A Phoenix

Rising

A Campaign Jumpstart for

Mage 20th Anniversary Edition
 A Phoenix
Rising

A Chronicle Jumpstart for Mage: The Ascension

20th Anniversary Edition
Victor J Kinzer
Credits Special Thanks to:
Written By: Victor J Kinzer Satyros Phil Brucato for being a constant inspiration and
Developed By: Victor J Kinzer creating so much of the wonder we now get to play with
Edited By: Simon Eichhörnchen, Elisheva Clinton in Mage: The Ascension
Art Direction: Victor J Kinzer Josh Heath for showing the full potential of the Vault and
Art: Mage: The Ascension Art Packs and giving me my first chance to write for an audience beyond my
Steven Kocian Facebook friends list. You sir are a shining star.
Cover Art: Victor Kinzer w/ CC0 Photography from pexels.com
Cultural Review: Laura Martinez, Cosmo Cahill

© 2018 White Wolf Entertainment AB. All rights reserved. Vampire:

The Masquerade®, World of Darkness®, Storytelling System™, and Sto-
rytellers Vault™ are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of White
Wolf Entertainment AB. All rights reserved.
For additional information on White Wolf and the World of Dark-
ness, please, visit: www.white-wolf.com, www.worldofdarkness.com and
www.storytellersvault.com.

2 A Phoenix Rising
 Table of
Contents
Setting 5 Sanoj Laghari 34
What am I Holding? 5 Bettina Mathers 37
A Glamorous Distraction 6 Anton Josef 40
The Hubris of Rebirth 7 Charlie Ramirez 43
Disparate Visions 9 Taylor Flores 46
Of Union and Unity 11 Michi Pangan 49
Scenarios 14
Guardians Against the Fall 14
Never Trust a Deviant 15
Burned by the Rising Sun 16
Befriending the Wolf 17
Rebuilding the Falling Tower 18
Suggested Starting Sessions 20
Desert Power Players 21
Characters 24
Penelope Durante 25
Deion Jonasson 28
Taima 31
Chapter 3
 Place illustration here
(recomended full colour)
 Chapter I:
Setting
Beneath the broad tides of human history there flow the stealthy undercurrents of the secret societies,
which frequently determine in the depth the changes that take place upon the surface..
— A. E. Waite

What Am I Holding?
What is this supplement? Is it a city set of game artifacts, including PCs, NPCs,
sourcebook? Is it an adventure? Is it something a setting, and a political mystery. There is no
else entirely? The answer is a little bit of all predetermined orientation of protagonist/
of the above. This book isn’t really a city antagonist. As with any good Mage setting
sourcebook, and it isn’t quite an adventure the point of view chosen by your players will
book. It includes bits and pieces of both you dramatically transform the dynamics of this
will likely recognize from more traditional story.
offerings. A Phoenix Rising is a book designed Perhaps you want to run a game
to take a long hard look at a pivotal moment filled with mystics snubbing their noses at
in the Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary the Technocratic Union by re-forming their
Edition “metaplot”, the election of the New Council right under Control’s nose, or
Horizon Council. perhaps you want to play a local amalgam
So it’s an adventure? Well, not exactly. loyal to Project Invictus, trying desperately
Adventure supplements for Mage have a to stop Nephandic forces within the Union
spotty history. When you give your players the from turning the new Council of Nine into
ability to rewrite reality the linear structure another tool of descent, or maybe you’re a
of traditional adventure supplements breaks group of Disparates who would like it very
down pretty quickly. This book doesn’t try much if the Traditions kept their noses and
to write a story for you. Instead it provides a paradigms out of your business. All of those

Setting 5
are legitimate stories to tell herein.
Theme and Tone: A Phoenix Rising is What World is This?
designed to tap into the complicated politics
of the Ascension War. This might feel more One of the difficulties of writing an adventure, or
like Vampire than Mage, and that is by design. structured chronicle kickstart for Mage is the canon is at
best “very flexible”. For the purposes of this adventure
Mage’s politics are complicated and often fly there are a number of Future Fate assumptions built into
well over the head of the average character. the setting. Not all of them will necessarily become
What would an initiate know of the schemes major plot points, but they do lay the groundwork
of Doissetep, or of plans crafted in the heart of for the political quagmire you will be navigating. You
should feel free to change any of these assumptions to
Autochthon? Ultimately, nothing. In the years craft your ideal game. If you do change any of these
after the Avatar Storm nothing is as clean cut assumed future fates make sure the rest of the socio-
as it once was. The politics of the Awakened political dynamics you use from this module still more
or less make sense and work at your table.
are spilling into the streets. Without the old
masters the Traditions are without focus, the The M20 Future Fates assumed in this module are:
Union isn’t as monolithic as it used to be, and • Technocratic Paradigm: “The Technocracy Won.
the line between street level and power broker . . and then didn’t”. This is a modification of the
first Technocratic Paradigm future fate (M20 p63)
isn’t nearly as bright and clean as it once was. The Technocracy pushed their paradigm to all
In the world we live in an Orphan can corners of reality, but then mystic belief adapted,
in many cases becoming pseudo-technocratic.
spark a revolution, a sleeper can invent social The societal immunity of vaccines started to fail,
networking, and a few simple memes can the seemingly unshakable foundation of the free
redefine the political realities of our world 5 market shook in 2008, and has faced continued
times a year . . . or more. The scope of this story attack as the Syndicate works to restore their great
work. At the same time, mystics began to take on
is world spanning, but the action is focused on wild technomantic paradigm at a frightening rate,
a single event. One that a handful of adepts are which some technocrats see as a huge opportunity,
in a unique position to influence. Will they and others view as the greatest threat they have
change the world for the better, or undermine ever faced.
the last spark of hope in a hopeless world? • The Reckoning and the Avatar Storm: The Avatar
Storm was temporary. If players want to go into the
spirit worlds they can, but the reckoning happened
A Glamourous Distraction and it changed the makeup of Awakened society
The Entertainment Capital of the world, Sin forever. When the storm subsided the Masters and
Archmages did not return. Much of this adventure
City, the Other City of Lights. Las Vegas lives centers on mages in the 2010s coming to terms with
high in the imaginations of the 40 million having autonomy over their own fate, and dealing
tourists that grace its gambling halls and with a full generation of mages coming into their
own who never had to live under the old Masters.
glittering lounges every year. All of that glitz
and glam flowing through the Glitter Gulch • The Dimensional Anomaly and a “Kinder, Gentler
Technocracy”: The storm has faded, but the scars
serves more than one purpose. It doesn’t remain. This story does use some of the narrative
just lure in unsuspecting rubes primed to be from the Revised Convention books, but it assumes
separated from their savings, it also obscures those texts only present part of what happened.
the true power of Las Vegas. The monolithic control that defined the Union in
previous decades has cracked. Now factions who
Vegas plays host to 20,000 professional believe in a more sustainable future exist beside
conferences every year. Forget the blackjack factions fighting to return to Queen Victoria’s great
vision. This tribal breakdown in the Union opens the
tables and floor shows; that’s real power. The possibility of future defection, extreme enemies, and
basic structure of American business is built, unexpected alliances.
torn down, and rebuilt daily in the halls of Las
Vegas hotels, all while,“My Heart Will Go On”
wafts not so delicately through the air before
6 A Phoenix Rising
yet another decadent all you can eat buffet
is served. That seeming contradiction is no
accident. Building a Technocratic stronghold
is difficult, and sooner or later reality deviants
begin worming their way into the machinery
of even the most carefully protected amalgam.
When strongholds of Union power
rise and fall a dozen times a day it’s nearly
impossible to know what an “effective target”
looks like. It doesn’t help that the “nodes”
fueling the endless cycle of Technocratic
innovation in Vegas aren’t embedded in the
ground beneath the city. There are no great
machines extracting the primal energy of
ancient geothermal vents to power protein
synthesis tanks, or massive solar collectors
driving power to HIT Mark assembly lines.
Those things are easy to see, understand,
and attack. The great “nodes” of Vegas are
all primal ventures (Mage 20th Anniversary
Edition, Page 527), ephemeral lines of value
streaking across planes of existence even the
Void Engineers have only barely detected
with traditional Prime and Dimensional
Science. Most mystics aren’t even aware primal
ventures exist. The Traditions or Disparates
have meager hope of understanding Union
power in Vegas well enough to subvert it.

The Hubris of
Rebirth
The Traditions have chosen to fuel their
resurrection, of both heart and soul, in this
crucible of Technocratic power. The same
Enlightened cloaking that diverts deviant
eyes from Union activity in Las Vegas makes
it almost impossible for agents of the Union
to track every convention that flows through
Vegas’s hundreds upon hundreds of hotels.
Some factions within the Traditions claim
to be able to syphon quintessence out of
Syndicate “ventures”, and they claim there
is no place better to gather and chose a new
council to guide the Traditions into the future.
Setting 7
 Even among the Awakened the spectre of
Our Enemy’s Weapons “hubris” is being invoked openly to describe
the gathering in Vegas. The choice of venue
The idea that Primal Utility is available outside the for the Council Convocation is at best daring,
Technocratic Union or even the Syndicate flies in
the face of a lot of common wisdom. If you spend
and at worst catastrophically arrogant.
some time wandering YouTube looking for accessible Las Vegas is a strangely appropriate
documentaries about the global financial system though place for the New Horizon Council’s rebirth.
you’ll find a sea of popular pieces picking apart the
modern world’s monetary system. By and large they The Traditions aren’t the staunch Masters,
have a conspiratorial bent, but this is Mage. How often stuck in their ways that gathered to stop the
are the conspiracy theorists the only ones who know ascendance of the upstart Order of Reason.
what’s really going on in the World of Darkness? There Technomagick runs through the paradigms of
are forces outside the Union who are clearly trying to
crack the nut that is hyper economic paradigm. Being Mercurial Elite and Kha’ Vadi alike. The ghost
able to take the battle to the Syndicate would give is truly in the machine and in this day and age
traditionalists a weapon they’ve been denied since even the most staunchly “reconstructionist”
the High Guild’s ascendancy.
Verbenae adhere to technopagan manifestos
So have Tradition or Disparate Mages actually figured floating through the divine ether of the
out how to access the quintessence trapped in the
Syndicate’s global network of primal ventures? The Digital Web. The old masters wandering
answer to that question is up to you or your ST. If you the distant halls of Horizon were more than
want to seed this possibility consider including some out of touch with Tradition realities on the
House Thig masters in your campaign or Virtual Adepts mudball. To most Mages they were no more
who have devoted their Awakened will to mapping
the Syndicate’s strongholds in the Digital Web. If present or relevant to daily practice than
these claims are no more than passing Awakened Homeric Hymns sung in the original Greek.
propaganda then consider that the Syndicate has
intentionally leaked some of their resources to agents
For many within the Traditions
within the Traditions. A failed attempt at reforming the reforming their Council in Las Vegas
Tradition Council would be an amazing moment to represents a renewed vision for the place
re-inflame The Ascension War. Perhaps the Traditions of mysticism in the modern world. When
are playing right into the Union’s schemes.
humanity first Awakened from their eternal

8 A Phoenix Rising
dream they did so with no Tradition. There path ahead. It cedes too much to the Union,
was no “true way” to be preserved. They cried giving away territory they’ve been fighting to
out to their Avatars demanding insight about hold for centuries. Once you’ve committed
the nature of their existence. When the stars your life to a battle it’s hard to hear the battle
that glowed within them granted flickering wasn’t worth fighting.
understanding of their reality they claimed
the power to give name and shape to that Center of Power
reality. With the fall of the old masters, and The Traditions bought out the entire Luxor
the calming of the Avatar Storm, younger hotel for their convocation. The hotel’s
Mages claim it is time to awaken anew to the architecture amplified the rituals secluding
world around them, and look forward instead portions of the interior within the Umbra.
of back. They want the freedom to seek new Local Tradition mages begged to have the
gnostic understanding of the reality they’ve convocation in a more discreet location,
been born into, and the power to shape it but for now the pyramid at the center of
in the light that search for truth casts ahead Paradise is housing some of the most powerful
of them. mages left after the devastation of the Avatar
This faction within the Traditions has Storm. This temporary chantry is being
no love for the Union, but they largely see the run by Matthew Somayaji, the Chorister
battle for reality not as mysticism vs. reason, charged with presiding over the selection of
but as freedom vs. soulless obedience. This the new Tradition Council. The hotel has
view is far from universal, and many within been fractured into countless shard realms,
the Traditions believe this new “vision” to be mirrors of reality just beyond the reach of
a subversive Technocratic ploy. Many of the sleeper sight where the Awakened can gather
oldest survivors of the Avatar Storm saw the and conduct their business. The hallways of
Syndicate commoditize their paradigms, and the Luxor twist and turn through the near
reduce them to fantasy products, children’s Umbra, and hide bygone guards ready to
books, flashy films, trendy games played in defend attendees against any form of attack.
dank basements, and frenetic convention Someone may eventually move against the
halls. They see nothing but folly in this new convocation, but they would be foolish to do
so within the walls of the Luxor.

Disparate Visions
Not everyone is concerned with the subtle world is not nearly as binary as the Traditions
nuances of a reborn Council and its and the Union would have everyone believe.
philosophical vision. For many mystics, the The burgeoning Disparate Alliance has
Traditions were hardly an improvement on the mixed feelings about the election of a new
Technocratic Union. Far too many mages grew Council of Nine. Many Disparates would
up on stories of their ancestors being “told” prefer to leave the traditionalists to their own
to join the Hermetics, Dreamspeakers, or devices, believing them incapable of growth
some other Tradition. There are just as many or merit. Others have seen promising changes
whispered tales of the Tradition’s retribution since the fall of the Council, and while they
against Heylel, or the Templar’s tales of the would never give up their autonomy by joining
Church’s crimes against the early crusaders. the Traditions, they see a chance to gain a
For many mystics the fall of Horizon was either powerful new ally in a world where friends
a non issue, or a victory to be celebrated. The are in short supply. Still other members
Setting 9
of the Alliance see the rising Council as a any number of other emerging technomantic
threat that must be stopped. Their wounds paradigms, leaving many “disciplined”
remain too raw and too real to ever trust The practitioners anxious about their place in
Traditions with the power they once wielded. the world.
To anyone paying attention the “Disparate” Some of these ideas have taken hold
in Disparate Alliance seems to be the more within the Traditions since the old masters
descriptive term. have fallen, most notably the movement
The Disparate Alliance has given a to reconcile Quantum Field Theor y
home, and visibility to the growing number with the Etheric Mechanics. Far more of
of Orphans among the Awakened. While the this innovation is happening within the
Traditions bemoan the “death of wonder” that Disparates, or among Orphans who do not
came with the Avatar Storm the leaders of the have to unlearn their existing paradigmatic
Disparate movement have seen an explosion baggage. Among these “mystic innovators”
of paradigm and possibility in the last decade. the idea of the Council rising again poses a
“Pure Mystic Paradigm” has certainly taken a potential threat to their freedom to explore
hit since the turn of the millenium. Anyone the farthest reaches of their own potential.
tied to organized religion, strictly traditional The Council was originally founded to “fight
paganism, or invested in protecting the high the new” in the form of the Order of Reason.
ritual secrets of the Hermetics has felt the While most people would never claim this
ground shift beneath them. Their paradigms new experimentation is a threat on par with
have given way to urban witchcraft, sacred the Daedelans, there are enough purists who
geometry discovered in quantum space, and view such work as a betrayal to breed concern.

10 A Phoenix Rising
 Harmless Innovation or Ticking Time Bomb
The Disparates view the traditionalism of council mages as a weakness. Even the staunchest mystic would likely admit
that the old council was stagnant, but there are reasons to police mystic paradigm. Reality is a delicate thing, and
Avatars are not known to wait for discretion before granting Enlightenment. The old archives are filled with cautionary
tales of Orphans gifted with the vision of Masters, but without anyone to guide their development. More than a few fell
to paradox, Union Enforcers, or in more cases than anyone cares to admit, the cauls.
As with most things in Mage, and the World of Darkness more broadly, there isn’t a good answer to this problem. A
world of mystics with no organization is a world filled with dangerous paradox effects rippling through reality causing
untold collateral damage. At the same time any group of mages with the hubris to believe they hold the right to decide
what is acceptable and what is not will almost certainly become victims of their own egos. If you use this text as the
starting point for a larger chronicle this tension can drive your story for quite some time. It’s important to remember that
Mage is a game about hope and folly in equal measure. While it is no more possible to build a true Utopia in the World
of Darkness than it is in the world we live in, if you can’t make tomorrow into something better than today Mage loses
a lot of its narrative power.
It is possible to run a game where the Disparates are 100% correct about the dangers a new Tradition council poses, and
for the Traditionalists (and Technocrats) to be 100% correct about the dangers of a world with no law or order among
the Awakened. Navigating that tension is quintessentially Mage.

Center of Power shelter and they find themselves wandering

There’s an old warehouse on the far edge of inside, unsure of how they arrived. The vast
Spring Valley, away from the distraction of majority of the residents of the warehouse
the Vegas lights. It’s unassuming from the are Disparate magi, though occasionally a
outside but inside is one of the most bustling Tradition or Union mage stays in the chantry
chantries in the city. It was converted into a for a while. So long as they follow the rules,
live in coop nearly a decade ago by a group and share the same hospitality that is extended
of Orphans who were sick of floating along to them, they are welcome.
surviving on the grace of fate and their friend’s The longest resident is a sleeper named
couches. They wanted to create a sanctuary Bernadette, though everyone calls her Bernie.
for magi on the outskirts of Awakened She runs the kitchen and maintains order
society. The chantry doesn’t have a formal within the warehouse. After years of being
name, though quite a few previous residents surrounded by magick she’s more comfortable
affectionately call it ‘the warehouse’. The spirit in the chantry than out in the city and more
of the sanctuary calls out to those who need than a few of the lost souls drawn to the
warehouse end up calling her mother.

Of Union and Unity

Shining lights, addictive slots, and shrines the the broader Awakened community has
to wealth fill every corner of Vegas. There changed dramatically in the past 20 years.
are few places on Earth so fundamentally While the Anomaly (as Technocrats
Technocratic. Ignoring why the Traditions like to call the Avatar Storm) raged the Union
would choose to appoint their new Council was cut off from upper management, their
here, the question of why the Union would offworld colonies, and most importantly
allow them to is high on the minds of everyone Control. In the absence of the strict influence
involved in the coming convention. The truth of Control the Union has fractured, and grown
is the relationship between the Union and less monolithic. No single opinion of how to
Setting 11
deal with reality deviants dominates Union
policy, especially as several independent groups
of Mages now spread Technocratic paradigm
along with their deviant beliefs. Purists within
the NWO may find this abhorrent, but several
leaders within more flexible conventions see
potential in “curating” deviant populations,
instead of eradicating them. A rather brilliant
paper by Dr. Pradah Agarwal applies the
spay and release model used to control feral
cat populations to a number of different
reality deviant communities. Her simulations
demonstrate anthropic stability can be achieved
with extremely efficient resource investment
by promoting development of self regulating
systems in deviant populations.
Agarwal’s paper was leaked in an
obscure site on the Dark Web months after
the location for the Council Convocation was
finalized. It has caused almost as much buzz
outside the Union as it’s caused among the rank
and file. Opinions about Agarwal’s models
are anything but consistent. Several regional
directors believe that her work becoming public
compromises her program’s efficacy, and are
promoting a return to strict population control
protocols. Other factions argue the paper’s
public release doesn’t change anything in the
long run, and are espousing rapid application
of the program, citing the continued loss of
Union resources to the increasing incidence
of “unmanaged reality deviance”.
A third, more radical faction is calling
for formal Union/Tradition negotiations.
This faction is small, but they cite a number of
historic documents detailing formal relations
from before the Victorian reorganization.
It seems the early Daedelan Order wasn’t
as antagonistic towards mystics as common
Technocratic history modules indicate. More
than a few Technocrats who believe greater
coordination with the Traditions is a viable
path forward for the Union have been sent
to Room 101, but since the fall of Control it’s
considerably more difficult to weed out every
dissenting voice within the Union’s halls.
12 A Phoenix Rising
 What About Control?!
The question of why the Technocracy puts up with reality deviants out in the world, much less dissenters in their own midst
is always lurking in the background of Union stories. Even before the Reckoning the Technocratic Union was filled with
conspiracies and counter conspiracies, and horrors still stalked the night feeding on humanity. If you run the Technocracy
as the monolithic conspiracy they were originally written as it’s hard to make sense of all of this. In a setting after the fall
of Control this question is even more difficult to grapple with, but you have options.
• Control was never in control: Control was a story told to initiates to keep them in line, or if it existed its powers were
somewhat . . . exaggerated. The Union is powerful, but never had the resources necessary to unilaterally rewrite
consensus, so they had to pick their battles. Some supernatural groups are allowed to persist because they keep their
own in check, but largely the reason the Technocracy hasn’t wiped all the deviants from the mudball is that reports of
their omnipotence are greatly exaggerated. Since the Anomaly this is triply true, and reality has gotten all the more
unpredictable as a result.
• Control was playing a long game, and it’s over now: Before the Anomaly, Control was just playing a game too
complicated for mere mortals to understand. The worst reality deviants were pushed out into the outer realms, but
organizations like the Camarilla, the Garou Nation, or Concordia that maintained laws designed to keep their citizens
in check were allowed to flourish, or even encouraged to flourish because they were the most efficient way to protect
humanity in a world where all out war would be apocalyptic. Control’s approach to shaping consensus (even within
the Technocracy) was much like a gardener handles a hedge: conspiracies that grew in unappealing ways were
pruned while those that contributed to control’s goals were allowed to flourish. That delicate balance disappeared
with the loss of upper management, and now the Technocratic Union is as fractious and unpredictable as any other
group of scheming humans with more power than they can truly manage.
• Control is back but moving slowly: During the Anomaly consensus kind of fell apart. Vaccines started to falter, superbugs
that could care less about the Union’s Enlightened treatment regimens showed up, the NWO’s societal principles even
seemed like they were ready to crumble. The storm has passed and as the Union will tell you “Everything’s going to
be perfectly fine now”. The Technocratic Union can’t just undo everything that happened while the Anomaly raged
for the same reason that they couldn’t jump from the Victorian Reorganization to their bold new vision in a year’s time.
Paradox bows to no human or god. Control is back though, and the timeline is being recalibrated. Every change
in the world, be it expansion of Technocratic paradigm, or compromise made to technomystic belief is a tactical
choice designed to recalibrate consensus and get us all “moving in the right direction again”. If the Traditions want to
maintain any relevance in the world to come they will have to strike at the core of the Union now while the renewed
Control is still trying to solidify its power.

“Collaborators” are few and far between, but Some Technocrats are focused on
they exist. While they are cautious about who day to day life in Vegas though. Sara Jane
they share their ideas with, they are not nearly Andersen works out of the Las Vegas branch
as silent as they used to be. Revolutions have of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and
come about from less. coordinates Technocratic operations for the
entire southwest region. While she is not part
Center of Power of a team, she is responsible for executing
There are more Technocratic constructs Union policy across the region, and regularly
scattered across Vegas than any one person taps local amalgams to execute Union
knows about. They are hidden in the directives. In Vegas that commonly means
basements of casinos, folded between the tapping Blackrock Security. They maintain
walls of shared working spaces, or distributed a small construct just within the borders of
across the virtual startups grounded in Vegas’ Paradise. While they are officially a personal
thriving tech scene. By and large the amalgams security company, making their money
doing work in these constructs are focused protecting celebrities and formal events, their
outside of Vegas. After all with adequate use real work is considerably stranger. There is
of Data there is no reason to be physically very little deviant activity on the streets of
located next to your primary markets. Vegas Black Rock isn’t tracking.
Setting 13
 Chapter II:
Scenarios
The gods of one age become the devils of the age to follow. The priests look forward
to the age to come and see only the end of the world.
— Lon Milo DuQuette

Many Worlds That Could Be

The preceding pages are filled with what-ifs Guardians Against the Fall
and what-could-bes. The book is designed that Player Synopsis: You will be playing members
way to accommodate the flexible nature of of Project Invictus (Guide to the Technocracy
spheres, and Mage players. A more structured pg. 29) a conspiracy within a conspiracy.
story would likely fall apart very quickly. After Who actually gets to explore what a good
all what is a World of Darkness game without guy technocracy game actually looks like?
a few player misconceptions to manipulate? You’ll still be technocrats, and you’ll still
The following descriptions are meant believe in the primacy of humanity over the
to give you the tools to startup a one shot supernatural, but there is a right and a wrong
or chronicle on short notice. You can pick way to accomplish your goals.
a scenario and share appropriate character Player Makeup: The players can be selected
templates and details with your troupe, or you from the technomantic PC templates. Ideally
can let your players pick characters and choose all of the members of Ramiréz’s management
the most appropriate scenario afterwards. As team should be in the game and then
with all other things in the World of Darkness one or two independent or traditionalist
the scenarios below are suggestions. If you technomancers who are collaborating with
have the time and inclination burn them Invictus to keep the Union under control.
to the ground and make something more This isn’t a good place for dyed-in-the-wool
interesting out of the wreckage. traditionalists like Bettina Mathers, but
14 A Pheonix Rising
Deion, Sanoj, or even Anton could be motivated
to work with members of Project Invictus.
The technocrats in this scenario have
been members of Invictus for years, and the
founding of Blackrock Security was a way to bring
together several Invictus agents into a single
amalgam. The majority of the firm’s work has
been in taking down Nephandic schemes within
the Union, though they’ve barely scratched the
surface. Despite acting against Union forces, the
characters are still fiercely loyal to their vision of
a Nephandus free Technocracy. They cooperate
with independent actors out of necessity (there
aren’t enough allies in the Technocracy to get
the job done), but there are things they keep
from their “somewhat deviant” allies. Family
business is, after all, family business.
Secrets the PCs Don’t Know: Sarah Jane
knows the team is Invictus. While she isn’t
personally an Invictus member she is aware
that Nephandi have infiltrated the Union, and
believes the principles of conditioning apply to
an organization as much as to an individual.
The best conditioning is done when the subject
doesn’t realize they are being ‘improved’. By
quietly guiding Invictus she is able to do great
work to perfect the Union that few other
members of the Ivory Tower will ever achieve.
She is also able to make sure Invictus agents
who became a bit too radical can be taken out
of commission before they do any real damage.
Sarah Jane is keeping Blackrock inactive
because there are Union/Tradition negotiations
happening as part of the convocation, and with
increased scrutiny she is afraid they (and her
complicity) will be found out. Even Sarah Jane
doesn’t know the full extent of the negotiations.
Is it a truce, a territorial negotiation, or an actual
allegiance of some limited sort? She wants to
know more before she takes the shackles off
Blackrock Security. She suspects Nephandic
involvement of some sort but that could be
simple paranoia. Blackrock’s management team
is not inclined to be so patient. After all they
are Invictus, and they don’t know Sarah Jane
is at least partially on the level.
Scenarios 15
Never Trust a Deviant Burned by the Rising Sun
Player Synopsis: This is a pure Technocracy Player Synopsis: Technocrats aren’t the
game. While the Union is experimenting only ones known for their domineering
with applying some “free market” principles tendencies. Instead of being about mystics
to amalgam construction, everyone will versus Technocrats with a few technomages
ultimately be technocrats. While the thrown in the mix, this game is about the
Traditions may not be the only enemy they messy middle where you can leverage hyper
are the main antagonists. Let’s go get some economics and delve the spirit wilds of the
deviants. southwest with the same character. Allegiances
Player Makeup: The game should include and perspectives may be a challenging to nail
the technocratic player templates. To fill out a down in this setting, but in the end isn’t that
full team the following characters can also be what makes Mage great?
played as previous technomystics who defected Player Makeup: This game should pull PC
after witnessing the obvious corruption of the templates from the Disparates, or very loosely
reforming Tradition council. Deion - Defected aligned traditionalists. Deion or Penelope are
to join a very small group of Necronauts within potential members of the PC cabal for this
the Pan Dimensional Corps, Sanoj - Defected group, even as members of the traditions their
to the Iteration X Statisticians. loyalties aren’t particularly strong. Bettina
Secrets the PCs Don’t Know: There are can be brought in if the players are up for
Fallen forces driving the Traditions to hold PC-on-PC tensions, but the players should
their convocation in Vegas. Their primary know what they’re signing up for if Bettina
motivation is that in the past several years is made available to the group.
they have lost several of their most important Secrets the PCs Don’t Know: The Traditions
agents within the Technocracy. Sarah Jane have been approached by a group of
runs a very tight ship, especially in Vegas, technocrats seeking to rein in the uncontrolled
and doesn’t tolerate corruption or destructive hostilities defining the Ascension War in the
zealotry. The Fallen have shifted their focus 21st century. Since the fall of the council
and are working to make sure the Traditions Tradition law is inconsistently enforced,
develop into the kind of organization they and many more mystics are Awakening as
can use to ignite old hatreds. Orphans or into unaffiliated groups. These
The tricky thing is that the traditionalists mystics are more likely to act brashly than
on the ground aren’t part of the corruption their carefully initiated and trained Tradition
within the Traditions and several of the counterparts. Violent mages aren’t held to
most powerful convocation attendees would account, catastrophic paradox backlashes
probably make great allies (if either side could are far more common than they were at
get over their deep-seated biases). If the players the height of Tradition power, and several
do end up trying to establish connections dangerous spiritual pacts have pushed the
within the Traditions, they should be kept in Union to an ugly realization -- They need a
doubt about their allies. The fallen control strong, unified tradition council, because
more than a few well intentioned pawns. they can’t control a worldwide populace of
In this context Sarah Jane is unlikely to be unaccountable deviant mages.
forgiving of collusion with the Traditions. Negotiations between the New Horizon
While she is not a hardliner for an NWO Council and the Technocratic Union started
agent that’s not a terribly forgiving standard, years ago after the chaos of the Avatar
and she is aware of the corruption within the Storm left both groups vulnerable. Those
Tradition ranks. negotiations are dangerously close to total
16 A Phoenix Rising
collapse and discussion of a renewed deviant to tradition paradigm if they did join. They
population control program is dangerously have little desire to return to those days. It
common. The traditions proposed the will be difficult for the players to know who
convocation as a last ditch effort to hammer to trust, or to let themselves trust Tradition
out a structure both sides can live with, mages, but they will need allies on the inside
granting political leverage to the most to stymie the sect’s worst tendencies.
autocratic Traditionalists. The return of
“council law” is the only way forward, and Befriending the Wolf
of course once the strength of the Traditions Player Synopsis: Penelope’s visions are
is re-established the Technocracy can be haunted by something wicked happening
“dealt with”. Without the pressure from the in the Traditions. The Union is moving to
Union this view would not hold within the take advantage of the chaos in the worst
Traditions, and there are very few who are way possible, but they don’t seem to be the
happy about the current state of affairs. When cause of the coming calamity. No one trusts
the unpopular see a chance to seize power, the convocation happening to select a new
they are not wont to let it slip away. Tradition Council, and you’re going to need
The specific threat to the players is that all the allies you can get your hands on if you
a Tradition Council run in this manner is want to help stop Penelope’s visions from
likely to try to “unite all mystics under a single becoming reality..
banner” again. Many among the Disparates Player Makeup: This game will focus on
remember the pressure they felt to to join the Traditionalist characters. To fill out a
the council’s ranks, and the drive to conform complete group it could make sense to include
Scenarios 17
Anton as he has little animosity towards the Disparates of Las Vegas will decide to tear
Traditions. You could pull in a character or everything down. The Disparate Alliance
two who are more distrustful of the Traditions suspects the Traditions and the Technocracy
like Taima, or a member of Blackrock security of being Nephandic tools, so the prospect of
playing both sides, but the players should be the two groups allying would cause no small
prepared to play a somewhat toned down amount of panic. The ugly truth is such a
version of those character’s biases in this war might just serve the Fallen better than
scenario. corrupting the Union and Traditions puppets
Secrets the PCs Don’t Know: This convocation ever did.
is the culmination of nearly 3 years of
negotiation between sects within the Union Rebuilding the Falling Tower
and the Traditions. Both groups have been Player Synopsis: The Traditions need to be
infiltrated by the Fallen, and only a few people saved from themselves. The convocation is
truly understand how deep the corruption happening, and the leaders of the Traditions
goes. Samoyaji and Sarah Jane are both acting are demonstrating unimaginable hubris. They
as liaisons for the negotiations taking place, are thumbing their noses at the Union, fate,
and they understand how high the stakes and good sense. It is arrogant to think a
are. There are forces within the Traditions group of Disciples know better than Masters,
and the Union who wish to sabotage the but the Awakened are not known for their
alliance. It would be easy to assume these humility or restraint.
forces are all driven by Nephandi, but the Player Makeup: This game should include
truth is that it’s hard to let old hatreds die. all Tradition and Disparate characters,
Most of the actors within the Union and and heavily emphasize the baggage the
the Traditions fighting to undermine the Disparates have related to the Traditions.
convocation honestly believe that their cause The Technocratic PC templates should be
is righteous. That certainly doesn’t prevent treated as potential NPCs in this scenario.
the Fallen from using them as tools, but it While they don’t have to be antagonists, that
does make confrontation a messy prospect. is their most likely role. Penelope and Bettina
Blackrock Security has uncovered specifically have a strong motivation to help
at least part of the Nephandic plot, and create a council that will guide the Awakened
they know it’s more dangerous than any with more wisdom than the last, and they
short-sighted mage politicking.. Blackrock’s both fear that will not happen without their
motivations are unknown to the players, intervention.
and they could be powerful allies, or zealous Secrets the PCs Don’t Know: Samoyaji is
opponents depending on how reckless the aware of the risks of the rising Council, but
PCs are. They may well be willing to ally he has seen too many premonitions in his
against the Fallen, but they have very little own workings, and from his elders that point
patience for mystics who put the masses at to disaster if the Awakened do not organize.
risk. If the players aren’t careful they could His faith in the new Council is only that it
end up fighting a war on multiple fronts. is the least terrible of all the awful options
The players should never quite know ahead. He does have faith that if properly
who their enemies are in this scenario. If shepherded the Council will weather the
they throw away potential allies they should naivete of new power. All things must pass
become painfully aware of the repercussions through Gevurah and be purified before they
of their recklessness. As representatives of the can attain true greatness. While he does not
traditions there is also a very real risk that the relish that process he knows it is necessary. He
18 A Phoenix Rising
may end up being an ally of the cabal, but they
will have to do a lot of work to convince him
that they do not pose a threat to the stability of
the convocation. If they are able to engender
his trust he can be a powerful ally, otherwise
he may also be a formidable opponent.
Sarah Jane and Blackrock Security
on the other hand only sees the damage
that will be done by this new Tradition
Council. While Union leadership thinks a
dysfunctional council is still better than the
dangers of a completely unregulated deviant
population there is growing sentiment with
the Technocracy that the new council is a
threat, and the only way to mitigate the danger
posed by unchecked mystics is to reign them
in by force. If the faction within the Union
convinces management of their views things
on the ground in Vegas will become very ugly.
The one technocrat in the city who thinks
there might be a way to steer the council
towards being a force for good is Michi, but
even her faith in Agarwal’s approach to deviant
populations has been shaken by the actions
she’s seen from traditionalists recently. It
is possible to gain Michi as an ally, but the
players are likely to see her views as profoundly
dehumanizing. If they do end up cooperating
with Michi the relationship should never be
completely friendly. Ramirez and Flores will
react very poorly if they find out she’s been
working with mystics.
What exactly the Traditions have done
to distress the players and the Technocratic
Union is up to the Storyteller in this case. It
shouldn’t necessarily be malicious, but rather
grossly irresponsible and dangerous.

Scenarios 19
 Suggested Starting Sessions
The Future Fates, PCs, and general setting can be a consistent source of information, or
of A Phoenix Rises provide a robust toolset if the player’s bungle it could become a very
to get the first major arc of your chronicle up influential enemy.
and running. If you want to jump into the Deviant Clientele (Never Trust a Deviant):
Tradition Convocation immediately and see The amalgam has been ordered not to get
how things play out before making any major involved in the convocation. That’s difficult
story decisions you can start with one of the to do when Traditionalists come knocking
opening scenarios below. Once you have a asking for protection. The game should start
feel for how your player troup reacts to each with some space for players to react to being
other and the challenges before them you’ll told not to get involved and develop a solid
have a better sense of which situations will opinion on those orders. Then members of the
best play on your troup’s hubris. convocation come knocking to commission a
It Really is Collusion (Guardians Against the security detail for a variety of attendees. It’s
Fall, or Never Trust a Deviant, Burned by the likely they don’t even know Blackrock is a
Rising Sun): The first day of the convocation, Union business. Accepting the job, or perhaps
which could last days, weeks, or much longer. taking the opportunity to strike at a deviant
The players find out about communication in their midst could have very different, but
between the Union and the Traditions still significant outcomes.
leading up to the Convocation. It’s time to Blackrock Makes their Move (Burned by the
do some investigation and find out what’s Rising Sun, Befriending the Wolf, or Rebuilding a
really going on. Since this communication Falling Tower): This scenario is based on the
is happening above the heads of the regional assumption that Blackrock security will be
leaders this could lead the players right into major NPCs in your mystic game. Blackrock
upper Union or Traditionalist forces, or at up until now has avoided doing anything
least their lackeys. related to the Convocation, which is incredibly
Boredom has Set In (Guardians Against the odd, but that changed last night. They are
Fall, or Never Trust a Deviant): Perhaps the moving, and it’s sudden. Something about
players are sick of sitting on their hands and what they’ve done has shaken things loose and
are going to do some more investigation. let some significant bit of information make
Michi’s survey analysis might have turned it into the PCs’ hands. The question is what
up information about why the Traditions are are they going to do with that information?
doing holding such an important convocation Celestial Errand (Befriending the Wolf):
in the middle of a Union stronghold. This Samoyaji approaches the players with a
has the potential of throwing the players up proposition. He tells them Blackrock security
against the Traditionalists in the cities. (Use has been monitoring their activities, along
those PC templates as NPCs.) with a variety of other traditionalists in the
Sarah Jane’s Secret is Out (Guardians Against city. They aren’t making any move to attack,
the Fall): Someone drops a tip, or perhaps some but no one among the Traditions knows quite
expert hacking turns up evidence that Sarah what they are up to. Samoyaji should hold
Jane knows about Blackrock’s real allegiances. back that the new council and the Union are
This will lead the game in the direction of working to forge an alliance. If they investigate
having a more direct ‘ally’, but can the NWO Blackrock successfully they may find that out
ever really be trusted? Once outed Sarah Jane on their own or Samoyaji may eventually share
20 A Phoenix Rising
that information with them, but in the early together. Whatever group of Mages the players
games it should be a mystery. approach should be completely unwilling to
Making All the Wrong Friends (Rebuilding attend as they’ve been approached before and
a Falling Tower): The cabal is approached nothing’s changed. If the storyteller wants they
by a Tradition adept and charged with can have a Disparate representative decide to
convincing one of the resistant Disparate attend, but only to voice their grievances in a
groups (not represented among the PCs) more public setting. If the PCs do come back
to come to the opening ceremonies of the empty handed they will find themselves in the
convocation. Failure is not an option. Either middle of a conflict between the mage who
all mystics stand together or they will all fall sent them on their errand and Samoyaji who
wasn’t consulted before the PCs were tapped.

Desert Power Players

Depending on your story the unused PC hasn’t given any of her other direct reports.
templates may make excellent foils for your That latitude has abruptly ended.Thus far
players, but they will be your player’s equals. Sarah Jane has been tight lipped about the
The following Mages wield more influence reasons for her change in policy. Those who
and power in the city, and likely hold the know her assume something ugly is coming
answers to at least some of the mysteries up in her projections and risk analyses but
driving your story forward. if that’s the case she’s not sharing.
Paradigm: Refinement of form, refinement of
Sarah Jane Anderson thought, refinement of culture. Every action
A cease fire situation like Vegas requires at worth taking furthers one of these goals. You
least 1 power player with faith in co-existence. do not perfect something all at once though.
Sarah Jane keeps that peace. Her public Entropy is . . . stubborn, and sometimes you
face is as the FBI public affairs specialist for have to disrupt the obvious order to prevent a
the Las Vegas area, but her real work is in true fall. Chaos is an unfortunate requirement
managing Union amalgams in the region of the current paradigm (consensus can be
and monitoring deviant threats. Sarah’s refined as well, but one thing at a time).
reputation among her fellow mirrorshades Until that refinement is finished, the chaos
is complicated. She’s efficient, but like most created by the development of order shouldn’t
of the Union presence in Vegas she’s also be wasted. It only takes a slight redirection
unconventional. Sarah Jane is the primary to make sure such deviance takes out one’s
reason Agarwal’s theories have been tested enemies on its path to the outer realms, where
so thoroughly in Nevada. She has informants it belongs.
in every deviant community of note in the Nature: Guardian Demeanor: Director
region and runs rigorous statistical analysis Essence: Static Affiliation: New World
on every operation she authorizes. Order Sect: Technocratic Union
The relationship between Sarah Jane Attributes: Strength: 3, Dexterity: 4,
and Blackrock Security is tenuous. Technically Stamina: 3, Charisma: 2, Manipulation: 4,
Ramírez is accountable to the hierarchy in Appearance: 2, Perception: 4, Intelligence:
the region but she has largely given him free 2, Wits: 4
reign to innovate since setting up shop. His Abilities: Alertness: 4, Athletics: 2, Awareness:
operation has enjoyed a level of latitude she 3, Brawl: 2, Intimidation: 3, Leadership:
Scenarios 21
 4, Subterfuge: 3, Drive: 3, Etiquette: 2, to move against him openly, but more subtle
Firearms: 4, Meditation: 2, Melee: 2, Stealth: sabotage is a daily struggle.
3, Technology: 2, Computer: 3, Enigmas: 2, Paradigm: Unity comes from within; not
Investigation: 5, Law: 3, Politics: 2 without. Matthew doesn’t believe in an
Backgrounds: Resources: 3, Gadgets: 3, omnipotent creator, so much as he believes
Avatar: 4, Contacts: 4, Allies: 3, Node: 4, in an omnipresent One still struggling to
Status: 4 understand themself. Their confused, but
Spheres: Data: 3, Entropy: 4, Forces: 2, hopeful voice can be heard in the music
Mind: 3, Prime: 3, Time: 2 of the cosmos. Every action taken in a well
Willpower: 8, Arete: 5 lived life brings that song closer to perfect
harmony. He believes in the search and
Matthew Somayaji practices through ritual, song, and devotion.
Matthew represents the core of the new All things are parts of the one. Devotion and
Celestial Chorus and until recently was a compassion to those components, is devotion
proponent of the council remaining vacant. and compassion to the one.
He argued that the freedoms enjoyed by Nature: Caregiver Demeanor: Architects
mystics since the fall of the council were giving Essence: Questing Affiliation: Celestial Choir
birth to new and precious possibilities. The Sect: Traditions
last several years have soured the idealism Attribute: Strength: 3, Dexterity: 4, Stamina: 3,
of his youth. Now Matthew is acting as the Charisma: 2, Manipulation: 4, Appearance:
primary coordinator for the coming tradition 2, Perception: 4, Intelligence: 2, Wits: 4
convocation. He has no interest in leadership, Abilities: Alertness: 3, Art: 3, Awareness: 4,
and still expresses reservations about several of Empathy: 3, Leadership: 4, Subterfuge: 3,
the Mages vying for positions on the council Drive: 1, Crafts: 2, Etiquette: 3, Meditation: 4,
but he has come to understand the need for Melee: 4, Stealth: 3, Survival: 3, Academics:
leadership among the Awakened. Too many 3, Cosmology: 3, Enigmas: 3, Esoterica: 4,
tragedies in the last decade were the result Investigation: 2, Occult: 3, Politics: 2
of hubris.
Backgrounds: Resources: 4, Avatar: 3,
Samoyaji spent several years building Contacts: 4, Allies: 2, Node: 4, Status: 4
the Colony. (M20 p146) He would have
happily stayed in his isolated paradise, but Spheres: Correspondence: 3, Forces: 3, Life:
innocence is a fragile thing. After a wave of 3, Mind: 2, Prime: 4, Spirit: 2
refugees flooded the Colony, not from some Willpower: 7, Arete: 5
technocratic atrocity, but from wars between
petty Magi consumed with their own power Nephandus - Non Character
he joined a growing chorus of voices calling Something is moving in the shadows. No
for an election to fill the Primi seats. He has one who’s paying attention has any doubt
profound doubts about the path forward but that the Fallen are trying to, or already
is committed to preventing the failings of the have, significantly influenced the coming
original council. More faithful Traditionalists convocation. No one has been able to hunt
would rather see a true believer coordinating down the Fallen in their midst or put their
the election, but Samoyaji is bound by blood finger on exactly where their center of
and spirit to the oaths governing the coming influence is. They may be acting outside the
convocation, and several powerful mages in major factions of the Awakened, or they may
the city support him based on those magickal be embedded so deeply in the power structures
workings alone. His enemies are not willing of the city that no one on the ground would
22 A Phoenix Rising
even recognize them.
There are whispered rumors of a Nephandi
labyrinth hidden somewhere beneath the city.
Victims surface occasionally with stories of
human trafficking, high volume drug trades,
and more esoteric horrors. A few of these
helped police or the Awakened break up
dens of atrocity, and evidence of Qlippothic
magick was never hard to find. Thus far no
one has been able to trace these leads back
to their source. With the selection of a new
Tradition Council at hand the Fallen have
too much to gain to sit this out.

What?! No Fallen NPC?

The Fallen are tricky to incorporate into a Mage story
as direct antagonists without resorting to mustache
twirling villainy, especially early in a chronicle. So no
identifiable Nephandus is included here.
That said the Nephandi wouldn’t let an event like
the selection of a new Tradition Council pass without
getting involved. If you center your chronicle on a
Nephandus that the players can see, touch, and stare
down they will more than likely burn themselves out
killing the big baddie. Wouldn’t you? At least at the
beginning of your story it’s better to leave any active
Nephandi faceless, and instead just drop occasional
hints of their involvement. If you do eventually allow a
confrontation with one of the Fallen, build a character
tailored to the way your PCs have developed over the
course of your chronicle.
The FBI has listed Vegas more than once as one of the
most active cities in the US for human trafficking and
child prostitution. There is no question that the Fallen
thrive in Vegas, though they are drawn to horrors
created by mundane humans far more often than they
create these atrocities themselves. You have to decide
how, or if, you want to use the Fallen in your story. Their
presence and power in Vegas is common knowledge.
Even if the Fallen aren’t one of your major antagonists
carefully dropped rumors about their activities can be
powerful false flags.

Scenarios 23
 Chapter III:
The Players

Character Profiles
The setting and NPCs presented in the in the characters’ histories they are meant
previous chapter can be used as a jumping to be fully realized individuals in their own
off point for a completely custom chronicle right and can provide dynamic options for
with player designed PCs, motivations and your personal stories.
perspectives. For players who might not be
comfortable with Mage’s character creation Shared Backgrounds
system into the following character templates The characters below have not been given
have been provided to get everyone into the Node, Chantry, or other commonly shared
game as quickly as possible. backgrounds. Since there is no single expected
The following characters represent a group configuration you should plan on giving
broad array of perspectives from all corners your troupe 5-10 dots of background points
of the Ascension War. There are Tradition to spend collectively on shared resources.
loyalists, Disparates with more than a bit of This will prevent scenarios where players
distrust for the ascendant Tradition Council, have to choose between group resources and
and a tenacious amalgam of Technocrats their own personal character development.
invested in the future stability of the This approach also eliminates some of the
consensus. tension that can be caused by destroying player
In addition to being potential player resources they paid for with character creation
characters for a Vegas campaign these points, freeing the storyteller to destroy or
characters can be used as ready made player or develop these backgrounds depending on
storyteller characters for your own chronicles. how the story progresses.
While specific details related to the events
of the Tradition Convocation are included
24 A Pheonix Rising
Penelope Durante
Penelope spent most of her life obsessed with the myths of Cassandra and Persephone.
She grew up on her mother’s knee learning the old stories. In her mother’s telling Persephone
wasn’t tricked into being bound to the underworld, she ate of the pomegranate out of her
great love for Hades, but only ate three seeds because her mother’s suffering tormented her.
Still even in the face of that suffering, she refused to be without her love. If it plunged the
world into darkness for three months every year then so be it,
and she was right to take what was hers.
Penelope majored in playwriting in college.Her thesis
show told the story of her gods; the gods her mother inspired
her to fall in love with. The show caught the attention of a
prideful and arrogant Euthanatoi who resented the way she
reshaped the myths. Even though his primary instrument was
not words, he could feel Penelope’s power. He was convinced
that what she was doing was dangerous. When he approached
her Penelope’s avatar stirred. Though she did not fully
awaken, it inspired her to accept the Euthanatoi’s offer
to give her a “proper education” in the ways of the River
Styx.
Awakening is capricious and Penelope’s did not
go as her new mentor expected. She descended into the
underworld and saw the shadowlands with a clarity few
ever achieve. When she returned to the world of the
living she looked on the work of the Euthanatoi with
horror. They should be shepherds of death, but all too
often she saw Masters who knew better, leave Acolytes
to their own intuition, with far too little regard for the
repercussions. She fought spectre after spectre birthed
by sloppy Euthanatoi too early in their training to
master the skill and compassion necessary to guide
a dark soul away from Oblivion. While she has
not left her tradition, she does not hold her
peers in high regard.
Penelope is a young necromancer in
the Greek oracular tradition. She does not
know Time, but communes with spirits who
have their own ways of knowing the future,
and has focused on learning how to play that
knowledge to its greatest effect. She feels it is her
calling to help those who have been held back from the
wheel of transcendence and this is the thread that ties her to
her tradition. Despite her allegiance she has serious doubts about the
convocation. Penelope knows the harm her lost brethren have inflicted
on the world. She also knows the good they are capable of with the
The Players 25
proper guidance. She has hopes for this new Resonance, Ordeals and Exertion, Sacred
council of nine but as her mother was fond Iconography
of saying, “Hope only gets you so far dearest, Penelope believes that she sits at the center of a
after that you need action”. very old vortex of spiritual energy. She sees all
Paradigm: The movement of the wheel of her magick as growing from the movement
creates all manifestation in the universe. of death energies within the universe and
True enlightenment comes from making each within people. Everyone is moving towards the
circuit with more grace than the last. next turn of the wheel, and understanding/
Instruments: Meditation, Ecstatic Spiritual seeing what drives them to keep spinning is
Visions, Technomantic Altered States, the greatest source of Enlightenment in the
Associated Signs and Portents, Sympathetic world.

26 A Phoenix Rising
 Penelope Durante  Visionary  Euthanatoi
  Mentor  Traditions
 A Phoenix Rises  Primordial 

  
Strength ____________
OOOOO
●● Charisma___________
OOOOO
●●● Perception____________
OOOOO
●●●
Dexterity __________
OOOOO
●● Manipulation_______
OOOOO
●●●● Intelligence __________
OOOOO
●●●
Stamina _____________
OOOOO
●● Appearance __________
OOOOO
●●● Wits_____________ OOOOO
●●


  
Alertness ____________
OOOOO
●●● Crafts______________
OOOOO Academics___________
OOOOO
Art______________ OOOOO Drive_____________ OOOOO Computer__________ OOOOO
Athletics_____________
OOOOO Etiquette____________
OOOOO
●● Cosmology_____________
OOOOO
Awareness____________
OOOOO
●●● Firearms____________
OOOOO Enigmas____________OOOOO
●●
Brawl____________ OOOOO Martial Arts_________
OOOOO Esoterica_________●●●
OOOOO
Empathy_____________
OOOOO
●● Meditation__________
OOOOO
●● Investigation________
OOOOO
Expression____________
OOOOO
●● Melee ____________ OOOOO
●●● Law______________ OOOOO
Intimidation_______OOOOO Research__________ OOOOO Medicine_____________
OOOOO
Leadership___________
OOOOO Stealth _____________
OOOOO
●● Occult___________●●OOOOO
Streetwise ____________
OOOOO
● Survival ____________
OOOOO Politics____________
OOOOO
Subterfuge__________
OOOOO
●● Technology __________
OOOOO Science __________OOOOO

Correspondence________
OOOOO Life______________
OOOOO Prime____________OOOOO
Entropy__________OOOOO
●● Matter___________OOOOO Spirit____________OOOOO
●●
Forces_____________
OOOOO Mind_____________OOOOO
●● Time_____________ OOOOO

  
________________●●●
Avatar OOOOO O O
● ●O●O O O O O O O Bruised -0
________________
Allies OOOOO
●● Hurt -1
________________
Dream OOOOO
●  Injured -1
________________
Library OOOOO
● Wounded -2
________________OOOOO O O
● ●O●O
●O●O
●O●O
●O O
 Mauled -2
________________OOOOO
Crippled -5
Incapacitated
 
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO 
________________OOOOO •
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO  Chapter 27
Deion Jonasson
Deion was a tinkerer decades before he was initiated into the Society of Ether. He
was also obsessed with the occult. He read old ghost stories under his bed sheets as a child
and knew they were true. More than anything he wanted to bring this truth into the light.
And so he started tinkering with EM meters and broad spectrum cameras decades before
ghost hunting invaded the public imagination. Deion needed no help taking the final leap
into awakening. He saw the full potential of the world early on
and found himself trucking with Wraiths using nothing more
than a soldering iron and an unsettling eye for mechanical
construction. It wasn’t long before the Etherites found him.
That first breakthrough, a trinket that let him
detect the imprints left by subspace entities on computer
circuitry was followed by a series of disappointments. Despite
awakening at a young age, he was never able to carve out a
substantial niche for himself within his tradition. His work was
just too fringe even for most Etherites. More than a few ray
gun toting cosmonauts lectured him on his wasted potential.
The irony of these talks was never lost on Deion.
Since the upset of the early aughts and meeting
Penelope his potential is finally being channeled with purpose.
Deion is codifying the underworld in a way that opens new
horizons to traditions who have historically struggled with
the shadowlands. He has a special hatred for ghost
hunting shows and the work the Syndicate
has done to delegitimize his field of study.
He doesn’t need the masses to recognize
what he’s doing. Deion is thrilled simply by exploring
this new realm.
Most of his work with Penelope is focused on
cataloguing the previously unobserved ways ghosts keep track
of and influence the living world. He has been experimenting
with mechanisms to draw energy out of the spirit world and
manifest it directly into the physical world. Unfortunately the
raw vulgarity of this work is challenging.
The knowledge Deion and Penelope have gained from
their investigations into the underworld about the coming
convocation have them both worried. The dead see things
no one else does. Even most Mages don’t know how to hide
themselves from the restless dead. They know the convocation
isn’t what it seems, and that the Union is not so unified.
Paradigm: All things in existence are just energy in various
states of condensation. This is as true of the mind, space,
and the infinite sub spaces that lie beneath the surface of
existence as it is of electricity and matter. All things can
28 A Phoenix Rising
be made to transition through their possible documenting in a more “organic” form. He
states of existence if you only understand the has a number of instruments that run the
harmonics of existence. standard Etherite “Ray Gun” gambit. When
Instruments: Statistical Analysis, Laptop, he’s working in the field he has a pair of
Various Weird Science Devices, Batteries image projecting contact lenses and a cochlear
Batteries BATTERIES! Light cybernetics, implant that feed him a steady stream of
Tech Enhanced Telepathy, Spatial Modelling/ physical and dimensional diagnostic data.
Visualisation He sees the base nature of the local Tellurian
Deion works in an entirely technological in these flickering charts through skill and
realm, though Penelope has been encouraging synesthetic phenomenon he’s never quite been
him to engage with the “harmonics” he is able to describe.

The Players 29
 Deion Jonasson  Visionary  Society of Ether
  Mad Scientist  Traditions
 A Phoenix Rises  Dynamic 

  
Strength ____________
OOOOO
●●● Charisma___________
OOOOO
●● Perception____________ OOOOO
●●●
Dexterity __________
OOOOO
●●● Manipulation_______
OOOOO
●● Intelligence __________
Techology OOOOO
●●●●●
Stamina _____________
OOOOO
●● Appearance __________
OOOOO
●● Wits_____________ OOOOO
●●


  
Alertness ____________
OOOOO
●● Crafts______________ OOOOO Academics___________
OOOOO
Art______________ OOOOO Drive_____________ OOOOO Computer__________ OOOOO
●●●
Athletics_____________
OOOOO Etiquette____________OOOOO Cosmology_____________
OOOOO
●●
Awareness____________
OOOOO
●● Firearms____________ OOOOO
●●● Enigmas____________OOOOO
●●
Brawl____________ OOOOO Martial Arts_________OOOOO Esoterica_________OOOOO
Empathy_____________
OOOOO Meditation__________ OOOOO Investigation________
OOOOO
●●
Expression____________
OOOOO Melee ____________ OOOOO Law______________ OOOOO
Intimidation_______OOOOO Research__________ OOOOO
●● Medicine_____________
OOOOO
Leadership___________
OOOOO Stealth _____________OOOOO
●● Occult___________●●OOOOO
Streetwise ____________
OOOOO
● Survival ____________OOOOO Politics____________
OOOOO
Subterfuge__________
OOOOO Technology __________
Hypertch OOOOO
●●●● Science __________OOOOO
●●

Correspondence________
OOOOO Life______________
OOOOO Prime____________●● OOOOO
Entropy__________OOOOO Matter___________OOOOO Spirit____________
Dimsional Science OOOOO
●
Forces_____________
OOOOO
●●● Mind_____________OOOOO Time_____________ OOOOO

  
________________●●●
Avatar OOOOO O O
● ●O●O O O O O O O Bruised -0
________________
Contacts OOOOO
●● Hurt -1
________________
Resources OOOOO
●●  Injured -1
________________OOOOO Wounded -2
________________OOOOO O O
● ●O●O
●O●O
●O●O
●O O
 Mauled -2
________________OOOOO
Crippled -5
Incapacitated
 
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO 
________________OOOOO •
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO 
30 A Phoenix Rising
Taima Pochel
Taima awoke with the assistance of his great aunt Lise who trained him in Tudinu
tradition. Lise is an old Rock Giant with clearer memories than most changelings believe
possible. She has spent her life sharing that knowledge as widely as possible and has
survived for over a century by staying close to the glen at the heart of the Snow Mountain
Reservation. In her youth she was instrumental in the fight to return the
Snow Mountain to her people.
Taima wandered deep into the wilds of the mountain when
he was a child, and Lise watched over him from afar until she felt
his waking dream. He Awakened after the final throes of the Avatar
Storm and the fall of the tradition council. Taima never dealt with the
political mess that was Tradition discipline or European mystics
accusing his tribe of giving into “syndicate influence” when
the Paiute Smoke Shop and Golf Resort were established by
Taima’s mother and grandmother. While there was some
contention within the tribe when the golf course opened,
no one welcomed the leadership from the Dreamspeakers
fighting to “prevent Union influence from infiltrating
their members”, and their presence has not been missed
since the council’s fall.
A year ago representatives from the Kha’vadi came
to Snow Mountain requesting aid against the renewed
Technocratic Union. They came with apologies for past
offenses, but their allegiances seemed all too familiar.
Lise asked Taima to bring her to these Mages, and
with his help she left the mountain for the first time
in over a decade. When Taima and Lise walked in on
the negotiations the Paiute’s leaders were shocked to see
her away from the mountain, especially with a Mage as
inexperienced as Taima at her side. She spoke words that were
memories, and sang songs that were dreams. No one present
fully remembers that day, and attempts to divine the nature
of those moments have resulted in painful paradox effects.
However, the ephemera they left behind was enough to quell
any new allegiance between the Paiute and the Traditions.
Taima does not know why he cannot join the Kha’vadi,
but he trusts Lise with his life, and knows that she didn’t just
convince the Paiute to maintain their independence. Oaths were
sworn, and they are not oaths that can be easily broken.
Paradigm: We are all part of the same dream where we see and
hear each other as we truly are. The myriad ways we become
different from and the same as the Dream extend the possibilities
of existence.
Instruments: Money and Wealth, Fast Talking, Facial Reading,
The Players 31
Herbal Poultices and Infusions, Chanting a thing or two from her. Taima picked up
and Incantation, Vision Questing. more than a few of her best tricks. His use
Taima is rapidly advancing within the spiritual of Mind, while rooted in his belief in the
traditions of the Paiute tribe, and does a Dream is more than a little reminiscent of
great deal of his personal work through sweat Syndicate practice. He also regularly spars with
lodges, meditation, and the rituals he was his aunt in the mountains, and occasionally
raised with. He also grew up by his mother’s in the hidden lands she calls home. He has
side, as she ran the Paiute Smoke Shop. She learned how to Dream his body into acts of
will never be Syndicate, but they could learn greatness by her side.

32 A Phoenix Rising
 Taima Pochel  Survivor  Orphan
  Prophet  Disparate Alliance
 A Phoenix Rises  Questing 

  
Strength ____________
OOOOO
●●● Charisma___________
OOOOO
●●● Perception____________
OOOOO
●●
Dexterity __________
OOOOO
●●●● Manipulation_______
OOOOO
●●● Intelligence __________
OOOOO
●●●
Stamina _____________
OOOOO
●●● Appearance __________
OOOOO
●● Wits_____________ OOOOO
●●


  
Alertness ____________
OOOOO
●● Crafts______________
OOOOO Academics___________
OOOOO
Art______________ OOOOO Drive_____________ OOOOO Computer__________ OOOOO
Athletics_____________
OOOOO
●● Etiquette____________
OOOOO Cosmology_____________
OOOOO
●●●
Awareness____________
OOOOO
●●● Firearms____________
OOOOO Enigmas____________OOOOO
Brawl____________ OOOOO Martial Arts_________
OOOOO Esoterica_________●●
OOOOO
Empathy_____________
OOOOO
●● Meditation__________
OOOOO
● Investigation________
OOOOO
Expression____________
OOOOO
●● Melee ____________ OOOOO
●●● Law______________ OOOOO
Intimidation_______OOOOO Research__________ OOOOO Medicine_____________
OOOOO
●●
Leadership___________
OOOOO
●● Stealth _____________
OOOOO
● Occult___________OOOOO
Streetwise ____________
OOOOO Survival ____________
OOOOO Politics____________
OOOOO
●●
Subterfuge__________
OOOOO Technology __________
OOOOO Science __________OOOOO

Correspondence________
OOOOO Life______________
OOOOO
●● Prime____________●OOOOO
Entropy__________OOOOO Matter___________OOOOO Spirit____________OOOOO
Forces_____________
OOOOO Mind_____________OOOOO
●●● Time_____________ OOOOO

  
________________●●●
Avatar OOOOO O O
● ●O●O O O O O O O Bruised -0
________________
Arcane OOOOO
●● Hurt -1
________________
Resources OOOOO
●●  Injured -1
________________OOOOO Wounded -2
________________OOOOO O O
● ●O●O
●O●O
●O●O O O
 Mauled -2
________________OOOOO
Crippled -5
Incapacitated
 
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO 
________________OOOOO •
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO  Chapter 33
Sanoj Laghari
Sanoj started out on an H1-B visa doing basic code monkey work for a startup in Lehi,
Utah. He had a prime spot on the Union recruitment logs, but fate is fickle and the Virtual
Adepts found him first. That’s when the fun really started. Sanoj was dumped bodily into
the Digital Web and left to fend for himself.He forced himself through seemingly impossible
hacks and proved his worth during his initiation. After his awakening he floated from one
cabal to another trying to give them some fighting chance at navigating
an ever more technocratic world. It wasn’t long before he grew tired
of trying to wrangle hackers who couldn’t see past their trinary
curiosities, or mystics who resented the ever changing world. In
the end he walked away. He had seen too much of the Union
to ever join their ranks, but there was so much power in the net,
and he certainly wasn’t going to walk away from that power. Sanoj
works for himself, and those who pay the right price.
Now he tries to play both sides of the field. The Union
knows where his allegiances lie, but since the avatar storm
Enlightened minds are hard to come by. The Union is happy
to feed him bits of information when his goals align with
central priorities. Even the Mages at Bernie’s co-op think
he’s being played, but his contacts have saved him and his
friends from more than a few sticky situations. As much as
they might not like to admit it Sanoj’s contacts saved their
lives.
In the past several years Sanoj landed a position doing
convention coordination for several of the largest hotels in Las
Vegas. He uses this position to track Union activities. He isn’t
exactly a “host” but he runs a consultancy that makes sure Vegas
stays on the map as the “most equipped convention destination in
the US”. He keeps the big players equipped with the most bleeding
edge tech, all with very subtle back doors of course. Every email,
signed e-form, credit card charge and digital handshake gives him
insight on Union movement. He keeps his monitoring broad (no need
to tempt fate), but he’s fairly certain the Union knows he’s keeping
tabs on them. They haven’t cut him off yet, and it only seems fair, he
knows they’re keeping tabs on him after all.
Paradigm: Everything is data, and we are all little more than memes
reacting to inputs with expected outputs. Early stages of awakening
represent beginning to understand the APIs of the other programmatic
units running in the simulation of consensus, only the truly great
touch the base code of existence.
Instruments: Technomantic Altered States, Augmented Cell
Phone with neural interface, Social Engineering, Distributed social
networking, Statistical Analysis, Online Coordination.
From the outside Sanoj’s practice is indistinguishable from your average
34 A Phoenix Rising
Technocratic agent. Unlike a true Unionist posts, and GPS facilitated hookups. Most
he sees mystic practices’ backdoor into the traditionalists might find his approach sterile
base code of the world as a feature, not a bug. but he believes his work, and the work of all
The spiritual worlds are merely higher level technologists, is ultimately about allowing
programmatic functions of the simulation that humans to connect more deeply than they
will require him to expand his understanding. ever have before. Some may find the Digital
Contrary to appearances he’s not a simple Web isolating, but they’ll adjust eventually.
hacker. The Digital Web has shown him the On that day humanity’s true potential will
heart and soul of humanity aggregated across finally be achieved.
an endless stream of transactions, social media

The Players 35
 Sanoj Laghari  Visionary  Mercurial Elite
  Innovator  Traditions
 A Pheonix Rises  Dynamic 

  
Strength ____________
OOOOO
●● Charisma___________
OOOOO
●●● Perception____________
OOOOO
●●●
Dexterity __________
OOOOO
●● Manipulation_______
OOOOO
●●● Intelligence __________
OOOOO
●●●●
Stamina _____________
OOOOO
●● Appearance __________
OOOOO
●● Wits_____________ OOOOO
●●●


  
Alertness ____________
OOOOO
●● Crafts______________
OOOOO Academics___________
OOOOO
Art______________ OOOOO Drive_____________ OOOOO Computer__________ OOOOO
●●●●
Athletics_____________
OOOOO Etiquette____________
OOOOO
● Cosmology_____________
OOOOO
Awareness____________
OOOOO
●●● Firearms____________
OOOOO Enigmas____________OOOOO
Brawl____________ OOOOO Martial Arts_________
OOOOO Esoterica_________OOOOO
Empathy_____________
OOOOO Meditation__________
OOOOO Investigation________
OOOOO
●●
Expression____________
OOOOO Melee ____________ OOOOO Law______________ OOOOO
●●
Intimidation_______●●
OOOOO Research__________ OOOOO
●● Medicine_____________
OOOOO
Leadership___________
OOOOO
●● Stealth _____________
OOOOO Occult___________OOOOO
Streetwise ____________
OOOOO
● Survival ____________
OOOOO Politics____________
OOOOO
●●
Subterfuge__________
OOOOO
●●● Technology __________
OOOOO
●●● Science __________OOOOO

Correspondence________
Data OOOOO
●● Life______________
OOOOO Prime____________
Primal Utility OOOOO
●
Entropy__________OOOOO
●●● Matter___________OOOOO Spirit____________OOOOO
Forces_____________OOOOO Mind_____________OOOOO Time_____________ OOOOO

  
________________●●
Avatar OOOOO O O
● ●O●O O O O O O O Bruised -0
________________
Resources OOOOO
●●● Hurt -1
________________ OOOOO
Wonder/Personal Instrument ●
 Injured -1
________________
Contacts OOOOO
●● Wounded -2
________________OOOOO O O
● ●O●O
●O●O
●O●O O O
 Mauled -2
________________OOOOO
Crippled -5
Incapacitated
 
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO 
________________OOOOO •
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO 
36 A Phoenix Rising
Bettina Mathers
Bettina grew up in an esoteric family in America’s heartland. While her relatives were
not Awakened several worked for Mages and dabbled in hedge magic. She was raised to see
the world around her for its full potential. Bettina walked the path of the hedge mage for
nearly a decade before being formally initiated as a member of House Bonisagus. Bonisagus is
not generally active this side of the Gauntlet, but Bettina was initiated after the conflagration
of Doissetep as part of a movement to re-invest in the world. The youngest members of the
house are charged with being Bonisagus’ eyes and ears in the physical world.
Bettina was initiated into a small cabal who were studying the
old oaths made in the deepest corners of the spirit wilds. These
oaths have come dangerously close to being broken on more than a
few occasions. House Boinsagus eventually grew tired of what they
viewed as constant fear mongering from the cabal and broke the
group apart. Bettina continues the work on her own, but is more
cautious about who she shares her findings with. She has seen
what can happen when oaths are violated, and the rapid
change within the Traditions makes such a violation a
constant threat. To her eternal frustration she can
never remember the exact details of the old oaths
once she leaves her sanctum. She documents her
studies in painstaking detail, but she barely survived
the backlash that struck the first time she read one of
the oaths in the outside world.
Bettina moved to Vegas as a representative to the
various Night Folk she has engaged with during her studies.
This diplomatic role was essential during the eclipse of
the council. She has shifted from negotiating on behalf
of her House and Order to negotiating on behalf of the
reemergent Traditions. She can see the writing on the wall;
There is more to the convocation than Bettina is being told.
As she watches the selection process her old research haunts
her. The old laws must be maintained, and Bettina believes
the council is the only way to establish order among the
Awakened, but she also fears that this new Council won’t
understand the magickal responsibilities they are assuming
by accepting the role of Primi. The old oaths are bound to
the those seats, and secret names the Primi claim as their
own. The masters of the last age of Magick have all fallen,
and the new masters are as incapable of knowing the oaths
they would be bound to as she is. Living with no council
is a road to chaos, but Bettina fears the path she and her
Order seems bound to.
Paradigm: The key to reality is words. Words are more
than we think they are. They may be the shifting of sand
The Players 37
as a lonely spirit wanders the desert, or the which one creates sigil or sign dictates the
flitting of a baby’s eye as they cling to their precision of the magick which emerges from
fading memories of emanation. Every Mage those celestial words. At the same time she sees
is driven to rediscover these words, to distill reflections of her practice in those working
them into symbol, movement, breath, and around her. She understands that reality
light, for when “spoken” one can retell the hacking, ecstatic chanting, and spirit talking
story of existence. all tap into the linguistic code of existence.
Instruments: Sacred Iconography, High She has been working with Sanoj to learn
Ritual, Hand Signs, Chanting, Sacred how to project her workings into digital space,
Geometry, Ritual Garb, Words in Resonance and has been developing more facility with
with Sleeping Will merging her magick with Sanoj’s utilization
On one hand Bettina is a classic high ritual of Data to great effect.
magician. She believes the precision with

38 A Phoenix Rising
 Bettina Mathers  Prophet  Order of Hermes
  Traditionalist  Traditions
 A Phoenix Rises  Static 

  
Strength ____________
OOOOO
●●● Charisma___________
OOOOO
●● Perception____________
OOOOO
●●●
Dexterity __________
OOOOO
●●● Manipulation_______
OOOOO
●● Intelligence __________
OOOOO
●●●
Stamina _____________
OOOOO
●● Appearance __________
OOOOO
●● Wits_____________ OOOOO
●●●●


  
Alertness ____________
OOOOO
●● Crafts______________
OOOOO Academics___________
OOOOO
●●
Art______________ OOOOO Drive_____________ OOOOO Computer__________ OOOOO
●
Athletics_____________
OOOOO Etiquette____________
OOOOO
●● Cosmology_____________
OOOOO
●●
Awareness____________
OOOOO
●●● Firearms____________
OOOOO Enigmas____________OOOOO
●●
Brawl____________ OOOOO Martial Arts_________
OOOOO Esoterica_________●●●
OOOOO
Empathy_____________
OOOOO Meditation__________
OOOOO
●● Investigation________
OOOOO
Expression____________
OOOOO Melee ____________ OOOOO
●●● Law______________ OOOOO
Intimidation_______OOOOO Research__________ OOOOO Medicine_____________
OOOOO
Leadership___________
OOOOO
●● Stealth _____________
OOOOO
●● Occult___________●●OOOOO
Streetwise ____________
OOOOO Survival ____________
OOOOO Politics____________
OOOOO
●
Subterfuge__________
OOOOO Technology __________
OOOOO Science __________OOOOO

Correspondence________
OOOOO Life______________
OOOOO Prime____________●●
OOOOO
Entropy__________OOOOO Matter___________OOOOO Spirit____________OOOOO
Forces_____________
OOOOO
●● Mind_____________OOOOO Time_____________ OOOOO
●●

  
________________●●●
Avatar OOOOO O O
● ●O●O O O O O O O Bruised -0
________________
Resources OOOOO
●● Hurt -1
________________
Arcane OOOOO
●●  Injured -1
________________OOOOO Wounded -2
________________OOOOO O O
● ●O●O
●O●O
●O●O
●O O
 Mauled -2
________________OOOOO
Crippled -5
Incapacitated
 
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO 
________________OOOOO •
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO  Chapter 39
Anton Josef
Anton has lived two very different lives over the last 30 years. The first was a dreary,
but loved existence in Kansas City. He grew up known as Kay Mattson. Before making it to
high school Anton discovered occultism and the work of Robert Anton Wilson. He threw
himself into study and ritual, driven by a need to understand or discover something he could
never fully describe. He quickly discovered the dangers of diving down the rabbit hole of
mysticism without guidance. The summer before his freshman year of high school Anton
found himself out in an endless stretch of wilds. They shifted from forest, to
desert, to rolling fields. When the police picked him up he was walking
next to a highway in northern Oregon, with no reasonable explanation
for how he got there. A month had passed since his disappearance.
When Anton made it back home something had shifted in him.
He wasn’t interested in school, and all but one of his oldest friends
no longer understood him. He insisted his name was Anton
Josef. That other name sounded hollow and distant when he
heard it, or perhaps it always had and he just finally noticed.
Anton’s relationship with his family was and is complicated.
He still doesn’t speak to his father, but his mother cared more
about the love of her child than understanding him, and
forced her husband to co-sign Anton’s emancipation papers.
Anton found his way to Vegas, and was unofficially
adopted by a woman named Bernadette, or Bernie to her
friends (Mage Cookbook page 7). Bernie is a sleeper who
somehow commands an open chantry with Mages coming
and going as their Avatars inspire them. Anton met dozens
of the Awakened in the next few years, and ultimately joined
the Children. He’s still living at Bernie’s place when he’s in
Vegas, but he started wandering again after a few years and each
year pulls him farther and farther from home. He always seems
to find his way back to Vegas between burns, hikes into the spirit
wilds, and the occasional visit with members of his birth family.
He came wandering back into Vegas as news of the Tradition
convocation made it to Bernie’s place. Like all of the Children and Crowns
Anton bears a deep distrust of the Tradition Council. The last thing he
wants is to watch it rise again in his own backyard. Anton’s allegiances
and enmities aren’t as strong as most Mages (you can’t really get by in an
open chantry if you’re looking to pick a fight with the first technocrat or
Euthanatos who walks through the door). He’s willing to look for allies
in places others might not and right now anyone willing to prevent the
rise of a new Tradition Council is a friend of Anton.
Paradigm: All we are is transformation, from dust to burning plasma
to inferno to dust to earth to Awakened will. The question is not if
we will change. The question is will the universe change us, or will
we have a say in our own becoming.
40 A Phoenix Rising
Instruments: Brews and Concoctions, Food were. He understands that the workings and
and Drink, Music, Group Rites, Meditation, movements of the Awakened are just ways to
Labs and Gear, Symbols direct and control the transformations which
Wandering has shown Anton that change define reality. Anton recognizes impulse to
is central to everything. What we begin the “conserve” as driven by fear. We are not born
world as is never the same as what we’ve gold, and we must all let ourselves die a million
become when we leave the stage, when we times over to become gold.
finally transform into memories of what we

The Players 41
 Anton Josef  Survivor  Children of Knowledge
  Loner  Disparate Alliance
 A Phoenix Rises  Dynamic 

  
Strength ____________
OOOOO
●●● Charisma___________
OOOOO
●●● Perception____________
OOOOO
●●●
Dexterity __________
OOOOO
●●● Manipulation_______
OOOOO
● Intelligence __________
OOOOO
●●
Stamina _____________
OOOOO
●●●● Appearance __________
OOOOO
●● Wits_____________ OOOOO
●●●


  
Alertness ____________
OOOOO
●● Crafts______________
OOOOO
●● Academics___________
OOOOO
Art______________ OOOOO Drive_____________ OOOOO Computer__________ OOOOO
Athletics_____________
OOOOO
●● Etiquette____________
OOOOO Cosmology_____________
OOOOO
●●
Awareness____________
OOOOO
●●● Firearms____________
OOOOO Enigmas____________OOOOO
●●
Brawl____________ OOOOO
●● Martial Arts_________
OOOOO Esoterica_________●OOOOO
Empathy_____________
OOOOO
●● Meditation__________
OOOOO
●●● Investigation________
OOOOO
Expression____________
OOOOO Melee ____________ OOOOO Law______________ OOOOO
Intimidation_______OOOOO Research__________ OOOOO Medicine_____________
OOOOO
Leadership___________
OOOOO Stealth _____________
OOOOO
●● Occult___________OOOOO
Streetwise ____________
OOOOO
●● Survival ____________
OOOOO
●● Politics____________
OOOOO
Subterfuge__________
OOOOO Technology __________
OOOOO Science __________OOOOO

Correspondence________
OOOOO Life______________
OOOOO
●● Prime____________●OOOOO
Entropy__________OOOOO Matter___________OOOOO Spirit____________OOOOO
●●●
Forces_____________
OOOOO Mind_____________OOOOO Time_____________ OOOOO

  
________________●●●●
Avatar OOOOO O O
● ●O●O O O O O O O Bruised -0
________________
Dream OOOOO
● Hurt -1
________________
Allies OOOOO
●●  Injured -1
________________
Contacts OOOOO
●● Wounded -2
________________
Totem OOOOO
●● O O
● ●O●O
●O●O
●O O O O
 Mauled -2
________________OOOOO
Crippled -5
Incapacitated
 
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO 
________________OOOOO •
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO 
42 A Phoenix Rising
Charlie Ramírez
Growing up was an unbroken series of fights for Charlie.. He was never without a fresh
wound, and never sorry about it. He wasn’t a bully. On the contrary he had no tolerance
for bullies, though his life was full of them. Through most of college Ramírez boxed and
bet his way from one crisis to another. His friends doubted he would survive college, much
less graduate, but he did. By the time his dean handed him his MBA the only thing keeping
him from rocking the business world were his itchy fists.
So it’s not a huge surprise that Ramírez spent his early Union
career rocketing up the Enforcer’s ranks. It didn’t take him long to
get sick of protecting other people’s money though. He wanted to do
something more, and working with the Enforcers felt like fighting
for the bullies a little too often, so he decided to shake things up
and moved into Finance.
Charlie founded, and spun off more amalgams in his
5 year tenure with the Financiers than most agents create
in their entire careers. Those ventures were all financial
successes, but his performance reviews always pointed to
a startup and burn business model, which left potential
investors skittish. After hearing the “You need to find a
venture you can commit to” talk one too many times he
left the Financiers to venture into cross convention work.
Charlie started Blackrock Security and set up shop on
the outskirts of Vegas. While his official business is protecting
other people’s money again (and business is good) he’s built an
amalgam of agents from across the Union focused on finding
more inventive ways to eliminate deviant threats. Charlie noticed
increased Tradition activity months before he received official
notice from the Union about the Tradition gathering, with orders
to not get involved.
Never one to follow orders too closely he’s been investigating
the Tradition movement in the city and the Union’s lack of response.
He’s knows something is going down and he wants in on it. Where
there are deviants and violence there’s profit and he does love profit.
Paradigm: Discipline and connection are the primal fonts from which
all value springs. All the potential in the world will go to waste if it isn’t
harnessed by a truly Enlightened manager at the head of a well designed
team.
Instruments: Human Resources, Ordeals and Exertion, Well Tailored
Clothing, Money and Wealth, Gadgets and Inventions, Social Domination,
Weapons
Charlie believes in the potential of human interaction. Several of his
workings look like little more than strategic orders given to other
people. He has an unshaking faith in the motivations of the masses

The Players 43
when properly catalyzed. Only in a truly free larger market by pursuing extremes of personal
market of peers can the worst among us be perfection. His devotion to martial prowess
held accountable. Ramírez also believes that is easily as refined as his devotion to business
you can only fully realize your place in the prowess.

44 A Phoenix Rising
 Charlie Ramírez  Guardian  Syndicate
  Survivor  Technocratic Union
 A Phoenix Rises  Questing 

  
Strength ____________
OOOOO
●●● Charisma___________
OOOOO
●● Perception____________
OOOOO
●●●
Dexterity __________
OOOOO
●●●● Manipulation_______
OOOOO
●●● Intelligence __________
OOOOO
●●
Stamina _____________
OOOOO
●●● Appearance __________
OOOOO
● Wits_____________ OOOOO
●●●


  
Alertness ____________
OOOOO
●● Crafts______________
OOOOO Academics___________
OOOOO
Art______________ OOOOO Drive_____________ OOOOO Computer__________ OOOOO
Athletics_____________
OOOOO
●●● Etiquette____________
OOOOO
●● Cosmology_____________
OOOOO
Awareness____________
OOOOO Firearms____________
OOOOO
●●● Enigmas____________OOOOO
Brawl____________ OOOOO Martial Arts_________
OOOOO
●●● Esoterica_________OOOOO
Empathy_____________
OOOOO Meditation__________
OOOOO
●● Investigation________
OOOOO
●●
Expression____________
OOOOO Melee ____________ OOOOO Law______________ OOOOO
●●
Intimidation_______OOOOO Research__________ OOOOO Medicine_____________
OOOOO
Leadership___________
OOOOO
●● Stealth _____________
OOOOO
●●● Occult___________OOOOO
Streetwise ____________
OOOOO Survival ____________
OOOOO Politics____________
OOOOO
●
Subterfuge__________
OOOOO
●● Technology __________
OOOOO Science __________OOOOO

Correspondence________
OOOOO Life______________
OOOOO Prime____________
Primal Utility OOOOO
●●
Entropy__________OOOOO
●● Matter___________OOOOO Spirit____________OOOOO
Forces_____________
OOOOO Mind_____________OOOOO
●● Time_____________ OOOOO

  
________________●●●
Resources OOOOO O O
● ●O●O O O O O O O Bruised -0
________________
Node (Venture) OOOOO
●● Hurt -1
________________
Contact OOOOO
●●  Injured -1
________________
Genius OOOOO
●●● Wounded -2
________________OOOOO O O
● ●O●O
●O●O
●O●O
●O●O
 Mauled -2
________________OOOOO
Crippled -5
Incapacitated
 
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO 
________________OOOOO •
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO  Chapter 45
Taylor Flores
Taylor was the first specialist Charlie picked up when building his deviant wrecking
crew. She matched him to a T, but also wouldn’t put up with any of his shit. When Charlie
starts to lose his temper Taylor is the mountain that stands stalwart against his rage. Given
her background her cool demeanor is a bit of a running joke between them. Taylor spent
most of her childhood in one scrape or another; usually with the boys looking to push her or
her friends around. It got bad enough in junior high that her parents sent her to a boarding
school in Andover Massachusetts. At first she was livid about being sent away. She slowly
came to realize that she didn’t have anyone to fight in Andover.
Gradually she started to relax. With her attention no longer
split between survival and her studies the Union recruiters in
the faculty noticed just how brilliant she was. She moved from
Andover to MIT shortly after her 17th birthday and burned
her way through the architectural department before she
turned 20. Her first real challenge came when she was
finally assigned to an amalgam. She’s a true believer
in the technocratic mission if only because the
Union is the only place she’s ever been happy.
Taylor’s work may have started in
architecture but now she works in demolitions.
She is officially working for a security firm but she’s
not protecting celebrities or overpriced carbon. She
joined Ramírez’s venture for the challenge of hunting
deviant threats and she has not been disappointed.
Charlie is occasionally willing to do business with a well-
behaved Ventrue and even hire some “less traditional
muscle” if a job calls for it but Taylor is a purist. She puts
up with his business motivated pragmatism when she
has to but makes no secret of the fact that if it were up to
her they’d be more discriminating with their contractors.
Taylor was livid when Charlie told her the Traditions
were moving in the city and they weren’t allowed to take
action against them. For once Charlie had to reign in Taylor’s
temper instead of the other way around. Cooperating with
the low grade deviants is occasionally justifiable but letting
the Traditions move uninhibited felt wrong in every way.
Taylor and Michi have gone head to head a few times on the
topic of the Traditions and their little get-together. Taylor
is convinced something rotten is going on and is having
trouble sitting and doing nothing.
Paradigm: The gears of the cosmos turn in perfect rhythm.
Just like the cogs of a perfectly engineered clock we must
be wound and maintained, so that the machine is kept in
balance.
46 A Phoenix Rising
Instruments: Gadgets and Inventions, Sooner or later someone always wants the
Weapons, Cybernetic Implants, Internet system to be out of balance and it’s the job
Activity, Meditation, Formulae and Math, of an Enlightened engineer to fix it. She sees
Energy the drawing of primal energy lines in urban
All of reality is a machine moving energy from planning as equivalent to the mapping of
one place to another. If the machine is well circuits in a cyber limb or computer schematic.
designed and running efficiently everyone Everything is mechanistic if you look deeply
has access to the energy flow. If the system enough - even the human mind.
is out of balance everything goes wrong.

The Players 47
 Taylor Flores  Architecht  Iteration X
  Hacker  Technocratic Union
 Traitors Aren't We All  Static 

  
Strength ____________
OOOOO
●● Charisma___________
OOOOO
●● Perception____________
OOOOO
●●●●
Dexterity __________
OOOOO
●●● Manipulation_______
OOOOO
●● Intelligence __________
OOOOO
●●●●
Stamina _____________
OOOOO
●●● Appearance __________
OOOOO
●● Wits_____________ OOOOO
●●


  
Alertness ____________
OOOOO
●●● Crafts______________ OOOOO Academics___________
OOOOO
Art______________ OOOOO Drive_____________ OOOOO Computer__________ OOOOO
●●
Athletics_____________
OOOOO Etiquette____________ OOOOO Cosmology_____________
OOOOO
Awareness____________
OOOOO
● Firearms____________ OOOOO
●●● Enigmas____________OOOOO
Brawl____________ OOOOO Martial Arts_________ OOOOO Esoterica_________OOOOO
Empathy_____________
OOOOO Meditation__________ OOOOO Investigation________
OOOOO
●●●
Expression____________
OOOOO Melee ____________ OOOOO Law______________ OOOOO
Intimidation_______OOOOO Research__________ OOOOO
●● Medicine_____________
OOOOO
Leadership___________
OOOOO Stealth _____________ OOOOO
●●● Occult___________OOOOO
Streetwise ____________
OOOOO
●● Survival ____________ OOOOO
●● Politics____________
OOOOO
●●
Subterfuge__________
OOOOO Technology __________
Hypertech OOOOO
●●● Science __________OOOOO
●●

Correspondence________
OOOOO Life______________
OOOOO Prime____________●●
OOOOO
Entropy__________OOOOO Matter___________●
OOOOO Spirit____________OOOOO
Forces_____________
OOOOO
●●● Mind_____________OOOOO Time_____________ OOOOO

  
________________●●●
Genius OOOOO O O
● ●O●O O O O O O O Bruised -0
________________
Resources OOOOO
●● Hurt -1
________________
Enhancements OOOOO
●●  Injured -1
________________
Cloaking OOOOO
●●● Wounded -2
________________OOOOO O O
● ●O●O
●O●O
●O●O O O
 Mauled -2
________________OOOOO
Crippled -5
Incapacitated
 
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO 
________________OOOOO •
✘
________________OOOOO ✘
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO 
48 A Phoenix Rising
Michi Pangan
Michi is the cool headed foundation of Blackrock Security’s Enlightened management
team. Her early research was in microbiology, but at Blackrock her focus has moved to
exobiology and deviant profiling. While it’s rare that Blackrock goes up against anything
with truly otherworldly origins, Michi’s specimen catalog includes plenty of Night Folk
stalking the Vegas streets.
She joined Blackrock after working in a cross convention facility with the Void
Engineers for less than a year. She loved the work, but heard too many
stories from other Progenitors moving into field work. So when
Charlie approached her looking for a medic and deviant profiler
she jumped at the opportunity. The head of her amalgam said it
was too fast, that she had more to offer in the research division,
but she didn’t care.
Of every person on the team she is the most likely to
look for an alternative to “neutralization” when facing off
against deviant threats. Taylor has taken to calling Michi
Blackrock’s in-house Jane Goodall. Michi took offense
initially, but has warmed to the ribbing.
While Charlie ordered Taylor and Michi to stand
down and not to violate the order against getting involved
with the Tradition convocation Michi started deriving
Tradition movements based on secondary indicators in
Vegas’ deviant populations. No one ordered her to put her
deviant tracking and monitoring program on hold. She
is careful to keep her analysis on an isolated server that
Taylor set up for her. As far as she knows no one in the
Union hierarchy is aware of the work she’s doing, but she’s
concerned about what she’s seeing. Nothing conclusive has
come up yet, but she’s convinced the Union is making a
move, and she’s close to figuring out what it is.
Paradigm: The universe has grown from simplicity and
perpetual catastrophe into order and elegance. That elegance
is rare and beautiful, and to do anything other than experience
it, and leverage it fully is a waste.
Instruments: Genetic Manipulation, Medical Procedures,
Computers, Labs and Gear, Eye Contact, Blood and Fluids, Formulae
and Math
Michi was raised in a deeply religious household that held to the idea
of Divine Order and Earthly Chaos. She always knew that was off base,
but it wasn’t until her masters work in astrophysics and microbiology
that she understood how perfectly inverted her family’s “truth” really
was. She peered into existence and saw how much of the universe
was dark and chaotic. Physical reality only makes up 4.8% of the
universe, and less than 4.8% of that is likely habitable. It is from
The Players 49
the primal potential of the unimaginably rare If the second law of thermodynamics dictates
pockets of Mechanistic Cosmos that all good that life’s persistence is limited then the full
in the universe arises, most importantly life. potential of that persistence must be realized.

50 A Phoenix Rising
 Michi Panagan  Idealist  Progenitor
  Innovator  Technocratic Union
 A Phoenix Rises  Questing 

  
Strength ____________
OOOOO
●● Charisma___________
OOOOO
●●● Perception____________
OOOOO
●●●●
Dexterity __________
OOOOO
●● Manipulation_______
OOOOO
●● Intelligence __________
OOOOO
●●●●
Stamina _____________
OOOOO
●● Appearance __________
OOOOO
●●● Wits_____________ OOOOO
●●


  
Alertness ____________
OOOOO
●●● Crafts______________ OOOOO Academics___________
OOOOO
●●
Art______________ OOOOO Drive_____________ OOOOO Computer__________ OOOOO
●●
Athletics_____________
OOOOO Etiquette____________ OOOOO Cosmology_____________
OOOOO
Awareness____________
OOOOO
●● Firearms____________ OOOOO
●● Enigmas____________OOOOO
Brawl____________ OOOOO Martial Arts_________ OOOOO Esoterica_________OOOOO
Empathy_____________
OOOOO
●● Meditation__________ OOOOO Investigation________
OOOOO
●●
Expression____________
OOOOO Melee ____________ OOOOO Law______________ OOOOO
Intimidation_______OOOOO Research__________ OOOOO
●●● Medicine_____________
OOOOO
●●●●
Leadership___________
OOOOO Stealth _____________ OOOOO
● Occult___________OOOOO
Streetwise ____________
OOOOO Survival ____________ OOOOO Politics____________
OOOOO
Subterfuge__________
OOOOO Technology __________
Hypertech OOOOO
●●● Science __________OOOOO
●●●

Correspondence________
OOOOO Life______________
OOOOO
●●● Prime____________●● OOOOO
Entropy__________OOOOO Matter___________OOOOO Spirit____________
Dimensional Science OOOOO
●
Forces_____________
OOOOO Mind_____________OOOOO Time_____________ OOOOO

  
________________
Genius OOOOO
●● O O
● ●O●O O O O O O O Bruised -0
________________
Companion OOOOO
●● Hurt -1
________________
Permit OOOOO
●●●●  Injured -1
________________OOOOO Wounded -2
________________OOOOO O O
● ●O●O
●O●O
●O●O O O
 Mauled -2
________________OOOOO
Crippled -5
Incapacitated
 
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO 
________________OOOOO •
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO  Chapter 51
 A Phoenix
Place cover image here
Rising
From Long Neglected Embers
The Council of Nine has not gathered for 24 years. In that time the world has grown strange and chaotic. For the
first time in nearly a quarter century a Tradition convocation is convening to not only gather the council but to
choose the primi who will shape the Traditions for generations to come. Not everyone welcomes a return to council
law, and the Traditions’ choice of venue is nothing if not . . . daring. Will the Traditions rise from the ashes left
after decades of neglect or is this nothing more than a final act of hubris and desperation.

A Phoenix Rises
Jumping off from the questions posed by the New Horizon Council story seeded in the Mage: The Ascension 20th
Anniversary Edition core book A Phoenix Rising explores the relationship between the Traditions, the Disparate
Alliance, and the Technocratic Union in a world where defining paradigm is more complicated than ever before.
This chroncile jumpstart includes details on why the Traditions have chosen this moment to rebuild their fallen
council, and looks at how the rest of the Awakened feel about their return. It includes 9 player tempaltes, 2 NPCs,
and a variety of potential realities hiding behind the events unfolding in the southwest’s City of Lights.