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[2ptTakrill]

If you want to keep your Draugr's infectious bite without running a TPK, just play it that the Draugr has to 'kill' the Vampire to infect it. Instead of turning to ash they turn into another supercharged Draugr. You can even give it combat advantages when using its bite to reflect a changed jaw structure.
This would give your players a chance to survive a violent encounter without eliminating the threat such a creature holds to their society as a whole.
It also helps that a player who loses his character to its attack was going to lose it anyway.

[2ptTakrill]

Name suggestion; "Where the Sidewalk Ends".
It was the title of a children's poetry book.

[2ptTakrill]

If your plan is to play during the war then it is inevitable, if you are only playing during the build up towards the war with its specter hovering in the background then the last thing you want is for your players to have the promise of ultimate failure in their heads.
That would be a real kill joy.

You as the ST can decide that the war is inevitable, just don't push that as a failure to the players. The Aberrant dies in America leading to martial law, meanwhile the players are busy dealing with something equally important somewhere else.
Don't feed them the...

[2ptTakrill]

If you are playing Aberrant than yes, you let them change it six ways from Sunday if they can.
If later you decide to play Trinity in the future you just drop the fallout of the other game, saying this is a different universe where those characters didn't exist.
If, on the other hand, you and your players are up to it you can totally rewrite the setting based upon their Aberrant characters' actions.

You can, if you insist, force things to happen in such a way to keep the timeline as published but doing so may ruin the fun for the players, replacing it with pointless...

[2ptTakrill]

Place an entrance to the Underworld within the building, it holds the ghosts there until they get up the courage to enter, something the original ghost strives to prevent.

[2ptTakrill]

Use Space to visit all of those places tourists aren't allowed to go; private beaches in Hawaii, Forbidden City, the Vatican (you might want to skip snake island).

Use Time to find out who really killed JFK or if Hitler really did die in his bunker.
Make sure somebody really did shoot J.R. Ewing.

Sale real moon rocks on line, then watch everyone freak out when testing proves they are real, then offer rocks from Mars.

A personal favorite, use Space and Time to place an empty Coke bottle on the moon for Neal Armstrong to trip over during his 'One...

[2ptTakrill]

Whatever you do with the Arrow I would recommend keeping the image of the Viking Feast Hall.
It not only contributes to a sense of brotherhood but would be appealing to potential recruits.

[2ptTakrill]

Given the insular nature of the town a good 'adult' problem would be an intrusion from the outside, like the state wanting to run an interstate too close by, close enough to include an off ramp and attendant business.
Maybe the EPA is inspecting one or more factories for infractions, even the sink hole for signs of contamination.

[2ptTakrill]

You already seem to be moving towards the idea that the Free Council isn't so much an order as a community of individuals and groups, I would play up that the Diamond Orders may recognize their existence, but doesn't really give them a seat at the secret meetings.
The real change I would recommend, and a possible Mystery, would relate to your comment that the Arrow trains constantly for a war that will never happen, I would have it happening right now only in secret. The attitudes you describe for the Arrow, Mysterium and Guardians (everyone but the Ladder really) would make sense if...

[2ptTakrill]

The problem with moving 4-5 dot spells from instant casting range is that most of the spells that allow Mages to compete with the other splat's powers are within that range, Mages don't start doing lethal damage until 4 dots not to mention utility spells like teleport and levitation.
Limiting the number of instant cast spells to a handful chosen by the individual and paid extra for seems like the best way to limit Mage versatility without reducing them to mere mortals.

Someone really needs to play test it and see how it actually works out, sure Mages may still overwhelm...

[2ptTakrill]

Far too many years ago I spent several months living in New Orleans and even longer in southern Louisiana and to me the place always felt like theater. From the landscapes to the architecture, history and people it all felt like it was all supposed to be part of some grand production.
How about the mystery of New Orleans is a play or story that is repeatedly played out in the region, repeating themes if not absolute reproductions, and the Destinies being handed out are actually for people chosen to play some part, the hero and the fool, villain and wise man, the innocent and the beast....

[2ptTakrill]

A Werewolf is facing off against a spirit that has claimed one of his loved ones, the spirit is mocking him, taunting him with the knowledge that in order to stop the spirit he will have to kill the person he loves. In steps a Mage who uses Spirit to expel the spirit into the waiting jaws of the Werewolf, then uses Life to undue any changes the spirit's presence made to the victim.

Vampires are vulnerable during their day sleep, so he shares his haven with a pack of trusted Werewolves, security is no longer much of an issue.

[2ptTakrill]

I gave my suggestion of leaving Rotes and Praxes as instant cast, that was going with your attempt to downgrade Mages to make other splats more competitive. After that I just pointed out that since other splat powers now often have secondary, constant, no cost effects and Mages don't (outside of PMS) then you might actually end up making Mages weaker instead of more balanced.
And yes, I did state that personally what you are creating feels too much like D&D wizards to me.

I gave the asked for suggestion and then pointed out flaws that might lead away from what many of...

[2ptTakrill]

In my first Werewolf chronicle the pack had a murder spirit causing bad resonance in their territory. Now they could kill it, though it wasn't easy, but it would just reform in the deep Shadow and then return at its appointed time. The pack finally dealt with it by gaining the aid of a Mage who used Spirit magic to drain off the spirit's essence during the fight so that this time when the pack killed it, with no essence remaining the spirit stayed dead.
The Mage later called in the favor owed. He was trying to investigate a disturbance that was spreading outwards from a wound in the...

[2ptTakrill]

Or you can just give him high dots in occult and academics, coupled with a smart phone with Wi-Fi access and a large online library.

Mage: "Give me 3 hours and I can ritually cast an unveiling spell to find out..."

Cell Phone Guy: "Don't bother, I already Googled it and the answer is..."

Take away instant casting, leaving only ritual, and until the Mage is god like in power he's the dead weight guy that Vampires kick around for...kicks.
If the goal is just to limit the Mage's versatility, making him more like the Vampire,...

[2ptTakrill]

The first trick to running a crossover game is the same for any other game with more than one player, avoid overlapping roles. It's okay to have, for example, two heavy hitters if the story is combat intensive, even better if one is a brick and the other a back stabbing type, as long as each character gets their chance to shine.

From personal experience I think everyone is way off base thinking the Mage will dominate every encounter, usually the Mage ends up taking a supporting role. He doesn't use life to boost his strength to superhuman levels and make himself a one man army,...

[2ptTakrill]

A children's story classic is for the kids to set out to prove that some legendary creature is real, in spite of the disbelief of adults. Usually this involves old buildings, dark forests or mountain lakes. Nothing too far from home though.
You could also go Jumanji, with the kids playing a game of fantasy that proves all too real and the only way to escape is to finish.

[2ptTakrill]

You can keep adults from getting involved by just falling back on the cliché "That's nice dear. He has such a vivid imagination."

Or use isolation, a horror story classic, by placing the story in a place where the kids don't have any adults they think they can trust, summer camp for example. I will say that if you want to keep it PG enough for a 7 year old I wouldn't go too dark.

Back to the OP; there is a new kid at the playground and they really like him but no one knows where he lives. They ask him but when they go to the address given they find...

[2ptTakrill]

Worse comes to worst you don't have to explain it, just have it happen and leave it a mystery.
They can learn about the attached baggage later, if an idea comes to you in play.
You never know, the player's guesses and wild speculation in character might give you the answer.

[2ptTakrill]

We can at least look through their pockets for loose change.

However you choose to do it just make sure there are issues, side effects and difficulties that have to be dealt with. Something that keeps it from being an easy method to cheat death while also providing interesting story, conflict and challenge.