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[Bluecho]

Marin is correct. Dragons of the East gave the Wu Keng and their non-infernal counterparts mostly equal examination (it helped that they shared some aspects of Practice, even if they do it for vastly different ends). The issue is that the book only ever called them "the Shamans". It's only in MET that they were given their own name. Which was probably for the best, all things considered. The Wu Keng have always been, to put it lightly, problematic.

[Bluecho]

It could be any number of things. But if I had to guess, I'd say it would be something related to how the Impundulu broke their original dependence on their magical masters in the first place. Because we're otherwise fishing in the dark; Beckett's Jyhad Diary gives us so little to work with otherwise.

Their co-dependence may have shifted to some other group, thing, or even place (not unlike Clan Tzimisce's ties to the land). Like maybe they must regularly come into contact with magical people, objects, or natural features (significant rock formations, rivers, springs, etc). Whether...

[Bluecho]

I would specify "use any of the Foundation or Pillars of x", rather than using all of one or the other. That is, I would let the player choose which of which Fellowship the character learns.

After all, though they are converts from their own mystical disciplines, all Ex Misc mages are instructed in the basics of Hermetic praxis, as a rule. In essence, Ex Misc characters have a certain degree of cross-Focus instruction, the one adapted to the other as the mage sees fit or can manage. Ergo, you might find a Rusticiani who uses Anima instead of one of the Old Faith Pillars....

[Bluecho]

Or, you know, those children could join either way. The Order of Hermes teaches High Sorcery as a matter of course, regardless of whether the apprentice is or ever will be Awakened. Only focusing on the Awakened is a suckers game, and the Order of Hermes is too old and has been burned too much (sometimes literally) to casually let itself be played for a sucker. Not again. (Events like the Second Massasa War notwithstanding).

It's also worth remembering that the Order of Hermes is far from a uniform entity. They have a dozen Houses, each with its own interpretation of Hermetic theory,...

[Bluecho]

Concerning the Order of Hermes, House Criamon are known for their obsession with riddles and enigmas, a preoccupation with time (and therefore Time), and the presence of designs that appear on their skin. Ars Magicka describes these markings as not tattoos, but a form of what Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults describe as "stigma", or "stigmata". A phenomenon that occurs outside the Criamon mage's will, usually after they've reached some personal milestone on their way to Enlightenment. In this book, Criamon mages don't, as a rule, get tattoos, as they see them as merely a source

...

[Bluecho]

Hell, in Mage, the Rule of Cool is a literal active force in-universe. That's what Mythic Threads are. At least in M20, a Mage adhering to what's expected of their magickal style can get reductions in difficulty, or even make Vulgar Effects Coincidental under the right circumstances.

A Hermetic wizard in the modern day could wear sunglasses and a leather jacket, wielding a gun etched with Enochian script. There's even plenty of practical reasons to do so. But if the wizard stays true to their heritage, going Full Wizard - flowing robes, pointed hat, ornate staff, ritual dagger, etc...

[Bluecho]

568) Echoes of Averted Death [Flaw]: As squishy, vulnerable beings (by the standards of Night Folk), Mages frequently make use of Magick to guard their fragile mortality. Forces shields. Correspondence Bans. Life soaking or body modification. Matter armor enhancement. Even Time or Entropy to avoid harm entirely.

This Flaw manifests when death-dealing force is, narrowly or not, prevented by the Mage's magick. If an attack or hazard would otherwise deal enough damage to the unprotected Mage as to kill her, a transparent after-image of her manifests from her body. It mimes having been...

[Bluecho]

Here's a possibility: the Impundulu and Mla-Watu are different bloodlines entirely. It's just that, by the time the modern day arrives, the Impundulu-turned-Ishologu are similar enough to the Mla Watu that Kindred - in and out of African - have trouble telling them apart. The Mla Watu are exactly what they seemed: regular Cappadocians, descended from either strains who were originally founded in Africa or who descend from Cappadocians who fled the Giovanni. The Impundulu/Ishologu were the bloodline founded as adjuncts to ancient African sorcerers. The two groups are similar enough - and "Clans"...

[Bluecho]

1) One that sits at a terminal, watching teams on a series of screens and issuing orders.

2) An Enlightened tactical officer that leads SWAT-like strike teams of Extraordinary Citizens, using spoken commands, gadgets, and hand signs to direct their squad toward victory.

3) An Iteration X agent who oversees teams of technicians in pulling off huge engineering projects, not unlike their predecessors the Craftmasons....

[Bluecho]

Indeed, I was considering saying "...a living, breathing tool for Enlightened Science (or Awakened Magick)". But at the time of the post, I was super tired and couldn't muster the energy. So I just sent it through as is.

To be clear, "Human Resources" is hardly an Instrument limited to Technocrats. "Group Rites" are also an Instrument, and any mystic would tell you the benefits of getting a number of Acolytes, Cultists, and fellow Mages together for a good ol' High Ritual....

[Bluecho]

Simplicity itself: the Mage has "Human Resources" as one of their Instruments. They are skilled in the art of guiding subordinates or allies into carrying out the Mage's Will. In essence, the Extraordinary Citizen is simply a living, breathing tool for Enlightened Science....

[Bluecho]

All this assumes that the Mage starts on a good or neutral footing, in respect to the law. That the Mage doesn't already have a target painted on their back, as far as the powers-that-be are concerned.

A not insignificant number of Mages have been institutionalized, at one point or another. Think the Dreamspeaker that got sent to a mental asylum for the "voices in their head". The Children of Knowledge alchemist who got locked up in a previous life for cooking meth or other illicit substances. The Euthanatos killer who is wanted in eight states. The Orphan who lost their...

[Bluecho]

181) A Malkavian technomancer who was Embraced at age 15 or so. As such, he calls himself "the Eternal Boy Genius". Needless to say, his derangement is Megalomania.

He just...showed up, one night, at a small domain. With his presence, the domain's Kindred population reached a nice, round half-dozen. Mostly, his "peers" are a handful of Anarchs and Caitiff, and one Autarkus with no apparent interest in politics. As such, when the "Boy Genius" came in and insisted on being recognized as the Prince, no one was in any position or inclination to argue. After...

[Bluecho]

I'm writing this here just to make sure as many people as possible know about it. But the Humblewood campaign setting - the third party DnD 5e setting centered around BIRBS - has about three hours left on its Kickstarter. At the time of this writing, they're ~$50,000 away from their $1 MILLION stretch goal. A million as compared to their $20k base goal.

If anyone has some stray cash, have a think about pledging, maybe. Do it for the birbs.

[Bluecho]

186) A Sabbat city has effectively fallen to Camarilla forces, with Cam Elders arriving and carving the burg up between them. Only a single pack remains, stubbornly refusing to cede their last foothold. Calling other Sabbat packs to bolster them is a dicey proposition at the best of times, but currently no assistance is forthcoming. Either because of the Fourth Civil War or the onset of the Middle Eastern Crusade, no one is going to come running to a city already deemed lost.

To prevent themselves from being cornered and destroyed, the Sabbat's resident Tzimisce gives the entire pack...

[Bluecho]

Who said that Diablerie requires a vampire to consume another's soul for it to work?

Case in point: the infamous Seven Salubri.

They seek Golconda, then Embrace and train their childer specifically to Diablerize them. We're told that those who attained Golconda do not have their souls consumed by Diablerie. Yet their childer still lower in Generation.

In my view, Augustus is underpowered because Cappadocius's older childer did something to the blood beforehand.

[Bluecho]

If it's even possible for someone who isn't the owner to use a Phylactery for its magic, I'd rule that it could only be done with a specific magical effect or ritual that would allow its power to be "tap-able". Probably no small bit of magic, either. We're talking a capitalized High Ritual here. One that would require the caster to have done a ton of research into how Phylacteries and Avatars work, to have even an IDEA of what they're trying to do.

Otherwise, it's not possible. If for no other reason than because the Avatar would be resisting such efforts the whole way through....

[Bluecho]

So, follow-up to my previous post about abuses in the AAA games industry. Once again, from Jim Sterling: "A Video About Bioware Working Staff To Tears And Calling Its Mental Abuse 'Magic'".

THIS. THIS is peak Pentex, if I ever saw it. The idea of corporate interests working employees so hard as to given them health problems, to the point they become "stress casualties" (a term usually reserved for military personnel in wartime), is so REAL that Pentex wouldn't need to up the ante to achieve its goals. The only difference between Bioware and Pentex is that Bioware...

[Bluecho]

Last one for now, I swear:

What if you play a particularly long-lived Bygone, from The Bygone Bestiary? Like a Dragon, perhaps?

It's strange, yes, but no more so than a shapeshifting spider person, a mummy, or a ghost inhabiting their own corpse. Unlike most mortals, it's actually totally natural for a dragon to live for hundreds or thousands of years. Most of the time, furthermore, dragons just keep getting more powerful as a matter of course.

In the 1100s, the dragon PC could start as a mere hatchling. A decade or two tops, which is practically infantile...

[Bluecho]

Had another idea. If you want one of the PCs to be a little morally ambiguous - or, better, you're looking for a recurring antagonist - an Infernalist with the right Investments could work.

According to the Revised Book of Madness, Infernalists have a wide variety of possible goodies (baddies?) they can sell chunks of their soul for. The ability to suspend aging by ten years (or reverse ten years aged) is one of the simplest and cheapest Investments to procure, at 1 Soul Point per decade. Of course, even that can add up, over centuries of life. According to Book of Madness, a mortal...