Mage

Staff: YoGrendel

Status: OPEN

Open Spots: 2

Available Paths: Acanthus, Mastigos

Available Orders: Mysterium, Silver Ladder, Free Council

Cabal: The Jericho Cabal

Safe House: None at the moment.

"Some questions will ruin you if you are denied the answer long enough."

- Jeff VanderMeer, Annihilation

Welcome to Mage!

Prologue

Jericho, North Carolina had not existed for the Awakened prior to May 24th. That isn’t to say it hadn’t existed at all - it had. But something had kept it from the notice of the Awakened. Any time the area was brought up it was quickly forgotten, some force nudging fate and minds so that the Awakened would soon forget or lose interest. There was no reason for them to go there, the world told them. Jericho was a smoothed over piece that didn’t draw the eye, a blind spot to anyone who had seen the Supernal Realms.

Until two weeks ago.

Not only did Jericho suddenly become memorable to the Awakened, a magical beacon teased the Mage Sight of every Awakened in the tri-state area in a burst of power. It was impossible to identify and felt strange even to the wisest of the Pentacle, but they did know one thing: it was Supernal magic, and it was alien to every other sense.

The project in Jericho has been kept as secret as possible. The Guardians quickly moved to suppress knowledge of the event as much as possible, but strangely assembled a council of the local Pentacle orders, including even the Free Council. Whatever awaited them in Jericho was powerful, but the Guardians of the Veil wouldn’t be able to understand the magic on their own. They would need the knowledge and understanding of the Pentacle to bring this new magic to light - and also to shield it from their enemies, particularly the Seers of the Throne, who were no doubt already making their own moves to make whatever magic this is their own.

A great cabal of Guardians was brought together to bend time and fate, to twist mind and spirit, and forge new identities for a small cabal sent in to uncover the nature of this Beacon. Each member of the Jericho Cabal was chosen for a reason, all young in Gnosis to better hide their connection to the Supernal and to better prevent powerful Gnosis from corrupting the Mystery within, and each was given the same mission: uncover the magic of the Beacon, report back, and under no circumstance should they allow the Beacon to fall into the hands of enemy forces.

You are one of those mages selected to brave the unknown for the glory of the Pentacle and to uncover a mystery that has eluded the Awakened forever.

Pray they chose wisely.

Themes

You're not from Jericho. In fact, as far back as anyone can remember, no Awakened ever has been. But one day there was a sound that rang across the Supernal Realms, bounced across the gritty film of the Fallen World, and, for those who knew what to look for, made its way back to the Awakened. Now you are a part of a research mission, an assembled cabal, to find out what the Beacon is and why Jericho has flown beneath Awakened notice for as long as it's been a town. But in the world of Wise, research is never safe and Time isn't always your friend - other, darker, mages must have felt the Beacon as well. Supernal truth could be ripped from the Pentacle once more and now you're on the front line of making sure that doesn't happen.

• You're Not From Here - Your character is new to town, but they don't seem that way to the other residents of the town. The Guardians of the Veil have arranged simple paperwork and powerful magic to twist Mind, Time, and Fate: your character has assumed the role of someone that has always been in the town of Jericho and other characters will react as such. Study your dossier carefully - other agents of the Mysteries will surely be waiting for you to slip up. [OOC Note: This does not preclude your Mage character from presenting as a From Here due to their magical disguise integrating their 'past' into the fabric of Jericho's history.]

• You Have a Mission - Each member of the Jericho Cabal has been specifically chosen for a reason. You are specialist in at least one field. This doesn't have to be occult research - science and violence have as much place in the Mysteries as magical knowledge. The fact that they are all neophyte mages is suspicious, but explained that as their souls are further away from the Mysteries they are less likely to taint the information the Beacon is sending out.

• Subtle or Die - The importance of remaining hidden has been instilled in the cabal prior to the beginning of their expedition. Enemy mages are likely and the cabal does not have back up. This is strategic recon, an expedition team. Choose your fights, and your obsessions, carefully

House Rules

Exposure

The Guardians of the Veil have hidden the Jericho Cabal behind intricate sorcery, creating personas to hide the Awakened within interwoven backstories of the small town. However no disguise is perfect and the actions of the Jericho Cabal can both weaken and strengthen their magical obfuscation. This will be represented by an Exposure Rating that affects all of the Jericho Cabal and each of their actions can influence it, though it affects them all equally.

The Exposure Rating will extend from 1-10, with 1 being the most obscured, and 10 representing a complete failure (and likely breaking) of the spell that hides them. At Exposure Rating 1, the Cabal will be granted a +3 dice bonus to concealing who they really are by hiding behind the personas created for them, lowering to a +1 bonus at Exposure 3, and then becoming +0 at Exposure 5. At Exposure 6, anyone attempting to figure out the mage for who they really are will receive a +2 bonus, a +5 bonus at Exposure 8, and then the spell is broken entirely at Exposure 10.

Casting obvious magic will raise the Exposure Rating by 1. Casting obvious magic in front of Sleepers will raise it by 2. Suffering a Paradox will raise the Exposure Rating by 3. In this fashion, it is possible for one blaze of power to break the spell entirely - making it prudent for the Jericho Cabal to remain as subtle as possible.

Lowering the Exposure Rating is harder than raising it and requires more work on the Jericho Cabal's part. Downtime actions may be spent to reaffirm their borrowed roles within the community, convincing both their enemies and the world at large that they belong, smoothing out the edges and lowering the Exposure Rating. A roll be offered. Success will lower the Rating by 1, and an exceptional will lower it by 2.

Creative Thaumaturgy

• Surestep (Forces ●●)
  • Practice: Ruling
  • Keyfactor: Duration
  • The mage manipulates gravity and friction is such way that allows the subject to walk on any surface able to support his weight be it slippery ice or a rope stretched between two buildings. Ignore any relevant tilts or conditions
    • +2 Reach: The subject can also freely walk on vertical surfaces.

• Spark (Forces ●●)
  • Practice: Rulling
  • Primary Factor: Potency
  • Suggested Rote Skills: Larcery, Science, Firearms
  • The mage can concentrate heat on a subject to create an instanteous spark that might light a particulary flammable object, like gasoline fumes or a match (anything that could be lit on fire by a single spark) on fire.

• Foreshadow (Fate ●)
  • Practice: Compelling
  • Primary Factor: Potency
  • Suggested Rote Skills: Academics, Expression, Subterfuge
  • When a mage casts this spell, he chooses a destiny (or Destiny) of which he is aware. The spell causes the strings of fate to manifest one symbol per dot of Potency of that destiny between the time of casting and when the fated event occurs. For instance, if a Sleeper is destined to get into a car crash, the spell might cause her to see a commercial about auto insurance, or she might drive by the site of a car crash the day before. The effects of this spell are normally minor and subtle, but they can be useful for getting someone to believe in the power of fate and symbolism. Alternatively, the mage might wish to cause foreshadowing to manifest for particularly obscure destinies in order to analyze a mystery from a different point of view.
    • +1 Reach: "The mage chooses how the foreshadowing manifests, but may not compel fate in such a way that it harms someone. Someone destined to die on a cruise could be shown articles, TV shows, and pictures of horrific cruise accidents, but fate could not be compelled to cause them to nearly drown the next time they go in the pool.

• Peripheral Enhancement (Prime ●)
  • Practice: Unveiling
  • Primary Factor: Duration
  • Suggested Rote Skills: Occult, Subterfuge, Investigation
  • Peripheral Mage Sight can help tell a Mage that something nearby might be a Mystery worth studying, but often times utilizing Active Mage Sight or Unveiling Magic can be a bit distracting. When this spell is cast on a Mage, however, it provides a bit more information to the subject. Whenever their Peripheral Sight is activated, they may immediately use an instant action, representing a few seconds 'attuning' to the sensation, to get a flash of insight that reveals the anything to them that a turn of watching the offending supernal power or phenomenon with Active Mage Sight might provide, as if only the character's Ruling Arcana were used.
  • For instance, if a ghost in twilight utilized a Numina, a Moros benefiting from this spell would get a flash of insight telling them a Numina was used and approximately where (though without the Death 2 attainment, they wouldn't get a sense of the ghost responsible if not already visible). A Thyrsus might get a flash of insight if a Werewolf nearby spent Essence to speed their regeneration, showing them the individual and letting them know spiritual energy was used to reduce their injuries.
  • The Potency of Peripheral Enhancement acts as a gate to the complexity of effect that may be studied so quickly. The effect level that triggered the mage’s Peripheral Mage Sight must be equal to or lower than the Potency of Peripheral Enhancement to be studied in this fashion. I.E. a Potency 3 Peripheral Enhancement will not allow quick study of a Forces 4 effect, but a Potency 4 or 5 Peripheral Enhancement would.
  • Note that by default, this does not allow a Mage to use their 1 dot Counterspell attainment, as the information is still only learned when Peripheral Sight is triggered.
  • When used on an unAwakened character, the target benefits from typical Peripheral Mage Sight for the duration, but gains no further benefit.
    • Add Any Arcanum ●: By spending 1 Mana and utilizing another Arcana, information can be provided from that Arcanum in addition to the target's Ruling Arcana.
    • +1 Reach: The information provided by the spell is reflexive and, by spending 1 Mana per instance, can provide an Awakened character with enough notice of a spell to use Counterspell even without Active Mage Sight active. They gain knowledge of the Arcana used and a sort of sixth sense of the character's Nimbus, rather than seeing it directly.

Custom Content

Mage will not be accepting Custom Content submissions for the Jericho chronicle.

Sphere Index

PCs

	Occupation	Concept
Johnathan Stockel	Podcast Host/Paranormal Investigator (Freelance)	Town Weirdo
Laura Thompson	Psychiatrist	Better Than You
Rebecca Willows	Forester / Hunter	The Loyal Herbo

NPCs

	Template	Occupation	Concept
Agnes Bellows		None/Retired	Town Scold
Erik Hill			Community Backbone
Sarah Moody		Reporter	Curiosity Kills, Satisfaction Resurrects

Plots

	Storyteller	Cast	Plot Summary
New Hope Lutheran Church	YoGrendel	Arlene Kinsey, Laura Thompson	Paladin and Espy investigate a Hallow under New Hope Lutheran Church.
Suspire	YoGrendel	Johnathan Stockel, Arlene Kinsey, Laura Thompson, Jay Watts, Rebecca Willows	The Jericho Cabal digs into a new mystery, starting with an evil talking doll.

Logs

No logs yet!

Application

Chargen

• Characters should be created per the generation rules in Mage the Awakening 2nd Edition.

• Mage characters will receive Alternate Identity 3 for free at creation to represent their Adopted Persona in Jericho.

Mage 1.5 Application

1. Basic history of the Awakened Persona. Who was the mage before Jericho?
2. Basic history of the Adopted Persona. Who is the mage within Jericho?
3. Briefly summarize the theme of this Mage game from your take on the supplied information. What does the setting mean to you?
4. Which themes would you like to explore most in this game?
5. What is the Exposure rating?
6. What is the Beacon?
7. Why is secrecy so important within the setting?
8. Why are such low-Gnosis mages being sent on such an important mission?
9. Who are the Mage NPCs in Jericho?

The Mage Character Sheet (Mage Sheet)