Mage The Ascension (WoD1.0) - Whose up for it?

[B4UTRUST]

you need the exe file included in the zip file to open them. And I don't think it's windows specific as it doesn't install anything, just runs everything from the exe.

[Cynical Cat]

Sphere and how they relate, simple version

Most spheres do their effects all by themselves, but there are some that interact a lot with others. Besides combination effects (say a spell that transmutes someone's clothes into something flammable (Matter) and then ignites them (Forces)) Prime is the big player.

Prime: anytime you want to create more energy (Forces), matter (Matter), or supercharge anything with Quintessence, you're going to need Prime. Tossing a small fireball is Forces 3, Prime 2.

Life: Healing aggravated damage requires Quintessence, which doesn't specifically require Prime, but Prime is needed to manipulate most forms of Quintessence.

Correspondence gets mixed in with spells that you want to affect someone who isn't present. For example, using a tissue sample to Rip the Man Body (Life 3) on someone not physically present is going to require some Correspondence to bridge the distance.

You also have somewhat equivalent effects with different spheres. For example you can use Life or Entropy or Prime to directly destroy a living body. Entropy causes decay and collapse, Life allows great control, and with enough Prime you can remove the very substance of existence itself.

[B4UTRUST]

After talking to Frigid for a bit, I've decided I'm going to play a VA Reality Hacker. I'll draw up the sheet in the next day or so.

[Cynical Cat]

[

Quite honestly, it took someone sitting down with me and giving me examples before I truly began to see how the Spheres interact with one another.

Would anyone here care to give a crash-primer course on how Spheres work?

The first level of all Spheres is gathering related information. Life 1 can tell you if someone is healthy or what disease they have, Spirit 1 can detect spirits and the level of the Gauntlet, etcetera.

Correspondence is all about space and distance and the connection between. You want to teleport or know about far away places, you use Correspondence. You want to do something else at those distances, you mix in other Spheres.

Entropy is the forces of chance and decay. Rigging dice, making yourself lucky, making systems (or beings) decay and fall apart. You can mix it with other Spheres for more precise and targeted effects.

Forces is about energy. To create new energy you need some Prime as well, but Forces allows you to manipulate what already exists.

Life is living tissue. Altering, healing, destroying, shape shifting, its all about Life. Creating new living beings requires Prime, just like Forces needs Prime to create more energy and Matter requires Prime to create new Matter.

Matter is the creation, destruction, alteration, and transmutation of non-living matter. At high levels you can even make impossible and unobtanium substances.

Mind deals with the Mind. Enhanced multitasking or mental abilities, Jedi Mind Trick, mind control, all that stuff both positive and negative.

Prime is the manipulation of the fundemental substance of reality itself, Quintessence. You need this to actually create new matter or energy and mages can use raw Quintessence to power their effects. You can supercharge other effects with Quintessence (usually to create uber armour or inflict aggravated damage) or destroy matter and energy by removing the Quintessence that makes them to exists at high enough levels.

Spirit deals with the spirit world and spirits. Entering in it, travelling through it, lowering or raising the Gauntlet (barrier between physical and spirit world) summoning, binding, healing, and rending of spirits are all possible with this Sphere.

Time deals with time. Slowing, speeding, bending, and even to a limited extent travelling.

[rhoenix]

Nicely done, Cyncat - that looks straightforward enough to me, and accounts for some basics of combination as well. Shit, your explanation of Prime was better than the understanding I had of it for the first three months I was playing.

[frigidmagi]

Any limit on Arete for us when starting out? Besides budget limits.

[Dark Silver]

Thanks Cynical for the write up.


Frigid: Arete are tapped out at 6, for creation, if you got the extra points to spend on it. That puts your character, spiritually, far along the Path to Ascension there.

[SirNitram]

Holy crap.

[Dark Silver]

yeah, I know

I'm giving you a cap of Six on Arete, IF you can purchase up to it with your freebies.

Otherwise, standard creation rules apply.

Just because you got a six Arete, doesn't mean you got ArchSpheres either...

[SirNitram]

Indeed. And Archspheres, for those wondering, eternally lock you OUT of Ascending. You have to go around again to start from a new life if you become an Archmage. On the plus side, you can, in the process of being an Archmage, edit your Avatar so it won't let you do this again. Also, you can become a god, but that's the path of failures.

[B4UTRUST]

At this point I feel it neccessary to point out to our fearless GM that one of our mages ascended, the other is still kicking around trying to create universes.

*cough* I win *cough*

[Comrade Tortoise]

Still need to pick foci, but here he is.

Name: Russell Walters (Rus)
Age: 36
Height: 1.8 meters
Weight: 75 kilos
Eyes:green
Hair: dirty-blonde/light brown with the occassional grey hair close cropped
Former Profession: Forensic Psychologist as far as he can tell.
Demeanor: Caregiver
Nature: Curmudgeon
Tradition: Order of Hermes, House Thig
Essence: Primordial

Attributes.

Physical.
Strength: 2
Dexterity: 2
Stamina: 2

Social.
Charisma:3
Manipulation:3
Appearance:2

Mental.
Intelligence:4
Perception:4
Wits:2

Abilities

Talents
Subterfuge: 2
Alertness:1
Awareness: 2
Dodge:2
Streetwise:1
Mediatation: 1

Skills
Stealth: 2
Research: 3

Knowledges
Computers:2
Enigmas:2
Science:3
Investigation:2
Lore, Technocrats:1
Medicine:3
Linguistics: Russian

Backgrounds:
Avatar 3
Library 3
Arcane 1
chantry 3

Arete 4
Willpower: 5

Spheres
Forces 3 (Mathematics)
Prime 2 (A silver necklace)
Mind 3 (Brain-anatomy and conceptual construct mantra)
Correspondence 2 (hermetic symbols on a PDA)

Amnesiac: He does not know what his life was like before his awakening
Vengeful(Technocracy) He does not know why, because he does not remember anything. But he really really wants to get back at Technocrats for... something...
Phobia: fear of drowning
Addiction:smoker(doesnt remember when he picked it up, probably in college....)

Gear: A few sets of clothes, a lighter and a pack of cigarettes (and a can of dip in situations where smoking is a bigger bad idea than usual) an laptop, cellphone and PDA. His library of books he still needs to read, a large straight bladed dagger, a dissection kit and a few medical supplies.


What Russell Knows:
Russell knows he was born in 60's(inference from the greying), due to his accent he imagines it was somewhere on the east coast of the US. His knowledge of science and medicine lets him infer he has a Medical Doctorate, which he can still use. He has a special knowledge of psychiatry, which lets him know that he specialized there. Combined with other things, he is pretty sure he was a forensic psychiatrist.

Since he awakened and went through what he jokingly refers to as his second residency, he started spying on and otherwise engaging in operations against the Technocracy. He started off small. Things like finding and disrupting shipments to Progenitor labs, but he wants to get into bigger stuff, he wants them to suffer.

RUssell's paradigm:

Russell derives his paradigm from the hermetic tradition of using symbols, words, shapes, and math in order to work their will upon the world. He believes that magic is a function of symbols, and it is the meaning of these symbols and their relevance within the mind that allows a mage to work magic. These symbols are build around cognitive archetypes, the type of magic (sphere) determining how the mage conceptualizes them.

As a mage gains mastery, they learn that these symbols are but a crutch, and can be discarded in favor of the sheer force of will of an awakened mage.

[Cynical Cat]

Arkady Malikov Stolin
House Flambeau
Essence: Questing
Nature: Architect
Demeanor: Survivor

Strength 2
Dexterity 3
Stamina 3

Charisma 2
Manipulation 1
Appearance 3

Perception 3
Intelligence 4
Wits 3

Alertness 1
Athletics 1
Awareness 2
Brawl 1
Dodge 2
Instruction 2
Intuition 1
Subterfuge 1

Drive 1
Etiquette 1
Meditation 1
Research 2
Stealth 1

Computer 2
Cosmology 2
Culture 1
Enigmas 2
Investigation 1
Linguistics 1
Occult 1
Science 4


Arete 6
Forces 3
Prime 3


Backgrounds
Arcane 2
Avatar 4
Familiar 1
Library 4
Resources 3
Chantry 3

Willpower 7

Arkady awoke while in his third year of university in Moscow, or more exactly, was awoken by one of his professors. Russia was in the deadly grip of Baba Yaga, her physical and Umbral borders sealed to prevent the escape of supernaturals, and every supernatural that was not Baba Yaga's slave lived in terror. House Flambeau, as always, did the lion's share of the front line fighting for the Order of Hermes and received the bulk of the available apprentices, which included Arkady. In the years that followed he had little time to spend learning magic, but established a strong connection with his powerful avatar and attained a considerable degree of enlightenment. After the war the Order of Hermes arranged a connection with some grant work and a visa to the States, where he will hopefully recover mentally from the war and have the time to study the Spheres.

Arkady is 186cm and 71 kilos, dark haired, pale, and cannot abide smoking. He has blue eyes, a pleasant smile, and is probably far too blunt for his own good.

His familiar, Tasha, is a gangly adolescent grey and black tabby.


Gear: Slacks, shirt, cell phone, leather jacket, laser pointer (Forces focus), heirloom ring (Prime Focus), gold Timex (war loot), bear spray, Leatherman multitool, roll of quarters, silver dollar (Mentor's lucky charm and his Parma Magicka shield).

[LadyTevar]

Why do I envision a grey&black bundle sleeping contentedly on top of a large black panther, both purring (or as best the panther can).

Amusingly, one of the quirks I was going to give Mandalay is a love of clove cigarettes... I think Arkady will not approve ;)

[Comrade Tortoise]

Nor will he approve of the 2 pack a day smoker who jokes about learning the life sphere to cure his own cancer....

[Charon]

Alright alright I'm in... Stupid temptations.

Warning you now, I'm not certain I will be staying in and if I do stay in how active I will be.

Right now I'm looking at a slacker Euthanatos, who, to judge by the Aretes seen so far will be pitiful compared to you guys.

[rhoenix]

I'll have to see if I can get ahold of the book again.

Since B4 stole my usual choice (if only because Virtual Adepts are very good friends with Correspondence), I'll likely go with a member of the Akashic Brotherhood, if I join. I'll want to make him carefully, so I'll do a bit of research this weekend to see if I can devote the time to playing, and if I can make him properly in the first place.

[Dark Silver]

The Cabal doesn't have to be made one of EACH of the Traditions you know....infact, the Cabal *MIGHT* be more....stable...if not all of the Traditions got represented... (though we do already have two OoH mages..but seeing as it's primarily a Hermetic Chantry with some other Tradition members...)

and rheonix, the books are up for download on a link on the previous page. The three that will be needed for this anyway (Core, Players guide and Guide to the Traditions).


Charon: i knew I'd seduce you into it eventually.....don't worry if your not active much, I don't expect the game to go quickly anyway. That and if you feel the need, you could always do a temp drop to be off on some Vision Quest or what not.....

[Charon]

Ben. Waterboarding? Seriously? This is the fucking Technocracy. If they want to torture you they'll fucking drop you in space for a second or two, or split your mind open and toss nasty umbra creatures in it, or they'll actually fucking drown you to the point where you're almost dead and then bring you back. They aren't gonna fucking mamby-pamby pretend to drown you.

[SirNitram]

The Technocracy doesn't torture. It simply brainwashes, fluffs, folds, and dries. While this can certainly send you insane, seriously, Aly. Be aware of what you're discussing.

Character proposal up soon. Void Engineers FOREVER!

[Charon]

Alright my character is right here right now! Character history will be up as soon as I find the time to refine it.

Name: Jason Ammons
Age: 18
Height: 1.7 meters
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown
Tradition: Euthanatos, The Lhaksmists
Essence: Dynamic
Nature: Bon Vivant
Demeanor: Bon Vivant

Attributes:

Strength 3
Dexterity 3
Stamina 2

Charisma 3
Manipulation 4
Appearance 3

Perception 3
Intelligence 2
Wits 2

Abilities:

Alertness 3
Awareness 2
Brawl 1
Streetwise 2
Subterfuge 2
Blatancy 3

Drive 1
Firearms 1
Research 1
Fast Talk 1
Gambling 3
Misdirection 2

Computer 1
Science 1
Area Knowledge 2
Chantry Politics 2

Backgrounds:

Avatar 3
Library 1
Mentor 4
Resources 2


Arete 3
Willpower 6
Spheres
Entropy 3 (Foci: A Playing card prefers Ace of Clubs, a pair of dice)
Matter 2 (Foci: A pen, a ring)
Correspondence 2 (Foci: Cellphone, Earphones)
Prime 1 (Foci: A tuning fork or anything that makes the same monotone pitch)

Merits:
Lightning Calculator 1 point
Prodigy 2 point
Prestigious Mentor 1 point
Entertainment Ties 3 point


Flaws:
Addiction (Alcohol) 1 point
Overconfident 1 point
Age 1 point
Strangeness 1 point
Haunted 3 point


History: Jason was born in the Chantry, or at least that's what he tells everyone. His mother was a Euthanatos herself, though she died while Jason was still a small child. As such Jason was taken in by the chantry for the memory of his mother. When Jason was twelve, something spectacular occured, he awoke. Jason was taken in by the Euthanatos and was given to Thirteen of Nine to be mentored in the ways of magick. Despite his aptitude for it, and his early awakening, Jason showed little interest in actually learning and by the time he was sixteen would often dissappear for days at a time into the city. Here, Jason found the poker tables, and the games of chance, and he was enthralled. Now Jason spends most of his time either locked up in his room or out in the city, enjoying the sights and the rush of the city. Whenever Jason is asked if he is actually working on anything of magical importance he swears he's setting up something big out in the city, but so far nothing has come of it and many wonder if the slacker is doing anything other than eating their food and distracting them from more important matters.

Appearance: Jason is a hair on the shorter side, decently tanned with a figure that is pretty well filled in with muscles. His brown hair is kept long and unkempt.

Gear: Several decks of cards, several dozen dice, cellphone, a fake school ring, Large muffed earphones, his lucky fedora, a car (and his license), a tuning fork, laptop.

Yeah, an Entropy mage with Blatancy and misdirection, you can be afraid now.

[Cynical Cat]

The Technocracy doesn't torture. It simply brainwashes, fluffs, folds, and dries. While this can certainly send you insane, seriously, Aly. Be aware of what you're discussing.

The Syndicate most definitely does torture.

[Dark Silver]

Just a note to those posting sheets.

Don't forget Foci. Unless you give me a reason beyond "But he's got Arete of 6" that your character has outgrown the use of Foci........I expect a full sheet.

I'll look over the point values overnight, and make a grand post so on all sheets at once.

[Cynical Cat]

I haven't written down any gear yet, including foci, as you may have noticed.

[SirNitram]

The Technocracy doesn't torture. It simply brainwashes, fluffs, folds, and dries. While this can certainly send you insane, seriously, Aly. Be aware of what you're discussing.

The Syndicate most definitely does torture.

The Syndicate also consorts with Reality Deviants. We do not like Reality Deviants. We do not like those who consort with them.

I have a gun specifically for both.