beast spirit, as well as a powerful hybrid of man and beast. However, there is a downside in that the werefolk can be driven made by the beast within him, and so must be careful to balance both the man and beast if he hopes to remain sane. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And example of such a werefolk is a werewolf, people whose souls are bound to predatory wolf-like spirits that relish the sensation of the hunt, and feel a natural instinct to maintain a territory and police it, both within and out of the Shadowlands.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Spirits</h3>
<div>
The third category are known as spirits, birthed from the actions of humanity within the Fallen World, they exist almost entirely within the Shadowlands, feeding of the essence generated by humans, and each other. These spirits can be representations of animals, concepts, objects, emotions and the likes. These Spirits can also cross over the Gauntlet into the Fallen world and take up residence there, directly affecting their environment in order to feast upon the essence generated. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Otherworld Natives</h3>
<div>
The fourth category are natives of the Otherworlds, birthed not from the whims of man but from processes that varies from entity to entity. These include creatures such as the Fae, Gods, and similar beings that, while they feed upon and are influenced by the Fallen World, are wholly native to the Otherworlds in a way unlike that of spirits. It has been know that some powerful spirits have been able to bridge the gap between these two categories, although at that stage they transcend the concept of spirit and become something else entirely.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Aberrations</h3>
<div>
Outside these categories are the creatures from the Beyond, entities that defy logical explanation or description that they shouldn't exist at all. Even the sight of a lesser creature from the Beyond is enough to drive most mortals mad.</div>
</div>
Eldaeroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12703184260563933018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521956164630306341.post-41746741454549532002014-02-23T00:57:00.000-08:002014-05-06T03:59:24.051-07:00Mage: Episode 2 (Part 4)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Bit of a quiet session today with only two players turning up (due to a variety of reasons). Nonetheless, the show must go on!<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h2>
Episode 2: Along Came A Spider (Part 4)</h2>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Noticia Text';"><b>Game Session 7</b></span><br />
Today’s session began shortly after the events of the previous session, only <b>Tanuwa </b>and <b>Shiryo </b>had departed from the Liberty for the evening to get some rest, given that it was now around 12:30am. <b>Malphas</b>, <b>Jessica </b>and <b>Oghma </b>had remained back a little longer for their own individual reasons.<br />
<br />
While quietly sitting in the VIP lounge with Oghma, Jess received a call from Samantha, her sister – her father had been attacked while working on a case and had been admitted to the local hospital. He was now in the ICU, but in a stable condition. Thinking nothing else of it Jess immediately prepared to leave and, after Oghma asked what the problem was, he joined her.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile as Malphas prepared to leave the Liberty and head home he was approached by a young man that introduced himself as Evan Wentworth. He asked if Malphas’ name was Michael Williams, and if he owned the twitter account MWilliams. When Malphas confirmed this Evan said that he was looking for a book that was stolen from his father’s collection several years ago, and he had recently discovered that Malphas had posted a picture of said book on his <a href="http://peterjgates.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/mage-session-2.html">twitter feed</a>.<br />
<br />
Suspicious, Malphas probed his mind using Mind magic and found that the man was being truthful, as far as he knew. Deciding he didn’t really have time for this Malphas once again used his magic, this time making the man turn around and go home. The man started to do so, but then stopped and turned, asking Malphas where the book was now. Malphas felt compelled to say it was at Oghma’s residence. When asked what his real name was Malphas was able to resist, instead telling the man Oghma’s name was instead Mark Smith. Smiling the man thanked Malphas for his cooperation and then turned to leave, just as the words of those around the mage turned from normal speech into a completely incomprehensible mess.<br />
<br />
Frustrated, especially since he had sensed nothing supernatural <sup><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5521956164630306341#fn1" id="ref1">1</a></sup>, even when the man had somehow made him say the truth, Malphas called Oghma, who had just arrived at the hospital with Jess, to inform him of what had transpired. At first Oghma couldn’t understand a word of what Malphas was saying, and vice versa, until about halfway through the call, at which point Malphas went over everything again. The younger mage suggested that Malphas meet them at the hospital to discuss what had happened in more detail.<br />
<br />
Jess and Oghma then went upstairs to the ICU ward where Samantha was waiting for them, although she was a little confused as to why Oghma was there. More concerned with her father’s health, Jess went to his bedside and held his hand, at which point he opened his eyes and looked over at her. He looked gaunt, almost ghostly, with his face extremely pale, and with all manner of machines hooked up to him monitoring his vitals. Glad to see his kids he explained that he’d found out where Sally was by tracking her cell phone and then gone to see her by himself. She ambushed him and injected something into him during the ensuing scuffle – spider venom apparently – and that she was a lot stronger than her small build would have indicated. Next thing he remembered he woke up in the hospital. He urged Jess to leave it to the police, and Jess said she’d stay safe, although her sister wasn’t so placid, wanting Sally to pay for what she’d done to their father. At the same time Jess used a little Time and Space magic to work out where her father was when he was attacked – an old warehouse in Lane Cove West.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Oghma had gone downstairs to meet Malphas as he arrived, informing him of what they knew regarding Jess’ father, and Malphas informing Oghma about the chat he had with ‘Evan’. Oghma was a little concerned by this, and wanted to know how he even found out that they had the book in the first place to which Malphas responded that Evan had probably just found some tracks leading to the group, although Oghma wasn’t entirely convinced. Once they had made their way back to the ICU ward they spoke to Jess and made plans to meet the following night and put an end to this business with Sally.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
------------------------------------</div>
<br />
<sup id="fn1">1. Angels, and in extension their Demon cousins, are created as 'natural' entities of the Fallen World and do not require interaction with the Spirit Wilds in order to use their abilities. Because of this mages do not detect anything unusual with their supernatural senses which are tuned to effects of otherworldly origin.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5521956164630306341#ref1" title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text.">↩</a></sup><br />
<br />Eldaeroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12703184260563933018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521956164630306341.post-18607723618818201692014-02-16T04:19:00.002-08:002014-05-06T03:59:26.265-07:00Mage: Episode 2 (Part 3)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
In today’s session the plot thickens as the cabal learns more about the vampires and their society, whilst uncovering a horrible truth about Sally.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h2>
Episode 2: Along Came A Spider (Part 3)</h2>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Noticia Text';"><b>Game Session 6</b></span><br />
The session began with Oghma and Jess returning from Ashfield estate after Jess had asked Oghma if she could examine the photo of her that his grandfather had stored in the basement archives. During his re-organisation of his grandfather's files, Oghma had since taken down the photos from the noticeboard and placed them in a simple folder, including the one of Jessica, along with some notes of his own. Using her Time magic she’d learned that Mr Ashfield had taken the image himself some twelve months prior at once of her concerts here in town. With her Prime sight she also discovered that he had been a sleepwalker, able to perceive magic without inducing paradox, but unable to cast it himself.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, there had been several news reports about other frenzied attacks in the North Sydney area which authorities were putting forward as a mix of drugs and alcohol fuelled violence. No suspects had been apprehended, although several officers had been injured attempting to restrain the men responsible. Shiryo and Malphas had also become hit YouTube sensations after their fight was broadcasting from a slew of different smart phones as they had attempted to subdue Sil <a href="http://peterjgates.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/mage-session-5.html">earlier that night</a>.<br />
<br />
Back in the Liberty, <b>Jess</b> started by opening up discussions with <b>Oghma</b>, <b>Tanuwa</b>, <b>Malphas</b> and <b>Shiryo</b> on what they should do about Sally, the guy that smelled like vinegar at the zoo, and Sil, the vampire that they had tied up (still) in the break room in the back of the nightclub (who had since told them more about vampires, their weaknesses, and a little about their society). Jess also revealed that, following the attacks earlier than evening, she had gone to speak with her father again, suggesting that there may have been a connection between the missing girl and the attacks, without revealing the source of her information. As the situation had gotten worse from when Jess had last spoken to him, Detective Wolf had offered to look into it for her and let her know if anything came up. Then, after some further discussions, the group decided to speak with Sil.<br />
<br />
When they head out there and Jess saw Sil again, she experienced another painful vision, this time of Sil being shot in the head by what Jess thought was a sniper. Although he looked a little different, Jess was sure it was him, a fact that did not instil any level of reassurance in the vampire.<br />
<br />
Speaking to Sil about what had happened to him earlier, they asked him if there was any way they could contact the vampire authorities. Sil said there was, although he didn't really feel comfortable doing so, being that he was essentially on their hit list and all.<br />
<br />
Jess then mentioned that they were worried that Sally, the woman that had attacked Sil, was also after his friends, which elicited quite the response from the young vampire. They then learned that not only did Sil know Sally (she was a ghoul belonging to Duncan, a member of his coterie) but he had seen her last night after her incident with the hospital, believing the reaction was caused by her condition. He also explained that, in part because of the whole ghoul loyalty thing, she’d never try and attack them like the cabal was suggesting, even after they explained what they had learned.<br />
<br />
Sil then called Duncan in an attempt to clear things up, only to learn that the other two members of his coterie, Raphael and Nick had also frenzied in public. Now one was in hiding, and the second was taken into custody by the Prince’s Hounds.<br />
<br />
With Sil utterly lost as to what to do, Tanuwa suggested they meet with the higher ups in vampire society and inform them of what they knew. Still not happy with the idea, Sil suggested that they go see Duncan instead. He knew more people than Sil, and was going to be happy to help considering what was happening to the coterie.<br />
<br />
When they arrived at the apartment block where Sil and his coterie resided – a run-down dump in desperate need of repair – the mages felt the air around them get heavier and more constricting, soon finding out that something was constricting the flow of energy from the Beyond, which the mages pulled their magic from, although they couldn't identify it <sup><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5521956164630306341#fn1" id="ref1">1</a></sup>.<br />
<br />
When they arrived at the apartment proper at first it appeared that Duncan was nowhere to be found, until Sil discovered his friend’s cocooned form in the bathroom, covered in hundreds of spiders varying in size from a grain of rice up to an inch across. Jess, who was helping Sil look around the apartment, immediately freaked out at the sight of so many spiders, at which point Oghma and Tanuwa came to see what the problem was and were unfazed by the sight <sup><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5521956164630306341#fn2" id="ref2">2</a></sup>. Tanuwa however did experience another painful flow of memories of fighting spiders such as these, causing him to stagger heavily, barely keeping him upright using a nearby door frame.<br />
<br />
Thinking quickly Oghma grabbed a knife from the kitchen and passed it to Tanuwa who cut out the desiccated husk of Duncan who, while not dead, had been drained of almost every drop of vitae in his body, causing him to enter a torpor. A quick examination revealed two large wounds on the back of his neck, appearing not unlike the bite of a massive spider. Unsure what to make of this, the cabal and Sil took Duncan’s body out of the apartment and back to the Liberty.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
------------------------------------</div>
<br />
<sup id="fn1">1. In the setting we’re running there exists a realm known as the Spirit Wilds, which is essentially a combination of Nevernever of the Dresden Files and the Shadow from World of Darkness. Realms like Arcadia and the Underworld are also part of this realm, and individual domains are controlled by powerful entities that are able to shape the pure energy of the Wilds to their whim. Upon awakening a mage's soul travels to the Wilds, and from thereon resides part in the Wilds, and part in the Mortal realm, giving them a conduit to draw their magic through. This means that when something makes the barrier between the Mortal world and the Wilds stronger (such as the Spider Hosts from Werewolf) it hinders a mage's abilities. This results in some interesting interactions between different supernatural creatures that would have otherwise not occurred. When a mage causes paradox they pull too much energy down through their connection to the Spirit Wilds and, unable to control it, create a pathway through which entities from the Beyond can enter the Fallen World in the form of Manifestations. <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5521956164630306341&pli=1#ref1" title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text.">↩</a></sup><br />
<br />
<sup id="fn2">2. We're testing a new set of sanity rules based on the Unknown Armies madness system where a character can receive a failed rank, a hardened rank in one of four different types of stress (Violence, Unnatural, Self, or Wisdom), or just a temporary aspect, like Jess did. Depending on how it goes in game I may put up the basics as a blog post later.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5521956164630306341#ref2" title="Jump back to footnote 2 in the text.">↩</a></sup>
<br />
<br />Eldaeroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12703184260563933018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521956164630306341.post-67800558328069205952014-02-09T05:32:00.000-08:002014-05-06T03:59:29.807-07:00Mage: Episode 2 (Part 2)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Today the mages encountered their first glimpse of vampires and their first foray into the Supernatural politics in Sydney. Read on to see how it went!<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h2>
Episode 2: Along Came A Spider (Part 2)</h2>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Noticia Text';"><b>Game Session 5</b></span><br />
The session opened with <b>Oghma</b>, <b>Tanuwa</b>, <b>Jess</b>, <b>Malphas </b>and <b>Shiryo </b>sitting at one of the tables in the Liberty discussing the events of the <a href="http://peterjgates.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/mage-session-4.html">previous night</a>. Jess had confirmed that the man smelling of vinegar did not work at the zoo but, with little more than that to go on there, the group opted to look into finding Sally, the girl that had seemingly died and then woke up again in the morgue before walking off and stealing a car. With a little help from Sally’s friends, Jess acquired images of her from her Facebook page along with a phone number, suggesting they could look for her by asking around. Oghma said that would be, mathematically speaking, a waste of time due to the sheer size of Sydney and the fact that they had little idea where to start looking in the first place. Jess also mentioned that she had spoken to her father, Detective Wolf, regarding the woman's disappearance but he was unable to help at the time, given that Sally had not been 'missing' any longer than a few hours.<br />
<br />
Then, when Malphas brought up the idea of not even worrying about the whole undead (i.e. Sally) being controlled by spiders, Oghma said the very concept of that the woman was controlled by spiders absurd; it was far more likely that she was simply bitten by one and placed in a near death state that the hospital couldn't detect her as being alive. That, and he couldn't find anything about magical spiders in his grandfather’s library.<br />
<br />
The discussion then shifted to the fact that the group still had very little idea as to why they could what they do, and just what their limitations were. Oghma had his theories, but there was very little hard evidence to back it up besides some old notes of his grandfather’s.<br />
<br />
Moving the discussion back to the matter at hand, and seeing that no one else had offered any better options, Jess called through to Sally’s phone, but only managed to get her voicemail. A moment later screaming erupted from outside, spurring the group into action as to what was happening. Bursting out onto the street they saw a man viciously biting into a helpless woman’s neck, gorging himself on her blood.<br />
<br />
The group moved to help the woman, Shiryo and Malphas driving back the man while Oghma bandaged the woman’s wound, Jess called 000, and Tanuwa used his magic to completely stop the bleeding. The man then tried to flee but was frozen in place by Malphas before Tanuwa tackled him and Oghma bound him using manacles created from some nearby steel.<br />
<br />
Using her Time magic Jess looked back at what drove the man into a such a frenzy. She witnessed Sally injecting the man with some liquid before he collapsed to the ground and Sally ran off. A few minutes later the man awoke, stumbled to his feet, and ran into the street in a frenzy, attacking the first person he saw.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, inside the Liberty, the mages had secured the man to one of the tables in the break room, entering via the back entrance to avoid any undue attention. Oghma, Tanuwa and Malphas briefly discussed what to do with him before Malphas used straw to very carefully lift the man's top lip to see if he had any fangs, but found nothing unusual. Although Oghma concluded that it was still potentially possible this man was a vampire, and the fangs receded when not in use.<br />
<br />
Malphas then woke the man and began his mental and verbal interrogation, and while the man’s mind was unlike a normal human’s, Malphas was able to navigate it well enough (Death 2). It took some digging, but he was able to find out the man went by the name Sil and seemed to be unaware of what he had done. When informed Sil panicked and said he had to leave, and quickly, at which point Malphas read his surface thoughts and found that Sil was terrified by the thought of being found by the ‘Sheriff’ and his ‘Hounds’.<br />
<br />
At that point two men and a woman walked into the bar and began speaking to the bartender, Dan, asking if they’d seen a man they were looking for. Jess, who was now at the bar having a drink with Shiryo while the others worked out back, asked who they were looking for, to which the woman showed her an image of Sil. When Jess confirmed that they knew where he was, the woman used a supernatural ability on her, manipulating her to believe it was okay to show them to where Sil was kept.<br />
<br />
When Shiryo realised what was happening he stepped in and the woman tried to influence him as well but failed. In response Shiryo tried attacking one of her bodyguards and only ended up being restrained by the other. Jess, who was still under the effects of the women's mental manipulations, continued to show the woman through to the back room. One of the Liberty’s bouncers came to see what was going on with Shiryo, to which the bodyguard responded everything was fine and let Shiryo go before walking back to the entrance.<br />
<br />
Back in the break room Sil suddenly freaked out and tried making a rush for the door, surprising the three mages in there with his strength as he pulled the table with him. Malphas quickly stepped in and once again prevented him from using any form of motor control, causing him to fall flat on his face just as Jess and the woman entered the room.<br />
<br />
The woman then attempted to influence the three mages in the room whilst asking them to release the man into their custody so that he could be punished in accordance with their own laws, succeeding momentarily with Malphas and Oghma, but Tanuwa’s will proved too strong and he immediately rebutted:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I don't know what is going on here, but we're tired of being jerked around. If you want us to respect your laws, you have to respect ours. And from now on, this club is safe haven. If it's worth pushing us, and seeing what we're capable of," pausing as he stared at her, "Go ahead."</blockquote>
<br />
Seemingly unwilling to try the young mage, the woman left with her bodyguards, only to be accosted by Malphas. After a brief mental battle between the two, with each of them trying to dominate the other, Malphas was finally able to momentarily make the woman blurt out why the man was being punished: ‘Sil has revealed himself in public and broke the Masquerade, and for that he must be punished in accordance to our Laws.’ After she realised what she had been forced to say she glared at Malphas and stormed out.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
------------------------------------</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
After the events that transpired earlier in the evening, <b>Tanuwa</b> was in the Liberty partaking in a few drinks from the bar while he considered what he had said and the ramifications, an older man with a thick beard and shoulder length white hair took a seat next to him.<br />
<br />
The strange old man discussed the 'complications' that the young mage had introduced when he essentially declared the Liberty, or Saoirse Rogha (‘Sirshe Roha’) as the old man called it, Neutral Grounds to the Kindred.<br />
<br />
Realising that there might be something else to the strange man, Tanuwa turned and, now giving the man his full attention, explained that it wasn't right that the Kindred could just enforce their laws unchecked. Whoever they were, someone had to stand up to them.<br />
<br />
Inviting Tanuwa to join him, the old man stepped behind the bar and revealed the entrance to a magically concealed room. Crafted from old stone and wood, it smelled heavily of wood smoke and fresh ale. Occupied tables were scattered randomly throughout the room, a number of men and women dressed in varying garbs from all over the world talking, drinking and eating before a large burning hearth with weapons and shields of various designs, strange banners, and hunting trophies adorned the walls. The space seemed almost too large to fit in the space between the bar and the back alley behind the alley, not to mention Tanuwa could not recall seeing a chimney outside.<br />
<br />
Feeling as if he had somehow stepped back into medieval times, the young mage stepped over the threshold into the room, sensing a strange change in the air that he couldn’t quite place as he did so.<br />
<br />
Taking Tanuwa to an unoccupied table near the hearth, the old man offered Tanuwa a seat before they started discussing the visions that Tanuwa had experienced - visions of people that he felt he should know, memories that were his, but weren't. The old man revealed that he had also sensed a shift in the balance of things, as if the true course of Fate had been pushed off balance, and that the visions that Tanuwa and his friends were experiencing could be fractured memories from a time that was, or should have been.<br />
<br />
Curious, Tanuwa asked who the old man was, and the old man simply replied that while he had had many names over the years, Tanuwa could call him Fjolnir the Wise, or Finn if that was easier.<br />
<br />
Turning the issue back to the matter at hand, Finn offered Tanuwa an arrangement: he would declare the Liberty as Neutral Grounds – a sanctuary for any and all that seek it – and in return Tanuwa would act on Finn’s behalf as his enforcer, pledging his services to Finn within the purview of protecting the Liberty against its enemies, for all that entails. Tanuwa agreed, accepting an iron medallion on well-worn but sturdy piece of string as his symbol of office. Inscribed on the medallion was a rune that would later be revealed as being derived from the symbol for Odin, All-Father of the Aesir.<br />
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Eldaeroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12703184260563933018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521956164630306341.post-73532075686555994112014-02-03T01:02:00.000-08:002014-02-23T01:53:25.116-08:00Lex Arcanum: Summary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
I've compiled the links to each of the posts for Lex Arcanum to allow easy access and referencing.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h3>
Lex Arcanum</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://peterjgates.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/lex-arcanum-part-1.html">Part 1: Skills</a></li>
<li><a href="http://peterjgates.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/lex-arcanum-part-2.html">Part 2: Spells and Arcana</a></li>
<li><a href="http://peterjgates.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/lex-arcanum-part-3.html">Part 3: Paradox</a></li>
<li><a href="http://peterjgates.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/lex-arcanum-part-4.html">Part 4: Character Creation</a></li>
<li><a href="http://peterjgates.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/lex-arcanum-part-5.html">Part 5: Extended Spellcasting</a></li>
<li><a href="http://peterjgates.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/lex-arcanum-part-6.html">Part 6: The Fallen World, Spirit wilds, and the Beyond</a></li>
</ul>
Eldaeroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12703184260563933018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521956164630306341.post-90689312298794216142014-02-03T01:00:00.000-08:002014-05-17T23:27:13.987-07:00Lex Arcanum: Part 5<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Today I put together some extended spellcasting (or ritual casting) rules for Lex Arcanum. These haven't been tested yet, so I'd love to hear people's experiences with them if they use them.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Lex Arcanum</span></h2>
<span style="color: #97918f; font-size: large;">A Fate Core Conversion for Mage: the Awakening</span>
<br />
<br />
<h2>
Extended Spellcasting</h2>
Legends and tales of yore abound with images of witches spending hours over boiling cauldrons, sorcerers incanting ancient names of power for days, or mystics meditating for weeks to achieve miraculous effects. Each of these willworkers performs an extended spellcasting, also called a ritual casting, allowing successes to be accumulated over a series of rolls.<br />
<br />
These rules will go through the step-by-step process of casting a ritual spell, and were developed from part Mage the Awakening, part Dresden Files Roleplaying Game.<br />
<br />
<h3>
1. Determine Complexity</h3>
The first step is preparing an extended spellcasting is determining the desired effect for the spell, and the Complexity required to achieve that effect (see factors, below). In general, Complexity can be determined by:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;">
Complexity = Potency + Target + Duration</blockquote>
<h4>
Potency</h4>
Potency represents how powerful a spell is, how much damage it could inflict, how hard it is to resist, and how hard it is to dispel or wear away with paradox. Each 1 point of potency adds +1 to the complexity of the spell.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Target</h4>
The target factor of the spell represents how many targets the spell has, and the area for each of those targets.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li style="list-style: none;"><b>Number of Targets: </b>The base number of targets is one. Doubling the number of targets increases the complexity by +1 for each doubling.</li>
<br />
<li style="list-style: none;"><b>Area:</b> The base area for a ritual spell is a 1 metre radius sphere or 5 cubic metres in volume, with each doubling of this radius or volume increasing the complexity by +1. If the mage has a rating in the spell’s primary Arcanum that is one point higher than normally required to cast the spell or possesses Space +2, he can increase the radius or defined volume by four times, rather than just doubling, per +1 complexity.</li>
<br />
<li style="list-style: none;"><b>Sympathetic Magic: </b>If the spell is being cast using sympathetic magic, sympathetic spell factors are also added to the total complexity, using the weakest connection from all the targets as the sympathetic connection for the spell.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<h4>
Duration</h4>
Duration determines how long the spell’s effects are maintained, and are dependent on if the spells is lasting (no defined duration, lasting as long as is nature. This includes things like healing or harmful blasts of energy) or prolonged (default duration being one scene or hour). Unlike in Mage the Awakening, Lex Arcanum does not make use of transitory spells in ritual casting.<br />
<br />
The default duration for a prolonged spell, such as one created with create an advantage that isn't considered lasting, is one scene or hour. The following table shows how increasing complexity changes this duration. If a mage has dots in the spell’s primary Arcanum that are one or more higher than normally required to cast the spell or possesses Time +2, he can increase the Duration by even more dramatic steps, shown in the brackets in the table below.<br />
<ul>
<li>Duration: 2 hours (24 hours), +1 Complexity</li>
<li>Duration: 12 hours (2 days), +2 Complexity</li>
<li>Duration: 24 hours (1 week), +3 Complexity</li>
<li>Duration: 2 days (1 month), +4 Complexity</li>
<li>Duration: 4* days (Indefinite), +5 Complexity</li>
</ul>
<br />
* Add +1 to the total Complexity per extra +2 days.<br />
<br />
<h3>
2. Undertake Preparations</h3>
If the complexity is less than or equal to your Lore, you have everything you need to cast the spell on hand and may proceed to casting the spell.<br />
<br />
However, if it is greater than your Lore, you undertake appropriate research, assemble the appropriate components, or assemble additional source of power and overcome the deficit (the difference between your Lore and the spell’s Complexity) before you can undertake the spell. This can be done in two ways:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li style="list-style: none;"><b>Research and Preparations:</b> Create an advantage, which you can then evoke for +2 towards the deficit. This represents work such as gathering ingredients, researching the spell, or preparing the ritual circle. Each of these preparations takes one hour.</li>
<br />
<li style="list-style: none;"><b>Sacrifices: </b>Inflict consequences on yourself or others, adding the value of the consequence towards the deficit (+2 mild, +4 major, +6 severe). Animal sacrifice is also an option, but only adds half the value that a human sacrifice would give (+1/+2/+3) for animal of about the size of a large dog or larger. Smaller animals simply have less consequence slots, dependent on their size.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<h3>
3. Casting the Ritual</h3>
Once the total Complexity is met, the mage may then cast the ritual. Unlike a normal spell, the mage must decide how much power he intends to channel into the ritual each time he rolls, and uses that as the passive opposition that he must overcome in order to add to the ritual.<br />
<br />
Once this is decided, he rolls the appropriate Arcana as an Overcome action, and if successful, adds the total value decided (not the total rolled) to the total Power gained for the ritual casting thus far. This process is repeated until the total Power gathered is equal to the complexity, at which point the spell has been successfully cast.<br />
<br />
The amount of time required for each roll depends on the mage's Gnosis:<br />
<ul>
<li>Gnosis 1 - 2: 3 hours </li>
<li>Gnosis 3 - 4: 1 hour </li>
<li>Gnosis 5 - 6: 30 minutes</li>
<li>Gnosis 7 - 8: 10 minutes</li>
<li>Gnosis 9 - 10: 1 minute</li>
</ul>
<br />
If a mage fails the ritual casting roll, he can still succeed, but with a cost, as described in Fate Core. This could be stress or consequences, or paradox consequences (see Paradox). Similarly, if the mage succeeds with style, he can create a Boost which he can use in his next ritual casting roll.Eldaeroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12703184260563933018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521956164630306341.post-82156204926072054362014-02-03T00:45:00.000-08:002014-02-03T22:00:43.617-08:00Lex Arcanum: Part 4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
The final instalment for my Lex Arcanum setting, in this post we discuss character creation and advancement.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Lex Arcanum</span></h2>
<span style="color: #97918f; font-size: large;">A Fate Core Conversion for Mage: the Awakening</span>
<br />
<br />
<h2>
Character Creation</h2>
<h3>
1. Name and Shadow Name </h3>
Decide on your character’s name and Shadow Name (false name used in supernatural society).<br />
<br />
<h3>
2. High Concept</h3>
Your High Concept (p.32 FC) is a phrase that sums up what your character is about— who he is and what he does. It’s an aspect, one of the first and most important ones for your character. This should include something that identifies him or her as a mage.<br />
<br />
<h3>
3. Trouble</h3>
In addition to a High Concept, every character has some sort of Trouble (p.34 FC) aspect that’s a part of his life and story. If your high concept is what or who your character is, your trouble is the answer to a simple question: what complicates your character’s existence?<br />
<br />
<h3>
4a. Other Aspects </h3>
After you have your high concept and trouble, add three more aspects (p.38 FC) that you feel describe your character. These can be worked out during creation, or they can be left until you have started playing. Each aspect you’re missing from these reduces your Refresh by 1, which is regained once you've added in the aspect.<br />
<br />
<h3>
4b. Background (Optional)</h3>
<h4>
Phase One: Your Adventure</h4>
The first phase is your character’s first true adventure—his first book, episode, case, movie, whatever—starring him.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Phase Two: Crossing Paths</h4>
In the next two phases, you'll tie the group together by having other characters contribute a minor, supporting role in your adventure, and vice versa.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Phase Three: Crossing Paths Again</h4>
Once everyone’s done with phase two, you’ll trade adventures with whatever method you chose before, so long as everyone has an adventure that isn’t theirs or the one they just contributed to.<br />
<br />
<h3>
5. Skills</h3>
One Great (+4) skill<br />
Two Good (+3) skills<br />
Three Fair (+2) skills<br />
Four Average (+1) skills<br />
<br />
<b>Skill List:</b><br />
Academics, Athletics, Burglary, Contacts, Crafts, Deceive, Drive, Empathy, Fight, Investigate, Lore*, Notice, Physique, Provoke, Rapport, Resources, Shoot, Stealth, Survival*, Will.<br />
<br />
<h3>
6. Gnosis and Arcana</h3>
Every mage has a Gnosis rating, and determines how high you can raise your Arcana ratings and how high your Paradox Rating is. This starts at 1 (and costs 1 Refresh), and may be increased on a 1 to 1 basis by reducing Refresh.<br />
<br />
In addition, each mage begins play with two Primary Arcana, which represent the Arcana that the mage is naturally gifted at, and one Inferior Arcana, which the mage finds the most difficult to understand and control. These will affect how high you can raise those Arcana based on your Gnosis rating.<br />
<br />
The available arcana are: Death, Fate, Forces, Life, Matter, Mind, Prime, Space, Spirit, and Time.<br />
<br />
Once the Ruling and Inferior Arcana have been chosen, the player then allocates six (6) points to put into any Arcana of their choosing, adding the Arcana to the existing skills columns of the character, and ensuring that for any one level of skills, the level below it has a number of skills equal to or more than it. For example, 3 Fair (+2) skills must be supported by at least 3 Average (+1) skills.<br />
<br />
Furthermore, the following rules apply when choosing to spend Arcana ratings:<br />
<br />
<b>Ruling Arcana - </b>May be up to one level higher than your arcana cap<br />
<b>Inferior Arcanum - </b>May be at most one level lower than your arcana cap<br />
<br />
<h4>
Arcana and Skill Caps</h4>
Gnosis also determines a mage's maximum arcana and skill cap, as follows:<br />
<ul>
<li>Gnosis 1: +1 Arcana, +4 Skill</li>
<li>Gnosis 2: +2 Arcana, +4 Skill</li>
<li>Gnosis 3: +3 Arcana, +4 Skill</li>
<li>Gnosis 4: +4 Arcana, +5 Skill</li>
<li>Gnosis 5: +5 Arcana, +5 Skill</li>
<li>Gnosis 6: +6 Arcana, +6 Skill</li>
<li>Gnosis 7: +7 Arcana, +7 Skill</li>
<li>Gnosis 8: +8 Arcana, +8 Skill</li>
<li>Gnosis 9: +9 Arcana, +9 Skill</li>
<li>Gnosis 10: +10 Arcana, +10 Skill</li>
</ul>
<br />
<h3>
7. Stunts and Refresh</h3>
Pick or invent three or more stunts (p 87, or p 53 for filling them in during play). Determine how much Refresh you start play with (6 – Number of Stunts - Gnosis).<br />
<br />
<h4>
<b>Rotes:</b> </h4>
Rotes are a form of stunt that apply to Arcana rolls, and are created much the same way as normal stunts. For example: Alter Form (Rote) - You get a +2 bonus to Life Arcana when using it to Create an Advantage involving the alteration of your own form.<br />
<br />
<h3>
8. Stress Tracks</h3>
Stress = 2 + ½ Skill<br />
Physique → Physical Stress<br />
Will → Mental Stress<br />
<br />
Mana Stress → 2 x Gnosis <br />
<br />
<h2>
Sample Character</h2>
<div>
Here is a sample character made with the rules above and given a slight advancement to showcase how that works. You can find other examples under my actual play reports.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Matthew “Cursor” Gu</h3>
<b>Refresh</b>: 2 (Base 3 + 1 Advancement - 2 Gnosis)<br />
<b>Gnosis</b>: 2<br />
<br />
<b>High Concept</b>: Awakened Police Detective<br />
<b>Trouble</b>: Hiding From His Shameful Past<br />
<b>Aspect</b>: Scarred by Alcohol Abuse<br />
<b>Aspect</b>: Love is Above All<br />
<b>Aspect</b>: Spirit Vanquisher<br />
<br />
<b>Ruling Arcana:</b> Prime, Space<br />
<b>Inferior Arcana: </b>Forces<br />
<br />
<b>Skills (6 + 1 Arcana + 20 + 3 Skills):</b><br />
+4:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Shoot, Athletics<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
+3:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Prime</span></b>, Notice, Physique<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
+2:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Space</span></b>, Will, Rapport, Stealth<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
+1:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">Death</span>, <span style="color: #0b5394;">Spirit</span>, Provoke, Drive, Investigate<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<br />
<b>Stress Tracks:</b><br />
Physical 4<br />
Mental 4<br />
Mana 4<br />
<br />
<b>Stunts:</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>Hide and Seek Expert</b>: +2 to Investigation when using the Overcome action in searching for stuff stashed away by people.</li>
<li><b>Imbue (Rote)</b>: +2 to Prime when using Create an Advantage to imbue magical energy into objects.</li>
<li><b>Hard to Shake</b>: +2 to Drive whenever you’re pursuing another vehicle in a chase scene.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Advancements</b>: +4 Skills/Arcana; +1 Refresh<br />
<br />
<br />Eldaeroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12703184260563933018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521956164630306341.post-66887968747402349652014-02-03T00:30:00.001-08:002014-02-03T16:40:02.346-08:00Lex Arcanum: Part 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
The third instalment for Lex Arcanum, and arguably the most amusing for any storyteller, Paradox.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Lex Arcanum</span></h2>
<span style="color: #97918f; font-size: large;">A Fate Core Conversion for Mage: the Awakening</span>
<br />
<br />
These rules were developed as an amalgam of several other rule sets for Mage I discovered via Google+ (including the Mana Stress and Paradox rules created by <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/102874503764972429803" target="_blank">+Paul Vencill</a>), which I unfortunately did not note down at the time and have since forgotten. I apologise to the original developers of those rules, but at the same time thank them for spurring me on to develop these rules. If someone knows who developed the precursor to these rules, please let me know so I can give the appropriate credits.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Paradox</h2>
<h3>
Paradox Rating</h3>
Paradox is represented by a character with the following attributes:<br />
<br />
<b>Aspects</b>: Always Watching, Fueled and Shaped by Mortal Belief<br />
<b>Skills</b>: Paradox (Level Based on Spell Cast, and the Paradox Taint in the area)<br />
<br />
The Paradox rating for a given casting is determined by the base paradox level, modified by the Gnosis Rating of the mage casting the spell (+½ Gnosis, rounded up), and any Paradox Taint from previous castings in the scene.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: center;">
Paradox Rating = Base Rating +½ Gnosis +Paradox Taint</div>
</blockquote>
<h4>
Base Rating (Environmental Rating)</h4>
Use the following table to determine the Base Paradox Rating for a given scene. This rating is a measure of how ‘fixed’ a local reality or consensus is to the mundane world view, thus making changes to reality more dangerous and difficult to control.<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Great (+4): </b>Highly ordered, banal locations such as high tech facilities and military installations</li>
<li><b>Good (+3): </b>High density urban areas, tourist locations, etc</li>
<li><b>Fair (+2): </b>Medium density urban areas, outskirts of main city (but not the suburbs), etc</li>
<li><b>Average (+1): </b>Suburbs and towns, urban fringes, urban alleyways and parks</li>
<li><b>Mediocre (+0): </b>Small towns and villages, zoos, suburban alleyways and parks</li>
<li><b>Poor (-1): </b>Farmland, rural areas, highways, rest areas, areas of high transience</li>
<li><b>Terrible (-2): </b>Wilderness and similar, ley line nexuses, etc.</li>
<li><b>No Roll: </b>A Demesne created with a mage’s soul stone</li>
</ul>
<br />
<h4>
Paradox Taint</h4>
The Paradox taint of an area comes from the ‘static’ generated by previous Vulgar spellcasting attempts in the area, which over a short period of time make paradox more and more likely.<br />
<br />
When a spell is cast, determine if it is Covert, Improbable, or Vulgar (without and with witnesses). The Paradox Taint of a scene increases by +0, +0/1, +1 and +½ Highest Arcana dot used, respectively.<br />
<br />
<h3>
The Paradox ‘Skill’</h3>
The Paradox skill may be used to Overcome, Create Advantages, Attack, or Defend, much like a normal skill. The Create an Advantage and Attack actions are used in direct response to a Vulgar casting, while the Overcome and Defend actions are used to wear away existing spells, and to prevent the casting of others, respectively.<br />
<br />
<b>Overcome:</b> The weight of Fallen World will eventually bring down any Vulgar spell which tries to remain. The GM can use the Overcome action to try and weaken or destroy vulgar Aspects that last more than a few Exchanges. Gnosis does not get added to the Paradox rating for this effect.<br />
<br />
<b>Create an Advantage:</b> The Fallen World does not always respond with direct punishment for the mage or mages who are the cause of the insult to it. On some occasions, Vulgar magic has side effects or ripples in reality which can cause complications to future spellcasting or make the eventual backlash that much more severe. In game terms, these ripples are represented by Situational Aspects levied on the scene or spellcaster. They may defend with Physique or Will, as appropriate to the Aspect that is being applied.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Attack: </b>The Fallen World Attacks a mage using Firmament to punish them for using Vulgar magic. This is the most common action taken in response to a Vulgar casting. The attack roll is Defended by the mage’s Physique or Will. Shifts of Stress can be soaked by the Physical or Mental stress tracks or taken as Normal Consequences or Paradox Consequences (see below).<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Defend: </b>The Consensus can only Defend against spells using the With Witnesses stunt (See below). Gnosis does not get added to the Paradox rating for this effect.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Stunts</h4>
<div>
The Paradox 'character' always has access to these stunts.</div>
<ul>
<li><b>Disbelief:</b> When there are Mortals present and in view of the Vulgar spell, the Fallen World can use its Paradox rating as Active Resistance against the spell’s effect. If the spell Fails, the Fallen World applies the Shifts to the caster as Stress. </li>
<li><b>Sleeper Witnesses:</b> When a mortal witnesses a mage casting a vulgar spell, the Fallen World gets +2 to its Paradox Rating to Attack or Create an Advantage against that mage in response to that spell.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<h3>
Paradox Consequences</h3>
Anytime you cast a Vulgar spell, you risk causing a paradox. If you do, you take a paradox backlash, damaging your physical or mental stress track. This damage may be reduced through either normal consequences or paradox consequences (see below).<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Havok (-2):</b> After your spell’s initial and intended effect, it goes out of control and begins to run amok. Taking a Havok reduces the damage of a paradox backlash by 2.</li>
<li><b>Bedlam (-2): </b>After your spell goes off, the abyss enters your mind driving you insane. You receive a temporary aspect to represent this insanity, its length based on the power of the spell cast. Taking a Bedlam reduces the damage of a paradox backlash by 2.</li>
<li><b>Anomaly (-4):</b> After your spell goes off, reality begins to breakdown in the entire scene. The actual effects of this are often related to the supernal realm of your path. Taking an Anomaly reduces the damage of a paradox backlash by 4.</li>
<li><b>Branding (-4):</b> After your spell goes off, your soul and body is branded and / or warped by the abyss. You receive a temporary aspect to represent this, its length based on the power of the spell cast. Even after the effects have faded, a mark will still remain on your pattern for those that can see it. Taking a branding reduces the damage of a paradox backlash by 4.</li>
<li><b>Manifestation (-6): </b>After your spell goes off, an abyssal entity is drawn into the material world. Taking a manifestation reduces the damage of a paradox backlash by 6.</li>
</ul>
Eldaeroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12703184260563933018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521956164630306341.post-53537034328618662092014-02-03T00:15:00.000-08:002014-02-03T19:35:08.105-08:00Lex Arcanum: Part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Here is the second part of the rules for Lex Arcanum, Spells and Arcana.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Lex Arcanum</span></h2>
<span style="color: #97918f; font-size: large;">A Fate Core Conversion for Mage: the Awakening</span>
<br />
<br />
<b>Foreword:</b> These rules were developed as an amalgam of several other rule sets for Mage I discovered via Google+ (including the Mana Stress and Paradox rules created by <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/102874503764972429803" target="_blank">+Paul Vencill</a>), which I unfortunately did not note down at the time and have since forgotten. I apologise to the original developers of those rules, but at the same time thank them for spurring me on to develop these rules. If someone knows who developed the precursor to these rules, please let me know so I can give the appropriate credits.<br />
<br />
<h2>
The Arcana and the Practices</h2>
Each arcanum has its own purview, which describes the types of things you can try to do with it. The level of the arcanum determines which practices are available to you. As you raise the arcanum, new practices allow you to create more blatant and world-changing effects. When casting spells, compare your arcanum’s purview with the practices available to determine what kinds of spells you can cast. You can find a summary of the purviews of each arcana, and the different practices available at each skill level, below. More in depth descriptions can be found on the <a href="http://whitewolf.wikia.com/wiki/Arcanum_(MTAw)">Mage the Awakening Wiki</a>.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Arcana Purviews</h3>
<ul>
<li><b>Death </b>- Darkness, decay, ectoplasm, enervation, ghosts, soul stealing</li>
<li><b>Fate </b>- Blessings, curses, destiny, fortune, oaths, probability</li>
<li><b>Forces </b>- Electricity, gravity, kinetic energy, light, physics, radiation, sound, weather</li>
<li><b>Life </b>- Disease, evolution, healing, metamorphosis, vigor</li>
<li><b>Matter </b>- Alchemy, elemental air, elemental earth, elemental water, shaping, transmutation</li>
<li><b>Mind </b>- Communication, hallucinations, mental projection, mind control, telepathy</li>
<li><b>Prime </b>- Hallows, illusions, magical imbuement, mana, resonance, tass</li>
<li><b>Space </b>- Conjuration, scrying, sympathy, teleportation, wards</li>
<li><b>Spirit </b>- Exorcism, the shadow realm, soul retrieval, spirits, the gauntlet</li>
<li><b>Time </b>- Divination, prophecy, temporal acceleration / deceleration</li>
</ul>
<br />
<h3>
Arcana Practices</h3>
<b>Initiate (+1)</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>Knowing </b>- Gain mystical knowledge about and understanding of phenomena.</li>
<li><b>Compelling </b>- Elementary manipulation of phenomena, enough to activate them and/or impart directions.</li>
<li><b>Unveiling </b>- Gain sensory perception of phenomena.</li>
</ul>
<b>Apprentice (+2)</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>Ruling </b>- Exert elementary control over phenomena.</li>
<li><b>Veiling </b>- Conceal, camouflage, or hide phenomena from scrutiny.</li>
<li><b>Shielding </b>- Protect a target.</li>
</ul>
<b>Disciple (+3)</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>Weaving</b> - Alter the capabilities or functions of phenomena.</li>
<li><b>Fraying </b>- Injure a target.</li>
<li><b>Perfecting </b>- Fortify, bolster, or improve phenomena.</li>
</ul>
<b>Adept (+4)</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>Patterning </b>- Transform phenomena into related phenomena or shapes, or replace their capabilities or functions with different ones.</li>
<li><b>Unraveling </b>- Injure a target, degrade its capabilities, or negatively transform it.</li>
</ul>
<b>Master (+5)</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>Making </b>- Create phenomena from nothing.</li>
<li><b>Unmaking </b>- Destroy or mutilate a target.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<h2>
Casting Spells (aka. Using Arcana as Skills)</h2>
Casting spells works very similarly to using normal skills. When casting a spell, it will fall into one of FATE’s four action types: Overcome, Create an Advantage, Attack, and Defend. Unlike normal skills, however, spells can be used in situations that are impossible. Also unlike normal skills, spells can attract unwanted attention from the abyss. <br />
<br />
<b>Overcome</b>: Using a spell to overcome works like normal skills do, except the ways you can overcome obstacles with magic are often unlikely or otherwise impossible.<br />
<br />
<b>Create an Advantage</b>: Using a spell to create an advantage works similar to using a normal skill to create an advantage. If the defense is active, the victim must use a believeable skill (for the given spell and situation) to defend. If for any reason the spell will last longer than a single scene, no free invocations are awarded.<br />
<br />
<b>Attack</b>: Many actions in mage will be resolved through the Overcome action. However, when the chips are down and your adversaries are dangerous, spells will begin to be resolved as attacks. This is at storyteller discretion, but the general idea is that unmaking a room of sleepers might be an overcome action, while unmaking a mage is much more difficult, and will be resolved as a series of attacks.<br />
<br />
Mechanically, using a spell to attack works just like using a skill to attack. Depending on the spell, however, the victim will need to come up with a descriptively valid way to defend with a given skill. Dodging a lightning bolt with athletics makes enough sense, however using athletics to defend against direct pattern fraying might be tricky. Attacks need not seem like direct attacks in the conventional sense to be used as attacks. A Life mage may describe their character hulk out before using Life to attack. However, enhancing another character’s physical form would be considered creating an advantage.<br />
<br />
<b>Defend</b>: Using a spell to defend works just like using a skill to defend. The effect must be within the arcanum’s purview and appropriate to defend the attack. Using Prime to defend against bullets, for example, might be tricky.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Note for Mage the Awakening veterans: In this game, armor buffs would be handled as creating an advantage, which then give you justification for using your Aracana Rating for the defense roll. Counterspelling works in a similar way, using the appropriate arcana (or simply Prime) to make an active defense against a Vulgar spell, or any spell if you have a way to see the spell being cast (e.g. Mage sight).</blockquote>
<br />
<h3>
Maintaining Spells</h3>
A Mage can maintain a number of spells at once time equal to his Gnosis + 3. Furthermore, he may only have a number of spells on himself equal to his Physique rating before his pattern becomes saturated. After this point, he receives a -1 penalty per addition spell on all spellcasting rolls.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Spell Potency</h3>
<div>
The potency of a spell (in particular spell aspects created with create an advantage) determines how strong it is, how difficult it is to resist, and how quickly paradox is able to wear away at it or dispel with magic. The potency of a spell aspect is determined as the total difference between the casting roll and any passive or active opposition that takes place. The potency of a spell aspect should be noted down with the aspect for easy reference.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
For example, if a mage cast a Fate spell that hexed with bad luck, rolling a total of +6, and the target rolled +3 for his roll to oppose the effect, the total spell potency would be +3 (6 - 3). This means that if someone then wanted to dispel this spell using their own magic, they'd have to overcome a passive opposition of +3 to do so.<br />
<br />
Spell potency can also be used to determine <i>how effective</i> a spell is. For instance, if a mage used Matter magic to seal a door shut to its frame, the spell potency can be used as the passive opposition for anyone trying to force the door down.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Sensory or Sympathetic Magic</h3>
The reach of a mage’s powers is limited to the extent of his awareness. Of course, with magic, a mage’s awareness can extend very far indeed.<br />
<br />
Spells have two basic ranges: sensory and sympathetic. Sensory spells are within range of the mage’s mundane senses (particularly sight, hearing or touch). Sympathetic spells use the Space Arcanum to extend the mage’s reach virtually anywhere, provided the mage has a strong enough connection to the spell’s target.<br />
<br />
To cast a sympathetic spell, the mage must have at least 2 dots in Space and a Mana point must be spent. The stronger the connection between the mage and the target, the easier it is to include the target in the spell’s Imago. If the mage knows little or nothing about the target, it is hard to perceive it in his mind’s eye, making it difficult to build a sympathetic connection. This difficulty is represented with bonuses to the passive opposition for the spell or active opposition of the target, as shown below.<br />
<br />
<b>Sympathetic Connection Between Caster and Target</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>Sensory (+0):</b> You can see, hear or otherwise sense your target directly. This is the default factor, a sensory spell.</li>
<li><b>Intimate (+1):</b> You have a piece of the target’s physical substance, such as hair, nail clippings or blood from a creature, a leaf or flower from a plant, or a sliver of material from an object. Or you know the target very well, such as a longtime friend or close family member, a beloved pet or a prized possession.</li>
<li><b>Known (+2): </b>You know the target, which might be a friend, co-worker or personal possession. You have a photo or other accurate representation of the target, or you can see the target on live video or hear the target over live audio.</li>
<li><b>Acquainted (+3): </b>You’re acquainted with the target. It might be a casual acquaintance, a co-worker you hardly know, or an item you held or used once.</li>
<li><b>Encountered (+4):</b> You have encountered the target briefly, such as a person you passed on the street or an item you touched once.</li>
<li><b>Described (+5):</b> You have never encountered the target, but can describe it. You might know a person’s name or physical description, or what an object or place looks like.</li>
<li><b>Unknown (--):</b> If you know nothing about the target, you cannot cast a sympathetic spell on it. Knowing that there is a rival mage in town is not enough to affect the mysterious figure from afar. You must at least know his name, description or location.</li>
</ul>
<b>Note</b>: If the caster does not know the real name of a target, the difficulty of achieving a sympathetic connection is increased by two degrees on the chart. So, for example, an Intimate connection would become an Acquainted connection.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Mana Stress</h2>
All mages have a mystical energy called mana that they use to power their spells. This is represented by a separate Mana Stress track that is equal to 2 x Gnosis, but unlike a normal stress track, each box is only worth 1 stress. For Gnosis 6 or higher mages are granted additional consequences, with +1 Mild Consequence at 6 and 7, +1 Moderate Consequence at 8 and 9, and +1 Severe Consequence at 10. These may be used to absorb Paradox Stress, or converted to mana as discussed below (‘Scouring their Pattern’).<br />
<br />
Mana can be used in the following ways:<br />
<ul>
<li>To soak Stress from Paradox Damage</li>
<li>Can be burned instead of Fate points when spellcasting to Invoke the Mage’s High Concept or to Invoke aspects created by spells</li>
<li>It can also be used to power particularly powerful spell effects (as per some spells in Mage)</li>
</ul>
A mage may spend an amount of Mana up to ½ Gnosis each exchange.<br />
<br />
A mage may recover spent Mana in a number of ways. The first is to harvest it from Hollows - magical sites that produce mana. Secondly, a mage my ‘Scourer their Pattern’ by taking Consequences that recover a number of mana equal to their value (ie. a minor consequence would grant +2 mana stress). Consequences suffered by Scouring the Pattern are Impervious to Magic Healing in addition to whatever aspect represents the Consequence’s effects. Eldaeroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12703184260563933018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521956164630306341.post-1980965711653931032014-02-03T00:00:00.000-08:002014-02-04T00:19:06.453-08:00Lex Arcanum: Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
I have had a few requests to present the rules I'm using to run my Fate-based Mage games, and so without further adieu, here are those rules, starting with the skills.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Lex Arcanum</span></h2>
<span style="color: #97918f; font-size: large;">A Fate Core Conversion for Mage: the Awakening</span>
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
Skills List</h2>
<div>
The following used in the Lex Arcanum setting (Note: * Donates new skills, which are outlined below).</div>
<br />
<ul>
<li>Academics (originally Lore)</li>
<li>Athletics</li>
<li>Burglary</li>
<li>Contacts</li>
<li>Crafts</li>
<li>Deceive</li>
<li>Drive</li>
<li>Empathy</li>
<li>Fight</li>
<li>Investigate</li>
<li>Lore*</li>
<li>Notice</li>
<li>Physique</li>
<li>Provoke</li>
<li>Rapport</li>
<li>Resources</li>
<li>Shoot</li>
<li>Stealth</li>
<li>Survival*</li>
<li>Will</li>
</ul>
<br />
<h2>
New Skill: Lore</h2>
Unlike Academics (which replaces Lore in the standard Fate Core skills list), which represents your knowledge and understanding of the mundane world, Lore represents your occult knowledge. Looking at the world at large, most people don’t have this skill or even know it exists. But for those who've studied the real teachings of the occult, Lore allows them to gain useful insight into the arcane elements of the mortal world.<br />
<br />
<b>Overcome: </b>You can use Lore to overcome any obstacle that requires applying your character’s occult knowledge to achieve a goal. For example, deciphering the ancient runes that are etched into the outside of a lock box, preventing access to the contents within. Lore can also be used to determine if you character might know the answer to a question about the occult, whether through having heard or read something on the subject.<br />
<br />
<b>Create an Advantage</b>: Like Investigate, Lore provides a lot of very flexible opportunities to create advantages, provided you can research the subject in question. For instance, you could use Lore to uncover a detail about the monster, such as it's weaknesses, or use your knowledge of occult rituals to etch a rune on the floor to enhance your magic. Both uses involve creating an advantage for yourself based on either occult knowledge you have learned, or have uncovered during the story.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Note for Mage the Awakening veterans: This use of Lore would also cover using High Speech when casting magic, essentially spending an exchange to speak the words (and create the aspect with free invokes) and then use those free invokes when casting the spell the next exchange.</blockquote>
<b>Attack</b>: Lore isn't used in conflicts.<br />
<br />
<b>Defend</b>: Lore isn't used to defend.<br />
<br />
<h2>
New Skill: Survival</h2>
<div>
<div>
Survival is the skill of outdoorsmen, covering hunting, trapping, tracking, fire building, and a lot of other wilderness skills. Characters with a high Survival skill are adept at riding horses, can survive nearly indefinitely by living off the land, and can track a man in the wilderness for days. They include hunters, scouts, and soldiers.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<b>Overcome: </b>Survival can be used to overcome any obstacle that may be presented as part of an outdoors related activity, such as finding enough food to survive, overcoming harsh weather conditions during travel, or discovering a hidden trail.<br />
<br />
<b>Create an Advantage</b>: Survival is reasonably versatile in it's uses in creating advantage. With enough time you could discover important aspects about the terrain or environment which, when used correctly, could be used to lay the perfect ambush or be used as an excellent place to camp. Survival can also be used to lay traps, covering one's own trail, and similar tasks.<br />
<br />
<b>Attack</b>: Survival isn't used in conflicts.<br />
<br />
<b>Defend</b>: Survival isn't used to defend.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Eldaeroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12703184260563933018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521956164630306341.post-45198299374649068082014-02-02T02:22:00.001-08:002014-05-06T03:59:34.539-07:00Mage: Episode 2 (Part 1)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Today’s session marked the start of another ‘episode’, if you will, of our ongoing mage campaign. A week after the events of the first episode, the mages have started to come to terms with their new abilities, and the world into which they have been abruptly thrown.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h2>
Episode 2: Along Came A Spider (Part 1)</h2>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Noticia Text';"><b>Game Session 4</b></span><br />
The session began will a short meeting at the Ashfield Estate as <b>Oghma </b>(William) introduced <b>Jessica </b>(Anita) to the group, and discussed the potentiality of forming a cabal. <b>Malphas </b>(Michael W), <b>Budai </b>(Joseph) and <b>Shiryo </b>(Michael H) agreed that such an arrangement would be useful to have, a response which Oghma took as a tentative yes. <b>Tanuwa </b>(Hawk) and <b>Taranis </b>(Aidan) were unable to make the meeting, and so Oghma made a mental note to speak to them later.<br />
<br />
After adjuring the meeting, Oghma took Shiryo aside and discussed with him the thought of hiring Shiryo as a bodyguard of sorts, but will a level of autonomy that would allow Shiryo to pursue his own goals at the same time. Shiryo agreed to the arrangement on a trial basis, and Oghma informed him he would start immediately – he was attending a charity function that evening at Taronga Zoo, and liked Shiryo to accompany him.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, the others had similar plans to be at the charity fundraiser, although for different reasons – Malphas had been invited by his colleague, Samuel Allan (from <a href="http://peterjgates.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/mage-session-1-part-1.html">Session 1</a>); Budai was meeting his black market contact, Mr Qin; and Jessica was going with her sister thanks to some free tickets she got from working at the zoo.<br />
<br />
Mingling with the crowd and enjoying the ample food and drink on hand, the awakened caught sight of each other on occasion but didn’t make contact until later in the evening when a sudden cry erupted from somewhere near the Reptiles and Spiders Exhibit, accompanied by the triggering of their unseen senses. Spurred into action, Oghma, Malphas, Budai and Jessica descended on the scene whilst Shiryo kept back and acted as a lookout.<br />
<br />
Once they pushed through the gathering crowd enough to see what was going on, they watched as a young man attempted to perform CPR on an unconscious woman, while another called an ambulance for assistance. Nearby four other young girls, most likely companions of the victim, watched on with shock at the unfolding scene. The EMTs attending the fundraiser were quickly on the scene and were able to take over from the young man performing CPR, restoring the woman’s heartbeat but leaving her in an unconscious state.<br />
<br />
The crowd slowly dispersed as the woman was carted away on a stretcher, leaving the mages to consider what had just unfolded. Using her Time magic, Jessica was able to see a vision of the events that transpired. She watched the victim sit down at a nearby fountain and, as the girl spoke to her friends, Jessica noticed a small, unusual spider crawl up to and bite the victim, causing her to scream and fall back into the fountain with shock. With what strength she had left she was able to stumble out from the fountain before collapsing on the hard concrete. The spider was nowhere to be seen.<br />
<br />
As she relied this information to the others, Oghma offered to go back to his grandfather’s archives to see if they held any information related to the spider Jess described, and suggested that someone speak with the victim’s friends, whilst the others see if they can speak to the victim at the hospital, or at least examine her unconscious form for any more clues. Jessica and Budai offered themselves for the first task, whilst Malphas, whose sister worked at the hospital in the emergency rooms as a doctor, went with Shiryo to the hospital.<br />
<br />
Speaking to the victim’s rather distraught (and drunk) friends Jessica and Budai, with a little help from Budai’s luck magic, were able to learn that, right before Sally (the victim) collapsed, a strange man smelling heavily of vinegar and wearing the Taronga Zoo staff uniform had rudely bumped into them and continued walking without a word of apology. They didn’t get a very good look at him, but described him as maybe six foot tall, medium build, and wearing heavy glasses that made seeing his eyes difficult. Leaving their investigations at that, Jessica and Budai contacted and informed Oghma of what they had discovered.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile at the hospital, Malphas and Shiryo spoke to Dr Williams, Malphas’ sister, and with some help from some Mind magic (rolling a 10 to influence her!) managed to get her to escort them down to the mortuary (after learning the victim had died on the trip over) and keep a lookout to make sure no one interrupted them. They found two bodies in body bags in the mortuary, and another empty bag off to one side, but no sign of the victim, to which Dr Williams angrily responded was the third body in the last fortnight to have gone missing under strange circumstances.<br />
<br />
As Malphas continued to look around the room he smelt a heavy odour of death, accompanied by a cold, heavy pressing sensation on his shoulders, as if someone was pushing down on him with heavy hands. Turning around to look behind him the sensation vanished, leaving the mage a little rattled.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile Shiryo used his Time magic to look back and see the victim brought in by the ambulance staff and prepared for autopsy by the coroner. The coroner then received a phone call which he walked outside to take, during which time the victim got up from the autopsy table and stumbled out awkwardly, all the while her eyes remained completely shut.<br />
<br />
After Shiryo informed Malphas of this development, Malphas sent his sister back to work as the pair followed the victim’s path, with Shiryo once again using his Time magic to witness the victim walking from the emergency rooms, into the parking lot and stealing a car, her eyes still remaining closed tight. Unsure how to proceed, Shiryo contacted Oghma and informed him of the developments.Eldaeroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12703184260563933018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521956164630306341.post-32101811931558182202014-01-25T23:39:00.002-08:002014-05-06T03:57:13.878-07:00Mage: Episode 1 (Part 4)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The third session of the campaign began the following day after the previous session, with things eventually coming to a head and the group learning just how effective their abilities could be, and how dangerous the world they had been thrown into could be.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h2>
Episode 1: Beginnings (Part 4)</h2>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Noticia Text';"><b>Game Session 3</b></span><br />
The session started as <b>Aidan Greyson</b> stepped out of his car and walked into Jack Wright’s martial arts Dojo in North Sydney as he was just setting up for the day. <b>Hawk Anderson</b>, who had planned to meet Jack as well, had been called into the office to cover a co-worker who hadn't shown up for work. Noticing Aidan’s entrance the older man finished off what he was doing and spoke to the young investigator, informing him that Anna, who he had intended to meet to discuss her <a href="http://peterjgates.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/mage-session-2.html">stalker issues</a> hadn't shown up this morning and he was concerned about her. It was unlike her to be late, let alone not tell anyone what was going on. Offering what little help he could in finding her, Jack provided Aidan with her mobile number and home address, hoping he would have better luck. With that Aidan set a course for Anna’s home address (compel <i>‘The Reluctant Hero’</i>).<br />
<br />
Elsewhere, <b>Michael Hendricks</b> received a call from Sam Weathers, a snitch and con artist he had connections with, who was calling in a favour that Michael had promised him should he even get into a bind. As the ex-soldier always kept his promises (compel <i>‘Always Keeps a Promise’</i>), he agreed to help Sam and asked what the problem was. Explaining that he couldn't talk about it over the phone, he insisted that Michael meet him at an abandoned apartment building in the western part of town.<br />
<br />
Arriving at the address Sam had given him, finding an old, dilapidated apartment building that looked about ready to fall down on itself. Moving inside he found Sam, who looked up startled before realising it was Michael and calming down. Michael demanded to know what was so bad that he had to meet Sam here. The young con artist went on to explain – in a rather round about manner – that he had been involved in several murders, not that he had killed the people per see… but instead he was being compelled to do so by this creature he had summoned from an old tome he had found. He had though it was just some stupid fake, because magic obviously wasn't real… well, that’s what he had thought anyway. He wasn't so sure anymore.<br />
<br />
The point was, he explained, was that he now had a girl locked in his RV in an abandoned construction yard in town. She was the fourth person he had been compelled to kidnap for this creature he’d in order for it to feed. If that wasn't bad enough, the intervals between feedings were getting shorter and shorter, and he didn't know what to do. That’s why he needed Michael’s help. Thoroughly annoyed with the level of stupidity Sam had shown, Michael none-the-less agreed to help him and told him to show him to his RV.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, <b>Michael Williams</b>, having slept the night over at Anna’s place on the couch after his run in with the golem creature the night before, awoke to find from Anna saying she had already left and that there was coffee in the mug should he want it. Helping himself to the coffee and a shower, Michael was surprised when his sister called asking him if he might know where Anna was – she wasn't picking up her mobile or home phone, and she hadn't been seen at work. Sarah insisted that Michael help her look for her friend rather than going to work (compel <i>‘Family Comes Before Business’</i>), starting with her house, which she was only a few minutes away from.<br />
<br />
Sarah was surprised when she found Michael standing outside his car waiting for her at Anna’s place, but didn’t press the issue further, just as<b> Joseph Tseng</b> pulled up outside. Joseph had been visiting a friend that had gotten his hands on a rare (and probably illegal) antique, which he was willing to offer to Joseph before putting it on the open market. Joseph jumped at the chance, and had been returning from meeting his friend when he had to pull over to read some urgent messages on his phone. By chance, the very place he pulled over was just outside Anna’s place, where Sarah and Michael were speaking.<br />
<br />
Joseph greeting the pair in his usual happy manner (compel <i>‘Can't Help But Get Involved’</i>), and Michael attempted to brush him off while he tried to get to the task at hand – finding Anna. The argument between brother and sister continued, with Joseph attempting to stay out of it without much luck, just as Aidan arrived.<br />
<br />
At that point Michael gave up and told the gathered group that they were welcome to continue talking, he on the other hand was going to do something and start looking for Anna.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Sarah continued to explain the situation to Aidan and Joseph, the latter of which pulled out his phone and searched the address of Anna’s workplace in the city, thinking that might help. Instead his phone crashed and restarted, rebooting to show a completely different address than he had intended. Showing the address to Aidan with a shrug, the pair thanked Sarah for her help and asked her to wait at Anna’s place just in case she showed, as Sarah had originally suggested.<br />
<br />
Cut to Michael Hendricks as he followed Sam Weathers into the abandoned construction yard where he had stashed his RV. The yard had fallen on hard times after the financial crisis, with no one bothering to pick up the pieces after the company went bankrupt – the perfect place to hide a kidnap victim. However, when Sam checked inside the RV he swore as he realised that the girl had escaped. Jumping to action Michael used his Time magic to see into the past and watched the young woman’s action as she untied herself and stumbled out of the RV, her ankle obviously hurting, towards the half-finished construction some twenty minutes before hand.<br />
<br />
Just then the ground started to rumble and Sam scrambled to cover as he freaked out, saying over and over that ‘It was coming.’ Prepared, Michael turned to see a nearby rusted old backhoe suddenly crumple into the dirt before coalescing into a twelve feet tall giant humanoid made of metal and dirt, one arm made from the hoe, the other a massive earthen fist.<br />
<br />
At that point Aidan, Joseph and Michael (after an unsuccessful attempt to find Anna using the local bus depot’s camera system) arrived at the construction yard. Michael Williams used his mind magic to hone in on the mental signature of Anna while the other two went to help Michael Hendricks against the creature.<br />
<br />
Through a short but intense fight involving a combination of fire, blade, and a little luck magic, the trio took down the golem with little more than a few light bruises.<br />
<br />
Sam, seeing that the coast was now clear, moved to congratulate the group on their victory, only to notice that they seemed more concerned in the girl than him, and deciding it might be a good idea to make himself scarce. Thanking Michael again, and telling him that all debts were paid, Sam quickly raced to his vehicle and drove off.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Michael Williams and Aidan tended to Anna, who had sprained her ankle, and offered to take her back to her place. She thanked Michael again, feeling bad that he had to save her again as he helped her back to his car. As they were leaving Aidan called through to Jack and let him know the situation, telling him that Jack should check in with her at her place later to make sure that she was OK, all things considered, to which Jack agreed.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Eldaeroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12703184260563933018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521956164630306341.post-29064841775120128462014-01-20T03:50:00.000-08:002014-02-02T06:10:17.644-08:00Mage: Characters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This post showcases the characters from my current Fate-based Mage the Awakening game.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h2>
Tanuwa - Hawk Anderson</h2>
<b>Refresh:</b> 2 (Base 4)<br />
<b>Gnosis:</b> 2<br />
<br />
<b>High Concept: </b>Idealistic Survivor<br />
<b>Trouble: </b>“I can’t just let them get away with this.”<br />
<b>Other Aspects:</b> Predatory Allure; Native American Heritage; The Reluctant Leader<br />
<br />
<b>Skills:</b><br />
+4:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Will<br />
+3:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i><b>Life</b></i>, Athletics, Survival<br />
+2:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i><b>Spirit</b></i>, Fight, Notice, Rapport<br />
+1:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Prime</i>, Investigate, Lore, Physique, Stealth<br />
<br />
<b>Stunts:</b>
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Alter Form (Rote): </b>You get a +2 bonus when using Life to Create an Advantage involving the alteration of your own form.</li>
<li><b>Stalwart Ally:</b> Hawk gains a +2 bonus to Defend with Will when resisting efforts to make him abandon or betray a close friend or ally.</li>
<li><b>Staff Fighting: </b>Hawk gains a +1 bonus to Attack and Defend actions with Fight when wielding a long quarterstaff or similar object.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h2>
Malphas - Michael Williams</h2>
<div>
<b>Refresh:</b> 2 (Base 4)</div>
<div>
<b>Gnosis:</b> 2</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>High Concept:</b> Success-driven Partner of a Legal Firm</div>
<div>
<b>Trouble:</b> Prone to Greed and Power</div>
<div>
Other Aspects: Wordsmith with a Silver Tongue; Family Comes Before Business; Contracts Define Allegiances</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Skills:</b></div>
<div>
+4:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Investigate</div>
<div>
+3:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b><i>Mind</i></b>, Provoke, Deceive<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div>
+2:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b><i>Death</i></b>, Will, Rapport, Academics</div>
<div>
+1:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Space</i>, Contacts, Resources, Physique, Empathy</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Stunts:</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><b>Master Provoker: </b>Michael gains +2 to Create Advantage rolls with Provoke when attempting to pull someone’s strings and get on their nerves. </li>
<li><b>Deal-breaker: </b>Once per session, Michael can re-roll a roll when trying to make a deal or contract.</li>
<li><b>Puppet Master: </b>Michael gains a +2 to Create Advantage rolls with Mind when attempting to control an individual against their will. </li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<h2>
Jessica - Anita Wolf</h2>
<div>
<b>Refresh</b>: 2 (Base 4)</div>
<div>
<b>Gnosis</b>: 2</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<b>High Concept: </b>Indie Vocal Performer</div>
<div>
<b>Trouble:</b> Spirited Workaholic</div>
<div>
Other Aspects: When in Doubt, Fake It; If You're Happy, I’m Happy; Music Is Part of My Life</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Skills</b>:</div>
<div>
+4:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Rapport</div>
<div>
+3:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b><i>Time</i></b>, Empathy, Notice<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div>
+2:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b><i>Space</i></b>, Fight, Contacts, Will</div>
<div>
+1:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Prime</i>, Physique, Lore, Resources, Academics</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Stunts:</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><b>Popular</b>: If she’s in an area where she’s popular and well-liked, Anita can use Rapport in place of Contacts. She may be able to establish her popularity by spending a Fate Point to declare a story detail, or because of prior justification.</li>
<li><b>Resilient Mind</b>: Anita gains +2 to Defend rolls with Will rolls when someone attempts to manipulate or persuade her beliefs or actions.</li>
<li><b>Flexible Self-Defense</b>: Anita gains +2 to Defend rolls with Fight rolls against Create Advantage rolls that attempt to get her into a disadvantaged situation.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<h2>
Taranis - Aidan Grayson</h2>
<div>
<b>Refresh</b>: 1 (Base 4)</div>
<div>
<b>Gnosis</b>: 3</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>High Concept:</b> Wandering Wealth Seeker</div>
<div>
<b>Trouble</b>: Bleeding Heart</div>
<div>
<b>Other Aspects</b>: The Reluctant Hero; Weakness For Women; Adrift</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Skills:</b></div>
<div>
+4:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b><i>Forces</i></b>, Will</div>
<div>
+3:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Physique, Fight<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div>
+2:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b><i>Fate</i></b>, Lore, Investigation, Athletics</div>
<div>
+1:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Guns, Survival, Academics, Rapport</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Stunts:</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><b>Elemental Specialist:</b> Aidan gets +1 when he uses Forces to Attack when making use of the elements of Air or Fire.</li>
<li><b>Charmer:</b> Aidan gets +2 to Rapport when Creating an Advantage using his charm and wit.</li>
<li><b>Attention to Detail:</b> Aidan can use Investigate instead of Empathy to Defend against Deceive attempts. What others discover through gut reactions and intuition, he learns through careful observation of microexpressions.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<h2>
Shiryo - Michael Hendricks</h2>
<div>
<b>Refresh</b>: 2 (Base 4)</div>
<div>
<b>Gnosis</b>: 2</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>High Concept:</b> Disciplined Samurai Soldier Turned Bodyguard</div>
<div>
<b>Trouble</b>: Never Back Down From a Challenge</div>
<div>
<b>Other Aspects: </b>Always Keeps A Promise; Savvy Investor; “I Always Expect the Worst in People”</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Skills:</b></div>
<div>
+4:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Fight</div>
<div>
+3:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b><i>Time</i></b>, Physique, Survival<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div>
+2:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b><i>Fate</i></b>, Athletics, Resources, Shoot</div>
<div>
+1:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Prime</i>, Empathy, Provoke, Notice, Will</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Stunts:</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><b>Killing Stroke. </b>Once per scene, when you force an opponent to take a consequence, you can spend a fate point to increase the consequence’s severity (so mild becomes moderate, moderate becomes severe). If your opponent was already going to take a severe consequence, he must either take a severe consequence and a second consequence or be taken out.</li>
<li><b>Sprinter. </b>You move two zones for free in a conflict without rolling, instead of one, provided there are no situation aspects restricting movement.</li>
<li><b>Quick Draw. </b>You can use Fight instead of Notice to determine turn order in any physical conflict where drawing your blade quickly would be useful.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<h2>
Budai - Joseph Tseng</h2>
<div>
<b>Refresh</b>: 2 (Base 4)</div>
<div>
<b>Gnosis</b>: 2</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>High Concept</b>: Mysterious Shopkeeper</div>
<div>
<b>Trouble</b>: Troubled Alcoholic</div>
<div>
<b>Other Aspects: </b>Can’t Help But Get Involved; XXX; XXX</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Skills:</b></div>
<div>
+4:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Fight</div>
<div>
+3:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b><i>Fate</i></b>, Rapport, Will</div>
<div>
+2:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b><i>Prime</i></b>, Athletics, Empathy, Lore</div>
<div>
+1:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Mind</i>, Contacts, Physique, Resources, Survival</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Stunts:</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><b>Aikido Master. </b>When Joseph succeeds with style on a Defend action against an opponent’s Fight roll, he is able to use their momentum against them and send them tumbling away. He gets to attach the Unbalanced situational aspect or similar to his opponent with a free invoke, instead of just a boost.</li>
<li><b>Best Foot Forward.</b> People just like you, especially when you’re deliberately trying to make a good first impression (page 138). Gain +2 to Rapport on your first roll when interacting with someone you’ve never met before.</li>
<li><b>Twist of Fate. </b>Joseph gains a +2 when using Create an Advantage with Fate to alter the luck of an individual.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<h2>
Oghma - William ‘Will’ Ashfield</h2>
<div>
<b>Refresh</b>: 1 (Base 4)</div>
<div>
<b>Gnosis</b>: 2</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>High Concept</b>: Wealthy Party Boy and Heir to the Ashfield Estate</div>
<div>
<b>Trouble</b>: Even I Don’t Know the Truth About the Ashfield Legacy</div>
<div>
<b>Other Aspects</b>: An Eye for Detail; Chivalry Isn’t Dead; Sometimes I Just Like to be Left Alone</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Skills:</b></div>
<div>
+4:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Resources</div>
<div>
+3:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b><i>Matter</i></b>, Investigate, Will<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div>
+2:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Mind</i>, Academics, Fight, Contacts </div>
<div>
+1:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i><b>Death</b></i>, Athletics, Empathy, Physique, Rapport</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Stunts:</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><b>Attention to Detail:</b> You can use Investigate instead of Empathy to Defend against Deceive attempts. What others discover through gut reactions and intuition, you learn through careful observation of microexpressions.</li>
<li><b>Equivalent Exchange (Magical Style): </b>When William uses Matter to transmute a material, he gets +2 to Defend against Paradox so long he follows the Law of Equivalent Exchange; ‘In order to obtain or create something, something of equal value must be lost or destroyed.’</li>
<li><b>Money Talks: </b>You can use Resources instead of Rapport in any situation where ostentatious displays of material wealth might aid your cause.</li>
<li><b>Strength From Determination: </b>Use Will instead of Physique on any Overcome rolls representing feats of strength.</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
Eldaeroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12703184260563933018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521956164630306341.post-64276626865473543072014-01-18T04:57:00.000-08:002014-05-06T03:57:08.646-07:00Mage: Episode 1 (Part 3)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span id="goog_1520933148"></span><span id="goog_1520933149"></span><br />
The second session of the campaign began immediately following the first, with each of the characters moving outside the Liberty nightclub and bar at the direction of the authorities.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h2>
Episode 1: Beginnings (Part 3)</h2>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Noticia Text';"><b>Game Session 2</b></span>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5521956164630306341" name="more"></a><br />
Shortly after moving around from the back alley where they exited the building, Aidan and William spotting Hawk, who had once assisted Aidan as a wilderness guide on one of Aidan’s jobs. The trio discussed what had happened and raised the question why they, of all people, were the only people to remember the events that had unfolded earlier than evening. Shortly thereafter they were approached by Michael H and Joseph, and finally Michael W, who had all overheard their discussion about the heist. At that point the group decided to meet at Ashfield Estate – William’s residence – to discuss the events in a more private environment. Unfortunately Joseph had to decline, insisting he had to return to check on his store and run inventory before the next day.<br />
<br />
Once the rest of the group arrived at Ashfield Estate William offered them a drink from his former grandfather’s rather extensive supply of alcohol before showing everyone the book that he had shown Aidan <a href="http://peterjgates.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/mage-session-1-part-2.html">earlier</a>.<br />
<br />
It seemed that the book explain, somewhat cryptically, the process of awakening as a mage’s soul transcends this reality and travelled to a place known as the Beyond, after which the mage could then draw upon the energies of the Beyond to manipulate the fabric of reality around him. It also mentioned the dangerous of pulling too much power or attempting anything too dramatic, which would cause a backlash and potentially draw the attention of entities from the Beyond.<br />
<br />
During the discussions as to what to do next Salem, William’s pet black cat, wandered into the room and sat on the nearby rug, watching the group. When Hawk and Michael glanced up at it their heads were suddenly wracked by incredibly painful headaches as visions, like a scratchy film, of the very same cat eating pizza and talking to them in a small apartment (these were in fact scenes from the original mage campaign) flooded their minds. This prompted strange looks of concern from the others, although the group decided it may have been an after effect of the earlier visions.<br />
<br />
Leaving the others to look over the book – at which point Michael W started taking pictures of the book’s pages – William lead Aidan down to the cellar to show him where he had found the book. Once down there, the pair sense a faint hum of energy in the air, getting stronger as they approached the wall in which the book was found, which William swore wasn't there when he first found it. Aidan suggested they get a hammer and crowbar to take the wall down, but William offered his own solution, using his magic to cause the wall to shift and fold as to allow passage to what lay beyond.<br />
<br />
What they found wasn't what they were expecting.<br />
<br />
A series of stairs lead down into a series of rooms, with filing cabinets and bookshelves lining the walls, stacked with an assortment of strange and unusual items. What was more trouble however was the pin board of images on the nearest wall, which had pictures of Aidan, William, each of the men upstairs, and the Asian man from before, plus others. Some were circled (all of the group’s photos), others crossed out, and some left unmarked. Alongside their names were strange phrases that meant little to either Aidan or William: “Are these the ones?” “Temporal Fractures” “The Gears” “Paradox?”<br />
<br />
Both agreeing the others had to see this William went upstairs and brought the others down.<br />
Once the others had had a chance to look at the photos there was a mix of concern and fascination as to how and why William’s grandfather was tracking them, and how had he worked out that they were connected somehow.<br />
<br />
Just then Aidan received a phone call from Jack Wright, his former martial arts teacher, who asked him with some help with the daughter of an old friend of his who was being stalked by someone. Aidan agreed to come down and see him in the morning, inviting Hawk along when Jack recognised his voice as another of his students.<br />
<br />
Shortly thereafter Michael W’s phone informed him that he was late for the dinner meeting he had planned with his sister, excusing himself as he started to leave. Before he left William, who had gone back to reading through the old book, read out a passage about the power of True Names, and the strong recommendation by the author to adopt Shadow Names in order to protect themselves from others who could use their True Name against them.<br />
<br />
With this in mind William showed everyone out, suggestion that they should meet up again the following evening to discuss what had happened further. In the meanwhile he would continue to read over the book and discover as much as he could about their new abilities and what it meant for them.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>------------------------------------</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<br />
Some thirty minutes later Michael Williams arrived at his sister’s residence, briefly posting one of the images he had taken of the book to his social networking sites (that totally won’t come back to haunt him…) to see if anyone knew what it was, before heading up and ringing the doorbell.<br />
<br />
Sarah answered, a little confused and asking her brother if he had gotten her message before sighing and just inviting him inside. Once inside she explained her friend Anna was being stalked by some guy, and that she was here for support. At that point Anna made an appearance and Michael experienced another painful flash, this time of Anna staring at him with a mix of disgust, anger and fear as she shouted, "Malphas? What the hell are you doing here? Get away from me!"<br />
<br />
Steadying himself as he recovered from the vision his sister, being the doctor in the family, asked him if he was OK, but Michael brushed her off, trying to keep a straight face and hide his worry as to what he had just seen.<br />
<br />
Michael then invited Anna to sit down and go over with him what had happened to see if he could help. Agreeing, she explained that she had seen this man following her the last two days when she went home from work, and she was concerned he was going to try something.<br />
<br />
Using his magic to calm her emotions and instil a sense of trust of him into her, Michael was able to influence her such that she asked him to drive her home after they had eaten. She also told Sarah that her brother was really nice and comforting, which Sarah raised an eyebrow at.<br />
<br />
After they had eaten Michael took Anna home and watched as she went inside, noticing a man matching Anna’s description watching her from nearby. Michael used his magic to probe his mind and picked up something about a ‘pound of flesh for the beast’ before he was spotted and the man summoned a golem-like creature formed of the earth to attack him, telling the golem that he could partake of Michael’s flesh instead.<br />
<br />
Realising that, while the golem had a mind of sorts, he couldn't understand it enough to affect it, he opted instead to influence the stalker into believing that Michael wasn't to be trifled with, and to do so would be a very bad idea. This thought stuck in the young man’s head, and he called back the golem and fled the scene.<br />
<br />
Shortly thereafter Anna came back out of the house and asked Michael what had happened, his only reply being that the stalker would no longer bother her again.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Eldaeroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12703184260563933018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521956164630306341.post-1260848811803141072014-01-18T02:39:00.000-08:002014-05-06T03:56:46.852-07:00Mage: Episode 1 (Part 2)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>
<br />
As a few of our players couldn't make it for the initial session, I had a catch up session with them during the week to put them on the same page with the main group. These are a little more detailed that the others as these were one-on-one sessions focused on that particular character.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h2>
Episode 1: Beginnings (Part 2)</h2>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Noticia Text';"><b>Game Session 1 (Continued)</b></span>
<br />
<h3>
Anita Wolf</h3>
After Spellfyre wrapped up their latest song of the evening down in the nightclub section of the Liberty, <b>Anita Wolfe</b> and the other members of her band, David and Phil, went out back to have a quick smoke break. While out there they were accosted by a pair of thugs, and things soon escalated when one grabbed Anita’s hair, and they both pulled guns. David, infuriated as to how the man was treating Anita, charged furiously at the armed gunman. Unfortunately this only lead to both Phil and David being shot and killed.<br />
<br />
Anita screamed, and a split second later found herself standing back on stage, David once again asking her if she would like to join them for a smoke break. She tried to convince the pair that there were armed thugs out back, but only managed to delay them while she asked security to check the alley for her.<br />
<br />
Heading up to the front entrance to the Liberty bar, Anita spoke to Jett who was working the door at the time. After a little persuading, she manage to get him to call for someone to check out the back, only to have two men cut through the line leading into the club and knock out Jett.<br />
<br />
Once again Anita found herself standing on stage, but this time things were off. The audience, along with the chairs and tables they sat at, idly drifted about the room, while David and Phil stood on the wall of the stage, looking down and across at Anita, asking her once again if she wanted to join them out back.<br />
<br />
At this point the young singer was too tired to care about what was happening, leaving the others to head out the back as she went to bar to get a drink. The bartender, Dan, offered her a drink from where he stood on the ceiling, reaching up and taking a bottle from the bottom shelf, placing a glass in front of Anita, and pouring up into the glass.<br />
<br />
Dan started to get rather cryptic at that point, not to mention that anything anyone said seemed to be completely out of order. Anita drank her drink as she saw images of each of the other awakening mages flicker through her mind as the <a href="http://peterjgates.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/mage-session-1.html">gunfight in the bar</a> played out in slow motion around her.<br />
<br />
Slowly the building around her crumbled away around her until she was sitting at bar in the depths of stars, with only a pen and bill holder in front of her as stars twinkled all around her. Inside the bill holder there was a note reading ‘Who Are You?’. She looked around, wondering what was going on, and saw something that looked like a watchtower far off in the distance. Unsure what to do next, Anita signed her name on the note.<br />
<br />
The next moment she found herself inside the bar, although this time it was sometime after the events of the hold up, with the police outside alongside fire and ambulance units. Anita found David and Phil, who were glad to see she was OK, only to find out that there had apparently been a gas leak. Some people had seen hallucinations, while others such as themselves had lost chunks of time.<br />
<br />
Anita was sceptical of the entire thing, as she knew what she had seen was real, not to mention the understanding of reality that now danced in the forefront of her mind – she had awakened.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Aidan Greyson and William Ashfield</h3>
<b>Aidan Greyson</b> arrived at the Liberty and was quickly escorted upstairs to the VIP nightclub section to meet with <b>William Ashfield</b>, and old friend of him that required some assistance looking into his family’s history. William informed Aidan that his curiosity into his eccentric grandfather’s affairs was prompted by the discovery of a strange occult tome that he had discovered whilst in the cellar of Ashfield Estate. After a little more discussion on the matter the pair suddenly heard gunshots ring out.<br />
<br />
Aidan, William, and his bodyguard moved to the back entrance of the VIP section, intending to sneak out the back and avoid the gunman entirely.However, as the pair stepped through the concealed door they both found themselves no longer in the nightclub.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“…Aidan found himself in a strange cavernous room full of gears crackling with electricity, filled with mirrors that seemed to contain different versions of himself looking out at him, judging his every movement. As he approached the centre of the room it shifted and changed, turning into a long corridor that lead to a pedestal of the purest gold, with four mighty statues of himself gazing at the simple, hand-shaped indentation. Aidan found his hand fits perfectly, although he did have time to consider this before his body was engulfed in crackling electricity, pulsing and burning through his body like liquid fire, his nerves screaming in agony as his mind was a washed with knowledge, knowledge of the Truth of the universe, beyond the Lie that makes up reality as he used to know it. He had awakened...”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“..William walked through a field of vast stone, scattered with the remains of ancient civilisations long since lost to time. Ephemeral shades flittered between the ruins, watching with cold, empty eyes as the Englishman walked down the cold, ruined cobblestone path. Eventually he found himself before a massive stone tower, crafted of many different styles and covered in ancient scripts. Within its hallowed halls he wrote his name in a vast book, its pages strangely blank, yearning to be filled...”</blockquote>
As the souls of Aidan and William returned, they found themselves stumbling out into the alley behind the nightclub, only to be accosted by a pair of men with firearms. Their minds charged with arcane knowledge, Aidan blasted the men with crackling electricity as William reshaped the concrete alleyway to burst out of the ground as a large shaft of stone and slam into them, taking them out.<br />
<br />
As the pair came to grasps with their new power a man with glowing white eyes and wearing a plain black suit stepped out from the back of the nightclub and looked around in an almost mechanical fashion before walking over to the unconscious forms of the two thugs. He pressed his hands onto both their chests, causing them to briefly flicker, like an old black and white film, and then suddenly vanish. He turned and looked at the pair of mages, tilting his head inquisitively and stared for a brief moment before turning and walking back inside.<br />
<br />
At that point Aidan and William noticed that the police had now arrived out the front and decided to head out the front and see if they could learn more of what had happened.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Eldaeroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12703184260563933018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521956164630306341.post-46942277816165557612014-01-04T20:40:00.000-08:002014-05-06T03:56:36.940-07:00Mage: Episode 1 (Part 1)<div class="MsoNormal">
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Today we rebooted our long running Mage the Awakening campaign that started some six years ago, this time using Fate Core as the base rule set. The players are using old characters from the previous campaign(s), the only difference being is that someone or something went back and altered events so that they never awakened, and for the past six years have been living normal mortal lives.<br />
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<h2>
Episode 1: Beginnings (Part 1)</h2>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Noticia Text';"><b>Game Session 1</b></span></div>
The evening at the Liberty bar and nightclub started reasonably quiet. <b>Michael Hendricks</b> and
<b>Joseph Tseng</b> sat at the bar, alone and oblivious of each other’s presence. <b>Michael
Williams</b> spoke to his colleague, Stephen Allen, about the day’s events, and
<b>Hawk Anderson</b> enjoyed the show on stage down in the nightclub part of the
establishment.<o:p></o:p>
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Things changed, however, when the doors to the Liberty burst
open and four armed men entered, brandishing their weapons and shouting at
everyone to get down on the ground. Tseng and Hendricks didn’t quite agree with
the men, and a fight soon broke out with shots fired.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The events that soon followed saw Hendricks, Tseng, Williams
and Anderson all awaken, quickly dispatching most of the remaining thugs. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“…Hendricks pushed through the thick hedge of thorns, eventually finding a watchtower of brambles, its silver thorns illuminated by the light of the shining ever-crescent moon…”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“…Williams fell through a sea of moaning, damned souls as they tore at his body, mind and soul, before finding himself before a tower of rusting iron, the faces of the damned moulded into its walls…”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“…Hawk walked up the worn stone staircase deep in the primeval forest, emerging onto a rocky outcropping on which stood a massive tower of black basalt, ringed with a dense covering of thorns…”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“…Joseph awoke to find himself in a maze of twisting strands of Fate, which he explored until he found himself standing at the heart of the realm, where a great watchtower of shimmering silver bathed in blue light was formed out of the joining of thousands of stands…”</blockquote>
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When it was almost all over, there was an audibly painful, sickening ripping
sound, like the world was being torn apart, accompanied by a sudden flash of
bright light. No one else however seemed to pay the event any attention.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Shortly thereafter, two men with glowing white eyes entered and moved towards the nearest robber and making him scream as he flickered briefly, like an old black and white film, and then suddenly vanished. They then moved about the building
methodically, slowly removing all traces of the armed assailants whilst
ignoring everyone else. Despite the obvious indicators, there seems to be something so unnatural about these men that caused the newly awakened mages to be repulsed by their very presence.</div>
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When they had finished the two men moved to the centre of the
bar area and communicated with each other without making a word
before, with another sickening rip, they vanish in a sudden flash of light, leaving Hendricks, Williams, Joseph and Hawk dazed. The other
patrons of the bar, seemingly oblivious of the men’s' disappearance,
immediately returned to what they were doing before the armed men ever burst into
the Liberty. Furthermore, when Hendricks looked at the IDs he had taken off two of the men he had searched earlier, he found them to now be
completely blank, erased as if the men never existed at all.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Soon afterwards the police arrived in response to several
calls of an armed robbery and shots fired. The patrons of the bar would later be told by
authorities that there was a brief gas leak that lead to some short term
blackouts and some hallucinations by many of the patrons, who couldn't recall
where a good ten minutes or so of time had gone.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Everyone, save those that had awakened, believed that this
was a perfectly reasonable explanation to the whole thing, with not one
question about what happened entering their minds. Fortunately, those that had witnessed the
truth did not find it difficult with their new abilities and general
observations to spot others like them amongst the crowd now gathered outside
the club by the authorities.<o:p></o:p></div>
Eldaeroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12703184260563933018noreply@blogger.com0