oWoD Mage: Calling all players New and Old

[Cerigo]

Old World of Darkness: Mage the Ascension*

I am currently seeking more (3 at most) players for an ongoing Mage game to be played either in IRC, IM or post. This game started as a one on one session and we are looking to expand it and further flesh out the ongoing events. The game itself has a large overarching theme and storyline with many subplots and minor events supporting the major event. As players join and we work out the placement in the story there will be more of these that tie into characters’ past, past lives, and future.

Any new players seeking to learn a new system are more than welcome. I will help you design, create, and find a place within the events that are unfolding so that you can become part of the story and not just an onlooker.


*Disclaimer: It is Mage, but with many house or stylistic rules in place. The first and foremost rule is that I will always willingly sacrifice an in print rule for the story. If it seems like it should work a certain way I will, and often do change rules on the fly. In my games, magic is often easier to pull off. It is a double edged sword, as well because, while magic may be easier, and become progressively easier the more descriptive you become, it is not without its risk. Paradox is far harsher than ever before.  Even one point of backlash can be detrimental. Set someone on fire with forces and you might get to feel all the pain you inflicted as instant karma. This rule is flexible; it changes with how devious I am feeling.

A note on paradox:  All paradox backlashes cause a flaw of some sort that is fitting for the ‘crime’ against reality that has been committed. Damage will never be the result of a paradox backlash, there will always be a flaw or other storyteller induced malady.  Set someone on fire with forces and you might get to feel all the pain you inflicted as instant karma. This rule does change with how devious I am feeling, and seldom is it as easy as the one mentioned. That being said, there are ways to mitigate such flaws.

Character Creation:

Standard template (7/5/3, 13/9/5, 7 background, 6 spheres, 1 Arête, 15 freebies, Arête cannot be raised at this time without an in-depth background. Arête is given free throughout the game after certain events or extreme character growth.)

I would like to gently discourage Virtual Adepts and Sons of Ether but a good character concept would be wonderful.

There is no need to post a character sheet and I would like to encourage the sheets to remain private to encourage role-play and character development. After the character is generated there will need to be a small sit down session where we go over the points and talk about the character’s past and how they learned those skills. Then after that we will go through a personalized awakening process.

That said, character sheets can be found at:

http://download.white-wolf.com/download/download.php?file_id=272


Metaplot: I Dream of Fire

There is a storm brewing in the spirit world, dark clouds are gathering on the horizon. They are looming over the landscape foretelling of a great turmoil that is only in its infancy. The very spirits are nervous and many have already started going into hiding. The spirits that are cornered have to be coerced to even speak of it and even then they are reluctant to speak on it at great length. The awakened mages have noticed that this storm does not exist only in the spiritual world. Everywhere more and more people are being awakened and while it is usually a time of great celebration, resources are already at a premium.

The incumbent mages have had to split their resources in not only finding and training these new additions to their family, but also in investigating the root cause of the turmoil. So far the details have been scarce.  Those that have the gift of seeing into the future are haunted with dreams of fire raining from the skies, of blood rising from the surface and joining with the clouds and then going insane before they can finish retelling the dream.

The shadow of this storm reaches far indeed and the real world has felt its black wind. People are far more nervous than usual, It is like they are all acting on an instinct to dig deep within themselves and their homes and only come out in the light of day. Something is on the horizon and it can be felt everywhere.

Current Side Plots:

I Dream of Wings: (Caitlin’s side plot)

The newly awakened mage is plagued by several winged spirits. They have so far denied identifying themselves to any of the present elder mages. So far one seems benevolent while the other that has taken an interest in her has less than pure motives. How long will they remain content with remaining in the spirit world and subtly changing her dreams? What does their presence mean? How are they not affected by the storm?

I Dream of Footsteps: (Caitlin’s side plot)

Newly awakened, Caitlin searches for her place in the world. She continues to look for a tradition that fits her lifestyle. The elder mages have so far not been forthcoming with their ways or the precise way to do magic. Distrust and suspicion abounds with her strong connection with these new found spirits.

I Dream of Rain: (Unexplored)

There is a drought that has hit the city. It is one of the worst in years. The electric grid is all but tapped out as everyone is huddling around their air conditioners trying to seek some sort of relief from the heat. Even in the dead of night the city is all but cooking. Tempers are starting to boil over and the growing spiritual storm has everyone on edge.

I Dream of Lines: (Unexplored)

The spiritual storm is not the only problem that plagues the city. The great pressure should not be enough to move the lines that have been entrenched for as long as the mages can remember. Now they are slowly starting to crawl and reshape themselves causing many well springs and junctures to shift and move. These places have always been hot beds of activity and the resultant change has caused tension in the growing communities.

I Dream of New Life: (Unexplored)

All of the hospitals are reporting that there is an increase in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. What was thought to be extremely rare, now is occurring in one out of every two children that are born in the hospitals. Many expectant mothers are avoiding the hospital at all cost. Some have even left the city itself relying on the rural hospitals for a better chance at life for their children.

These are just the current active side plots. More will be spun as they develop and characters begin to discover the deeper reasoning that lurks under the surface.

Any who are interested in joining the game or would like further information please PM me as the rest of this thread will be reserved for In Character journal entries about the events that transpire during the game.

[cat storm]

Caitlin's Journal Entry 1

I’ve decided to keep a journal.  The events of the past few days are so bizarre and I think if anything happens to me; if I don’t survive (how weird is that for a history student to say?) then someone should know.  It all started at that gallery opening.  I just had to go see the newest artist that had everyone talking about his work.  The paintings were…disturbing, to say the least.  They weren’t particularly outstanding as far as artistic merit, but they were off the meter in creep scale.

The worst part of course was the blood.  (This is even difficult to write.  It’s just so unbelievable.)  There was this painting of the alley outside my apartment, where the dumpster is.  The ground was covered with pools of blood.  Suddenly there were black feathers and I looked down and blood was rising from my hands.  I was sure I was hallucinating.  The artist spoke to me and told me I was in danger and on some journey.  I thought he was just a creep and perhaps had put something in my drink so I left.

But I consulted my books on mysticism and found a reference in "Religious Mysteries of the East.”  It didn’t have a lot of details. (If a historian is reading this you may have noticed that they are always short on details and going on about a coming apocalypse of some kind or another.) All it said was, “The books disagree on the exact meaning of such a symbol. Some say that when blood rises from the graves and reaches to the sky that it is being called up by a great spiritual evil, while others speak of it coming from the hands as sign of a great rebirth as part of the primordial essences reaching for the stars” And there was a woodcut that I swear was the vision I had at the gallery....There was a pair of hands and blood rising from them.  In the background there was a hint of wings.

Since then, things have only gotten worse, much worse.  I’ve had these dreams of…God, how do I say this?  I don’t want someone to find this and think I’ve lost my mind.  I’ll continue this tomorrow.  I need to check on something.

[cat storm]

Caitlin's Journal Entry 2

I thought to check one more book, but it had nothing new in it.  The only thing I have been able to find in the texts are the usual cryptic messages about a coming spiritual storm and the first three letters of a (okay, here comes the weirdness) demon’s name.  BEL or BAL (There may be more on the internet, but it’s mostly the usual New World Order nuts and you can’t pick the wheat from the chaff.) Of course, I know a little more now, but I want the record to be right so no one has to backtrack.

I thought to try the priest at the Russian Orthodox church, but while driving there, was strangely drawn to the Catholic Church on the way. 

((OOC – Just to show you how fun this game can be and what a fun ST Cerigo is:
Caitlin: Well, what could scare the dead?  That was an excellent question all right.  Hmm, she thought.  What next?  Perhaps an expert....Yes, there was a Russian Orthodox Church in town....Perhaps a priest could help her.
Cerigo Anlui: And yet you only find a Catholic church. There is an older priest there named Father O’Malley. He was in the papers not too long ago about performing an exorcism on a young child.
Caitlin: Since the Catholic Church was on the way to the Orthodox, Caitlin decided to stop there.  After all, the Roman Catholics had specialized in the mystical for even longer.  Besides, she really enjoyed talking to Father O'Malley.  He was a dear and had been so wonderful at the last Feed the Poor rally.))

The priest there, Father O’Malley, drinks a bit, and I was skeptical of what help he could provide, but…he showed me things.  The world is not what we think it is.  There is another way of looking at it. Think back to the old stories and myths…Magic is real.  He showed me the storm and it is here, whatever it is.  And, reluctantly, he gave me the name of the demon who seeks me.  Whatever you do, don’t say this name aloud.  I can’t stress that enough. DO NOT SPEAK HIS NAME ALOUD!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belial

"You call for me little one. I can feel you just as you feel me. Whisper my name and I am closer to you, write my name and it is but the beginnings of that whisper. Soon. Soon."

[cat storm]

Caitlin’s Journal Entry 3

Oh God, I don’t know what to do.  I’ve tried erasing it and it just keeps coming back.  I’m going to keep up with this journal as long as I can.  I had a dream…well, a visitation at the church.  I have to learn to call them what they are.  It was the second time, and he left me the second of the black feathers.  Father O’Malley says he is an angel.  So, it is not just my word, Father O’Malley can verify this.  As can a man named Lord Darius.  He’s another of these magic users…mages they call themselves. 

Father O’Malley thought it unsafe for me to return home, so I’ve gone to live with Lord Darius.  He is supposed to help me learn why I have been chosen to know all of this.  This may sound crazy..oh hell, this DOES sound crazy.  I’m supposed to be one of them…a mage…a magic user.  Lord Darius is a bit stuffy, in my opinion, but he did call in a friend of his.  Her name is Angel and she’s …odd, to say the very least.  He called her in to help with this angel. 

She called him, using the black feather, though she didn’t tell me that it would hurt him.  I dismissed her so that he could tell me his true name.  I can’t print it here.  I need to keep that secret for now.  He kissed me and it was as if the world opened up and I died a thousand times, each time being reborn into his arms with a kiss.  I saw the beginnings of the wheel of time, ….angels fighting in heaven.  It’s all real, all the myths of legends of old, they are real and you must believe them.  If you can’t believe, then you are as lost as I will be if you are reading this journal.

[cat storm]

Caitlin’s Journal Entry 4

Oh God, last night was the worst.  He found me…the demon…I can’t say his name, not even in print.  I should never have put it down in the first place.  I can’t erase it and it leads him to me.  He came to me in my dreams and …..did things.  He has ways of hurting you that you can’t imagine and don’t want to.  He gets into your mind and twists your thoughts and turns them against you until you don’t know what you want anymore.

He wants my name, but I haven’t given it to him yet.  It was hard.  He tortured me in ways I blush to put down here.  Should you find yourself in his grasp, be prepared and know that he lies.  No matter what he offers, you must resist.  I know I have to tell this, but find it so embarrassing.  Were it not that so much rides on this, I would be unable to tell such a thing.  He started with knives that cut me in thousands of places at once and the pain was unbearable.  Then he turned it to pleasure and made me like it. 

When it was over and I had finally driven him from my mind, I lay there, a sick hot feeling in the pit of my stomach. I could neither deny the pleasure my body had felt, nor could I stomach the idea of how it had been accomplished.  Should he come to you, I pray that you can resist.  You must just keep telling yourself that you do not choose this, no matter what he offers and he will offer much.  He takes you where you are the weakest and preys on your fears and desires.

Choice, it comes down to choice doesn't my dear sweet girl? You think you have it but it is an illusion, a fairy tale that makes you feel safe. I do not need your name. I never did. I know who you are. I know what you are.
I
AM
COMING
CAITLIN