[OOC] [Mage: the Awakening 2E] The Supernal Suburbia

[Haberdasher]

rwknoll Great stuff on the setting. It definitely made Awakened Chicago much more intimidating. That bit about Irises to alternate universes sounds especially intriguing... Almost like you want us to jump through one to see what's on the other side.

[rwknoll]

crapcarp Glad we're on the same page! I'm happy it feels fair to you. Let me know if you have more questions. Any thoughts or feedback about how Hakim and recent events relate to Phoenix? (See the OP for details.)

rwknoll Great stuff on the setting. It definitely made Awakened Chicago much more intimidating. That bit about Irises to alternate universes sounds especially intriguing... Almost like you want us to jump through one to see what's on the other side.

Awesome, glad that sounds intriguing! I still am working on the stuff for La Grange, but I realized I needed to figure out Chicago first and my ideas for the recent events before I could explore the suburbs. I borrowed ideas from the Mage 2E core book but hopefully it ends up being cool.

[crapcarp]

crapcarp Any thoughts or feedback about how Hakim and recent events relate to Phoenix? (See the OP for details.)

Ah, right. The hunt part works perfectly. Hakim was a Moros if I remember correctly and Caladriu did mention that he could've possibly been a Reaper, which would fit in with the connection to the lich (not saying Hakim has to be a Reaper or anything, Hunters don't know everything and are very paranoid). Garrick would definitely be motivated not only for his background in magic, but also because he would probably blame Hakim for his Awakening, thinking that he was being "turned" by the Alchemist (though the responsible party was actually a buried part of his psyche fighting it's way to the forefront of his mind, I'm updating the background info to clarify).

I do have a bit of a concern, though: The Deathstorm. So Garrick believes Hakim killed his cell. He's not gonna take something like that lying down, he'd definitely hunt Hakim and most likely find him, especially since a great Highstorm attracted several mages along with Hakim. In other words, barring any kind of major interference or roadblock, Garrick would be in the Deathstorm. Question is: how did he get out alive?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's impossible for Hakim to go to the Deathstorm or anything. What I am saying is that there needs to be some explanation for Garrick's survival, which could be the aforementioned interference/roadblock that keeps him away from the Deathstorm, or he somehow survives whatever happened in the Deathstorm, like maybe he arrived at the tail end of the event and only got a taste of it's wrath (that might actually be cool because he might've gotten scarred or tainted by whatever happened, resulting in a Condition or something).

On a side note, I came up with a particular Forces Lesser Attainment called Storm Herald(I came up with this before I even knew about this chronicle, I swear). Could Phoenix have this instead of Precise Force?

[rwknoll]

crapcarp Sure, let's work out a few of these details.

First, not every Mage who went out into Chicago died that night. Some went in, found nothing noteworthy, and came out alive; it wasn't until alarms were spread throughout the Consilium much later that evening that they realized how lucky they had been to escape unharmed.

I'm guessing Phoenix would probably have limited his magic use while out, assumedly because he was new to magic and didn't know the extent of his new abilities. You could also say that Phoenix decided to wait until the next night because this would have been his first time truly Seeing a Highstorm (i.e., with Mage Sight). Perhaps the new insight made him unnerved or uneasy enough to relent that evening. If you want, you could say that he saw a fight breaking out between a Mage and a vampire/werewolf and decided he was in over his head, but I would personally find it more interesting to introduce those antagonists to your characters in-game.

The actual nature of the Deathstorm would have been very eerie and frightening even to Sleepers. To the naked eye, it would have looked like funnel clouds forming sideways in the sky, with green crackling lightning in the middle of the vortexes. Phoenix's new Periphery Mage Sight would have alerted him to the supernatural nature of the storms he had always believed were just freaky weather changes. His Active Mage Sight would have revealed swirling clouds of pure Prime magic and mana intermingled. At the center of the funnels would appear to be an impenetrable black hole. News reports indicated that no one was injured from the storm itself, other than gawkers who took their eyes off the road and got in minor car accidents.

The other option is that Hakim knew you were chasing him, and he didn't want to bother with you, so he used some Fate/Time/Space spell to lead you on a wild goose chase that caused you to walk in circles. Maybe Phoenix grew frustrated and decided he should go home because he was unsure of what the Deathstorm could mean.

My reading of your alternative attainment indicated that the prediction of when a supernatural weather change was coming was limited to the onset of the magic that created the weather change. These Highstorms happen suddenly (within minutes), with very limited warning, and mages have not yet been able to predict when they are coming using any magical or mortal means. They last anywhere from about 15 to 60 minutes, with longer storms seemingly correlated with the number of items or artifacts mages find downtown. The Deathstorm was particularly long, lasting almost 2 hours. You're welcome to take your attainment substitute, but due to the nature of this Mystery, it won't help you to predict a Highstorm hours in advance. I personally think the standard one will do you more good, especially as a member of the Adamantine Arrow.

[Kvitebjørn Kong Valemon]

Haberdasher, I looked over your character sheet and you have 8 dots' worth of rotes out of 6.

[Haberdasher]

I must have misinterpreted the rotes section for character creation. I thought that each rote was worth a single dot, not that each rote was worth a dot per dot of chief arcanum required.

[rwknoll]

I must have misinterpreted the rotes section for character creation. I thought that each rote was worth a single dot, not that each rote was worth a dot per dot of chief arcanum required.

Those are the rules for Praxes. They're slightly different for rotes.

[Haberdasher]

So I need to remove one of my two-dot rotes, or two of my one-dot rotes?

[rwknoll]

Yep, should be 6 dots based on the highest Arcanum used in each spell unless I'm mistaken. It doesn't need to be decided before we start if you need time to decide.

[rwknoll]

I owe you all additional info about La Grange, which I'm still working on. In the meantime, does anyone else have any questions or need help with character stats?

[crapcarp]

crapcarp Sure, let's work out a few of these details.

First, not every Mage who went out into Chicago died that night. Some went in, found nothing noteworthy, and came out alive; it wasn't until alarms were spread throughout the Consilium much later that evening that they realized how lucky they had been to escape unharmed.

I'm guessing Phoenix would probably have limited his magic use while out, assumedly because he was new to magic and didn't know the extent of his new abilities. You could also say that Phoenix decided to wait until the next night because this would have been his first time truly Seeing a Highstorm (i.e., with Mage Sight). Perhaps the new insight made him unnerved or uneasy enough to relent that evening. If you want, you could say that he saw a fight breaking out between a Mage and a vampire/werewolf and decided he was in over his head, but I would personally find it more interesting to introduce those antagonists to your characters in-game.

The actual nature of the Deathstorm would have been very eerie and frightening even to Sleepers. To the naked eye, it would have looked like funnel clouds forming sideways in the sky, with green crackling lightning in the middle of the vortexes. Phoenix's new Periphery Mage Sight would have alerted him to the supernatural nature of the storms he had always believed were just freaky weather changes. His Active Mage Sight would have revealed swirling clouds of pure Prime magic and mana intermingled. At the center of the funnels would appear to be an impenetrable black hole. News reports indicated that no one was injured from the storm itself, other than gawkers who took their eyes off the road and got in minor car accidents.

The other option is that Hakim knew you were chasing him, and he didn't want to bother with you, so he used some Fate/Time/Space spell to lead you on a wild goose chase that caused you to walk in circles. Maybe Phoenix grew frustrated and decided he should go home because he was unsure of what the Deathstorm could mean.

Gonna go with the second option then. I'll note in his background that he failed to find Hakim and just stayed away from the Deathstorm because he saw no reason to go there in the first place and was like "Yeeeah, just gonna ignore that entirely". The first one simply wouldn't work. From his perspective, that son of bitch killed his comrades and abused magic, so he needed to be stopped at all costs. The Deathstorm certainly would've been terrifying, especially with his new sensitivity, but that wouldn't deter him, not even seeing a fight between a mage and a vampire/werewolf, it would just cause him to be more careful.

But Hakim leading him off on a goose chase away from the Deathstorm? Absolutely plausible. After all, Garrick was relentlessly hunting him, so he'd probably notice he was being hunted and thought "I don't have time this, have fun with my shadow, silly mage," or something akin to that and went off to the Deathstorm.

Speaking of Hakim, does Phoenix know Hakim's Shadow Name or not? Just making sure, 'cause it's alright if he doesn't since he'd definitely know his face and all, but whether or not he actually knows the name Hakim might be an important detail.

My reading of your alternative attainment indicated that the prediction of when a supernatural weather change was coming was limited to the onset of the magic that created the weather change. These Highstorms happen suddenly (within minutes), with very limited warning, and mages have not yet been able to predict when they are coming using any magical or mortal means. They last anywhere from about 15 to 60 minutes, with longer storms seemingly correlated with the number of items or artifacts mages find downtown. The Deathstorm was particularly long, lasting almost 2 hours. You're welcome to take your attainment substitute, but due to the nature of this Mystery, it won't help you to predict a Highstorm hours in advance. I personally think the standard one will do you more good, especially as a member of the Adamantine Arrow.

Hmm, that is certainly true, Precise Force could be more far more useful considering that he's a combat-focused character, but Storm Herald could make for some really good flavor, even if it doesn't do much good. I'll have to think about it, thanks for giving me the option, I'll let you know in the character sheet when I've completed it.

Speaking of, the sheet in the post you see is not the actual post. For example, you see in the Experience Log that I didn't include Arcane Beats and Experiences, but in the actual post (what I see when I go to edit it) it's there. I have no idea what's caused the problem (probably a glitch) so I think I'm gonna have to re-post my character sheet when I've completed it.

[rwknoll]

Works for me with the story, too. I can appreciate that mindset on Phoenix's part, which is why I suggested the other option as well.

As far as knowing Hakim's name, I was torn on that too. I would probably lean towards him knowing some other kind of pseudoname, if only because otherwise it might lead to a split with Moonstone before they have enough motivation or reason to join a cabal together. I could be wrong on that.

Not sure what's going on with the character sheet! Sorry it isn't showing up correctly.

[Caladriu]

I am super excited about the setting you've written rwknoll, this looks like it will be a great game! The Highstorms and Irises and unsafe downtown make for a very cool and ambitious central Mystery, I can't wait to explore it. My very first thought for something esoteric to investigate: did the 32 mages dying in the Deathstorm create Sympathy to each other by their shared demise? Can one of them now be used as a sympathetic yantra for spells cast on another, harder to find victim? Playing off that morbid joke: "they say the killer's victims had no connection to each other. well, they do now!"

I am totally good with the Hakim stuff. And I would suggest Phoenix not know him by that name at first, as you say I think it will be better to deal with that information once we have some shared experiences as a cabal and aren't total strangers.

I do have a character creation question: I'm deciding what to do for Virtue and Vice. Especially for Vice, what would be more interesting: Dependent, as in clingy and self-doubting and uncertain, or Spiteful, as in the Iago-type unfaithful servant who acts accomodating and demure but stabs people in the back and twists the knife? I think his Virtue may have been changed by the Mastigos awakening from whatever it was before to Independent, self-assured, forging his own path and standing up to people when it's difficult. But that might not be super conducive to group play if I'm seeking out opportunities to be independent, and also might skip ahead a bit too much in his arc of finding his own voice. Or, having a Virtue like that could be just right. I dunno!

Also something else: I'm planning to use the Status granted by Infamous Mentor to occasionally requisition magic stuff as per the Consilium/Order Status merit description, and Fixer to help with that. Are you okay with that rwknoll? I assume it would come with restrictions like a successful skill roll to argue the necessity and invoke Hakim's respected memory, but generally is that use of the merit on the table?

[rwknoll]

I am super excited about the setting you've written rwknoll, this looks like it will be a great game! The Highstorms and Irises and unsafe downtown make for a very cool and ambitious central Mystery, I can't wait to explore it.

Awesome! Thanks.

My very first thought for something esoteric to investigate: did the 32 mages dying in the Deathstorm create Sympathy to each other by their shared demise? Can one of them now be used as a sympathetic yantra for spells cast on another, harder to find victim? Playing off that morbid joke: "they say the killer's victims had no connection to each other. well, they do now!"

Sure, makes sense to me.

I am totally good with the Hakim stuff. And I would suggest Phoenix not know him by that name at first, as you say I think it will be better to deal with that information once we have some shared experiences as a cabal and aren't total strangers.

Noted, and I agree.

I do have a character creation question: I'm deciding what to do for Virtue and Vice. Especially for Vice, what would be more interesting: Dependent, as in clingy and self-doubting and uncertain, or Spiteful, as in the Iago-type unfaithful servant who acts accomodating and demure but stabs people in the back and twists the knife? I think his Virtue may have been changed by the Mastigos awakening from whatever it was before to Independent, self-assured, forging his own path and standing up to people when it's difficult. But that might not be super conducive to group play if I'm seeking out opportunities to be independent, and also might skip ahead a bit too much in his arc of finding his own voice. Or, having a Virtue like that could be just right. I dunno!

This is hard for me to say because I think it needs to be your choice, as you have a clearer concept of Moonstone than I do. I do think it would be hard to have Independent as his Virtue and Dependent as his Vice. :P

Maybe something like Assertive for the Virtue? Bold? If you think he would be more personally driven as a Mage, maybe there are times he sticks to his gut and his morals even in the face of opposition or social pressure. For Vice, you could also do something like Naive to represent his desire to ignore evidence that disconfirms a notion he holds, especially about other people. Spiteful or vengeful otherwise sound a little easier to blend in with an Independent or Assertive virtue.

Also something else: I'm planning to use the Status granted by Infamous Mentor to occasionally requisition magic stuff as per the Consilium/Order Status merit description, and Fixer to help with that. Are you okay with that rwknoll? I assume it would come with restrictions like a successful skill roll to argue the necessity and invoke Hakim's respected memory, but generally is that use of the merit on the table?

Sure, works for me. If I have questions or concerns when it comes into play, we can discuss it then too.

[rwknoll]

Before we can get this game officially kicked off, I owe you more information about La Grange as it relates to Mages. I also will try to create brief bios or info about key NPCs, including current Consilium and Order leaders.

I reviewed the current character sheets and everything is coming along well. Below are my notes on what I believe each of you is still missing; let me know if you need help with this or if I am mistaken.

Dr. Asphodel:
Rotes, long-term nimbus description, Obsession, starting equipment

Moonstone:
Sympathetic name: Even if you don't know your birth name, your character has a sympathetic name because he has sympathetic ties to other people. Would it be his legal name? Just clarify what you want this to be.

Virtue/Vice (if still undecided). Also, do you want to create NPC info for members of Hakim's former cabal, should I do it, or some combination? Not sure if you had any ideas.

Also, just some more thoughts about the cloak: The artifact is an item that Hakim reportedly obtained from a Highstorm search years ago. He said it was vetted and checked for curses, and had no known consequences. You've used it in the past week and have not observed any negative effects for yourself.

Lynx:
Vice (confirmation/final decision), long-term nimbus. For the nimbus tilt, because you have Gnosis 1, you can only have 1 bonus or penalty dice right now. Also need aspirations, and please mark on your sheet which skills are rote skills (makes it easier for me to double check math later without memorizing all of these for each Order).

Phoenix:
Mark rote skills. You get a free Occult dot, so unless I added incorrectly you get 1 more dot for your Mental skills. Also need rotes, Nimbus (all 3 plus Tilt), Obsession, starting equipment.

Ragnar:
Finalize rotes, nimbus tilt. For your aspirations, can you clarify which you intended to be short term and which one is long term? Arguably those might all be shorter-term, so I didn't know for sure.

Binder:
Nimbus (long-term and signature), aspirations, Obsession. You can add the free Order merits to your list (High Speech and Status), or mark later.

For everyone who still needs rotes, those don't have to be decided before we can start, as you won't be in the Order right away. Also, I'm pretty lenient and flexible with character sheets early on in the game. If you decide you don't like something and want to swap it out, just ask and we can discuss.