Hogwarts: Awakened University (Mage: the Awakening 2e, LGBTQ+ friendly)

Started by TheKhan, June 23, 2019, 12:29:24 AM

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TheKhan

Legends say four mages ascended into the Supernal Realms a thousand years ago. The many supposed deeds of Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin are famous amongst the Awakened of the British Isles, but one thing is certain. In their wake, they left on of the greatest collections of magic the world has ever seen.

Hogwarts University.

Even though Awakenings are not supposed to follow bloodlines, families have attended the university for centuries, one after the other. There is no registrar's office or staff who oversee admissions. The castle knows when its students have confronted the Lie and are ready for its lessons. After the young mage awakens to the magical world around them, a letter in green ink appears on their doorstep that reads as follows:

HOGWARTS UNIVERSITY of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Chancellor: Albus Dumbledore
(Magister of the United Kingdom, High Seer of the Pentacle, Hierarch of Hogmead)

Dear Mr/Ms. [Surname],
Congratulations on your Awakening. We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts University of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed your tickets and residency information.
Term begins on 1 September. Rendezvous King’s Cross Station in London. Do not worry about looking for us, our representatives will find you. We look forward to your attendance.

Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Hogsmead Provost


Then off they pop into the highlands of Scotland at the start of term to discover the secrets of the universe - and of themselves. Life is never that easy for a mage though. Dangerous await, be it secrets best left uncovered, treacherous ruins, or all manner of creatures that don’t appreciate wizards and witches prying in their business. Then of course there are the threats lurking in the shadows like the Seers of the Throne, looking to take advantage of the unwary, and Death Eaters, who seek the return of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Name to his golden throne…



The Premise
This is a game that takes the general premise of Harry Potter, ages it up to an adult level, and blends it with the setting of Mage: the Awakening. In this world, witches and wizards are known as mages or the Awakened. They undergo an event called the Awakening, which allows them to see the symbols that underpin reality and channel the magic that flows through them. How Hogwarts came to be is a mystery, but it provides a magical education for a select number of these mages, teaching them to wield their magic without creating Paradoxes, the chaotic fallout of spells that have been twisted by the Abyss, the insane reality of lies that separates most people from Truth. The general backstory of Harry Potter still happened: Voldemort tried to kill Harry as a baby, the spell didn’t work, and Harry was raised in the mortal world despite his fame among mages.

The details, though, are different and that is where we get our story from. Its (mostly) the same premise opperating in a very, very universe.

Character Creation
The Characters
I’m looking for between 2 and 6 players for this game. Ideally, we’d have three people playing the Power Trio and a couple of supporting/original characters who are elevated to being one of the main characters. Here is the list of characters as it stands. You can claim a spot by posting a character sheet.

Harry:
Ron:
Hermione:
[Open]: 
[Open]:
[Open]:

Age: Harry and co are 20 at the start of this campaign. This is so Ginny, Luna, and the Creeveys can be part of the campaign and still be younger than the Trio.
Background: You can pick any student at Hogwarts or you can create an original character of your own, but they must be students. Characters do need to be able to work together. If Harry and Draco both end up getting picked, they don’t have to be friends (although they could), but they do have to work together frequently. I don’t need a huge amount of background, but you should tell me about you character’s pre-Awakening life, how they experienced their Awakening, and how they reacted to the Supernal World around them.
As a point of worldbuilding, yes, students who come from families with a history of Awakening will know that magic is out there, but they still have limited exposure to it before Awakening. The way the metaphysics works,  if they get too exposed they won’t Awaken and end up as a Squib. There’s probably an interesting background for Neville in there somewhere.
Personality: Your character needs to be trusting enough to work with others. Keeping a game cohesive on the boards is hard enough with characters getting sarcastic with one another.
Appearance: As you please, although a picture is required so that I can use it on maps, although it doesn’t have to be a perfect representation of your character. Remember that your characters are adults and to follow E!’s policies on photos.
Age: 19+ only. No exceptions.

Books: Anything from the Chronicles of Darkness gameline (aka New World of Darkness 2e). Mage 2e is a must and this would be an excellent chance to play with Signs of Sorcery.
Experience: You will start the game as a newly Awakened Mage. This is detailed on pg 133 of Signs of Sorcery, but I will summarize it below
Aspirations: You will have an additional short term Aspiration to help with experience gain.
Nimbus: Nothing special year, just don’t forget to build your Nimbus Tilt and please give me a description of what other Mages will perceive through their Sight.

Newly Awakened Template
The following changes are made during character creation.
Arcana: Your character starts with one dot in one of her Ruling Arcana and two dots in the other.
Resistance Attributes: Your character gains one extra dot in Composure, Resolve, or Stamina.
Gnosis: Your character has Gnosis 1.
Wisdom: Your Wisdom starts at eight dots.
Praxis: You have the potential to gain a Praxis, but have not the Praxis itself. You may spend a Willpower point during spellcasting to declare that spell your Praxis.
Magical Tool: You do not yet have a dedicated tool, although you may dedicate one via the regular rules (and likely teacher instruction).
Orderless: You character does not have an Order, or the accompanying dot in Occult, dot in Order Status, rotes, rote skills, or the High Speech Merit. This will be gained through the course of play.



Rating
This game will be Bondage Exotic.

Expectations
Regular Posting: Shit happens, so I try not to be a tyrant about post rates, but please commit to posting twice a week. A number of my games a stalled out recently simply because people stopped interacting. I will do everything I can to prevent that from my end, but I believe it will help if you can commit to all least twice weekly. If extenuating circumstances make that untenable once the game is underway, talk to me and we’ll work something out, just please don’t vanish with no notice.

Also, Mage is a game about investigation and I expect there will be a lot of it in this chronicle. Please make sure that is your jam and you’ll be willing to take initiative when searching for clues.

Cooperative Play: Basically, don’t be a jerk. Don’t troll other people or start fights. We are all here to have fun. Me having to play peacekeeper is anti-fun.

Communication: Talk to me (and each other). Let me know what you’d like to see/experience. If there is something you’d like to see or is uncomfortable, let me know.

FAQ
I know nothing about Mage or Chronicles of Darkness! Can I join?
Abso-freakin-lutely!

Can we use the alternate Awakenings from Signs of Sorcery?
For sure! Just make a note of which one you are using.

Are the Hogwarts House still going to play a role?
Definitely! They will basically act as dorms, but classes/activities will be much more mixed than in the novels. In fact, you’d likely find out which House you are a part of with you command performance acceptance letter, so you can go ahead and choose your house at character creation.

Inspiration
Obviously, the primary inspiration for this game is the Harry Potter series, but here are some other works that are on my mind for this one:

Sandman
The King in Yellow
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Once Upon A Time
The Matrix
Doctor Strange



TheKhan

There's always something I forget in the first post. If you need a text version of the Mage character sheet, I have one in the spoiler below.

character sheet
Path:
Order:
Legacy:
Attributes: Intelligence , Wits , Resolve ; Strength , Dexterity , Stamina ; Presence ,
Manipulation , Composure
Skills:
Willpower:
Wisdom:
Virtue:
Vice:
Obsessions:
Aspirations:
Initiative:
Defense:
Speed:

Health:
Gnosis:
Mana/per turn:
Arcana:
Dedicated Magical Tool:
Nimbus Tilt:
Attainments:
Praxes:
Rotes: