nWoD Mage Chronicle

The other day I brought up an idea to get a Mage chronicle going for nWoD since there seemed to be interest in the venue and I have been feeling somewhat creative the past few weeks. We discussed a few things as a group there but I said that I would start a forum thread so we can discuss things like character creation, what type of game we all want to play, and how it can be connected with RP already in motion.

1. Setting- I have come up with a few ideas for a setting using some of the criteria you all wanted to use. I figured I would throw out a few pitches for everyone to decided upon before I write up a whole setting that potentially no one would have interest in playing. So...

*The October Country- A Cabal of Apostates controlled a small coastal town on the New England Shore, holding it from both Pentacle Mages and Seer wizards. Recently the Cabal has dissapeared, and the Heirarch of a nearby city wants to form an action committee of Mages to go and investigate. This is a more Lovecraftian tale that focuses on how inhumane the ascended can become when left to their own devices. This game will focus on the horror and investigation aspects of the World of Darkness.

*The Lie- Vegas is a perfect personification of the Lie the Exarchs want us to believe. Its a beautiful cage that destroys lives, enslaves souls through addiction, and uses distraction to blind the Masses to the manipulations of the Gods. The Pentacle and Seers both fight to control the city, and therefore control the way in which the Lie is perceived. This is a more of an action and politics oriented chronicle

*Generic- I could use Boston Unveiled or World of Darkness Chicago, though I prefer not to. Or, post ideas you guys have for a chronicle you would like to play in if none of these options appeal to you.


2. Characters- I like starting level characters when a bunch of people are learning the game, which will be the case with about half the players ive talked to so far. Someone mentioned a 25xp bonus at character creation, though, so discuss which was you want to go. I can always scale adventures.

3. Size- I would like maybe 10 people tops, and maybe two cabals that I can go through weekly or semi-weekly storylines with. Anymore and some people are gonna need to step up to help keep people entertained. But, the less distractions I have the more adventures I can get done

4. nWoD Mages only- I want to tell a Mage Chronicle. This is the only thing im really inflexible on.

5. Rp With others: I don't care. Just dont bring them into a Mage chronicle unless they are characters made by the rules above.

-Molly

Quick edit after I submitted the post: This is the player of Samuel Pierce / Wendel -Wendy- Windam / Warren -Slick- Whateverhislastnameis / Jeffery Morgan / assorted others.

Setting:

I'm torn, because I absolutely adore both of your ideas. They're both rife with possibilities, and both are totally my kind of game. I'm almost more tempted to say I prefer the Vegas idea, simply because I'm already in a few Lovecraftian-style games at the moment (and, indeed, I run them almost exclusively). I think my vote is for Vegas, but it's not set-in-stone, and I'd be totally willing to do the other as well. In fact, I'll more than likely make a character for each, just in case!

Characters:

I always prefer starting level characters, and I vote against the 25 xp boost. However, if you decided differently, I'll back ya.

I'm gonna get started tossing ideas around. I'm gonna try to break out of my normal box and make some character types I don't normally play!

Edit: Ended up just making the one character. I was gonna do two, but then I did the one, and I like him, so I'm just gonna stick with him.

I am fine with whatever setting, both look interesting to me so it's whatever!

As for starting XP, I just like having a small cushion to help balance out the character. Even 10xp would be fine enough. However, basic starting characters are fine with me too. I'm just eager to play a fun mage game.

-Tosses in the two cents-

I tend to prefer "The Lie" but the majority of my characters are social ones not combat oriented so you are aware.

Politics from an Apostates point of view would feel.. weird to me but then I've tried it before.

I like the 25 xp 'cushion' to fleshing out the character but if so I'd recommend a 10/15 towards Mage related ideals such as Gnosis, Arcana, beginning rotes etc with the possibility of 35 with lowering of Wisdom.

.02

I'm willing to roll up a character for this setting. Love both ideas, though Vegas seems interesting to me. Going to hash out a mage in the next couple of days, but I'm new to the game.

The Consillium:
The Pentacle on the other hand is divided into what can loosely be viewed as different mobs. Each has an idea how they want the lie to be perceived, which has caused the Pentacle to fracture as they jockey and play politics to see whose vision controls reality. This fractiousness is their downfall, and what causes the Seers to gain more and more power over reality. While the Seers have control over the image of Vegas the Pentacle controls the underworld, which is still at war to be relevant in the World of Darkness Vegas. They are the festering truth at the core of the lie, a cancer that has the ability to spread out of control and poison the whole of the body.

The Adamantine Arrow:
The Adamantine Arrows are the front line soldiers in this battle. They want the populace to see the Lie for what it is and rise up in violent resistance. They want to glorify violence and fuel the wrath of the people to take action in eventually purging Vegas of the decadence contained within. They act as the Enforcers of the Pentacle, the strong arms that kidnap, perform hits, and generally disprove the notion that Las Vegas is a safe city to vacation in.

The Adamantine Arrows have no master in their ranks, and are mostly young turks lashing out as they look to make a name for themselves. Being the front line soldiers in the war their numbers are always in constant flux. There are three Cabals of Arrows that operate within Vegas. Fortune’s Folly is the eldest of the Cabals, and they are generally the one the other Orders turn to when muscle is needed. Precision has the task of trying to mitigate the control the Seers have over the military bases in the region. The Rats are the youngest of the three and are tasked of keeping mortal gangs in line.

The Guardians of the Veil:
The Guardians of the Veil do not have a unified vision; instead they have a mission. Through their control of the local labor unions they are trying to spread inefficiency into and disrupt everything Vegas; from the construction boom that was the hallmark of Vegas until a few years ago, to the dealers at the tables, to the actors and actress’ in the Vegas stage shows and movies that are filmed here. When the Guardians get involved they managed to jack up prices, destroy materials, and generally make every situation as uncivil as they possibly can.

With the Orders at each other’s throats the GOV is the only thing holding full blown civil war away from the Pentacle. They act as the pivot the Consillium balances on, and they let it be known that they have this power. Two Cabals of Guardians call Vegas home. The eldest, containing the Guardians only Master, is called Black Pyramid. They are the prime movers and shakers in Consillium Politics. They also are the ones who control the Unions, and fight a proxy war against the Consortium and Corporations that run Vegas. The Oath are generally viewed as Black Pyramid’s lackeys, and it is they who are generally given the unenviable task of ensuring Atlantean Law is followed.

The Mysterium:
The Mysterium’s work in Vegas is at once the most overlooked but one of the most critical for the success of the Pentacle in the war against the Lie. They collect, collate, and distribute information about both the Seers mystical and mundane might. They peel the layers of the Seer’s conspiracy back, studying them for any weakness where the Pentacle might strike. The ignorance the Lie represents is anathema to the Mysterium as it destroys the knowledge they so hope to gather. The Mysterium wants to expose the ignorance that Las Vegas has come to represent by showing the harmful effects of addiction to ones vices.

There are two active Cabal’s representing the Mysterium. The Terminus is a group of affluent investors who snatched up the boomtowns around Vegas when the economy tanked. They use these properties for two things; creating drugs like Meth and crack and to smuggle drugs and artifacts in from south of the border. The Enlightened Ones control the campuses of UNLV, and houses the two Masters of the Mysterium. They are the ones left in charge of gathering knowledge on the seers might.

The Silver Ladder:
The Silver Ladder is without a doubt the leader of the Vegas Consillium. They are the ones who created the structure upon which the Vegas Pentacle functions by ensuring each Orders area of influence don’t overlap. Of all the Orders they don’t believe the Lie to necessarily be a bad thing, except that it’s controlled by the wrong people. The Silver Ladder believes that the Lie needs to be torn down, the Seers destroyed, then another Lie to be built from the ashes as a symbol of Atlantis – a Society ruled by the enlightened. The Vegas Silver Ladder has its fingers in a lot of pies; Prostitution, investment schemes, creative bookkeeping through front companies, helping to move the Mysterium’s drugs from producer to consumer, and funding all the other Orders schemes.

The Silver Ladder controls most of the Positions within the Consillium - The Heirarch, Sentinel, and Provost. Each of these leadership positions belongs to one of the Cabal’s in the Silver Ladder. The Orange Throne is the Heirarch’s Cabal and generally in charge of the Money Laundering for the other Orders Enterprises. Their network of influence also helps move the Terminus’ product to the masses while taking a cut of each sale. The Sentinel belongs to a Cabal named Lush Entertainment, who take a cut out of most of the legal prostitution outside city limits. The provost’s Cabal, FRR, doesn’t really have a firm sphere of influence in the mortal sphere but is highly respected as organizers and tacticians in Awakened circles.

The Free Council
The Free Council spreads anarchy and fear as a foil to the order that the Seers represent. They were never officially given a task within the rigid structure of the war against the Lie, but instead they carved one out on their own. Their work involves identity theft, online gambling schemes, and subverting the casino’s technology. Where the Seers work to give hope to those they are robbing blind the Free Council takes in an act of violation. Where the Seers attempt to use the Media to enforce the Lie the Free Council uses Pirate Radio, Live streams, and online forums to fight an information campaign.

The Free Council has two Cabals that are active, and both work closely enough together that most consider them one Cabal. The Dune Warriors focus on fighting the misinformation campaign and is led by the Free Councils Master on the Council. The second Cabal, The LV Standards, focus more on breaking open casino security, slot machines, and generally make the technology running Vegas as useless as possible.

Apostates:
Vegas is rife with Apostacy. While the Apostates are fractured groups they are given great leeway in this city as very few resources can be expended on anything but the war. There is no ‘seat of Apostates’ on the council, nor are they given any rights a full citizen of the Consillium is, but they are courted and paid well for services rendered to both sides of the fight. If anything the Apostates can charge very high sums in knowledge, money, or relics to perform what can best be described as contractor/mercenary work.


The Seers of the Throne:
The Seers of the Throne at the moment control the way the Lie is perceived. The Seers represent the corruption of Order; the corrupt official, the vigilante cop, and the self-righteous Priest. They control the casinos through a Consortium of owners that works closely with the city Government and the Media to propagate a specific image, a unified vision of happiness in servitude. The fingers of the Seers extend all the way out to the Military bases in the Arizona deserts. The Leader of the local Seers, the Lord Grey, spends most of his time out in Fort Irwin.

OOC Notes:

1. There will be more posted in this thread about the Consillium, its people, and the meeting places that the Pentacle Gathers. One of the reasons is because I want to give the chance to have peoples Mentor and Status merits mean something. The other reason is that I haven't had time to finish everything just yet.

2. If you disagree and/or don't like something let me know. In this stage of the setting we still have a chance to change things that don't feel right. You guys have to play in this game, so it doesn't feel right to have to shoehorn you into my vision when it should be a shared vision.

3. All Characters begin the game with +25 XP. On top of this you can get more XP by lowering your morality.

4. We have more than a few people who this will be their first experience playing nMage, and nWoD in general. I ask that all players in the chronicle have patience and help the new people.

5. Ive seen a lot of Chronicles get bogged down in minutiae. So, I have no problems if other people run the NPCs for small scenes like learning abilities. When we have the NPCs all finished and accounted for I will have RP notes. One caveat though, the person running the scene must be part of the Chronicle.

6. On the same note I don't care if you run adventures for one another when I can't be around. I know my schedule sucks, and helping to keep everyone entertained will be a shared responsibility. Two caveats with this, though. One: the person running the scene must be part of the Chronicle. Two: Give me a heads up if you can, or a write up afterwords for when I next log in.