[OOC] Mage: The Awakening - Anthology of Power

[Techpriest]

Welcome to Anthology of Power! I hope this game is enjoyable for everyone.

I'd like everyone's first post in this forum to include a copy of your Character Template from the recruitment thread. That way everyone's Character Info is easily accessible. In particular you may want to talk about an identity for your Cabal, but feel free to talk about anything you like so that we can get to know one another (Through the safe anonymous barrier of the internet of course)

PLAY BY POST GUIDELINES
I've tried to create some guidelines to help a Play by Post game flow as smoothly as possible. Any of the following guidelines can be adjusted or completely altered as we go along, if necessary. Please feel free to point out anything you dislike about the game throughout play so that we can work on something that is fun for everyone.

In Character and Out of Character
To begin with, we're going to try keeping all OOC info, including mechanics, completely in the OOC Thread. As noted above, we'll adjust this if needed.

Posting Order and Initiative
For obvious reasons, the Storyteller will always post first. At the beginning of every Chapter, each Player will roll Initiative. This will be the Players' Posting Order, as well as their Combat Initiative for the duration of that Chapter. The Storyteller will make a single roll for Antagonist Initiative at the beginning of Combat.

Combat in a Play By Post Game
Any experienced gamer has encountered those times when Combat just starts to drag on. Everyone starts missing, or stalemates happen. Even in a face to face game this can get old, and in a Play By Post it can be downright game killing. Expect me to nudge events along and move us through combat when necessary. (But only if necessary. As long as combat is exciting, we're playing through it just as we would in a face to face game.)

The general steps for Combat in this game will be as follows:

• A Player declares an attack in the OOC Thread.
• If the relevant Defenses or penalties haven't already been established, the Storyteller provides these.
• The Player makes the dice roll and declares any successes.
• The Storyteller explains the result.
• The Player posts the narrative of events in the IC Thread.

Later on, we may also experiment a little. Perhaps doing an entire Combat Scene in the OOC Thread, then doing single descriptive posts IC. I'm open to any ideas to improve combat for a Play by Post game.

House Rule: Effortless Casting
When the only penalty for failing to cast a spell is a single turn of time, a Player can forego the spellcasting roll and receive one single success. Basically, this applies when a Mage can merely cast a simple spell again in the next turn without any risk, penalty, or expenditure of resources. Therefore, this does not apply when a Spell is Vulgar, costs Mana, is cast during a dangerous or time sensitive situation, during Ritual Magic, or when a Mage has altered the Spell's Factors. Naturally, the Storyteller has final say on what constitutes such situations. Obviously with a Potency of 1, such a Spell is weak and easily dispelled.

[Techpriest]

The IC Thread is live: http://forum.theonyxpath.com/forum/g...ology-of-power

Where you begin, and how the three of you coordinate is up to you. You'll note that I started it hours before you're expected to meet Meristoktrix, giving you time for any preparations you want to make, and to have your characters do some preliminary interaction. You are encouraged to share your character's thoughts and feelings in a Narrative way.

[NoiseConspiracy]

Sorry, Tuesdays are my tabletop group, so I usually miss a lot of things until I actually make it home. FYI for the future, it's the one day of the week that I may or may not be timely. Anyways...let me include my character template so that we can start with that.

Player: NoiseConspiracy
Chronicle: Anthology of Power

Shadow Name: Astoria
Sleeper Name: Lisa DeCastellac
Real Name: Victoria Ferraro

Path: Acanthus
Order: The Mysterium
Cabal:

Virtue: Prudence
Vice: Greed
Concept: Artifact Hunter


Advantages:
Health: 6
Willpower: 5
Defense: 3
Initiative: 6
Speed: 10

Gnosis: 1
Wisdom: 6
Mana: 6/12


Attributes

Intelligence: 2
Wits: 3
Resolve: 2

Strength: 2
Dexterity: 3
Stamina: 1

Presence: 3
Manipulation: 3
Composure: 3 (1 free per arcanum)


Skills

Academics: 3 (History)
Computer: 2
Crafts:
Investigation: 2 (Cryptography)
Medicine: 1
Occult: 2
Politics: 1
Science:

Athletics: 1
Brawl:
Drive:
Firearms: 1
Larceny: 1
Stealth: 1 (Crowds)
Survival:
Weaponry:

Animal Ken:
Empathy: 2
Expression:
Intimidation:
Persuasion: 1
Socialize: 1
Streetwise: 1
Subterfuge: 2

Merits

• Artifact 3 - Charon’s Coin (Spirit 1 Artifact; MtA #80; details in history/equipment)
• High Seech 1 (MtA #84)
• Imbued Item 2 - The Fractured Glass (Matter 1 Item; MtA #82; details in history/equipment)
• Resources 1 (WoD Core #115)
• Sanctum 1 (MtA #86)

Arcana: Death 1, Fate 2, Prime 2, Time 1


Rotes

• Speak with the Dead: Clamor of the Departed (Death; 1; Wits & Occult & Death - MtA #135)
• The Perfect Moment: Everything’s Zen (Fate; 2; Wits & Occult & Fate - MtA #152)
• Activate Enchanted Item: Claiming the Ancient Heritage (Prime; 2; Intelligence & Investigation & Prime - MtA #221)
• Supernal Vision: Eye of the Magus (Prime; 1; Wits & Occult & Prime - MtA #221)

Nimbus

There is a secret melody in every cast, a resolution of sound that is barely perceptible to the ear. Sleepers may feel it, but the awakened can hear the soft touch of keys that roll from an indecipherable point to the ears. The notes continue to play in a uniform rhythm, slowly increasing in tension or dissonance if the effect goes out of control or begins to backlash.


Character Biography

Victoria Ferraro was born in the hottest summer on record in Boston Memorial, third child to Joseph and Rosa and the only girl in the mix. They lived in the lower parts of the city, supported by the shop that Joseph owned; Ferraro Motors, an auto-repair business originally started by his father and holding it’s place on the street corner for years. Her raising was mostly normal for what you’d expect from an urban child, having friends from school and secret boyfriends and band-aids on her knees. She spent most of her time growing up with her older brothers (Marco and Tony), running through the streets and getting themselves into the usual sort of youth mischief. Marco was six years older than Victoria, and went off to University when she was still 12. Having lost his brother and not exactly one to hang around his little sister, Tony branched off into his new friends who spent their nights well away from home. Thrust into being alone more than she as used to, Victoria began to act out. Trying to find an identity outside of her family for the first time in her life, she had trouble making friends, finding that many couldn’t play the same as she had grown used to over the years.

Very slowly coming unraveled at the edges, Victoria found herself falling into a dark place, withdrawing from most of the other people she knew and taking an interest into a darker form of the arts. Whether it was watching movies about black magic, reading trashy teen novels or books about pentagrams. While none of these tricks seemed to work, her interest in literature took her to University to pursue a degree in Library Sciences. It was somewhere in that second year that she experienced her visit to the Watchtower.

After awakening, Astoria (her newly-selected name) was taken in by the Mysterium almost immediately, her aptitude for research and thirst for knowledge a welcome boon within the organization. She fell under the tutelage of a Censor named Fell, a dark-skinned man who took her under the wing and began her on the path that she would continue to follow for years to come; the research of magical artifacts. The two spent the next few years traveling the continent, hunting down and finding magical items for the Mysterium. She was trained to locate by research and investigation, to identify the markings of the arcane, and even some self-defense in case others wanted to take her findings before she could return them. She was set up with a retainer for her expenses, and immediately treated as a full-fledged Acquisitor within her first year of being awake.

Fell’s disappearance was jarring, to say the least; one night he was there, sharing drinks in a pub blocks from her apartment, and the next he was simply gone with a half-finished beer at the bar. She had assumed he had gone out for a smoke, but he wasn’t outside. He didn’t answer his phone, wasn’t at his house, as if he had simply stepped off of the face of the earth. The rest of her order would have found Fell’s last conversation rather suspect, if she had told them; a discovery so big that he hadn’t been comfortable speaking about it over the phone. He hadn’t described much beyond finding “the motherlode” and continually emphasizing that it was a discovery that would change things forever.

Without any clues or trail to follow, Astoria went back to work in search of artifacts, but continuously keeping her ear open for anything that would lead her to discover the fate of her former master...


Equipment

• Charon’s Coin - Spirit 1: Spirit’s Tongue.

The size of a thumbnail, Charon’s coin is a dull piece of stone that has the barest markings of numbers on one side. To activate the artifact, the user places Charon’s Coin in their mouth or over one of their eyes. Upon success, they may communicate with Twilight spirits as long as the artifact remains in place (spirit cooperation up to ST).

• The Fractured Glass - Matter 1: Find the Hidden Hoard

A gift from her former mentor, it appears to the common eye as a shard of clear glass, broken from an indeterminable piece and slightly dulled along the edges. When peered through, the hairline cracks in the glass begin to align with whatever the mage is looking at, aligning themselves to mirror and expose alterations and hidden areas within inanimate matter.

• 9mm Pistol (2L damage; 20/40/80; Clip 17+1; Str 2; Size 1)
• Vehicle: Compact Car (Durability 3; Size 9; Structure 12; Accel 15 (20mph), safe 103 (70 mph), top 191 (130mph); Handling 3; Occupants 1+3)
• Path Tool: Silver Wand

Experience
Unspent: 8
Spent: 0


-Optional Details-
Age: 25
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: White
Nationality: Italian
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Spirituality: Pagan

------------------------------

[Prelude]

Victoria sat at the back of the party, holding the red solo cup as she listened to her friends prattle on around her. She had drank more than she’d intended to, the room slowly bobbing up and down to match the motions of her head. Her friends were standing around her, discussing something about a new jacket and whether it would work with a particular pair of boots, but there was a lack of focus in her eyes; she wanted to get out, to breathe and step out of the room. She stayed, however, whether from the inability to move or simply the social obligation.

Through a window across the room, she could see the light slowly turn in the distance, a dark shape with a beacon on top. Maybe it was a passing car.

The next day, she found herself nursing a hangover while sitting in class, sitting at a table with her head in a hand and writing with the other. She could feel the pounding as it ebbed at the back of her skull, demanding some sort of release. Had it been particularly strong? There had been shots involved, and tequila usually did this to her. Still, it was like a hammer striking her forehead, screaming for some sort of release and making her eardrums ache.

When she closed her eyes, she could see the light slowly turn in the distance, a reflection against her closed eyelids. Maybe it was the headache.

She skipped classes for the rest of the day, going back to her dorm room and drinking more water than even she thought possible, laying in bed and putting a pair of headphones on. With the lights turned off, she slept, hoping that whatever pain coalescing in her body could simply be slept off or banished to a corner that would let her get on with her life; it wasn’t worth losing entire days to a hangover, especially to do so when she hadn’t even have gotten as crazy as her birthday. Still, it was there when she woke up hours later, a pressure like a plastic bag over her head and keeping her from drawing in a full breath.

When she woke that evening, she could see the light slowly turn in the distance, a diffused light that shone brilliantly through the slits of the blinds. What was it?

Climbing out of bed, Victoria raised a hand to block the shimmering light as it poured in through the edges of her dorm room, opening the door to discover the hallway gone. Her doorway resided at the edge of a brilliant forest, luscious trees wrapped in vines, budding flowers at every edge, and the loud hum of an unnatural wildlife that was eager for the night. There was a storm despite the blue sky, warm rain splashing against her face and soaking her feet as she stepped forward, making her body both warm and shivering at the same time. It was...well, words could not describe the sight of Arcadia for the first time, a tumulous landscape of every season and climate within view, a permanent storm of every state that seemed to forge itself around one centralized point; a thistle-covered Watchtower in the distance, the beam slowly turning and casting a light that touched the deepest portion of every shadow.

She traveled for what seemed like days but could have been minutes, starting at a slow walk and eventually into a full run, reaching the brambled tower as it slowly creaked into the wind. A cautious hand touched at the plant life that covered it, instantly drawing back as a thorn cut deep into her finger. It did not hurt oddly enough, but what was even stranger was when the thistly pulled itself back, revealing a stone wall that was covered with carvings and inscriptions. It was hard to say why what happened next happened; as if she had been told what to do, Victoria reached her hand through the opening and touched the wall, her fingers slowly tracing out her name in the crimson that welled forth from her fingertips.

It was only as she finished that the thunder clapped, causing Victoria’s already-open eyes to open, finding herself standing in the hallway of her dorm with a finger on the elevator door. She could see the faintest outline of the V from her first name, the room still reverberating from the security door that had closed behind her. She felt her breath shaking as it drew in and out of her lungs, feet still clammy and pulse quickened as she padded her way back down the dorm hallway and into her bedroom. She could feel the new energy stir within her, the headache gone to a strange clarity.

When she woke the next morning, she could see the light slowly turn in the distance...the Watchtower in her dream, feeding her power. And with this feeling, she never wanted to go to sleep again...

Status

7/7 - Health
5/5 - Willpower
5/12 - Mana

6 - Wisdom

Experience

+3 XP 2/27 = 8 total

edit: for some frustratingly annoying reason, every time I delete that spoiler untag/tag it re-saves it. If you are reading this, I have given up on fixing it for the time being.

[NoiseConspiracy]

Let's talk about the cabal origins. How long have we been together? Do we have any unifying stuff besides being Mages? Do we have a cool name? My own thoughts:


My first suggestion falls back on my history more, but it's the first one that comes to mind: I envision Astoria working to start the cabal in response to her mentor disappearing, originally under the auspice of trying to follow his trail. Not used to working alone (frankly terrified of it), she reached out for people to band together if just to stave off her own mental compulsions. Whether Phoenix/Bardo are people that she had conferred with before, or were simply in the right place at the right time, I leave to the both of you.

(I would like to note that Phoenix pointed out our cyclical "Death-Prime-Life" sympathetic connection in the other thread. Thematically, these are awesome.)

So, that said, any other ideas?


edit: I am going to switch out that dot of Hallow for Sanctum so that Bardo and I are enforcing a group space together. This could be a simple enough factor for them to have met; who can afford private space in Boston on their own these days?

[Thorbes]

First things first, here is Dr. Marvin's character sheet:

Player: Thorbes
Chronicle: Anthology of Power

Path: Moros
Order: Free Council
Cabal:

Virtue: Prudence
Vice: Pride
Concept: Left-Handed Doctor

Advantages:
Health: 7 (6 due to Pattern Scourging)
Willpower: 6
Defense: 2
Initiative: 7
Speed: 9

Gnosis: 2 (3 Merit dots invested to raise it from 1)
Wisdom: 5 (Reduced due to the hubristic nature of his research. The extra 10xp are spent in 3 1-dot Merits and in buying the second dot of another)*
Mana: 11 (2/turn)

Attributes
Intelligence: 4
Wits: 2
Resolve: 2

Strength: 1
Dexterity: 3
Stamina: 2 (1 due to Pattern Scourging)

Presence: 2
Manipulation: 2
Composure: 4 (free dot from Path)


Skills
Academics: 1
Computer:
Crafts:
Investigation: 1
Medicine: 4 (Surgery)
Occult: 2 (the Soul)
Politics: 1
Science: 2 (Drugs)

Athletics:
Brawl:
Drive: 1
Firearms:
Larceny: 1
Stealth: 1
Survival:
Weaponry: 1

Animal Ken:
Empathy: 1
Expression: 2
Intimidation:
Persuasion: 1
Socialize: 1
Streetwise:
Subterfuge: 2


Merits

Resources: 3 (from his profitable job as a surgeon) [WoD: p.115]
Status (Doctor): 2 (more or less informal status due to his skill)* [WoD: p.116]
Library: 1 (the Soul)* [M:tA: p.85]
Sanctum: 1 (small laboratory)* [M:tA: p.86]
Hallow: 1 (inside the Sanctum, an small washing pile with a resonance of "Cleansing")* [M.tA: p.83]
High Speech: 1 (Free) [M:tA: p.84]

Arcana: Death 2, Life 2, Matter 2

Rotes
Forensic Gaze (Death 1; M:tA: p.134)
Soul Marks (Death 1; M:tA: p.135)
Cleanse the Body (Life 1; M:tA: p.180)
Pulse of the Living World (Life 1; M:tA: p.181)
Transmute Water (Matter 2; M:tA: p.197)

Nimbus

"Aseptic": everything turns artificially quiet and clean and the smell of disinfectant permeates the ambience.

Character Biography

Born the only son of a traditional bostonian couple that had suffered a couple of abortions, Marvin didn't seem long for this world. Sickly and weak since birth, the child managed to survive the first day of his life against all odds. Then he lived for a week. Then a month. Whether it was little Marvin's determination, the obsesive love of his parents, or something stranger still, the fact is that Marvin succeeded where his stillborn brothers couldn't and managed to grow up to became a child, then a teenager and finally a young adult that was the pride of his parents.

Although his health was always precarious at best, or maybe as sort of strange compesation of nature, Marvin demonstrated from an early age a vivacious ingenuity and a sharp intellect. Good natured, he decided to use his prodigious faculties to help those like him and so, with the blessing of his parents, he studied to became a doctor. His analitical mind and strong memory served him well and he graduated as the first of his promotion.

Now Marvin is growing old, his parents died not a couple of years ago and he visits their tomb and that of his stillborn brothers every week. Married to one of his younger colleages and co-workers at the hospital (working in the maternity wing) they still have no child of their own. On one hand the job consumes a lot of time from both of them, and Marvin secretely fears that he may be incapable of siring healthy children as happened to his parents. He doesn't want to visit more small tombs the weekends.

The Awakening of Dr. Marvin Bates was at once more and less traumatic than most. He was beside the bed where their parents were dying of old age in his own hospital when, maybe due to the emotional overload, things started to get strange. He could felt how with each breath his parents were less and less alive, while nearby in the maternity ward the life was flourishing. As a certain undefinable spark was obviously getting extinguished in his parents, a new light grew stronger by the second in the newborns. Marvin finally awoke when he left the room where his parents laid dead to look for his wife to give her the news, only to saw the unmistakable gaze of his parents coming from a couple of recently born twins.

Equipment

Comfy appartement. Good german car. Extensive medical library.

Path Tool: Scalpel.

Death Tool: consecrated ashes from a cremated body.
Life Tool: his own freshly spilt blood.
Matter Tool(s): Salt, mercury and sulfur.

-Optional Details-

Age: Early forties
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: American of british origin
Nationality: American
Hair Color: Salt and pepper with still mostly black hair, very open forehead. Invariably clean shaven.
Eye Color: Blue-gray
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Spirituality: Marvin believes in reincarnation, specifically in the greek concept of Metempsycosis (also known as Transmigration). He thinks it is his duty to discover the proccess now that he's been given the tools to do so.

Status:

Health : [][][][][][]
Willpower: 4/6
Mana: 7/11

Experience Log:

Experience Total: 13
Experience Current: 3
Experience spent:
1st dot Hallow Merit (2xp)
1st dot Sanctum Merit (2xp)
1st dot Library Merit (2xp)
2nd dot Stauts Merit (4xp)
Total Spent: 10xp

Now, as per the biography he's been barely a couple of years Awake so I supose that's the longer we could have been a Cabal. Otherwise I can change it so he's been awakened longer, it is not specially relevant for the concept, though probably no more than 5-7 years?

I chose Free Council a bit by default, but I think he could make a good Mysterium too, that way we could have met in the Atheneaum or something. Maybe through casual conversation about the nature of your role as a an artifact hunter you mentioned something about one that may pertain to Bardo's interests and so decided to keep you close. I supose you could have "recruited" Phoenix at some point as bodyguard and the two of you were already a proto-cabal when we met.

The Prime-Life-Death suggest a cicle of creation(Prime), death(duh) and rebirth (Life). Maybe we could call our Cabal "The Ouroboros"?

If we pool the Sanctum Merit, as you suggested, we can have a living room next to the laboratory/ritual room to hang around.

EDIT: regarding the cabal name,it seems in Boston theres already a lot of ouroboros imagery, its some cabal's symbol (the Special Media Group) and it is on the presentation card of another (the Gravediggers).

Another Prime-Life-Death symbol could be a phoenix, but it is also the Shadow Name of one of the Cabal members wich could lead to confussion?

[Techpriest]

Right now just waiting on Crapcarp to post his Template and to give his opinion on the Cabal. After that, everyone can roll Initiative and we'll be good to go.

[crapcarp]

Character Sheet

Player: Epicarp (or crapcarp, whichever you prefer)
Chronicle: Anthology of Power

Shadow Name: Phoenix
Sleeper Name: Garrick Royce (this is not his real name, that's below. Rather, this is the name he uses when among Sleepers or other supernaturals)
Real Name: Kemp Walt Dexter

Path: Obrimos
Order: Adamantine Arrow
Cabal:
Legacy: (Tamer of Fire; Legacies: the Ancient p. 39)

Virtue: Faith
Vice: Wrath
Concept: Hero in a World of Darkness

Advantages:
Health: 7
Willpower: 5
Defense: 2
Initiative: 4
Speed: 11
Size: 5

Gnosis: 3
Wisdom: 5
Mana: 5/12

Attributes
Intelligence: 2
Wits: 3
Resolve: 3

Strength: 4
Dexterity: 2
Stamina: 2

Presence: 3
Manipulation: 1
Composure: 2

Skills
Academics:
Computer:
Crafts:
Investigation:
Medicine: 2
Occult: 2 (Mythology)
Politics:
Science:

Athletics: 3
Brawl: 4 (Muay Thai)
Drive:
Firearms:
Larceny:
Stealth:
Survival:
Weaponry: 4 (Polearms)

Animal Ken:
Empathy: 2
Expression: 3
Intimidation: 2
Persuasion:
Socialize:
Streetwise:
Subterfuge:

Merits

• Muay Thai - Aggressive Striking (2; WoD p. 110, Armory Reloaded p. 65 & 110)
• Staff Fighting (1; Armory p. 213)
• Status - Adamantine Arrow (1; MtAw p. 88)
• High Speech (1; Core p. 84)
• Status - Dojo (1; WoD p. 116)
  
  He works at a local dojo that has some good weapons. Among other things, this allows him to borrow some of these weapons so long as he can justify it in some way. I'll let the ST decide on the specifics of the weapons and what's needed to convince his employer to borrow them.

Arcana: Forces 2, Mind 2, Prime 1, Life 1

Rotes

• Kinetic Blow (Forces; 2; Strength + Brawl or Weaponry + Forces; Core p. 166)
• Sense Consciousness (Mind; 1; Wits + Empathy + Mind; Core p. 206)
• Mental Shield (Mind; 2; Resolve + Occult + Mind; Core p. 208)
• Cleanse the Body (Life; 1; Stamina + Medicine + Life; Core p.180)

Nimbus

Weak or Uncloaked to Sleepers - There's a hint of invigoration in the immediate surroundings. Colors are a bit more vibrant, light shines a bit brighter, blood pumps a bit quicker.

Strong or Uncloaked to Mages - The hint becomes a full-on rush, everything seems to take on a life of its own as their Fallen skin begins to crack. In the distance, a voice can be heard.

Powerful - The cracks widen with thin beams of Supernal light breaking through. The distant voice becomes a choir singing High Speech, as if complimenting an epic scene.

Character Biography

Asleep - He was always that problem kid at school, the one you'd swore would end up in jail after graduation (assuming he would graduate, that is). Whether it was beating up kids or sticking it to the Man (be them teachers or otherwise), it seemed he spent more time in the office than in the classroom. It wasn't that he had a problem with authority, he always showed respect and discipline to his martial arts trainer, he just had a problem with bullshit.

Even as a Sleeper, he could always see past a bit of the Lie. Probably because he enjoyed mythology so much. The tall tales and epic exploits spoke to him in ways people either didn't know how, didn't want to, or perhaps were afraid to. It was fiction on the surface, but truth rang underneath, so long as one was willing to listen. And that frustrated him to no end...

Awakened - Shortly after Awakening he moved to Boston and joined the Adamantine Arrow there. Since then, he's rapidly progressed in magic, if a little too much (the Awakened world has its fair share of bullshit, and since he tends to get violent in response, well...). Every night, he dreams of a certain Rune. What this Rune is and what it means is a one of the many Mysteries he'll have to chase.

Equipment

• Order Tool - Bo Staff (Damage 2B; Size 4N; Durability 1; +1 Defense in melee combat; Armory p. 32)
• Forces Tool - Magnetic Gloves (http://toolmonger.com/2007/12/13/hot...agnetic-glove/)
• Sports Car (Durability 2; Size 10; Structure 12; Acceleration 15; Safe Speed 103 [70 mph], Maximum Speed 235 [160 mph], Handling 4)

Experience
Unspent: 3
Spent: 10

-Optional Details-
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Probably mixed, given his tan skin tone
Nationality: American
Hair Color: Grey
Eye Color: Brown
Sexuality: None of my business
Spirituality: The Monomyth if that counts

------------------------------

Get up, morning ritual, go to school, try to learn as best you can, beat up those same assholes again, blah blah blah. Rinse and repeat. Every. Single. Damn. Day. And after 12 years of this drivel? Just work from here on out now. It's the same dance, just a slightly different tune.

It felt like Death. He always hated Death, hates it even now. Since when was stagnation ever necessary in the universe anyways?

He couldn't just fade away on some deathbed. There had to be more to life than this. They may have been fairy tales, but there was truth to the various myths he enjoyed. The heroic journey, it was real, it had to be! The devil was in finding it. That's when she showed up.

"In order to escape, you have to risk everything," she said. While she looked somewhere in her thirties, it seemed as though she contained the wisdom of sages beyond the years of mortals.

He immediately understood what that meant, he knew what needed to be done, but he just didn't know how to go about it. It was like a riddle he knew the answer to, but couldn't find the words to explain it. He racked his brain, trying to figure it out. And he had to do it quick because it was only a few days until graduation, a few days of freedom. Once those passed, he'd be stuffed right back in the machine and that woman would leave. He didn't know how he knew, but he knew.

In order to escape, you have to risk everything.

"But how do I risk everything? Where do I go? Where do I look?" he asked her, giving in. He didn't want to resort to calling for help. It was one of those things where you had to figure it out yourself, wasn't it? Asking was cheating, right? But he had no choice, he was simply out of time.

She let out a slight chuckle. "I was wondering when you were going to ask that."

The walls flew away in fright, revealing a landscape of dreams and stars. Truth rang like bells, wisdom performing a harmony unmatched by any human composer. The birthplace of myth. High atop a distant Watchtower shone the light of a golden key. That was the Call, now to answer it.

Archetypes sprang forth to challenge him. They were the Trials. He defeated them, every victory pouring enlightenment beyond his wildest dreams into him, making every trial easier than the last. He was on a roll, he was going to reach that Watchtower in no time. This is what he wanted after all. And now that he has the opportunity, he wasn't going to let it go.

Overcoming the last trial, he entered the Watchtower with gleeful anticipation. His expectation of wondrous grandeur was met with painful reality. He wished for a way out of the machine, and a way out this Watchtower would give. But the world he would enter was filled with shadows and secrets, terrible truths and dark paths. And he could never go back once he entered. The Cave.

His horrifying realization twisted itself into a dragon, and he ran. Ran away to whence he came, trying to escape the corrupting breaths behind him. It wasn't worth it. Nothing was worth this world of darkness. The machine may be boring, but at least one could be sane in there. This new world threatened insanity as the least of its punishments. Only a madman would ever choose to go there.

He saw the machine in sight, and that's when he stopped. Why? Why wouldn't his legs move? It was only a few steps now, he was right there. He couldn't afford to be in this other world. The dragon approached, each step shaking the ground. Just a few more steps, but something in him just wouldn't budge. The dragon was right behind him, inhaling a lungful.

In order to escape, you have to risk everything.

The fire of his soul lit, and he let out a defiant roar against the dragon's breath. This world he knows may be filled with darkness, but that doesn't mean he has to take it lying down. In fact, he owed the world not to take it lying down. It was his duty to conquer this darkness like he did with the dragon, to shine as a hero. Dragons may exist, but they can be killed. He carved his name into the dragon, marking his first victory. Everything faded back into mundane reality, the woman wearing a smirk.

"That was the Threshold Guardian," she explained, "For the rest, you're going to have to come with me."

Character Status

Health: 0000000
Willpower: 4/5
Mana: 5/12
Wisdom: 5

XP Log

Experience (Unspent/Total): 3/13

Dots Purchased - XP Cost/Total XP Spent
Muay Thai 2 - 4/4
Staff Fighting 1 - 2/6
Status (AA) 1 - 2/8
High Speech 1 - 0/8
Status (Dojo) 1 - 2/10

As far as the peeps meeting up, both NC and Thorbes's ideas are pretty good. Perhaps Astoria met Phoenix in a library several times before Fell's disappearance, as Phoenix likes to read mythology (that, and the fact that it's warmer than his dinky little apartment as he hates the cold) and Astoria might go there for artifact research and/or personal interests as well. I would also point out a little thing in Astoria's backstory saying she learned some self-defense, but the only combat-related Skill she has is Firearms, which she would never learn from Phoenix, not just because he has no dots in it, but also the fact that he literally detests guns (he sees them as the cheapshot of weaponry), so I highly doubt she would meet Phoenix that way.

As for the cabal's name and theme, there's a great Rule of Three thing going on with both the cabal already and the chronicle itself, so I think it'd be best to focus on that. I just don't know what to use exactly. There's so many things related to 3 that I can't choose, any ideas from you guys?

[NoiseConspiracy]

Completely understood.

Sanctum: I'm okay with something like this, whether it was just a living space. On a long enough timeline, Astoria would probably want to start building a library, so that would be it's eventual purpose. Since I'm essentially building whatever I work with off of your space, I'll leave it up to you to describe first.

Cabal: I really like the idea of us having a group name, but I think it's because the sort of thing Astoria would be really into; giving something a name gives it purpose, and that's why she was seeking others out. I was trying to think of other cyclical-types of things that would be fit for creation or fortune, and I kept coming back to the word "Halo." I think it can mean a similar thing, paired with something appropriate. Spitballing a few ideas here:

Order of the Halo - If we're more monk-like.
The Halo Group - If we're more professional.

I have an urge to suggest The Candlestick Opera, but that sounds like total cheese when I say it out loud.

[Techpriest]

Nice catch on the 3's Crapcarp! Three Mages in the Protagonist Cabal. Three Mages in the Prologue.

It might interest you to note that the dates and times, from the Prologue and the initial IC post, Numerologically equal 3.

April 13 1984: 4+1+1+9+8+7=30, 3+0=3
January 3rd 2017 8:24pm: 3+3+2+0+1+7+8+2+4=30, 3+0=3

I thought it was great when you guys came up with the Prime, Death, Life=Birth, Death, Reincarnation thing, thus continuing this Rule of Three.

[Techpriest]

Alright, you guys don't have to wait to sort out the Cabal name and such before getting started. Unless you just prefer it that way. You could leave the Cabal details in the background, or if you decide that the Cabal has just gotten together your characters could be working on these things right along with the Players.

If you guys want to go ahead, feel free to roll Initiative. This will set our posting order until the next Chapter. Whoever has the high Initiative can post, if you guys decide to go ahead.

[NoiseConspiracy]

Well, it looks like I rolled a 3, so that gives me a grand total of 6. Good luck to the rest of you all.

On a side note, I like the feel of rolling dice, but you're sure of us rolling here instead of using a communal roller? Not that I'm insinuating or complaining, it's just what I'm used to...

[Techpriest]

We can go with a dice roller if the Honor System makes people uncomfortable. One of the reasons I wanted to be selective about character creation is because I felt it would up the odds of finding mature players, ones who would be honest about their rolls.

How do the rest of you feel about this?

[crapcarp]

Well, it looks like I rolled a 3, so that gives me a grand total of 6. Good luck to the rest of you all.

Wait, if you rolled a 3, wouldn't the total be 9 instead of 6?

Alright, you guys don't have to wait to sort out the Cabal name and such before getting started. Unless you just prefer it that way. You could leave the Cabal details in the background, or if you decide that the Cabal has just gotten together your characters could be working on these things right along with the Players.

If you guys want to go ahead, feel free to roll Initiative. This will set our posting order until the next Chapter. Whoever has the high Initiative can post, if you guys decide to go ahead.

Sounds good! I rolled a 1, so that's a 5 for me.

We can go with a dice roller if the Honor System makes people uncomfortable. One of the reasons I wanted to be selective about character creation is because I felt it would up the odds of finding mature players, ones who would be honest about their rolls.

How do the rest of you feel about this?

Well, frankly if I wanted to cheat with an online dice roller I could and none of you would ever know, so to me it doesn't matter whether we use this Honor System or not. I'll play honestly either way because life would never be fun if you always won.

[Thorbes]

Initiative: 7 + 8 = 15 Ooops, seems I'm going first... Such responsability!

I trust in the honor and integrity of my fellow players and Storyteller, and hope I get trusted in return Even in free-form roleplay I get my character to fail a lot, sometimes spectacularly because is more fun this way. And finally will be using my Mage dice in an actual Mage game! How can I let that opportunity pass by?

@NoiseConspiracy: We have Library in the making, it is only about matters of the soul for now, but the more dots we pool, the best it will get.

As for the Cabal Name: why not directly call us "The Rule of 3"

EDIT: Holly Ominous Title Image, Batman!

[Techpriest]

Looks like we're sticking with the Honor System. I hope you feel comfortable with that NoiseConspiracy. I'm personally glad, as its the way I had intended it and, like I said, I love the feel of dice in my hand