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[Bluecho]

I wouldn't agree that Hermetic magick is easier to Teach. It's more consistent, certainly. The Ars Hermetica are formulaic, like recipes. If all elements are in their proper place at the proper time, the spell will take the proper shape, every time. If the spell fails to turn out the right way, either the theory or the execution of the ritual was flawed. None of this "Magick, do what you will" nonsense, where you have, at best, a vague idea of what will happen. With Hermeticism, it's like programming: garbage in, garbage out. When done right, it is controlled and exact as the movement...

[Bluecho]

Metaphysics:
- I like to think most Tradition and Craft mages will acknowledge that magick seems to transcend Paradigm, but tend to each have their own ideas about why that is, and what it means to overcome the need for Instruments. They also have extensive explanations for why mages from other groups are able to do what they do, despite seeming to defy Reality as they know it.

For instance, the Technocracy - when it bothers to dwell on the subject - probably sees Traditionalists as employing a form of psychic power, their minds drawing upon scientific principles they don't...

[Bluecho]

Concerning Nephandi, I contend that the process of Avatar Inversion completely alters what the Fallen find emotionally fulfilling. Unlike normal people, who can learn to obtain pleasure from evil but can be assumed to have "positive" passions outside what they've learned (an evil person can still enjoy sex, food, and the prospect of having children), a Nephandus can only be satisfied when evil is done. Such is their new Normal, and it colors their emotional contexts and priorities. They want to kill, despoil, corrupt, torture, and ruin, because it's what gives them joy.

...

[Bluecho]

307) Eye Scream [Flaw]: Reacting to a botched perception power, the mage sees, instead of what they intended to, something else. Something...horrible. Something so horrible, their eyes themselves open up into toothy maws, and scream in horror. Which, naturally, could lead others to scream in alarm. It's a disturbing backlash, and if severe enough can afflict both eyes at once, rendering the mage blind for the duration (as well as mildly deaf, from their eye-mouths screaming in their heads).


308) A Sunny Presence [Flaw]: When a mage uses their magick to create and manipulate...

[Bluecho]

304) Cupid's Arrow [Burn]: As venerable (and morally questionable) as the archetypal Love Spell is, it carries a measure of risk. Specifically, Cupid - also known as Eros - takes offense at mages who meddle in his domain. So he makes his displeasure known...by shooting them. The mage is struck with an arrow, the projectile coming out of nowhere and still out of the victim's flesh. It is exactly as painful as being shot with an actual arrow.


305) Emotive Eyes [Flaw]: The eyes are the windows to the soul. When a mage employs Eye Contact as an Instrument of magick, they create...

[Bluecho]

But why, though? You don't need more than one intelligent raven (the rest can be made to follow its orders), and unnatural ravens might be Vulgar.

Assuming we're married to the idea of a flock of empowered, intelligent ravens, though, we can make them with some regular magick. Mind 5 can give intelligence to however many ravens you can cast it on (without risking a botch or thirty). And Life 3 should allow you to endow the birds with most sorts of physical advantages that they don't already possess. From there, it's a matter of training (or bribing) them into doing your duty, and...

[Bluecho]

Agreed with the above. I've recently read through Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults, and found it informative for House Meritina. That said, it does indeed require a bit of work to translate.

Merinita isn't nearly as big as it was in the Dark Ages - it WAS demoted from a major House, after all - and many of the political and ideological divisions described in the book (if they apply at all to the World of Darkness) are dated and likely of little consequence. When there are barely any Merinita left, factions either blend together or are made up by individual cabals (or even individuals)....

[Bluecho]

Well there's your problem. You're taking HDYDT seriously.

That book has problems, in that it adds complexity where it isn't needed, usually for the sole reason of adhering to a particular interpretation of Focus. Except Magick itself isn't meant to work differently based on the Paradigm. It's all meant to function the same, for ease of play. Like lastlostboy said, it blends Focus with mechanics in a way the game was never designed to. Another example of this is how Akashic Effects as described in HDYDT all require the addition of Prime and Quintessence expenditure, when the same Effects...

[Bluecho]

[For this thread, I'll be referencing a character I'd like to run, but can't because I have no one to play Mage with. He's a Celestial Chorus mage that is a Catholic deacon, who comes from a family that manifests physical traits reminiscent to portrayals of demons. Pointed ears, prominent incisors, and black, sharp fingernails (taken as an Advantage). And he, like much of his family before him, takes seriously the idea that he is descended from demons, and must be penitent for that inborn sin, and vigilant against temptation. He is generally meek, friendly, and desirous of spreading peace and...

[Bluecho]

Even if you don't rule that Spirit 3 can bring people along - it would undermine the utility of Spirit 4, after all - you have options. NPC mages can be brought in to open gates, or can give the cabal Wonders that do it for them (some kind of Talisman/Device, or a set of one-use Charms/Gadgets). There are also Shallowings - places where the Gauntlet is so thin, anyone can step through - that can allow the cabal access to the Umbra with little problem.


As for jaunts through the Digital Web, it IS possible to access it without magick. VR tech is powerful enough now (especially...

[Bluecho]

I should certainly think so. They are literally the wizards who specialize in fae matters. It would be nonsensical for them not to have figured out how Enchantment and such works, and learned how to game that system.

Personally, I don't see why Mages shouldn't be able to see Chimerical reality with the right Mind rotes. The Spheres can theoretically do anything, after all. If anyone knows the rotes in question, it would be 1) House Merinita, 2) the Verbana, 3) certain specialist Dreamspeakers, and 4) the aforementioned Hollow Ones. It shouldn't be exclusive knowledge, just rare and...

[Bluecho]

21) Scepter of Simulacrum (5 pt. Talisman; 4 Arete):
A bronze rod, topped with a tiny statue of a stately, faceless figure, wearing a tiny gold crown. The base of the statue, where it connects to the rod, is made from alternating rings of polished granite, clay, and marble. Each blend together, and have had relief images carved or cast into their combined surface, depicting tiny stick figures in various poses. Some mages claim the scepter to hail from the Roman era, but most scholars think it was a later creation. Texts in the libraries of the Order of Hermes reference the item as early...

[Bluecho]

59) A Marauder with a pirate theme has rode into town, driving a DUKW that has been decorated like a pirate ship. He's predominantly interested in holding up liquor stores, seafood restaurants, and arcades (who knows if he has a buried stash of game tokens somewhere in town). Because his Quiet is internal, it's taken a while for local Awakened to realize he was a Marauder, rather than just a crazy guy thief. His magick has mostly been used to make his get aways, and to dodge the cops between crimes. Now that his power has become a little more obvious, someone should probably do something about...

[Bluecho]

According to M20, the expanded list for the Cult of Ecstasy is Time, Life, and Mind. So the drunken master could easily focus Life. Or Mind, since we've suggested getting at least one dot. But probably Life, since it's more immediately in line with the character's strengths.

[Bluecho]

Burlap sacks and glass jars. You never know when you'll need to carry stuff around. Like loot, or a man's dismembered corpse. The jars are good for holding blood for at least a little while, in case you need to take a snack to go....

[Bluecho]

Why are you responding to every post with a question? Is this the Socratic method in action?

In all seriousness, "hidden" was a poor word choice. I should have said "it's probably there in plain sight, I just can't be bothered to research this anymore at the moment". When I said "hidden", I meant I was encouraging you to look at the books yourself....

[Bluecho]

I can, and this is only after a couple hours flipping through my books.

First and foremost, a lot of books (Mage Revised, M20, V20, Revised Storyteller's Handbook) agree that Fear of the Unknown is a major factor. Folks on both sides of the splat divide aren't even typically versed in all of their OWN lore, let alone the powers, influence, and motivations of the other. There's a reason the Revised Storyteller's Handbook suggested Lore traits for each respective group, to track a character's Knowledge of the other.

For Vampires, mages wield seemingly endless varieties...

[Bluecho]

20) Sword of Moonlight (3 or 6 pt. Artifact):
The exact origins of this type of Wonder are disputed, with both Verbana and Order of Hermes claiming to have invented it first. A dispute that gets harder to settle as no witch families can point to an exact inventor, and the Order's records - normally well maintained for the sake of giving proper credit - are silent on the issue. Some scholars present a compromise theory, postulating that the Sword of Moonlight was originally created by magi of House Bjornaer, or even House Diedne, before their successors migrated to the Verbana. The knowledge...

[Bluecho]

Well first of all, the Akashics have Left Hand Path followers of their own, specifically the Li-Hai.

Second, if we're talking Left Hand, wouldn't the Cult of Ecstasy be just as appropriate, if not more so, as the Euthanatoi? Their's is a path all about the sacred excess, pursued to push the limits and achieve an altered state of mind. If anyone is going to imbibe their way to enlightenment, it's the Sahajiya....

[Bluecho]

19) Turtle Shell Bracelet (3 pt. Fetish):
A bracelet strung with small shells, and dominated by a clay turtle pendent. The loop is long enough that a person must wrap it three times around the wrist. Created by the Kopa Loei, as an emergency method for crossing bodies of water.

Contains a sea turtle spirit, its services bartered for by ensuring a clutch of hatchlings made it to the sea, without a single lost to predators or accident. When the bracelet is used by a body of water at least one meter deep, the spirit creates a buoying force beneath the user's feet, preventing them...