Professional Documents
Culture Documents
2
and leans on it, legs open, jeans hugging her thighs. She’s “Yeah. You could I guess, in the same way that I could
wearing black Converse, I notice, and her shoelaces have theoretically pick up a gun, toss these cards up in the air,
weird letters drawn on them. fire once and put a hole through the ace of spades.” Jerry
Wilke sets the jack of hearts on the table. “That’s you,” clears his throat and Wilke gives him a weird look. What
he says. He puts a card across it. It’s the two of diamonds. am I missing? “Okay, bad example. But you see my point.
“That’s what’s wrong with you. You’re trying to keep Only way you were winning tonight was by sheer chance,
balance here,” he nods to the toothpicks, “but you keep and sheer chance isn’t anything to gamble on.” He swigs
fucking it up.” his beer. “Moving on to the future.” He places a card on
“That’s not exactly hard to figure out,” I say. I’ve had the other side of mine. Seven of clubs. “You’ve got a fight
my cards read before. Swords kept coming up, I remember coming. Soon. Maybe tonight. And…” He puts down the
that much. queen of spades above my card. “You’d have help. Huh.”
“Right.” He pulls another card and places it in front of He glances at Tina, who shrugs.
me, underneath the “me” card. Eight of hearts. “You walked “Anyway, there’s that. That’s your past and immediate
away from a happy relationship. Probably a marriage, I’m future. We all know what’s happening here — you gambled
guessing, because you talk like a married man.” away something that’s very dear to you, tried to win it back
“Yeah, he does,” says Tina. I shoot her a look. How does here on bad advice, and wound up in over your head even
a married man talk, anyway? more. Let’s move on.”
Wilke puts another card — eight of spades — next to Jerry puts a hand on Wilke’s shoulder. “What are you
my card. “Someone snowed you good. Probably the silly doing this for, man? We can’t help him.”
asshole told you to come here. Let me guess — said you I think about running, but Tina’s eyes stop me. Some-
could make your debt go away if you came and played thing tells me she could outrun me, or that she wouldn’t
cards here?” have to.
“Yeah.” “I know,” Wilke’s saying, “but he
deserves to know a little.” He pulls
four cards and sets them on the
table in a column. Nine of spades,
ace of spades, seven of hearts, and
five of spades. Lots of spades.
“Lots of swords,” Wilke com-
ments, and I get what Jerry was
saying earlier. Spades are swords. I
still don’t know what he
meant by “big impor-
tant guys,” though.
“Okay, let’s see,”
Wilke contin-
ues. “You’ve
got the nine
of spades
showing
fear.” He
pauses.
“Weird.”
Contents 3
“What?” I know what I’m afraid of, but I don’t think “I know. I have to play the game fairly.” She narrows her
there’s a card for it. Turns out I’m wrong. eyes at Wilke. “That’s more than you did.”
“Well, the nine of spades — swords — is about the long “I didn’t cheat.”
dark night of the soul. It’s about what happens when you “You didn’t play fair, either. You played him. He deserves
lose something precious. I’d have thought the ten was more a fair shot. Something where he could win on more than
your thing. You know, being stabbed and left for dead. This sheer chance.” Tina sits across from me. “Deal the cards,
is more like you’re afraid of—“ Wilke. Jerry, you in?”
“Someone’s going to miss him,” says Tina. Jerry shakes his head, but he doesn’t take his eyes off Wilke.
“Yeah.” Wilke finishes the bottle and sets it on the floor. I get the feeling like something here is really off. Wilke deals
I’ve noticed he hates empties next to him. It’s actually one of five cards to me and five to Tina, but doesn’t deal himself in.
his tells — he finishes his beer quickly when he’s got a good Tina takes 10 toothpicks off the table, gives five to me, and
hand — but that didn’t do me much good. “Okay, ace of spades. puts five in front of her like they’re made of gold.
Bet that goes back to the queen. Someone’s going to help you “You know that this could end badly for you, right, Tina?”
fight, and it’s someone you don’t know well. But that—“ Wilke’s voice is low, almost a growl.
“Shut up,” says Jerry. They both look at Tina, and I feel, for “I know how it could end,” she says.
about the thousandth time tonight, that I’m dreaming. I look down at my hand. I’ve got the five, six, seven
“Right, whatever. Seven of cups.” and eight of spades…and the jack of hearts. Fuck. I’ve got
“Hearts.” almost no chance, but I have to try for it.
“Hush up. You want a choice. You don’t mind so much Tina doesn’t take any cards. I take one.
if you’re screwed, you’d just rather it’d be at your hand.” It’s a joker.
Wilke looks at me dead in the eye. “I respect that.” Now, I’ve got a decent poker face, but I’m sure Tina sees
“Thanks, but that’s not going to get my toothpicks what just happened. There’s no possible way I avoided a
back.” tell, there. But I’m shitting myself, over here — this is a
“S’pose not.” He shifts in his seat. “And then we’ve got straight flush, and I didn’t even know there was a joker
the five of swords.” in this deck.
“Spades.” I need 10 toothpicks to walk out of here clean. I need
“Goddamn it, Jerry.” He rolls his eyes. “It’s a card about three to break even. We open with one. I raise her, first two,
defeat and betrayal.” then two more. She stays in. We lay our cards down.
“I’m already both,” I mutter. “I… should maybe She’s got a pair of aces and a pair of threes. I win.
just…” She slides the toothpicks over to me. I pick them up
“There’s nothing for you to do,” says Jerry. “You gave and cradle them. I know that’s ludicrous — it’s what they
up what you gave up. I said before that you didn’t have represent that’s valuable — but I can’t help it.
to pay up now, but if you want to, you can.” He nods to Wilke glares at Tina. “Of course, you’re in the hole
the toothpicks. now.”
“What do I do?” “I know,” she mutters.
Wilke stands up. “Well, we’ll keep this as painless as I could walk out right now. But then…what was that card
possible. How about we get you a drink? Something a little I’m supposed to be hoping for? The seven of hearts — it’s
stronger? You have to be awake for this, but nothing says about choice? I reach for the other cards and shuffle. “You
you can’t be drunk. Tina? Do the honors?” in this hand, Wilke?”
“No,” says Tina. She’s still sitting. “You out of your goddamn mind, boy?” Jerry says. “Just
Wilke leans down to her. “Look, hon, I don’t think—“ get up, take what’s yours and—”
“Don’t call me that,” she says, never taking her eyes off “Yeah, I’m in,” says Wilke. “Deal.”
me. “I want to play him.” “You in, Jerry?”
Jerry mutters something and slaps a hand to his forehead. “Hell, no,” he says. He looks at the bar longingly, and
Wilke laughs nervously. “Uh, Tina, he hasn’t got anything then sits down and grips his soda glass fiercely. Tina doesn’t
left to play with. He lost everything in the other deal, and he say a word.
lost everything else to me. And I’m not spotting him.” I deal the cards, and slide five toothpicks over to Tina.
“I will,” says Tina. “I’ll spot him for what he walked in I’m now even. If I lose even one of these things, I’m back
here with. After that he’s on his own.” in the hole. Actually, I’m already in the hole, because I
Jerry, who’s been walking toward the bar mumbling, was when I walked in here. I glance at the clock. They’re
whips around. “Now, hold on. You can’t spot him and looking for me, I’m sure of it, and if I don’t find them and
then lose to him. You know that’s against the rules. You cover my debt, they’ll be looking for me even harder. They’ll
try that, and then—“ go to my ex-wife, my kid, my girlfriend, my mother… they
4
already said they weren’t picky about who paid the debt, as Jerry smirks. “Yes. Longest hour of your life. And then,
long as it was me paying somehow. just coldness. I’ve seen young guys like you, they—“
I look down at my cards. No problem with the tells this “Enough,” says Tina. “Jerry, give us a minute, alright?”
time. Two jacks, an ace and some low crap. Wilke’s got a “Yes’m.” He joins Wilke behind the “EMPLOYEES ONLY”
good poker face going, and I haven’t seen Tina play so I door, and I find myself looking down at her sneakers.
don’t know her tells yet. We all ante up, and Wilke takes “Did you… you know, with the joker?”
one card. Tina takes three. I take two. “No,” she says. “I told you, I can’t cheat. I spotted you
There’s the joker again…along with a jack. I’ve got four five so you could have a shot, and then I just played you
of a kind. fair. I admit I could have played more aggressively, but
We go around the table. I bet two, Wilke sees me and raises other than that—”
two. Tina throws in her four and calls. “Thanks,” I say. I feel like kissing her,
I call. No sense raising this beyond but judging from her expression, that
what Tina can see. Cards down, I would be the wrong choice.
win. I’m now at 13, enough to cover “Thank you,” she replies. “You could
my debt and then some. have cleaned me out, much as that
But what would I do with it, joker likes you.”
anyway? “But it’s just a card,” I say.
Tina deals. This time I have crap, Tina shakes her head. “Didn’t you
and there’s no sense staying in. But hear Wilke and Jerry? A deck of playing
I make the show of it. I ask for one cards is a deck of Tarot cards. A deck
card. And I get back the joker. of Tarot cards is a manual for a person’s
With the joker, I can make a pair life. A person’s life is the reflection of
of aces, and that’s about it. Wilke the soul. Symbolism isn’t a mask, it’s
opens, and bets one. Tina calls him. a layer of makeup. It’s lighting. It dis-
I see his one and raise him one. That guises the truth, but it doesn’t change
puts me at 10 even. it.” She takes my hand and leads me
I finger the joker. I don’t know if outside.
I’ve been doing that the last couple The night air is cool, and the weath-
of hands, but I want Wilke to know er’s clearing. It’s just mist, now, not
I have it. rain. It feels good on my face, and the
It works. Wilke folds. Tina sees pavement smells clean, fresh-washed.
me, and I fold. Tina wins. She’s at I think about the walk home and how
five, right back where she started. I’m at 10. I’m free. much to tell my girlfriend, and then I remember the last
I stand up. Both my knees crack, and Wilke winces. “I’d card in my reading.
like to cash in my toothpicks now, please.” “Did you betray them with what you did?”
Wilke smiles. “Guess you found your queen of swords.” “Huh?”
“Spades,” I mutter. “The last card was betrayal and defeat. Did you betray
“Don’t push your goddamn luck.” Wilke gets up and them?”
collects the toothpicks, and walks to the phone. He dials a Tina shakes her head. “No, Steve. That was your read-
number, and I hear the click when the other party answers. ing.”
The room gets 10 degrees colder, and my glasses fog up. “So I was defeated or betrayed? Or I will be?”
Wilke says something in that weird language that he and She looks behind her, checking for Wilke, and then
my creditors speak, and then hangs up. “You’re free and hands me something. “Wilke switched the cards on you,”
clear, Steve,” he says. “Unless you want another game.” she says. “This is the real one, the last card in your reading,
I laugh. “A good gambler knows when to walk away,” the one that ties it all together.”
I say. “I’m not a good gambler, but I’m not a total moron, I don’t have to look. The card likes me, after all. “So
either.” Wilke nods, and then walks to the back room. what’s that mean?”
“He’s got to go balance the books,” says Jerry. “He’s got Tina doesn’t answer. She kisses me on the cheek and
to make sure all the totals match. Bet it takes him all night, walks back into the bar.
but he’ll do it.”
I put the joker in my pocket, turn east, and start walking
I shuffle my feet a little. I want to talk to Tina alone, toward the rising sun.
but I don’t want to piss anybody off. “Hey, Jerry. Would
it have hurt?”
Contents 5
Credits Coming Next
for Mage: The Awakening
Written by: Matthew McFarland
Developer: Ethan Skemp
Creative Director: Richard Thomas
Production Manager: Matt Milberger
Editor: Scribendi.com
Book Design: Aileen E. Miles
Interior Art: Michael William Kaluta,
Justin Norman & Jami Waggoner
Cover Art: Michael William Kaluta
© 2008 CCP hf. All rights reserved. Reproduction without the written permission of the publisher is expressly forbid-
den, except for the purposes of reviews, and for blank character sheets, which may be reproduced for personal use only.
White Wolf, Mage and World of Darkness are registered trademarks of CCP hf. All rights reserved. Mage the Awakening,
Werewolf the Forsaken, and Keys to the Supernal Tarot are trademarks of CCP hf.
All rights reserved. All characters, names, places and text herein are copyrighted by CCP hf.
CCP North America Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of CCP hf.
This book uses the supernatural for settings, characters and themes. All mystical and supernatural elements are fiction
and intended for entertainment purposes only. Reader discretion is advised.
Check out White Wolf online at
http://www.white-wolf.com
PRINTED IN CHINA.
6
Keys To The
Supernal
Tarot
™
Table of Contents
Prologue 2 Justice 83
Introduction 8 The Hanged Man 87
The Fool 15 Death 94
The Magician 19 The Devil 101
The High Priestess 23 The Devil 108
The Empress 31 The Tower 113
The Emperor 39 The Star 119
The Hierophant 47 The Moon 127
The Lovers 57 The Sun 134
The Chariot 64 Judgment 138
Strength 68 The World 146
The Hermit 72 Appendix: The Minor Arcana 151
The Wheel of Fortune 77
Contents 7
Introduction
Most of the leading modern interpreters of the Tarot have redesigned the cards
to fit their own explanations of them, a process called ‘rectifying’ the pack
if you agree with it, and ‘obfuscating’ it if you do not.
— Richard Cavendish, The Tarot
8
deck). The Rider-Waite deck, full of layers of imagery and
symbolism, some Christian, some Hermetic, is probably Reading the Tarot:
Celtic Cross
the most recognizable and popular one to this day. Waite
himself eventually rejected the notion that the Tarot had
any correspondence to Hebrew lettering, and postulated
sarcastically that someday someone would try to link it to Many different spreads of Tarot cards exist, but we’ve
the Cathar Heresy (which, indeed, came to pass). chosen one to include here. This method is generally known
Since then, hundreds of different Tarot decks have been as the Celtic Cross. It has several variations, and the one
produced. Some hew closely to Waite’s design, some try to chosen for this book isn’t the “best” or even necessarily
approach the “original” Tarot (but don’t always seem to the most common, it’s just one that is simple enough to
understand what that means). Many specialty Tarot decks use in a chronicle.
are available, with imagery ranging from representations of The Celtic Cross involves one significator card, repre-
popular fiction, to role-playing games, to erotica, to science senting the subject of the reading (the querent). This card
fiction or modern technology. is usually one of the face cards (a Page, Knight, Queen
or King) depending on the age and temperament of the
Introduction 9
The second card is placed perpendicular to the first results so that you can work symbolism appropriate to the
one, forming a cross. This card, always read as if in its cards into the chronicle as necessary.
right side up position, “crosses” the querent, showing the
forces in opposition to his interests. Note that this doesn’t
mean forces working against him, per se; if the topic of the
reading is an unpleasant situation at home, the crossing
The Tarot Journey
The “journey through the Tarot” is the notion that the
card might be someone trying to help the querent out of 22 cards of the Major Arcana form a pathway through life.
that situation. Beginning with the Fool, the traveler moves from ignorance
The third card is placed above the cross, closest to the to knowledge to enlightenment, learning through pleasure
reader. This card “crowns” the querent, showing what the and suffering along the way. For a mage, this journey begins
future holds for him on this topic. with the Awakening and ends with ascension, potentially a
The fourth card is placed under the cross, closest to the return to the Supernal Realms. But it needn’t be anything
querent. This card, “beneath” the querent, shows the events so grandiose. The character might simply discover exactly
that have happened to the querent in the past. where he belongs and his true role in the Fallen World.
The fifth card is placed to the left of the cross from the A character studying cartomancy (see below) might
querent’s position. This card, “behind” the querent, shows endeavor to identify exactly where he is in this journey,
the recent past, the forces that have just finished bringing but the journey might just as easily be something only
their influences to bear on the subject. observable to the player. When the chronicle begins, the
The sixth card, placed to the right of the cross as the character is the Fool. The Storyteller and the player then
querent sees it, is “before” him. This card shows the forces decide when the character progresses on to a new lesson
and events that are about to come into play. and a new trump. A change in trump might be a good way
for the player to claim the Learning Curve experience point
The next four cards are laid out in a vertical line to the
described on p. 217 of the World of Darkness Rulebook.
right of the cross, as the querent sees it. Starting from the
Depending on the circumstances, it might also be a way
bottom (that is, closest to the querent), these cards indi-
to claim Arcana Experience.
cate the querent’s fears and anxieties regarding the issue,
the querent’s environment and the attitudes of the other Not all characters make it all the way to Key XXI (The
people, and the querent’s hopes and goals on the question. World), however. It’s possible for a character to remain stuck
The 10th card, known as the “capstone,” indicates the final at a particular place. Aldous, owner of the Bleak Demesne
result of the reading, what the querent must do, not do, or (see p. 72), for instance, is obviously stuck at Key IX (The
observe to change his fortunes. It’s possible, following the Hermit). Other characters in this book can be assumed
reading, to obtain a more in-depth reading by using this to be “locked” at the appropriate stage of the journey. As
card as the significator in a new spread. such, part of dealing with those characters might be to help
them along to the next stage.
In-Character Readings
The Tarot is a useful tool to a Storyteller in any World of
symbol appropriate to the current station. Another might
always carry one Tarot card, corresponding to her present
stage on the journey.
Darkness game, for precisely the same reasons it’s useful as The journey through the Tarot, therefore, can be a nar-
a divination tool. The symbolism on the cards, combined rative tool or a facet of the Mage setting as you choose.
with the open-ended nature of a role-playing game, means
that any reading can be retroactively interpreted to fit any
set of events. As such, it’s possible for a Storyteller to per-
form a reading either for a character or for the entire cabal
Character/Story Creation
If you have a Tarot deck, you can use it to help players
while playing the role of a diviner using the Tarot. Use the make characters, or to create a story or chapter if you
method above or some other spread of cards (many of which get stuck.
are readily available on the Internet), and write down the
10
Character Creation The Awakening card is the Moon (p. 127). Matt decides
that following the failed audition, his character sank into a
Sometimes, coming up with a character is as simple as
deep depression and started abusing hallucinogenic drugs. He
hearing a song that inspires you, or looking at a combina-
started seeing horrible visions whenever he touched people,
tion of Path and order that seems interesting. Sometimes,
and these nightmares plagued him day and night. One night,
though, players get stuck. Mage is a big game, and it’s easy
he went out onto the roof of his building with the intention of
to get lost in all of the possibilities. The best way to start
jumping off, but instead, he saw how peaceful the city was and
if you’re having trouble coming up with a character is to
stayed there until morning. When he woke up, his head was
ask the Storyteller what the chronicle is going to be about
clear, and he was a mage on the Mastigos Path (the Moon is
and what kinds of characters would be appropriate. But
traditionally associated with the Thyrsus Path, yes, but Matt
failing that (or if the Storyteller decides the chronicle is
likes the notion of an actor Warlock. He does make a note to
going to be character-centered, meaning he is waiting on
take some dots in Spirit, though).
the players to determine what the chronicle is about), you
The World of Darkness card is the Five of Pentacles (p. 157).
can use the Tarot to get a start on your character’s identity
The actor’s first run-in with the supernatural actually happened
and history.
before his Awakening, he just doesn’t know it. On the day of his
Shuffle the deck and deal out five cards in a row. You can audition, one of the other mages in the city accidentally sum-
choose to read them all right side up, or use the reversed moned up a spirit of fear and then lost control of it. The spirit
meanings if any of the cards come in upside down. “rode” Matt’s character, plaguing him with doubt and anxiety,
The first (leftmost) card is the Sleeper card. This card until he couldn’t bear the strain. Matt talks this idea over with
indicates what things were like for the character pre- one of the other players, and she agrees that her character was
Awakening, and should hopefully help you determine what the one who called up the spirit, creating a potential for conflict
kind of circumstances the character was in when he had between them later in the chronicle.
his visit to the Supernal Realms. The Virtue card is the Five of Cups, which is a somewhat
The second card is the Awakening card. This should difficult interpretation, given that the card usually indicates
inform the character’s Path, as well as his experience of disappointment or rejected kindness (p. 156). Matt decides that
the Awakening. after the audition, his friends turned their backs on the character,
The third card is the character’s World of Darkness card. figuring that he’d lost his nerve and, in the process, offended
This card indicates what the character’s first exposure to someone important. The actor’s slide into drug use didn’t make
other supernatural beings was like. Although it’s positioned things any easier. Post-Awakening, though, he’s risen above
after the Awakening card, nothing says that this experience his bad fortune and become self-reliant. Matt decides that the
didn’t take place when the character was still a Sleeper. actor’s Virtue is Fortitude, and that he will give the character
This card can also inform the character’s choice of order, a high rating in Resolve to reflect his inner strength.
as can the next one. Finally, the Vice card: a highly appropriate Knight of Cups
The fourth card is the character’s Virtue. While it might Reversed (p. 156). The actor might have learned self-reliance,
indicate the character’s Virtue trait outright (Temperance or but he’s also learned that other folks aren’t to be trusted and he
Justice, for instance) the real use of this card is the character’s never quite got over his reliance on drugs as an escape tactic. Matt
strong point. This might be a high rating in an Attribute, takes the Addiction Flaw for the character (p. 218 of the World of
or a particular Merit, or the character’s order. Darkness Rulebook), and sets the character’s Vice as Sloth (he
Finally, the fifth card is the Vice. While it can indicate, does drugs to escape, not because he’s physically addicted).
and should at least point to, the character’s Vice trait, it From all this, Matt has a good sense of how this character is
should show the character’s weaknesses and failings. It going to behave in the game, and how to assign his dots. He’s
might indicate a dark secret, or the character’s Bane (if also created a point of contact with another mage, even if it’s
you take the Destiny Merit). something they’re likely to fight over someday. The cards don’t
Example: Matt is making a character for Fred’s upcoming suggest an order to him, so Matt decides to wait and see what
Mage game, and doesn’t have a strong idea about what sort of other orders are represented in the troupe’s characters and let
mage he’d like to play. He turns to the Tarot for some help. The that help guide his decision.
cards are as follows: The Chariot (Reversed), The Moon, Five
of Pentacles, Five of Cups, Knight of Wands (Reversed). Story Creation
The Sleeper card is one of the Major Arcana. The Chariot Storytellers get writer’s block sometimes, especially in
Reversed, as explained on p. 67, means cowardice or losing long-running chronicles. And then, sometimes folks show
one’s nerve in the middle of an attempt. Matt decides that his up and want to play Mage, and it’s handy to be able to
character was an actor who got a big break — he was granted come up with a one-shot game. The Tarot can help with
an audition with a renowned New York stage director. But that, in much the same way as creating a character. Lay
on the day of the audition, he choked, flubbing his lines and out five cards, just as described above. The cards have the
running offstage. following significance:
Introduction 11
The first card is the Theme of the story. This card should combine aspects of man-made and natural disaster. Matt sets
influence the way Storyteller characters behave, the way the game in California, on the heels of a large earthquake. It’s
the story unfolds, and any recurring motifs. shut down power to the city. Emergency services are busy and
The second card is the Mood of the story. This card overworked, the roads are damaged so getting more supplies
should inform atmospheric details and, should you use it, into the city has been slow going. In addition, riots and looting
what music you play during the story. have started up. Matt tells the players that their characters had
The third card is the Antagonist card. As the name sug- a Sanctum, but it’s been almost completely destroyed by the
gests, this card should indicate who is working against the quake (that way they don’t have to put Merit dots into it for a
characters. If the card doesn’t easily correspond to someone one-shot). The card itself refers to the quake and the looters,
in your chronicle, you’ll need to make someone up or pull a and possibly the police — getting out of the situation will be
character from one of the Mage books (this one has quite the main conflict of the story.
a few to choose from!). The Allies card is the Star, which is highly appropriate. The
The fourth card is the Allies card. This card can indicate advantage that the characters have is something guiding them.
literal allies, other characters who are willing to come to Matt looks at p. 119 of this book and sees the Illumined Path
the cabal’s aid, but it can just as easily indicate advantages Legacy, and decides the sample character there, Lucius, would
that they have. These advantages don’t have to be bestowed be a perfect ally in this story. But Lucius is out of his element,
upon them for the story. They can be traits or resources cut off from his money and his high society. He can be the
that will come in especially useful. character’s light in the darkness, but they have to find him and
rescue him first, perhaps from a band of looters who want to
Finally, the fifth card is the Wild card. This card is the
hold him for ransom. (Matt also notes that, with Lucius’ weird
“twist,” that element of surprise or strangeness so important
backstory, he could run another story with these characters
to World of Darkness stories. If you feel the first four cards
in which they go looking for those “descendants of Lucifer,” if
enable you to run the story, don’t bother with the Wild,
the players are interested.)
but it’s always worth considering how this extra element
Finally, the Wild card is the Five of Swords (p. 154). This
might change things.
indicates failure because of bad sportsmanship. Matt decides a
Example: Five people wind up at Matt’s house on a Saturday
powerful figure in the Consilium is actively working to hinder
with nothing to do, and someone mentions that she’d like to
emergency services getting to the poorest areas of the city, specifi-
try Mage: The Awakening. Matt hands around character
cally because Lucius is there. He’s going for a cut of the ransom
sheets, guides folks through character creation, and then puts
money, but that’s not his highest priority. He wants revenge on
a quick story together using the Tarot. He shuffles the deck
Lucius because Lucius made him look like an idiot at a caucus
and deals out the following cards: The Page of Swords, the
some months back (this rather petty reason for seeking vengeance
World (Reversed), the Four of Swords, the Star and the Five of
refers back to the Theme card). Matt decides to run the first
Swords. Lots of swords — Matt notes that this story is going
scene as a flashback to that caucus, and then jump forward to
to have plenty of violent conflict. That should be fine, as his
the characters picking their way out of the wreckage, injured and
players all enjoy a good scrap.
apparently without help in the darkened city.
The Theme card is the Page of Swords (p. 155). Face cards
usually indicate people, but since this in the Theme position,
Matt decides the basic motif of the story is conflict due to im-
maturity. The fight in the story isn’t any deeper than a teenager
slamming a door during a fight with his parents, but it’s got
Cartomancy
“Cartomancy” is just a fancy word for using cards for
the potential to be painful just the same. Matt notes that the divination. In Mage terms, though, any mage that uses
characters will see people arguing often, and that incidental cards (Tarot or otherwise) as a focus for his magic is a
characters will be curt and unpleasant to them. cartomancer. This section provides a look at the practice
The Mood card is the World Reversed (p. 150). This card of cartomancy in the context of Mage and provides some
indicates destruction and natural (or man-made) disaster. This systems for playing a cartomancer character.
fits nicely with the Theme card, actually. The strife in question is
12
might train a pupil in using the cards for magic.
Of the five orders, the Mysterium has the
highest number of cartomancers in its ranks,
and the Path most likely to take up the
practice is unquestionably the Acanthus.
Again, though, any mage can become
a cartomancer.
Introduction 13
Roll Results Exceptional Success: The spell is exactly appropriate
Dramatic Failure: The spell is the wrong choice for the for the circumstance. The player receives a 9-again bonus
situation. If the mage chooses to cast it, the player rolls a chance on the casting roll.
dice. A dramatic failure on this roll is treated as a Havoc ••• Instinctive Draw: The character can now use the
Paradox, whether or not the spell was vulgar in aspect. Interpretative Draw ability as a reflexive action, meaning
Failure: The spell isn’t the best choice, but it might work. that she can draw, interpret, and cast in the same turn.
Apply a -2 to the character’s casting attempt if she chooses Alternately, the character can draw, interpret, and then
to go through with it. chant in High Speech, thus gaining the High Speech Merit
Success: The spell is a good choice given the situation. along with the bonus from this Merit (if any) on the fol-
Apply a +2 to the character’s attempt. If the character has lowing turn. Although the mage does not have to cast the
the High Speech Merit and chooses to spend the next turn spell if the draw isn’t favorable, she can only make one draw
chanting, this bonus stacks with the High Speech bonus per spell, even if the draw is a reflexive action.
for a total of +4.
The Sun: This card is an obvious endorsement of the spell, and the Storyteller decides it is worth
an exceptional success. The mage’s player adds two dice to the casting attempt and applies the
9-again bonus.
The Page of Cups: This card is associated with water, and is indicative of someone quiet, indecisive,
gentle and yielding — not exactly the approach the mage is taking. The Storyteller counts this as a fail-
ure. If the mage casts the spell anyway, the player applies a -2.
The Seven of Pentacles: This card indicates a risk with no short-term gain, or being swindled. The
Storyteller decides this means the spell will fail to have the desired effect, and counts this as a dramatic
failure. If the mage goes ahead with the spell, the player will roll a chance dice and risk a Paradox.
The Page of Wands: The suit of Wands is associated with fire, and the Page indicates quick wits and
energy. While not directly associated with the Sun, the Storyteller still feels this is an indication that the
spell should work, and counts it as a success. The player applies a +2 to the spell roll, should the mage
choose to continue.
The player can and should lend her interpretation to this process, but the Storyteller has the final say.
Note that, in any case, the mage does not commit to casting the spell by making the draw.
14
Key 0 — The Fool
The first step on the long journey. The first kiss from
a new lover. The first mistake, the first great triumph. Artifact —
The First Tarot
The first footfalls into the office of a new career, or
the first fumbling steps of a child. The Fool is the card
of beginnings.
The history of the Tarot deck, as far as Sleeper study
The symbolism of the card makes the dangers of be- is concerned, is discussed in the Introduction. In the
ginnings plain. The Fool is about to step off a precipice, World of Darkness, however, the Tarot, like so many
and perhaps fall to his doom. other occult trappings, reso-
Some decks include a white nates with the Supernal Realms.
dog, perhaps barking to warn In the case of the Tarot, some
the Fool. Most of the time, mages know of a deck of cards
the Fool isn’t looking where that originated in the Supernal
he is going — if he does that, Realms. The deck has been as-
he’ll miss what’s happening sembled over a long period of
around him! It’s easy to see years by mages across the world.
why mages versed in the Tarot Awakened scholars refer to the
often equate the Fool to the deck as the First Tarot.
Acanthus Path. Tricksters are
The First Tarot supposedly
wide-eyed at the possibilities
predates mundane Tarot by
of the world because they can
many years. Records indicate
see them so much more easily
that at least two of the cards
than other mages. But the
were discovered in the Awak-
truth is that any mage, upon
ened City (the Tower and the
returning from the Supernal
Hierophant), though these
Realms, newly Awakened, is
records obviously cannot be
the Fool on the start of the
confirmed. Awakened carto-
grand adventure. The Fool
mancers covet the First Tarot
is therefore often associated
above all else, and even mages
with the Time Arcanum
with no particular interest in
in general, rather than the
the Tarot trade stories about
Acanthus Path, in some
the deck.
circles — since the Fool oc-
cupies the position of “zero,”
it can appear alongside any
Rumors
other Key without changing • The First Tarot always gives
it (1 + 0 is still 1). an accurate and useful reading
on any topic, but only if the
But even more generally, the Fool can be seen as a
person doing the reading is able to maintain complete
metaphor for the Awakened condition. The Fool is
focus while laying out the cards. If anything distracts
the divine madman, the person whose perspective is
the reader, the message can be diluted with whatever
so different from those around him that he is nearly
is in the reader’s mind at the time.
unable to function in the world. That he is powerful
is irrelevant. If he is to be able to communicate and • The deck is incomplete; besides the 10 missing
therefore interact, he must find a way to reconcile cards, Keys to the Major Arcana exist beyond Key XXI
the way he sees the world with the way that others (The World). They just have not been found because
see it. mages aren’t looking for them.
16
England, and that the Tarot needed to be moved as together might show a resonance blending fear and
soon as possible. The fact that this mage’s son was pull- love, perhaps a feeling of love at first sight or the fear
ing up stakes for America the next week, some cynical of never finding love. It might also present as a fear
Awakened felt, might have influenced this reading a that a loved one is in danger. Adding more cards just
bit, but the mage who did the reading insisted the war complicates things further, and scrutinizing the entire
would be devastating, and that the Tarot must not be deck, incomplete though it is, is impossible. Mages have
lost. And, yes, his son would be perfect to take it to attempted to find the purest resonance of the deck by
New York and keep it safe. World War I broke out more studying it for hours, using as many versions of Mage
than a decade later, but based on the mage’s flavorful Sight as they know, but they still haven’t been able
descriptions, it was more likely he was referring to the to look past all of the potential combinations to find
bombings of London in World War II, assuming he the highest truth.
wasn’t just making the whole thing up. Of course, some mages posit that this is because
Whatever the case, the Tarot moved to the United there is no highest truth. The Tarot, like the world
States. Its courier died in a street brawl a few months itself, is too complex to be known through magic. It
later, and the Mysterium collected the deck shortly must be experienced.
thereafter. Presently, it is ostensibly available to any The deck presently contains 68 cards. To make a
order mage who wishes to use it, but no one is ever left complete Tarot deck, the following cards would be
alone with it and all readings are recorded. The deck is necessary:
still incomplete (the missing cards are listed below). The Hanged Man
Death
18
Key I — The Magician
The mage stands before his table with his tools laid enough of an identity to be dangerous, to himself and
out before an observer. He holds a wand in his hand, to others. Willworkers at this stage are prone to hubris,
and a mystical symbol blazes above his head, displaying but not of the insidious, deadly sort that leads more
his power. He is will and intelligence personified, forged experienced mages to ignore life-threatening evidence
and directed — in many ways, the perfect analog for and take on foolish challenges. This hubris leads them to
the Awakened condition. use magic for mundane, simple tasks, to rely on magical
Of course, the Magician is known in many decks senses over their normal ones, and to generally work as
as the Juggler. Consider for a though they are immortal. This
moment the implications of kind of attitude is one that wise
this — the Juggler is impres- mentors try to drill out of their
sive because of his skill, but at students before it gets them killed.
the end of the day, his skills Not coincidentally, a mage can
are the result of long years find those mentors as the next
of practice and determina- three stops on his journey — the
tion. Awakening, therefore, High Priestess, the Empress and
if this card represents it, the Emperor.
is something that must be
earned, rather than granted.
Anyone can Awaken, but the Character —
Dr. Martin
notion that Awakening is a
state that needs to be main-
tained, rather than one that
one obtained, is permanent,
is intrinsic to the Magician. Jason Schultz,
The Juggler can also be a
charlatan, someone who Charlatan
Alchemist
uses his skills in a way that
is not necessarily harmful or
purely selfish (which is better
represented by the Devil), A key precept in science is to
but is still misrepresenting alter theories to fit facts, not try to
himself. This is a point that shoehorn facts into one’s theories.
the Awakened don’t always A true scientist must be willing
understand. Certainly an to scrap his previous notions if
Awakened mage, no matter the data doesn’t support them,
his intentions, isn’t a char- or at the very least, pour effort
latan, because anyone who has forged a connection into figuring out why the data’s
to the Supernal Realms can legitimately use magic. coming out the way it is. When a scientist clings to his
But a mage of the Adamantine Arrow, for instance, theories in the face of discrediting data, he is branded a
who lures other mages into his order with promises zealot and generally dismissed from the scientific com-
of magical kung fu without explaining the order’s munity (which doesn’t prevent him from publishing in
focus on service, is just as much a charlatan as any less-than-credible journals or, sadly, from teaching). But
late-night TV “psychic.” every now and then, a zealot gets lucky.
A mage at this stage of the journey through the Tarot Dr. Martin Jason Schultz is one such scientist. He
has braved the cliffs and the blazing sun as the Fool, and clung to his theory in defiance of all data, reason
has now established enough of an identity to move for- and evidence, and was rewarded with a way to make
ward. Unfortunately, this also means he has established money hand over fist. And it’s probably going to get
someone — likely him — killed soon.
20
Consuming that substance didn’t seem to produce any managed to discover something significant (quite by
ill effects in lab rats, so Schultz tried it himself, and accident). The Council, therefore, lobbies for him to
realized that it heightened his awareness — even al- be allowed to live a bit longer. Characters from either
lowed him to see ghosts, or so he thought. Elated, he order might be called in to watch, sanction or protect
made as much of this “Third Eye Candy” as he could, him, and that doesn’t take into account that other
and traveled to all of the supposed sites of power he’d factions of the Consilium (or the World of Darkness
identified in the city, including the rooftop. He was in general) might want something from him.
astonished to find that many of them actually glowed Although he’s not a mage, Schultz is very much
while he was under the influence of the candy, and at the Magician stage in the Tarot journey. He is us-
that these sites all had substances, like the fungus, ing knowledge that he earned, but not using it well
that he could collect and use to create more candy. or responsibly, and his misrepresentation of himself
Creating candy out of different substances produced makes him a charlatan. A mage who is also at this
slightly different effects, but in all cases, the slight early stage on the journey might be tempted to help
“glow” over certain objects or people was present. Schultz make money off the Third Eye Candy or take
Schultz immediately quit his job at the university the business from him, or seeing Schultz might be the
(the rest of the department threw a party) and began wake-up call he needs to seek some direction (and thus
production and distribution. He kept the sales to New progress to the High Priestess).
Age shops, occult bookstores, and online venues to Mental Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 3, Resolve 4
avoid immediate notice, and put as many disclaimers Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 3
on the labels as would fit. It’s probably just a matter Social Attributes: Presence 3, Manipulation 3,
of time before the FDA or the DEA gets involved, Composure 2
but the substance isn’t addictive, nor is it harmful in Mental Skills: Academics (Psychology) 2, Computer 1,
itself. It does, however, allow Sleepers a limited form Crafts (Making Candy) 2, Investigation 2, Occult (New
of Mage Sight (see below), and so Schultz is probably Age) 2, Science 2
finally going to meet some real mages. Physical Skills: Drive 1, Firearms 1, Larceny 2, Stealth 1
Quote: Look, I can’t make any official claims. All I Social Skills: Expression 2, Intimidation (Bluster) 2,
can say is, it’s a profound experience, and you’re really Persuasion 1, Socialize 2, Streetwise 2, Subterfuge 2
cheating yourself if you don’t try it. Merits: Allies (Tenants) 4, Contacts (Academia), Re-
Description: Martin Schultz is in his early 40s, sources 2, Toxin Resistance
and looks every bit the eccentric professor. He wears Willpower: 6
colorful shirts, strange talismans around his neck, Morality: 5 (narcissism)
and carries a crystal pendulum and a makeshift Ouija Virtue: Faith
board everywhere he goes. He wears his hair tied into Vice: Pride
a ponytail, but most of the hair on the top of his head Initiative: 4
is long gone. His manner is knowledgeable and sagely, Defense: 2
though any truly erudite person finds him the worst Speed: 9
kind of yokel in about 10 minutes of conversation. Health: 8
Storytelling Hints: Perhaps the most pathetic thing
about Schultz is that he has no idea that his success Third Eye Candy
is completely due to luck. He truly believes that he is The “candy” that Schultz created is, of course, made
not only a brilliant scientist, a maverick who has been from Tass. Adding in a sugar serum makes it edible and
repressed by society from every side, but that he deserves palatable, and the heat caramelizes the sugar and hardens
what he has discovered and more. Narcissistic, arrogant the stuff. The result — edible Unseen Senses.
and myopic, Schultz amazes the Guardians of the Veil Anyone who eats the candy receives a modified
because he’s managed to stay alive this long. form of Unseen Sense for approximately one hour.
Current thinking on the Guardians’ part, inciden- During this time, the character can see such things as
tally, is that Schultz is either going to get himself killed Twilight entities (including ghosts and some spirits),
stealing from the wrong Hallow or that the Guardians Hallows, mages, vampires, werewolves, active spells
are going to need to kill him before his “Third Eye and enchanted items. Not every piece of candy allows
Candy” gets any more widespread. The Free Coun- the character to see the same kinds of things, however.
cil, however, is interested in his process, because he Candy made from Tass with a death-like resonance
22
Key II —
The High Priestess
The High Priestess sits on her throne and waits. She is of the Veil. The High Priestess is the mistress of her
resting potential, the power of intuition and the collec- own Labyrinth, mysterious and inscrutable, doling
tive unconscious. She is spirituality without the religious out knowledge that can enlighten or mislead. She
dogma of the Hierophant, and she is authority without does not give up her secrets easily or lightly, and her
the chest-pounding masculin- ceremonial headdress and garb
ity of the Emperor. Her power acts as a kind of mask, making
doesn’t stem from her feminin- sure that it is her station that
ity, as the Empress’ does, but witnesses see, not the woman
from her knowledge, from her (or mage) beneath. Subtlety,
introspection and her patience. for both the order and the High
In some decks, she is called the Priestess, are the best defense
Female Pope, perhaps a refer- against persistent inquiry. A
ence to the legendary Pope dedicated investigator will
Joan, but perhaps a simple re- eventually penetrate the High
minder that a spiritual leader’s Priestess’ mystery…unless he
authority doesn’t come from redirects him to something
gender, station in life or any else, turning him back into a
other earthly attribute, but perpetual Magician, or pushing
from her or his connection to him forward into the arms of the
the higher power. more receptive Empress.
For mages, especially mages Although the High Priestess
of the Pentacle, this is an im- is an early stop on the journey
portant point to keep in mind. through the Tarot, it is a hint
Magic comes from the Super- of things to come. A mage sees
nal, and no matter how many the lesson of the High Priestess
Awakened a family claims, no immediately post-Awakening,
matter how long the pedigree because she is capable of some
of one’s cabal or Consilium of the same feats of magic as
(or order, the Free Council re- her more experienced comrades
minds them), mastery over the simply because she has Awak-
Arcana requires connecting ened. Whether she internalizes
to the Supernal Realms. The or retains that lesson is some-
temporal, physical concerns, thing else again, but she will see
ultimately, are meaningless. it repeated again in her journey,
Another common interpretation of the High Priest- in the Star, the Tower and the World.
ess among the Awakened, of course, is the Guardians
24
advocate standing idly by while people suffer, but they with the founder of the Legacy being a mystagogue
do ask their members to recognize that suffering has than the Legacy’s beliefs fitting neatly into the order.
a place, too. What is acceptable suffering, and when The members of the order share stories of the quiet,
is action — magic — required? Those questions don’t somewhat strange mages of the Voice, and occasionally
have correct answers, and a mentor in Mimir’s Voice someone hears of it and decides it would be a good fit.
strives to help her pupil consider the question and act The Free Council also has a few Advisors among its
with confidence, rather than act rashly. members, as the Legacy’s modern origins and interest
The prospective Advisor is admonished to consider in energy, to say nothing of its altruistic and egalitarian
her motives in whatever action she takes. Anger, views, make it attractive to the youngest order.
hatred, jealousy and other such emotions are easy to The Adamantine Arrow appreciates the Legacy’s
label as “bad,” but the truth is that they are intuitive, desire to help and serve others, but sees it as a bit too
just as compassion, love and mercy can be. Indeed, pacifistic, in general. That said, the Taoist elements of
it’s not impossible for an action to be motivated by the Legacy’s philosophy appeal to some of the gentler
both envy and compassion, by both justice and anger. members of the order, and it’s not impossible to find
And if an action is just, but still motivated by anger, an Advisor in the Arrow.
is that action then wrong? Mimir’s Voice believes that The Guardians of the Veil has nothing against the
action motivated by emotion (“good” or “bad”) isn’t Advisors in principle, but the openness of its members
necessarily wrong, but might be diluted. Instead, they and their refusal to lie concern the order. Being will-
advise learning one’s own patterns, learning what kind ing to help anyone who asks is laudable, yes, but if in
of “energy” one is storing up, and being self-aware helping a person the mage reveals the Mysteries to a
enough to recognize one’s typical reactions. Sleeper or inadvertently furthers the machinations
Once the interview is over, the Advisor makes a of the Seers…well, the Guardians aren’t comfortable
decision. That decision might be to induct the new with that kind of blind, rather pie-eyed generosity.
mage, to refuse her request, or to delay the answer to The Advisors, of course, feel that says much about the
gather further information. The Advisor might invite Guardians and the way they train their members.
the prospect to join her cabal for a short time, or to The Silver Ladder, like the Guardians, doesn’t
apprentice with her so that she can observe the char- object to the Advisors, but usually the Ladder would
acter. She might also ask for permission to use Space rather see others in an advisory role. That said, at
magic to look in on the mage from time to time, just least one member of the Vox Draconis, upon joining
to see what she does in different situations. the Legacy and adopting its philosophies, found that
If the mage is accepted into the Legacy, she is the pressures of leadership were much reduced when
expected to learn and swear to the Code. This oath he wasn’t trying to push the Consilium, but rather
isn’t magically enforced, because backing it up with a responding to its needs.
spell would imply that the Code isn’t worth following Appearance: Members of the Legacy dress and be-
by itself (and might also back a mage into a corner have as their intuition drives them, but the Advisors
where the letter of the law is concerned — the letter are not lazy, and so they are typically well-groomed
is much less important than the spirit). The Code isn’t and clean. That doesn’t mean that they are neat or
brief and it isn’t simple, but if the mentoring mage has formal, however. One member of the Legacy might
chosen a pupil well, the Code is intuitive. dress in poet’s shirts and wear his hair long, while an-
Once the mage swears the Code, the mentor shows other dresses conservatively and sits quietly, unnoticed,
her how to reshape her soul for the Legacy. Advisors until someone asks for her. Most Advisors attempt to
often state that the sensation of becoming a member remain nondescript, but find that the simplest method
of Mimir’s Voice is soothing, as though external sound of doing this is to act natural; a mage that looks like
and sensation suddenly dampens or moves far away. she belongs where she is doesn’t raise eyebrows.
They feel energized, but not restless — ready for ac- Background: A member of Mimir’s Voice can come
tion, should action become necessary. from anywhere, but characters with highly traumatized
Parent Path: Mastigos pasts don’t tend to fit in well. A mage is required to
Nickname: Advisors have a certain degree of peace with herself, as is a
Orders: As mentioned, the Mysterium boasts the great deal of maturity and humility, before she can be
greatest number of Advisors, but this has more to do a successful Advisor. As such, mages who revel in their
power, mages that casually use magic and mages that
Rudeness has no place. If a Voice cannot think of a way to contribute to a conversation, if a Voice can-
not conceive of something to say that can teach — and remember that to teach, we must make the pupil
want the lesson — then the Voice must be silent….
Aggression is dangerous. If your intuition says to attack, consider why? Who benefits from your injury?
If you die, what will you leave behind? If you kill, what then? What have you removed from the world?
If you choose non-aggression, protecting where protection is needed but abstaining from violent action
otherwise, you are better assured of remaining unblemished….
In casting spells, remember that your intuition guides the magic as much as your will. Witness the
mage whose Nimbus flares to life and scours the ground around him with fire or ice or acid or harsh
words or hatred. What is that mage’s intuition? Is it an extension of the hate in his heart? What is in your
heart, and what does your magic reveal about you? If you act in harmony with your intuition, if you train
your intuition to guide you well, you can ease the world in its myriad transitions, rather than change it
with a jarring, aggressive push….
If someone comes to you and asks for your help, grant it. Do not waste time determining if this person
deserves your help. You might be able to make that determination by looking into the person’s mind or
soul, yes, but by doing so, you are cheapening their request for your aid. Asking for help is a monumen-
tal act of trust, and you should always honor that. If, in helping this person, it comes to your attention
that the person is a criminal or a monster, you must act as your intuition guides you. If your intuition
tells you not to help someone who asks, though, consider why. Is the person lying about why he needs
the help? If so, help him anyway, and your example will show him that not everyone sees the world as
he does. Is the person trying to harm you or find a way to rob you? If so, help him anyway, and keep
your wits about you, always ready to escape or protect yourself, for you, as a mage, are able to protect
yourself and another victim might not be. Is the person asking you for help solely because he knows you
will grant it without question? Help him, and rejoice, for you are living the Code.
Mages living by the Code often have high Wisdom ratings, usually 7 or more. Of course, not every
Advisor lives strictly by the Code, and some feel that paying attention to intuition means knowing when
to ignore the Code. This attitude is not at all in line with Elle’s philosophies, but Elle is gone, and so her
words are subject to interpretation.
are driving, aggressive forces in their orders, cabals or a Mastigos Legacy), finding a given member is usually
Consilii usually don’t bother. just a matter of knowing a name and casting a spell.
Teachers, sensei and other educators make superb Within a Consilium, an Advisor is likely to take
Advisors, provided they are in the business for the an assistive role, perhaps acting as Herald or, within
right reasons. Someone who became a teacher to get the Mysterium, as Censor or assistant to the Censor.
summers off might as well not bother. One of the main Advisors might rise in Consilium Status without trying
goals of the Legacy is to help others learn, and this to, as other mages come to them for advice or help.
goal requires that the mage be able to look beyond Advisors also often wind up knowing things that the
her own needs. other people wish they did not, and since they don’t
Organization: The Legacy doesn’t have the numbers keep secrets, the Voice ends up on the wrong end of
for formal organization, though mentor and pupil nor- assassination attempts more frequently than they’d
mally keep in touch, and therefore it’s not uncommon like. Fortunately, their Attainments help to keep them
for a mage to have met his mentor’s mentor. Since the alive and help others learn (see below).
Legacy is so open, though, and since almost every Suggested Oblations: Meditation, Socratic question
member has some proficiency with Space magic (being and answer, teaching a class, becoming a student, per-
26
forming volunteer work, people watching, performing store and opens the emergency exit to let the others escape.
yoga or Tai Chi. Joan activates this Attainment, and the Storyteller has her
Concepts: Sensei, safe-house owner, teacher, ad- player roll Dexterity + Stealth to get to the door without
ministrative assistant, second-in-command, librarian, being seen. The Storyteller rolls Wits + Composure – 7
bookkeeper, physicist, secret weapon, combat medic. (the mage’s Gnosis) for the robber to see what she is do-
ing, and the robber’s successes must exceed the mage’s
The Attainments of Mimir’s Voice are based on the 2nd: Wasted Potential
concept of potential energy, the notion that substances Prerequisites: Gnosis 5, Forces 3
or objects have within them the capacity for power. The mage can shunt harmful energy away from a
Magic, then, is the potential energy stored within a target, be it herself or someone under her protection.
mage that can be released as “kinetic energy” — a The attacker might use kinetic energy (bullets, clubs,
spell — at a moment’s notice. fists, and blades), fire or even electricity. In any case,
The Attainments of the Legacy are also protective the Advisor can turn the energy back, forcing it to
in nature. This is both because of the Legacy’s procliv- expend itself.
ity for helping others, and because the Advisors often The mage can use this Attainment in response to
wind up learning secrets about others and having to one attack per turn, provided that she has not already
protect themselves against those who would rather used her action for that turn. Her placement in the
keep those secrets quiet. initiative roster doesn’t matter. If the attacker acts
on initiative 14 and the mage’s action does not come
1st: Blind Spot until initiative 7, the Advisor can still attempt to turn
Prerequisites: Gnosis 3, Forces 2 (primary), Mind aside the attack.
2, Stealth 2 The attacker assembles his dice pool as usual,
One of the hallmarks of Mimir’s Voice is that they including any modifiers for the target’s Defense or
aren’t noticeable unless someone is looking for them. armor. The mage’s player spends one point of Mana
While this Attainment doesn’t provide true invisibil- and rolls Dexterity + Science + Forces. Every success
ity, it does make light and sound “slide off” the mage. reduces the attacker’s dice pool by one. The attacker
Viewers tend to look past the Advisor, rather than at cannot choose not to attack, regardless of how many
her, or be easily distracted by nearby sounds. successes the mage receives. If the attack is reduced
In game terms, this spell combines several low-level to a chance dice, though, a dramatic failure does
Forces effects with the Mind spell “Incognito Presence.” not harm the attacker, as the attack no longer has
The character can activate this Attainment whenever any energy at all (the dramatic failure is treated as a
she wishes; the player simply rolls Composure + Stealth normal failure).
+ Forces (instant action). The Attainment remains Example: Joan managed to get most of the shoppers
active for one scene, but can be reactivated as neces- out of the store without being noticed, but as she prepares
sary. While Blind Spot is active, the player receives to leave as well, one of the escaping shoppers yells to a
the 8-again bonus on all Stealth rolls, and any ties in passing cop. One of the thieves notices this and panics,
contested rolls made for the character to go unnoticed firing wildly out of the store’s windows with an automatic
go to the character, rather than the observer. weapon. Joan uses Wasted Potential on the attack, turning
Even if the mage isn’t exactly hiding, people don’t aside the energy of the bullets. The Storyteller assembles
notice her easily. Casual viewers look past her, and as the robber’s dice pool: 2 (Dexterity) + 2 (Firearms) + 2
long as she doesn’t move suddenly or attack anyone (the damage modifier for a small SMG) + 3 (for firing
(which ends the Attainment’s effects), viewers who on full auto) = 9 dice. The glass in the window shaves
observe any actions on her part that involve sleight off another dice (8 dice), and the shooter is firing at three
of hand or subtle movements suffer a penalty equal targets (5 dice). Joan’s player rolls Dexterity + Science +
to the mage’s Gnosis rating. Forces and comes up with five successes. The shooter’s
Example: Joan, an Advisor, is present at a store robbery. dice pool is reduced to zero dice — a chance dice. If the
Unwilling to incapacitate the thieves (she doesn’t know Storyteller had spent a Willpower point for the shooter,
why they’re stealing, after all) but feeling it necessary to he’d still have three dice to roll, but it’s too late for that
protect the other bystanders, she slips to the back of the now. The robber pulls the trigger in desperation, but the
28
they were never able to figure out Joan was out of the city when Elle was murdered.
where she might have gone, She considered trying to find her friend’s killer, but
and Joan realized that she had decided that it wouldn’t bring Elle back, nor would it
made it too hard for them. bring Joan any peace. Besides, Elle had been a capable
They hadn’t found her clever mage, and so anyone that could lay her low was obvi-
clues, they hadn’t followed up ously dangerous — why invite that sort of trouble?
on her mysterious phone calls, Joan’s intuition told her that she needed to move on,
and they hadn’t even read her and so she did.
diary! In a moment of despair Description: Joan is in her mid-30s. Her hair is
and guilt, she Awakened, brown, but lightened by many years in the sun. Her
realizing that her family skin never quite lost its farm-girl tan, and she remains
hadn’t been ignoring in good physical shape. She normally wears soft dresses
her. They had been and ties her hair back, and hides her eyes behind large
respecting her as glasses.
a young woman. Joan’s Nimbus is the scent of ozone, a slight electric
She returned to feeling on the skin of observers, and the sensation of
her family, resolved pushing through water. Those who spend time around
to learn from them her find that if they “push” against this feeling, it leaves
and help them learn them tired, but if they relax into it, they come away
from her. from it feeling refreshed.
When she left home Storytelling Hints: If Joan has a regret, it’s that she
again four years later, didn’t avenge Elle’s death. She doesn’t second-guess
she had learned to herself often, but on that point, she wonders if fear
be a competent wasn’t driving her actions more than intuition. She
farmer, elec- knows that she could still resolve the matter, but now,
trician, auto years later, she is so entrenched in her own city’s poli-
mecha nic tics that returning to her old hometown — especially
a n d c a r- under Gjallarhorn’s rule — would be problematic. She
penter. Her might attempt to help another mage, or even a cabal,
father was doing resolve this issue, acting to help them from afar using
crossword puzzles with her command of Space magic, especially if such a mage
a pen to help him wind were studying to become an Advisor.
down in the evening, and Another possible story hook for Joan is in her capac-
her mother had formed ity as “secret” weapon. When the day finally arrives
the area’s first book club. that the Consilium comes under attack, the Hierarch
Her brothers and sisters of her city expects her to smite the attackers. What
had gone from being will he do when she simply prevents violence, turning
“dummy hick s” to attackers back but refusing to harm them? Will the
the smartest kids in Hierarch seek other defends, and turn Joan out?
school. There was no
Dedicated Magical Tool: Old farmer’s almanac.
magic involved — Real Name: Joan Smith
Joan just listened to
Path: Mastigos
her family and helped them to love learning.
Order: Mysterium
Joan joined the Mysterium in college, amazed that a Legacy: Mimir’s Voice
society of the Awakened existed. But when they tried
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 5, Wits 3, Resolve 3
to preach to her, she realized that this society wasn’t as
Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 3
interesting as it should be. She was despairing of the
Social Attributes: Presence 2, Manipulation 3,
whole thing, ready to shun Consilii and be a solitary,
Composure 3
when she met Elle. The two mages became firm friends,
Mental Skills: Academics (Literature) 4, Crafts (Auto
and Joan wound up contributing to the collection of Repair) 4, Investigation 3, Medicine 1, Occult 3, Politics
philosophy that would eventually become the Code. (Awakened) 2, Science 4
30
Key III —
The Empress
The Empress is an expression of the female form of Life as being represented by the Empress Reversed.
made divine. She is Ishtar, Astarte, Demeter and Isis. (Her meaning in traditional cartomancy is somewhat
In some decks, she is also linked to the Virgin Mary, different; see below.)
but whatever name is given to the Empress, she is For a mage on her journey through the Tarot, the
the Maiden matured — the Empress can be seen as either
Mother. She is often pictured a stage on this journey or an
pregnant, sometimes hold- advisory figure. Someone who
ing a child. She is a symbol Awakens later in life, perhaps
of fertility and plenty. More when she has a family of her
abstractly, she is a symbol own, must take the lessons that
of wisdom, but her wisdom Sleeping life has taught her and
stems from a combination of apply them to her new outlook
intuition and natural insight as one of the Wise. Mages that
and the experience of years. disregard the life experience of
The Fool’s youth and the the Fallen World are, frankly,
High Priestess’ knowledge fools — the Fallen World is
combine in the Empress. where all mages must live. If the
To the Awakened, the Em- Empress is an advisory figure,
press card resonates with the she needn’t be a mage herself.
Thyrsus Path and, more spe- Some mages, after surviving
cifically, the Life Arcanum. that first precarious Fool’s leap,
The Empress is a symbol of consorting with the charlatan
all growing things, of fertil- Magician and receiving the
ity and fecundity, and of blessing and wise counsel of the
life born anew. As such, she High Priestess, need the more
symbolizes the Life Arcanum, earthy (and honestly, more fun)
arguably imperfectly. The advice of the Empress. And
Life Arcanum can heal and indulging in the sensuality of
cause new growth, but as any the Empress is indeed advisable
Thyrsus knows, Life can also — after her, the journey grows
be used to control, warp and harsh. The strict Emperor and
even kill organisms. Some the humorless Hierophant loom
Awakened cartomancers over the horizon.
look at the destructive side
32
kind of pettiness, mages still saw clout within their to admit Free Council mages to their ranks, but not
own society as a goal. all are willing to do so. Only Acanthus mages are
Abigail thought that was absurd. Yes, people have permitted to become Roses of Eden.
a tendency to seek accolades, and they could still do The prospect is subjected to lengthy questioning,
good things while gaining status. But mage society and all answers are vetted against both mundane and
was artificial, constructed around and in the cracks magical investigation. The Roses like to know who
of Sleeper society as some desperate homage to a time they are dealing with. It isn’t that they are afraid of
that no living mage could verify, much less remember. infiltration (they tend to be transparent about their
Abigail held the Awakened to a higher standard than agendas and initiatives), just that they don’t want people
that, and dramatically left the Silver Ladder. “It’s grubbing for power within the Legacy. The prospect
not enough for her to be a mage,” one of her former also needs to present an accounting of what she has
colleagues muttered as she left. “She wants to be a done with her life. Has she held down jobs or raised a
superhero.” family, or has she led a life of hedonism and sloth? The
Abigail dropped out of sight and ventured across Legacy doesn’t disapprove of pleasure, but the Roses
the world, meeting with order leaders, new cabals, can’t abide idleness from mages. Recently Awakened
solitary mages and those rare few who exist outside mages, especially those who have careers and families
the Atlantean societal structure. She learned that and are still coping with the transition from Sleeping
there were other ways of doing magic. Power over the life to Awakened life, are never turned away, even if
world could come from many sources, not all of them they can’t actually join the Legacy (due to not being
benign. A man’s burning obsession could create life. Acanthus or not being magically powerful enough).
A witch’s potions could make someone fall in love. Such people are given support and mentoring, always
A wolf-skin, properly prepared, could allow a man to with an eye toward building the ideal Awakened soci-
change into a beast. What Abigail took away from these ety — one in which mages help each other to explore
meetings, aside from a great deal of arcane knowledge, the secrets of the world and protect those who cannot
was that either magic infused the Fallen World to a safely look upon those secrets, rather than squirreling
much greater degree than mages understood, or that them away and sniggering about it.
they just weren’t willing to admit it. And again, Abigail The Roses of Eden don’t go in for showy initiation
found that unacceptable. requirements. They see such trials as exactly the sort
She returned to her original Consilium five years of thing that mages should be able to rise above. After
to the day after she left. She approached the seat of all, a mage with even the barest knowledge of the Mind
the Hierarch and threw a thornless rose at his feet, or Fate Arcana should know a lie when she hears one.
and then turned to face the assembled Awakened. An Apprentice of Time can get a sense as to whether
“I am the Rose of Eden,” she said, “and I have shed a given prospect will or will not make a good mem-
my thorns. Anyone who wants to do so is welcome ber of the Legacy. Why not put these talents to use,
to find me.” and save the time that would otherwise be wasted in
A few of the mages in attendance did, in fact, come contests of strength, skill or political savvy — talents
to see her, but only those on the Path of Thistle have that can just as easily be bestowed by magic? The gifts
so far joined the Legacy itself. Over the ensuing years, of Awakened are nothing without the moral fiber to
the Roses of Eden have spread out over the world, make good use of them, and if there is a spell to make
sometimes working closely with Consilium mages, someone into a reasonable and honest person, the
sometimes shunning them and keeping company with Roses haven’t discovered it yet.
other solitaries and non-Awakened sorcerers. Once a mage is accepted into the Legacy, she is
expected to keep regular contact with her mentor for
34
In addition, the mage is constantly tuned in to the Although the mage cannot use Life magic to speed
minute shifts in the patterns of life around her. In game the growth of the tree, she can use any mundane
terms, this adds two dice to any reaction to surprise method she wishes to speed up its growth. Abigail
roll (see p. 46 of the World of Darkness Rulebook). Mitchum was known to tend an apple tree using this
If the character has the Danger Sense Merit (p. 108 Attainment, but she also grew tomato plants in her
of the World of Darkness Rulebook), both of these basement using hydroponics. The tomatoes worked
bonuses apply. just as well for healing as the apples.
The mage must infuse the tree or plant with one
2nd: Tree of Life point of Mana per day to allow the plant to soak up the
Prerequisites: Gnosis 5, Life 3 necessary magic. Water infused with Tass is acceptable,
Right or wrong, people respond better to those who and some Roses have even been known to infuse plant
appear healthy, strong and attractive. Abigail noted food tablets with Mana to feed their magical trees. If
early in her campaign that if she looked well-rested a plant goes more than three days without a point of
and hale, her audiences, be they mage, Sleeper or Mana, it loses the ability to function as a Tree of Life
stranger beings still, received her politely and with until infused with a full month’s worth of Mana.
more respect. This Attainment allows a Noddist to
appear perpetually healthy, with the bonus of allow- 3rd: Tree of Knowledge
ing her to heal damage to her body more quickly into Prerequisites: Gnosis 7, Life 4
the bargain, by combining her knowledge of plant life “Awakening is the act of eating of the Tree of
with her ability to heal herself. Knowledge,” Abigail Mitchum liked to say. “We lis-
The mage can reflexively heal all bashing damage tened to the Serpent, no matter what form he wore at
once per scene, no matter how much she has taken the time, and we took a big bite. That’s not the Fall.
or whether or not she has any more severe wounds. The Fall was assuming that eating that fruit meant
In addition, she can spend one point of Mana to we knew something that other folks didn’t, and could
downgrade any lethal damage on her Health chart to never know.” Abigail felt, especially after her travels,
bashing damage. Finally, if she suffers enough lethal that the Fall of Atlantis was relevant only insofar as it
damage to starting bleeding to death (see p. 173 of provided a good model of what not to do. Arrogance,
the World of Darkness Rulebook), she automatically elitism and pride were the enemies, and sectarian-
spends a point of Mana and stabilizes herself. She is ism and divisiveness were what strengthened those
still unconscious, but is in no danger of dying unless things. The Tree of Knowledge, she came to feel, was
she takes more damage. not dangerous because it revealed, but dangerous
To use any of these powers, however, the character because knowledge itself was dangerous. Knowledge
must either be in direct sunlight or be able to touch could paralyze or divide just as easily as it could teach
bare earth. The earth must be able to sustain plant or heal. And Abigail, never one for inaction, decided
life. Even a houseplant is enough, but if the character she would show people the unity that knowledge could
is in a city alleyway at night, she might have trouble provide. This Attainment was the result.
using this Attainment. Those mages who have experienced the Tree of
Optional Arcanum: Prime 3 Knowledge Attainment describe the feeling as ex-
A Rose of Eden who is also a Disciple of Prime tremely unsettling. The Attainment requires that
can grow a true tree of life. The tree needs to be of a all participants touch, skin to skin (holding hands
variety that bears fruit, and it must be grown without is the usual method, though more intimate versions
magical assistance (that is, the character must tend have been known to occur). The mage then uses the
and water it normally). The mage must plant the tree Attainment to make slight alterations in the Pattern
herself, though a sapling works just as well as a seed. of all of the participants, changing animal matter
When the tree bears fruit, the fruits carry within to plant matter on a cellular level. The result is an
them the power to heal. Anyone who eats the fruit increased awareness of one another’s state of being
of the tree is immediately healed of damage equal to and an ability to understand one another, which lasts
the mage’s Gnosis, in either bashing or lethal damage. for the duration of the scene. The participants all feel
If the mage has Life 4, the fruits can heal aggravated a sudden dulling of sensation from sound and sight,
damage as well. but experience a kind of synesthesia — they feel light
rather than seeing it. Also, perception of difference
36
in microcosm, the minute mimicking the whole. Even Jenny took the name Violet to remind herself to be
Sleepers — especially Sleepers — had a part. less outgoing. Most of the time it works, but sometimes
And Jenny, who always had a fondness for calling she forgets herself (especially among friends), and takes
it as she saw it, agreed. She dug into the records, and control of the conversation. Violet is a leader who is
found that there was no verification for the prophecies. afraid, at present, to lead, because doing so would mean
None of them had actually come true in a way that taking someone else’s place. Old habits die hard.
truly confirmed them, and, she was forced to admit, Dedicated Magical Tool: Plastic makeup mirror,
the establishment had a vested interest in keeping etched with the Fate rune.
these sacred texts revered rather than examined. In- Real Name: Jenny Adams
deed, as she examined them, her status in the order Path: Acanthus
dropped, until a month later new recruits were getting Order: Free Council
preferential treatment from the masters. Legacy: Roses of Eden
Disgusted, Jenny resigned from the Silver Lad- Mental Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 3,
der. She found the Free Councilor who had Resolve 2
spoken up and offered to join his cabal. Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity
He did her one better, and helped her 2, Stamina 2
to become a Rose of Eden. Social Attributes: Presence 4, Manipu-
Description: Jenny is as beautiful lation 2, Composure 3
as she ever was, but she hides it a little Mental Skills: Academics 2, Computer 2,
more now. She lets her hair hang in her Crafts (Gardening) 1, Investigation 2, Oc-
cult 2, Politics 3
face, wears clothes that don’t show off
her figure, and doesn’t smile much. An Physical Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl 1, Drive 1,
Stealth 1
observer would have to take the time to converse
Social Skills: Empathy 3, Expression 2, Persua-
with her, to engage with her, to see the lovely
sion (Kind) 3, Socialize (Corporate) 2, Streetwise
woman beneath. Jenny is in her early 30s, blond
2, Subterfuge 3
and blue-eyed, and has a soft, heart-shaped face.
Merits: Contacts (Big Business, Legal), Destiny
She isn’t tall, but is curvaceous and fit, and (“Frost kills the blossom”) 4, High Speech,
seems at ease no matter where she is. Resources 3, Striking Looks 4
Jenny’s Nimbus is the subtle scent of flowers, Willpower: 5
coupled with a slight euphoric feeling — the Wisdom: 7
sensation that everything is going to work Virtue: Hope
out in the end. When she uses her magic in Vice: Greed
a harmful fashion, which is rare, the Nimbus Initiative: 5
carries an unpleasant “aftertaste,” a feeling of Defense: 2
lingering unease.
Speed: 9
Storytelling Hints: Jenny has retreated from the Health: 7
limelight almost entirely. She still wants to make Gnosis: 3
a difference in magical society, but now feels that
Arcana: Fate 3, Life 3, Prime 1, Time 2
the best way to do that is to rebuild it — which of
Rotes: Fate — Reading the Outmost Eddies
course means breaking it first. She’s not a naturally (•), Shifting the Odds (••), Lucky Coin (•••); Life
bitter or destructive person, though, so she keeps — Self-Healing (••), Purify Bodies (••); Time —
looking for a way to do that without hurting anyone. Perfect Timing (•), Flip of the Coin (••)
Her mentor knows, and has tried to explain, that Legacy Attainment: 1st — Blossom’s Whispers
making omelets means breaking eggs, but Jenny isn’t Mana/per turn: 12/3
quite ready to face that yet. She is more maiden than Armor: 3 (“Fortune’s Protection,” Time ••)
mother, in many ways, so she is on the cusp of enter-
ing the Empress stage of her journey. A cabal that
gives her focus and a constructive way to achieve
these goals could push her into this stage, where
The Empress Reversed
The Empress reversed is a symbol of bar-
she will truly shine. renness, both of body and of soul. A blasted
38
Key IV — The Emperor
The Emperor sits on his throne, sternly regarding The focus on government, of course, calls to mind
those who stand before him. He is a domineering, the Silver Ladder when the Awakened consider the
paternal figure, bearded and wizened — the Magician Tarot. The Vox Draconis often takes the Emperor as its
made into an experienced and venerable man. He is card, hoping to convey its knowledge and energy, but
the consort of the Empress (and as such, she could be also, of course, its authority. The Silver Ladder’s desires
seen as the more mature version of the High Priestess) to unite the Awakened require a central leadership
and contains the male spark of creation, the seed from figure (even if it isn’t actually a single man), and the
which new life can grow. Not Emperor is an easily recogniz-
coincidentally, he is often able figure of this concept.
pictured with a scepter. The More generally, the Emperor
Emperor can also call to mind often represents the influence of
the image of God as maker any of the orders, or at least a
and arranger of the cosmos, mentor. A mage at this stage in
the overseer and ruler of all the journey through the Tarot
that is. The card, therefore, needs some firm guidance. Up
can represent a need to lis- until now, he has received much
ten to higher authority (be of his training in general terms
that authority spiritual or — moralistic advice, metaphor,
mundane), and to heed the and basic information designed
advice of those more knowl- to help him gently come to
edgeable. It can also indicate terms with what he is. Now,
dominance from such an it is time for the Emperor, in
authority, however. whatever form, to show him the
While the Empress teaches hard truth about the World of
the value of relying on ex- Darkness. Yes, you can conjure
perience and intuition, the fire, but fire spreads. Yes, you
Emperor teaches discipline, can read minds, but you might
responsibility and, when not like what you see. Yes, you
necessary, harsh justice. His are a mage, but you are still
lessons are still driven by prac- mortal. From these practical
ticality (a dogmatic lesson is points, the mage moves on to
coming soon, though, in the the theological maxims of the
personage of the Hierophant), Hierophant. The Emperor, gruff
and he understands the though he may be, is perhaps
workings of the world. The the last refuge of safety for a
Emperor is associated with young mage. From here on out,
both earth and fire, government and war. nothing is certain or simple.
When first man gazed up into the Heavens and saw of astronomy progressed, the stargazer learned that
the stars, what did he think? Those twinkling dots of the light he saw was from celestial bodies long dead,
light represented something far away, unattainable, reaching Earth long after the start that generated it
something that became the object of longing and burned out. Does this, then, mean that wishes, too,
symbolic of the most fervent wishes. As knowledge are only realized by sacrificing the zeal and wonder
40
Prince Henry died in 1460, and Daedalus vowed to ticed. Mages in the Free Council looked over the old
carry on the Navigator’s dream of mapping the stars. writings and learned rotes and history that helped in
He formed a new Legacy, which he threw open to any their dealings with the Ladder. Mages of the Ladder,
member of the Silver Ladder (and later tutored at least meanwhile, studied the notes and decided that the
one Moros of the Mysterium). This Legacy, which took Celestial Navigators’ philosophy might be worthy of
the name “Celestial Navigators” after Prince Henry, study again, especially in light of Gauge’s speech about
focused on exploration and mapping of new and strange conversion and progression.
lands. Some members of the Legacy accompanied ships Some years later, a cabal of mages from the Free
to new countries (one, in fact, sailed on the Santa Council and the Silver Ladder approached Gauge and
Maria with Christopher Columbus, but abandoned asked him to collaborate on a series of magical experi-
him after returning from his first voyage, calling him ments performed in conjunction with the theories of
“a pig, a buffoon, and an opportunist — he doesn’t quantum mechanics. Gauge, himself an expert in the
see people, he sees piles of gold”). Some entered the field of harmonics, agreed, and the cabal made some
Shadow and attempted cartography and cataloging fascinating discoveries. Matter, they realized, was en-
of the spirit worlds, with varying degrees of success. ergy, and while it had long been known that a skilled
Some attempted to use descriptions of fables such as mage could change energy to solid matter and back, the
Prester John’s kingdom or the Fountain of Youth to cabal became convinced that with the right apparatus,
open scrying windows or portals, but if any of these this conversion was possible in the Fallen World as
attempts succeeded, there are no records. The Legacy well. In 1926, the cabal renamed itself the “Photonic
spread, and when Daedalus died, he did so knowing Navigators,” taking the term “photon” from the work
that he had inspired the hopes and dreams of many of American chemist Gilbert Lewis. Their intent was
of the Awakened. to learn to convert living matter to energy and thus
travel to places unreachable even by mages.
Made of Stars Some of these mages, adapting the teachings of the
The Celestial Navigator Legacy remained a fairly Celestial Navigators Legacy, created a variant — the
important one in Europe (and, if rumors are to be be- Celestial Masters. Since then, the Legacy has recruited
lieved, in China as well) up until the early 17th century. from the Silver Ladder, the Free Council, and accepts
As exploration changed from over sea to over land, Necromancers from other orders as well. They continue
the Legacy became less common. The Silver Ladder to work toward better understanding of energy con-
kept records, of course, and there were still Celestial version, hoping to one day be able to reproduce their
Navigators to be found, especially in southern Portugal, magical feats without using magic. They recognize,
but it wasn’t until the formation of the Free Council though, that this goal might be impossible. This, to
that the Legacy experienced a revival. the Stargazers, isn’t important. The important thing
In 1899, when the Free Council emerged as an order, is that their goal continues to inspire them, and allows
the Silver Ladder was not initially enthusiastic. But them to do great things along the way.
one member of the Vox Draconis who supported the
nascent order was a physicist named Dr. John Cressner.
Gauge, as he was known to his fellow mages, believed Induction
the Free Council was a natural progression, an ideo- The Celestial Masters Legacy is one of the more
logical evolution of sorts, responding both to needs accessible, given that two orders and a Path teach
within the Awakened community and changes to the it. Joining requires finding a Celestial Master and
Fallen World. Gauge, wishing to formally welcome making an entreaty. A background in physics isn’t
the Free Council to the Awakened community of his strictly necessary, but applicants are required to have
home city (New York), found the records detailing the reached the rank of Apprentice in both Matter and
Celestial Navigators Legacy and presented them to the Forces, and to demonstrate skill in conversion in both
Free Council. He made a special point of mentioning Arcanum.
that Prince Henry the Navigator’s dream of mapping The applicant is then required to study with his
the stars had not yet been realized, but perhaps that mentor, learning at least two of the following rotes
was unimportant — the dream itself was what had (all page numbers refer to Mage: The Awakening):
led to the Legacy. Gauge, himself an Obrimos, never Alter Conductivity (p. 194), Influence Light (p. 162),
joined a Legacy at all, but his gesture didn’t go unno- Invisible Object (p. 166) or Transmute Water (p. 197).
42
The second effect is similar to the Matter 2 spell When transmuting, the player states the type of
“Steel Windows.” The character can look through any matter/energy he wishes the energy/matter to become.
solid object he wishes. This requires the player to roll If the object’s Durability is less than the corresponding
Wits + Science + Matter. Unlike the Steel Windows intensity of the energy on the chart above, the energy
spell, the mage is the only one who can see through becomes an amount of matter equal to the intensity
the object. in Size. If the Durability is equal to or greater than
the intensity listed for the energy, the object is Size 1
2nd: Everything is Stardust (equal) or Size 0 (greater).
Prerequisites: Gnosis 5, Matter 3, Forces 3 Using this Attainment requires the player to spend
The Stargazer gains insight into the nature of matter a point of Mana and roll Intelligence + Science +
and energy, and its fundamental form as the stuff of the Matter (to change energy into matter) or Forces (to
universe, no matter what state it is currently in. The change matter into energy). The mage must touch the
mage can touch a wall and make it disappear in a flash matter or be able to perceive the energy to affect it
of light, or mute the report from a gun by making the (which of course means that as long as the mage can
sound dissipate into a splash of water. He cannot, however, see at all, he can theoretically change the light into
transmute energy into energy or matter into matter, some kind of matter).
change energy into air (or vice versa), or transmute Example: Scout is backing up his Adamantine Arrow
kinetic energy or radiation. The only types of energy cabal-mate and uses this Attainment to silence the report
he can use with this Attainment are light, heat, sound, from his friends’ gun. He figures he’ll change the sound
electricity and fire, and the only types of matter he can into water (Durability 0). The Storyteller notes that a
involve are solids and liquids. All transmutations are gunshot is rated at 4 on the chart above, meaning that
permanent, and the mage cannot shape matter using turning a gunshot into water results in a body of water
this Attainment. For instance, he might change light with a Size rating of 4. Fortunately, the water splashes
into stone, causing the room to darken momentarily harmlessly onto the ground; the mages shoes are a bit wet,
and small chunks of stone to fall to the ground, but he but this doesn’t present a problem.
couldn’t take the light in the room and turn it into a Later, Scout and his friend are running for their lives
statue (not with this Attainment alone, at least, though (seems their enemies tracked them by the wet footprints
spells might make this possible). they left), and they come to a gate with a chain and a
The conversion from energy to matter is problematic, padlock. Scout uses this Attainment on the padlock. He
because gauging how “much” light or sound might decides to change it into light. The padlock has Durability
transform into a gallon of water or a pound of stone 3, so the flash of light it becomes is about equivalent to a
is difficult. Likewise, how loud is a sound made from car headlight. The two mages slip through the gate and
a normal-sized door? The table below can be used as hurry away, hoping their pursuers didn’t see the light.
a rule of thumb. Optional Arcanum: Space 3
This Attainment cannot be used to affect an object The Celestial Navigators used specially-trained birds
with a Size rating greater than 5, but the character to aid in mapmaking. The mage forged a strong sympa-
can break apart a larger object over time. The mage thetic connection to the bird, and then released it and
should be wary, of course, of destroying objects that used that connection for scrying. The Celestial Masters
support others (load-bearing walls and the like), or of make use of a similar tactic, but employ their impressive
trying to transmute a chemical fire into sand in an matter/energy conversion skills to create astounding
enclosed space. three-dimensional models of their surroundings.
44
he was now called — struck up a friendship with an for adventure again — but he’s reluctant to leave his
Adamantine Arrow mage named Ballista. Ballista told friend Ballista behind. He wonders what kind of work
him if he wanted to be a true explorer in the Fallen might be available for “explorers for hire” in the mage
World, his best chance for seeing new sights was to be a community.
Sentinel. As the first line of defense against supernatural Description: Scout recently turned 30, and is start-
threats, the Sentinels were often coming into contact ing to develop wrinkles around his eyes. He keeps his
with creatures that no living mage had ever seen. brown hair buzzed and wears a thin beard. His hands
Scout had never considered this before, but it are callused and strong, and he walks with a slight
seemed to make sense (and it was a sight more in- limp due to a fractured ankle he suffered on a rock-
teresting than being a glorified climbing trip. Scout typically dresses in blue jeans and
postman, anyway). He honed sweatshirts, and has never worn a tie in his life.
his combat skills and joined Scout’s Nimbus manifests as the howling of unquiet
Ballista’s cabal. Not a week shades. He finds this extremely embarrassing, but he
later, the cabal hasn’t found a way to change it. He rarely casts vulgar
ran afoul of a spells because of his Nimbus.
creature from Storytelling Hints: Unlike some of the more sci-
the Abyss that entifically minded members of his Legacy, Scout is a
could animate true explorer. He’d rather be out in the woods, dirty
stone statues. and hungry, if it means learning something or see-
The Senti- ing something new. He also plays against the Moros
nels fought it stereotype somewhat. Although he can see ghosts,
off, but it took he prefers not to. Ghosts frighten and depress him,
assistance partly because they remind him of the toll the early
from a visiting explorers took on the native people of the lands they
Celestial Master invaded.
to finish it. At times, Scout wonders about the role that mages
Scout took play in supernatural exploration. Are they, like the
some time away seafarers of old, bringing new diseases and problems
from his cabal to the places they visit? Are the supernatural beings
to study with they discover going to suffer for it? And if that’s the
this mage, case, why is the urge to explore so strong?
fascinated by In a chronicle dedicated to the Tarot journey, Scout
the depth of probably isn’t the Emperor that the characters would
knowledge and expect. But in his element, leading a cabal through
the sense of history a cave system (that might lead to or be part of an
she offered him. Atlantean temple), he quickly becomes a vivacious,
He ventured to energetic and learned authority figure.
Portugal for the tri-
Dedicated Magical Tool: Rock hammer.
annual meeting, Real Name: Adam Snow
and returned to
Path: Moros
his cabal a Star-
Order: Silver Ladder
gazer. He isn’t
Legacy: Celestial Masters
sure how much
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 3, Resolve 2
longer he’ll stay
Physical Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2
in his position
— he’s start- Social Attributes: Presence 2, Manipulation 2,
Composure 3
ing to feel
Mental Skills: Academics 1, Crafts 3, Medicine (Field
the itch
Dressing) 1, Occult 2, Science 2
Physical Skills: Athletics 4, Brawl 2, Drive 2, Firearms 2,
Larceny 1, Stealth 2, Survival (Knots) 3, Weaponry 2
46
Key V —
The Hierophant
The Hierophant, known as the Pope in some decks, The Hierophant does not ask that mages critically
represents spiritual authority and dogma. He sits upon examine his teachings (though he doesn’t necessarily
a throne, as does the Emperor, and carries a scepter forbid it, depending on what he represents). He only
or other symbol of his holy office. The Hierophant’s holds up the holy writ and intones his sacred passages,
authority, however, comes expecting others to follow.
from above, and the teach- Some interpretations of
ings he hands down are not the Hierophant among the
based on lucid observation Awakened are narrower, refer-
of the world around him, ring specifically to the Seers of
but upon visions, mysteries the Throne and the Exarchs.
and readings of ancient holy From what the Pentacle mages
texts. The card itself can know of the Seers, they are
represent the need to return living representations of how
to or observe orthodoxy or dogma as a guiding principle
the danger of relying on it can be toxic, as they teach that
too much, depending on its a given set of rules is absolute.
position within a spread. Any mage, though, should
For the mage and the jour- know that the rules of reality
ney through the Tarot, the itself are variable depending on
Hierophant comes after the which “reality” one is currently
learning experiences of Keys in (that is, the Fallen World or
II, III and IV. The Hierophant the Supernal Realms, or even
isn’t necessarily a negative the physical world as opposed
card, but its primary function to the Shadow). A system that
is to educate the mage in what espouses absolutism is thus
other Awakened believe. flawed, and that is how the
This “orthodoxy” might be Pentacle generally perceives the
the Atlantean system of Throne. Interestingly, though,
belief, including the Fall of cartomancers among the Seers
the Celestial Ladder and the welcome this association, and
formation of the orders, or it’s not uncommon to see Seer
the teachings of the Throne cabals use Hierophant symbol-
and the need for subservience ism in their heraldry.
to the Exarchs. Some mages Solitaries and those few cabals that come together
might even fall in with Banishers, and learn a much without interference from the Pentacle orders, of course,
more unpleasant — but just as regimented — belief don’t meet the Hierophant. This has its advantages and
system. The important point here is that not only does disadvantages. The Hierophant isn’t there to impart a
magic require morality, but that morality very often system of beliefs, and that means the mages aren’t blind
has a set of established rules and values attached to to other possibilities — they never had an authority
it. And like Sleeper religions, many of these values figure tell them “this is how things are, and this is what
don’t have much validity outside their respective you should believe.” On the other hand, sometimes that
beliefs. That is, while the orders might have a great kind of structure can be comforting, especially as what
deal to teach, some of the traditions are outmoded and a mage “knows” is constantly questioned by the very
perhaps unnecessary in the modern world. Even so, nature of magical exploration.
many mages treat them as though they are inviolable.
Philosophy and Beliefs Finally, the Votaries feel the Awakened are the
chosen people, quite literally. Every Awakening is the
result of deliberate intervention by either the Exarchs
The Votaries do not believe the Exarchs are om-
nipotent. If They were, They would simply remake or the Oracles, but there is no way to know which.
the Fallen World in Their image, and all would be Furthermore, it doesn’t matter. The Votaries don’t care
right and good. The Exarchs are as gods to those in who Awakened a mage, they care about what he does
the Fallen World, but they are not, in fact, gods. The with his power now that he is Awakened. Likewise,
Votaries feel that belief systems that demand worship until a person Awakens, he is not a true person to the
due to the omnipotence of the deity are flawed — why Votaries. He is nothing but a tool, to be used, abused,
would an all-powerful god need worship? No, the Vo- manipulated or even killed as necessary to further the
taries pledge their undying loyalty because they know goals of the Exarchs.
in their hearts that the Exarchs are the best thing for
the Fallen World.
By the same token, the Votaries do not believe in
History of the Cabal
The cabal’s formation was nothing short of miraculous.
predestination. They find any philosophy in which the
The original three of them represented three opposing
end is foretold to be fatalistic in the extreme. The Vo-
Awakened factions: Gentleman was already a Seer, a
taries believe that, with the Seers working toward the
member of a pylon working to improve the Throne’s
proper ends, the Exarchs can prevail over the Oracles
corporate dealings in the city; Prism was a Guardian of
and their pawns, but it’s not a foregone conclusion.
the Veil, a solitary agent with multiple identities; And
This injects both hope and a bit of desperation into
Buzzard was a Tremere Lich, waiting until the dust had
the cabal’s dealings. They won’t fight to the death un-
cleared to drink his fill of the souls of the dying. The
less there is no other alternative. Instead, they enter
three of them met up one night, quite by accident, and
conflicts knowing that their masters want them to live,
engaged in a battle in the middle of a crowd of Sleep-
and so take precautions to make sure their enemies
ers. Gentleman used his command of Mind to nudge
die first (if death, in fact, is the goal).
Sleepers toward the other two, while Prism shifted her
Orthodoxy image from place to place by manipulating light, trying
to reach her enemies. Buzzard had aid from the unquiet
The Votaries do not see messages from the Exarchs dead, of course. As the three mages circled each other,
everywhere, the way some Seers do. They feel that they all saw a blast of light, and suddenly all of the
the Exarchs do not wish to deceive them, and thus Sleepers were transfixed, staring helplessly at the sky.
aren’t going to waste time implanting the cracks in They were the only three that could move.
the sidewalk with hidden, heavily coded messages
They looked at the sky, and saw something move
when other options exist. To wit, the Votaries only
in the light. “You,” it said, “I choose to Awaken anew.
take their cues from their dreams and from visions
Too long you have slept, playing at children’s games,
achieved using the Vestments (see below). Once they
48
blinded by the Lie. But I shall lead you to the Vest- fenced goods around. She broke into the sanctum
ments of the Throne, and I shall lead you to two more, one morning, and was surprised by the reception she
to whom I shall also show the truth. And you shall received — three men and a woman all facing her
keep my ways.” down, all armed, and all Awakened.
With that, the light faded, and the three mages, The Acanthus, whom the others called “Mole” after
enemies to the core, sat down together and discussed learning her situation, agreed to join them, despite
what they had seen. Despite their differences, they never having seen a vision. Part of this willingness,
couldn’t ignore what had happened. They left their of course, was because she was quite aware that these
respective factions and boarded a plane to flee the people could kill her and no one would ever know.
state. As their plane neared its destination, however, But another part of it is that Mole wants to believe
the engines failed and it crashed into a forest. The as they do, wants to experience a dream or a vision,
mages were the only three to survive. and wants her terrifying Awakening to make some
As they wandered from the wreckage, they found sense. Thus far, nothing she has seen has convinced
a wooden crate, long buried but now unearthed by her, and the Votaries’ methods are unsettling. But
the impact. Opening it, they found a circlet, a pair they are adamant that she is their fifth, and since she
of gloves, a belt, a stole and a robe. Analysis showed never had contact with other mages, she has nowhere
that these items were, in fact, Artifacts, and the mages to turn for help, even if she wanted to leave.
decided they were the Vestments to which the voice
had referred. They took the items and moved into Tactics and Activities
the nearest city, awaiting their next members. They Now that the cabal was assembled, work could begin
weren’t long in waiting. on the Exarchs’ goals. The Votaries receive visions in-
While setting up their sanctum, Buzzard was shot in frequently, instructing them in what the Exarchs want
the back. He fell, calling up spells to defend himself, done and how they want it done. Sometimes, the goal is
when his assailant appeared — a man holding a pair the assassination of a mage in another city. Sometimes,
of pistols. Buzzard looked at him and saw a light appear the goal is more altruistic — one vision even required
around the man, and gasped the word, “lantern.” that the Votaries save the lives of a group of Sleepers
The man stopped, and lowered his guns. He had long trapped in a burning building. Sometimes, the goal
thought of himself as a “lantern,” of sorts — could this is purely temporal: take control of a corporation and
unclean creature possibly recognize that? The rest of sell it off; help a young thief establish himself; or bring
the cabal assembled, and agreed to allow this new mage a serial killer to justice. Very rarely do the Exarchs’
to see the Vestments. Lantern did so, and put them on goals involve supernatural beings other than mages,
in the proper order. This, the Seers realized, was their although the Votaries have occasionally run afoul of
new member. Within a few weeks, the four mages all these creatures while pursuing other goals.
received the same dream, in which the original three The Votaries employ whatever tactics they feel they
bowed down before a glowing, golden lantern. Their must to accomplish their ends, though their tendency
newest member, once a Banisher, had been named is toward using pawns. One of the Vestments, after
their leader. Under Lantern’s leadership, they began all, is a Profane Urim, and Gentleman is a Master of
using their skills to fortify their sanctum, building a Mind, meaning that Sleeper pawns are in great sup-
base from which to conduct their operations. None of ply. But beyond that, Lantern is adamant that any
them knew, yet, what those operations would entail, activity they undertake be untraceable, and so they
but that wasn’t important, Lantern reminded them. meticulously scour the scenes of their crimes for physical
Their masters would tell them when it was time to take and, especially, supernatural evidence. Prism removes
action. For now, they needed to concentrate on their evidence of magic, Mole blocks the area from Time
own security and on finding their fifth member. magic, Buzzard destroys or subjugates any ghosts, and
Their fifth member, as it happened, came to them, Lantern makes sure that spirits say what he wants them
in part because of their security. A recently Awak- to say. Gentleman, of course, destroys sympathetic con-
ened Acanthus working for an alarm company was in nections. Above all else, Lantern insists that a rational
the habit of robbing the company’s customers, using explanation be in place for whatever the Votaries do.
her knowledge of the security systems to beat them In the past, he has set other Banishers up to take the
quickly. She never took much, and never bothered fall after killing mages, and the cabal has been known
stealing from people who didn’t keep cash or easily to make contact with other Seer cabals and send them
50
The Votaries’ Sanctum man went out of his way to find killing necessary, and
surely would have killed Prism and Buzzard had the
The Votaries purchased a building that was once Exarchs not made their will known to him.
used as the headquarters of a small newspaper. They Description: Gentleman is in his late 30s, and wears
constructed a wall bisecting the first floor. The back a stylish beard with his $300 haircut. His clothes are
half of the building contains the mages’ living quarters, tailor-made, his shoes are custom designed to allow
but the only way to access this area is to walk through him to run without losing traction (but still look
the wall. A certain section of the wall is imbued. good), and he carries a specially designed sword-cane.
With the appropriate code word, the section shifts Gentleman’s eyes are blue and cold, and he smiles a
into Twilight, allowing passage between the living bored but polite smile.
area and the main area of the sanctum. Gentleman’s Nimbus makes anyone in his vicinity
The main area of the sanctum is a large room, which feel small, weak and insignificant. Gentleman and his
the mages use to store and work on vehicles, weapons compatriots seem to tower over other people, looking
and other projects. down on their lessors with disdain.
The upstairs contains the cabal’s Library and Hal- Storytelling Hints: Gentleman is bitter that he
low. The Library consists of books, scrolls and even isn’t in charge of the cabal. He, after all, is the only
CD-ROMs, some of which the Votaries contributed one of them with the good sense to start out follow-
from their own collections, some of which have been ing the Exarchs. Gentleman is, however, completely
taken from victims. The Hallow, which only became devoted to the Votaries’ cause, and so he keeps his
active after the cabal bought the property, is centered feelings about Lantern (“lucky bastard”) and Buzzard
in an old printing press. Ink drips from the rollers, and (“monster”) under wraps. The Exarchs must know
any paper that the ink marks becomes Tass. what they are doing.
Traits for all five of the Votaries are provided below. Slowly but surely, though, he is coming to feel that
Note that some of them have Willpower ratings that the Exarchs are just like his parents — stupid, remote
are lower than the totals indicated by their Resolve and full of themselves. He desperately wants this not
+ Composure ratings. This is because they have paid to be so, and so he searches and prays for a vision that
Willpower dots to relinquish control of imbued spells will give him some true meaning, and, perhaps, a bit
casting using the stole (see above). of validation.
Dedicated Magical Tool: Sword cane.
Gentleman Real Name: Geoffrey Adam Billings IV
Quote: Violence is ugly, boring and lowbrow. Sadly, Path: Mastigos
it also seems inevitable. Order: Seers of the Throne
Background: Gentleman was born into money, and Legacy: None
rebelled against it from the start. He was happy to spend Mental Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 3, Resolve 2
his parents’ fortune, but had no interest in playing the Physical Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3
role they wanted from him. He didn’t want to be a Social Attributes: Presence 3, Manipulation 4,
doctor, or a businessman. He wanted to be something Composure 4
that would really piss them off — but nothing he tried Mental Skills: Academics 3, Computer 2, Investigation 2,
worked. When he wanted to start a rock band, they Occult 2, Politics (High Society) 3
offered to fix him up with a producer. When he tried Physical Skills: Athletics 3, Brawl (Strikes) 3, Drive 2,
his hand at art, they offered him a showing at a gallery Firearms (Shotgun) 2, Stealth 3, Weaponry (Fencing) 4
they owned. He was never able to articulate why he Social Skills: Intimidation 3, Persuasion 1, Socialize
hated them and their way of life so much… until he (High Society) 4, Subterfuge 3
Awakened, and the Seers of the Throne showed him Merits: Dream 2, Fast Reflexes 2, Fighting Finesse
that his parents’ world was a lie. (sword), Quick Draw (sword), Hallow (shared) 3, Library
From that point, Gentleman played the role of the (shared; Mind Control, Ghosts, Guardians of the Veil),
society man to the hilt, because doing so in service Resources 4, Sanctum (shared; Size 3, Security 5), Status
to his pylon allowed him to scoff at his parents’ world (Seers of the Throne) 3, Status (High Society) 2
while still enjoying the benefits. The Throne taught Willpower: 5
him to fence, to control the minds of lesser mortals Wisdom: 2
(read: everyone) and, when necessary, to kill. Gentle- Virtue: Fortitude
52
has found a cabal that respects her for her talents, Armor: 5 (“Unseen Shield,” Forces ••)
rather than constantly mucking about in her mind. Magic Shield: 3 (Prime ••)
For her, being a Votary is the best thing that could
have happened. Buzzard
Prism maintains a deep-seated hatred for the Guard- Quote: Left-Handed? Hah. I’m ambidextrous now.
ians of the Veil, but she also knows how the order works Background: Buzzard is a rarity, a mage who chose
and so doesn’t go taking revenge on them thoughtlessly. the half-life of a Tremere Lich while still young. But
She sometimes uses her Masques to impersonate a Buzzard had his reasons. He knew he was sick. He was
Guardian, and since the order maintains such a high ill beyond any capacity of magic or medicine. Buzzard
degree of secrecy (and since her old masters never was a killer, a cannibal and a necrophiliac. Drawn to
disavowed her formally), she is a danger to the Visus the dead with a fascination that he could never explain,
Draconis as a whole. he decided to seek out the Embalmed as a way to give
Dedicated Magical Tool: Gold ring some legitimacy to these cravings. At least, as a lich,
Real Name: Kayla Berg no one would begrudge him his predilections.
Path: Obrimos He was right, of course, and enjoyed several years
Order: Seers of the Throne (formerly Guardians of of soul-theft before he saw another path. The light of
the Veil) the Exarchs burned the evil out of him, he says, and
Legacy: Subtle Ones he lives to serve the will of his saviors. Of course, he
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 4, Wits 3, Resolve 3 still has to consume souls to survive, and too much
Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2 time has passed since his induction into the Legacy
Social Attributes: Presence 2, Manipulation 5, to consider reattaching his original soul. But perhaps
Composure 5 the Exarchs needed a lich on their side. Buzzard prefers
Mental Skills: Academics 2, Computer 3, Crafts 1, In- this view of things since, again, it grants him a pass
vestigation (Profiling) 3, Occult 2, Politics 2, Science 2 on his activities.
Physical Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl 1, Drive 1, Firearms 2, Buzzard was once a member of the Adamantine Ar-
Stealth 5
row, but of the members of his original cabal, only one
Social Skills: Animal Ken 1, Empathy 2, Expression remains alive and he is hopelessly insane, incarcerated
(Impersonation) 3, Persuasion 2, Socialize 3, Streetwise
by his own Consilium for the good of all until he can
(Hiding Places) 3, Subterfuge (Disguise) 4
be cured. He sometimes cries about “the buzzard” and
Merits: Dream 3, Eidetic Memory, Hallow (shared) 3,
expresses terror that it might be coming for him, but
Library (shared; Mind Control, Ghosts, Guardians of the
Veil), Resources 2, Sanctum (shared; Size 3, Security 5), since Buzzard only adopted that Shadow Name after
Status (Seers of the Throne) 3, Status (Guardians of killing his cabal, the mage’s captors don’t realize who
the Veil) 1 he’s talking about.
Willpower: 6 Description: Buzzard is about 40. He is tall and
Wisdom: 4 muscular, with grizzled, weather-beaten skin and
Virtue: Temperance a toothy, unpleasant grin. He favors black, leather
Vice: Lust especially, and carries two silver orbs about the size
Initiative: 8 of golf balls that he occasionally imbues with Death
Defense: 3 spells using the stole.
Speed: 10 Buzzard’s Nimbus makes him look like a walking
Health: 7 skeleton. The flesh seems to shrivel on his bones,
Gnosis: 3 and his teeth, always prominent, turn his face into
Arcana: Fate 1, Forces 5, Mind 2, Prime 3 a leering skull.
Rotes: Forces — Tune In (•), Control Sound (••), Trans- Storytelling Hints: Buzzard has always been at the
mission (••), Light Mastery (•••), Personal Invisibility (•••), mercy of his whims, and he became a lich so that he
Thunderbolt (••••), Flight (•••••); Mind — One Mind, Two would have an excuse. His acceptance by the Exarchs
Thoughts (•), Alter Aura (••), Mental Shield (••); Prime — just gives more weight to that excuse, allowing Buzzard
Dispel Magic (•), Transform Aura (••), Phantasm (•••) to continue on, never claiming responsibility for his
Legacy Attainment: 1st — The Subtle Dance depravity. Of course, as a young lich, he has to steal
Mana/per turn: 12/3 souls only infrequently, but if he survives long enough
54
than to any moral or humanistic concern, however, Trudy Salinger got the job with a security agency
and so this regret is generally reduced to reading the because she was good with computers and a decent
Sleeper’s obituary and shaking his head sadly. Lantern electrician (which, in fairness, was a skill she learned
still thinks of other mages as targets, and so when from her father). She realized that most people installed
the cabal involves the Awakened in their schemes, the security systems, but never bothered learning
he sometimes goes out of his way to make the plans how to use them. Many people, though, did fill out
against them violent. the forms that enumerated their valuables, and while
Dedicated Magical Tool: Folding knife with a pearl Trudy didn’t technically have access to those forms,
handle that access was just one sweaty evening with the boss
Real Name: Mark Croyt away. She made a habit of sneaking into houses and
Path: Thyrsus stealing valuables that folks wouldn’t miss quickly
Order: Seers of the Throne — she rarely stole cash hoards, but family heirlooms
Legacy: None locked in safes were prime targets.
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 4, Wits 3, Resolve 3 She was on her way to a target house when she
Physical Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3 Awakened. She looked back, and saw terrifying
Social Attributes: Presence 2, Manipulation 2, creatures chasing her. Some of them appeared to
Composure 3
Mental Skills: Crafts 4, Investigation 2, Medicine 1,
Occult (Spirits) 2
Physical Skills: Athletics (Swimming) 4, Brawl (Grap-
pling) 3, Firearms (Pistols) 3, Stealth 2, Survival (Sea) 3,
Weaponry 2
Social Skills: Animal Ken 2, Empathy 1, Intimidation 3,
Streetwise 1
Merits: Dream 5, Gunslinger, Hallow (shared) 3, Iron
Stamina 3, Library (shared; Mind Control, Ghosts, Guard-
ians of the Veil), Sanctum (shared; Size 3, Security 5),
Status (Seers of the Throne) 1, Strong Lungs
Willpower: 5
Wisdom: 3
Virtue: Charity
Vice: Sloth
Initiative: 6
Defense: 3
Speed: 12
Health: 8
Gnosis: 3
Arcana: Fate 2, Life 3, Spirit 4
Rotes: Life — Healing Heart (•••); Spirit — Coaxing the
Spirits (•)
Mana/per turn: 12/3
Armor: 4 (“Ephemeral Shield,” Spirit ••)
Mole
Quote: Best tool for beating security? Persistence.
Background: Mole likes to tell people she comes
from a long line of safecrackers, cat burglars and pro-
fessional thieves. She likes to say she was one of the
world’s finest thieves before she was Awakened, and
that she’s robbed royalty, billionaires and two sitting
Presidents. Mole is, of course, a compulsive liar.
56
Key VI — The Lovers
A man and a woman stand naked, holding hands, which is exciting, but also isn’t terribly realistic. Cyn-
unashamed as the sun streams down on them. They ics say love is the pleasant interval between meeting
are pure and innocent, and that purity stems from someone attractive and really getting to know them.
their love for one another. Their love is new and fresh, The Awakened often associate this card with Sleep-
unsullied by lies, jealousy or the creeping comfort of ers, or more commonly, Sleepwalkers. A Sleepwalker
time. Some decks place these lovers in the Garden of is one breathless step away from Awakening, and
Eden, with the obvious implication that this depic- even if she never actually takes that step, she is closer
tion of Adam and Eve takes to the hidden world of magic
place before the unfortunate than most Sleepers will ever
incident with the Serpent. be. Although Sleepwalkers are
Other decks don’t hew to a often servants and retainers
Judeo-Christian motif, and to the Wise, the truth is that
simply present the lovers as a good number of mages take
they are — simple, naked, Sleepwalker lovers and spouses.
and happy. The reason for this is simple: a
The Lovers card can signify Sleepwalker can understand a
romantic love, but it can just mage, can see him for what he
as easily mean purity, inno- is, and represents hope. After
cence and naivety. The lovers all, she might never Awaken,
in the picture aren’t (neces- but she might just as easily
sarily) naked for any carnal Awaken tonight.
purpose. It could be argued On the mage’s journey
that they are naked because through the Tarot, it might
they don’t know any better. seem that much of the ground
This kind of inexperience covered by the Lovers is already
is heartwarming, perhaps, the province of the Fool, and
but it can also be dangerous. this is true. But note the position
Leaving aside any discussion of the Lovers — after the mage
of whether or not Eve was in has been advised by mentors
the right to take the Serpent’s both kindly and strict, after
offer, a canny individual must he has touted his wares as the
be able to weigh a situation Magician and been lectured and
against experience. Inno- scolded by the Hierophant, he
cence and ignorance aren’t is finally released into the world
bad traits, but the Lovers and sees it with new eyes. The
aren’t innocent to the world “lover,” here, might refer to a
in general. They are made innocent because of their literal paramour, the mage’s cabal, order or a favored
feelings for one another. Love changes everything, and mentor — someone or something that the mage looks
when everything changes, one’s perspective is once upon with more reverence than she probably deserves.
again fresh and new. The good news is that while trials and tribulations
The card can also refer to origins — love in the card are indeed in the offing, the mage will (or should)
is beginning. The Garden of Eden, once again, is a learn from this love, flying to new heights on the
symbol with obvious implications here. Love at this Chariot and tempering his passion with experience
stage hasn’t had a chance to become diluted or cooled and Strength.
over time. It is still in the heady, “honeymoon” phase,
Kirsten Quarles
sure, though, how he would pay for college — Troy
was smart, but the public education he’d received
hadn’t prepared him to receive scholarships, and he’d
Kirsten Quarles is terrified. She is only 17, and never been much of an athlete. He joined drama club
nearly eight months pregnant. Her family is dead, because he knew he’d need extracurricular activities
as are many of her close friends, and she despairs of to put on college applications, and it seemed more
contacting anyone she trusts for help, lest the same interesting than most of the other options. During his
fate befall them. Although she is Awakened, she only freshman year, he discovered that he had something
casts spells in life-or-death situations, afraid of how of a knack for acting, and he could memorize lines in
the strain of magic might affect her unborn daughter. a heartbeat. He came back to school the next year
And quite apart from any of the terrifying and occult hoping to play a lead role. He never expected to find
realities of her situation, she is also about to become the love of his life.
a teenaged mother, and homeless at that. Troy and Kirsten sometimes wonder if their relation-
But Kirsten is not alone. Her lover, Troy Bell, stands ship would have survived if they had both been cast
by her side every moment of the day. Troy already has in the play. As it was, Troy was cast in a lead role, but
blood on his hands from defending his love, and he Kirsten didn’t make the cut and was invited to work
is quite willing to kill again if the need should arise. on the crew. The two teens saw each other often,
And it might well, for the baby in Kirsten’s womb but weren’t always together, and over the course of
could shake the foundations of Awakened society. the production, they fell in love. The night the final
Kirsten Quarles’ daughter whispers to her mother in curtain fell, Troy bribed the school janitor to loan
dreams, and from these whispers, Kirsten knows this him a key, and he and Kirsten made love together
child carries a great destiny. Unfortunately, more than on the stage.
one group of mages know this as well. Some of them As they lay there together, wrapped in Troy’s blanket,
want to control the child. Some want to place Kirsten Kirsten felt something happen inside her. Something
under protection (which, to her, means “house arrest”). woke up, and pressed into her mind, asking for reassur-
And some aren’t ready for this child’s destiny to be ance, asking for love. It was frightened. And Kirsten
fulfilled. Sadly, that means killing mother and child, accepted it, responding with thought and feeling
but sometimes sacrifices are necessary for harmony that was unmistakably hers. She Awakened to the
to persist. Watchtower of the Iron Gauntlet at the instant that
her baby was conceived… and her child was conceived
Conception already Awakened.
Kirsten didn’t tell Troy right away that she was
Kirsten Quarles had a comfortable life in the sub-
urbs of Cleveland until she started high school. Her pregnant. How could she know, after all? But a few
parents divorced and her father left the country, all months later, she confirmed it, and told her lover.
but disowning Kirsten and her younger brother. Her She was half expecting him to bolt, or to act like one
mother did the best she could, but the Quarles family of the other boys at the school and brag about the
lost their house and moved into the city, and Kirsten, girl he’d knocked up. Instead, Troy took her hands
used to upscale schools and affluent neighbors, found and told her he’d do what she wanted him to do. If
herself surrounded by people who had never enjoyed that meant dropping out of school and finding work,
the privileges she had. She kept to herself during her he would. Kirsten, desperately wishing that the two
freshman year, never quite finding a clique, but at the of them could just be somewhere else, inadvertently
beginning of her second year of high school she joined teleported them back to the stage where they’d first
the drama club. And there she met Troy Bell. consummated their love. Disbelief covered their ac-
tions as far as the students who were actually in the
Troy had lived in the city his whole life, though he
auditorium at the time, but Troy remembered. He was
moved many times, shuffled between his parents, his
not Awakened, but neither was he truly Asleep. Love,
aunts and uncles, and even foster care. Through it
it seems, opened his eyes.
58
The lovers decided they would wait until spring break
to tell their parents. By that point, Kirsten would be Murders
about four months along, and hopefully her mother Kirsten and Troy fled west, back to Cleveland, but as
would see that Troy was treating her well (she hadn’t they approached the city Kirsten broke down into sobs.
been thrilled about her daughter dating so young, Her mother and brother, she said, were dead. So were her
after all). But they never got that chance. A Banisher cousins and even her father, shot to death in his Greek
intervened and changed their lives. villa. Frantically, she scryed for other people that might help
them, including Troy’s family, but she saw
60
The Awakened Messiah ter’s Gnosis when using her own powers, which is
why Kirsten seems so much more powerful than she
“Everything is bad and corrupt now, but someday a
great leader will come along and save us.” This senti- actually is. In game terms, Kirsten adds two dice to
ment, or some close variation of it, is common to many all magic that she uses, and adds three dice to any at-
belief systems, and the Awakened aren’t immune. There tempt to sense the supernatural (see p. 110 of Mage:
are messianic cults in all of the orders, and it wouldn’t The Awakening). She can also hold more Mana than
be difficult for one such cult to get the notion — cor- she would otherwise be able to (this is noted in her
rectly or not — that Kirsten Quarles is carrying their traits below).
savior in her womb. Of course, such cults often have When the child is born, Kirsten may lose these
enemies, which means the cult chases the lovers to benefits — or her daughter might gain the ability to
“protect” them (though they might well see Troy as access her mother’s Gnosis, as long as they are touch-
expendable, especially since he isn’t Awakened) and ing. Kirsten’s child is an anomaly, and might be a freak
the enemies chase the lovers to kill or control them accident or the beginning of some new type of mage.
to damage the cult. The question then is, who killed To Kirsten, it doesn’t much matter. She only wants to
the lovers’ families? Either side, or both, could have be able to raise her daughter with her lover and live
been responsible. peacefully. Sadly, that isn’t likely to ever happen.
62
The child growing inside Kirsten isn’t human. It’s age. He does not become incapacitated if his Health
a hideous amalgam of an undead creature and the track fills with lethal damage. If his Health track fills
madness of the Abode of Demons. If it is born, it with aggravated damage, his body falls apart and the
could spell destruction for the Awakened community spirit within is banished to the Abyss.
worldwide. But Troy is an effective mage-slayer, and • Regeneration — By funneling Essence into his
he’s covered their tracks well. Kirsten, for her part, physical shell, Troy is able to heal wounds. Every Es-
sence spent heals one point of bashing damage. By
is in deep denial over what’s happening to her, and
spending a Willpower point, Troy can heal lethal or
ignores the terrible whispers from her womb. She
aggravated damage in the same way for the duration
probably won’t survive the pregnancy, but the “baby” of the scene.
doesn’t really need her, anyway. • Siphon — Troy can drain away a target’s vitality. He
If you use this variant, Kirsten’s traits remain as must touch his victim to activate this power. Spend
described above. Troy’s traits change as follows: one Willpower point, and roll Strength + Presence in a
Physical Attributes: Strength 5, Dexterity 5, Stamina contested roll against the target’s Resolve + Composure.
6 (note that these also change Advantages) If Troy wins, every success converts one of the target’s
Social Attributes: Presence 4 Willpower into two Essence (this damage is considered
Mental Skills: Add Occult 4 to be lethal). Once a victim runs out of Willpower, Troy
Supernatural Powers: can Siphon Health instead. If he uses this power on a
• Essence: Whenever Troy harms or kills someone while mage, he can choose to Siphon Mana instead of Will-
protecting Kirsten, roll five dice. For every success, he power, but he cannot target Health until all Willpower
gains one point of Essence. Troy loses one point of Es- is gone. Vampires and other undead creatures can
sence per week, and spends it to fuel his other powers. lose Willpower to Troy, but not Health. If Troy targets a
He can hold a maximum of 15 Essence. creature with an Essence trait (such as a materialized
spirit or a werewolf), he drains Essence directly rather
• Dead Flesh: Troy does not suffer wound penalties,
than Willpower. If the target runs out of Essence, Troy
and does not need to make a Stamina roll to remain
drains Willpower and finally Health/Corpus.
conscious once his Health track is full of bashing dam-
64
task; the pictographs aren’t entirely clear). As time The inside of the Chariot contains the pictographs
goes on, the mage grows older, and finally conjures described above. The pictographs are carved into the
two lion-like creatures up from the dust, binding metal of the Chariot and inlaid with gold and silver.
them into the Chariot as guardians. This is the last The wheels of the Chariot are wooden, reinforced
pictograph on the Chariot. After this is a string of with layers of a metal that modern mages cannot
runes, but they have not been deciphered. Seekers of identify. Many suspect the metal is a perfected form
the Chariot speculate that they might indicate the of iron, whose creation is impossible without certain
date that the master died, or perhaps just a signature materials now lost to time.
of the artist behind the pictographs. The Chariot is large enough for three people to
When the Awakened City fell, the Chariot, like ride in it, if they stand close together. This has an
many secrets of Atlantis, might have been lost forever. adverse effect on the Handling of the craft, however
But the Chariot has its own set of agendas, apparently, (see Systems).
and it flew far away from the doomed ocean spire.
Over time, it has appeared in Awakened history and
legend across the world. The Chariot seems drawn to Systems
places of great power — Hallows, Demesnes, inter- The Chariot has a number of innate magical prop-
sections of ley lines, and of course, other Atlantean erties, some of which can be activated by mages, and
temples. The sphinx-like guardians of the Chariot some that are the sole province of the Chariot itself.
seem able to answer any riddle or deactivate any trap • Flight: The Chariot can reach speeds of at least
on such temples, and so it’s not uncommon for stories Mach 1 (770 mph), but those riding in it feel no
of other temples to mention the Chariot awaiting inertia and no friction from the speed. A rider can
explorers when they enter. let go of the Chariot and not worry about falling to
Consilii sometimes lay claim to the Chariot, but no Earth. If a mage manages to activate the Chariot, and
one manages to keep it for long. The mobile temple thus control its flight, it has a Handling rating of 5.
always flies off after a few weeks; no matter how many Each additional passenger subtracts one dice from the
times the guardians are appeased, and no matter what Handling, however.
magical strictures are placed upon it. Some scholars • Mystical Shield: The Chariot protects the rider.
believe the Chariot represents a condition of lordship Everyone on board the Chariot is considered to have
that cannot be maintained for long. Once the owner Armor 5, as though protected by the Forces 2 spell
has established authority using the Chariot, he needs “Unseen Shield.” This armor stacks with any personal
to keep that authority on his own merits. armor spells the mage might employ. In addition, the
Chariot cloaks itself from the view of Sleepers below,
66
have another turn in which to try if he fails. or undertake its journey. Worse, the seeker might lose
No traits are provided for the white lion, as it doesn’t his nerve in mid-flight, crashing to Earth like Helios’
enter combat or direct confrontation with characters. son, or grow too prideful. Like Lucifer, Bellepheron
If, for some reason, traits become necessary, use the or Icarus, his pride is his undoing, his reach exceeds
black lion’s traits. his grasp, and he mistakes the power he has for the
power he deserves.
Claiming the Chariot
Once the mage has passed both lions’ tests, they The Atlantean Chariot as a Trap
become part of the Chariot once again. The mage can The creator of the Chariot had a perverse sense
control the Chariot for a short time, commanding its of humor. The Chariot can fly, but it bestows no
flight and taking advantage of its magical protection. other bonuses upon the mage that “claims” it. The
Mages have, in the past, used the Chariot to make lions, however, speak modern languages perfectly,
war upon enemies, to seize power in Consilii, to gain and promise mastery of magic, temporal power and
entrance at Atlantean temples, and simply as an ob- anything else they think might work to coax a mage
ject of study. The Chariot doesn’t provide inspiration, into accepting the challenge.
merely a helpful tool. Whatever the mage wishes to But the challenge never ends. Every time the mage
use it for, however, he only has one lunar month from bests a lion, the other one comes up with another test.
the time he claims it. After that, the Chariot soars Challenges of combat and magical prowess precede
off into the sky. The mage is free to try and track it endurance and arcane knowledge. Once the mage
down to claim it again, of course, but hopefully he has swims across a freezing lake, he might be required to
achieved his goal and can reap whatever rewards there memorize an epic poem in a language he has never
are to be had without the Chariot’s help. seen. Eventually, he will fail, and the lions mock him
The Chariot’s utility in the Tarot journey should be mercilessly — but offer him another chance. This “last
clear. A mage on the journey needs to summon up the chance” always involves using magic in a baneful way
magical strength (measured not just by Gnosis, but by against a Sleeper or a weaker mage.
skill with that Gnosis) to best the lions’ challenges. If the mage stands his moral ground, the lions cease
And, in besting the lions, he paves the way to advance the test and the Chariot grudgingly gives up its one
to the next stage: Strength. benefit — knowledge of a powerful rote (choose a
spell that the character would appreciate learning), or
The Chariot Reversed perhaps a clue to an Atlantean temple or some other
nugget of history. If the mage accepts the challenge,
Cowardice — the seeker is too afraid of change or however, he stands to gain nothing, and probably lose
failure to make the attempt. He refuses to take up the Wisdom for it besides.
reins of the Chariot, and thus cannot claim its power
68
he takes a notion to. Ed isn’t a gourmet chef, but he Ed won that fight, but came out of it with a broken
can cook a surprising number of dishes that aren’t nose and missing some teeth. He decided that he was
exactly native to his rural area. He’s never picked up done with liquor, because it was stupid to be sad for
a gun, but he’s a deadeye with a bow. He’s never been what he’d never seen. He bought a little blue notebook
to the ocean, but he’s got a tropical fish tank that he and wrote down 10 things he’d like to do. The tenth
keeps meticulously clean. thing on that list, the one he figured would never
And so when Ed Barron decided he’d make a metal happen, was “Marry that girl from the bar.”
dinosaur in his barn, his wife didn’t bat an eye. She Three years later, when he’d accomplished the
just asked if it would be done by the Fourth, because seventh item on the list (“Grow an award-winning
they’d need the barn clean for storing food and beer. pumpkin”), he saw Charlie again at the county fair. She
Ed Barron wasn’t always this way, though. He spent commented that he looked happy, and Ed, unable to
almost 10 years as a fall-down drunk. He wasn’t the speak, showed her the plastic Eiffel Tower around his
happy sort of drunk, either. He was vicious, cruel and neck. They were married six months later, and had four
violent once he got a bottle of whiskey in him, and sons and a daughter together. Since their marriage, Ed
he’d go through at least a bottle a day. Ed was (and rarely drinks, and never more than a beer or two. He
remains) a big guy and he could hold his liquor, but refuses to touch hard liquor — the closest he’s come
no man should drink as much as Ed did. Many’s the is a glass of champagne at his kids’ weddings.
night that the last thing he remembers is pulling back
an empty bottle like a club. Many’s the morning he
woke up in the county jail.
Creating the Dinosaur
Ed got interested in metalworking after his youngest
Ed probably should have died by the time he turned
son brought home a sculpture he’d made in an art class
40, but then he met Charlie. Charlie — Charlene —
at the local university (Ed had never gone to college,
stopped into Ed’s favorite bar one night. She’d meant to
but he made it clear to his kids that when they turned
go to a bar with a similar name (Ed frequented Grady’s
18, they had a choice: the military, college, or making
Bar, and Charlie had meant to go to O’Grady’s Pub,
it on their own. Most of them went to college). He
which was three more exits up the highway) to meet a
gathered up some scrap metal and started welding it
friend. She sat down next to Ed and commented that he
together. He sat in on a couple of his son’s classes and
looked sad. Ed, who had never really thought about it,
asked the teacher for tips, and fashioned some useful
said that maybe he was. She asked why, and he cracked
tools for around the house; racks for laundry, a new
a smile and said, “’Cause I never saw Paris.”
pole for the Boar Roast, that kind of thing. And then
Charlie pulled out her key ring, on which was a
his second-youngest boy brought his family over for
tiny plastic Eiffel Tower. She pulled the tchotchke
dinner one night, and Ed’s little grandson had a book
off her key ring and set it on the bar. “There you go,”
about dinosaurs.
she said. With that, she left, having figured out how
“Hey,” said Ed. “Wonder if I could make a dinosaur
to get where she was going.
skeleton out of scrap metal?”
Ed stared at the plastic tower for a long time that
The grandkids cheered. Ed’s kids smiled and shook
night, and he realized that it did make him sad that
their heads. Charlie told him he’d better have it done
he’d never seen Paris. It wasn’t because he particularly
by the Fourth.
wanted to see Paris, but because he’d never done any-
thing like that, never traveled, never really learned Ed did, but it was close. The dinosaur never seemed
much. Unlike his father and his brothers, he hadn’t big enough, and Ed redesigned it several times before
served in the military because of an injury he’d suffered he finally had a version he liked. He made the dinosaur
just out of high school. He hadn’t gone to college, opt- out of unfriendly looking metal and scorched it black.
ing instead to work at the nearby auto manufacturing He shaved down the skull to give it a rounded, aged
plant. It paid well enough, but he didn’t know much look, and sharpened the teeth. His youngest son was in
that wasn’t applicable to his job. He left the bar that the barn helping him attach the skull when it slipped,
night wondering if it was too late. He’d made it halfway raking the teeth across the man’s scalp.
across the parking lot when three men — men that Ed’s son needed eight stitches in his head, but Ed
he’d trounced in a bar fight the week before — jumped finished the dinosaur by the Fourth all the same.
him. Sober for the first night in more than a year, he Everyone at the Boar Roast had a good laugh over
realized that it might well be too late. how the dinosaur had already bit someone, and the
70
• Blood Essence: While the sculpture cannot eat, per se, property to find nothing left but bodies, and have
as it has no digestive organs, it can tear off and “swal- them learn about Ed’s tragic story through flashback
low” hunks of flesh. Every point of damage it inflicts and Time magic. It might be better, though, to allow
while eating allows it to regain one point of Mana. the characters a chance to save some lives rather than
• Animation: The conditions under which the dinosaur just pick up pieces.
can awaken have already been noted. While animated, Mental Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 2, Resolve 4
the dinosaur loses one point of Mana per hour.
Physical Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 2, Stamina 3
• Denizen of the Primal Wild: The dinosaur can track
Social Attributes: Presence 4, Manipulation 2,
Thyrsus mages without a roll, no matter what magic
Composure 2
the Shaman uses to hide himself.
Mental Skills: Academics 1, Computer 1, Crafts (Met-
alworking, Leatherworking, Carpentry, Auto Repair,
Ed Barron Cooking) 4, Medicine 1, Science 2
Quote: Hey, you know what I’d like to do? Physical Skills: Athletics (Lifting) 1, Brawl 2, Drive 2,
Description: Ed is a big man. He stands almost Firearms (Bow) 2, Survival 2
seven feet tall, and calling him “barrel-chested” doesn’t Social Skills: Animal Ken 2, Expression (Tall Tales) 2,
cover it. He’s big through the middle, yes, but that Intimidation 2, Socialize 3, Streetwise 1
pot belly’s from age and a hearty diet, not from lack Merits: Allies (Friends and Family) 5, Contacts (Union,
of exercise. He wears a huge, bushy beard and keeps Academic, Artistic, Junkyards), Giant, Resources 2,
his hair long. He normally wears overalls and grubby Sleepwalker
work shirts, but always washes up for dinner. Ed can Willpower: 6
put on a scary front if he needs to, but now that his Morality: 7
only daughter isn’t bringing boys home anymore (she Virtue: Fortitude
and her husband are expecting their second child Vice: Gluttony
soon), he doesn’t usually bother. He laughs loud and Initiative: 4
long, and careful observers can often catch him star- Defense: 2
ing at his wife. When he does, people comment that Speed: 11
he looks happy. Health: 9
Storytelling Hints: Ed is a good man, but he’s also a
true rarity in the World of Darkness. He pulled himself
back from the brink of self-destruction, and has made Strength Reversed
a happy and fulfilling life for himself. Ed should be Brutishness escapes. The lion slips through the
inspirational to the characters, especially if they find maiden’s fingers and eats her. Lust, depravity and
themselves overwhelmed by Awakened life and the animal vices rule the day. Alternately, strength can
complications thereof. They might wind up invited be over-applied, to the point that no desire is allowed.
to Ed’s annual Boar Roast (getting an invitation is as Puritanical, repressive sensibilities are not an expres-
easy as running into Ed or one of his kids and striking sion of strength; they are just another admission of
up a conversation; Ed isn’t choosy about who shows weakness.
up) or they might hear about his sculptures and want
to buy one. In any case, should Ed ever meet with a Ed Barron as a Monster
cabal of mages, he might well Awaken himself — or Ed created the dinosaur with a connection to the
discover a part of his identity that has heretofore gone Primal Wild deliberately. The “accident” in the barn
untapped, that of the Sleepwalker. was no accident, and here it ends with the death of
The dinosaur, of course, is the wrinkle in the story. Ed’s son, not an injury. Ed has been secretly drinking
This creature is meant for someone strong to beat. again (or perhaps he never stopped), and has somehow
While it might seem like that is Ed’s job, he’s already determined that if he gives reign to his animal pas-
beaten his “lion.” The dinosaur is a challenge made sions in a symbolic sense, he will gain the capacity to
for a mage, and Ed might realize that, if he gets all of survive the liver disease that will surely kill him within
the information he needs. a year. This release of passion will take the form of
Depending on how dark you want to make the animating the dinosaur at the Boar Roast and letting
story, you might have the characters arrive at Ed’s it feast as is its wont.
Location —
one who is willing to teach.
A seeker must come to him,
The Bleak
however, and so the lesson of
the Hermit isn’t a birthright,
but something that must be
earned. Doing so requires
sacrifice, climbing up moun-
tains or braving harsh terrain
Demesne
Scattered on the rocky ground
to find the Hermit, and even are soul stones. Aldous doesn’t
then he might not answer a remember from whom they all
question until it is asked in came. One is his, yes, but the
the right way. But to learn the rest? He bargained for them,
Hermit’s wisdom, one must stole them… he thinks he might
think and feel as the Hermit even have forced mages to make
does; otherwise, the wisdom them in the past.
is empty chatter, simple pon- The Bleak Demesne is his
tification. The Hermit might home, now. Aldous has forgot-
be the older, wiser version of ten more about using magic
the Hierophant, finally rising above convenient and to manipulate his own soul than most mages will
contrived dogma and accepting spiritual truth, no ever learn. He isn’t so much a mage anymore as an
matter how simple it might prove to be. earthbound Oracle (or perhaps an Exarch?), and he
The Awakened see the Hermit as the Mysterium’s can’t always see the Fallen World clearly. Too many
card. The Mysterium holds the keys to many forms possibilities intersect. The souls and thoughts of a
of enlightenment, and might even be willing to share million microscopic life forms and the myriad spirits
them — with the right seeker. Some mages chide the confuse them, so he came here to be alone.
order for this stinginess of knowledge, using the title But he’ll listen to pilgrim’s questions. He might even
“hermits” to refer to mystagogues, but those who seek answer them. An answer from Aldous is, in itself, en-
the order’s wisdom often find it. While a literal hermit lightenment. But the answers lead to more questions,
might require a climb up a mountain, the “hermits” and those questions can drive a mage mad.
72
History with radioactive materials or infectious diseases might
have occurred to him. As it was, he simply took a col-
Aldous Awakened in the 17th century, joined the lection of soul stones into the mountains, and started
Guardians of the Veil, and expected to die a poisoner’s experimenting.
death. But he survived multiple attempts on his life On the first day, he failed, and all of the plant life
as he attained status in the order, and finally became around him died.
important enough to the Visus Draconis that they
On the second day, he failed, and all of the animals
removed him from sight. Hidden from the world,
for five miles crumbled away to dust.
reported as dead to his former cabal and Consilium,
On the third day, he succeeded, and he made himself
Aldous helped guide the policies of the Guardians
immortal. He removed his need to eat, to sleep, and
from the shadows.
to breathe. He stopped his aging and made his body
And then, one day, the messengers stopped com-
strong again.
ing. Aldous knew better than to use magic to find
On the fourth day, he succeeded, and he made
his order, so he waited. He had access to anything
himself wise. He removed the creeping madness of
in Sleeper society that he could have wanted, but he
age and the selfishness that had come with murder
saw no other mages for a decade. During that time,
and a lifetime of espionage and skulduggery. He made
he perfected his own magical arts, learned rotes that
himself intelligent, returned the wit of his youth, and
other mages had never mastered, and created a soul
granted himself knowledge of any subject he could
stone. In so doing, he learned something — the soul
ever want.
was infinite, but Gnosis, a mage’s connection with
the Supernal Realms, was not. Creating a soul stone On the fifth day, he succeeded, and healed the rents
ate away at that connection, but was it possible to use in his soul. He wept for the deaths he had caused
the soul stones of others to strengthen it? and the abominable crimes he had committed. He
smoothed over the jagged places in his heart that
Another decade went by, and still no contact from
had led him to those actions, and he made himself
the Guardians. Aldous was growing paranoid and
compassionate and kind.
restless. He left the city in which they’d left him, and
took on a host of identities. He hunted down mages And on the sixth day, Aldous looked around at
that had created soul stones, killed them and stole their the blighted landscape he had created, strewn with
treasures. Rumors of cabals of Banishers working for a hundred soul stones and completely devoid of life.
various governments floated through the Consilii, but And he willed it not to be so, and the trees and grass
no one ever made the connection — and how could and animals returned, springing up from the dust as
they? Any mage who even knew Aldous existed was though nothing had happened.
either dead of old age or sworn to secrecy, and the Looking at them, Aldous knew he could never re-
Guardians wouldn’t have claimed him even if they turn to the life in the Fallen World: every rock yielded
had figured out who was doing the killing. up the secrets of a billion years; every deer told him
Aldous was 89 when he developed what he would what it was to mate, feed and fear; and every shadow
later come to call “the Feast of Stones.” By combining whispered of things too horrible for living men to
soul stones fashioned through each of the 10 Arcana, know… but that Aldous could not ignore.
Aldous could strengthen his own connection to the And so on the seventh day, Aldous conjured up a
Supernal Realms. Of course, hunting down 10 mages portal to take him across the Abyss into the Supernal
who had created soul stones at all, to say nothing of 10 Realm of Pandemonium. But he did not enter that portal.
stones of different Arcana, was time-consuming. And, When travelers ask him why, he sometimes says he stayed
of course, stealing a soul stone from a mage powerful to teach others as a kind of bodhisattva. Sometimes he
enough to create one is no simple matter. says the Supernal Realms are only open by invitation,
But with the Feast of Stones, Aldous had achieved and he has more to do here. But the truth is — he was
a terrifying breakthrough: he didn’t need 10 stones. terrified. He was the most powerful Awakened mage
He just needed one, for contained in every single soul in the Fallen World. But in the Supernal Realms, he
stone (and, in fact, every single mage) was all of the was as a newly Awakened mage once again; powerful,
connection he’d ever need. It was dangerous work, to yes, but in mortal danger. And Aldous, having made
be sure, to “open” a soul stone. If Aldous had been himself the pinnacle of the Awakened condition here,
born a few centuries later, comparisons to working could not bear to go back to being weak.
74
Simply being in the Demesne is akin to being at a it possible for Aldous to travel through time, and thus
powerful Hallow, though. Any mage prevent some of the greatest disasters in history? Maybe
can perform an oblation at any it’s possible, but it’s something that he finds unethical
time, and there is no limit to the or immoral, and so he can’t. Maybe it’s not possible,
amount of Mana that can be even for him. Maybe he already did it.
drawn from the area. Mages The danger in portraying Aldous is that he
always leave the Bleak De- comes off as having all the answers, but not
mesne empowered in at least wishing to give them out for any of the reasons
that respect. knowledgeable characters usually have. These typi-
cally involved pithy (or smarmy) excuses, often
Supporting something about it not being “the proper
time for all to be revealed.” In role-playing
Characters games, excuses like that are annoying,
and they come across as the Story-
The only character
teller’s attempt to keep control
in the Bleak Demesne,
of the chronicle. Where
of course, is Aldous. No
Aldous is concerned,
traits are provided for him,
though, if he doesn’t
because he is quite literally
answer a question it’s
capable of doing whatever he
probably because giv-
needs to do. However, Aldous is a
ing the answer would
truly strange character, so some information on
have implications on
portraying him is necessary.
an ethical level that he can’t accept; and remember,
Aldous is an archmage, but he’s beyond considerations he can see the future, so he knows what the effect of
of what that means in terms of what magic can and answering a question today is on the events of tomor-
cannot do. The Fallen World is his plaything. He can row. He’s happy to explain his situation as best he can,
reshape anything in it, including himself, as he sees fit but that brings us to another issue.
— but one of the first things he did upon performing the
Aldous is a god living among mortals. Even Master
Feast of Stones was to make himself a virtual saint. He
mages cannot comprehend the power that he wields,
refuses to reshape the world in a manner that suits him
and Aldous is constantly living with choices that
at whim because it is not in his nature to be so selfish. It
others do not. He makes a social faux pas — should
is not in his nature to be so selfish because he decided
he rewind time a few seconds to avoid it? He sees in a
his own nature. Was that, then, a selfless decision, or
mage’s future that she will someday die at her mentor’s
did he simply “neuter” his own base impulses?
hands — should he implant a suggestion in the mentor’s
Likewise, Aldous doesn’t get bored. He doesn’t feel mis- mind to avoid this? Aldous has the power to affect the
erable or frightened, because he chooses not to. He never entire world, and the question then is: is the world his
loses control of himself, because he controls everything responsibility? Aldous did not leave the world because
about himself, even down to a cellular level (which is why he feared what lay beyond it (and did he choose that
he’s always perfectly groomed). If he were ever to grow fear, given his control over himself?), but he doesn’t
angry, sad or frustrated, it would be because he wanted wish to claim leadership of this planet, either.
to… and wanting to feel that way would be a betrayal
Aldous is a complex character, and however the play-
of his moral nature, which, again, he chose.
ers’ characters approach him, they should come away
Yes, Aldous does sometimes grow playful or whimsical, awed and probably a little disturbed. On no account
and sometimes creates life from unliving matter. But he should they come away feeling that whatever Aldous
never inhibits the free will of another being — he wouldn’t did to gain this power was a good idea. Hopefully,
change one animal into another, for instance. though, Aldous can help them with whatever issues
One important question that characters might have drove them to the Bleak Demesne.
for (or about) Aldous is whether he can see the future. That’s really the point, after all. A seeker doesn’t
Magically speaking, he can. But whether he chooses to climb the mountain to become a hermit. He climbs
look ahead to the future (or travel to it, for that matter) the mountain to benefit from the hermit’s wisdom,
becomes a question with some ethical implications. Is without suffering as the hermit did.
The Hermit Reversed Horribly, Aldous is immortal within the dead zone.
Any wounds on his body heal immediately. He could,
The Hermit reversed is a madman. He has no wisdom of course, be forced out, whereupon he would crumble
to impart, no grand insight from his time in exile. His to dust or be sucked immediately into the Abyss. But
words are mere ranting, and anyone who tries to follow a greater punishment might be to leave him where he
his advice will wind up frustrated or worse. is, alone in his wasteland.
76
Key X — The Wheel
of Fortune
The Wheel of Fortune has changed form in the tined and that much of the world does run in cycles.
Tarot many times over the years, and its interpretation They also know, though, that to call anything in life
likewise varies. Common to most readings of the card, “random” is suspect, because every action must have
however, is the notion that fate can change on a dime, a cause, which in turn was caused by something else.
and that one’s luck is the The lesson of the Wheel is one
province of factors quite be- that needs to be acknowledged:
yond human understanding. Some things, by dint of destiny
Not surprisingly, the Wheel or just the immense complexity
is often thought to mean that of the universe, are out of the
all of the vicissitudes of the mage’s control. Accept this, and
human experience are ulti- move on.
mately meaningless, because
Grimoire —
the physical world must turn
to dust and fall away eventu-
The Book of
ally anyway (the follow-up
lesson here, of course, is that
only through God, or at least
spiritual pursuits, can true
happiness, salvation or self-
actualization be found).
Cycles
The morality of magic has
Another interpretation is long been a point of contention
that everything moves in among the Awakened. Some
cycles. What has been will mages feel magic is a part of
be once again, and what is them, and has no more inher-
now shall be gone soon. This ent moral complications than
plays into the questions of breathing. Some feel all magic
destiny and reincarnation, is blasphemous, a crime against
of course, but another, more the natural order, and seek to
scientific viewpoint might murder those Awakened who
be that everything in the would dare to use their gifts.
universe is already present, Most mages are somewhere in
and is in a constant state of the middle, and feel it is the
changing forms. No “new application of magic that can
life” is ever created, because require a moral distinction. Hubris is a problem for
the sperm and egg are alive when they come together. mages because they tend to overstep their boundaries,
No matter or energy is ever created, they simply yes, but those “boundaries” are generally understood
change forms. This is the Wheel of Fortune: not a to reflect the limits of the power of Awakened magic
grim caveat that everyone is just a wheel’s spin away in the Fallen World. For the boundaries to be literal
from misery and death, but a solemn reminder that ones — actual restrictions on what is and is not pos-
this, too, shall pass. sible with magic — some reason would have to exist
To a mage on the journey through the Tarot, the for those restrictions to be in place. If it is not possible,
Wheel of Fortune can easily encompass both interpre- for instance, to teleport a man’s heart right out of his
tations. Acanthus mages, especially, with their study chest, why is that the case? Because Patterns are, on a
of Fate, know that some events do seem to be predes- certain level, impossible to disrupt? Perhaps, but why?
Those questions are the true cornerstone of a mage’s
78
this hand of cards be better than my opponents? Will Following Gaines’ death (which goes unsolved to this
one nation prosper over another? Perhaps it is pos- day — current suspicion is that his friend Darlington
sible to see not only the coin spinning, but how the might have had something to do with it, but he, of
muscles in the spinner’s hand affect the probability. course, would be long dead by now), the Free Council
At what point does it all become too much to fit into exhibited a brief surge of interest in the Book of Cycles,
the human mind?” but it died out quickly when all leads turned cold. The
Darlington never saw the book himself, and accord- book was rumored to be in a state of metamorphosis,
ing to Awakened historians, he wasn’t even a mage. changing its form to reflect the needs of a new century.
But his musings on the book echo what the Awakened Other rumors stated that Gaines had died because he
have been saying since at least the middle of the 19th tried to change something he read in the book. This
century, when the Book of Cycles first “appeared.” latter rumor actually seemed to have some evidence
The only mage to have ever claimed to see the fabled backing it — Gaines had become erratic before his
text regularly took tea with Darlington, and claimed death, talking of “a great spiritual injustice” coming to
the book was not created by mortal (or Awakened) London and “betrayal by a close friend.” It was at just
hands. This mage, known as Lord Gaines, gave the about the same time that the rumor spread among the
following account of its creation: Free Councilors that Gaines had been trying to alter
The book exists because it was created. It was created fate that a second, related rumor sprang up.
so that the book could exist. Asking who created the
book is absurd — the book is itself a cycle, a necessary The Lucid
part of the world. This conversation that we are having Supposedly, a faction of mages and Sleepwalkers is
created the book. The chance — chance! — encounter devoted to protecting the book from being read or used.
on the streets of Whitechapel that acquainted us created These individuals refuse to call upon magic except in
the book. The man who came to my home seeking it extreme emergencies, including protecting the Book
created it. And if all that were left of the book tomorrow of Cycles. Their name — “the Lucid” — indicates
night was this account, then the book would reappear, that while they are much like Sleepers, they know
because it must. Yes, of course, this is cyclical, and to a and accept this condition, rather than being blissfully
certain eye, ridiculous. But that is the nature of destiny. unaware of the Lie.
Everything that will happen has already happened. Noth- Free Council historians note references to the Lucid,
ing is out of our experience. If we read the book, we are, or mages very much like them, that predate the mid-
in effect, re-reading the history of creation. Even if we 18th century reference to the Book of Cycles. Whether
read the future. this means that the Lucid existed before the book was
Lord Gaines, a member of the Mysterium who discovered and later adopted it as their cause, or that
later abandoned his order and joined the nascent the faction was simply discovered before the book was,
Free Council, was, in the estimation of the mages is unknown. Whatever the case, shortly after Gaines’
of the day, quite mad. His philosophies of causality death, a rumor began that placed responsibility on
and predestination did nothing to endear him to his the Lucid. Unfortunately, the members of that faction
compatriots, and his habit of spending time in the refused to step forward and confirm or deny it, and
worst parts of London, carousing with undesirables so the Lucid developed an unsavory reputation. Even
of both the moral and supernatural sorts, and his af- today, the few mages who have heard of them know
fectation of the title “Lord” made him a pariah. When them as Banishers, which isn’t strictly accurate. The
Lord Gaines was found dead in 1900, hanging from a Lucid don’t kill mages for being mages, and they don’t
streetlamp near the Thames, his throat slashed open kill to force their beliefs on others. They only kill mages
and what little blood remained in his body dripping who get too close to the Book of Cycles.
out onto the street, no one was surprised. Not even
Gaines himself, as it happened — the cabal that half-
heartedly investigated his murder discovered he’d had Contents
an odd conversation with his tailor the day before. The Book of Cycles allows an amount of perspective
When the tailor noted that he’d cut Gaines’ shirt too bordering on precognition, and the truly impressive
short, Gaines reportedly said, “It doesn’t matter. I’ll thing is that the scale of the perspective can shift
only wear it once, in any case.” from, as Darlington implies, the flip of a coin to the
80
Knowing the Future
Seeing the future raises all kinds of questions in literature, but the main one is: once you know the
future, can you change it? The Book of Cycles takes a kind of Slaughterhouse-5 kind of approach. That
is, the “future” has already happened, so nothing can be done to change it. Everything that goes into an
event, including the reader’s knowledge of it, has already made its contribution, and therefore trying to
change it only winds up making it happen.
This is all very well for a novel or other work of fiction, but how does it work for a role-playing game?
How should the Storyteller handle it when characters try to use the Book of Cycles to find the outcome of
a storyline in the chronicle, and then try to alter it?
Our advice is to make finding the book difficult. Have the players deal with sifting through the rumors,
dealing with the Lucid, tracking down leads on the book and being frustrated. Along the way, introduce
them to characters like Gaines who tried to alter fate and died in the process. Give them dire warnings
about the danger of thwarting destiny. Show them a mad mage who attempted it and lost his Wisdom
doing so; but it needs to remain possible and therefore tempting — this temptation is very much in-theme
for Mage. As such, if after all the warnings and tribulations, the characters finally do find the Book of
Cycles and ask their question, what then?
Describe the event as best you can, based on everything you as Storyteller know. But then describe a
terrible feeling of inevitability that descends upon the character doing the reading. He knows the future
now… and he knows he can’t change it. Like Cassandra, he is locked into events that have yet to come to
pass, and everything he does only furthers the inevitable; when the events finally do come around, that
player doesn’t make dice rolls. Random chance, if it ever existed, doesn’t have any bearing. The charac-
ter succeeds and fails as is necessary for the events to occur.
Yes, this means that reading the Book of Cycles with an eye toward changing fate is dangerous and
ultimately doomed to tragedy. That’s the point. If life is predestined, it’s better not to know about it. If
life isn’t predestined, then the act of reading the book somehow cements it. Either way, it’s best to take
things as they come, rather than trying to “cheat.”
is a terrible act of hubris. One member of the faction, Awakened are so busy looking for protective spells
when asked to explain the Lucid’s aversion to magic, that they miss normal tactics.
responded, “it is not possible to be more arrogant than Despite the rumors surrounding Gaines’ death, the
one of the so-called ‘Awakened,’ with a wand in his hand Lucid do not kill, unless the only alternative is giving
and the power of God in his mouth, pretending that up the book to a mage that obviously wants to use it to
every natural law is, to him, a quaint suggestion.” view the future. Even then, if the Lucid are absolutely
The Lucid recognize that they are capable of the convinced the mage will make no attempt to alter his
same kind of arrogance as all mages, but they take fate (it’s impossible to do so anyway, of course, but the
issue with the suggestion that because they have the Lucid feel the intention is enough to disqualify a mage
capability to cast spells it automatically means they from seeing the book), they might allow a persistent
should. Most Lucid, therefore, have little in the way of and otherwise moral mage to have a few minutes with
training in the Arcana, almost no knowledge of rotes the Book of Cycles. They warn anyone who comes
(except for the Fate rotes they glean from the Book of looking, though, that Fate is not a plaything.
Cycles), and obviously no membership in the orders.
They do, however, tend to have high ratings in both
Wisdom and Gnosis, as well as extensive training in a The Wheel of Fortune
wide variety of Skills. The Lucid find that many mages
are magically powerful but weak and undereducated
Reversed
because they focus on magic to the exclusion of all Chaos and randomness; a world in which cause and
else. The Lucid, therefore, are often able to steer mages effect do not exist, and the results of an action are
away from the book using mundane methods — the truly unpredictable. The Wheel of Fortune reversed
Appropriate Libraries: Quantum physics, Causality, Destiny, Divination — Libraries with these top-
ics bestow a +1 to research rolls
Successes Information
0-2 Nothing.
3-5 A letter found online written by a gunman three hours before he walked into a library
and started shooting. The letter concludes, “I don’t have a choice. This is what the book
said I would do, so it’s what I’m doing. And actually, it makes sense. I do wish they
hadn’t taken the book away so soon, though, because I want to know how I died.” The
gunman died by his own hand after killing five people that day. Witnesses report that
before he shot himself, he raved and pleaded to know “how this ends,” and repeatedly
cried, “I didn’t finish it, I didn’t read it all the way through.”
6-9 The excerpt from the Ledger of Prague quoted earlier. This could lead to research in
Rome, but the Guardians of the Veil are loath to give out information about Il Romano
and his cabal. If asked about the Book of Cycles specifically, they state that the official
position of the order in Rome is that the book never existed.
10+ The character finds a handwritten note in whatever book he is reading for information.
The note says, “You’re very close. This is your last chance to stop. The Book of Cycles
can be found (wherever the Storyteller has decided).”
82
Key XI — Justice
Justice sits holding a sword and a set of scales. She sits the Hermit and the Hierophant. Now, the mage must
motionless, balanced, keeping her objects in equilibrium. learn the value of Justice — balance — before progress-
This is the essence of the Justice card: balance; right ing to the suffering of the Hanged Man, the chaos and
hand, left hand, both working in concert; ebb and flow, upheaval of Death, and the temptation of the Devil.
give and take. In some decks, Justice is blindfolded, in
Character —
others she is not, but whether or not her earthly eyes
are covered, she perceives what is necessary.
Anaiz
Applying that to the con-
cept of Justice, of course, is
difficult, because Justice is
usually considered in the
context of the law or revenge.
But Justice is about redressing
Barrera Quote: If I hadn’t done what I
wrongs, and bringing things did, a lot of innocent people would
back to center. The guilty have died. I’m not telling you that to
are punished so the innocent make excuses. I just hope you can
can heal, or so the guilty can take some consolation in it.
learn. When anger enters the Background: Anaiz Barrera
issue, of course, the act be- was born in Puerto Rico, and
comes not about Justice, but immigrated to the United States
about causing harm, and that when she was a young child. She
just puts things ever further grew up in a large family, and by
out of balance. the time she was nine she was
The Adamantine Arrow helping her mother take care of
claims this card as its own, her younger siblings and cous-
and in Tarot decks designed ins. Her parents were kind and
by the Awakened, the card hard-working, but some of her
typically includes a quiver aunts and uncles weren’t quite so
of arrows sitting near Lady conscientious, and some of them
Justice. The Arrow, of course, were downright bad people.
knows the necessity of bal- When her father arrived
ance — anyone with the home one night, covered in
training to inflict bodily harm blood, she got a hard lesson in
and the power of the Supernal the difference between good
on their side is capable of great and bad people. Her father
and terrible things. The Ar- had gotten into a fight with
row, therefore, wishes to remind its members there is his brother-in-law, after he’d dropped off his nephew
a time for both great and terrible, and the real issue back at home and seen his sister curled up on the floor,
for them is to know which is which. bleeding from her nose and weeping. The fight had
For mages, balance is critical because of the amount ended when Anaiz’ uncle had lunged at her father
of information and power available to them through with a knife, but wound up impaled on it himself; the
their magic. The Awakened master must be ready to police came for Anaiz’ father, not really caring about his
blind himself to information that isn’t relevant, to judge side of the story. Just another fight among the Puerto
a situation on its own merits and to decide what action Ricans, they felt. But before he was taken away, he
is required of him. A mage’s journey, to this point, has told Anaiz that while he was sad that he wouldn’t see
largely been a matter of gathering knowledge at the feet her grow up, he wanted her to know that he was glad
of such powerful figures as the Empress, the Emperor, he’d been there. It was a good thing, he said, to give
84
ered, though, she regained her ability to use magic. She
stayed with Antonio for a month, but no food she ate
seemed to nourish her, and no matter what she wore,
Artifact: Saints’ Medals
she couldn’t stay warm. She grew weaker and weaker, (Artifact •••••)
and finally Antonio took off her glove in an attempt Durability 3, Size 0, Structure 3
to see if her right hand had changed at all. Without a
conscious thought from Anaiz, her hand leapt up and Mana Capacity: maximum 11
grabbed Antonio by the throat, draining away his life
These medals — a gold one bearing the
in seconds. He collapsed dead on the floor… but Anaiz image of the Virgin Mary and a jet black one
felt strength and warmth returning to her body. bearing a barely recognizable picture of St.
She fled his home and the city, horrified at what she Anthony — are strung on an iron chain. The St.
had become. Over the next few months, she realized Anthony medal is activated by a brief touch
she needed to allow her hand to “feed” on magic to and an invocation to the saint (“Tony, Tony,
keep herself alive. It could “consume” standing spells come back around, something is lost and has
or take Mana from a Hallow, but the most efficient to be found”). Anyone who invokes it can make
way to feed it was to touch a mage. Anaiz used this use of the “Finder” spell (p. 233 of Mage: The
power to kill a Banisher and to terrify a young mage Awakening). The gold medal can only be
activated by a mage, and requires nothing but
who was abusing his newly acquired power of mind
a thought. When activated, it allows the user
manipulation, but she has also occasionally used her to brighten, but not dim, any source of light in
powers to protect herself from Pentacle mages treating the area (as the “Control Light” spell, p. 165 of
her as an enemy. Mage: The Awakening).
Anaiz has considered suicide, but her Catholic up-
bringing is too strong — suicide is sure damnation, but
salvation might still be possible. She gives confession she understands these wrongs will have to be redressed
whenever she can, but is wary of remaining in one at some point. She would be willing to sacrifice herself to
city for too long. She rarely ventures into suburbs or destroy the creature, but is afraid of eternal damnation
affluent areas, sticking to slums and, especially, bar- should she die with sin on her soul.
rios. She typically “starves” herself as long as she can, Anaiz might make for an interesting character to use in
and then tries to find a Hallow or a Consilium house a murder mystery-style game. Such stories are hard to pull
to allow her hand to “feed” from. This destroys wards off in Mage because of the superb information-gathering
and leaves Hallows drained, of course, but she figures capacity of the Awakened, but Anaiz’ immunity to
this is better than killing another person. magical detection makes her hard to track. Likewise,
Description: Anaiz is a Puerto Rican woman in the characters might be hot on the trail of a Banisher
her late teens. She has gone from being slender to who has already murdered some of their fellows, only
being downright skinny. Her eyes are sunken and to find the murderer drained of life, face twisted in
sad, and her once thick and lustrous hair has become horror — and a note reading, “Justicia.”
thin and stringy. She carries a duffel bag with her few A character on the journey through the Tarot might
possessions, and mostly lives in shelters and on the encounter Anaiz as he progresses from the Hermit to
kindness of strangers. Justice. Anaiz might be a good way to introduce such
Anaiz’ magic does not cause a Nimbus, nor can she a character to the harsh, cold realities of the World of
deliberately uncloak it. The creature trapped within her Darkness, both by dint of her plight and because of
consumes this excess magic before it becomes visible. where she typically resides. For a mage who comes from
This sometimes has the effect of making other mages privilege, the poorer sections of a city are an eye-opening
doubt that Anaiz is a mage at all. experience. And a mage who ventures here must quickly
Storytelling Hints: Anaiz is desperate to regain the learn that he can’t save everyone, and must apply his
stability she once had, but before she can do that, she power in balance — in justice. And, of course, a mage
needs to come to terms with what she has become. She or a cabal that actually catches up with Anaiz has to
imprisoned the Abyssal creature within her body because decide what to do with her. Can she be cured? Is she
she wanted to protect others, and she feels (correctly) that such a danger to herself and others that she should be
this sacrifice was noble. The things she has done since, put down? Where do the scales of justice fall?
however, have ranged from mistakes to manslaughter, and
86
Key XII —
The Hanged Man
He hangs from a gibbet by one foot, with his free This is especially true if the pain stems from a mistake
leg crossed behind the bound one. His hands are tied that the sufferer made or a crime he committed. Thus,
behind his back, and he wears a serene expression. the Hanged Man’s punishment is a matter of luck or
The Hanged Man is a strange figure — obviously Divine providence (depending on your preference)
being tortured or executed, or is just desserts, and in either
but showing no fear or pain case struggling against it is
for it. In some decks, he has inappropriate.
a golden halo, in others he is The Hanged Man can have
holding sacks of money (per- loftier implications, too. Suffer-
haps equating him with Judas ing for a purpose has resonance
Iscariot). Some interpreta- from several of the world’s
tions mistakenly posit that greatest mythologies, from
he is standing on one foot, Norse to Christian. Suffering
prudently deciding where to might bring wisdom, salvation
place the other. or death and resurrection, and
Interestingly, this inter- the Hanged Man can indicate
pretation isn’t too far from a any of these.
common one in Awakened For a mage, the Hanged Man
circles. The Mastigos claim is a turning point. The mage
the Hanged Man as one of is coming to appreciate how
their cards, both for the no- serious his power truly is. The
tion of bearing suffering for moment the mage becomes the
wisdom (see below), and for Hanged Man varies. It might
the Arcanum of Space. The be the first time he experiences
Hanged Man is suspended in justice from the Consilium for
nothingness, and his soul is a violation of the Lex Magica,
anywhere. That relationship or the first time he brings down
with the physical world, to be a particularly severe Paradox.
able to ignore it at will and It might be an injury or death
choose one’s place within it, is he inflicts through careless ap-
the crux of Space mastery. plication of magic. The act isn’t
The Hanged Man’s in- as important as the aftermath
terpretation in a reading is — the mage must suffer for
problematic. A common way to read him is as an what he has done, and in that suffering find a kind of
indication to bear suffering stoically, to learn from it, peace. Unfortunately, no one can tell the mage how to
internalize it and move on. This isn’t necessarily to reconcile himself with his actions. That is the secret
indicate that one should seek out suffering, or suffer of the Hanged Man, and some mages dangle there
unnecessarily or unjustly, only that if there is no way for quite some time. Given that the next card in the
to avoid pain, at least make it a learning experience. journey is Death, it’s easy to see why they linger.
History
The Whipping Boys began as a cabal in California.
have to do it again.
He went back to the site of the club, but all he found
was a boarded-up building. Confused, he asked one
The leader, a brash and hot-headed Obrimos named of his cabal-mates to check the building’s past, but all
Steven Babbit (he changed his Shadow Name often, she found was echoes of music and moans of pleasure.
but always chose something offensive — past Shadow Clearly, this place had been used for sex at some point,
Names included Bitch, Faggot, Kike, and Queer), fell but not nearly as recently as Ecstatic had claimed.
into a bout of depression following the death of his Ecstatic theorized that he had dreamed it all, that
lover. Wandering the streets of San Francisco, he found his experience had been a kind of second Awaken-
a fetish bar he’d never heard of. He entered, walked ing. He called on an acquaintance, a Mastigos named
into a private room, and told the master on duty to Minerva, and asked her to hurt him and not to stop
88
for any reason. Minerva combined magic with her Once the Session ends, the supplicant is left alone
ministrations, and the experience very nearly killed to contemplate. Sometimes, the supplicant decides
Ecstatic. But hours later, he lay there bleeding once this Legacy isn’t for him after all. Sometimes, though,
again… and rose, wounds healing, feeling stronger the supplicant realizes that in that moment of form-
than ever. He had become the first of a new Legacy, less perfection, past the pain and the clamps and the
and he wished to spread its philosophies. tools, there is a beautiful moment of peace and clarity.
Ecstatic’s cabal fractured after this point. Most of Those are the mages that the Legacy accepts.
them had no desire to undertake a task like joining Parent Path: Obrimos
a Legacy. They were content to party and use their Nickname: Ecstatics or, less kindly, Perverts
talents for self-gratification. Some, though, stayed with Orders: Theurgists of any order can learn the
their former leader, and joined the Adamantine Ar- Legacy, but the Whipping Boys have the greatest
row and then the Legacy, which took the name of the foothold in the Adamantine Arrow of the west coast.
cabal as its title. Word spread throughout the Consilii While some Arrow cabals look at the Whipping Boys
of California of the “S&M Legacy,” and it became a as hedonists and freaks, others see their point. Pain
kind of joke for a while (“S&M Legacy? Where from?” can lead to enlightenment, and no one can deny the
“’Frisco, of course.”). But every so often, a mage with effectiveness of the Whipping Boys in a fight. Ecstatic
an interest in pain, either for the purposes of enlight- never intended his Legacy to be peaceful. He was
ening or simple pleasure, came to find Ecstatic and always spoiling for a fight, and he keenly encourages
his people. Slowly, the Legacy spreads out from the members of the Arrow (of any Path) to undergo the
California coast. Session, even if they choose not to join.
Opinions from the other orders vary, of course.
Induction The Guardians of the Veil has used S&M culture
as a labyrinth occasionally, and so doesn’t object
Joining the Legacy requires searching out a current
to a Legacy in place there, provided it’s something
member and stating the desire to join. The established
they can use. They also appreciate any practice that
Whipping Boys evaluate the supplicant, but the Legacy
makes members able to withstand (or employ) torture.
doesn’t take on many pupils. The Legacy is very intimate
Unfortunately, the few Guardian Obrimos who have
(see Organization, below), and so new recruits are more
joined the Legacy return to their order refusing to use
often drawn from friends and lovers of a member, rather
their newfound skills to harm others. “That’s not the
than strangers. That said, if the chemistry is right, the
point,” they say.
Whipping Boys might at least agree to a Session just
to see what the supplicant is made of. The Mysterium and the Silver Ladder don’t much
care for the Legacy, but again, individual cabals might
“Session” is the rather euphemistic title the Legacy
be more tolerant, depending on their mores. The
uses for its hours-long ordeals of sensory overload.
Mysterium recognizes the long-standing tradition of
Although pain is a large part of it, Whipping Boys also
using pain and sensation to find wisdom, but they find
use pleasurable stimulus (though never actual sex) to
that reading about it and actually being hung upside
bring the supplicant into the desired state. Different
down and beaten with bronze rods are two different
members of the Legacy employ different methods
things. The Silver Ladder, on the other hand, finds
— electricity, fire, cutting, whipping, pin-pricks and
the whole thing a bit kinky (which doesn’t necessarily
extremes of cold and heat are all possibilities. The
mean they don’t participate).
mages aren’t above using magic to achieve effects
that no Sleeper master could hope for, and, likewise, The Free Council doesn’t always get the philosophical
the Whipping Boys generally keeps a healing spell side right away, but being the order most closely tied
ready (hung using Time magic, if possible — see p. in to modern Sleeper society, they often have a better
260 of Mage: The Awakening) in case things get sense of the culture from which the Legacy came. The
too far out of hand. But apart from a real threat to order itself doesn’t have any problem with the Whipping
the supplicant’s life, the Session doesn’t stop until the Boys, and more mages from the Legacy come from this
supplicant reaches enlightenment. “The safe word is order than any other, apart from the Arrow.
Paradox,” is a common phrase in the Legacy. It means Appearance: Some Whipping Boys wear their alle-
that only something as powerful as the Abyss can giance on their sleeves, dressing in leathers and covered
stop the Session. in body piercings and so on, but most of them blend into
90
Mana per roll). Later in the fight, Ecstatic gets stabbed
The Session for two points of lethal damage and decides to respond in
Successfully undergoing the Session re- kind. He activates this Attainment again (requiring another
quires that the character move past pain and roll and another point of Mana) and chooses Weaponry,
even bodily sensation, becoming completely pulling his own knife. His player can now spend Mana
open to his own mind. How, though, do you to make Brawl or Weaponry rolls rote.
represent that in game terms? Optional Arcanum: Mind 3
The Session is consensual, but it’s still torture, after
It might not be necessary to do so. The
a fashion. A Whipping Boy schooled in the Mind Ar-
character’s mentor is, presumably, skilled
enough to bring the character through the canum can bring the endurance he develops to bear in
Session inflicting little actual injury on him. other situations. By spending one point of Mana, the
Likewise, a lover or master with whom the mage adds his Mind rating to either his Resolve or his
character is very familiar probably knows Composure. This can be done reflexively, especially
him well enough to push the right buttons, so if the mage senses an incoming mental or emotional
to speak, without really hurting him. attack, such as an unwanted Mind spell. This Attain-
ment can be used independently of the Augment the
If, however, you need to know if the Mind spell (p. 210 of Mage: The Awakening), but the
character reaches the state of enlightenment Attainment lasts only a number of turns equal to the
at the end of the Session (perhaps time is a
mage’s Gnosis, after which it must be reactivated.
factor), you can use the following system.
The Session is an extended action. It is also a
teamwork action (see p. 134 of the World of 3rd: Pain is Perfection
Darkness Rulebook) in which the Whip- Prerequisites: Gnosis 7, Life 4
ping Boy is the primary actor. The character At the pinnacle of achievement for the Whipping
administering the pain is the secondary actor. Boys, the mage can apply the rules for Pain is Skill to
Unlike most teamwork actions, in this case Physical Attributes, instead of just Skills. The system
the two characters have different dice pools. and the requirements remain the same, but the char-
The secondary actor’s player rolls Dexter-
acter can use the rules for rote actions on, for instance,
ity + Wits, while the Whipping Boy’s player
rolls Wits + Composure. Each roll requires
any Strength roll in a fight, provided the player spends
30 minutes of “work,” and the target number a point of Mana for each one.
of successes is (the character’s Stamina + Optional Arcanum: Mind 4
Resolve + 10). If the character also has the Following a Session, the mage can leave his body be-
Iron Stamina Merit, those dots are also added hind and go wandering through Twilight, as described
to the total number of successes required. A in the “Psychic Projection” spell (p. 215 of Mage: The
mage with sufficient dots in the Life Arcanum Awakening). This Attainment does not cost Mana or
can use the Degrading the Form spell (p. 186 require a roll. The character can stay detached from his
of Mage: The Awakening) to make it easier
body for up to an hour after the Session is complete.
on himself.
After that, the mage can cast the Psychic Projection
The character suffers one point of bashing spell to remain in this state. If he does so, the spell is
damage for every 30 minutes of the Session, considered covert, rather than vulgar (since the mage
and does not heal while it is still going on. is already out of his body).
Wound penalties do not apply to the charac-
Sample Character
ter’s roll, however.
92
Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 3 discovered that there were things there with him after
Social Attributes: Presence 3, Manipulation 3, his flesh had been mortified, and that those things
Composure 3 wanted to talk to him. They would end his pain, end
Mental Skills: Academics (Teaching) 3, Computer 2, his anger, and make him cold and unfeeling, if he
Crafts 2, Medicine 1, Occult 2, Science 1 would help them. Ecstatic, who entered into this first
Physical Skills: Athletics 3, Brawl 2, Survival 2 Session attempting to die, agreed, and the Whipping
Social Skills: Empathy 2, Expression 2, Intimidation Boys were born.
(Quiet Authority) 2, Persuasion 3, Socialize 3, Streetwise The Legacy uses the same Attainments (for the
(S&M Culture) 3, Subterfuge 2 most part, see below), but the ultimate goal isn’t
Merits: Dream 2, Iron Stamina 1, Resources 1, Status enlightenment. The goal is losing pain, losing sensa-
(Adamantine Arrow) 2, Status (Teacher) 1, Striking tion, and becoming numb to the horror of the world.
Looks 2
The Legacy doesn’t recruit from the S&M crowd very
Willpower: 6
heavily, but instead searches out men and women who
Wisdom: 7 are trying to become “cured” of being gay, bisexual or
Virtue: Prudence transgendered, and offering them the ability to make
Vice: Lust their “unnatural desires” go away. Ecstatic, of course,
Initiative: 5 would never have endorsed this before, but after a few
Defense: 2 Sessions and conversations with the things in the dark,
Speed: 9 he just doesn’t care.
Health: 8 Over time, Whipping Boys stop talking out loud,
Gnosis: 3 and communicate with each other using telepathy. The
Arcana: Forces 2, Life 2, Mind 3, Prime 2 optional power for the second Attainment changes:
Rotes: Forces — Tune In (•), Influence Electricity (••); Life instead of becoming more resistant, the Whipping
— Cleanse the Body (•), Body Control (••), Self-Healing Boys can automatically send telepathic messages to
(••); Mind — Sense Consciousness (•), First Impressions each other. A message consisting of up to five words
(••), Misperception (••)
is reflexive, while a more complex message requires an
Legacy Attainment: 1st — Pain is Strength
instant action and a roll of Presence + Gnosis.
Mana/per turn: 12/3
Also, the bonus to the Dream Merit does not ap-
Armor: 3 (“Misperception,” Mind ••)
ply to the Whipping Boys in this variant. Instead,
Magic Shield: 2 (Prime ••)
any attempt to influence a Whipping Boy’s emotions
(though not his thoughts) suffers a penalty equal to the
The Hanged Man Reversed character’s Stamina, in addition to whatever penalty
is normally levied.
The pain is too much, and the Hanged Man breaks
the rope, crashing to the ground and giving up with- Whatever the voices are that speak to the Whip-
out gaining any particular insight. He becomes bitter ping Boys in the throes of their pain, they want more
about his suffering, rather than stoic, and might seek servants. They also want to be allowed into the Fallen
to take out this bitterness on other people. This course World. They might be Abyssal spirits, or they might be
of action, naturally, can lead him straight past Death demons of some kind. In any event, when the Legacy
and Temperance to the Devil. reaches some kind of critical mass, every member’s
flesh will split open, allowing one of these things to
The Whipping Boys enter our world and remain here. Ecstatic knows this,
for he has seen it many times in his dreams. He just
as a Left-Handed Legacy doesn’t care anymore.
Ecstatic was never really able to let go of his anger,
even in the trance-like state after the first Session. He
Location — Church of
horse, referencing Revelations 6:8 — “I looked, and
behold! A pale horse, and its rider’s name was Death,
the Harvest
and Hell followed with him.” Women, children, men
and even kings are pictured
falling in the wake of this dark
rider, for nothing can gainsay It’s a bit of a drive from the city
the hand of Death. proper, but the parishioners who
But for all its terrifying attend the Church of the Har-
imagery, right down to the as- vest are quite loyal. The pastor,
sociation with the “unlucky” Leo Billian, has a warm and easy
number 13, the Death card manner, and his sermons don’t
isn’t necessarily a harbinger incorporate any of the vitriolic,
of tragedy. While it certainly divisive rhetoric found elsewhere
can be interpreted as an omen in American churches. The
that someone is about to die, church isn’t popular with the
the card can also connote young folks, of course, but Billian
change, the “death” of one doesn’t spend much effort on try-
set of circumstances for the ing to make religion seem “cool”
“birth” of another. Every- or “hip.” He’s not interested in
thing must pass away to make tricking people into showing
room for the new, and while up. He wants them to show up
the card might be macabre, it to gain a deeper connection
can also be hopeful. The joy- with God, to foster a sense of
ous times must die, yes, but so community, and above all, to
too must the sorrowful. know they have somewhere to
The Moros Path has long go and be safe.
claimed this card as their Billian is a good man, and
symbol, and the symbol of if he knew about the entities
the Arcanum of Death. The living around his church and
correspondences are clear, what they were doing, he would
the imagery is perfect — but probably pull the place down
still, some mages, even a few with his bare hands. Sadly, it
Necromancers, question the choice. If the Death card wouldn’t help. The Harvest would continue.
represents change, might not Matter be a more suit-
able choice? The power of tradition is strong, though,
and the power of names is stronger. The Death card
History
The Harvest has been going on for many years. At the
is inextricably associated with the Path of Doom and
moment a person dies, the Harvesters come and collect
their shadowy arts in Awakened society; what else
a symbol of the death, and then leave our world through
would have the same strength?
shadows and chill breezes. The Harvesters were here
For mages on the journey through the Tarot, the long before the Europeans arrived and built on the site,
Death card follows the pain of the Hanged Man. and they have been here through the property’s many
Once the mage has learned to cope with that card, incarnations — a corner store, a private home, a farm.
and hopefully come to terms with whatever he did to Finally, after a cabal of mages burned down the building
94
on the site 20 years ago (at the time, it was a post office, the Collectors. He was, however, interested in death
which meant that the arson made some headlines), and despised hospice care as it was usually practiced.
Billian bought the land and built a church. He built an extension to the church that would allow
Billian was not always a man of God. He was a families to move sick relatives out of hospital care and
doctor specializing in hospice care, looking after the let them have some privacy and some dignity, and since
dying and helping them to move on. The fear of death Billian had kept his medical license current (secretly,
he saw on a regular basis, not just from his patients, he felt he had worked too hard to become a doctor
but from their families and the lawmakers that tied to just let that part of his life go), he could make sure
his hands, frustrated him. Death was frightening, yes, they received the care they needed. But this meant
but it also meant the soul could move on, could be that people were dying with more frequency close to
with God, and could finally know rest. Why was that the church, and close to the river. That, in turn, meant
so horrible? Billian narrowly avoided prosecution for the Collectors grew more active.
assisted suicide on a number of occasions, and after Billian first knew something was wrong five years
one particularly heart-wrenching case in which a ago, when he agreed to a lock-in at the church for the
woman of only 40 begged him to help her die to end children of the congregation (ages 10 and up, under
the constant pain she felt, Billian quit. He wasn’t a strict supervision, of course). One of the kids, as it
healer of bodies anyway, he said at his “retirement” happened, was allergic to peanuts. One of the others
dinner. He was more interested in people’s souls, and was diabetic and had brought along snacks in case
that was why he was devoting his life to God. her blood sugar dropped… one of which was a small
Billian became an ordained minister and built the cup of peanut butter. Several of the middle schoolers,
Church of the Harvest. He sponsored initiatives to these two included, sneaked off to play spin-the-bottle,
clean up the nearby river, to replant some of the for- and the boy slipped into shock and died. The other
est that had been lost in the fire, and asked that his four people nearby saw something reach out from the
parishioners volunteer a few hours a week at a charity shadows, grab his medical ID bracelet, and pull it into
of their choice (he favored hospice, of course). Slowly, the darkness. That story has become an urban legend
the congregation began to grow. If the cabal of mages in the area, with many different variations (including
that burnt the place down before were watching, they one in which the arm pulled the boy into the darkness,
made no indication. All seemed well. where he was later found dead “of fright”). It is true,
however, that of the four people who saw the Collector
Nightmares and Sightings that night, none of them live in the area anymore.
The area around the church has always been home One is institutionalized and on constant suicide watch.
to strange rumors, though. Things go missing — little One is living in New York City, where he produces
knickknacks, articles of clothing, and so on. Locals some of the most disturbing sculptures ever seen. One
refer to “Collectors,” little faerie-like creatures that converted to Catholicism and took holy orders, and
steal these objects. The stories can be traced all the lives far away in a convent. The fourth, the girl who
way back to pre-Colonial times, in fact, but few people kissed the unfortunate boy, shot herself a year after
have ever made the connection that the objects that the tragedy. Interestingly, the shell casing from the
go missing correspond to the death of a person. bullet that killed her was never found.
With the construction of the Church of the Harvest, Since then, the church hasn’t sponsored another
though, the “Collectors” apparently grew more blatant. lock-in, and in fact has done very little in the way
Now, people actually saw them, though never clearly. In of Sunday school and other youth-focused activities.
the hospital near the church, staff and family members Billian acknowledges that he is “gun-shy” over the
would see movement in the hallways at night, hear rus- incident, and stresses that he is always available to
tling of curtains or catch a glimpse of what looked like a act as counselor to troubled youths. His primary focus,
hand, and then something would go missing. The sight- though, is the Harvest hospice.
ings were seldom discussed by the light of day, though.
Like most of the otherworldly entities in the World of
Darkness, the Collectors seemed best protected by the
Description
The church is a brown, two-story building. The main
fact that people don’t want to discover the truth.
congregation area is cozy (Billian never expected too
Billian wasn’t from the area and had never heard of large of a crowd, so didn’t make the church too grandi-
96
Getting Involved can learn this information by performing research in
any library (Intelligence + Academics, 10 successes
Mage characters might become interested in the needed, every roll requires 30 minutes of work).
Church of the Harvest for a number of reasons. A few • The characters can learn the details of the lock-in,
possible hooks for a cabal are listed here: the names of the dead boy and the four witnesses, and
• One or more of the mages might be acquainted their current whereabouts. Learning what happened
with the cabal that burned the post office down two at the lock-in is fairly easy, since it is a matter of public
decades ago. In fact, a young cabal might be assigned record (success on an Intelligence + Academics roll).
“follow-up” on this area. Learning the names of the witnesses requires talking to
• The characters might attend the church before Billian (see below) or one of the other church staff, which
their Awakenings. One might even start to Awaken probably necessitates Social rolls (Presence + Persuasion,
as a Moros, but find the way to Stygia blocked (see Manipulation + Persuasion, Presence + Intimidation, or
Systems, below). magic, depending on the characters’ approach).
• The characters might meet one of the people who Finding two of the witnesses is easy enough. One is
attended the lock-in. They might see the artist’s work dead, and the other has some acclaim as a New York
in New York, or meet the young man languishing in artist (running his name through an online search en-
the asylum. In any event, their stories might be enough gine brings up his web site, complete with photos of his
to spur an investigation. work and contact information). The other two are much
• The characters might have family or friends dying harder to find. One is institutionalized (permission from
in the hospice (which, incidentally, might include in- the family or Status, Allies or Contacts with the medi-
teresting themes of the limits of magic and whether it’s cal community is required), and the other is ensconced
appropriate to use magic to stave off death from normally in a convent (Status, Allies or Contacts in the Catholic
terminal disease). If they are present when someone dies, Church — even her family doesn’t know where she is).
they might notice the Harvest taking place. Any of the living witnesses can describe the Collec-
• If your chronicle involves vampires, zombies or tors, but will require considerable persuasion to do so
other undead creatures, you might involve the char- (at least 10 successes on an extended Social action of
acters by allowing them to see what happens when a some kind, with modifiers as appropriate based on how
dead being wanders into the area under the Harvest the Storyteller wants to present these characters).
(see below). • Researching Leo Billian through the American
Medical Association is fairly simple, and reveals that
Research he has, in the past, been under suspicion for doctor-
If the characters dig into the past of the region, they assisted suicide, but never charged. If the Death 1 spell
can learn the information presented below. The methods “Soul Marks” is used on Billian, the mage learns that
that the characters can use to uncover this information the minister has, in fact, killed in the past. He bears
and how much effort it requires are also described. no evidence of malice or violence, however.
• The region has had legends about shadowy crea- • If the characters interview the medical staff at
tures collecting tokens from the dying for centuries. the nearby hospital, they learn that the nurses and
If the characters do some research into the beliefs of aides are superstitious about working the night shift.
the Native tribes of the area (which will, of course, They also learn that the staff has undergone repeated
vary based on where you have decided the church is investigations after rings and other small, valuable
located), they learn of legends about spirits known as items turn up missing from deceased patients.
“Guides” or “Harbingers.” These spirits, supposedly,
would lead a soul on its way after death, in exchange
for a small token from the deceased. Usually, this was Systems —
something that the deceased was carrying on him at
the time of death, and it became common practice to
The Harvest and the Collectors
The Harvest, obviously, has been going on for many
carry an object of great value to ensure speedy transi-
years. This section explains what the Harvest is and
tion to the afterlife. This practice was outlawed in the
what the characters can do about it.
18th century, crept back into fashion in the early 1900s,
and all but disappeared after World War I. Characters The center of the activity is not the church or
even the land it is on, but the river. Most rivers bear
98
dead body in the area loose from its chains, causing Vice: Pride
a temporary uprising of the walking dead (and more Initiative: 5
work for the Awakened). Defense: 2
But then, it could be a great deal simpler than that. Speed: 9
The mages might just need to prevent a Collector Health: 7
from taking its tribute. If the characters could track
the Collector back to its homeland and catch it be- Collectors
fore it adds the trinket it stole to its pile, perhaps the Description: The Collectors are about four feet
curse would break and the Collector’s home would be tall. They are vaguely humanoid, but their arms and
sealed off from the Fallen World forever (hopefully, legs are spindly and disproportionately long for their
the characters can get back first!). bodies. They can grasp with their toes just as easily
as with their fingers. Their skin is black, mottled with
Supporting Characters patches of gray, about the same texture as a frog’s. Col-
lectors do not speak, but chirp in a strangely beautiful
Leo Billian lilt. They are completely scentless, and do not leave
behind fingerprints, blood or any other biological mark
Quote: Not fearing death isn’t the same thing as want- of their passing.
ing to die.
Storytelling Hints: The Collectors are only moti-
Description: Reverend Billian is about 55, and works vated by their desire to take their strange bounty. They
to stay in shape, though he’s become a little plump don’t respond to fear, anger or pleading, though they
around the middle in recent years. He has black hair can recognize threats and will not pursue a trinket
streaked with gray, and wears a beard, giving him a at a cost to their own lives. Collectors seem to be in
fatherly look. He dresses in black most of the time — competition for trinkets, but they do not fight over
it’s not required of him, of course, but somehow he them. Rather, if one is distracted or driven off, another
just feels more comfortable that way. appears to claim the prize. Collectors are not as intel-
Storytelling Hints: Leo Billian is a good man and ligent as humans, but are cunning, and are capable of
a devout Christian. He gave up a lucrative career be- distracting people to reach their goals.
cause he honestly felt that his calling lay elsewhere, Mental Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 4, Resolve 3
and he does occasionally use that fact as currency Physical Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 5, Stamina 2
when dealing with other religious leaders or with disil- Social Attributes: Presence 1, Manipulation 1, Com-
lusioned churchgoers. Some of the folks who attend posure 2
his church and feel paranoid or uneasy also feel that Mental Skills: none
Billian is a morbid sort of person, but Billian doesn’t Physical Skills: Athletics 4, Brawl 2, Stealth 5
feel any kind of fascination or love for death. He just Social Skills: none
doesn’t fear it, and he wants to help other people let Merits: Fast Reflexes 2
go of that fear. Willpower: 5
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 2, Resolve 3
Initiative: 9
Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 2
Defense: 5
Social Attributes: Presence 4, Manipulation 3,
Speed: 18 (species factor 10)
Composure 3
Size: 4
Mental Skills: Academics (Religion) 3, Computer 1,
Medicine (Hospice Care) 3 Health: 6
Physical Skills: Athletics 1, Drive 2, Stealth 1 Supernatural Powers:
Social Skills: Empathy (Comfort) 3, Expression (Ser- Unnatural Transit: Collectors can enter the Fallen
mons) 3, Persuasion 2, Socialize 3, Subterfuge 2 World through shadows or by riding on a breeze. A
shadow must be large enough to admit the creature.
Merits: Allies (Parishioners) 4, Contacts (Religious,
The breeze must be a natural one (a breeze created
Medical), Inspiring, Resources 1, Status (Church) 4,
by a fan doesn’t count, though a breeze summoned by
Status (Licensed Doctor) 1
magic would). It costs a Collector one point of Willpower
Willpower: 6 to enter our world, and one point to exit unless it is
Morality: 7 carrying a token from a dead person.
Virtue: Hope
100
Key XIV — Temperance
A figure pours liquid from one container to another. after he has experienced the random events of the
In some decks, this figure is a normal man, while in world (the Wheel of Fortune) and how to make sense
others, he is no less than an archangel. But in either of them (Justice and the Hanged Man), and learned
case, the Temperance card makes its statement: the harsh lessons of Death. It is good, of course, that
everything in due proportion; all ingredients mixed he learns Temperance now — his next lesson is hard
properly. Overindulgence is foolish and dangerous. indeed, coming as it does from the Devil.
Some decks show the figure standing with one foot
Cabal —
in water and the other on
land, reinforcing the idea of
Solomon’s
balance and moderation.
Another possible interpre-
tation for Temperance, one
that steers away from the de-
notative reading of the term,
posits that the flowing liquid
Lesson
The Solomon’s Lesson cabal
represents energy, thought, takes its name from a rather
dreams or even the “vibra- ghoulish Biblical fable. In the
tions” that some philosophers first Book of Kings, two pros-
once believed made up the titutes come before Solomon,
cosmos. Whatever the liquid each laying claim to the same
represents, it can be “tem- baby (one claims the other
pered” in the mind or soul of killed her own son, and then
the subject, and shaped into switched the dead child for
whatever form he wishes. the living one while the living
This mutability calls to child’s mother slept). Solomon,
mind the legends of the realizing that the guilty woman
Philosopher’s Stone, and the isn’t going to own up, orders
Arcanum of Matter. Indeed, that the living child be cut in
Awakened cartomancers half with a sword. The lying
often use Temperance to woman agrees to this, but the
reflect this Arcanum, the actual mother of the child im-
Moros Path and the practice mediately renounces her claim
of alchemy. Moros mages to the child. By her compassion,
that specialize in Matter, Solomon knows that she is the
especially to the exclusion child’s true mother.
of Death, sometimes refer to The leader of the cabal, a
themselves as Alchemists rather than Necromancers, mage originally of the Clavicularius Legacy, formed the
and use this card’s artistic elements in their personal cabal several years ago to teach a magical technique he
heraldry, if any. developed after a meeting with a creature that, even
For a mage, both of the above interpretations have now, he cannot identify or even find.
merit. A mage must be balanced and moderate with Solomon’s Lesson is a cabal that might be useful
his power, lest he change something in a way that for illustrating the Temperance stage of the Tarot
cannot be undone. The usual threat of Paradox serves journey — it’s rather become Adam Straw’s guiding
as a reminder to be temperate, but even (perhaps principle, after all. Even he still has his blind spots, and
especially) covert magic can be a mage’s undoing if if a cabal could teach him the lesson of true temper-
he doesn’t consider the consequences. A mage on ance (perhaps allowing Harmony to join his Legacy),
the journey through the Tarot comes to Temperance it might achieve or pass that stage itself.
102
that must be constantly fed. Vice needn’t enter the The Attainment works on the same principle as
metaphor at all, or if it does, it is the howling, hungry the “Emotional Urging” spell, but it works on a wider
beast in the dark, kept at bay by the fire. scale. When Epee uses this Attainment, anyone in the
The other mages in Epee’s cabal joined for their immediate area feels a surge of emotional strength.
own reasons, but they are, for the most part, in line Individuals usually experience this surge as it applies
with his philosophy. Epee does not demand that his to their particular Virtue. For instance, a character
cabal practice goetia to strengthen their Virtues, and with the Virtue of Fortitude might experience a second
certainly not that they join his Legacy (Epee is a die- wind as fatigue disappears, while one with the Hope
hard théarch, and refuses to teach the Legacy to anyone Virtue sees the strength of those around her and takes
but another Mastigos or Silver Ladder mage). He does inspiration from that.
demand that they stay true to the Lex Magica and to In game terms, roll Presence + Socialize + Mind.
the precepts of Sleeper law, and that they practice The Attainment affects a number of people, who
magic in a humane and ethical manner. must be within view of the mage, equal to the num-
ber of successes on the roll. All of these characters
Magic of Solomon’s Lesson regain one point of Willpower. Any sort of mental or
magical shield blocks this power, as does even a small
Epee’s Attainments and the spells he has developed amount of supernatural resistance (which means the
follow. The first Attainment is the usual one for the Attainment only works on supernatural beings if they
Clavicularii, but the second one is of his own design. specifically allow it, and that requires a great deal of
Epee has not yet achieved the third Attainment in trust in Epee).
his Legacy. Optional Arcanum: Forces 3
“Lighting a candle” isn’t metaphorical for Epee. With
1st: Goetic Projection a wave of his hand, he can increase the light output
Prerequisites: Gnosis 3, Mind 2, Empathy 3 from any source. Roll Presence + Persuasion + Forces,
The first Attainment of the Clavicularius Legacy and apply successes as described for the Forces 3 spell
shapes the mage’s soul in such a way that his own “Light Mastery” (p. 169 of Mage: The Awakening).
weaknesses and sins — his Vice, derangements and This Attainment cannot be used to dim lights, how-
Mental Flaws — stand out in stark relief to his mind’s ever, only increase their brightness.
eye. Because of this, the Clavicularius can sense those
taints within, and project them onto others. Know Virtue (Mind •)
By inflaming his sin and projecting it onto another, Epee developed this spell to know, at a glance, the
the Clavicularius creates an impetus to behave in a best parts of a person’s soul. Everyone has the potential
similar fashion. This acts like the Mind 2 “Emotional to be charitable or courageous or wise, but one of these
Urging” spell, including the ability for the Awakened traits is generally stronger than the others.
to sense that they are being manipulated. If the target Practice: Knowing
already possessed the Vice projected by the Clavicu-
Action: Instant; subtract target’s Composure
larius, however, she is immune to this Attainment — a
Duration: Concentration
soul that already battles its own internal sin is immune
to that same sin from an outside source. Aspect: Covert
Cost: None
2nd: Light a Candle If the spell roll succeeds, the character knows the
Prerequisites: Gnosis 5, Mind 3 target’s Virtue. Successfully using the “Aura Percep-
Normally, the second Clavicularius Attainment tion” spell on the target first grants a +3 modifier to
allows the mage additional protection against his the mage.
own Mental Flaws and derangements. Epee, however, Epee’s Rote: Who Are You Really?
inspired by his discussions with the Traveler, decided Dice Pool: Wits + Empathy + Mind
to forge his own path. His Attainment is therefore a
bit more proactive. His title for it, “Light a Candle,” Bolster Virtue (Mind •••)
refers to the maxim, “It’s better to light a candle than Any Disciple of Mind can make himself smarter or
curse the darkness.” wittier, and Epee is no stranger to such magic. He felt,
104
Physical Skills: Athletics 3, Brawl 1, Drive 1, Firearms 1, comfort; nothing short of a direct order from Epee
Weaponry (Swords) 3 gets her to put on a dress.
Social Skills: Empathy 5, Expression 3, Intimidation 2, Möbius’ Nimbus is bitterly cold, a biting chill that
Persuasion 3, Socialize (Bringing Out the Best) 4, saps the warmth out of those nearby. It carries with it
Streetwise 3, Subterfuge 3 a grim sense of inevitability, the feeling of endlessness
Merits: Contacts (Local Businesses, Clavicularii), Fight- on a cold winter’s night.
ing Style: Two Weapons 3, Hallow (shared) 3, Inspiring,
Library (Goetia, Spirits, Astral Travel) 3, Sanctum (Size 4,
Storytelling Hints: Möbius is a living testament to
Security 2) how turbulent one person’s life can be. She refuses to
Willpower: 7 give in to despair… most of the time. The other mem-
Wisdom: 9
bers of the cabal sometimes catch her crying, however,
wishing that she hadn’t squandered the good fortune
Virtue: Temperance
that she once had. They always reassure her the same
Vice: Wrath
way — by reminding her of her own favorite saying:
Initiative: 6
“How could things be other than they are?”
Defense: 3
Path: Acanthus
Speed: 11
Order: Silver Ladder
Health: 7
Abilities:
Gnosis: 6
Writing (dice pool 7) — Möbius is an accomplished
Arcana: Forces 3, Mind 5, Spirit 4, Space 2 fiction writer and poet. She still writes, though she
Rotes: Forces — Influence Light (•), Influence Fire (••); publishes under an assumed name.
Mind — Aura Perception (•), Know Virtue (•), Emotional First Aid (dice pool 6) — Being in a hospital for as
Urging (••), First Impressions (••), Augment the Mind (•••), long as she was, Möbius maintains a passing interest
Bolster Virtue (•••), Goetic Struggle (•••), Mental Wall in medicine. She can perform CPR or stitch a wound,
(•••), Augment Other Mind (••••), Supreme Augmentation if need be.
(••••), Twilight Temple (•••••); Space — Scrying (••); Spirit
— Exorcist’s Eye (•), Gossamer Touch (••), Exorcism (•••),
Goetic Evocation (••••), Spirit Guardian (••••) Pontus
Legacy Attainment: 1st — Goetic Projection, 2nd — Quote: The sea can keep her dead.
Light a Candle Background: Many, many years at sea hardened
Mana/per turn: 15/6 Yngwie Hansen. Born in Sweden, he took to the
Armor: 5 (“Misperception,” Mind ••) sea in his late teens, first on a fishing boat, then as a
merchant sailor, and finally working on a cruise line.
Möbius All the time, he was searching for something in the
waves. When he Awakened to Stygia, he found it.
Quote: Nothing ever really ends. That’s comforting,
though, right? He saw the dead at sea, floating in the water, mil-
Background: A cancer survivor by age 17, a famous lions of corpses choking the life from the ocean. He
author by age 24, and penniless in the streets by age was on the verge of madness when he returned to
30, Paige McAffery’s life has never been uneventful. port. Another Moros found him and explained that
Her luck seems to turn on a dime, and even Awak- Stygia was the Abode of Shades, and that the sea
ening to Arcadia didn’t seem to change it much. She was not literally preparing to regurgitate the dead.
made a conscious choice to give up all traces of her Yngwie has since taken some tentative voyages over
pre-Awakening life, which means avoiding recognition the ocean, but the fear of those waterlogged corpses
for her novels (renowned for a few years, and then out still chills him.
of fashion, sadly before the movie deal went through). Yngwie met up with Epee quite by accident, and they
She took the name Möbius to reflect her strange journey shared a few drinks while recounting stories of their
through life, and has begun practicing goetia as a way youth. Epee was impressed that Yngwie was trying to
to keep her ever-present spark of hope alive. face his fear, but asked if maybe he was going about
Description: Paige is thin and pale, with stringy it the wrong way. The Moros decided to join Epee’s
brown hair and bright blue eyes. Her skin is sallow cabal, and took the name “Pontus” after the Greek god
and she moves slowly and deliberately, but she is sel- of the sea’s bounty, hoping to one day see the ocean
dom without a smile or a kind word. She dresses for as mystifying and beautiful again.
106
and wrong and his tenacity. If Zeus could improve Abilities:
those traits, Epee said, he’d be a superb Sentinel, Fighting (dice pool 8) — Neutral is an expert in sev-
rather than just a good one. Zeus took this to heart eral martial arts disciplines, including kung fu, aikido
and embraced Epee’s new philosophy with all of his and bare-knuckle boxing.
considerable enthusiasm. He also studied Taoist phi- Building Repair (dice pool 6) — When the cabal
losophy, and he works to remain neutral (hence the purchased the building, it was Neutral that rewired it
Shadow Name) until he is sure his energies can be (and did much of the carpentry and masonry, for that
applied appropriately. matter).
Description: Greg is in his early 30s. He follows a
strict physical regimen — vegetarian, constant exer-
cise, daily sparring workouts, and so on. The result is
Temperance Reversed
Impatience and impulsivity rule the day. The man
a lean, muscular body and sharp reflexes. He credits dipping his foot into the water withdraws it, planting
his new attitude, though, for the bounce in his step both feet on land, or dives (or falls) into the pool. Con-
and the smile that’s never far from his lips. sequences aren’t considered. Moderation is a laughable
Neutral’s Nimbus is a crackle of thunder and a notion. All that matters is the moment.
burst of chain-lightning arcing from his eyes to his Alternately, instinct and wisdom are ignored in favor
fingertips. Even after his “conversion,” Neutral still of what the seeker was going to do anyway. Self-fulfilling
loves the sensation. prophecy is held up as truth, or worse, evidence.
Storytelling Hints: Neutral is a devoted member of
the Adamantine Arrow, and his status in the order has
increased considerably since he stopped meeting every
Solomon’s Lesson as Seers of the Throne
Using Solomon’s Lesson as a Seer cabal doesn’t take
threat with lightning. He has, however, made enemies
much work. Epee remains a former Clavicularius, and he
in his career as a Sentinel, and not all of them care
even retains his focus on encouraging virtue. It’s just that
about his newfound focus on virtue. Neutral realizes
the virtue he encourages most keenly is obedience. He
that a lot of people still know him as Zeus, and that
makes frequent use of spells such as “Psychic Reprogram-
this brings danger to his cabal. He just isn’t sure how
ming” and “Possession,” as well as “Telepathic Control,”
to meet this kind of threat — violence is sometimes
to make sure the people in the cabal’s neighborhood
required, but is it really justified?
report anything out of the ordinary. His Attainments
Neutral is training to join the Perfect Adept Legacy remain unchanged, however.
(p. 349 of Mage: The Awakening), but hasn’t quite
The “reversal” of the cabal doesn’t remove temperance
finished yet. He might wind up being apprenticed to
entirely. The focus on virtue is simply taken to an unac-
a character that is well-versed in Life magic, especially
ceptable extreme. Epee, as a Seer, wishes to encourage
if the character belongs to the Arrow.
Virtue by removing the option to act in any other capacity.
Path: Obrimos
This, obviously, is not temperate behavior.
Order: Adamantine Arrow
Character —
be just a bit more unpleas-
ant, but by then, the Man’s
habits are even more deeply
entrenched. The Devil pulls
the chains ever tighter. Lynden
The Devil card can also
refer to power or intelligence Chambers,
applied to selfish or base ends. In fact, it can be seen as
the inverse of the Magician, depending on how that
card is interpreted. The Devil, in such views, is called
Scelestus Philosopher
It isn’t damnation, despite what your mentors tell you.
the Black Magician, and does not refer to literal, sentient Damnation implies judgment, and who is it that’s judging
being tempting Man, but rather the incredible tenacity us? I would argue that your masters — your Consilii —
and inventiveness of Man turned to ignoble ends. are a hundred times more judgmental than my masters
The Mastigos Path claims the Devil as its primary ever would be. And much more complex. All my masters
card, but alters the traditional meaning just a bit. To demand is patience. The world is theirs eventually anyway,
the Warlocks, the Devil is the temptation that all of and certain behaviors here in the aptly named Fallen World
them face, the quick and easy path to power available please them. In return for these behaviors, they grant me
to any mage versed in Mind magic (any mage at all, power. How I use that power is up to me.
108
Of course there are… people like me… who use their made the nails. Digging up records from the nailer’s
powers recklessly, violently, and wantonly, but I find that guild of the time, Chambers learned this man had
a measured approach is best. I have built myself a fortune enjoyed a great deal of clout among his fellow crafts-
and a comfortable life in part by using my power, but mostly men, and had traded letters with learned men across
by applying my natural talents. Why do I bother, if I am the colonies. He had died in the Revolutionary War…
damned? If I am truly the nihilist that your fellows paint which was before the cabinet had been built, meaning
me to be, why should I bother doing anything? I could the nails had been marked upon their creation. But
wallow in depravity, but I prefer to sample the finer things what, then, was the point?
in the world while they still exist. Chambers puzzled over this for near a year, and
Would you like to have dinner with me? All we’re doing then finally, in frustration, traveled to Copp’s Hill and
is talking, after all. If you think your masters — sorry, studied the nailer’s gravestone. There, nearly weathered
mentors — would disapprove, consider why. away completely, he found the code he’d been looking
My reservations are at seven tonight. Feel free to join me. for. At the end of the code, Chambers added his own
— A conversation between Lynden Chambers and mark, a variant on the symbols he’d seen, and in that
Agdos, Moros of the Mysterium moment he Awakened.
Lynden Chambers was born in Boston in 1955. Unfortunately for Chambers, he Awakened on
Raised to affluence and privilege, he was neverthe- Copp’s Hill, a burial ground that had received the
less miserable. He was usually sick, and even when he dead for more than 300 years and was home to some
wasn’t he was meek and frail. He retreated into books truly foul entities. Chambers was unharmed — but
and art, and became enthralled with relics of the past. he watched re-enactments of some of the horrors
He wasn’t just interested in paintings, sculpture and that had taken place there, in Twilight, beyond view
other works created solely for the purpose of artistic of humanity. He saw the spirits of the dead and their
expression. In fact, Chambers found furniture, tools endless torment, and he saw the far stranger spirits
and other practical items most interesting. of death and what they did to humans who wandered
Over the years, Chambers became increasingly through gateways into their realm.
knowledgeable about history and about the craftsman- And something in Lynden Chambers broke. It
ship that a particular time period produced. He could didn’t happen loudly or noticeably. It was a quiet,
glance at a chest of drawers and guess the year in which almost insignificant thing, some part of his mind
it was made, identify an architect by the frame of a that winked silently out of existence. Lynden did not
house, and even knew what kind of nails and lumber actually become a Scelestus for some years after that
would be used in the construction of such things. His night, but in truth, he walked out of that graveyard
parents wondered if this fascination would ever be one of the Wicked.
practical, but then he took them to an antiques show The first mage that Chambers met was Davey
and pointed out which items were valuable beyond their Jones, one of the Dead Wrens (see p. 384 of Mage:
listed prices. His father, a banker, invested the earnings The Awakening). Davey’s talk of freebooting sparked
well, and Chambers never wanted for money. Lynden’s interest, not because he wished to participate,
He attended college, studying history and art, and but because it was so far from what he’d been expect-
stayed in as long as he could. He received his doctor- ing. By the time he met members of the other orders,
ate in 1980, and took a job with an auction house as Chambers had already joined the Free Council. At
an appraiser. first, this was a disadvantage (since the Silver Ladder
One night, when Chambers was looking over a cabinet and the Mysterium are the true powers in Boston’s
crafted in the late 18th century, he noted an unusual Consilium), but Chambers noted that his upper-class,
pattern on the tops of the nails. With a magnifying educated bearing combined with his unorthodox
glass, some strong light and a great deal of patience, he choice of order made him intriguing to some of the
realized each of the nails had been individually marked cabals in the city. To that end, he never became active
with a strange symbol. He copied them all down and in his order’s dealings, and refused to join a cabal. He
attempted to decipher them, but without knowing what learned magic mostly through trial and error, and used
order to read them in, he had no place to start. his proficiency with manipulating emotion to secure a
He searched for other pieces from the same area and job with the Boston Athenæum in Beacon Hill. He
time, and discovered the name of the man who had worked as curator specializing in Colonial antiques,
110
characters agree? Do they persecute him as a Scelestus?
Or do they try to help him? Chambers is, perhaps, em- Chambers’ Attainments
blematic of the Hope buried at the bottom of Pandora’s Like most Scelesti, Chambers developed his own
Box — easy to miss if you’re concentrating on the evils Attainments upon becoming one of the Wicked. His
of the world. But with the right guidance, perhaps he Attainments deal with Time and the unstoppable
could be convinced to renounce his Legacy (if that’s cycle of decay.
even possible) and join Awakened society properly.
Dedicated Magical Tool: Iron nail with an arcane 1st: Inevitable Ending
symbol etched into the head. Prerequisites: Gnosis 3, Time 2 (primary), Death 1,
Real Name: Lynden Chambers Occult 2
Path: Mastigos Chambers is extremely difficult to track or predict
Order: Free Council through the use of time magic. Attempts to forecast
Legacy: Scelestus his future using spells such as “Divination,” or to read
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 4, Wits 4, Resolve 2 his past with “Postcognition,” often only reveal a black,
Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2 swirling blur and the taste of iron. Any attempt to use
Social Attributes: Presence 2, Manipulation 4, Time magic on Chambers receives a penalty equal to
Composure 3 his dots in the Time Arcanum. This is in addition to
Mental Skills: Academics (History) 4, Computer 2, Crafts any other defensive spells he might choose to cast.
(Furniture) 3, Investigation 3, Occult 4, Politics 3
Physical Skills: Drive 2, Firearms 1, Stealth 2 2nd: Beginnings and Endings
Social Skills: Intimidation (Creepy) 2, Persuasion Prerequisites: Gnosis 5, Time 3
(Smooth Talker) 3, Socialize 4, Streetwise 1, Subter- By touching a target, Chambers can see into its
fuge 4 past and future, all the way to its destruction. In a few
Merits: Contacts (High Society, Museums, Academia, seconds of contact, Chambers sees months or years
Scelestus), Fast Reflexes 2, Hallow 2, Language (French, of experience, and he can use this information to
Italian, Latin), Library (Abyssal Entities) 1, Resources 4,
great effect, whether to play mind games or to strike
Sanctum (Size 3, Security 2) 5, Status (Boston Muse-
at vulnerable points.
ums) 2
Willpower: 5 The Storyteller spends a point of Mana and rolls
Wisdom: 6
Intelligence + Crafts (for objects) or Investigation (for
people) + Time. If Chambers is using this Attain-
Virtue: Hope
ment on a sentient being, that being’s Composure
Vice: Gluttony
is subtracted from that roll. If a mage is using a spell
Initiative: 8 (with Fast Reflexes)
that cloaks her from Time magic, this “armor” also
Defense: 3
applies. For each success on the roll, Chambers can
Speed: 10
choose one of the following options:
Health: 7
• Learn one fact of his choosing about the target.
Gnosis: 5
• Ignore one point of Defense or Durability in
Arcana: Death 4, Mind 5, Prime 2, Space 2, Time 4
attacks against the target (lasts for only one attack
Rotes: Death — Devouring the Slain (•••), Suppress
Other’s Life (••••); Mind — Aura Perception (•), First
against people).
Impressions (•), Alter Aura (••), Emotional Urging (••), • Apply a +1 modifier to any attempt to use Mind
Imposter (•••), Multi-Tasking (•••), Hallucination (••••), spells to manipulate the target’s thoughts or emotions
Possession (•••••); Prime — Analyze Enchanted Item (•), (obviously only applies to sentient beings). This bonus,
Unseen Spy (••); Space — Scrying (••); Time — Glimpsing unlike the one for Defense, remains. After the first
the Future (••), Acceleration (•••), Present as Past (••••), use, the target can attempt to shut her mind against
Temporal Pocket (••••) that particular avenue of attack (a reflexive Resolve
Legacy Attainment: 1st — Inevitable Ending; 2nd — + Composure roll; success negates Chambers’ bonus),
Endings and Beginnings (see below) but she must do so every time Chambers attempts to
Mana/per turn: 14/5 manipulate her.
Armor: 5 (“Misperception,” Mind ••) • Apply a +1 modifier to Social rolls against the
Magic Shield: 2 (Prime ••) target. This bonus lasts for one scene.
112
Key XVI — The Tower
Lightning strikes, and the tower falls, and those that and some rained down like meteors into the Supernal
inhabited it crash to earth. Pride built the tower, not desire Realms. These fragments, called “Shards of the Ladder”
for enlightenment, and when this card appears in a read- by some mages, hold incredible power for mages. They are
ing, one must be careful that the lust for acknowledgment Artifacts on their own, but they can also be worked into
and accolades for an endeavor does not eclipse the more imbued items to grant them additional magic.
poignant reasons for it. What follows is a discussion of the Shards of the Ladder,
The most obvious source for the Tower is, of course, the what game systems they require and what use they might
Tower of Babel from Judeo-Christian mythology. Men tried be to mages. A raw Shard can be purchased for three Merit
to build a structure so tall it would dots at character creation (except
reach Heaven, and God struck Abyssal Shards; see below).
them down for their insolence.
But it does beg the question —
did they actually have a chance Appearance
of reaching Heaven? If not, why
would God have cared enough and General
not only to destroy the tower but
also inflict the curse of languages
on mankind, forcing them for-
Characteristics
Shards of the Ladder resemble
ever into division? chunks of stone, glass, crystal or
Mages look at the Tower as metal, usually no bigger than a foot
the perfect metaphor for their long and six inches around. Some
own Fall; the destruction of the are spherical, some are long and
Celestial Ladder and of the Awak- sharp, and some simply resemble
ened City. The parallels to Babel rocks. Some Shards are perfectly
are present here, too, although in formed geometrical shapes — sim-
this case the Ladder could, in fact, ple cubes or cones, or polyhedrons
reach “Heaven,” and it wasn’t de- with as many as twenty sides. The
stroyed by an omnipotent being, shape of a Shard isn’t necessarily
but rather the ascended masters indicative of its power, although
in the Supernal Realms. Awakened scholars studying them
What does all of this mean to have noted that the more perfectly
the mage on the journey of the formed Shards tend to originate
Tarot? It means that, at this stage, from Pandemonium or Arcadia
the mage begins to define himself more than the other Realms.
among the Awakened, to being Most Shards are silver, bronze,
(or even complete) the tasks that gold or deep red in color, but every
will allow him to make his mark color in the spectrum is possible.
on the world. He might join a Some are perfectly clear, and some
Legacy, or become a leader in his appear to be filled with liquid (this
order, take on a pupil or start his own cabal. He might also is an optical illusion, however).
go mad, or become a Tremere Lich, or sell out to the Seers Shards always appear significant to Mage Sight, and the
of the Throne. Whatever the case, the Tower is a reminder Analyze Enchanted Item spell reveals them for what they
to act in accordance with ideals, not in service to ego. are (provided the mage in question can identify a Shard of
Artifact —
the Ladder as such). A player of a mage identifying a Shard
from a given Supernal Realm using Mage Sight from one of
the ruling Arcana from that Realm receives a +2 modifier to
114
World, as though the strange denizens of the Kingdom of
Enchantment have uses for them. In fact, mages sometimes
Potency and Imbued Items find Sleepers carrying these Shards, though of course, they
There’s a little problem with the Imbue Item can’t make true use of them. Arcadian Shards are often
spell as written in Mage: The Awakening. smooth and shimmering, glistening like quicksilver, or
The system is inconsistent with the Merit: deep ocean blue.
Imbued Item. To wit, the spell as written al- A Shard of Arcadia might appear in the Fallen World
lows the creator to determine the Potency of following an Awakening to Arcadia, or after an event of
the imbued spell as the item is being imbued. great import. When someone meets his destiny, be it a
This would mean that, for instance, when noble and glorious victory or a lonely and pathetic doom,
casting a spell like “Celestial Fire” it would an investigator might later find an Arcadian Shard nearby
be possible to incorporate five successes (or even clutched in the unfortunate’s dead hand).
worth of Potency, and have the attack always
inflict five points of damage. However, the Example Shard: Wellstone (•••)
Merit system on p. 84 indicates that when an Durability 4, Size 0, Structure 4
imbued item is used, the player rolls Gnosis + Mana Capacity: 11
the Arcanum dots used for the power (three, This small, shiny gray stone was found in a well in England,
in the case of our hypothetical Celestial Fire and has passed through several owners since then. When
item), which would mean that the Potency held tightly in the palm of a mage’s hand, it grows heavy in
varies from use to use, as with other spells. the presence of someone suffering from lost time, usually
due to abduction by the Fae, but possibly due to being stuck
The reason for this discrepancy is to make
in a pocket of time caused by Awakened magic.
imbued items that are created in play poten-
tially more powerful than those purchased as
Merits, because there’s more work involved Example Imbued Item: Shears of Fate
for the player and the character. If imbued The shears are large, unwieldy things, made from iron
items that were purchased as Merits at char- and silver. An Arcadian Shard the color of a sickly violet
acter creation had a set Potency, there would is set in the hinge of the shears, and the blades creak if
have to be some check involved to represent the shears are opened. The Shard allows the user to see
that (probably involving more Merit dots), the threads between people and objects, as per “Intercon-
and as it is, it’s difficult to start out with a nections” spell (p. 148 of Mage: The Awakening). Once
particularly powerful item. the threads have been identified, the shears can snip them
away (“Destroy Threads,” p. 237 of Mage) or cut the target
For the purposes of the imbued items listed out of Fate’s view (“Occlude Destiny,” p. 186 of Mage). The
below, we’ve determined the Potencies as latter effect lasts for one full day, while the former effect
though these items were created in play. This lasts until the threads are re-established (the Duration is
is because the Shards of the Ladder are meant Lasting). Both of these spells have Potency 2, so if the user
to be found and used this way by player- were to try and sever an intimate connection, he would
controlled characters. We’ve also enumerated need three turns in which to do it.
how the successes for the imbued items are
Successes: 17/19, determined as follows: 5 (Shard) +
allocated, so if you want to make, say, a Ban-
2 (Potency for Occlude Destiny Spell) + 2 (Potency for
isher’s Hand with Potency eight, you just need
Destroy Threads spell) + 4 (Duration factors for Occlude
to add on a few more successes.
Destiny spell) + 5 (indefinite duration) + 1 (spell from a
Common Arcanum) – 1 (spell from a Ruling Arcanum)
+/- 1 (depending on Path of creator) = 17/19.
Successes Required: 14/16, determined as follows. 5
(Shard) + 3 (Potency of Destroy Object spell) + 5 (indefinite
Duration) + 2 (spell for Inferior Arcanum for the Aether)
+ 1/–1 (depending on the Path of the mage who created
Shards of Pandemonium
The Shards that fell into Pandemonium are often sharp,
it) = 14/16. ready to slice the hands of those who dare touch them.
They catch the light in strange ways, making them ap-
Shards of Arcadia
Arcadian Shards, strangely, often bear signs of having
pear larger or smaller than they really are, or refract light,
making them useful as telescopes. They are often pitted
or scarred, and might appear as chunks of iron, volcanic
been worked or shaped even before reaching the Fallen rock or bronze.
116
and rolls toward any hidden cache or secret entrance, as or just marks the ground if it is too solid to penetrate, and
per the Matter 1 spell “Find the Hidden Hoard” (p. 195 of then enjoys the benefits of the “Spatial Map” spell (p. 233 of
Mage: The Awakening). Mage: The Awakening) for the remainder of the scene.
Example Imbued Item: Murderer’s Collar Example Imbued Item: Uncle Einar’s Wings
This powerful item was almost certainly created by a The mage who created these wings, obviously a fan of Ray
mage with a predilection for murder. It is a heavy leather Bradbury’s work, wished to be able to fly by night without
collar with a milky blue-white Shard set into the front and risking death from crashing into an unseen object. The
an iron clasp. When locked about the neck of a corpse, it “wings” actually take the form of a long, black cloak. The
immediately reveals the cause of death to the user (if the clasp is a blood-red stone. This stone, of course, is a Ter-
victim was drowned, the mage sees the water in the corpse’s restrial Shard, enabling the mage to use the “Nightsight”
lungs start to glow, for example) as per the Death 1 spell spell (p. 163 of Mage: The Awakening). The cloak itself
“Forensic Gaze” (p. 134 of Mage: The Awakening). The allows the mage to fly at a Speed of (Gnosis + 10). The
mage can then use the collar’s magic to change the apparent mage’s flight is subject to the systems listed for the “Flight”
cause of death (“Corpse Mask,” p. 136 of Mage, Potency is spell, p. 177 of Mage: The Awakening. The mage can fly
2) and even cause the corpse to stand up and walk, under for one scene, and each flight costs one point of Mana.
its own power, to a locale that the mage finds more suitable Successes: 20, determined as follows: 5 (indefinite Duration)
(“Quicken Corpse,” p. 140 of Mage). A zombie thus created + 5 (Shard) + 10 (Potency of Flight spell) = 20.
has the basic traits for the walking dead listed in the sidebar
on p. 141 of Mage, but the spell’s Potency is 3 for purposes
of contesting control by another necromancer. The corpse
remains animated for one scene, and can be commanded
Shards of the Abyss
Shards of the Abyss might be more common than any
as usual for the Quicken Corpse spell. of the others, but it’s hard to say, because they are difficult
Successes: 12/14, determined as follows: 5 (Shard) + 5 to detect by magic. As mentioned above, any attempt to
(indefinite Duration) + 2 (Potency of Corpse Mask spell) detect or identify an Abyssal shard using Supernal magic
+ 3 (Potency of Quicken Corpse spell) – 2 (spells from suffers a –5 modifier. They usually do not feel harmful or
Ruling Arcanum of Stygia) +/- 1 (depending on creator’s dangerous, either by touch or through magic. Instead, one’s
Path) = 12/14. senses seem to slide off them.
This is good, however, for mages in general. A mage car-
118
Key XVII — The Star
A naked girl pours water from a jug onto the ground, Sleeper’s efforts would. Mages, therefore, are perhaps
or from two jugs onto the ground and into water. The more susceptible to taking inspiration from unsafe
stars are visible in the sky above her, and very often sources, especially since they are usually told that
a bird or a butterfly is perched on a nearby tree. The their dreams often have deep significance.
Star is the card of guidance from above, of light shin- The Star is often associated with the Arcanum of
ing down from the Heavens. This light can provide Prime. In this case, the material “poured out” upon
a path for those who are lost (literally or figuratively) the world is Mana, the very energy of magic itself.
or can be the light of inspira- Mana can be taken from any by
tion, infusing a seeker with a mage learned enough in the
new knowledge, ideas and Prime Arcanum, and so it really
goals. As the light shines is the essential material of the
down on the girl, she, in turn, world. The Star is sometimes
pours the water of her ideas associated with the Obrimos
and dreams onto the ground Path because of its resonance
(making those ideas manifest with Prime, but many mages
on Earth) or into the water feel that if Prime is truly the
(adding them to the collec- basic energy and matter of the
tive dreams and knowledge universe, it certainly doesn’t
of humanity). belong only to the Theurgists.
Mages can receive this kind For a mage on the Tarot
of inspiration from dreams, journey, the Star is the first
visions and other glimpses of step onto the final “leg” of the
the future, whether through journey. The mage’s concerns
their use of magic or through now become more esoteric than
connection to a universal font ever before, as she must start to
of knowledge (i.e., the Dream consider what her role is in the
Merit). When they act on World of Darkness, and how
their inspiration, what they the things she does reflect the
“pour out” onto the world is Supernal Realms. The Star,
magic, and thus it reshapes then, is a kind of second Awak-
the world in grandiose ways ening, one that re-establishes
rather than changing it slowly contact with the lands beyond
and subtly. Even a spell that the Abyss and, hopefully, helps
has little visible effect on the the mage think in a wider and
world often changes it more, more universal fashion.
and more quickly, than a
120
published, but never sold very well. The Legacy, of This last tenet is one that the Legacy argues about
course, uses Graham’s book as their bible. even today. Daniel, apparently, was notorious for let-
Graham never Awakened, and died in 1990. Officially, ting Paradox run free, and wound up Branded more
his death was of natural causes, but the Legacy believes than once. Some suspect, in fact, that a Paradox was
he was murdered by magic, probably by the Seers of what killed him on the battlefield. The Illumined Path
the Throne (but, some speculate, just as easily by the feels that releasing Paradox, rather than containing
Guardians of the Veil). Shortly after his death, a group it, is generally preferable. It’s just not always practical,
of mages (mostly Shamans) who had read and been especially in a combat situation.
inspired by his book came together and formed a cabal.
A few years later, the Legacy was born. The Illumined
Path has refused to name the first member of the Legacy.
Induction
When asked who the founder of the Illumined Path is, Joining the Illumined Path is nominally a matter
they refer to the unnamed priest whom Daniel guided of reading Graham’s book and dedicating oneself to
out of the “dark wood” so many years ago. the philosophies therein, which means anyone, even a
Sleeper, can do it. Joining the actual Legacy is a little
Philosophy more involved, of course. Once the supplicant has
read the book, she must seek out a tutor and present
The Legacy’s philosophy, as explained by Daniel
her request. Thus far, only Thyrsus mages have joined
and later Graham, is as follows:
the Legacy, but no specific policy on the part of the
• Varying degrees of light: One is not “Awakened” Illumined Path restricts it to Shamans.
or “Asleep.” The ability to perceive magic is a spectrum.
If the tutor agrees to take on the pupil (and the
A “Sleepwalker” is in the middle of the spectrum, a
tutor is left to his own devices for determining suit-
mage is closer to one extreme, but a “Sleeper” can be
ability), the apprenticeship usually takes a month or
led to enlightenment (if not Awakening), and a mage
two. During this time, the tutor and student find ways
can be led to great insight.
to extend guidance to others, hopefully in a way that
• Lead, do not preach: There is no value in abusive makes Sleepers more aware of magic without violating
teaching. The Guides do not beat their students, and the Lex Magica. Often this involves interacting with
they do not put them through demeaning or hurtful mortals on a spiritual level and helping to foster per-
lessons. The world teaches pain and suffering enough, ception of the unseen. Sometimes, it involves dealing
and the Legacy’s members do not wish to make it with mortals who have already witnessed something
worse. supernatural and avoiding a violent response.
• The soul is the brightest light: A person who Some Guides take a more martial approach, however,
has damaged his soul must be healed. A mage that and spend their time hunting down mages and other
traffics in souls is the worst kind of blasphemer and beings that work to stifle constructive understanding
traitor to the Light. And yet, if his soul can be healed, of the magical world. Banishers and Tremere Liches
that is the greatest good. are favorite targets, though the Legacy does sometimes
• Recognize the moment of the spark: Any Sleeper come into conflict (normally non-violent) with the
can be made into a Sleepwalker — or even Awakened Guardians of the Veil as well.
— by witnessing magic at the right moment. This mo- Whenever the tutor feels it appropriate, he aids
ment might be defined by crisis, introspection, or even the new Guide in reshaping her soul and joining the
random chance, but if a Pathfinder can show a Sleeper Legacy. The initiation ceremony is usually performed
something magical, be it a vulgar spell, an Artifact, with Sleepers and Sleepwalkers present, even if this
or even a supernatural occurrence unconnected with means it must take place under the guise of another
Awakened magic, she can open that Sleeper’s soul to such ritual (such as a baptism).
a bit more light.
Parent Path: Thyrsus
• Master Paradox: Mages can prevent Paradox with
Nickname: Guides
magic. They can cope with the results, but the damage
it can do to their bodies is great. The Illumined Path Orders: Mages of the Free Council and the Adaman-
feels that allowing Paradox to eat away at their bodies tine Arrow make up the bulk of the faction (and thus the
is wrong. Every mage must make his own choice about Legacy). The orders approach its philosophies a little dif-
Paradox, but fear of it only empowers it. ferently, of course. The Free Council focuses more closely
on bringing magic in line with modern understanding of
122
all attacks. They simply fail to penetrate the light. The player spends one point of Mana and rolls Wits
The player spends one point of Mana and rolls + Subterfuge + Forces. The mage must have a source
Resolve + Persuasion + Forces. This roll is subject to of light handy, and it must be enough to illuminate
normal target factors for additional beings protected whatever the mage wants to reveal. When the light
(see p. 118 of Mage: The Awakening). Everyone under strikes an object, it causes the “truth” to glow. What
the Attainment’s protection gains Armor equal to this means depends on the object in question. If a wall
the mage’s Forces rating, as described under “Bestow conceals a door, the door begins to glow, making its
Unseen Shield” (p. 168 of Mage: The Awakening). presence obvious. If a “man” is really an Abyssal crea-
The mage can project this armor up to 20 feet away. ture disguised as a person, the monster’s true nature is
In addition, the mage can force a hostile target back- revealed by the mage’s light. If the mage uses this light
wards, adding kinetic energy to the power of his light. on a person while he speaks, the target’s lips glow as
The Guide must have a source of light handy, even if long as he speaks the truth. The mage doesn’t always
it’s just a match. The player spends one point of Mana know why an object or person is glowing, but generally
and rolls Strength + Intimidation + Forces. This roll can if something shows up to this light, it is because it has
be subjected to target factors as mentioned above. Any some Supernal quality or it is hiding something.
targets must exceed the mage’s successes on a reflexive (Note to Storytellers: This Attainment mixes aspects
Strength + Athletics roll to move forward toward the of the Spirit and Life Arcana, as well as the Pattern-
mage (or whomever the mage is protecting). Even if ing Practice of Forces. Spirit and Life are not listed as
they do succeed, the targets’ Speed ratings are halved. prerequisites because, since this Legacy is commonly
This effect lasts as long as the mage concentrates. She practiced by Thyrsus, the mage would have these Arcana
can take no other action while maintaining the At- anyway. If a non-Thyrsus adopts this Legacy, she needs
tainment, and must remain stationary. Life 2 and Spirit 2 to use this Attainment.)
Optional Arcanum: Spirit 3 Optional Arcanum: Life 4
The mage gains the ability to open Sleepers’ eyes to At this level the mage discovers a magical technique
the supernatural around her. The character bestows that other willworkers have searched for over the
a form of Unseen Senses to the target, allowing her centuries: the secret of using magic to heal damage
to sense the mage’s spells and spiritual activity. The inflicted by containing Paradox. The trick isn’t so much
magic of other mages doesn’t trigger these senses, to heal the damage, but to prevent it from happening.
nor do other supernatural phenomena. If, however, The mage creates a layer of tissue at the instant of the
the mage also possesses Prime 2 or Death 2, she can Paradox to absorb the damage, which then immedi-
weave these into the Attainment and allow the target ately dissolves. In game terms, the player can spend a
to sense all Awakened magic (Prime) or death-related point of Mana and roll Stamina + Occult + Life as a
phenomena like ghosts and vampires (Death). reflexive action whenever the character suffers dam-
The character must touch the target. The player age from containing a Paradox. For every success, the
spends a point of Mana and rolls Presence + Oc- character can ignore one level of bashing damage from
cult + Spirit. The effect lasts for one scene. At the the Paradox. Any remaining damage is still considered
Storyteller’s discretion, a Sleeper that undergoes this Resistant, and cannot be healed by magic.
treatment often enough might be allowed to develop
the Unseen Sense Merit (normally, this Merit is only
available at character creation).
Sample Character
3rd: Light of Wisdom Lucius
Quote: You can rise above the Lie. You wouldn’t believe
Prerequisites: Gnosis 7, Forces 4
the lie I had to rise above.
A mage who sees a strange, supernatural occur-
Background: Born to privilege and wealth, Dermott
rence can bring spells to bear to verify what he has
Zachary never wanted for anything. Even among his
witnessed. A Sleeper has no such recourse, and the
most spoiled friends, it seemed as though he was waited
Abyss hampers his perceptions. This Attainment,
on hand and foot. It wasn’t just his circumstances,
though, allows the mage to share his discerning eyes
either. The world seemed to be at his beck and call.
with others by changing the properties of light to il-
It never rained on days that he wanted to go out. Ev-
luminate only the truth.
ery winter saw the school closing from snow at least
124
him. The right kind of cabal could help him, and he’d decide on a course of action. Alternately, the inspira-
be happy to pay them, but he’d want to accompany tion that the seeker has already felt is from a false or
them on the search. And that, of course, could be deliberately misleading source, or else the seeker is
disastrous if this cult is right about Lucius. interpreting that inspiration incorrectly.
Lucius tries to be philosophical and deep, but he Another possibility is that the water is flowing
hasn’t had the life experience to make much in the upwards, back into the jug. That is, instead of letting
way of comparison or understand suffering. He tries inspiration guide the seeker to change the world, he
to solve problems with money, and as such gets taken is letting the world shape his mind, or taking out of
advantage of frequently. He laughs this off when it’s the world more than he is putting in.
pointed out to him — he can afford to, after all.
Dedicated Magical Tool: Gold-plated pen light The Illumined Path as a Left-Handed
Real Name: Dermott Zachary Legacy
Path: Thyrsus Graham did not die. They came for him one after-
Order: Free Council noon, horrible creatures with the bodies of men, but
Legacy: Illumined Path no faces, just empty black holes where faces should
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 2, Resolve 2 be. Graham Awakened to the Primal Wild that day
Physical Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2 and used his newfound power to repel these creatures.
Social Attributes: Presence 3, Manipulation 2, And he realized that magic wasn’t for everyone. His
Composure 3 uncle had lofty goals, yes, but they were unrealistic.
Mental Skills: Academics 2, Computer 2, Crafts 1, And yet, the book had already been published — there
Occult (Cults) 2, Politics 2 was no getting around that.
Physical Skills: Athletics 3, Brawl (Boxing) 2, Drive 2, So Graham used the book to lure in mages and
Firearms 1, Stealth 1
introduce them to his real philosophy. Namely, magic
Social Skills: Animal Ken 2, Empathy 2, Expression belongs to the Awakened, and people should be ac-
(Piano) 2, Persuasion 3, Socialize 3, Subterfuge 2
tively discouraged from Awakening. As such, only
Merits: Destiny (“Sins of the father”) 3, Resources 5,
those Sleepers who truly have the tenacity to reach
Sanctum (Size 4, Security 4), Status (Free Council) 1,
the Supernal will Awaken, and they are the most
Status (High Society) 2, Striking Looks 4
deserving. Graham joined the Guardians of the Veil,
Willpower: 5
and his Legacy dwells under the order’s auspices as a
Wisdom: 7
dirty secret.
Virtue: Charity
The outward face of the Illumined Path is the
Vice: Pride
same as presented above, but the Legacy itself is only
Initiative: 6
available to Thyrsus mages hand-picked by Graham.
Defense: 2
They work to prevent Awakenings, to steer Sleepers
Speed: 11
away from magic, and to kill any mage they feel is
Health: 7
undeserving of her gifts.
Gnosis: 3
As a Left-Handed Legacy, the Illumined Path’s At-
Arcana: Forces 2, Life 2, Spirit 2
tainments change as described below:
Rotes: Forces — Tune In (•), Control Sound (••); Life —
Cleanse the Body (•), Purify Bodies (••), Visions of the
Living World (••); Spirit — Coaxing the Spirits (•), Gos-
1st: Darken the Woods
samer Touch (••) Prerequisites: Gnosis 3, Death 2 (primary), Spirit
Legacy Attainment: 1st — In the Dark Wood 1, Intimidation 2
Mana/per turn: 12/3 The mage can make any situation seem frightening
Armor: 2 (“Organic Resilience,” Life ••) and unpleasant. This Attainment combines aspects
of Death and Spirit to animate shadows and make
The Star Reversed spirits in Twilight just slightly more powerful, enough
to whisper and tease Sleepers.
Inspiration is gone. No light shines down from the The player rolls Presence + Intimidation + Death.
Heavens, and all around is blackness and despair. The Any Sleepers within sight of the character suffer a
path is hidden from the seeker, and he is unable to penalty to all Resolve and Composure rolls equal to
126
Key XVIII — The Moon
The full moon shines down upon the land. In some
decks, its light falls upon towers, dogs and perhaps a sea- Grimoire —
The Lunar Way
creature. In others, a man sits beneath the moon with a
dial marked with the lunar months. More elaborate ver-
sions show a maiden in a chariot riding over the land. The
moon means many things in folklore, and is well known Serial killer enthusiasts and students of the macabre
for being mercurial and constantly changing, so it follows know the story of Peter Stumpf. Supposedly, Stumpf was a
that the card should have multiple versions. farmer living near Cologne, Germany in the 16th century.
The meaning of the Moon In 1589, Stumpf was accused of be-
in the Tarot likewise varies. ing a mass murderer and cannibal,
The towers pictured in some and confessed to having the power
decks can be seen as entrances to change into a wolf. In this form,
to other, nighttime worlds. he said, he had devoured the flesh
The sea-creature is a symbol of of dozens of people, including his
what lurks in the unconscious own son. He was put to death in one
minds of sleeping people — put of the most elaborate and brutal
another way, the nightmare. executions on record — broken
The baying dogs might be on the wheel, chunks of flesh torn
guardians for the dreamer, or from his body with red-hot pincers,
nightmare beasts themselves, or limbs smashed with blunted axes,
the dreamer’s unconscious urges. beheaded and finally burned. The
The simplest way to sum up the wheel upon which he was tortured
Moon, perhaps, is mutability and killed was put up on a pole,
and symbolism — the notion along with his head.
that anything can represent Stumpf claimed the Devil had
something else, especially in given him a black belt that let him
dreams. take on the form of the monster,
To the Awakened, the Moon and that he had lain with a suc-
is the card of the Thyrsus Path, cubus and sold his soul to Satan.
specifically the Spirit Arcanum. Modern scholars take into account
As the card of dreams, night- the political turmoil of the region at
mares and madness, it represents the time, and that Stumpf’s “confes-
symbolism and uncertainty, sion” probably happened under at
divination and premonition. least implied, if not direct, torture.
It can also represent the spirit Stumpf was, perhaps, an eccentric
world and the astral realms, any but innocent man, whose crimes
journey beyond the physical that were actually the work of soldiers
a mage might choose to make. fighting a civil war in the area. His
On the journey through the execution may well have been for a
Tarot, the mage might discover that the world is full of political crime rather than one with any real merit, an attempt
symbols. Everything, potentially, contains a bit of the by one faction of Christianity to bully another.
Supernal, and a mage might drive herself mad trying to The truth, as usual, is somewhat more complex. Stumpf’s
find those clues. Better, perhaps, to sift through what death did serve the religious ambitions of the Lord of
“catches” in a dream, to gain insight by analyzing what Bedburg — Stumpf was a prominent citizen and probably
the mind refuses to let go, rather than spend all day and a Protestant convert, and executing him in such a fashion
night searching for true significance. Beware, though, the would send a very clear message to other converts. But on
monsters that might crawl up out of one’s mind. These the other hand, Stumpf also did kill indiscriminately while
nightmares are only terrifying to Sleepers, but to a mage, wearing the form of a wolf, though most of his supposed
they can be horribly real. victims did not die under his fangs. Stumpf did not gain
his powers from an infernal contract, however. He gained other mages around to teach her, and she began to suspect
the power — the curse — of shapeshifting from a book that this “power” was just one more punishment.
called the Via Lunari, or the Lunar Way. As she listened to the ephemeral beings around her,
though, she learned things. Spirits of knowledge taught
The Physical Thing her to read and write. Spirits of war taught her to fight.
The Lunar Way is a collection of papers dating from Spirits of lust taught her about the brutal pleasure of raw
the mid-16th century, bound together with what appears carnality. She listened to them all, and wrote down their
to be sinew. The “spine” of the book is a three-foot swatch conversations on whatever scraps she could find. Most of
of wolf skin, black fur still attached, doubled over several these fragments are long gone, but they allowed the mage
times to make it fit the pages. The book is lightweight but some practice for the true Lunar Way.
surprisingly durable, and the wolf fur always feels strangely One night, the woman rose from her bed and went
warm and moist to the touch, though it leaves no residue. walking. The gibbous moon streamed down upon her,
It gives off the scent of a wet animal and, to those with a Katharina Trump, and she looked past the Gauntlet into the
supernaturally acute sense of smell, fresh blood. moonlight to see what spirits might play there. She saw the
Mage Sight using the Spirit Arcanum, or any other Lunes, spirits of moonlight, and as she watched she realized
mystical power that allows detection of spirits (not ghosts), they had their own purposes. She couldn’t tell what, but
indicates that the book is spiritually awake, as if the Rouse the spirits looked busy, directed, swooping up above the
Spirit (p. 250 of Mage: The Awakening) spell had been horizon and then back down as though summoned. She
used on it. If a mage gains 10 successes on magical scrutiny called to one, and it came to her. She used her magic to
of the book using any Arcanum (Spirit adds a +1 to the help it materialize, and it did, taking the form of a virile
scrutiny rolls), she notices that the wolf-skin binding of the young man. And the two lay together on the warm earth,
book has a spirit bound into it. making love without exchanging a word.
Over the next few years, Katharina spoke with many
History
The Lunar Way began as a series of notes written by a
Lunes, and she realized they changed shape with each
passing phase of the moon. The gibbous-moon spirits, for
instance, were lusty and usually friendly, often taking the
Thyrsus mage wishing to transform herself into a spirit. form of pregnant women or strong, fine men. The crescent-
Frustrated with her lot in life, even after Awakening, she moon spirits were bird-like figures, amalgams of owls and
spent her days talking with the invisible entities around humans. She never saw new-moon spirits at all, though,
her, admiring their purity. Spirits were never born into no matter how hard she looked.
roles that they could not perform, unlike the mage. Her During this time, she began writing down her thoughts on
life was laid out for her by the time she was a young child. transformation and mutability. She realized that she, like the
She married, bore children, and spent every night awake Lunes, could change her appearance, even become male for
and wanting to scream. Awakening to the Primal Wild was a short time. She could take on the form of a beast and run
at first a remarkably freeing experience, but there were no through the forest, or take on the appearance of a common
128
harlot and enjoy whatever pleasures men might want of her. the murders, though he occasionally wondered — though
She was free — and she had no fear of losing her family to not seriously enough to pursue the matter — what effect
that freedom. That is, until she met Peter Stumpf. Katharina’s magic might be having on him. Modern mages
Stumpf was a distant relative of Katharina’s by marriage, who have studied the Lunar Way and know this history
and already a widower when they met. He was traveling might wonder at his complacency. Most feel that Stumpf,
near her home on the way to Cologne and stopped to wa- as a Sleeper, was suffering from Disbelief and that by the
ter his horses, and the two of them spoke alone. Stumpf light of day, his animalistic excursions seemed, to him, like
had been without the company of a woman for years, and dreams. Some posit that Stumpf was himself on the cusp
Katharina was always interested in new and forbidden of Awakening, with much the same result. In either case,
sensation. They arranged to meet three nights later — on most mages agree that Katharina and Stumpf might have
the night of the full moon. been responsible for at least some of the deaths, though they
Stumpf and Katharina spent an unknown number of nights probably killed animals rather than people. The human
together, and not all of their nocturnal activities were carnal victims, scholars feel, died by the hands of soldiers or spirits
in nature. Katharina revealed her powers to Stumpf, and that Katharina was unwittingly giving material form.
changed him into a wolf. She also revealed her writings (in These scholars are right, but are unaware of one crucial
fact, it might be from Stumpf that she obtained paper and piece of information.
other writing implements), and with his help she codified
her discoveries from spirits. She made great breakthroughs The True Culprit
in the study of both Life and Spirit magic, and based on the A werewolf really was hunting the area around Bedburg
contents of the book (see below) was on the verge of creating for many years before Stumpf died, and he was responsible for
rotes allowing her to change shape. Tragedy struck, however, killing and eating almost all of the people for whose murders
before she could complete them. Peter Stumpf died. That werewolf was born a man, hailing
The first murders happened under the new moon. Hideous from the dark forests to the east. History has no record of his
howls echoed through the German forest, and all who heard name or indeed of his existence, but he was very real.
them suffered terrible nightmares. Come morning, four people Werewolves, as it happens, have greater affinity with spirits
were dead, torn to pieces as if by wild beasts. Some villagers than most mages, though the relationship is often less than
blamed wolves, some blamed soldiers, but a few of the older cordial. This particular werewolf was an outcast from his
and wiser people glanced to the woods and shuddered. The people — werewolves have laws among their own kind, one
elders knew that men sometimes walked as beasts, but they of which specifically forbids hunting humans for food, but this
also knew better than to speak up… normally. This atrocity, werewolf had become addicted to the flesh of men shortly after
however, was worse than any of them had ever seen. discovering his lupine heritage. Driven from his homeland on
The night of those killings, Katharina and Stumpf had pain of death and forsaken by the spirits, he recognized the
lay in each others’ arms, looking up at the moonless sky. In Lunes with whom Katharina so loved to speak. The werewolf
the morning, when Stumpf returned home, he heard of the followed these spirits and heard their whispers to Katharina,
murders and wondered. Had Katharina done this, or made and one night under the half moon, he approached them.
him do it? He put those doubts aside, though, when months He asked their forgiveness, and wished to be given back his
went by (during which he dallied with his mistress as often former rank and position in the society of the wolf-men. The
as he could) and the beast did not strike again. Lunes refused, but the werewolf offered them a deal — if he
The next time the beast attacked, Stumpf and Katharina could turn a man into a werewolf, the Lunes would grant him
were again together. This time, the moon was full for the another chance. The Lunes accepted, for only Mother Luna,
second time that month — a blue moon. The carnage was the Moon herself, could choose to grant the Change.
great, but confined, for the most part, to livestock. A farmer’s But the deal didn’t involve the Change, only “turning a
goats and sheep had been slaughtered, as had his young son, man into a werewolf.” And with a smile on his foul-smelling
out watching them. This time, there could be no mistake. lips, the man-eater slunk off into the forest to make his
The tracks around the bodies confirmed that an animal had preparations.
done the killing. Again, Stumpf wondered whether he and The werewolf found Katharina and considered making
Katharina might be responsible, but said nothing. her into his “werewolf,” but since his deal with the Lunes
Time went by, and the deaths mounted. Each time, the had involved a man, he decided against it. Instead, he
panic of the surrounding villages grew. What might descend chose her lover, Peter Stumpf. To his delight, Katharina
on them in the night with a murderous mind? Wolves? was already in the habit of turning Peter into a wolf, and
Beasts from hell? Catholic soldiers in service to the local so the werewolf’s job was half done. He stalked the couple,
lord? Peter Stumpf, though he didn’t know it, drew some and on nights on which they were together he hunted down
attention as the killings gained notoriety, because he was and slew innocent people. He remained hidden from sight,
often traveling (usually to meet Katharina). He remained not only from the soldiers of the area and the villagers, but
blissfully unaware that anyone was connecting him to from other, saner werewolves who hunted the region.
130
The book also discusses Katharina’s relationship with Success: The character does not change shape, but
Peter Stumpf, though it never mentions his last name (and experiences a surge of whatever emotion triggered the
his first name is spelled inconsistently). The events that led roll. The character regains a point of Willpower as if she
to his execution are mentioned, but peripherally, and she had fulfilled the condition of her Vice. The sensation is
never had a chance to write down his arrest. As such, while disturbing, but invigorating. Mages must make the usual
the Lunar Way could shed some light on the Stumpf case, roll to avoid uncloaking the Nimbus (see p. 90 of Mage:
only a dedicated student would make that connection. The Awakening).
The wolf-skin binding of the book is, of course, the fetish Exceptional Success: The character does not change
belt that the man-eating werewolf created. Normally, fetishes shape, and there is no further effect.
cannot be used by Sleepers, but this particular fetish is an ex- As is probably obvious, the belt isn’t a talisman that can
ception. It is capable of changing any living being into a wolf be easily manipulated. This is because the spirit inside it
for a short time. The mechanics for this are discussed below. can’t truly be commanded by beings other than werewolves.
The shapechanging effect is more a curse than a power,
Mechanics imbued into the fetish by its insane creator.
A mage who studies the Lunar Way can reap some ben- The belt can only be used by living creatures — Sleep-
efit when it comes to changing shape with Life magic (see ers, Sleepwalkers, mages, ghouls, wolf-blooded and even
“Shapechanging,” p. 190 of Mage: The Awakening). When changelings are susceptible. It has no effect on vampires
casting an improvised spell to herself or another into an and other undead creatures. In the hands of werewolves,
animal, the mage’s player adds two dice to the roll. Also, the belt has different powers altogether.
if the mage needs to resist an instinctive urge in her new Werewolves can spend a point of Essence (they, like
form, she receives the same bonus. The mage gains none spirits, can hold this mystical energy within themselves) to
of these bonuses if she uses a rote to change shape. activate the belt, or roll Harmony –5. If this roll succeeds,
In addition, the Lunar Way provides a great deal of insight or if the character expends the Essence, the belt allows the
into dealing with spirits. The book counts as a Library (see p. character to instill crippling fear in one target. The player
85 of Mage: The Awakening) on the topic of Spirits. Again, rolls Presence + Intimidation + Primal Urge (see sidebar),
the book has nothing to say on the topic of ghosts. If the mage contested by the victim’s Resolve + Gnosis. If the werewolf
attempts to summon, rouse or empower a spirit and she has wins, the target must immediately flee from the werewolf,
the book in her possession, the player adds two dice to the taking no other action but running in blind panic.
attempt. However, if she attempts to harm, weaken or bind
a spirit, the player suffers a –2 modifier to the attempt.
The belt, as mentioned above, can change a person into a
wolf for a short time. This shapeshifting is not dependent on
Supernal magic, and therefore the Prime Spell “Analyze En- Werewolves, Fetishes,
chanted Item” does not register the belt. Likewise, the bonuses
the book bestows on shapechanging don’t apply to the belt.
and Other Strange Concepts
To use the belt, the subject must have it wrapped around her Storytellers who are familiar with Werewolf:
The Forsaken might notice that the belt works in
(what part of the body is unimportant, but the waist or chest is a manner very different from most fetishes. This
probably most convenient). The subject must run and experi- is because the werewolf who designed it was,
ence genuine feelings of fear, lust or hunger, and the belt only frankly, insane. The spirit bound into it is a Lune,
works at night. If all of these conditions are met, the subject’s but the Lune was brutalized and subjugated as
player rolls Stamina + Resolve with a –5 penalty. it was imprisoned. If you wish to incorporate
the Lunar Way into your chronicle and you have
Roll Results access to Werewolf, the systems presented here
Dramatic Failure: The subject becomes a wolf (use the work just fine.
traits for Dog found on p. 203 of the World of Darkness If you don’t have access to Werewolf, never
Rulebook), but her conscious mind is lost amid a flood of fear. You aren’t missing any vital systems or con-
base urges. The character spends the remainder of the night text. As mentioned in the text, fetishes are usually
as a wolf, hunting for food and, possibly, a mate. only usable by werewolves, but this one happens
to be cursed, and it’s really the curse part that al-
Failure: The character becomes a wolf (use the traits for lows (forces, really) the change into a wolf. Primal
Dog as above), but retains control of her conscious mind, up Urge, incidentally, is the Werewolf equivalent
to a point. She must resist the wolf’s impulses just as if she had of Gnosis, measuring how in touch a werewolf
used the “Shapechanging” spell. Again, studying the Lunar is with the spirit world and his own inner preda-
tor. Like Gnosis, this trait ranges from 1–10 dots,
Way confers no bonus here. The effect lasts until sunrise;
but the common range is 1–3, with very powerful
though the player can spend a point of Willpower and make werewolves reaching 4–6 dots.
the Stamina + Resolve roll again before that time.
132
this in one of two ways. If the werewolves in question are perhaps because he is at peace with them, perhaps because
Storyteller characters, don’t bother with dice. Assume the he chooses to ignore them. Alternately, inspiration does
character enters Death Rage whenever the story requires not strike, possibly due to fear — the sleeper cannot force
it. If the werewolves are player-controlled characters, or if himself to confront what lurks in his subconscious. While
you think it’s important that the werewolf has a chance he might not have nightmares, he doesn’t have aspirations,
to resist the Death Rage, the roll to avoid it (Resolve + either.
Composure) suffers a penalty equal to the number of nights
the character has suffered nightmares from the book. The Lunar Way as a Beneficial Grimoire
Worse yet, this effect can spread to other werewolves; The Lunar Way, as presented, is more of a danger than
these shapeshifters band into packs, often bonded by a totem a benefit. In this presentation, though, the grimoire spent
spirit. If one member of the pack suffers nightmares, all of several years in the possession of a pack of werewolves that
the members incur the Death Rage penalty. This can lead worked tireless to cleanse it of its baleful elements. The fur
to a pack of werewolves hunting for fresh meat, with no belt is long gone, and all that remains is the descriptions of
conscious control over their actions, in very short order. changing shape and experiencing new sensations, of sexual
discovery, and of conversing with spirits.
Successes Information
0-5 The paper written by Joanna Harris quoted above. While the paper is mostly about the
Catholic Church and its use of mythical beings to further its own goals, it is also one of
the few modern sources that mention the Via Lunari.
6-9 A book of photographs containing a strange set of rock-piles resembling cairns (burial
mounds). The photographer writes that he didn’t disturb them because he felt a
“menacing presence” in the clearing in which he found them. That night, he dreamed of
being lashed to a wheel and tortured, while unseen tormentors asked him, “Where is
the belt?”
10-14 A court record from another werewolf trial, this one in France, 1599 (10 years after
Stumpf’s death). It makes reference to the Bedburg trial, and notes that Katharina
Trump was dead at the time of her execution. “The witch’s familiar, or perhaps her
Black Book, still exists, God have mercy,” it notes.
15+
A newspaper article from (whatever city the Storyteller chooses) detailing the suicide
of a young man who sank into depression after discovering his great-grandfather’s
journal, which dated back to World War I. In his suicide note, the man writes, “I could
barely read it, but I read enough. Those howls surround me, and God help me, but I
find myself howling right along. I’m going to get the taste of blood out of my mouth,
so help me.” The man was found dead at his home, having swallowed a glass of a
powerful cleaning chemical.
Artifact — The
discovery and hope. The mind has awakened to a new
day following the confusing horror of the Moon, and
Awakened
with inspiration, new knowledge and a fresh perspective,
the seeker is ready to face the
future clearly and innocently
— like a child.
The Sun, of course, can also
have religious connotations.
Enzyme Biomedical engineering has
The “light” might be the radi- produced some of the most
ance of a life without sin, and advanced and innovative cre-
the child calls to mind Jesus ations the world has ever seen.
Christ, as well as the many Artificial limbs that resemble
sun-based deities on which hooks and claws give way to cos-
his legend was based (Balder, metic replacements, but that’s
Mithras and Horus to name a just a start. Already, scientists
few). The specific deity is not are wiring robotic limbs into
important, for the purposes their own nervous systems. The
of this card. The point is that ultimate goal? A limb or body
the Sun is, in some respects, a part that functions exactly like
divine figure, because it does a real one.
grant life to everything on By the same token, enzymes
Earth. Thus, the Sun card are now in development that
can been seen as an object of convert blood from one type
reverence, if not worship, and to another. Given that trans-
its immense power demands fusion-ready blood is always
humility, hence the depiction in short supply, the ability to
of the child. Some decks show convert any blood bag into
flowers growing in the back- Type O (which almost anyone
ground, further reinforcing the can receive without complica-
notion of sun-as-giver of life. tion) would be an unbelievable
It’s not hard to imagine boon to the disaster-relief and
why the Free Council seized trauma fields.
upon this card as its own. Before the Free Council’s Finally, research is underway to harvest stem cells
development in the 19th century, the Sun was usually from cloned organisms, bypassing the ethical “debate”
associated with the Awakening itself. But the order that ill-informed politicians seem to enjoy stirring up.
committed to new ideas, to the magic of progress and With development, it might be possible to replace
science, felt this card symbolized it perfectly. damaged brain tissue, thus reversing some of the ef-
At this point, the mage is nearing the end of his jour- fects of degenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s, ALS
ney. He has received inspiration from his dreams through and multiple sclerosis. And all of the above examples
the Star, filtered that inspiration through his own fears don’t even touch on the research and development
by the light of the Moon, and is now ready to act, with done in medical pharmaceuticals.
purity and purpose. Just as the mage once poured the What, then, does all of this mean to mages?
water of his dreams on the ground to encourage them to
134
Mages and Science as swords or wands or robes? Why can’t a mage drive
a car belching fire back from the Aether, or bring a
Science, of necessity, takes on a different role in computer that can spy anywhere in the world (in real
the World of Darkness than it does in the real world. time) back from Pandemonium?
In the World of Darkness, for instance, a part of the The answer: mages can bring those things back, it
human consciousness demonstrably exists outside just doesn’t happen often. The reasons for this are
the physical body. We call that part the “soul,” and similar to the reasons why diamonds are harder to
magic such as the Death and Spirit Arcana can affect, create or transmute with the Matter Arcanum, even
remove, heal or even destroy it. Likewise, it is possible given that they aren’t anything special in terms of
for a mage to send her soul out of her body to wander rarity in the Fallen World. Technological devices
around interacting with ghosts and spirits — again, not don’t have the same degree of Supernal resonance that
something for which there is a great deal of evidence other items do, probably because they haven’t been
in our world. The existence or nonexistence of ghosts around nearly as long. Cars, for instance, are barely
or souls is something that, in the World of Darkness, more than a century old. Compare that with a staff
is provable using the right methods. But Sleeper sci- — people have been using big sticks for millennia. It’s
entists (and most Sleeper occultists, for that matter) a testament to the ubiquity of cars and how fast the
don’t have access to those methods. technology has grown that they have any Supernal
The trouble here is that it paints science as turning resonance at all.
its back on anything spiritual due to some kind of With all of that in mind, it’s easy to see why, when
ideological bias. That might be true for individual sci- Dr. Allan Holms returned from the Primal Wild with
entists, but science isn’t, in itself, ideology, but method. an Artifact enzyme running through his bloodstream,
A scientist, let’s say a neurologist, who discovered (in it shook up his Consilium quite a bit.
the World of Darkness, remember) that his patient
possessed the ability to leave her body and report on
events or situations in a locked room nearby would
have discovered psychic projection. If the cause of that
Dr. Holms’ Awakening
Dr. Allan Holms had a license to practice medicine,
projection is Awakened magic, Disbelief would erode but he didn’t. It wasn’t that he didn’t like people,
that scientist’s perception of the situation, probably just that he felt uncomfortable around them. A few
causing him to feel his data was tainted somehow (and disastrous misunderstandings during his residency
future experiments, also subject to Disbelief, would convinced him he should stick to research, where his
confirm that suspicion). inability to relate socially to other people would be
The point is this: science is not separate from magic. better tolerated (and probably wouldn’t cost people their
Sleepers cannot perceive Awakened magic, and if they lives, which is what he was really worried about).
do, they tend to forget it. The reasons for that are varied. Holms was especially interested in hematology, the
First, it’s very much in-theme for Mage: The Awaken- study of the blood and the bloodstream. More particu-
ing for magic to remain secret and esoteric, something larly, he was interested in how the bloodstream could be
that only the qualified few can attain (“qualified few” used as a carrier for whatever interesting breakthroughs
being “Awakened”). Second, one of the core conventions one could make in medicine. It might be possible, for
of the World of Darkness is that it resembles the real example, to inject a cancer patient with particles that
world, and if scientists were diligently studying magic fused with the cancer mass and made it glow, allowing
at all levels, which they most certainly would if it were surgeons greater precision in removing it. It was with
brought to their attention, the World of Darkness would dreams and goals such as these that Dr Holms entered
become unrecognizable in short order. his lab one spring morning. He learned, however, that
But scientists can and do Awaken, and mages can more lurks in the blood than he realized.
and do employ the scientific method for their arts. Staring through a microscope at a blood sample, he
When scientists Awaken, they note that many of felt a sensation of falling. When he woke up, he was
the tools and techniques mages use are archaic or in a swamp, surrounding by mythic creatures, gigantic
outdated (the Free Council, by the way, doesn’t always reptiles, and huge insects — the Forest Primeval. Never
use cutting-edge stuff — sometimes their tools are just one to enjoy the great outdoors, Holms panicked…
more recently outdated). Clearly, using a wand works, and his blood responded. He felt his body releasing
but why? And why are Artifacts normally items such endorphins to help him calm down, sugar to help him
136
him with a murderous hunger for flesh. This might be means that something Abyssal seeped into Holms on
an interesting way to introduce a classical werewolf his way back from his Awakening. Alternately, maybe
story into your Mage chronicle without involving the he went to some heretofore unknown Realm, where
more shamanistic lycanthropes of Werewolf: The Death and Life are the Ruling Arcana. If so… where
Forsaken (or you could use both, of course). did the Watchtower come from?
• The Zombie Virus: Holms is unharmed, but any • The Abyssal Virus: The enzyme focuses the
corpse he comes into contact with rises as a zombie. power of the Abyss, and it builds up in Holms’ blood.
What the zombies do is up to the Storyteller. You His Paradox dice don’t reset at the end of the scene,
could go the Romero route, and have them shamble meaning that if he casts a vulgar spell, his Paradox
about feasting on the living, or take a more occult pool goes up by one permanently. But, he has a way to
approach and stipulate that they are loyal to Holms bleed it off — he can foist off this extra Paradox on
(but susceptible to Death magic). Other considerations: other mages. They, then, can pawn the Paradox off
are the zombies contagious? If so, can they only infect in turn… but on the whole, this means Paradox gets
the dead? Only humans? Since Death is the Inferior more frequent and much harsher.
Arcanum to the Primal Wild, this variation probably
Magical
worthy, or selfish and base.
The Judgment card can, of
Creature
course, indicate that external
judgment is coming, whether
from a temporal authority or
a supernatural one.
Judgment can be a condem- — The
nation or an endorsement of
the action in question, and Angel of the
Accounting
the person being judged must
take care that he is interpret-
ing the judgment correctly. If
Calling it an angel is, perhaps,
the judgment is ambiguous
misleading. On some of the occa-
in any way, human beings,
sions that it has been witnessed, it
especially those with strong
does resemble the popular concept
beliefs, show a remarkable
of an angel, but just as often
ability to interpret events in
it takes the form of something
such a way as to justify what
completely mundane: a man,
they were already inclined
an animal, even a voice over the
to do. One of the points of
telephone. I note, however, that it
the Judgment card, then, it
makes absolutely no secret of what
so take out of a lesson the
it truly is. Any misunderstanding
wisdom that is in it. This in-
of its purpose, therefore, is entirely
cludes considering the source
the fault of the listener.
of the Judgment along with the message.
I hope that I never see it, just as fervently as I wish
To the Awakened, Judgment is the card of Paradox. that I could.
Judgment doesn’t necessarily come from a source that’s
— Sarasvat, Acanthus of the Mysterium, chronicler
fair, impartial or even logical, but it does come, and more
of angelic phenomena
harshly than one might expect. Paradox is an incon-
venience, most of the time, but a mage who forsakes While it might be comforting to think that some
Wisdom learns that Paradox has a long reach, and that people are “bad” and others “good,” the distinction
his magic can desert him when he needs it most. is rarely so clean-cut. Yes, there are people who are
unquestionable evil, but even those people have prob-
These considerations are even more important for
ably performed small acts of kindness in their lives.
a mage, since mages are capable of seeing meaningful
Some people are universally regarded as good, but
information in so many places and fashions. A mage
closer examination often reveals moments of doubt
138
and selfishness. Further complicating the issue is the
question of motive. If a man gives generously to charity Morality and the
because he wishes to be known as a philanthropist and
reap the recognition this brings, does that invalidate World of Darkness
his gifts? If a soldier inadvertently kills civilians during Before we go any further into Judgment and
combat, does that make him a murderer? What, after the Angel of the Accounting, a brief reminder
all, is the standard for morality? about Morality in the Storytelling system:
This isn’t a question that magic can resolve. Some The Morality system in the World of Dark-
spells give a mage a sense of a soul’s “health,” but a soul ness really measures the ability to coexist
can become unhealthy for any number of reasons, and and empathize with other people. It does this
none of them objectively answer the question of what through a behavioral standard that, for the
makes a person good. A mage might look at the soul of most part, makes the following assumption: a
someone who has killed other people in the line of duty “sin” or a “crime” is something that any given
and note that his soul looks similar to that of someone person would not want to have happen to
who killed for money. Some acts seem to be constant her. This standard gets progressively stricter
in what they do to the soul — should that, then, be as Morality increases, until at Morality 10, a
the yardstick for morality? If so, that means that only persons risks Morality for even thinking in a
mages of a particular degree of skill (Initiate of Death less-than-charitable way. In Mage, Wisdom
takes this a step further, by imposing higher
would suffice) can be true judges of morality. Is making
responsibilities on mages because they have
that assumption more than a bit hubristic? the power to alter the world in such far-
Mages, like Sleepers, have wrestled with this ques- reaching ways.
tion for millennia. Some of them feel that faith in a
The systems for Morality (for Sleepers)
higher power somehow translates to morality. Others,
and Wisdom (for mages) are not indicative of
perhaps more rationally, believe that one’s actions are anyone’s concept of how things “really are.”
a better measure of morality (but that still leaves open They are meant to provide a thematic ap-
the question of motive). But this discussion ignores a proach for the notion of moral choices, much
greater issue: morality is comparative. If we say that an like the Virtue and Vice system. That is, take
action or a person is “good” or “evil,” we must compare the quick and easy road, and there may be
that to something else. A person might wish to live in consequences. Take the high and moral road,
harmony with his surroundings, doing as little harm and the rewards are longer in coming, but
as possible and bringing as much joy into the world as worth it.
he can. Another person might choose to simply live
for himself, and if that means that other people are
happy, that’s a nice bonus, but it’s not necessary. like a spirit, but it displays a degree of power beyond
Before anything can be judged moral or immoral, that of any spirit that has ever directly appeared in
there must be some kind of standard, and everyone the Fallen World. And, of course, Spirit magic has
must define that standard personally. Sometimes, a absolutely no effect on it.
strange being appears to people who require help in Below are six accounts of sightings of the Angel and
determining this standard, and sets them straight the results of those sightings. Three are “historical,”
on their moral path. This being, called the Angel of and represent records that characters could discover
the Accounting, does not force morality, nor does it in research. The other three are current, and represent
purport to tell the people it judges right from wrong. eyewitness accounts that characters could hear in the
All it does is balance the books, so to speak. course of a story.
140
Really, it didn’t say much, but it didn’t need to. I got The Angel only appears to people when they are
it. I got how I’ve been scrounging off this bunch of alone, and normally appears to people who have
weirdoes for years, never really doing anything, just recently lost or avoided losing a dot of Morality. The
using magic to make myself into what I really am every witness never has any difficulty realizing that the
now and again. And I guess I always thought that kind Angel is a supernatural being of some kind. In fact,
of sucked, but I felt like… I don’t know, someone owed Sleepers have an easier time of it than mages do, as
me something. they don’t have a way to delve any deeper. Mages, of
So, okay. Here I am. I’m ready to work. What now, course, usually respond by casting spell upon spell,
Mr. Arrow dude? trying to identify the angel. The results of these spells
are always the same — the mage knows, instinctively,
Eyewitness Account: Marshall Admonsky that the Angel is not human and is extremely powerful,
This is about typical for Mr. Admonsky. He wakes up and that it knows everything about the mage. Beyond
in the morning, takes his meds, and does fine for about that, magic reveals no information whatsoever. The
three hours. But about noon, he goes into a breakdown spell doesn’t fail, it just… stops.
like this. Some days it’s loud and violent, and believe The Angel engages the witness in conversation.
me, he is deceptively strong. Some days it’s quiet and For the most part, the Angel asks questions and lets
depressing; seems like today’s a quiet day. the witness fill in the blanks. It asks the witness if he
Admonsky — he likes to be called “Marsh” — came is happy with his current life, how he is coping with
to us two years ago. He checked in of his own ac- the mistakes he has made, and whether he has any
cord, said that he needed to “get clear.” We’ve found regrets. Although the witness probably doesn’t notice,
no evidence of drug abuse, and he’s got no medical the Angel also removes any chance of another party
history. No matter how hard we look, we don’t come eavesdropping. Any listening devices, magical effects
up with anything. We even put pictures of his teeth that allow a distant listener to hear the conversation
through a missing persons search, nothing. It’s like he or open phone lines fail. Even spirits in Twilight can-
just appeared from nowhere. not hear the conversation. What is said to the Angel
Anyway, Admonsky claims that he was led here stays with the Angel.
by a cat. No, wait, it gets better. The cat talked, of The conversation with the Angel always makes
course, and it had golden fur. It told him — hold an impact. The Angel knows everything about the
on, let me check my notes, the wording’s interesting. witness, after all, and says whatever it needs to say
Here we go. “They’ll chain you down if you walk in to challenge the witness’ sense of self and morality.
there, but you have to learn how to unlock your own Sometimes, that means the witness is left with crushing
chains. If that’s what you really want, go on in. If you guilt. Sometimes the witness feels compelled to take a
want to keep on going with your chains tight around course of action (often one that the witness had been
you, walk away.” leaning toward anyway, but sometimes a completely
I have asked Marsh repeatedly what that all means, new one). Other witnesses feel vindicated in their
but he’s getting less coherent as time goes on. He’s current mode. The important thing is that the witness
actually got an appointment with the neurologist next examines his own lifestyle, the choices he makes and
week. We’re thinking early onset Alzheimer’s. their effects on others, and makes a decision based on
that. In the end, all judgment is self-judgment.
The Angel’s Behavior The Angel will not leave a witness until it is sure it
has made its point. Sometimes, that means taking more
extreme measures. The Angel is capable of perform-
The Angel of the Accounting can appear to any-
one, regardless of whether they have any connection ing miracles, but when it deals with mages and other
to the supernatural. The Angel can take any form supernatural beings, demonstration of power is often
it chooses, though it usually takes natural forms — seen as a threat. So, it usually performs an action that
animals or people, of appropriate dress or species the witness will see as significant. When confronting a
for the area. Sometimes, its form has an obviously vampire, it might turn that vampire mortal for a short
supernatural feature (Admonsky’s “golden-furred cat,” time, for instance. To a werewolf, the Angel might blot
for example). Some people see the Angel as a ball of the moon from the sky. It might transport a mage back
light, or as a classic angel — a winged humanoid, a to the Supernal Realm of his Awakening and show him
wheel of fire, etc. his own signature on the Watchtower.
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the angel reached down and touched his crucifix. It Vice: Wrath
burst into flame, and Adrian knew the truth — this Initiative: 5
really was an angel from God. Defense: 3
He spoke with the angel, and he came to the con- Speed: 14 (with Fleet of Foot)
clusion that the “fundies” had been right. Oh, maybe Health: 8
not about the Bible being literally true, but certainly Gnosis: 3
about Catholics and their idolatry. Adrian burned Arcana: Forces 4, Matter 2, Prime 2
down the church on his way out, and he’s resolved to Rotes: Forces — Nightsight (•), Call Lightning (•••), Control
make sure his cabal not only fights with God in its Fire (•••); Matter — Discern Composition (•), Alter Accuracy
heart, but only with God in its heart. (••); Prime — Counterspell Prime (••)
Description: Adrian is now in his mid-20s. He keeps Mana/per turn: 12/3
himself fit as a whipcord, thin and muscular, and wears Weapons/Attacks:
his brown hair short and parted. He noticed that the Type Damage Range Clip Special Dice
burning crucifix didn’t scar him, so he got a tattoo of Pool
a cross on his chest — very simple, two straight lines Heavy Pistol 5L 30/60/120 7+1 Imbued Item 12
— and wears no other jewelry or embellishment. Armor: 4 (“Unseen Shield,” Forces ••)
Adrian’s Nimbus is a halo of blazing yellow-and-or- Magic Shield: 2 (Prime ••)
ange fire. Since the incident, it has only burnt brighter, Adrian’s imbued pistol, when fired, can either muffle
which Adrian takes as a sign that God approves. the report or make it unbearably loud (as the “Control
Storytelling Hints: Adrian was on the fanatical side Sound” spell). In addition, it inflicts two extra dice
of devout even before the visitation from the Angel of of damage.
the Accounting, and he’s gotten worse since. He rarely
sleeps and eats only the bare minimum he needs to Ally — Signe
survive, and keeps very little of his money, giving the Quote: Ashes to ashes and everything, right?
rest away to church-sponsored charities. In his mind, Background: Jessica Spayle had dreams of ashes all
the Seers of the Throne and the Catholic Church her life. Not of fire, but of cold ashes, tumbling out
have begun to merge, and he sees conspiracies every- of an old, gray stone fireplace. Growing up in rural
where. His cabal-mates are aware that something has England, she had the same dream every night. She
changed, but they don’t know how crazy Adrian has was cleaning the ashes out of this fireplace, and would
really become (he’s always been intense, after all). turn around to see a tall man dressed in black reaching
Dedicated Magical Tool: .45 pistol for her. She looked back at the ashes and saw strange
Real Name: Patrick Paul Wheat symbols there… and then she would wake up.
Path: Obrimos She had that recurring dream for most of her young
Order: Adamantine Arrow life, and when she got to school, she would often try
Legacy: None to recreate the symbols. One day, her history teacher
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 3, Resolve 3 noticed them and asked her about them. When he
Physical Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3 learned she’d dreamed them, he was intrigued, and
Social Attributes: Presence 3, Manipulation 2, taught her the skill of lucid dreaming, so that she
Composure 2 could learn more. She did, indeed. She learned that
Mental Skills: Academics (Christianity) 2, Computer 1, in her dreams, she was only 11, and her name was
Crafts 2, Occult 2 Signe. She was to be taken away and put in cloister
Physical Skills: Athletics 3, Brawl (Punches) 3, Drive for drawing those runes, by order of the man wearing
(Motorcycle) 2, Firearms 4, Stealth 2, Survival 1, Weap- black (probably a priest of some kind).
onry 1 Her teacher, a mage, guided her education and was
Social Skills: Animal Ken 2, Intimidation 2, Street- there when Jessica Awakened to Arcadia. Now capable
wise 2
of magic, she delved deep into her own past, search-
Merits: Fleet of Foot 2, Imbued Item (Pistol) 5, Iron ing for clues to what she believed was her former life.
Stamina 3
She became a Master of Fate, but stayed away from
Willpower: 5
other mages (except her mentor), never joining an
Wisdom: 4 (suspicion) order, only interested in Signe, the ash-maiden. She
Virtue: Faith
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The Angel as an Abyssal Spirit where he will lose Wisdom and become less effective,
and, potentially, summon greater and more damag-
It’s certainly possible to see Judgment reversed based
solely on the actions of a witness to the Angel, but ing Paradoxes. Sooner or later, the Abyss can creep
what if the Angel itself were a corrupt force? If the into the Fallen World, or seal the Supernal Realms
Angel is an Abyssal spirit, its goal is to instill doubt off forever.
and pain into mages. If this is the case, it doesn’t As an Abyssal spirit, the Angel still doesn’t need
appear to non-mages at all, and magic cast upon it traits, but it isn’t as powerful as presented above. It can’t
doesn’t just stop, it falls away, growing weaker and prevent eavesdropping through mundane means, but it
weaker until it vanishes. can cancel existing spells. Also, an expert in the field
The Angel, here, brings up the most painful memo- of Abyssal entities might be able to identify it.
ries it can, trying to force the mage into a position
146
themselves. And they realized that these dragons had been depicted in an archetypal pose, which was then
names, and functions, and personalities. One dreamer later reproduced for human-centered Tarot decks.
looked at the great skeletal dragon that he followed, She came under criticism immediately for a number
and asked it why it looked so emaciated. of reasons. First, the style of art she used didn’t much
The dragon answered, “I am Death, and all things differ from her usual style. If she was producing copies of
must come to their end through me.” the original Dragon Cards, shouldn’t they be noticeably
Another dreamer saw two dragons playing together different than her own art? Second, the “archetypal
in flight, nipping at each other’s wings and chasing poses” bore strong resemblance to the poses in the
each other through the clouds. And she asked why Rider-Waite deck, and many of those differed from
these dragons were so happy. older versions of the Tarot. To all honest scrutiny, it
They answered, “We are Lovers,” and continued seemed that this mage was taking the modern Tarot
with their games. and adding dragons, rather than finding evidence that
There were others, of course. The dreamers saw the dragons inspired the Tarot.
the Mage-Dragon, waiting for them at the end of the But the mage wouldn’t give up her dream so easily.
flight, reshaping the stones of the island into a testing She left the Mysterium, claiming that the dragons were
ground. They saw the Hierophant Dragon, handing speaking to her in her dreams and urging her to travel, to
down edicts and rules for the dreamers on how they seek, just as the original mages had. She said the dragons
might approach their tests. They saw the brutish Em- spoke in a tongue that was similar to High Speech, but
peror Dragon and his consort, the Empress, locked in also incorporated elements of Spirit Tongue (which, as
fiery, fanged conflict with the Devil Dragon. a Thyrsus, she could use with a simple spell). She took
These dreamers went on to Awaken, of course, and a new Shadow Name — “Llana,” which meant “guide”
became part of the eventual society of mages. But in the tongue of the dragons (or so she claimed; the
they never forgot those dragons, and the power and word doesn’t translate into either High Speech or Spirit
simplicity of what they represented. When the inhab- Tongue). And then Llana went searching for whatever
itants of the Awakened City built their ladder, they it was her dream-dragons expected of her.
objected. Only the dragons should decide when Man She probably would have been a point of gossip in
should move on from the physical to the Supernal. the Mysterium for a while and then disappeared from
But even by this point, mages had come to see the notice, but then she made a significant discovery.
dragons as nothing more than symbols or dreams, and While claiming hospitality at the sanctum of a Mys-
no one listened. The Namers of Dragons, as they were terium cabal called Reclamation Alley, she realized
called, left the Awakened city, never to return, before that the sparse “heraldry” of the cabal resembled the
the fall of the Celestial Ladder. But they left behind constellation Draco. While the mages were out, she
a gift — a set of illustrations of the dragons that they meditated at their Hallow, and was rewarded with a
had identified. On the reverse side of each illustration visit from the Hanged Dragon himself!
was a brief description of that dragon’s wisdom. The The Hanged Dragon was gone before the other
Namers hoped that the mages would read these cards mages returned, unfortunately, but Llana had written
and take the lessons of the dragons to heart… but they down what he had said:
did not. The Ladder fell, and Atlantis with it. “The orders of the Fallen Isle are lost. They have
busied themselves, in the many years since last we
Modern Reclamation saw them, with picking up the pieces of the Fallen
The story about the dragons granting mortals the Ladder. Let the Ladder decay where it fell! Move on,
Tarot was passed down as an interesting curiosity for move on! Remember your dreams, and remember the
many years, but mages didn’t take it seriously. Mages search. There, in your souls, is the spark that drove
of the Pentacle understood dragons to be symbols your ancestors to become Awakened, before the
of power and wisdom, but not literal creatures, and Watchtowers and before the Abyss. Find that spark
there was certainly no evidence that they had been again, and the Abyss will close. Find that spark again,
the inspiration for the Tarot. But in 1999, a Shaman and the dragons will return. Find the World Dragon,
of the Mysterium claimed to have seen the “Dragon and find that spark.”
Cards of Atlantis” in a dream. An accomplished artist, The mages of Reclamation Alley joined with Llana
she produced copies, explaining how each dragon had that day. When asked why they joined with her based
148
Awakened, they gain notoriety, if not credence.
The Disciples might not like the Pentacle orders, but So What’s Really Happening
they do make common use of the Right of Hospital-
ity (this tradition allows a cabal or a traveling mage Here?
to avail itself of an established cabal’s sanctum and The Storyteller really has two basic choices
Hallow for at least three days, though not all cabals when using the Disciples of the World Dragon:
practice it, of course). They seek out cabals that guard either they’re right or they’re not. Regardless
powerful Hallows with the intention of meditating and of Llana’s sanity and motives, if she’s telling
the truth, that makes a big statement about
using the Dragon’s Call. Of course, “let us use your
the nature of the Supernal Realms, the Tarot
Hallow to summon a dragon, and you can’t watch” is
and the potential future of the World of Dark-
a hard sell on a lot of cabals, and the Disciples have ness, and that might not be something you’re
been known to let young, attractive members of the interested in. On the other hand, if you want
faction distract their hosts while Llana or the other to run a more high-fantasy take on Mage,
Masters cast the spell. The result: the faction has been accompanying the Disciples on a quest to find
banned from several cities, damned as freeloaders the World Dragon — a dragon so huge that its
or thieves. But every so often, they picked up a new head barely fits out of a gigantic underground
recruit or two — or sometimes, as was the case with lake, perhaps? — might be a lot of fun.
Reclamation Alley, a whole cabal. If Llana’s wrong, then those things that
she’s summoning are spirits or tulpa, and
Magic of the Disciples they’re just telling everyone what they want
to hear. She’s not necessarily a charlatan.
Llana is working toward creating her own Legacy, but Maybe she really believes what she’s saying,
hasn’t developed the necessary magical strength yet. and she’s superb at self-deception. She wants
In the meantime, however, she created the Dragon’s those dragons to be real, she wants to find
Call rote, a spell that she has taught only to her most the one, great answer for everything, and she
trusted comrades in the faction. In addition to the wants to be the one to save all of Awakened
Dragon’s Call spell, the Disciples make common use society. As such, she’s on her own journey
of cartomancy, divination, meditation on dreams and through the Tarot, but she’s stuck — maybe
visions, and searching for hidden symbols in artwork the characters can help put her back on the
right path.
(especially of dragons).
Dragon’s Call for every point of the Hallow’s rating below five (so
(Spirit ••••• + Prime •••••) a one-dot Hallow adds four successes to the required
The mage meditates at a powerful Hallow, reaching total). Add one success if the resonance of the Hallow
across the Abyss to the Supernal Realm of her Awak- is directly opposed to the Realm that the mage is try-
ening, and calls forth one of the dragons. To do so, ing to reach (Storyteller’s discretion). Add one success
the character must speak in the tongue of the dragons if the character is trying to call on a specific dragon.
(which is one reason that Llana does not allow non- Add one success if the dragon in question is unlikely
members to witness this spell in progress). The mage is to be found in the Realm that the mage is trying to
free to request a specific dragon, but any dragon can use reach (again, Storyteller’s discretion).
the path thus created. The dragon rides the pathway This spell costs 10 Mana to cast. The mage can
through the Abyss and into the Fallen World, emerging draw the Mana from the Hallow, from his own pool,
from the Hallow to speak with the mage. or he can add any Mana he does not wish to pay as
Practice: Making successes to the target number.
Action: Extended If the spell succeeds, the Hallow splits open and a
Duration: Prolonged (one scene) dragon appears. Thus far, no dragon thus summoned
Aspect: Vulgar has ever attacked the summoner, though Llana
Cost: Special, see below maintains that it could happen if the spell were cast
improperly. The dragon can give the character informa-
The target number of successes is determined as
tion about whatever topic she might desire, especially
follows. The base is 10 successes. Add one success
150
Appendix:
The Minor
Arcana
The journey through the Tarot isn’t simply a mat- possibly business (but not commerce, usually, which
ter of skipping from one trump to the next. The path is the province of Pentacles) and with initiative and
of life is beset with triumphs, failures, misfortunes learning.
and windfalls, and, of course, interactions with other In Mage terms, the suit of Wands best relates to
people. If the Major Arcana are the important stops the Obrimos Path and the Adamantine Arrow order.
along the Tarot’s journey, the Minor Arcana are the Some cartomancers disagree, however, feeling that
everyday or ongoing events and relationships that help the positive and forward-thinking energy of the suit
guide the mage between the trumps. brings it in synch with the Free Council.
The Minor Arcana consist of 56 cards, 14 in each • Ace of Wands: Beginnings of a new enterprise.
of four suits. These suits are Wands (sometimes Start of noble quest. A birth or conception (especially
called Batons or Staves), Swords, Cups and Pentacles if this card is near the Ace of Cups in a reading). Re-
(sometimes called Coins or Disks). Each suit contains versed: Destructive pride. Rushing forward without
numbered cards, the Ace through 10, and four “face” thinking. Failed initiative, due to lack of preparation or
cards: the Page, the Knight, the Queen and the King. a false start. Story Hook: A charismatic Obrimos mage
Aces indicate beginnings, whether to relationships, wants to start up a new cabal within the characters’
endeavors, or tragedies. The four face cards usually home city. He might ask them to join, or, if they are
indicate people. The Page is a young person of either already an established cabal with some Status in their
sex. The Knight is usually interpreted as male, but it orders, ask if they will help him screen applicants.
depends on the context and who’s doing the reading. • Two of Wands: Authority, guardianship, fore-
The King is almost always an adult man, while the sight, vision. Power and energy wielded and kept in
Queen is a woman. reserve. The splendor and wonder of a world waiting
Awakened cartomancers sometimes view the suits to be explored, or the fruits of a long and laborious
a little differently, and these mage-specific interpreta- life. Reversed: Surprise, which can be pleasant and
tions are noted below. welcome, or a horrific shock. Blindsided by fate. Misin-
This section discusses each of the four suits, first in terpretation of events. Story Hook: After many years
general terms, and then card by card, giving a very of work, a Banisher has killed off all of the mages in a
brief interpretative description for the card presented large region, possibly a state or a small country. Now,
normally and reversed, and a story hook based on he sits back and enjoys a world with no magic. He’s
that card. just one man, but characters entering his domain don’t
have support to fall back on.
Wands
The suit of Wands relates to the element of fire,
• Three of Wands: Generosity, an enterprise or
partnership, or a fair trade mediated by someone of
good character. This card is sometimes connected with
and to vigorous, virile energy. Although many of the sea travel or trade, and sometimes with philanthropy.
cards depict conflict, the suit isn’t directly related to Voyages of discovery. Reversed: Failure of over-am-
strife and struggle the way the suit of Swords tends to bitious plans, getting overextended. Inability to look
be. Instead, the energy of the Wands is progressive, past one’s own experience and take joy in something
direct and constructive. The suit deals with work and new. Story Hook: Two cabals have been warring for
152
sent to the characters by a mage from another Con-
silium, someone with a local cult of personality but
little Status in his order. He sent the apprentice, and
Swords
The suit of Swords deals with strife, misery, and
is willing to come to the characters’ city and explain violent conflict. Its cards include tidings of war and
himself, if need be. He does tend to bring trouble with death, and the suit boasts the two “worst” cards in the
him, though. It’s part of his charm. Tarot deck to show up in a reading (the nine and 10
• Queen of Wands: A warm, affectionate and stable of Swords). Elementally, the suit is linked with air, for
woman, someone who is well-established in her com- instability and intellect, but the predominant motif of
munity. That also means, though, that she is stubborn the suit is the violent and stinging blade.
and set in her ways. Reversed: She is unpredictable Awakened cartomancers often link swords with the
and inconstant, likely to turn on friends and see op- Mastigos Path and Guardians of the Veil, though some
ponents where there are also consider it to be the suit of
none. She is virtuous, but is the Adamantine Arrow.
too cognizant of her virtue, • Ace of Swords: The be-
and uses it as an excuse for ginning of a fight or a tense
rash action. Story Hook: relationship. Possibly great suc-
One of the troubles that cess attained at heavy cost. In
follow the Knight of Wands, some decks, the Ace of Swords
above, is his ex-wife. She means death. Reversed: The
knows secrets about him same general meanings, but
that she has absolutely no without any hope of positive
hesitation in revealing — interpretation. Violence, war,
they aren’t damning, but are and misery loom on the horizon.
embarrassing and likely to Story Hook: The mages of the
get his hospitality revoked city look to the sky and see a
among other mages. comet in the shape of a blade.
• King of Wands: A mor- On the following night, a cabal
al man, but not a dogmatic of Seers moves into town to make
one. The King of Wands is war. They claim that the comet
passionate and intelligent, led them there — did it? Who
but his passion has been sent the comet?
tempered by years and he • Two of Swords: One of the
relies more on instinct and few positive cards in the suit, the
observation than education. Two of Swords means balance,
He is proud, courageous and harmony and accord born of con-
kind, but demanding. Re- stant vigilance and constancy.
versed: Morality is tainted Can mean faithful friendship or
with fear and callousness. a steady relationship, but an ele-
His code has to be the rule ment of tension is still present.
of the land, not just his own Reversed: The accord breaks due
personal outlook, and he probably has the power to to treachery or lies. Seeking trouble for its own sake.
enforce it. Story Hook: The Knight and his ex-wife, Self-destructive behavior. Story Hook: An uneasy
the Queen, are in the area making trouble for each truce exists between the cabal and another force —
other and for the Page, who the Queen still treats as perhaps a rival cabal, maybe a group of Seers, or even
her mentor, whether he wants that honor or not. The something more exotic like the local vampire courts.
King is the figure to whom they appeal to set things Both sides are ever vigilant for treachery, which means
right. It might be the Hierarch, or a Master from one they’ll almost assuredly see it. Who profits?
of their orders, or one of the characters.
154
The characters are among the last survivors. Can they
escape, or will they die to put things right?
• Page of Swords: A young person (if female,
Cups
The suit of Cups deals with emotion, love, relationships,
probably a tomboy) with a quick and cutting wit, a marriage and pleasure. It is considered the most favorable
sharp eye and keen intellect. Reversed: A spy or a suit to appear in a reading. Obviously, it relates to the
false friend, possibly a cheating lover. Not intelligent, element of water, and to intuition and expression.
perhaps, but cunning. Story Hook: The teenage son Cartomancers among the Awakened relate this suit
of a local politician. He professes belief in his father’s to the Thyrsus Path and to the Free Council. More
conservative platform, but is, in fact, a Sleepwalker, traditionalist mages say it deals with the Acanthus
and can see the machinations of the Awakened in Path, but has no order correspondence.
his father’s campaign. • Ace of Cups: Possibly the most favorable card of
• Knight of Swords: A domineering individual, the Minor Arcana, the Ace of Cups indicates happi-
one who sweeps others along with him (and leaves ness, fulfillment and the beginning of a new (and good)
them wondering why they agreed). Brave, forceful, and relationship. Motherhood, conception, marriage or
exacting. Crossing this man is unwise, as he does not simply a love-letter. Reversed: Something new, but not
forget slights and has no use for weak or inconstant something welcome — evidence of infidelity, perhaps.
people. Reversed: Impatient and loud, but indecisive Story Hook: One of the characters is singled out for
and weak. Takes credit for others’ success, but never public recognition among the Consilium. What did
takes advice. Story Hook: The politician’s campaign he do to earn this, and what effects will it have on
manager, an aggressive and intelligent man who wants his Status? Are his cabal-mates jealous?
to groom the son into a crusader against “teenage im- • Two of Cups: Union, harmony, peace accord or
morality.” Not a Sleepwalker himself, but aware of the friendship. A happy love affair or marriage. Reversed:
supernatural on some level and willing to use the son Wasteful, extravagant behavior. Squandering the good
to sniff out potential targets for the campaign. things in one’s life. A divorce or break-up. Story Hook:
• Queen of Swords: This woman is often a widow, One of the characters strikes up a friendship — or a
sometimes a barren or simply unhappy woman. She is romantic entanglement — with a werewolf. The were-
intelligent and subtle, certainly an individualist, but wolf’s pack is initially receptive, but will they find the
that can lead to loneliness. Reversed: The woman mages arrogant and disrespectful over time? Where do
might be attractive, but beneath the skin she is rotted. the werewolf’s (and the mage’s) loyalties lie if someone
Evil, corrupt and vicious, she lives to hurt others, for in power orders an end to their romance?
whatever reasons. Story Hook: The politician’s mistress. • Three of Cups: Celebration, dancing, good cheer,
His wife is a good-hearted simpleton, and his mistress is fruition, abundance. Success gained with little cost or
his true love and provides him the challenge and advice difficulty. Reversed: The end of the party, now back
he needs. She is aware that something strange is going to business. Costs for success are higher than initially
on with the son, but thinks he might be experimenting thought. Story Hook: The characters happen upon a
with drugs. She needs to remain out of the spotlight, celebration of mages who have no connection to the
but is concerned about the boy. She might be involved Consilium (and possibly don’t follow the Pentacle at
with a Guardian labyrinth at some level. all). Can the characters let go of their own training
• King of Swords: A man of intellect and power, for an evening to have fun?
possibly a government figure, doctor, lawyer or some • Four of Cups: Boredom, dissatisfaction. Ennui
other powerful profession. Well-educated, but often born of overachievement. Can also indicate feelings
indecisive. Reactive rather than proactive. Reversed: of awkwardness from another’s charitable behavior.
The man has direction, but it is purely selfish. He is Reversed: Something new coming, but not necessarily
unable to conceive of anyone else mattering in the something good or bad. A premonition. Story Hook:
slightest. Like the Queen of Swords Reversed, he is A Mysterium mage invites the characters on a voyage
evil and calculating. The two together will probably or quest, possibly to open a forgotten temple, possibly
kill each other. Story Hook: The politician himself, to rid the world of some magical monstrosity. As the
on the cusp of Awakening and seeing exactly how voyage continues, it becomes clear that he doesn’t in-
strange his life has become. Or, perhaps he will choose tend to return, and doesn’t much care if the characters
to remain asleep — it depends on how much his dogma do or not. What brought him to this state?
really means to him.
156
presence makes the ghost more active, as he reminds • Two of Pentacles: Life’s inconsistencies. Sudden
her of her lost love. changes in fortune. The difficulties of managing home
• Queen of Cups: Dreamy, imaginative and prob- and business. A shift in finances is imminent. Reversed:
ably artistic woman. A good wife and mother, if she Living above one’s means. Debt. Faking happiness to
has a family. Easily impressed, somewhat chameleon- keep up appearances. Story Hook: Several Sancta in
like (insofar as she changes to fit the company she is the area have had their mortgages foreclosed. The cabals
in). Reversed: Inconstant, prone to flights of fancy in question see the hands of the Seers of the Throne,
and attacks of jealousy. Manipulative and interfer- but is that really the case, or is the economy simply on
ing. Story Hook: A local medium and psychic who a downturn? Can magic solve the problem?
came to see the ghost and offer the young man some • Three of Pentacles: Approval, notoriety, a pro-
thoughts on how he might lay the spirit to rest. She motion or an advance in a project. Acceptance as an
has since become involved with the house’s owner, apprentice. Constructive work. Reversed: Work stalls.
and hasn’t yet seen the ghost. Her presence is making Mediocrity. Weakness, faltering nerve. Story Hook:
the ghost jealous. One of the characters is accepted as an apprentice to
• King of Cups: Still waters that run deep — this a powerful and well-respected mage, possibly taken
man is ambitious, powerful and very hard to read. on as a student in a Legacy. What sacrifices does that
He might be a good man, but he might just as easily mean he must make for his new position? What secrets
be malicious or self-interested. Always looks out for must he keep from his cabal?
himself, even if his actions appear altruistic. Reversed: • Four of Pentacles: Consolidation of wealth. A solid
Here, the man is profoundly and deeply evil. He is position. An avoidance of risk, but not in a cowardly
suspicious of everyone because he assumes everyone is way — holding on to what has been earned. Reversed:
like him. Story Hook: A Moros mage determined to Delay, cowardice, forces aligning against one’s interests.
learn something that the ghost knows, and he doesn’t Story Hook: Two other cabals approach the troupe’s
care if he has to boil her down to ectoplasm to get characters about buying a piece of property (that
it. Unfortunately, the ghost only knows his targeted happens to include at least one Hallow) and building
information when she’s contented, and that means several Sancta on it. Can the characters come to a
the situation with the house owner and the medium consensus on how this commune would run? Are the
needs to be resolved. characters even interested?
• Five of Pentacles: Poverty, hardship, injury or ill-
Pentacles
The suit of Pentacles deals with money, business,
ness that cripples the ability to stay financially stable.
Unemployment or homelessness. A loss of face or
status. Reversed: A chaotic financial or home situa-
property, status and worldly influence. It is related to tion caused by carelessness or reckless spending. Story
the element of earth, and therefore also deals with Hook: A local megachurch is robbed, the institution’s
solidarity and dependability. accounts losing millions. The money turns up in the
coffers of a local Free Council cabal, which intends to
Awakened cartomancers often equate the suit of
redistribute it to the poor of the city. The characters
Pentacles (also called Coins or Disks, though Pentacles
discover this through circumstance. What are they
is, of course, most common among mages of the five
going to do with that information?
orders) with the Moros Path and the Silver Ladder.
Some mages, however, feel the suit represents all of • Six of Pentacles: A benefactor. Charity and
the orders, and interpret a reading with a preponder- gratitude. Gifts from a philanthropist. A new patron.
ance of Pentacles as important regarding Consilium Reversed: Withdrawal of support. Greed and covetous-
business. ness. Promised generosity that does not materialize.
Story Hook: A local man, known to be extremely
• Ace of Pentacles: A secure position. Coming
wealthy and a patron of the city for many years, is
into money or property. Stability. Reversed: Acquir-
revealed (to the Consilium) to be a vampire. He kills
ing wealth at the expense of others. Money-grubbing.
several people a year for their blood, but his gifts have
Self-satisfaction, lack of vision. Story Hook: One of
allowed for museums, schools and hospitals to be built.
the characters inherits a house, suitable for use as a
What are the characters prepared to do?
Sanctum. But the house has its secrets, and the cabal
will have to discover them by living there. • Seven of Pentacles: Hard work that may or may
not pay off. A risk with little short-term gain. Failure
158
Appendix: The minor Arcana 159
160
The cards aren’t power in their
own right. They’re an interface.
When the first Fool card was painted,