1000 Mage Plots

[Bluecho]

110) A small but growing number of gang members, mafia thugs, and even wealthy socialites have been displaying greater than normal martial arts acuity. While individuals winding up with Martial Arts skills is hardly new, a member of the Traditions chanced to see one of them in action, and it didn't look like normal kung fu. It would appear that a rogue Akashic is teaching the secrets of Do to whomever can pay the high price for lessons. While this could potentially provide recruits for the Tradition, the Akashayana see this as a disaster waiting to happen. The noble art of Do was ever meant to be practiced by those with the correct mindset to wield it. At best, these uncontrolled students will simply fail to grasp Do's subtleties, and fail to advance very far. At worst, though, it could lead to problems down the road. As such, the Akashayana want to find their teacher and put an end to this unwise practice.

[Bluecho]

111) Normal people - that is, unAwakened people - have started experiencing odd phenomenon that can only be described as Paradox backlashes. This is strange, as they don't seem to possess any sort of Wonders that could generate the Paradox, nor are Marauders around (at least, not for most of them). Is there some reasonable explanation mages just aren't seeing, or is Paradox itself going haywire?


112) Some mage in the city hired a mercenary company to commit violence on their behalf. But when it came time to pay the fee, the mage decided it would be easier to mind wipe the mercenaries, so they forgot the debt. Except, surprisingly, the mind wipe didn't stick as well as the mage hoped, and the mercenaries are pissed. They're going around town, trying to find the mage who stiffed them. And since they aren't quite sure who their client was - only that the client seemed to wield magical powers - they've made the executive decision to harass anyone connected to the local occult community, in the hopes of finding their client. Which means rather than being just the dishonest mage's problem, it's now everybody's problem. Payback is a' comin'.

[Muad'Dib]

113) After the leader of a Cult of Ecstasy Cabal got searched by a pair of policemen for drugs ( they didn't find any, due to a Correspondence 2 Spell moving around the foil with cannabis ) the Mages of the Cult of Ecstasy decided to take decisive action.
Through open and veiled threats, direct action ( roughing up, confrontations ) , pulling strings among the local and regional government workers, and unrestrained, potent Spells, the Cult of Ecstasy Mages, as well as Cult of Ecstasy Acolytes and Consors, have started demolishing the police's capabilities in the city ; focusing on prohibiting the police acting against the use and possession of psychoactive substances by anyone. So far there has been no serious injury to any member of the police force, and the media are not yet involved.

The senior Ecstatics say that the great work - undertaken so that they will be able to smoke a joint or snort a line anywhere in the city without having to look over their shoulder because of a mundane human - is not yet done, and that it might take a longer while.

Tradition Cabals of at least two Traditions - pure Cabals, consisting of Mages of only one Tradition - have arrived in the city, with plans and intent to put a stop to the actions and plans of the Ecstatics ; and to make sure that there are consequences for them for what they have done.

[baakyocalder]

For Muad'Dib's #113, you could also have a Craft which is not a fan of the Cult of Ecstasy intervene. I can see some self-righteous Templars decide that there aren't enough dope dealers and users being busted and take the law into their own hands.

[Bluecho]

114) A hastily scrawled letter arrives for one of the PCs (or the PC's Mentor, whichever is more appropriate), written by an old occultist friend from out of state/province. The correspondent speaks of the experiments in magic (probably unAwakened) that he and his own circle have been running. And now their latest working went terribly awry. They summoned a being they could not put down, and it killed at least one of their number, drove another mad. Knowing no other people more magically capable than the PC (or PC's Mentor), the friend begs for help banishing the creature, while it is (they believe) yet trapped within their Warded ritual building.

Whether the PC knew the occultist personally or was asked by the Mentor, the cabal departs to the town where it happened. Except when they arrive, nothing is as it was described. The friend displays no memory of having sent the letter, or of any magical accident. His ritual space is vacant of any trapped entity (though the warding circle inside appears to have been disturbed). And, most surprising of all, the circle member said to have been driven mad appears quite sane, and the member said to be deceased appears quite alive. The circle members all seem very confident that nothing is wrong, and that the cabal obviously came all that way for nothing.

Was the letter a forgery, meant to lure the cabal out to the town? Or is there something wrong with the occultist and his circle? And what, if anything, was summoned, and where did it go if it exists?

[Muad'Dib]

115) A Technocrat Mage belonging to the Syndicate Convention has been going around, going into shops, and buying out everything - the entire stock on the shelves and sometimes more than this - in a given shop. Depending on who you ask, he has done this between five and ten times. Is this a method of manipulation ? A desperate display of wealth to accomplish some goal ? A way of asking for help ? Stocking up food, drinks and various resources in preparation for an event, or someone's arrival ? Done for the purpose of observing the reactions of both the mundane humans, and the Nightfolk ? So far nobody has asked him personally why is he doing this. Maybe it is possible to predict at which location he will do another wholesale buyout.

[Muad'Dib]

116) A New World Order Technocrat of the Black Suit rank has offered himself, through intermediaries, as a psychotherapist for any Traditions Mage who will trust him with her or his problems. He does not want to do it from altruism, though - he needs money ; he offers ninety minute sessions for 800 dollars per session, and he is open to negotiating the price ; he accepts only money as a means of payment. His Amalgam partners have been called off to another area, and the money he receives from the Technocracy has become "To put it simply, much less than it was before." . The Technocrat promises full secrecy for his clients. As far as the Traditions Mages in the city can ascertain through mundane and Magickal means, he is honest in simply offering this service to them, he will try to uphold secrecy, and he means no harm. But can he vouch for the long-term future, both in regards to himself, and in regards how other Technocrats will decide to act in response to this ?

[Muad'Dib]

117) A New World Order White Suit Technocrat, acting under a cover identity, becomes the headmistress of one of the city's top ranked high school.

[Bluecho]

118) A Native American Dreamspeaker (maybe a PC) is searching for lost knowledge from their ancestry. Problem is, much of the old tales and techniques known to his tribe were lost to attrition over the centuries. Other Dreamspeaker elders can provide only so much of what they know from the character's particular people. When wandering the Umbra looking for ghosts or knowledgeable spirits, one Umbrood drops an interesting tidbit: not every old shaman who died left the mortal world. The spirit, knowing the character's tribe, points him towards someone who would know better than anyone.

Turns out, the spirit wasn't lying. There is a way to continue in the material world after death. It's by becoming a vampire.

As luck would have it, one of the character's tribe - an old medicine man - was embraced, and yet unlives. Whether that luck is good or not remains to be seen. Because while the old man still remembers the old ways - having become a potent blood magician (Anarch vampires would know him as a practitioner of the "Old Skool") - he is still a blood-drinking creature, who has long ago learned to guard himself and his ways from threats. Moreover, even if the medicine man could be convinced to impart knowledge, that is knowledge tainted not just by years, but by its adaptation to use by vampire blood. Not to mention the vampire carries with him the baggage of being a vampire, both in his essential nature and in the political mire that is the greater Jyhad. Receiving instruction could be hazardous. As could paying for that instruction, since even a member of the same tribe can't be expected to part with such precious lore for free.

[Muad'Dib]

119) A pair of the Society of the Ether Mages are caught (by Tradition Mages) participating, together with many mundane humans, in the sales of obviously non-functional radio-therapy, bio-feedback etc. devices and machines on a very large scale. They try to explain themselves to other Tradition members by claiming that the sales are part of them developing their Paradigm and Magick. Are they lieing ? Maybe each of the Etherites is in a Quiet ? Or maybe this is a rare chance for Tradition Mages in the city to actually get some Etherites to explain how their Etherite Magick and Paradigm work ?

[Muad'Dib]

120) After losing to a pair of Cultists of Ecstasy in a series of matches of a very important PC game, a pair of Virtual Adepts are considering their options - they can't leave it at that, and they can't end up being defeated again. Within a week a Technocrat ( from the Iteration-X Convention ) and a Nephandus separately offer the Virtual Adepts coaching and training sessions in the PC game - and related matters, like tactics, strategy and thinking under time pressure. Who will the Virtual Adepts choose to teach them ( maybe both ? ) , if they will choose anyone ?

[Yaoi Huntress Earth]

121) One of the PCs has a beloved rat familiar (or simple pet) that unknowingly happens to be a Ratkin kinfolk. The rest of it's family would just love to inflict the Birthing Plague upon it so it can become one of them. Do the PCs let this happen or will they use their magic/technology to cure it (which is possible) and earn a number of enemies? Bonus points if the familiar is one of Momma Rat's offspring (see Ratkin Breedbook) and she'd like to have a little talk with the PCs.

[Bluecho]

122) One of the PCs has an unusual visitor: a Mummy (pre-Resurrection Mummy). This old soul's recollection stops after a few centuries/lifetimes past, and the mummy explains why. According to him, the PC (or rather her previous incarnation) agreed to remove the mummy's memories of his millennia of life and death. When an existence stretches on too long, unbearable ennui can weigh heavily on even the strongest wills. So the mummy asked that the Mage's former self take away the epochs of time and give the mummy a fresh start.

Those memories weren't erased outright, but rather removed and placed inside a specially prepared jar. This fact and the deal itself were things the mummy was permitted to remember, so he'd know the purpose behind his amnesia. And for centuries since, the mummy left the matter at that. Whatever his old life held, it had to be crushing if he chose to forget.

Now, though, he's returned to the Mage, having followed clues left by the mage's Avatar out in the spirit world (for even if the mage doesn't know the mummy, the Avatar certainly does). He came because some ancient threat from the mummy's past has resurfaced. A threat only his old self knew. If he's to put that old business to rest, he must first remember. It was the PC's former incarnation who possessed the jar. Unfortunately, centuries of time are harder on mages than they are on mummies, when it comes to keeping all one's stuff where they want it. While the PC may have recovered some of her old effects, the jar in question was not one of them. Meaning if she's going to help the mummy get his memories back, they'll need to research the mage's past life, and track down where the jar went.

All while being stalked by the mummy's "old business". And while the mummy would weather death and return in a few decades none the worse for wear, the mage is significantly more attached to her life and current self.

[Bluecho]

123) A major preoccupation of the Wu Lung these days is their desire to amass a store of Chinese gold, reputably for some grand magical working. For this reason, they are always on the lookout for gold (in flat amounts or in objects) that can be traced back to China.

One such dragon wizard dwells in the city; an antiquities trader who secretly works to track such objects. He's managed to find some - a stack of some dozen gold coins minted in the Imperial days of the Middle Kingdom. Alas, the gold shipment was stolen, and has made its way into the city's underworld. The thief, for whatever reason, has elected to trade coins away individually, and these shiny objects now trade hands among the town's criminal element (both mundane and supernatural). While the Wu Lung is continuing to search for them in official channels, he's given out a bounty among the city's Awakened population. For each coin returned to the hands of the dragon wizards, he'll pay 130% their market value, or else pay in magickal Charms if the seller prefers. Anyone willing to brave the underworld could stand to profit from the venture...assuming, of course, they survive.

[Nyrufa]

124) One of the Dreamspeakers has become a Marauder and is now trying to reclaim the planet in the name of mother nature. Their method of doing so? Unleash an army of sentient plant life to destroy human civilization. As if that wasn't bad enough, these plants are created using human souls. After preparing a sacrificial victim, the mage plants seeds throughout their body, which take root and siphon the victim of all their spiritual energy. Once the plant is fully mature, they are extracted and become new floral soldiers in the mage's army!