Mage
Status: PENDING
Open Spots: 5
Available Paths: Any
Available Orders: Any Pentacle
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!
If you'd like to create a Mage character, the application to do so will be posted to this page on June 1st, 2023.
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 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.
Game Tenets
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
Chargen
This information will be posted by June 1, 2023.
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.
Custom Content
Mage will not be accepting Custom Content submissions for the Jericho chronicle.
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