Mage The Awakening 1st Edition Jumpchain
Mage The Awakening 1st Edition Jumpchain
Mage The Awakening 1st Edition Jumpchain
v. 1.1
Backstory
You once again step into a world all too similar to the one you originally came from. A
world of darkness. Within its shadows there dwell things that mortal man was never meant to
know. Vampires, changelings and now...mages. Scions of the ancient empire of Atlantis, these
people have “Awakened” from the lie, have crossed a vast and ever widening abyss to the realms
supernal and returned to tell the tale. Just as Plato declared, the world we see is but a shadow of
a truer, more pure world of raw ideals and truths. The supernal realms are that truth. Mages, by
making the journey and signing their name to a watchtower, establish a sympathetic connection,
allowing them to draw down the supernal truths to the fallen world...at least for a while.
The abyss separates the supernal and fallen realms. The abyss is not an empty void, for
the things that compose it stare back. Whenever a mage casts a vulgar spell (one that is
obviously magical) outside of a prepared area, a paradox is invoked. This paradox is the result
of the lie that is the fallen world and the bickering nascent features of the abyss corrupting the
true supernal energies, perverting them into something harmful for the caster. Sometimes this is
represented as backlash to the will worker’s body, other times it is a rampant bedlam throughout
the area related to the spell...and worst of all, sometimes an entity from the abyss will find a way
to piggyback off the spell. Demons of the abyss are horrific creatures, far removed from the
supernal vision of demons; resistant if not outright immune to supernal magic, they seek to
enforce the lie and destroy the works of mages in any way they can. The chances of a paradox
are magnified when viewed by sleepers; normal humans without a connection to the supernal
realm. This is the worst aspect of the lie, as it forces all who believe it to enforce it, and punish
any who seek to show the truth.
Thus begins the journey of a mage. One who has touched the realms supernal and
returned to a world in desperate need of fixing. While you may call upon the supernal mysteries
for aid, they must always be subtle, so that neither sleepers nor the world itself can tell you are
doing magic, lest you invoke a paradox. You will find others like you shortly, those who have
grouped themselves together into a loose collective organization known as the “Pentacle
Orders.” They carry with them the knowledge of the first Mage’s of Ancient Atlantis, passing on
the stories and truths of the supernal realms for the benefit of all...or so they claim.
This is a dangerous and frightening world, and the threats Mage's face are not of magical
origin alone. Mages in particular are well known for seeking out trouble and the mysteries of the
fallen world, so that they might in turn better find a way to reflect the truths of the supernal in it.
To that end, you will need these;
+1000 CP
Origins
Dropin (free); Interesting. Most Mages are born in the fallen world, Awaken one day and are
summoned to the realms supernal by the watchtowers. You however, being from an entirely
different world, have entered on the far side of things. You began your journey in the Realms
Supernal, surrounded on all sides by inhospitable terrain and its native denizens. Needless to say
your sudden drop into a territory that was neither prepared or welcoming to you could have gone
better. It took some time, but eventually, by wit or guile, charisma or strength of arms, you
managed to find the path to the fallen world and out of this nightmare. That path just so
happened to be through the nearest watchtower. Signing your name to it, you found a platonic
road that would bring you to your final destination. While most mages are too exhausted or
enraptured by their sudden sympathetic connection, you were all too lucid. As you traveled to
the fallen world, you were able to look out and see the hateful abyss. A yawning chasm of vitriol
whose mass and terror dwarfed all reason. Most importantly, you saw the monstrous denizens
that composed it...and how with burning glares, in minds smaller than atoms, they recognized
your existence...and hated you for it. You enter the fallen world suddenly, alone, without friends
or family. But your journey has not been in vain. You now possess a direct channel to the
Supernal realms, and are keenly aware of the dangers that such a channel engenders.
Academic (100); Throughout your life in this world you have devoted yourself to scholarly
pursuits. Perhaps you were driven to excel academically, always seeking high marks in school.
Maybe you found comfort in this information, using it as an escape from an otherwise untenable
situation. Or maybe you sought out knowledge for your own sake, not simply content knowing
what everyone else did, feeling you needed to take your studies further. Whatever the reason,
you have found that in this life, the most important thing to you is knowledge, information and
understanding. Given your studies, it was inevitable that you would eventually come across a bit
of information that hailed from the glory days of Atlantis. While most sleepers would have
passed this off as nonsense, this information acted as the catalyst for your awakening. You were
sucked into a mystery play and as you journeyed to your watchtower, you were tested by the
supernal realms denizens. In order to reach your watchtower, your knowledge and memory were
pushed to their upper limits, straining to find answers to the problems they presented at every
turn. Yet it was in this struggle that they inexplicably taught you. And as a proper student, you
learned and were granted access to the watchtower. You have now signed your name on your
chosen watchtower and return to the fallen world, wiser than you were before.
Brute (100); Throughout your life you have devoted yourself to developing your strength and
endurance. You likely sought out athletics and other physical activities so that you could push
your body well beyond its limits. Or perhaps you did not take this conception of “strength” so
literally, instead focusing on mental fortitude and strength of character, making you an unbent
bastion in an otherwise furious maelstrom. Or maybe you simply imposed your strength on
others, seeking to overcome them in your own particular version of “survival of the fittest”.
Whatever path you chose to interpret “strength” as, it is this strength, this fortitude that you
possess that has become the dominant factor in your life. The day of your awakening was like
many others. You once again sought to push the limits of your endurance and in the process
exhausted yourself. Falling unconscious you found yourself in a dream that was all too real.
With the supernal realm of your watchtower laid before you, you quickly found adversity in
nearly every step you took towards it. As if the very land itself fought against you, pushing you
back in an attempt to return you once more to the fallen world. You were made of stronger stuff
however, and while others may have given up or stopped, you continued moving forward
undaunted. It was this tenacity and grit that allowed you to reach your watchtower and sign your
name. While the significance of your journey may not have dawned upon you yet, you prove to
yourself once again that no matter the circumstances, you will not break.
Socialite (100); During your life in this world, you found satisfaction in interacting with other
people. It is likely that you became a social butterfly of sorts, seeking to forge bonds of
friendship and trust. Or perhaps you weren’t interested in friendship, instead finding satisfaction
in understanding the life experiences of others. Or maybe even this was beyond your aim,
instead seeking the material gains that friends in high places brought you. Whatever your
reasons, the social bonds and experiences you have obtained are the center of your life here.
Your awakening began in the most unusual of circumstances; a festive soiree...or perhaps a
party...or shindig...or whatever you crazy kids are calling them these days. It was during this
event that the ground beneath you fell away, and the social gathering you had been attending was
transformed into an impossible landscape with impossible features and denizens. The creatures
engaged you, perhaps in conversation or maybe in a more gutteral or savage manner. It felt like
years as you worked to gain the attention of the impossible beings in this alien world, but in time
they came to understand, and even trust you. After what could have been a lifetime, you were
lead to the watchtower and granted the right to sign your name. With your name signed, you
awoke, lying in your old bed, your watch indicating the date, three days later. The voices and
whispers of the denizens remain with you however, the supernal world leaving its mark and
gifting you with a new kind of charisma. One you are eager to put to use in this fallen world.
Age ; 2d8+14 or choose for 50 CP Gender ; Remains the same or change for 50 CP
Starting Location
Roll 1d8 to determine your starting location or pay 50 CP to choose.
1 Boston (U.S.A)
2 London (Great Britain)
3 Johannesberg (South Africa)
4 New Delhi (India)
5 Hong Kong (China)
6 Brisbane (Australia)
7 St. Petersburg (Russia)
8 Free choice
Watchtower
(Choose one)
Acanthus ; The Watchtower of the Lunargent Thorn. Amidst the supernal realm of Arcadia, in
the Kingdom of Enchantment and the abode of the Fae. It is in this realm that time branches into
many rivers, futures are spent as coin and a single wrong utterance could tie one's fate to a fae
lord forever. Thankfully, your stay was brief but you still carry the embodiment of its ideals
within your soul. Those who are called to this watchtower tend to be young, or have cast off
their old life in search of a new one. Many believe that mages of this watchtower are flighty or
immature, their goals and actions varying greatly from one day to the next. Mages of the
Acanthus watchtower know the truth however, as they recognize that no fate is truly ordained, no
path is truly linear, and even the flow of time, while not reversed, may be diverted. Their ruling
Arcanum are Fate and Time while their inferior Arcana is Forces.
Mastigos ; The Watchtower of the Iron Gauntlet. Located in the supernal realm of
Pandemonium, the Kingdom of Nightmares and the home of Demons. In this realm, the
comforts of tools and wealth are distinctly absent, only the collection of thoughts and idea
remain. Unfortunately, those are quickly torn from one’s skull by demons who scatter them
across a land with alien geometry, where distance is at once an impenetrable barrier and a
forgotten comfort. You are one of the lucky ones to escape from this trial by fire intact and have
learned the horrid lessons those demons sought to teach in their cruelty. Mastigos mages tend to
be viewed as amoral manipulators and social climbers, usually filled with ambition and
seemingly low compunction of who is harmed in the process. The Mastigos Mage knows
differently however, understanding the necessary discipline and responsibility that comes from
delving into others minds and affecting targets at distances that are never as great as they may
appear. Their ruling Arcanum are Mind and Space while their inferior Arcana is Matter.
Moros ; The Watchtower of the Lead Coin. It is deep within the cold realm of Stygia, the
Kingdom of Crypts and the resting place of Shades. In this realm, the dead are said to walk, but
this is a lie. They do not walk, they fly. And they are not dead, but rather the embodiment of
death itself. In this land, there are no higher conceptions beyond the state of eternal death and
the harsh unforgiving matter that defines the nonliving. You have proven yourself to the Shades
of this land and signed your name to the watchtower. You find your life greatly sobered, but at
the same time more fulfilled knowing how it will ultimately end. Those called to this path often
had a connection to death and the dead before their awakening. They tend to be morose and
socially ostracized as all who deal with death are, but they find peace and even solace in this.
Alternatively, as death extends into that which is nonliving and static, Moros mages may instead
be plutocrats or industrialists who are familiar with material wealth. Moros mages know how to
recombine and assemble matter into more useful forms, as well as how to call upon the dead for
aid, or exorcise them from a haunted area. Their ruling Arcanum are Death and Matter while
their inferior Arcana is Spirit.
Obrimos ; The Watchtower of the Golden Key. This tower rises high amidst the realm of
Aether, the kingdom of the Celestial Spheres and the domain of Angels. The journey through the
Supernal realm of Aether is often a chaotic and blinding experience. It is filled with divine light
and blazing fire, magic in its purest unbound form, roiling in a state of perpetual creation and
rebirth. Its denizens, the Angels serve an unknown “divinity” that may be and has been
interpreted in as many ways as there are stars in the sky. Those called to the Obrimos
watchtower tend to be fighters, people who have struggled all their life and are well acquainted
with conflict. As a result of their journey to the watchtower their resolve is strengthened as they
become agents of “the divine”. What that is or who it is interpreted varies drastically from one
Obrimos Mage to another, but all agree that it certainly exists, and have become stronger for it.
With this revelation they have gained the ability to manipulate raw energy; fire, electricity, light,
all bend at their command. In addition they have access to the power of Prime, the distilled raw
essence of magic itself, allowing them a unique “metamagic” of sorts. Their ruling Arcanum
are Forces and Prime and their inferior Arcana is Death.
Thyrsus ; The Watchtower of the Stonebook. Found in the Supernal realm of the Primal Wild,
within the Kingdom of Totems and the territory of Beasts. Within this realm every wild and
untamed area in the fallen world is represented with wild exaggerations and true platonic forms.
While its inhabitants may look the same as their fallen counterparts, they are a matter of scale
more massive; trees are taller, beasts larger, terrain more treacherous and weather more
powerful. While not outright hostile to humans, it discourages the complex thoughts of humans,
forcing them to adapt to a more instinctual and animalistic level in order to survive, much less
make it to the watchtower. Those who are drawn to this path usually already possess a strong
connection to life, or the pulse of the natural and spiritual world. This connection is only
heightened with access to the supernal mysteries, and it grants them a measure of control over
living beings and spiritual forces. Thyrsus mages are the best at healing out of all the
watchtowers, and may even transform or create new life. Likewise they easily communicate
with spirits, able to make such avatars do their bidding or grant them new knowledge. Their
primary Arcanum are Life and Spirit and their inferior Arcana is Mind.
Pentacle Order
(Choose one to start with, but you may change allegiances within the jump)
Adamantine Arrow ; Shortly after your awakening, you found yourself beset upon by a
group of banishers; insane mages who viewed their awakening as a curse and now seek to use
their magic to suppress or kill other mages. You fended them off admirably, at least for a time,
but as the battle turned in their favor you were suddenly joined by a group of swordwielding,
guntoting, fireball slinging mages, all moving and fighting in a carefully coordinated assault.
Integrating yourself into their counterattack, you and the group managed to overcome the
banishers, putting an end to their hateful crusade once and for all. As a result of your prowess, in
battle and tactical acumen, the mages invited you to join them as an initiate and told you of the
Adamantine Arrow. Magic draws fear and danger from all sides, so it is only natural that Mages
created a special class of people specifically for protecting them from the most pressing and
dangerous threats. The Adamantine Arrow is the modern incarnation of this ideology, training
its members to be warriordiplomats, able to resolve potential conflicts before they arise, and put
them to bed permanently if they get out of hand.
The path to becoming a full member however is long and difficult, They will dangle the
secrets of battle magic before you, but will not impart them until you show sufficient loyalty and
deference to their cause. Still, they will educate you, even if only slowly at first. You will be
provided with a Master who will seek to humble and teach you. They will likely train you in
diplomacy, strategy, tactics, physical combat and mystical battle. In turn you must show them
respect and carry out any orders they may give you. Including the ones that involve clearing out
scores of mystical baddies. You are a part of something greater now and will serve as both the
sword and shield to the rest of the Awakened.
Free Council ; Like a sensible modern person, one of the first things you did after
discovering your new magic was to look it up on the internet. While your initial searches turned
up what you could best describe as garbage, you kept at it, recognizing symbols and key phrases
that you recalled from your Awakening. You delved further, following the symbols. At first
they seemed to just link together in a simple webring, but as you examined it you found it
especially peculiar. The messages and posts seemed to be inconsistent; one post talking about
quantum mechanics, the other modern philosophy and still another about historical combat.
Most of them were all three at once. It may have taken you some time but when you found it, it
hit you like a train. Their constant references and calls to diverse media were a complex cipher,
seemingly unique to each person. One which needed to be decoded, analyzed and run through a
similar unique but heavily coded cipher key. Any message or response not coded in such a
precise and unique manner was almost always deleted right away. After mastering the
extraneous references and coded cipher, you composed your first message and were immediately
met with a hearty congratulations...and a link to an entirely different site. One bearing the
exciting banner “Welcome to the Free Council.”
You have passed the test and been welcomed amongst the libertines of the Free Council.
Out of all the orders they are the youngest, emerging at the end of the 1800’s with the goal of
bringing magic and Awakened society into the modern era. They have abandoned the older
models of paranoid masters and subservient apprentices for a more eclectic organization of
democracy. Instead they exist as a rather loose organization that pools its resources and
information together, and acts enmasse by a majority vote. The Free Council tends to be looked
down upon by the other orders as neophytes who do not know what they are doing, but the
philosophies and freeexchange of ideas amongst its members have easily put it on an even
playing field against the paranoid secrecy of the other orders. While it does not mentor its
members, they are all free to ask questions of each other, share research and organize together to
advance their understanding of magic for mutual benefit. Although all of its information is
available to everyone who is a part of the order, much of the more advanced formulae and
teachings are extremely complex and require a great deal of time and effort to simply understand,
much less put into practice. Ultimately, Free Council mages become combinations of engineers,
anthropologists and guerilla fighters, fulfilling an eclectic and much needed niche in Awakened
society.
Guardians of the Veil ; It was not long before you were found. Your awakening did not
go unnoticed and the people who did notice it were not kind. They were however interested in
you, and quite literally, made you an offer you couldn’t refuse. They began by giving you small
things, secrets, packages, even a person or two. The orders were simple “keep them safe and tell
no one.” They rewarded you for your help of course, giving you better information on using
your magic to conceal yourself or keep your mouth shut. Then the orders got harder. “Don’t tell
the people banging on the front door the secret.” “Deliver the package to the docks at midnight.”
“Make sure the person doesn’t go anywhere without you knowing about it.” Their secrets kept
coming as well, the knowledge they granted, invaluable. You wondered if all of this was worth
it, even as the danger escalated and the threat to your person increased. You decided it was, and
continued to do their dirty work, even going so far as to keep their secrets during intense,
perhaps even violent interrogation. It did come however, the day when they asked you to do
something so wrong, that you knew you could not go through with it. And you realized that if
this is what they truly needed...then you could not do it. You began plans to escape, go to
ground and hide from them forever if need be. But you were quickly stopped, as a person of
great importance to the order showed up in your safehouse. They revealed to you that this was
indeed part of your final test. Their order did not desire mindless machines doing their bidding,
but rather those who would do what was both necessary AND right. As a result they offered you
a true position in their order. Naturally, you accepted.
The Guardians of the Veil are the most secretive and hated of the Pentacle Orders. They
are the secret police, the agents of espionage and the necessary assassins of the Awakened. They
recognize the world is a dangerous place and make it safer by doing the things no one else wants
to do. But they also have a line they do not cross, ensured by the final test given to all entering
their order. As a member, they will grant you a handler who will continue educating you in the
finer arts of stealth and secrecy, as well as granting you assignments for the good of all
Awakened.
Mysterium ; Deciding the best option after awakening was to search out whatever lore
was available on magic you did the sensible thing. No not the internet. Why in the world would
a secret society of ancient magicusers put all of their secrets on the internet? You began your
studies the old fashioned way. Researching first at libraries, delving deep into the oldest books
you could find, grasping at straws as you sought symbols and anecdotal events of the Realms
Supernal. The leads were thin as you went from old articles, to journals, and followed those faint
message to museums and rarebook repositories. Steadily, you collected your information,
cataloguing it when you were able and studying it when you had the chance. From these faint
messages scattered throughout history, your knowledge grew, and with it mastery of your arts.
Encouraged, you proceeded with your investigations, following leads through local museums
and auction houses. Examining ancient pottery, urns and reliefs as they were displayed, the
connections grew deeper and more expansive with every artifact you uncovered. That was of
course, until you discovered a certain artifact resting in a place it most certainly should not have
been. From your simplest of examinations, you recognized that this one was not like the others
you’d found. It was no benign knowledge or historical account, but a truly dangerous thing. It
would have been irresponsible for you to leave it where it was. And so you made the only
rational choice. To keep the knowledge safe, and out of the hands of those who could misuse it
you needed to steal it. You began studying the artifacts venue and planned accordingly, making
ready to infiltrate and extract the artifact. It was during this extraction that you encountered
them. A group of mages seeking to take the artifact for their own. It very easily could have
turned into a confrontation had the alarm not sounded, requiring you to work together and extract
yourselves. Upon completion of your daring heist, you learn of the Mages order, and their quest
which has been all too similar to your own. Noting how far along you have already come, they
offer you a place in their order, allowing you to continue your work...but with a much MUCH
greater backing behind you.
The Mysterium hails from the ancient librarians, lorekeepers and sages of the fabled
Atlantean civilization. Since the fall, their order has stood resolute and dedicated to acquiring
and preserving every fragment of knowledge pertaining to Atlantis that they could find. They
safeguard it from those who would misuse it, and trade on the knowledge that is safe to dispense.
Beyond being simple librarians, they are intrepid explorers and seekers of knowledge whose
search is never fully complete. They delve into, forgotten ruins, infiltrate auction houses and
extricate artifacts from the stores of the unscrupulous. Under their guidance you will be trained
rigorously in dead languages, history, geography, mythology, anthropology, sociology,
archeology and larceny. In turn, you will seek out lost knowledge from Atlantis, perhaps in lost
tombs and digsites, or in the homes of collectors. While their secrets will be shared slowly, to
those who are patient and show wisdom in their quest for knowledge, the rewards will be
bountiful, and the quest eternal.
Silver Ladder ; Wow really? Alright. Shortly after your awakening you received a letter
inviting you to join a rather peculiar fraternity/sorority/frarority. You would have thrown the
letter away had it not been for the emblazoned insignia on it; one reminiscent of the myriad
symbols you saw during your awakening. Agreeing to the appointed meeting place you
encountered a group of people wearing matching suits who hurried you into a car and placed a
bag over your head. When it was removed you found yourself in an unfamiliar location, likely
that of a warehouse or closed off wing of an office building. Once there, they hazed you with
minute tests of courage and will, as well as presenting you with highly theatrical moral
quandaries which you answered in what you now understand to be expected theatrical responses.
As your first meeting drew to a close the group surrounded you and put on a brief display of
magic. TRUE magic. You in turn obliged showing them your own talents and were rewarded
with the title of neophyte and the secret origins of their order. An order who preserves the
teachings of Atlantis as guidelines for a time when mages may once again take their rightful
place as the philosopherkings of the world.
The Silver Ladder is an order that was descended from the upperclass of Atlantean
society; the priests, clerics, dignitaries and bureaucrats without which it could not have
functioned. They have never forgotten their once lofty station and since the fall they have
worked tirelessly to promote the awakened in the world at large, ensuring that they remain atop
the heap of ignorant sleepers. For all their boasting, classist notions, and general egomania, they
are perhaps some of the shrewdest negotiators, diplomats and management personnel that could
possibly exist. As a member of their ranks you will be provided with a master who will
classically train you to control sleepers, negotiate with monsters, and fashion a political career
amidst the awakened from mere scraps. Similarly, you will be expected to carry out the myriad
(and surprisingly cutthroat) tasks that are necessary both to ensure Awakened society does not
fall apart at the seams, and advances your political career. From the meager task of collecting
dues from other members, to brokering deals with sleeper businesses, to negotiating with
werewolves for eminent domain of a spiritual nexus, you will act in all these roles and more as
you work your way up the dogeatdog political ranks of the Silver Ladder. If you’re not careful,
you just might end up helping someone along the way.
Orderless ; Are you sure? Alright, you may instead choose to not join any of the pentacle
orders, becoming a loner without a master to uplift you, or responsibilities to tie you down. Your
learning will likely be slowed by this choice but you may come across valuable insights beyond
the narrow views of the pentacle order in the process.
Origin perks
(Note; Perks listed under an origin are discounted for that origin. Discounts are 50% of the listed
price. 100 CP perks are obtained at no cost for that origin)
Dropin:
Shadow Name (100) All mages possess a shadow name, one different from their given
one so as to minimize the threat of a sympathetic assault. Yours is a bit better than that however.
Your real name is completely obfuscated by your shadow name. Any attempt at mystical
divination of your true name reveals only your shadow name and any mundane attempt to find
your real name finds only strangely edited but impossible to decipher records. The only way
anyone can find out your true given name is if you tell them. Any other attempts are
categorically doomed to failure.
When you stare into the abyss (200) On your way down from the supernal realms you
saw into the abyss. You understand the nature of such unholy spirits and how best to combat
them, including their strengths, weaknesses, powers and vulnerabilities. In other worlds you will
have a similarly strong sense of how best to fight against extradimensional incursions. While
this will not give you any special power when fighting them, it will provide you with the best
possible guide on how you could defeat them were you proficient enough to do so.
It stares back (400) Unfortunately, you have been seen by the abyss. You can feel it
watching you, even more so than most Mages. But this awareness of being watched is not
without benefit. You gain a sixth sense related to abyssal spirits, able to tell where they are as
well as whether or not they are aware of you. You also gain a sufficient understanding of what
could cause a paradox in this world, and can sense when the eyes of sleepers (normal people) are
upon you. You are much less likely to invoke a paradox and can more easily recover from the
damaging effects of your own spells. In this and future worlds, your magic is much less likely to
fail and result in a catastrophic backlash or be disrupted by outside influences.
Academic:
Scholarship (100) Through extensive study you have mastered a given topic of
academic rigour. Choose an existing field of study (examples include Chemistry, Psychology,
Biology, History, Computer Science etc.) you now possess a Master’s Degree worth of
knowledge within that field. You are similarly adept at working through similarly rigorous
fields. It is not a question of whether or not you are able to achieve academic success, simply
how long.
Eidetic Memory (200) Your memory is improved to the point where you can recall
events you have experienced with near perfect clarity. You may reexperience nearly any
memory you have as if you were there, all events preserved as you experienced them. This
memory is so precise that should someone attempt to tamper with or remove certain
recollections, you will recognize the inconsistencies they attempted to induce and reassert your
previous true memories with only minimal effort.
Common Sense (400) While your memory is not necessarily perfect, your organization
of it is. You possess the ability to recall relevant or perhaps even disparate information from a
great many sources and apply it in novel and useful ways. All humans possess this to a degree,
but your insights tend to be significantly more useful and frequent. Some might even consider
this simple common sense to be a form of “plot armor” as it subtly steers you in more favorable
directions with a higher chance of success and survival, but that is of course ridiculous. What
kind of a metagamer would you have to be to think that?
Brute:
Resilience
(100) You possess resilience, not necessarily of the body, but of the mind, or
perhaps the soul. You hold an inner strength that will bend before it will break, but is head and
shoulders above what others might have. You may be expected to stand firm on just about any
issue and to not allow your opinions to be swayed through honeyed words or false platitudes.
Fighting Style (200) You have studied martial disciplines and possess the equivalent of
a decade of dedicated study/experience in a single martial art or weapon. You will find that
whenever you dedicate yourself to martial disciplines you will learn and improve at a moderately
accelerated rate compared to your peers as the practices are exceedingly natural to you.
Iron Stamina (400) Your stamina and ability to keep going is beyond what normal
humans are capable of. Otherwise crippling injuries you sustain are more of an annoyance than
an incapacitation. Where a bullet in a kneecap or a knife in a stomach would put many down
for the count they just make you angry. So long as your tendons are still intact, your muscles can
still contract and your bones can still support your weight you will be unimpeded by any injury
and will continue to function at your normal capacity until the injury either kills you or you are
physically incapable of moving another inch. While you still experience pain you will be able to
push through it and keep going until your body can literally go no further.
Socialite:
Charisma (100) The three key features of charisma are a commanding presence that
people will pay attention to, the ability to make others feel better by simply being around them,
and the ability to speak about any topic with calm grace. You are one of the few who meet all of
these criteria. You will find social interactions much easier as others are drawn to your presence
and eager to earn your favor.
Striking looks (200) Your appearance is striking and you become incredibly attractive
by the standards of your present society. You can expect people to turn their heads as you pass
by, more people will smile at you in the hopes you will return in kind and you can be assured of
congenial treatment by just about anyone who has seen your face. Accordingly you will receive
all of the other minor but everpresent benefits that people of your attractiveness warrant. People
will likely spend more time trying to please or impress you, will go a bit more out of their way
for your sake and if you are suspected of a crime, you are much less likely to be investigated or
convicted.
Inspiring (400) Your words are inspiring beyond all measure, able to rally the
downtrodden and distressed, returning them to a state of elated vigour. Once a month, you may
“inspire” those around you to a given cause, making them fight for it with all the might, tenacity
and willpower that they have, bringing it all to bear on the singular cause that you dictate. The
larger the audience you use this on, the less likely they are all to join the cause, but you will
always find at least a few in a group of thousands that will heed your call to arms. The
inspiration will likely fade for many over the course of the following month, but may be taken up
again should you choose to reinvigorate them with another rousing speech.
Order Perks
Adamantine Arrow:
Combat Basics (100) The first thing all mages of the Adamantine arrow learn is how to
fight. Not magically of course, the magic comes through practice and study over many years.
You receive training equivalent to military basic (the military in question may be any real world
organization you choose, but defaults to the basic training undergone in the United States). This
comes complete with the physical training, mental discipline and psychological stress
conditioning that basic is meant to induce. It is a small step but you now stand equal in terms of
physicality and combat ability as any other soldier fresh out of basic.
Supernatural tactics (200) The mages of the Adamantine Arrow are not police, nor are
they a riot squad. They are a tactically deployed strike team and their targets are almost always
supernatural in nature. Whether they are rogue mages like Banishers, the traitors that comprise
the Seers of the Throne, or the cornucopia of other monsters that dwell in the world of darkness,
Arrow mages will likely have to deal with them all at some point...if they survive long enough
that is. You have been trained in how to fight nearly all the enemies mages face on a regular
basis. You know what does and does not work on vampires and werewolves as well as the best
ways to hurt, or escape from them. Against other mages you have been trained to identify their
casting ability and to use your own magic in creative ways to counter or overcome their spells.
Defensive Magic (400) All of the Arcana possess at least one defensive spell meant to
protect the caster from outside forces. At the start of each day you may select one Arcana that
you can cast spells in. You are now able to cast and maintain the defensive spell of that Arcana
constantly throughout the day at no loss of mana to yourself. This defensive spell is much harder
for other mages to dispel, but may still be broken by overwhelming force, or bypassed by the
objects/entities that it does not protect against (i.e. the mind defensive spell only defends against
sentient beings that are intentionally trying to harm you, while the fortune defensive spell only
protects you against things that could be avoided through sheer luck).
Combat Casting (600) You have been instructed in the ways of combat magic and may
apply your knowledge of war and physical combat to the workings of your magic. The more
skilled and practiced you are in physical combat, the more damage your offensive spells will do
to their target. If you desire, you may combine your magic and martial skill into a fluid style,
augmenting your physical abilities with magic while delivering the spells in the most efficient
way possible through physical strikes. You have only begun to learn this combined art however
and it will take many years of study to fully master mystical martial arts.
Free Council:
Philosophical double entendre (100) Intellectualism comes in many forms, but one of
its most frustrating traits is that it needs to convey its message through a needless complex set of
jargon, symbols and recursive definitions. You now possess the capacity to see through jargon,
overly precise definitions, technobabble and other linguistic obfuscations; understanding the true
meaning behind the words regardless of the discipline they are used in. Similarly you may
disseminate these overly complex ideas with little difficulty, granting the common man the same
understanding of advanced academics fields as you have. (Note; Understanding does not mean
application)
Guerilla Futurism (200) The future is coming and you intend to be on the right side
when it arrives. And now, so will all of your social media followers. You are masterfully expert
at engineering campaigns of social media, public awareness and crowdsourced fundraising.
With covert use of your magic, you may use just about any information distributive method at
your disposal to disseminate any information that you desire. The only limitation on how far and
how wide this information will spread is how long you actively focus on keeping the campaign
running. You could reach normal kickstarter goals in hours or ensure that everyone on the planet
has seen a celebrity photo. Perhaps with a year of covert efforts and preparations, you could
manufacture the next “Gangnam Style.” I suppose you could use it to make and spread your own
memes as well, but really that is a waste of your talents.
Technomancy (400) Fusing technology with magic is not a new practice, especially
since technology has existed since man first made fire, or tied a stone to a stick and called it a
spear. While there are many other mages who purport to merge technology and magic, you do
so with such seamless efficiency that it is nearly impossible to tell where technology ends and
magic begins. You could tie the triggering of a spell to a computer program, having it take effect
when someone tries to open it. Or perhaps you could use your magic to improve the quality of
machines, increasing their speed, effectiveness and overall power. Perhaps you could even write
out a grimoire, a repository of magical knowledge into a simple graphing calculator. Whatever
you do, it will likely be creative and never seen before as the disparate disciplines are masterfully
merged under your guidance.
Enlightened casting (600) The practical application of knowledge. You may now use
the information you have acquired through normal scientific study to magecraft. This in turn
makes your spells more powerful as their effects become stronger and produce more tangible
results. For example, a strong understanding of physics may better allow you to increase the
strength of matter or force spells. Knowledge of biology could increase the ease with which you
use life spells or alter the cognitions and impulses of organisms through mind spells. The
stronger your base knowledge in a scientific discipline, the more powerful and effective your
spells will become.
Guardians of the Veil:
Mystical infiltration (100) Stealth is the cornerstone of espionage. As a magical spy,
another layer is added to this conundrum as mystical detection is yet another thing one must be
concealed from. You are now keenly aware of how your magic can be used to conceal your
presence, as well as how to detect and get around both mundane and mystical means of
detection.
Stitched lips (200) An ever present danger in the world of espionage is that should an
agent be captured, they will be tortured, interrogated and coerced, likely divulging sensitive
information in the process. You have been trained in antiinterrogation techniques as well as
meditations that will prevent your thoughts from being detected by outside interference. It is
likely that you will be able to shrug off just about any torture, drug, mind probe, mystical lasso
of truth or any other technique that would make you divulge information against your will. This
does not mean however that you will be able to escape the consequences for resisting (they may
still try to kill, or torture you more if you don’t divulge information).
Conspiracy Sniffer (400) There are many secrets in this world, and many of them need
to be gathered up and buried in deep dark hole. You have been trained in a series of mystical
techniques and spells that allow you to find those secrets, embarking on supernatural
investigation trails. So long as you know what the information in question is, you may
mystically detect whether or not a person knows the information. Summarily, you can trace the
memetic spread of this information from them, who they told it to, and who told them. With
enough time and appropriately placed spells, you may trace an entire web of conspiracy...and
when the time comes, may begin splitting its threads.
Finessed Casting (600) One of the greatest deterrents to will working is the observation
of others. Many mages are hampered in their casting by being watched and some magic is
outright dangerous to display. You however have developed a keen understanding of the
psychology of the outside observer… and know just how to exploit it. Your spellcraft is much
more subtle than other will workers, allowing you to use covert magic in such a nuanced and
precise way that many cannot tell that anything supernatural happened at all. This finesse
extends even into the higher realms of reality, making it very difficult if not impossible for other
mages to tell when you have used magic, or to detect residual traces of your casting.
Mysterium:
Librarian (100) The mages of the Mysterium are first and foremost, librarians.
Handling decades if not centuries of antiquated filing systems, filled with recursive and
redundant information might be daunting for some, but not you. Regardless of the data in
question, so long as there is some thought given to its placement or organization you are able to
find and extricate exactly what you wish to find. Whether it be the moon’s perigee in relation to
luck spells or the blueberry tart recipe of an old archmage, so long as the information is
somewhere within the database, you will be able to find it, no matter how skewed or tucked
away it might be.
Grimoire Hunter (200) Grimoires are one of the most prized possessions a mage can
acquire. Within them are insights on the nature of the supernal realm, spells that have been lost
to the ages, and a means of casting extant spells more easily. While these tomes are frequently
rare and hard to find, you have a combination of insight, talent, and luck that will invariably lead
you to discovering these grimoires where others might have failed. Be warned that finding these
tomes of power is only the first step, deciphering their meaning and understanding them is a
challenge all its own. (In future jumps, this ability extends to any tome or document of rare
mystical and/or forgotten knowledge)
Mage sight (400) All of the arcana have a means of detecting the supernatural, the
unseen world hidden behind our own, but yours is particularly attuned. You have learned from
your order to shape your soul in such a way that you may automatically use one form of mage
sight (chosen amidst one of your arcana) and may have it be continuously active. This will grant
you a greater insight into the mystical and physical worlds at all times with no need to waste time
casting or focusing on it.
Traditional Casting (600) At the core of the Mysterium is tradition, and learning to cast
spells as the mages of old. You have studied these ancient teachings and found a way to draw a
sympathetic connection between your own magic, and that of the long past. Whenever you
perform a spell that you have studied extensively and that has been cast by someone else in the
past, you may form a sympathetic connection to that previous casting, preventing your spell from
being interrupted. So long as you are able to start casting the spell, it will continue to progress
and take effect regardless of any interruptions that may occur. For example, if you began casting
and someone were to punch you in the throat, preventing you from completing the necessary
verbal component, the spell would discharge when you would have completed the spell had you
not been interrupted. The spell however will be weakened by the lack of your own involvement,
being less effective and having a shorter duration, but it will still occur. (Note; this does not
protect your spell from being dispelled by another mage after it is cast, and it will still be
nullified if cast within an antimagic field).
Silver Ladder:
Accuse publicly, Apologize quietly (100) A common maxim amongst the order.
Failure is not tolerated patiently in the Silver Ladder and you know just how to cover your ass
when the proverbial shit hits the fan. When a problem arises, you know just what to say to make
sure that you are not the one blamed for any mistakes or failures. In fact, you could very easily
shift any blame onto someone else so long as they were at least tangentially involved in it. Best
of all, by making reasonable gestures of reconciliation with the wronged party, you can outright
avoid or mitigate any wrath or revenge they may have had planned for you as a result of this
betrayal. Goodness you’d have to be an asshole to do it but darn it if it doesn’t feel good.
Everyone has an agenda (200) There are a great many agenda’s in awakened society,
and you are privy to most of them. You are able to determine the immediate consequences of any
scheme you are able to uncover, and determine who would most benefit and suffer from it the
most. Your awareness of these consequences will likely grow in time as you become involved in
increasingly intricate plots with more players, allowing you to see the consequences of their
actions more clearly. Perhaps if you insert yourself at just the right moment, you could expedite
these carefully laid plans...or stall them in their tracks.
High Speech (400) Broken fragments and twisted syllables are all that remain of the
once mighty Atlantean language. So broken is this system that the words can no longer be
transcribed, only passed along orally from one mage to the next. Sleepers are unable to
comprehend it at all, instead perceiving it as indistinct noise. All mages of the pentacle orders
are trained in high speech to some degree, as its sympathetic connection to the supernal realms
allows them to empower their spells by speaking the correct corresponding words. You however
have taken this to another level, as all of your spells significantly increase in power,
effectiveness and duration whenever you incorporate Atlantean into the casting. Be warned as
while this may increase your spells power, if there are sleepers around it has an increased chance
of also invoking disbelief. Postjump this highspeech will still invoke disbelief in those not of a
supernatural persuasion.
Resolved casting (600) Traditionally the determining factors of a spell’s ability to effect
a target are the power of the caster and the mastery of their craft. You however have learned of a
hidden Xfactor that allows mages of equivalent skill and power to overcome one another.
Willpower. It may be a bit trite but you have discovered the means of reinforcing your spells
effectiveness through sheer force of will. The stronger your willpower is, the more likely your
spells will be to effect a target, overcoming any innate resistances or mystical safeguards they
may have, as well as increasing the duration of your spells effect.
Orderless:
Let em be (100) You are not bound to the normal order of the day. Organizations and
operations that would normally try to forcefully recruit you no longer view doing so as worth the
effort. You will likely be passed over during drafts, volunteer operations and Thanksgiving
dinners as nobody thinks trying to get you to do what they want will be beneficial to them in any
way. You can still join in on such things but you must make your desire to be included known in
some way shape or form.
Like Houdini (200) For whatever reason you seem to be categorically incapable of
being bound by mundane means. Handcuffs will fail to fit your wrists. Cell doors will
mysteriously remain unlocked. Ropes tied around you will become loose and even people trying
to put you in a chokehold just can’t seem to get a grip. Supernatural restraints however are a bit
of a different animal and will require significant effort to escape from. Some particular restraints
of a sufficiently powerful mystical or technological nature might be inescapable, even for you.
No Strings on Me (400) Your will seems to be your own. At least mystically speaking.
To date, there does not seem to be a spell or oath that can actually make you do anything that
you yourself do not want to do (not that they don’t exist, just that they have yet to be
discovered). You are immune to nearly all mystical compulsions that would affect your mind,
and even signing an oath and swearing in blood would not bind you unless you desired it. You
will not however gain the benefits of magical contracts unless you do choose to submit.
Unbound Casting (600) By keeping yourself untethered, it seems that your magic has
similar freedoms. Your magic does not seem to suffer the same ill effects of counterspells or
antimagic fields as other mages might. Regardless of the mystical circumstances, it seems that
you will be able to cast your spells at full effect so long as you manage to complete them
properly (note; You may still be stopped or interrupted during your casting, and some creatures
still have innate resistance to magic which this does not bypass. Your magic will simply be
unimpeded by any ambient effects or willful acts of countermagic)
Magic
Ah yes, this is why everyone is here isn’t it? Well congratulations, just for this section you have
+ 1000 MP (Mage points) to spend as you please. You may choose to exchange 2 CP for 1 MP
but you may not exchange MP for CP.
Gnosis
(200 MP per purchase) The root of all magic. Gnosis is a measure of how close
you are to the supernal world. Higher Gnosis provides many benefits; Rituals will take less time,
your mana pool is larger, and you may learn higher levels of Arcana. As a Mage you have one
rank in Gnosis free. You may obtain a maximum of five ranks here or over the course of the
jump, but cannot reach archmastery (higher than five gnosis) until postspark. A higher Gnosis
is also a danger as the higher it is the more likely a paradox is to occur when you use vulgar
magic. When a paradox is invoked, its power will be equivalent to the level of your Gnosis.
Gnosis limits the level of Arcana you may know at a given time. For ease of reference a
chart has been produced below listing what level your Gnosis must be to know a new arcanum
(the top row of numbers indicate the order in which you learned your arcana). Your first and
second Arcana will always be your ruling Arcana while your third is the one you chose to invest
a single free rank into. The rest follow in order as you choose to purchase or learn them.
Maximum Arcana possible by Attained Gnosis
Gnosis 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
1 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 1
2 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 1
3 5 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 1
4 5 5 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2
5 5 5 5 4 4 3 3 3 2 2
These same limitation on Gnosis and Arcana will persist after the jump, and while you
may learn more Arcana and increase your Gnosis, they will always fall within the limitations
provided by the above chart.
Arcanum (200 MP per rank); Arcana are the various expressions of supernal truths in
the fallen world. Specifically, they represent a given branch or type of magic that a Mage may
specialize in. The various ranks of mastery displayed below denote the level of a given type of
spell a Mage is able to cast. Higher level spells require higher Gnosis to use and will likely cost
more mana to cast/maintain. It should be noted however that the higher ones Gnosis and the
higher the level of spells they have access to, the greater the chance of causing a paradox is. The
effects of magic that cause the greatest and most wondrous effects (i.e. creating earthquakes or
granting a machine sentience) all risk paradox and may result in a backlash even against an
experienced Mage. For this reason overt expressions of magic are denoted as “vulgar” whereas
the subtle effects that do not cause paradox are called “covert”.
You receive the first two ranks in your ruling arcana for free and may choose one free
rank in any other arcanum.
Death
1. Initiate: You may discern the specter of the grave from its grossest to its most rarefied.
You may see and speak with ghosts both resting and unquiet. You catch glimpses of
death and can tell when others are near death themselves. You have begun the practice of
shaping ectoplasm and so long as it is available may contort it to your will. You gain the
basic powers of manipulating existing shadows for concealment.
2. Apprentice: You may alter a corpse, changing its apparent cause of death. You may
summon ghosts, entreating their friendship or castigating them. You may conjure
ectoplasm (the substance the dead use to manifest in the physical plane) from nothing.
You may even draw the objects held by ghostly apparitions into the world for a short
time. You may cause steel to rust and wood to rot. Your mastery of shadow and
concealment increases allowing you to hide even from other Awakened.
3. Disciple: When you speak, the dead head your commands. You may temporarily walk in
the realm of ghosts (twilight) and may temporarily will yourself to enter a state of death,
as well as to rouse yourself from this temporary death at a later time. You may call up
lifeless corpses from their burial grounds to serve as soldiers or servants. Steel and stone
may crumble beneath your grasp. While a heinous act, you may choose to devour the
spirits of the dead and dying to regain strength and mana. With great effort, you may be
able to pull the souls of the living out of their spiritually unprotected bodies, leaving them
devoid of vigour and passion.
4. Adept: You may chain the dead and ghosts to this world, forcing them to exist in their
now rotting shell. You may walk in the worlds of ghosts and end the lives of normal
humans with a well placed word. You may place the shadow of death upon the living,
making them appear dead on nearly every level of existence. If your need is dire and
your morals are questionable, you may steal the souls of others and bind them within
yourself.
5. Master: Death is all too familiar to you now. You may consume the souls of both the
living and the dead, restoring your willpower, physical health and mystical energies with
each feeding. You may obliterate even powerful magical constructs or destroy spells
with a touch. You may call upon the dead from thousands of years ago to do your
bidding and answer your questions.
Fate
1. Initiate: You may perceive the way the subtle strings of destiny alters the lives of others.
You may tell if an action is one of destiny, or if destiny is to be thwarted by free will.
You may detect the relative fortune a given soul carries, how lucky they have been and
how lucky they will be in the future. You may also detect where, when and how a
prophecy was uttered, and how it will impact the world around it, if at all.
2. Apprentice: You are able to subtly alter the threads of fortune, allowing you to make
good actions more likely to happen to good people, and misfortune more likely to befall
the unrighteous. Oaths you swear and fortunes you tell are more likely to be upheld or
come to pass, as fate shifts ever so subtly in your favor. Even the mundane affairs of
daily life may plague you less, letting you ward yourself against the inconveniences and
happenstance that drive salaryworkers mad.
3. Disciple: You may use your spells to improve the luck and happenstance of the tools,
garments and vehicles of your allies, making them more likely to function well in their
given task. Similarly, you may curse the objects of your enemies, making them more
likely to break or malfunction at inopportune moments. Your workings become more
resistant to other fatemanipulating entities, and with effort you may slightly shift destiny
or twist sanctified oaths.
4. Adept: You are now able to manipulate vows and contracts with ease. You may send the
soulless and lifeless to their destined end, and convey the fortune of treasures, and the
bane of curses as you please. You may break the chains that bind one spirit to another
(both literally and figuratively), emancipating all with your power.
5. Master: You may change the destined path of nearly anyone with enough power. You
may through manipulation of destiny, make a pauper into a statesmen, or lay low people
of influence from their high office. Miracles and plagues in equal measure may be
accomplished, as the dice of coincidence, luck and fate align under your spellcraft.
Forces
1. Initiate: Through your magic, you may perceive the invisible physical forces which
surround us. The flow of gravity, the passage of invisible light, the waves of sound, the
tumultuous nature of heat and all other kinetic energy sources are laid bare to you.
Perhaps you may subtly manipulate this energy to deliver a message to a person far away,
a letter whispered on the winds.
2. Apprentice: You may now maneuver some of these unseen energies to your will. You
may hide others from sight by bending the light around them, or slightly drain the kinetic
force of lethal blows before they strike you. Through your magic you may conjure light,
heat or sound and make them flourish or diminish as you please.
3. Disciple: You may transform some of the raw energies in the universe into other forms,
making light become heat, or heat into a kinetic strike. Your magic is strong enough that
you may maintain your invisibility even while in motion, and can control electricity and
fire at a distance.
4. Adept: You may create thunder and fire from nothing. You may strike down at enemies
with conjured thunderbolts and may control the weather if you are strong enough. You
may call rain and winds on a clear sunny day, or bring a brief drought amidst a monsoon.
Your spells may even let you move at the speed of winds, and turn bullets aside.
5. Master: You may harness the fury of the storm and earthquake, unleashing them
accordingly as you desire. Even the fundamental force of gravity is under your control.
You may create a miniature facsimile of a sun and outright destroy the mundane
technology of sleepers. You may fly through the air as the legendary gods of old and halt
bullets in midair.
Life
1. Initiate: You may perceive the trillions of invisible microscopic lives that share our
world. Your magic allows you to nullify poison, and detect any ailment within a
someone's body.
2. Apprentice: You may manipulate your own life force to an extent, using your magic to
heal yourself and dispel ailments. You may use such powers on small lower lifeforms as
well (cats, dogs etc.) and may completely dominate the least of living creatures, beinding
insects to your will. You may manipulate your flesh, strengthening your bones and
hardening your skin, making yourself more resistant to damage.
3. Disciple: Higher orders of beasts will now head your mystical commands, including
snakes, reptiles, dogs and cats etc. You may throw literal barbs grown from your skin at
enemies, and may mend the injuries of allies. You may change your own shape within
the limits of human possibility, as well as the shapes of simple animals. If you desire,
you may reshape your face entirely. You may adapt yourself to your environment, using
magic to make yourself grow swifter, stronger or more enduring as needed.
4. Adept: You may change your form into that of a bird or a beast or change your normal
appearance as other people would change clothes. You may change lesser beasts into
greater versions of themselves (Cats into tigers, dogs into direwolves etc.) and assert your
control over them. The forms of your fellow human beings are similarly mutable to you.
If necessary you may even stimulate their various secretory glands and hormone
production to influence their behavior and urges.
5. Master: You may wear any shape with equal ease, and transform yourself into nearly any
biologically possible form that you could envision With enough time, care and
application of your craft, you may even create an entirely new species, or elevate existing
creatures to take on the forms of mythic creatures (transforming a lion into a griffon or a
snake into a basilisk). Lesser creatures may be raised up to the intellect and capacity of
humans and even humans may be manipulated with enough effort through the application
of your lifecontrolling spells. Some may even fear you as a deity, for you possess the
magic to create life itself.
Matter
1. Initiate:
You may gaze into raw matter, and see the intricacies of an atom’s dance,
knowing at sight one material from another, as well as if any mystical effects have been
cast on it. You may more easily see the strengths and flaws within material objects or
tools, and gain the first insights you need in how to reproduce them.
2. Apprentice: You may improve the craftsmanship of simple devices; causing swords and
hammers to have perfect balance or weight. You may shape water or rain drops as well,
or engage in truly biblical transformations, changing a glass of water into aged wine, or
even coffee.
3. Disciple: With a bit of time, preparation and well crafted spells, you may render iron as
soft and warm as butter, or as easy to manipulate as clay. You may transmute mud into
steel or render glass as strong as stone.
.
4. Adept: Just as you can create matter from mana, so too may you destroy it. At will you
can create and destroy wood, rock and even diamond, though the size and value of such
objects will require greater effort, time and mana. You may even manipulate air itself,
causing it to be solid, forming invisible cages. Your art has now propelled you above the
concerns of lesser man, allowing you to perform the long sought parlor trick of changing
base metals into gold.
5. Master: You may create alloys beyond the knowledge of ordinary men, and create
elements not found on the periodic table. You may make objects grow or shrink at will,
and may even annihilate powerful and durable magical artifacts.
Mind
1. Initiate:
Through your magic you are able to sense the conscious minds around you,
determining their emotional state and focus at a glance. You may tell if a person’s mind
is disciplined or untrained as well as whether or not they are capable of psychic feats.
Even disembodied but thinking consciousnesses are visible under your gaze. You may
partition your thoughts, decreasing the processing power of your mind, but allowing you
to follow two cognitive pathways at the same time. Perhaps if you are studious enough
you may even touch the mind of the world itself.
2. Apprentice: You may speak into the minds of others, conveying information without the
use of speech. You may control the actions of simple creatures, insects, reptiles and the
like. You may defend your consciousness from hostile intrusion, and cordon off portions
of your mind, preventing even you from accessing certain information. You may shift
the perception of an enemy slightly, making them misjudge distance or target nonvital
areas in a combat situation.
3. Disciple: You may now enter a deeper realm of consciousness through meditation;
delving into the subconscious level of your mind and perhaps beyond. You may
understand the meaning of the words someone speaks, regardless of their language. You
may protect the minds of others from harm or detection. You may even strike at a
person’s psychic presence, and in turn harm them bodily. Your mind may be divided
even further without loss of processing power, allowing you to concentrate on multiple
things at once without detriment to any of them. Alternatively you may fortify your own
thoughts and capabilities and act as master of your own fantasies, whether dreaming or
awake.
4. Adept: You are now a medium between your own internal self and the otherness that
composes all minds. You may traverse this distance, entering into another’s memories,
dreams or conscious thoughts, all of which are as tangible to you as solid matter..and just
as easily manipulated. You may confound the senses of others and even turn the mind
against the body, destroying it from the inside out.
5. Master: You may wander out, through your mind, into the Realms Invisible. You may
forge a psyche out of nothingness and alter any aspect of consciousness you desire. If you
wish you could walk for a time in the flesh of another, possessing their body and acting in
their stead. You may manipulate the substance of the immaterial world and compel
obedience from any mind you are capable of ensnaring.
Prime
1. Initiate:
You may perceive raw mana, and by extension magic in its untouched state.
You are always aware when magic is being cast and where it interacts or intersects with
all other things. You may see through mystical illusions as they are made of mana and so
always look like mana to you.
2. Apprentice: You may manipulate raw mana for a variety of uses. You may force a spell
or mystical artifact to yield its purpose, function and proper use. You may also transcribe
your own mystical knowledge (and those of others) into grimoires for use by others of the
mystical persuasion.
3. Disciple:
You may enchant material objects in numerous fantastic manners depending on
your other arcana. You may craft illusions out of raw magic that will fool sleepers and
inattentive mages. You may give form and substance to mana, making the immaterial,
material, at least for a time. You may use spells to draw mana from the environment into
yourself, empowering you further. If the need is dire, you may unleash your raw mana in
the unique form of celestial fire.
4. Adept: Your spells may now be used to rend the magic of your enemies into nothingness,
or allow you to feed on the mana hidden even in base materials. You are suffused with
raw magic, and may sculpt it into any shape you desire, or command it as one would a
trained animal. You may revitalize extinguished natural nexi of mystical energies or
drain similar places of their power.
5. Master: You may create a simulacrum of a human beings, animated by your power and
subject to all of your commands. You may steal the mystical energies from others
through your spellcraft, and use it to your own ends. You may create Hallows; nexi of
mystical energy, though this requires great effort. Alternatively you may instead create
mystical dead zones where no mage may regain their expended energy.
Space
1. Initiate: You may view the tapestry of space and can discern the location of nearby
hidden things, assuming you know what you are looking for. You are aware when others
have tampered with space, such as when one has teleported or created a portal. You may
even trace sympathetic connections, determining the strength and emotional weight held
between people and objects.
2. Apprentice: You have found a means to cast spells far beyond the limits of your vision,
able to scry distant locations and affect targets remotely at a much reduced effect. This is
possible so long as you possess something of sympathetic significance. Similarly, you
may guard your own home from similar scrying and sympathetic attack. If you possess
the appropriate corresponding arcana, you may even transport small objects (matter)
energies (forces) or living beings (life) through miniscule portals.
3. Disciple: You may ward your sanctum against intrusion, forbidding entrance to certain
objects, creatures or individuals, for space itself bares their passage. You may see into
many places at once as well as binding or severing sympathetic connections as you are
able. If you desire it, you may use your magics to transform a door into a portal to nearly
anywhere else in the world.
4. Adept: You are very nearly unbound in space. You may be in more than one place at
once, with the aid of appropriate arcana, though your spatial doppelgangers may never
meet. You may use the threads of space to entangle enemies or bind them to a given
location. You may travel without motion, disappearing and reappearing as you cross the
illusion of distance. If necessary you may step into the gap between spaces, waiting in an
impermanent tiny universe until you are needed.
5. Master: You are able to alter the amount of space an object takes up, reducing a house to
the size of a cat, or making a lonely road stretch out near infinitely. Just as you are able
to be in several places at once, so to may you draw objects, places and even other people
into a similar disassociated state of being; allowing them to be in more than one place at
the same time. You may conceal locations within gaps in space, and twist the bonds of it
to ensure that no mortal is ever able to find it. If you desire, you may ensnare others in
twisting roads and winding paths with neither origin or destination.
Spirit
1. Initiate: You are able to view the comings and goings of spirits; quasisentient
manifestations or personifications of the various phenomena in the world (both natural
and manmade). You are able to tell if they exist in a state of twilight or if they are
possessing a living host. You are able to see and determine the relative strength of the
gauntlet (the barrier between the mortal and spiritual realms) and may communicate with
spirits as though you were one of them.
2. Apprentice: You may communicate with spirits as you would beings of flesh and blood,
as well as convince them to do your bidding. You may strengthen or decrease the
strength of the gauntlet in a given area temporarily, and may affect beings in twilight with
your own hands.
3. Disciple: You are now able to enter into twilight, awaken sleeping spirits in base matter
or unintelligent life. You may mend damage that spirits may have taken and cast out
both dark spirits and ghosts, as well as shield yourself from possession. You may also
forge a bond with a spiritual familiar, and benefit from it more so than other mages.
4. Adept: You can imprison spirits, binding them into matter or flesh as needed. You may
guide neophyte mages in obtaining familiars for their own and may traverse through the
gauntlet and into the realm of spirits.
5. Master: You are able to raise or lower the gauntlet with relative ease. Amongst spirits,
they regard you with high esteem as a member of the aristocracy. You may shape the
substance of spirits, altering existing forms and even giving birth to new spiritual entities.
If you desire, you may give these spirits a physical shell with which to explore the mortal
realm. You may travel between the various levels of reality within the world of darkness
(save of course the supernal realms), though this is an inherently dangerous power as
there is no guarantee you will be able to return.
Time
1. Initiate:
You become aware of the march of time, able to tell how much of it has passed
without the need of traditional timekeeping devices. You may also recognize when
others have impeded or altered the flow of time around you.
2. Apprentice: You may view the recent past in an area and are more able to suss out future
events, your words bordering on prophecy. Your manipulation of time may extend ever
so slightly to protect your person, granting a few nanoseconds more to recognize or evade
a deadly strike. Similarly, your identity may be protected from others who use the flow
of time for their own gains. By expending mystical energy and effort, you may see the
immediate results of your actions before you take them, thus choosing a more wise path.
3. Disciple: You are able to strike with preternatural speed and rob certain enemies of their
swiftness. In moments of great importance, you may use your magic to reverse your
immediate actions, taking a slightly different path than you would have seconds earlier.
You look into the uncertain future with the eyes of a seer.
4. Adept: You are able to step outside of time, a place without any flow save for its own
impermanence. You see both what will, and might be, and how it might come to pass.
You are able to alter the flow of time, allowing you to step ahead to hours or perhaps
days in the future. You may never travel backwards.
5. Master;: You are able to spin time as needed, creating “faerie glades” in which time
moves much faster or much slower within them than outside. It is possible that you may
be able to capture a person within the flow of time itself, holding them in stasis
temporarily. A mage may temporarily alter their personal history in a given world (within
reason), choosing to play baseball instead of chess and gaining all the benefits and
consequences such a choice would have on their person (but not to the rest of the world).
This change is only temporary and may never affect your soul/mystical abilities or other
supernatural powers.
Items
(Items listed under a path, origin or order are discounted for that. Unlisted items are at full price)
Soul stone (50 CP) (First one free+optional) The soul stone is a physical fragment of
your soul, drawn out from the depths of your spirit during an act of deep meditation. It is not
necessarily a stone but it is usually very small and thematically linked with your path. A
Thyrssus mage might have a fang or flower, while an Obrimos mage might have a golden ring or
runecovered key. Whatever it is, its effects are the same as it is a literally fragment of your soul
made manifest in the fallen world. The soul stone is a powerful tool and may be used as a strong
basis for creating an enhanced or imbued item.
Its true strength emerges only after someone has reached mastery in an arcana. Once this
is done, the mage may choose to create a demesne; a ritually prepared area in the fallen world
wherein vulgar magic does not induce paradox. The size of the demesne and the arcanum that
may be cast there are limited by the number of soulstones that are willingly contributed to it, and
the paths of the mages that those soul stones belonged to. A single soulstone could be used to
create a demesne large enough to cover a small apartment or underground chamber. By adding
more soulstones from different mage’s (to a maximum of five) the demesne will extend over a
sprawling estate or series of underground tunnels. While vulgar magic will not trigger a paradox
in these hallowed realms, the spells themselves are still subject to disbelief and subsequent
unraveling by sleepers observation.
Should someone get their hands on it however, they will be able to siphon magic away
from the soulstones owner freely. Furthermore anyone who possesses it will have an incredibly
powerful sympathetic link to its owner; allowing them to cast spells at a great distance on them
with an extreme chance of success. Finally, soulstones are highly sought after by all sorts of
nightmarish entities, from the Tremere Liches evil spirits and demons of the abyss, all of whom
would happily destroy or devour the stone for their nefarious purposes. Soulstones are an
extreme vulnerability and must be well guarded, lest their owners suffer terrible fates.
Sanctum (50) Despite all their adventuring, investigating, ruindelving, globetrotting
and urbanwarfaring, Mages are notorious home bodies. Legends of wizardstowers, enchanted
glades, witcheshuts and forgotten caverns abound in the history of the awakened and this era is
no exception. You have a particular place all to yourself, though at the moment it’s a little
small….alright, a LOT small. It could be a cottage out in the country, a cabin deep in the woods,
a tworoom apartment, a tinyhome in the suburbs or maybe even a renovated boxcar on the
wrong side of the tracks. Whatever it is, you are now the proud owner of a small piece of
property. In time, you may expand this, adding defenses, establishing longterm research
projects or holding fancy soirees for your kinfolk. This place is what you make of it afterall.
(This place will appear in all future jumps, recreated nearly exactly wherever you may travel.)
Resources (50) 1,000 dollars deposited into an account of your choice monthly. If no
account is chosen it will randomly appear within your warehouse in the form of nonsequential
unmarked bills. Each additional purchase adds another zero to the end of the deposit, up to a
maximum of 4 additional purchases for 10,000,000 dollars a month.
Magical tools (50) Any mage worth their salt knows the importance of sympathy; like
effects like etc. While a mage normally uses the sympathy between their own soul and their
watchtower to channel magic, sometimes they require a bit of an extra “boost” to this power.
This can be accomplished using physical objects associated with the materials and forms that are
representative of their watchtower. You receive one wand, one sword (or knife), one cup, one
coin and one mirror. You possess a sympathetic connection to each of these objects, which
allow an easier flow of magic from the supernal realms to your hands. This decreases the chance
of paradox and increases the effectiveness of your spells whenever you use them in conjunction
with your magic.
Acanthus
Lucky Deck (200) This deck of playing cards comes in a sealed box, wrapped in plastic
and sorted in newdeck order. If returned to the box, when no one is looking, it will return to this
state, wrapped in plastic sealed and in new deck order. When you first take out the cards from
the deck, they appear as any theme or pattern you wish. Should you replace them in their box
and later remove them, you may choose a different theme for them. Should the cards be lost or
destroyed, so long as you have the deckbox you may regenerate any spent cards by expending
mana into the deck. Any card drawn or dealt from this deck will be what you desire it to be.
With it, you may choose to have any card or set of cards are dealt at your discretion. Excellent
for gambling; less useful for when people ask for their money back.
Coin of the Jester King (400) This golden coin bears the face of a king wearing a
jester’s hat on one side, and a pair of crossed wands on the other. The bearer of the coin may
concentrate with it, removing the minor effects of fate and coincidence that would work against
them. Penalties such as unfavorable winds, rainfall or even a crooked dealer in a casino will not
impede the bearers chances of victory when in use. (Note; it can only remove a single
deleterious effect when concentrated upon, it cannot create benefit for the user)
Mastigos
Siderite Rod (300) Mages have long known of the process of perfecting metals, passing
mundane metal into and out of twilight dozens of times until nothing remains but pure platonic
metal. While doing so strips away roughly 90% of the original material, what remains is truly
perfect. Siderite is the refined form of iron, gleaming a bit more brightly than mundane iron or
steel, but it is more ordinary in appearance when compared with other perfected metals.
Immensely durable, it can bend and twist and resume its shape without signs of fatigue or
distress. It can also be forged to an edge that will never dull and is strong enough to cut steel or
even diamond. This 2foot long 1inch around rod of siderite is an excellent example of this,
perfect for use as a mystical tool, bargaining chip, or perhaps be crafted by a skilled Awakened
smith into much, MUCH more.
The Mark of Qazalak (300) This tattoo is about the size of a silverdollar, appearing as
a twisting spiral of barbed wire with the barest hint of a face. It may be removed at will by the
user as one would remove a piece of cellophane, but it cannot be stolen or removed postmortem,
only given. When activated the Mark cleanses the bearers body of all poisons, intoxicants, drugs
and other deleterious chemicals that may be in their system.
Moros
Sprayonmagic (300) A unique practice of those who dabble in the matter arcana is the
ability to store their magic in physical objects for shortterm use. A rather common application
of this involves storing said magic in an easily dispensable if singleuse form such as with a
liquid, draught, pill or in this case, a spray. You have a collection of five spray cans, each one
mystically attuned to carry a single spell. You may cast any spell you know into the cans and
release them at a later date, with the full effect of the spell being delivered upon a single target
that was successfully hit by the spray.
The Opal of Styx (800) The Opal of Styx appears as a large ring of ornately carved lead
with a distinct black opal set into it. When pointed at a person, and speaking the command word
“kneel” 1/3rd of your total mana is drained, but the target you are pointing at is almost invariably
forced to kneel before you as the strength from the target’s limbs fade and their mind loses the
mental resilience to resist your command. This effect works on any being that is mortal and
possesses a conscious mind, regardless of other factors.
Obrimos
Count Amoury’s Spectacles (300) This pair of antique lenses contains lenses that stem
from the Supernal realm of Aether. By simply tapping the sides of the lenses the wearer may
instantly scry on anyone or anywhere that they possess some form of sympathetic connection to.
The stronger the sympathetic connection, the more rapid and clear the scryed image.
(Knowing/having seen the person or place is the minimum requirement. Having a piece of the
person such as a hair, blood or DNA sample significantly increases the chances, as does having
something they deeply value)
Personal Grimoire (400) This grimoire contains the sum total of your mystical
knowledge. Every spell, every rote, every shortcut, technique and secret you have uncovered in
regards to magic rests within this grimoire. As you continue to grow in the mystic arts, so will
the grimoire, filling in its pages with more information, or perhaps even splitting off into a
second volume. With a great deal of time and effort it could be copied and mystically circulated
for a significant profit, perhaps even enhancing Awakened society as a whole. Or, you could
simply use it as a blackbox should your mind be tampered with, forcing you to lose any mystical
knowledge you had acquired. For now however, it remains well warded and in a safe but
accessible place of your choosing.
Thyrsus
The Spotted Stone (300) This stone bears a design reminiscent of the olmec
werejaguars and is strung along a leather thong. When activated the user gains superb sight,
able to see in dim light, complete darkness or magical darkness as if it were broad daylight.
Other illusions and spells of invisibility may similarly be seen through using this artifact.
Familiar (300400) A familiar is a spirit, a being native to the astral plane which may
enter the coterminous realm of twilight. To become a familiar, a ritual occurs in which a mage
mystically bonds the familiar to their soul, allowing them to see through the familiar’s eyes and
have it perform tasks on their behalf. Spirits in turn may use the mage as an anchor to stay in the
material world for prolonged periods of time, experiencing all they have to offer. Spirits come in
one of two forms:
Twilight familiar’s (300 CP) are invisible and largely intangible unless they utilize their
spiritual powers to affect the fallen world. These powers are diverse and include (but are not
limited to) one of the following abilities; telekinesis, aura reading, minor curses, minor blessings,
small electrical discharges and ectoplasmic formation. All of these uses however draw from the
familiars innate pool of mystical energy, and when this is depleted, it cannot interact with the
physical world until it has recharged.
Embodied familiars (400 CP) possess all the same benefits as Ephemeral familiars save
that they also have a physical form (usually that of a small animal) allowing them to interact with
the fallen world as any flesh and blood creature would without the need to spend the mystical
energy to do so. Familiars may also help to aid in dealings with other spirits, acting as
messengers or gobetweens. If time and effort is invested into a familiar they may become more
spiritually powerful. This however is a task best suited for those with a deep and thorough
understanding of Spirits and the Spirit Arcana.
If you possess a similar mystical or spiritual being/familiar, you may instead choose to
import them into this role.
Companions
Lucid dreamer attendant (50) You may select a single person to enter this world with
you. Or you may discover a new person upon entering this world. If discovered, they may be of
any age, race, sex, personality and physical appearance as you desire them to be. In either case
they are what is known as a “lucid dreamer,” a sleeper whose gaze does not invoke disbelief or
paradox. They receive a free background and 600 CP to spend, but cannot use magic or
purchase Order perks. They possess a 50% chance of awakening over the course of the jump
(roll 1d2; 1 for awakening 2 for no awakening) but will not awaken once the jump is over. They
do not receive any extra CP or MP for this but do gain 1 gnosis and 2 dots in each of their
primary arcanum and 1 dot in any other arcana.
Awakened Ally (100) You may select a single person to enter this world with you, or to
find in your time in this world. If found they may be of any age, race, sex, personality and
physical appearance as you desire them to be. They receive a background for free and 300 CP to
spend as well as 800 MP.
Cabal (400) You may import up to eight of your companions as awakened mages with
all of the benefits as described in Awakened Ally.
Mixed Bag (300) Alternatively you may import or create four companions as Lucid
dreamers (as described above) and four of them as Awakened Ally’s (as described above).
Attendant Staff (200) Or if you REALLY wanted to play the odds, you may import all
eight of your companions as Lucid Dreamer Attendants as described above.
You may give CP to an individual companion on a 1:1 basis.
Drawbacks
(You may take as many drawbacks as you desire but may only receive a maximum of 600 CP)
A single path (0) Actions you have taken in previous nWoD jumps carry over to this
one. While you are not necessarily a vampire or changeling anymore, you are still an integral
part of this world. Some still wonder at how your previous incarnation mysteriously vanished
one day. The people of this world will recall any actions you took here before, but will likely be
unable to piece together your old and new identities without your intervention.
Times flows in many streams (0) The World of Darkness has existed for many
centuries, at least as long as our world has. While normally you would enter around the era of
the modernday, you may instead enter at any time between the modern era and after the fall of
Atlantis (around 4000 BCE give or take a few millenia). The earlier you arrive the lower the
consensus of reality is and the stronger the magic may be used before paradox is invoked.
However, an earlier arrival also means that magic will be less developed and nuanced, with less
versatility and an increased effect of paradox when it does occur. If your starting location has
not had its city built by the time of your arrival, you instead arrive in the center of where the city
will someday be constructed. If you select before the 1800’s, you may not choose the
freecouncil as your order as they do not yet exist.
Never enough time (100) Well good news, now you have more! Instead of being stuck
here for ten years you are stuck for twice that! You may purchase this drawback multiple times
but each time you do your time here is doubled in turn. One purchase would make it 20 years, a
second 40 years, a third 80 years. Dying from old age will be counted as a loss condition. Hope
you’re savvy enough to survive so long in a horrorurban fantasy world. You may only purchase
this a maximum of three times.
WoD Morality (100) Well this is interesting. It seems that just like in other parts of the
World of Darkness, being a bad person is actually bad for your mental health! Who knew?
Every time you commit a significant morally transgressive act (stealing, assault, killing not in
self defense etc.) you will somehow gain another mental ailment. While these will start small as
phobias or general anxiety, they will quickly develop into more serious and deleterious
conditions such as megalomania or schizophrenia.
Just a human (100) It’s true, despite all their mystical power and knowledge, mages are
still ordinary mortal humans. This will be made painfully apparent to you during your stay here
as you become a virtual magnet for all the inhuman things that populate the world of darkness.
Vampires, Werewolves, Changelings, Geists, Prometheans, Mummy’s, Demons and Beasts all
seem to pop up on your doorstep with increasing regularity, bringing with them all the inherent
dangers their very presence entails. Your life may not be boring, but it will certainly be no
easier.
Easily unveiled nimbus (100) All mages possess a nimbus, an individual aura unique to
them and colored by their path. A Mastigos nimbus might appear as a cloud of warped space
around them, or a series of filaments reminiscent of interlinking neurons. On the other hand, an
Obrimos nimbus might appear as a divine fire radiating from them, or a series of brilliant halo’s
surrounding their form. Whenever a mage casts a vulgar spell, or experiences brief moments of
rapture or savage satisfaction, their nimbus becomes briefly visible. You however seem to have
a bit of a disorder as your nimbus comes out whenever you try to use any magic, regardless of
whether it is covert or not. Similarly, it will appear in a subtle way any time you experience
emotional extremes. This will make it all the more difficult interacting with sleepers, and it is
unlikely you will be able to use covert magic with much efficacy during your time here.
Tremere Liches (200) A lefthanded legacy composed primarily of Moros Mages. The
Tremere Liches represent the worst aspect of awakened society and are rightfully shunned by
any who recognize them. Engaging in the worst acts of hubris imaginable, they rip the souls out
of their victims, devouring them in profane rituals to empower their repulsive magic and extend
their lives to unnatural ends. Recognizing your soul as being particularly valuable, a cult of
these decrepit fiends have taken it upon themselves to capture you, and devour your soul. There
are only a dozen of them at the moment but they have a talent for swelling their ranks with other
mages whose lives are nearing their natural end, as well as those who fear death or lust for
immortality. Nearly all of them are Masters of the Death arcana and they will be gunning for
you in subtle but poignant attacks, testing your weaknesses and striking during key missions as
well as during your downtime. If you do not master your gifts and deal with them soon, they
may very well be able to overwhelm even you.
Paradox galore (200) It seems that it is not just the supernal magics of this world that
are adversely impacted by paradox and the disbelief of sleeper. All of your supernatural powers
and abilities are subject to the same circumstances of paradox. You must work hard to keep any
shows of inhuman abilities hidden from the eyes of sleepers, and more importantly, from the
world itself.
The True Soul (200) You seem to have become involved in a legacy created by the
ancient Atlantean archmage Tazanteotle. Unfortunately this legacy is also a memetic hazard.
You begin this jump with this longdead archmage having already taken shape in your
subconscious and poised to take your mind, body and soul for his own. You must remain
resolute and cast out this psychic intrusion, or risk losing your chain as your ego is snuffed out
by a powerful archmage. You may in time be able to resist his subconscious urgings and
extinguish his spirit from your mind completely but this would require a great deal of research
and effort on your part to accomplish.
The God Machine (200) Where once it was an optional or nonfactor in your stay, the
godmachine will become an everpresent theme within your world of darkness experience.
While it is neither omniscient, omnipresent nor omnipotent, to mere humans it might as well be.
It is a machine of enormous size and capacity that has wormed its way into the very core of the
world of darkness. Its machine infrastructure riddles the unseen portions of the world, subtly
shifting the planet ever forward in a series of great and terrible plans. It does not value humans,
but recognizes their potential and use for advancing, testing and accelerating its myriad
seemingly contradictory plots. None can truly say what the God Machine’s goal is, but it is able
and willing to wipe out large swaths of humanity to get to it. While it is not aware of you yet,
you will encounter its machinations with unceasing regularity. You must then uncover its plot,
and either find a way to stop its plans (possibly causing a natural disaster to occur as its existence
is integrated into the wellbeing of the planet itself) or let it go through with them (which will
most likely result in the perversion of humanities essential self). Whatever you do in these
situations just remember, there is never a right answer.
Unraveled power (300) It seems that your abilities from other worlds don’t cause
paradox. Instead they just don’t function. All perks that you have (save the ones from this
world) are suppressed for the duration of the jump. Even your warehouse is bared to you. Looks
like you’re just your ordinary everyday will worker this time around (Cannot be taken with
Paradox Galore).
Fractured past (300) Apparently upon reentry into the fallen world, your psyche could
not handle the stress of what you had seen and for lack of a better term, shattered. Don’t worry,
you’re still sane (for the moment). But you seem to have a very peculiar form of retrograde
amnesia. Your past in all previous worlds seems to be gone, literally fragmented and cast out
into the world. Now, all of your experiences have been distributed throughout the world, hiding
as innocuous symbolic artifacts or embedding themselves in the minds of hapless saps. Anyone
who gets a hold of these fragments (or happens to end up with one inside them) will have full
access to all the memories and experiences that were contained within it. While the possessors
of these shards will not have access to any powers you may have, just about anyone could pick
up or use the knowledge locked away in your memories for their own ends. Hope you didn’t
know anything TOO damning. Wait, why are those vampires building laser weapons? Maybe
you should start working on finding and collecting those shards before anyone gets hurt?
Banishers (300) Banishers are mages like any other, but while most mages find their
awakening to be a splendid even wondrous event, banishers instead found themselves in a world
of horror and nightmares. They now dedicate their lives to finding other mages, killing them,
and destroying whatever mystical knowledge or resources they may have had. Ironically, they
are usually quite talented in magic themselves and will usually form cults of sleepers and other
twisted mages like themselves, all devoted to hunting and killing the Awakened. You have run
afoul of such a cult who will now patiently seek you out, striking at you when you are at your
weakest, and doing everything in their power to seek out your demise. Should you manage to
destroy the cult, another similar one will arise within a year to continue their hunt.
The Marvelous Clockwork Mystery (300) Created by Ashar’Arif, the Awakened
Tinker, Sculptor and Scholar of 13th Century Islamic Spain; this complex and intricately carved
Wardrobe holds many secrets. You will spend your jump hearing whispers of its majesty and
promise, becoming fixated on the wardrobe, utterly convinced that by unlocking its mysteries,
you will be able to return to the Supernal Realms once more. Should you successfully manage to
scour the globe and find it, you will seek to wrest it from its present owners at great personal cost
to yourself, putting your morals and well being aside for the promise of the mystery. When you
finally do encounter it, you will become enamored with the large intricate mahogany wardrobe,
each of its surfaces carved in both obvious and subtle ways, some carvings even appearing as
mere grains within the wood. You will discover that successfully solving the outermost exterior
will cause the wardrobe to open into another more complex layer, and another and another, each
one rewarding you with brief visions of the Realms Supernal. As you progress, the puzzles
complexity and difficulty increases exponentially, the rewards more tantalizing and the subtle
hints of something amiss growing ever larger. But you will not be daunted, convinced that there
is more, and that the warnings are just meant to frighten the unworthy. Pray that those around
you find a way to keep you from solving the final, monumental puzzle within the wardrobe...for
by the time you solve it...it will already be too late.
Seers of the Throne (600) Storytime. So when the Celestial Ladder was constructed in
ancient Atlantis, it was scaled by the Exarchs who committed great acts of hubris, traveling back
and forth from the Fallen and Supernal realms at a whim, twisting the world to their own ends
using a false shortcut to enlightenment. The Oracles, recognizing the harm the Exarchs reign
brought to the world, ascended the ladder in turn and destroyed it, trapping themselves and the
Exarchs in the supernal realms forever; unable to affect the fallen world, inadvertently creating
the Abyss in the process and destroying Atlantis. In time the Oracles constructed the
watchtowers to broadcast the supernal truths to the Fallen world and ensure that it would not be
without hope or magic. But the Exarchs are clever and cruel, and recognizing the Oracles charity
they instead twisted it to their own ends, reaching out to the mages that the Oracles awakened
through their towers and binding them to their will with promises of ultimate power, and
unbreakable contracts.
Thus the Seers of the Throne were born. Mages who gave up their freedom for power
and the promise of Salvation should the Exarchs return from the Realms Supernal. All of them
are powerful willworkers, armed with knowledge neardirectly from Atlantis’ archmages. This
knowledge comes at a dear cost however as they are completely unable to resist the blasphemous
and terrifying orders of their distant masters. They have come to recognize you as an anomaly in
this world and will hunt your throughout the course of your time here. Perhaps they see you as a
part of a ritual that will return their masters to this world? Perhaps they plan to feed you to the
abyss in a vain attempt to gain the favor of the monsters within it. Or maybe they are motivated
simply by their farflung masters everpresent orders. Whatever it is, it will be bad, and is best
avoided at all costs.
You will be beset daily as agents of the Seers hound you day and night. They will consist
of both mundane tactical strike forces and powerful cabals of mages, corrupt as sin and willing to
drag you to their masters living or dead. Each year you will draw the attention of at least one
Archmage; a mage who has awakened and successfully returned to the realms Supernal and
begun shaping it with the greatest works of will. They are capable of warping reality through
their spellcraft, perhaps even ensuring that you never existed in this world in the first place.
The End
As usual you have somehow managed to live through a decade in this world. Once again you are
granted three choices.
Sleep You have had enough jumping. Seen enough worlds, traveled to enough places and you
are ready to go home. You travel back to your original world, satisfied with your experiences
and all the wiser for it.
Awakening This world may not be perfect but it has grown on you. You find that staying in
this world, exploring its mysteries and finding all of it wonders will take a lifetime. And with
that, you find yourself in the most fortunate position knowing what your life will be spent on. If
you do choose to stay, the limits on Gnosis and Archmastery will be removed. However, the
path to archmastery is itself frot with paradox and peril. Your benefactor wishes you well as
they go to find another source of entertainment.
Lucid dreaming You are not ready to let go of your journey just yet. You press on to more
worlds, more glory, fear, determination and exhaustion. You are not done with the omniverse
yet, and it most certainly is not done with you.
Notes
No, you cannot obtain Gnosis higher than five either in the CYOA or by effort in the
jump itself. Nor can you achieve or use an arcana higher than rank five. To push past
this barrier you must first achieve a planeswalker spark. Only then will the possibilities
of archmastery be open to you. You may however train up to three of your arcana and
your Gnosis up to Rank five over the course of the jump; assuming you put the time and
effort into practicing, and exploring the natural mysteries of the world of darkness. Why
can only three of my arcana be at rank five you ask? Because White Wolf implemented
strange and arbitrary restrictions that’s why! Please see here:
http://www.thesubnet.com/portal/cod/mtaw/CreationG.html for more information on to
what degree you can master a given Arcanum given your level of Gnosis.
You are able to train your Gnosis and your Arcana over the course of the jump but cannot
exceed the listed Arcanum mastery as listed on the chart under Gnosis. Postjump you
will be able to continue training these skills (again with the chartlimitation in place) but
the training will be only half as fast outside of the world of darkness setting.
It should be noted that the Arcana descriptions are all examples of types of spells that a
Mage could achieve at a given rank. For a more detailed examination of spells at a given
Arcana as well as a greater understanding of the rules of Mage; The Awakening, it is best
to either consult the Core Rulebook or find more information at online resources such as
this:
http://www.thesubnet.com/portal/cod/mtaw/ArcanaIntro.html
Mana has three purposes. The first is to act as a fuel for certain spells (i.e. spells that are
based on arcanum outside of one’s ruling arcana, as well as those that require mana in
order to be cast in the first place). The second is that it may be spent to increase the
effect or duration of certain spells (examples include the various shield spells across all
arcana which may be increased to a full day’s duration with an expenditure of mana).
The third purpose of mana is that by spending it, the chance of paradox may be reduced,
if not outright eliminated. While it is possible to cast vulgar magic without risking
paradox by spending sufficient mana to offset the cost; for mages mana is a limited
resource and only so much of it may be stored within their pattern at any given time.
Artifacts (such as those described in the items section under the watchtower origins) may
be used to store mana, but this puts your stored energy at risk should the artifact be lost or
stolen.
Certain spells within one's ruling arcana may be cast without expending mana. These
spells are generally found in the Initiate spells but are otherwise
While in the jump, the magic of this world is subject to rules on paradox, and it may
cause backlash to the caster or the world. Alternatively, it may summon a demon to
“punish” the willworker for trying to break away the lie. Sleepers who view the mage
casting the spell may increase the chance of a paradox occurring, or they may unravel it
all together, preventing it from being cast at all. Other magic systems are not subject to
this paradox creation unless you take the “paradox galore” drawback.
There are several possible occurrences when a paradox is invoked. Mages do not have
control of these and any of them may occur during any vulgar spell they cast if they do
not take special precautions first. Mages may try to absorb the paradox into themselves,
letting themselves be physically damaged by the paradox rather than allowing the effects
of the spell to go out of control and produce one of the following effects which are
entirely out of the mage’s control.
1. Havoc occurs as the willworkers spell goes beyond their control, performing
the exact opposite of what they intended (a blessing becomes a curse, an attempt to harm
someone becomes beneficial etc.)
2. Bedlam occurs. The failed casting leaves a wound on the target's mind
resulting in various levels of mental ailment such as schizophrenia, anxiety, depression,
melancholia, phobia, narcissism etc.
3. An Anomaly occurs. These events cause widespread pandemonium as the
world cracks under the pressure between the supernal realms laws and the fallen worlds
lies. Reality briefly glitches in an area comparable to the strength of the spell that
induced it, and unusual random and possibly dangerous phenomena come about based on
the mages watchtower.
4. Branding occurs. A physical mark, scar, deformity or bestial feature appears
on the willworker, marking them forever as having caused a paradox. This mark is
always cosmetic and while neither harmful nor helpful, is ultimately a brand of shame
that may make social interactions more difficult
5. A Manifestation occurs. A demon spirit from the abyss is drawn through by
the mage's spell and may assault them, seduce them, plot to secretly harm them at their
most vulnerable moment, or any other act that will be detrimental to the willworker.
Postjump, you will still incur paradox for using vulgar or overt magic outside of a
demesne, but you will no longer be subject to the disbelief of sleepers (nonmagic and
nonsupernatural beings) that see you do it. Disbelief will still however be in effect if
you travel to and use magic in other WoD based jumps.
You may not return to the supernal realms until postspark. The capacity to do so is the
defining feature of Archmages, and thus is denied to you. Any attempt to make the
journey or open a portal etc. will ultimately result in failure.
For the purposes of using spells related to spirits, the astral plane and the upper realms of
an afterlife in other jumps; assume such things work in other worlds as they do in the
world of darkness for the purpose of using this magic in those places. They are simply in
an untapped/unused form. If a setting does have these things then that setting trumps the
world of darkness cosmology.
If you dislike the various introductions in the Origins or watchtowers section, or feel that
your jumper would not behave in those ways then that is fine; feel free to compose your
own narrative on how their Awakening and how they joined their respective orders.
They represent only a few out of many possibilities that your jumper could have
experienced as they entered. If you think you can write a better or even a different means
of accomplishing the same thing; then by all means go ahead and write it (you will still
end up and stay in the fallen world for the full ten years regardless).
Arcana= plural. Arcanum=singular. Just for clarification.
This jump is based on the rules and precepts of magic established in the 1st edition of
Mage the Awakening. Should the settings and rules be interpreted differently than those
presented herein, it may be possible to make another Mage jump based on the 2nd edition
rules. Mage; The Ascension is similarly still unmade as of the completion of this jump.
The Marvelous Clockwork Mystery if solved, will open a direct portal to the abyss and
the cloying hands of hundreds of magicdevouring demons, all seeking to drag the jumper
inside. The only way to close it is for the jumper to enter/be dragged into it, lest the
demons continue to spill forth and wreak havoc on the world at large. The drawback is a
paradoxical one meant that is more likely to occur to a jumper who is intelligent and able
to solve the puzzle before the end of the jump. It is similarly a lesson on seeking
knowledge in only one place, and the dangers that such knowledge provides.
Presently there are plans for supplements/DLC for this jump which may or may not be
brought about depending on the jumpmakers RL schedule and stuff happening. At
present these DLC are; 1 Hollows and Humans (a supplement for a base while in the
WoD). 2Artifacts of Ages (detailing a scenario in which numerous artifacts and
mystical objects may or may not be obtained depending on various circumstances) 3
Legendary Legacies (about shaping one's soul along the lines of any number of available
legacies. This will likely be the longest and last one)
Signed; Zediekiel, with contributions by Alice English and others