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[Michael]

Would you actually allow that?...

[Michael]

Not entirely, that's already the rule for Sacraments whch at least some of the examples look like....

[Michael]

So what are they?...

[Michael]

Is it that heavy? I mean, I can think of a few references, but that's really all they are. The only real noteworthy thing is the use of Mithraeum, which I think makes commparative sense as a technical term....

[Michael]

The wikipedia article says yes, though it doesn't give any sources and the impression I get is that we don't really know all that much about how Holmgang actually worked as a social practice. You can probably get away with it....

[Michael]

I'd say it's vaguer. There's really no indication of timing beyond 'summer' and no actual connection indicated between Blot and naming prey beyond them being done for similiar purposes. It's really just a way of saying that as summer begins and the norse get ready for war, so do the Uratha in their own way. It's the kind of poetic thing you'd have to end a section....

[Michael]

What about the people they work for?...

[Michael]

At a basic level, that's what Orders are for, they each have an agenda. If you're starting out, a fairly basic plot is to have an Order simply give your players a task.



It's not that different to Vampire. Hypothetically a Kindred could just keep their head down and live their life, the difficulty is that other Kindred interfere. A covenant is at least partially a way to make other Kindred back off.
.
The same's more or less true for the Awakened. There are factions in the setting that want your character dead. If you aren't planning to join them, then Banishers...

[Michael]

You could always try reversing the situation. Have an archmaster bring in 25 magi who are all slightly less powerful than the players. 5 for each player.

[Michael]

Shouldn't a Time archmaster have forseen that he was going to be pulped? Therefore I'd assume this was what he wanted it to happen.

[Michael]

Again, they're not secret. There's direct evidence of them.



Those two are directly linked. The Awakened do magic by manipulating the Supernal. Their mage sight lets them see into the symbolism under reality and they do magic by manipulating that symbolism. How they conceptualise it varies, but the existence of the Supernal is as verifiable as anything else.



That's exactly what they do. The Supernal Realms aren't places in the traditional sense....

[Michael]

You're confusing the Temple and the Chosen Vessel rating in Prelacy. Mystery Commands are indeed a problem to verify.

Mind you, if you decide to ignore the wrong command, then other Prelates are going to be told to come after you, It's pretty clearly not just a mental health issue, you get an iron portal with ochemata guards in your Oneiros and your Daimon is warped by the association....

[Michael]

It's not the same. The Temple Prelacy opens a Supernal Verge to the Exarchate of the patron exarch....

[Michael]

Not quite that far. 2e basically states that the Awakened are directly aware of the Exarchs to a degree; they see the Lie and they see how some kind of intelligence seems to be guiding it.
What exactly they are is left open, but something does definitely exist....

[Michael]

2e changed pretty much all of that.

[Michael]

My point is you could have the spirit already be awake and under the control of the Archmaster....

[Michael]

Have them already awake? A Spirit with Influence: Chantry 5 or something like that.

That said, why does the chantry need to test them via a puzzle. I mean, I get you're trying to copy Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider, but... what does a logic puzzle have to do with being the Hieromagus?

I mean, surely the fact they found the chantry is the puzzle. The Arc of the Covenant was just in a big vault, the puzzle was tracking it down. (Yeah, I know Last Crusade has puzzles but it didn't make much sense there either.)...

[Michael]

To be a bit tasteless for a moment. I could see such a cult around the fringes of Western-European Muslim communities. I mean, in real life, there are small fundamentalist groups which often sound quite like cult, centering on individual preachers, often with some very odd idiosyncratic views.
Those guys are potentially great material for a cult. They're secretive, open to weird ideas, they work in networks where deniability is easy and above all, at least some of them are capable of commiting real acts of terrible violence. Plus, there are opportunities to gather resources from the security...

[Michael]

I should have added, that character was in 1e where the Fog of Eternity was a big deal (though by Ancient Mysteries less so). As of 2e, Fog of Eternity isn't a part of the game any more, so you can have their memories be as coherent as you like.

[Michael]

Ancient Mysteries had an Ancient Egyptian vampire, which I think is the oldest example I've seen. Sadly for him, after being entombed for a few thousand years he's basically just a neonate with some odd memories.