# Mage - The Spiral [OoC]



## Fanog (Apr 30, 2003)

_"I embrace my desire to
feel the rhythm, to feel connected
enough to step aside and weep like a widow
to feel inspired, to fathom the power,
to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain,
to swing on the spiral
of our divinity and still be a human."_

*Mage - The Spiral* 
A game about modern-day magic, endless possibilities, philosophy, power and pride. 

___

_Three of the original players of this game have had to drop due to real-life business. Two of them have recently been replaced by alternates, but there is still one position open. If you'd like to play in a rules-light game of Mage: the Ascension, post a message in this thread and you're in. I'm only looking for one player more, so the first person to respond gets the position. In the first few posts of this thread, you can find some more information about the game. You can also read the IC thread to get a feeling for the style I'm running.

Fanog_
___

*Introduction*
Magic is real. It is created by the desire to change reality, and it opens up infinite possibilities for those who know that reality is only bound by the will of the people who live in it. Each of the six billion people on this earth is shaping reality, shaping it to their ideas of what is possible and what isn't. However, the vast majority of the people don't _realize_ the extent of the power they could hold. Only a few Awakened ones have this knowledge.
Mages from one side, known as the Traditions, wish to educate and enlighten people, to open up the realm of magic to everyone. The other side, known as the Technocracy, wishes to shelter people for their own good. They will allow humankind to live in a safe world, where all of their needs are already provided for, where humankind doesn't have to worry about magic and about desires to _change_ anything.

The Technocracy is winning...

People don't believe in magic anymore, and don't care as long as they have a job, a 24/7 on the corner of the street and more than 30 television channels to chose from.

Even though mankind has rejected magic, the Traditions still fight to prevent magic from being lost completely. While doing battle with the Technocracy, each Tradition mage also does battle with himself. Each is trying to gain a better insight in the workings of reality, to gain knowledge and power while avoiding the pitfalls of pride. Mages walk a fine line, trying to regain a bit of ground in the struggle for humankind's fate.

*Rules*
This game will use the Mage rules, by White Wolf. I'm using second Edition rules, but toher deitions would be fine too. You don't even need the book as a player. In fact, you don't even need any knowledge prior of Mage.
To keep the focus on the mystery and 'uniqueness' of magic and on the story, I'd like to handle most of the rules myself. Magic isn't about lists and tables, but about imagination and desire. For that reason, I'll keep the rules for magic as 'invisible' as possible. They're there, but you don't get to see them often. You don't have to worry about them mostly. I hope that's okay with everyone.

*Characters*
All mages _Awaken_ at some point in their life. In one instant, they learn that there is more to reality than they knew, and that they have the ability to change things by wanting it so.
There are usually some occurrences that lead up to this awakening, a vague feeling that there something isn't right, that there are things that cannot be explained by modern thinking etc. The experiences that a person has prior to Awakening will always have a powerful influence on that person's view of magic, and on the things that she is able to do with her magic. These  ideas will eventually become the Mage's _Paradigm_, her view of the world that let's her work magic. This Paradigm is really the focal point of magic. By carefully constructing and _believing_ in a different reality, the Mage is able to live by the rules of this different reality, instead of by those from 'normal' reality.
All characters will start as normal people. They haven't Awakened yet, but they are close to it. The beginning of the game will focus on the Awakening, and on constructing a Paradigm and how to work magic. The character will get to know each other either during or after this introduction, when they take up their place in the struggle against the Technocracy while continuing their studies of magic and reality.

*Submissions*
I'm looking for five players who would like to participate in this game. As I said, prior knowledge of Mage isn't necessary. All I'm requiring is that you invest the time to create a consistent Paradigm for your character through play, and take the time to delve into the details of this magic. This may seem pretty daunting, but I will help you develop the character where necessary. Most of this will happen in-game, where you will be taught and aided by mentors etc.
To keep the game going, I also require players to post about once each day.

To apply for this game, please send me the following, either through e-mail or in a post on this thread:
- A short background for the character you'd like to play.
- A short description of the character's world view, especially where it differs from what other (normal) people think. This will largely determine how your magic will manifest. Think wide, there are lots of possibilities. Examples could be a witch, spirit speaker or priest, but also a developer of virtual reality, a philosopher, martial artist etc. Anything that is considered impossible by the general populace could be considered a kind of magic, and might be the focus for a Mage character.
- How often you expect to post.

If you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them. Please post them here or send me an e-mail. Also, when needed, I could give people some pointers on where to dig up inspiration about Mage, just let me know.
I'll keep this thread open for two weeks, and then decide on players.

Good luck on creating characters, I'm curious to see what you all come up with.

Fanog


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## loxmyth (Apr 30, 2003)

As I said in the other thread, I'd be interested in playing!  I am generally on and can post everyday on the weekdays and sometimes on the weekend.

Currently, I'm thinking of making an artist type who uses drawings and paintings to work his mojo.  He's quite used to exercising his creativity and imagination to create worlds that don't exist, and he'll bring that over to his shaping of reality.  I'll mull over the specifics for a bit, but that's the basic idea I have right now.  Let me know if this won't fit your campaign, and I'll change it around.

Now to think on the details...


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## Fanog (Apr 30, 2003)

I like it. Sounds excellent. 

Fanog


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## Byrons_Ghost (May 1, 2003)

I'm still interested, but don't have any solid character ideas yet. In the past I've been used to thinking in terms of Tradition, for this we'll obviously want to focus more on the character's mortal side and think about how the character would eventually end up doing magic; sort of a ground-up approach. Not that any of this is bad, mind you.

I'm curious as to what sort of mindset you're expecting from the characters. Even if they're not mystically inclined (priest, shaman, etc), do we still want them to be looking for some sort of transcendental experience, looking for something "Other" in life? I guess I'm thinking of characters who would already be inclined toward Awakening and using magic vs. those who are just sort of blindsided by it, and I'm wondering if you have any thoughts or preferences.


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## Fanog (May 1, 2003)

I'd prefer a character who already has a hunch. I think it's very important that magic stems from a desire to alter things. Because of that, I think it would be easier to play someone who is looking for _something_, than someone to whom magic just happens.

Also, you could already pick a Tradition and works backwards a bit. By knowing where the character will eventually end up, it might be easier to pick a starting point. Think about the things that might lead a character to that Tradition and that style of magic...

HTH.

Fanog


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## Dalamar (May 1, 2003)

I'm thinking of making somebody who is low on the social status, sweating two shifts on a construction site to pay his rent and fill his stomach. And the only thing he wants, and he really wants it, is that _something_ would change and he wouldn't have to tear his palms on crude tools every day. And one day it happens...

I have a pretty consistent posting time of at least once per day, but that often changes due to school or other projects I get involved with.

Also, I'm willing to step aside if people who aren't in any game yet want to play. This because I'm already in a slew of D&D games here on the boards.


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## Byrons_Ghost (May 3, 2003)

Ok, I think I'm getting somewhere with a concept. Bear with me, this may seem a little odd at first.

I originally wanted an upper-class, professional type of character to make a change from the more sort of generic fringe/subculture Tradition mage. And not one that's Order of Hermes, either, since they seem to be the only ones with bank accounts (at least in the supplements).

I was also mulling over the whole "on the brink of Awakening" thing, and having characters that were more receptive to magic in their lives. So I thinking about someone who was raised in an occult tradition within his family- not an actual mage Tradition (some ancestors may have been), but a family that had been in a certain secret society for hundres of years, or traced their ancestry back to ancient druids and were still secretly following old pagan practices.

So, combining these two, the character I have in mind is a younger member of a family of occultists and hedge mages. The character himself would something of a dilettante, living on old money and just sort of dabbling in academia, finances, whatever. The family could be associated with the Arcanum or something similar, or they could just be isolated eccentrics, everyone practising "magic" and studying esoteric lore in an almost Addams-family kind of way. I don't have any single real tradition in mind for the family to be practising, more of a Golden Dawn sort of hodgepodge.

The thing is, the family would consider themselves "wizards" but of course would really just be hedge magicians, following the same formulas and rituals they have for hundreds of years (and not getting much result, either). The character's Awakening would come from realizing that he doesn't have follow all the family rites and moldy old books, but is more capable of winging things- that he can still do magic by just combining certain things together on an intuitive level, sort of re-creating the old rituals. Various members of the family, of course, may or may not approve of this.

Still no real thoughts on tradition, since it will largely depend on what my paradigm and style end up being. Since I'm going to be sort of "recreating the old from the new", I would probably be suited toward the more open traditions instead of something like the Order or the Chorus.

The problem I'm having right now is that all the Traditions end up being sort of one-dimensional; of neccesity, really, since changing reality is hard and it helps to have a solid framework. The trick is that what I've described above doesn't really fit into any of the Tradition paradigms, except as maybe a really liberal Hermetic. Orphan would work, but I've never really liked them as a concept. So I haven't really attached this idea to any of the traditions yet.

Are we still going to be set in England? The character was going to be British irregardless, since it seems to fit the whole family of occultists concept.

Does all this sound ok, or is it too out-there?


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## kuroshidaku (May 4, 2003)

I'm interested in playing.

I'm thinking of a intellegent, reclusive type. Not happy with current life, wants to leave the life he's living for something else. His dreams as extremely vivid, about flying over a forest. He has a feeling he's different from everyone else, but no idea why. 

No tradition in magic, his family are all totally normal, except for him. Sometimes he can predict things, not big things, but enough to know its not chance. 

Often he looks into himself, trying to find why he feels he's different. His awakening will come when he finds the reason. 

He is a scientific type, no religious beliefs, but this doesn't stop him from wondering why things happern.

I can probably post once a day.


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## Fanog (May 5, 2003)

Dalamar, 

sound nice, I could definately work with that. Any idea where the character will go, or would you just let that up to the in-game events?

Byron's Ghost,

the concepts sounds nice, seems like a natural to becoming a Mage, and an interesting family conflict could erupt. 
There isn't a definate stage for the campaign, character can be from everywhere. England would be fine to be from.

Kuroshidaku,

any ideas on the magic this character will be able to do? How will it manifest, in general?

Fanog


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## Dalamar (May 5, 2003)

Most likely I'd see where he ends up, I like to have my characters have their own free will, so to speak.
Though I'd imagine him advancing in the Matter sphere, trying to transcend what has confined him.


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## ajanders (May 5, 2003)

*Request*

If this game is not full, I'd be interested in playing.

Imagine someone who felt there was something fundamentally unjust about the universe.
Imagine that someone wanted that to change.
Imagine that same someone knew (or thought he knew, which may be the same thing) that there's no human way to change the unfair nature of the universe: no human agency can give the race to the swift or victory to the strong.  But they wanted to anyway.
Whatever happens to a want deferred?
Does it shrivel like a rasin in the sun?
Or does it explode?
And when it explodes, what does it break?  The unjust universe?
And if it does, what do you put in its place?

Character Concept: Agnostic Calvinist Euthanatos-to-be.  Yes, it's inconsistent.  He knows.  It worries him quite a bit, too.


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## Mickerus (May 6, 2003)

I'm still definitely interested in playing.

As far as concept goes, I'm leaning hard on the idea of lifting a page or two from the idea of dipsomancy from Unknown Armies (another great occult-style game, by the way, if you aren't familiar with it); I'm thinking a fellow in his thirties, a talented musician and songwriter out of the American midwest with more than a few skeletons in his closet - assuming he ever stayed in one place long enough to have a closet.  He's in his mid-thirties, and a lifetime of failure and regret have driven him to alchohol.  Ten years ago he would have been a natural for the Cult of Ecstacy, but now his apparent bent for self-destruction makes that questionable.

In non-Mage terms, think Tom Waits with a little bit of Jack Kerouac thrown in.

In Mage terms, either Cult of Ecstacy or an Orphan.  For magic, I'm definitely planning on Time; his constant longing for the "old days" has actually manifested, and he often finds himself _literally_ seeing the past, though not necessarily his own.  Other spheres... not so sure.  I'm certainly entertaining the notion of Entropy; both as a reflection of his grim view of the world and that intangible "drunk's luck".


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## kuroshidaku (May 6, 2003)

Not really sure about Mage magic system, but i'm thinking no flashy spells. mostly things like divinations, telekinesis, spider climb sorta stuff. probably will end up doing damaging spells, but the guy's not overtly hostile.

Manifestation- I'm thinking something along the lines of a reasearcher into quantum mechanics, and all the weird stuff that happens there. Gave him a clue that something was not quite right in the universe.

Please tell me if there are any probs- I havn't played PbP or Mage before, but I do know D&D.

kuro.


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## Fanog (May 6, 2003)

Kuroshiaku, the concept would be fine, there's enough weird stuff in Quantum theory to create magic 

The Mage magic system is very open-ended. You're not bound by a list of 'spells' you know. You just think of _any_ magical effect and roll some dice to see if it works. Of course, there are some quirks:

- You need enough knowledge of the specific part of reality you're trying to influence. For the purpose of magic, reality is split up in nine spheres. You have a knowledge rating in all of these spheres (though most will be at zero). Depending on the complexity of the task, you'll need a specific ranking in the corresponding spheres to be able to create the magic effect.

- Subtle effects are easier to pull of than overt ones. Remember where every person shapes reality? If you do someting that other people would consider impossible, they will try to deny your magical effect, preventing it from happening.

All of this will become much clearer once we're underway, part of the game will be discovering what magic is, and how each of you can work it. Just worry about the character idea and how this character might become aware that something such as magic exists.

Mickerus, character seems good.

I like all the concepts I've seen so far. I'll keep the thread open for another week, please feel free to update, expand etc your character concepts. I'll make my decision in about one week, depending on what's there at that time. Good luck all. 

Fanog


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## Fanog (May 11, 2003)

Three more days before I'm picking players. Any more interest?

(Oh yeah, and *bump*  )

Fanog


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## Keia (May 13, 2003)

Fanog,

I've got some interest.  I don't have the books, have never played any of the white wolf games except aberrent and trinity, so I don't have much of an understanding of the game mechanics.

But, while reading through some of the concepts and the outline you laid out, I had an idea.

Think of the sports athlete, working his way through the various levels of competition always striving for more.  More speed, more strength, more endurance, more sheer will.  Whenever the competition increases, so does he, mainly through practice and training. . . or some he thought.  At some point, probably int he game, he realizes that something is wrong that people aren't like him and can't push themselves to be able to do the things that he can do.  

Plow through linemen as a running back, three or four hanging on him as he goes, refusing to go down.  Banking a 25 foot jump shot through the basket, while getting fouled with the game on the line.  The list goes on and on.

My concept is that this is a young man perhaps just out of college, having not just excelled but smashed records.  He's been through the investigations and the testing to determine if its drugs and passed with flying colors.  He's the Tiger Woods, Marshall Faulk, LeBron James : parts of each, all rolled into one. He thinks there may be something more, because it's dawning on him that no one can do what he does.  

I would think he is a celebrity and has money from endorsements and the like.  As a mage, he would be a physical enhancements type of mage, strong of will, internal stuff to the exclusion of everything else (i.e. can't light a match with his mind but can run through an inferno without a scratch as long as he prepares for it).

What do you think?
Keia

p.s. I post a lot.


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## loxmyth (May 16, 2003)

Jason Siddique came from a long tradition of successful professionals.  His father was a physicist employed at a large multinational and his mother a doctor.  He had two older brothers that were engineers and a sister who was a lawyer.  The Siddique's as a family were generally logical, orderly and right-thinking people.

Jason was not.

He was more interested in the abstract than the physical, more interested in the mysteries of the human heart than the mysteries of the electron.  Eschewing more scholarly pursuits, the young Jason spent most of his time _creating_.  Drawing, painting, sculpting, writing when the muse took him he would spend his time working exclusively on some piece of art.  What was the point of pursuing an education if that education couldn't be applied to what was relevant in his life? he often thought.

Yet his parents were not interested in his excuses; make something of yourself, they would say; follow the rules and know your place in society, and you would find happiness.  Ironically, the act of imposing their will upon young Jason made him a very unhappy individual, and he constantly looked for an escape from the drudgery of his life.

Pressured to do well academically, Jason did the minimum work required.  He would go through all the motions, while secretly despising it all.  If he could manage it, he'd sneak off to drown his sorrows in drink or any other recreational narcotic he could get his hands on.

It was in his last year at high school when he first had an inkling that the world was not quite as he had always believed it.  He had applied, along with a prestigious state university, to a college of art and design.  It was mostly a longshot; the college had limited space, and were highly selective.  Jason was in for a surprise, however.  Impressed with the young man's emotive artwork, they offered him a spot which he quickly accepted.

When his parents found out, they were enraged.  They accused him of sabotaging his career, and he accused them of holding him hostage.  He stormed out of his home and went to a local watering hole, where he drowned his anger in more liquour and drew doodles to release his rage.  They started off simple, but finally when he was done, he had a drawing of the giant house he had spent most of his life in, set ablaze with the fires of frustration.

His biggest shock on returning home was to find that the fire department had just beaten him home.  Apparently they got there before it had gotten a chance to spread much, and insurance would pay for the rest.  But the investigators found that the fire had originated in Jason's room.  Even though he claims to this day he had nothing to do with it, his parents disbelieve.

And so now he lives as a "starving artist" student, on his own, trying to juggle life between his studies of the fine arts and just surviving.

And every once in a while, he'll remember the fire.
------------------
How's this seem?


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## Fanog (May 16, 2003)

Boards shutdown came at a very awkward time for this game. 

I'm in the process of moving this weekend, so I probably won't have internet accesss. Next update will be monday, when I will pick players and post how we'll proceed. 

Hoping this'll come off the ground soon, and that the board will stay up to allow it... 

Fanog


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## Argent Silvermage (May 17, 2003)

Is there still room for me? I sais I wanted to play in the original thread. Techno geek (Son of Ether) who's father is a failed inventor. Max's drive is to prove his father's work is viable but he knows willpower is the guiding power behing the devices sucess. He will be a sort of Psionic gadgeteer.


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## Fanog (May 19, 2003)

Hi everyone,

First off, I’d like to thank everyone for their interest. Unfortunately, I only had five places available for this game, which meant that I had to decide on who could be in, and who wouldn’t. Congratulations to:

Loxmyth
Byron’s Ghost
Mickerus
Kuroshidaku
Keia

For those who didn’t make the cut, I’m sorry. I wish I could have included everyone. I hope you’ll stick along to read how the game goes, I’ll think of you if I ever need some additional players, or replacements.

To those players who are in: Please finalize your character background. Be sure to include the following:
- name
- current residence and occupation 
- world view (if it differs from ‘normal’)
- personal goals and motivations
Also, please make a first draft of the character sheet. See character creation below, following this very short run-down of the basic system that Mage uses for conflict resolution.

*The Mage d10 system* 
The White Wolf System uses only d10 dice. Every score a character has is given as a number of _dots_ that determine the relative strength of that score. One dot is poor, two dots is average. Three dots equals good, four is exceptional and five is superb. This goes for every score that will be on your sheet.
When a check needs to be made, two scores will always play a role. One is an _attribute_ (which is for raw potential), the other is an _ability_ (which determines aptitude for and training in that particular task).
You add the amount of dots you have in the attribute and the ability, and take that amount of dice. Roll against a difficulty number, set by what you’re trying to do. The Difficulty ranges from 1 to 10, with an average of 6. Each die that comes up with a result equal to or greater then the difficulty, counts as one success. Each die that comes up a 1, reduces one from your amount of successes.
If you score at least one succes, the task succeeds. More successes you succeed better, of with more margin of error. A negative amount of successes (lots of 1’s) means that you botched the task. That’s pretty much the basis of the system.

*Character Creation*
This will deviate slightly from the book, since you will be creating normal persons who have not yet awakened. Because not everyone is familiar with the rules of Mage, I’ll give a brief walkthrough of the process. If things are unclear, please don’t hesitate to ask.
For reference purposes, I’m using this character sheet:
http://www.white-wolf.com/Images/CharacterSheets/MageRevisedcharactersheet.pdf
It’s not exactly equal to the one found in the 2nd edition book, but I’ll use this one so everyone has the same sheet. There will be some alterations to this sheet, so please read the following carefully, also if you already know the Mage rules. I won’t explain each ability individually, the name should give you a pretty good indication of what a given thing does. Again, don’t hesitate to ask questions.
Here we go, from top to bottom:

Vitals
Only your character name is important here at this stage. Nature and Demeanor are optional, a good background story will tell me just as much about you character. The other fiels in this section won’t be used yet.

Attributes
Attributes are divided in three categories: Physical, Social and Mental.
All of the the atrributes start at one dot, but you get points to improve these. First, rate the three _categories_ for your character: excellent, good, average. For the three atrributes in the ‘excellent’ category, you get 7 dots to improve these. In the ‘good’ category, divide five dots among its attributes. In the ‘average’ category, you get three points. Within each category, feel free to distribute the dots any way you like.

Abilities
Again, these are split up in three categories: Talents, Skills, Knowledges. Rate each of these as you did for attributes. For your ‘excellent’, ‘good’, and ‘average’ category, you get 13, 9 and 5 dots to distribute, respectively. Please note that the maximum number of dots for any ability in this stage is three.

Spheres
Reality is divided, by definition of magic theory, in nine spheres. Your rating in each of these will determine how well you understand each of these parts of reality. Don’t worry about these yet, this will be taken care of in-game.

Advantages
Willpower represents the force of will of your character. (Well duh… ) You will sometimes have to make a roll with this stat, but the points can also be used individually. In that, you remove one point of ‘permanenent’ willpower to gain an automatic succes on a task, for example. These point of spent willpower can be regained by in-game actions that would boost your self-confidence. All in all, it’s a pretty important stat. Willpower start at five dots for each character.

You get four dots with which to buy various backgrounds, advantages that you have gained in you life so far. Choose from:
_- Allies:_ Each dots give you one ally or increases the power of an ally.
_- Resources:_ Money in the bank, stock, real estate, etc.
_- Dream:_ Through one way or the other, the character learns bit and pieces of information and/or skills that she’s not supposed to know yet. Becomes more powerful with increased amount of dots.
_- Influence:_ The amount of clout the character hold, usually within a specific community.
_- Library:_ A collection of works, ancient and new, dealing with the ‘occult’. 
_- 'Mystery':_ There are some magic-style backgrounds that you wouldn’t have access to, yet. Feel free to put some points in a mystery-background, and I’ll be sure to pick something nice. 

Finishing touches – Freebies
Now that you’ve gone through all the steps, it’s time to go back and touch up on the ‘weak’ spots. You get 10 freebie points that can be used to buy extra dots in any of the scores on the sheet. However, some are more expensive then others. Use the following table to see how many freebies it would cost to raise something.
- Atrributes: 5 per dot
- Abilities: 2 per dot (you _can_ raise abilities above three by using freebies)
- Backgrounds: 1 per dot
- Willpower: 1 per dot
Please indicated seperately where your Freebies went, this makes it easier to check.

Merits and Flaws
I’m not a huge fan of these. They’re perks that can either cost you freebie points, or get you freebies (in the case of flaws). I’ll cover these on a case-by-case basis. If you want something special, just ask me. I’ll see if it’s possible, and if it costs/nets you any freebies.

*In closing*
That’s it for now. You can post your background and sheet here, or send them to me through email (adress in my profile). Once the first characters are finalized, I’ll open up a thread in the Rogue’s Gallery, and start the game. Good luck creating characters, and please don’t hesitate to ask me, _anything_.
I’m really looking forward to running this one. 

Fanog


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## Keia (May 19, 2003)

*Name: * Leo Sykes
*Residence:* Denver, Colorado
*Occupation:* Professional Athlete [two sport football/basketball]
*World View:* Normal [Suspects something]
*Personal Goals:* Push himself to the limits, thereby discovering those limits.  Get wealthy, stay healthy, and retire happy!
*Motivations:* Mostly internal, exploration of the physical self.  Keep the fans happy.

*Physical* (Excellent -7)
Strength______________ OOO 
Dexterity_____________ OOOO 
Stamina______________ OOO

*Social* (Average -3)
Charisma______________ OO 
Manipulation___________ OO 
Appearance____________ OO 

*Mental * (Good -5)
Perception_____________ OOO
Intelligence____________ OOO
Wits__________________ OO

*Talents * (Excellent – 13, Used 2 Freebie for add’l point for Dodge)
Alertness______________ OO
Athletics_______________ OOO
Awareness_____________ OO
Brawl_________________ OO
Dodge________________ OOOO 
Expression_____________ 
Intimidation____________ 
Leadership_____________ 
Streetwise_____________ O 
Subterfuge_____________ 

*Skills * (Good – 9)
Crafts_________________
Drive__________________ O 
Etiquette_______________ 
Firearms_______________ O 
Meditation______________ OO 
Melee_________________ OOO
Performance____________ O
Stealth________________ O
Survival________________
Technology_____________ 

*Knowledges * (Average -5)
Academics_____________ O
Computer______________ O 
Cosmology_____________ 
Enigmas_______________ O 
Investigation___________ OO
Law__________________  
Linguistics_____________  
Medicine_______________ 
Occult_________________  
Science________________  

*Spheres* 
Correspondence________  
Entropy_______________ 
Forces________________
Life__________________
Matter________________
Mind_________________
Prime_________________
Spirit_________________ 
Time_________________ 

*Advantages*

*Backgrounds * (used 5 Freebies)
Allies_____ O
Resources_____ OO
Dream_____ OO
Influence_____
Library_____
Mystery_____ OOOO

*Resonance *
Dynamic______________ 
Entropic_______________ 
Static________________ 

*Arete*
O

*Willpower * (used 3 Freebies)
OOOOO - OOO


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## Keia (May 19, 2003)

Fanog,

Really didn't know anything about Merits or Flaws so I didn't take any.  Suggestions, comments, advice are welcome as I'm building the character with only an understanding of the underlying system (having played Aberrant and Trinity).

Looking for an Athlete / superathlete, wondering why he is so good and beginning to explore those boundaries.

Keia


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## Mickerus (May 20, 2003)

*Name*:  Charles Arctor
*Residence*: Convenient Motel, Anytown, USA
*Occupation*: Struggling Musician
*World View*: Bleak (Full of regret, feels that there's something missing in the world)
*Personal Goals*: Sober up, realise his potential, and make himself into what he should have been years ago.  Currently failing miserably...
*Motivations*:  Regret, sympathy, and a little bit of compassion.

*Physical* (Average)

Strength OO
Dexterity OO
Stamina OO

*Social* (Excellent)

Charisma OOOOO (Compelling*)
Manipulation OOO
Appearance OO

*Mental* (Good)

Perception OOO
Intelligence OO
Wits OOO

*Talents* (Excellent)

Alertness OO
Athletics
Awareness OO
Brawl O
Dodge O
Expression OOO
Intimidation
Leadership O
Streetwise OO
Subterfuge O

*Skills* (Good, two freebie points)

Crafts
Drive OO
Etiquette
Firearms O
Meditation
Melee
Performance OOOO
Stealth O
Survival OO
Technology

*Knowledges* (Average)

Academics
Computer
Cosmology
Enigmas O
Investigation O
Law O
Linguistics (Spanish, German) OO
Medicine
Occult
Science

*Spheres* (None Yet...)

*Advantages* (six freebie points)

Resources O
Dream OOO
Influence (Musicians) O
Mystery OOOOO

*Willpower* (Two freebie points)

OOOOOOO

*"Compelling" would be my specialization; my idea of it is that Arctor has an uncanny ability to hold people's attention.  Even if a person forgets about him, they still remember a story he's told or a song he's sung.

Background details to come tomorrow, for now feel free to look over the character and see if there's anything missing/fubared that needs a correction.

Edit:  Fixed the freebie points, planning on posting background info soon.


----------



## kuroshidaku (May 20, 2003)

*Name:* Ty Gustalf
*Residence:* An important-sounding university
*Occupation:* Junior Researcher
*World View:* Science can explain most things, but what about the others?
*Personal Goals/Motivations:* Find what makes him feel so different from those around him, and explain his strange dreams

*Physical (Good)*

Strength OO
Dexterity OOO
Stamina OOO

*Social (Average)*

Charisma OO
Manipulation OOO
Appearance O

*Mental (Excellent)*

Perception OOO
Intelligence OOOOO
Wits OO

*Talents (Average)*

Alertness 
Athletics
Awareness 
Brawl 
Dodge OO
Expression OO
Intimidation
Leadership 
Streetwise 
Subterfuge O

*Skills (Good)*

Crafts
Drive (2F)
Etiquette
Firearms 
Meditation
Melee
Performance O
Stealth OO
Survival O
Technology OOO

*Knowledges (Excellent)*

Academics OOO
Computer OOO(2F)
Cosmology
Enigmas OO
Investigation OO
Law 
Linguistics
Medicine 
Occult
Science OOO

*Spheres*

*Advantages *

Allies O
Resources 
Dream OOOF
Influence
Library
Mystery F

*Willpower* 

OOOOOFFFF

Will develop on background in posts. Please give a yell if i've added up wrong. 

Kuro


----------



## Fanog (May 20, 2003)

Keia,

the sheet looks good so far. I don't think you missed anything vital. Mickerus reminded me to explain the Linguistics Knowledge: for every dot in here, you can speak and read/write one addititional language. Don't know if you would want to, but that's up to you.

Mickerus,

looks fine as well. Only problem is that you used 15 Freebies. For this game, I only gave each of you 10, because you don't have to worry about Arete, Spheres and Quintessence. 

Kuroshidaku,

I think you have two more dots to spend on skills. Since it's your 'Good' category, you have 9 dots to spend. Also, what kind of Expression and Performance have you learned? Maybe you could add that somewhere.

Looks good everyone. Nice that you all have dots in Dream. That should give me something to work with. 

Fanog


----------



## Fanog (May 20, 2003)

I opened a thread in the Rogue's Gallery for everyone to post their sheet and background. It's located here:
http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=51110

Keia,

you don't really miss out on much by not having any merits and flaws. The fact that not everyone has access to them is one of the reasons why I'm not really in favor of including them. Just some examples to show you what they could do:

Merit examples: Ambidexterity (never suffer off-hand penalties), Iron will (better resistance to mind-influencing effects), etc.

Flaw examples: Hard of Hearing (penalties to check to hear something), Phobia, Nemesis (someone wants to see you hurt), etc.

Basically, merits are a way to circumvent the rough nature of dots, while flaws give you something in return for accepting certain impairments. I think they add a level of detail that's not really necessary, which is the other reason I didn't include them as a whole.

Fanog


----------



## kuroshidaku (May 23, 2003)

Thanks for spotting the typo Fanog. What sort of expression are you after (examples)?

Ta,
Kuro


----------



## Fanog (May 24, 2003)

Board down-time has gotten this game off to a slow start, but I'm hoping to make good progress this weekend.

Expect an e-mail from me today or tomorrow with some additional questions and info regarding your characters. I'll set up an IC thread and introduce characters as soon as they're complete and OK'ed by me. Let's get this one going. 

Loxmyth is the only one who hasn't replied since I announced the players, but that might be the fault of the board being down. I'll send him an e-mail to tell him he's in.

Fanog


----------



## Mickerus (May 24, 2003)

Cripes!  Heh, I thing using fifteen freebie points is something of a reflex, really.  I'll go back and edit my character, it should be finished soon enough.


----------



## loxmyth (May 26, 2003)

Fanog said:
			
		

> *Board down-time has gotten this game off to a slow start, but I'm hoping to make good progress this weekend.
> 
> Expect an e-mail from me today or tomorrow with some additional questions and info regarding your characters. I'll set up an IC thread and introduce characters as soon as they're complete and OK'ed by me. Let's get this one going.
> 
> ...




Hi Fanog, I didn't realize the site was back up, sorry for the delay.  I will have my character up by tomorrow, if that is fine.  Incidentally, I didn't receive your emails (if you've sent any, of course).  My email is loxmyth@hotmail.com.


----------



## Fanog (May 26, 2003)

Hi Loxmyth,

nice to have you back with us. Tomorrow is fine. I did send you an email, but that was only a couple of hours ago. It slipped past me earlier, too much work on my mind, I think...

I've got the first few posts worked out, expect them up either today or tomorrow. (I really ought to get some sleep soon. )

For everyone:
please continue working on your background. Try to come up with a picture, or just give a general description of your character, describing ethnicity, general build and anything remarkable about your appearance. (It seems like I keep coming up with new things for you to add. Sorry for seeming a bit disorganized...  )

Fanog


----------



## Fanog (May 27, 2003)

...and we're off! 

I introduced the first two character in the IC thread. Read it here:
http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=51575

Small comment for Kuro:
Just FYI: Prof. Kalantar is a solid scientist, he just has it as a sort of 'hobby' to discuss theories that are a bit 'off'. He like talking about these kinds of things, but keeps them away from his true research. He leaves the more odd projects for his younger pupils, who do not yet have a reputation to protect. In this, he will stimulate them, but he won't participate himself. 

I hope this'll be fun for everyone, don't hesitate to ask me if anything bothers you, or if somthing's unclear.

Fanog


----------



## loxmyth (May 27, 2003)

*Name:* Jason Siddique
*Residence:* Boston, Massachussets
*Occupation:* Part-time college student
*World View:* Depressed cynic, living in the fantasy world of my mind is better than living in 'real life'.
*Personal Goals:* Get a comfortable job and live an uncomplicated life doing art for a living.
*Motivations:* Rebellion against his parents, a real desire to create something lasting and effecting.  An almost scientific zeal to understand human emotion.

*Physical* (Average -3)
Strength OO
Dexterity OO
Stamina OO

*Social* (Good -5)
Charisma OOOO
Manipulation OO
Appearance OO 

*Mental* (Excellent -7)
Perception OOOO
Intelligence OOO
Wits OOO

*Talents* (Average -5)

Alertness O
Athletics 
Awareness O
Brawl 
Dodge 
Expression OOO
Intimidation 
Leadership 
Streetwise
Subterfuge 


*Skills* (Excellent – 13, 2 freebies)

Crafts OOOO
Drive OOO
Etiquette
Firearms
Meditation OOO
Melee 
Performance O
Stealth
Survival
Technology OOO


*Knowledges* (Good – 9, 2 freebies)

Academics OOO
Computer OOO
Cosmology
Enigmas
Investigation
Law
Linguistics
Medicine OOO
Occult
Science O


*Spheres*

Correspondence 
Entropy 
Forces
Life
Matter
Mind
Prime
Spirit
Time


*Advantages*

*Backgrounds* (4 freebies)

Allies
Resources
Dream OOOOO
Influence
Library
Mystery OOO


Resonance 
Dynamic
Entropic
Static

*Arete*

*Willpower* (2 freebies)
OOOOOOO


----------



## Fanog (May 27, 2003)

Loxmyth,

I just sent you an email with some questions. If you didn't get it, please contact me here or through email. In that case, we'll work out something else...

Fanog


----------



## Mickerus (May 27, 2003)

Alright, my character's up in the Rogue's Gallery thread now.


----------



## Fanog (May 28, 2003)

Mickerus, you character looks okay. I posted Charles' introduction in the IC thread.

Loxmyth, you're good to go too, I introduced Jason as well.  Would you please copy your background and sheet over to the thread in the Rogue's Gallery? (The entries for Resonance on your sheet aren't really needed, I won't be using it in this game.)

Fanog


----------



## Fanog (May 30, 2003)

I don't have time to write updates today. Expect them tomorrow, though. I'll also post Taylor's introduction then.

Sorry, everyone...  

Fanog


----------



## Fanog (Jun 2, 2003)

Mickerrus, who ever said that Charles would wake so soon?  
I'm sorry, I probably wasn't clear enough as to what I expected of you. It's ok though, I worked around it. Feel free to do as you want, it's your dream after all. 

Fanog


----------



## kuroshidaku (Jun 3, 2003)

Just a little note guys, most of the edits in my posts are cause I never remember to turn off my sig. I'll leave a note if i change anything important.

Stoopid memory  

Kuro


----------



## Fanog (Jun 5, 2003)

Well, we're a full week into the game and the opening moves have been laid out.

I was just wondering how you people are enjoying the game, and if you had any comments or questions regarding the game, your specific situation or my playing style.

This being my first PbP game as a DM and my first Mage game even, I'll always be on the lookout for feedback. Any specific thoughts so far?

Fanog


----------



## kuroshidaku (Jun 6, 2003)

You're doin great fanog. i for one am enjoying the game.

Keep up the good work

kuro


----------



## Byrons_Ghost (Jun 6, 2003)

I'm getting recruited by the Union? Eep!

<ahem> Sorry. We'll just have to see where things lead. Otherwise, I've been enjoying the game, even though I've just now gotten in. It's been interesting reading all the different plot threads, and I think we have some good characters to work with. I think your narrative style is quite good, especially when it comes to describing what people are feeling and going through.


----------



## kuroshidaku (Jun 6, 2003)

Sorry i was so late getting my next turn in, had some probs with the internet at home. 

kuro


----------



## Fanog (Jun 10, 2003)

Sorry for the delay in posting an update. I've been out of the loop for a few days, and Ive found that posting updates really requires some rest and to get in the right frame of mind. It's actually a bit harder and more time-consuming than I had in mind originally, so I might miss out on updates every once in a while. (I hope no more than once a week, though).

I'm enjoying all of your characters. Some of the things in the story may seem a bit heavy-handed, for now. Still, there's a good reason for everything, and you are all in control of your characters. Please don't feel like you _have_ to do certain things.

That's is for now, I think.
Fanog


----------



## Mickerus (Jun 10, 2003)

Heh, don't worry about it Fanog.  I've been experiencing kind of the same thing in running my Over the Edge game; every time I get ready to post, I've either been busy busy busy and too tired to do something I'd feel good about, or something would come up and drag me away right when I was good and ready.

As far as the game itself goes, I think it's running a little slow, but considering we're running in prologue mode right now, that's only to be expected.  I think we'll hit good speed when we get to the _meaty_ part of the game.


----------



## Fanog (Jun 17, 2003)

Keia,

I don't know if I understood your post correctly. Gus is not working at the arena, so he doesn't have any responsibilities there. (You met him at college, where he is groundman for the sportsfields.)

Byron's Ghost,

feel free to add to your thoughts. Take it away with where you want the character to go, I'll fill in from that.
I was having a nice time trying to hook you up with the Union, but I pretty much figured it wouldn't work. Still, it was nice while it lasted, trying to make them sound 'legit'. 

Mickerus,

you're free to do anything. Just make a post with your plans for the day, and I'll write out what happens.

Fanog


----------



## Keia (Jun 17, 2003)

Understood - got confused.  I'll edit my post to remove the work reference and instead head out for food or something.

Keia


----------



## Byrons_Ghost (Jun 18, 2003)

No problem. There was a chance I'd agree with him for a while, but that whole "grab people and experiment on them" bit just doesn't sit well.


----------



## Fanog (Jun 18, 2003)

Well, the good Doctor didn't say that they wouldn't ask people if they had had any objections... (Then again, he didn't say that they _would_, or that they'd even care.  )

Byron's Ghost, you're well away on the road to Awakening. I suggest you don't stall too much, 'cause I think you might be in dire need of enlightenment pretty soon.  

Fanog


----------



## Fanog (Jun 19, 2003)

Kuro,

do you know anything about Quantum Mechanics? If you don't, I'll give some extra information throughout the conversation, to give you something to go on.

Fanog


----------



## Keia (Jun 19, 2003)

Fanog,

I will be going out of town probably without internet access for the next several days (starting tonight). I'll be able to post somewhat on Sunday and will be back to regular posting on Monday. Have a good weekend!

Keia


----------



## Fanog (Jun 19, 2003)

That's okay.  As long as the group isn't together, the others can still progress.

Thanks for the heads-up, and have a nice weekend.

Fanog


----------



## Byrons_Ghost (Jun 20, 2003)

Huh- I didn't really expect to be awakening myself (I mean narration-wise, that is). Nor this early. Still, I'll give it a go.


----------



## Fanog (Jun 20, 2003)

I think you did an excellent job on the post. For your character, I thought a kind of self-awakening would be the most appropriate, triggered by bits and pieces of the truth. Your sense of logic would let you piece things together without someone to guide you through every step.

And don't worry... One ordeal coming up. 

Fanog


----------



## kuroshidaku (Jun 20, 2003)

Fanog said:
			
		

> *Kuro,
> 
> do you know anything about Quantum Mechanics? If you don't, I'll give some extra information throughout the conversation, to give you something to go on.
> 
> Fanog *




be nice to have some pointers thanks Fanog, long as you don't go through too much trouble. I sorta know the basics, but not much detailed stuff.


----------



## Byrons_Ghost (Jun 21, 2003)

Go to the library and get a copy of Gary Zukav's "Dancing Wu Li Masters." It's a bit dated, but the science in it is more applicable to mage than 99% of the supposed "magick" books out there.


----------



## Fanog (Jun 21, 2003)

Wow, that sounds like an amazing book. Thanks for the info, I'll try to hunt it down...

Fanog


----------



## Byrons_Ghost (Jun 24, 2003)

Sorry to be gone so long, but I've just now finished the second of two programs I had due in the past few days. And I wanted to make sure I updated the Arcanis game, and wanted some time to actually think over my reply. I'll get something posted tonight.


----------



## Fanog (Jun 27, 2003)

Quick warning: I might be slow until monday. I've got a number of things to do, and I don't know if I'll have enough internet access to make updates.

Then again, I might... but this is just in case. 

Fanog


----------



## Keia (Jun 27, 2003)

That's okay for me.  My posts on weekends slow down a great deal as well with family requirements, etc.

Keia


----------



## Fanog (Jul 4, 2003)

Hi everyone,

I'm sorry that my updates have been so sporadic the last few days. Even now, I didn't have time to do everyone.

I've had a quite hectic week at the lab, getting near graduated and trying to figure out what to do next. It's difficult finding the peace of mind to write Mage updates. I'll try to keep everyone going on a dayly basis. I really like all of your character, but I must say (again, I think) that I hadn't expected things to be this tough to play out.

I hope that things here will normalize somewhat over the next week (or two), sorry for the delays...

Fanog


----------



## loxmyth (Jul 4, 2003)

Hey Fanog,

I realize it can be tough to spread yourself so thin, so don't worry about it... feel free to get your RL stuff in order first, if that's what you need to do.

Also, I should note that I'll be on vacation from July 28th to August 8th.  If need be, you can put me on auto-pilot then.


----------



## Fanog (Jul 8, 2003)

Keia,

feel free to embellish a bit on the return trip, try and let me know what Leo would think about this specific exercise. Assume that he can make it back without incident, that should help keep the amount of posts involved in the trip low.

Kuro,

please post your intent for the evening and the next day. Just paint it in broad strokes and I'll fill in the details during my update.

Everyone,

If you ever feel a bit lost, or unsure what's expected of you, please don't hesitate to ask, either here or in-character. Many things are intended for me to get a feel for your character, and which direction he would go. Because of this, I'm sometimes 'fishing' for some answer. I realize that this might be unclear sometime, just ask when things are unclear. When everyone has had his moment of awakening, I'll get everyone together as soon as possible. It's just that this initial 'training' is pretty important for what the character will be able to do later, and how he will perceive things.

Fanog


----------



## loxmyth (Jul 15, 2003)

And here is where I need help.  I assume my character is now becoming Awakened; are there any specifics that he needs to experience?  I guess that Jason's paradigm is going to be animistic, where he'll start to see spirits in every object?  I'd like to be as consistent as possible, but don't have access to the actual rule books for Mage.


----------



## Fanog (Jul 16, 2003)

Yes, you are now in the process of Awakening. 

The rules on spirits are pretty free-form. The concept of Spirits is detailed in them, as well as how you can interact with them. However, the _nature_ of these spirits, and what these actually represent, is pretty vague and open to the individual.

While it may seem now that these spirits are only present in earthly objects, you will find out that this is actually only a part of what they are. Spirits live in their own world, which is called the Umbra. The Umbra borders our world, and through this border (called the Gauntlet by some), some spirits can interact with our world. Many do so by inhabiting objects, but there are also free-roaming spirits, or those who join with a specific person. Spirits could even be the souls of deceased humans, both those who have passed on or those who are still with us on earth. As you see, the concept of spirits is pretty vague, and the rules can govern all of them. The important part is that your interaction with spirits will _change_ along with your beliefs on what they are.

So, even though there are spirits of humans, you will not be able to interact with them, simply because you don not perceive the concept of spirits as such. Instead they will be (roughly) appearing as creatures of their own, monsters as they have appeared in myth and works of art. The efreeti from your dream is an example of such.

Over the course of what will happen, you will learn to know several of the near-infinite amount of spirits. Yuor muse might become as central one, as will the efreeti, probably.

If this is all a bit unclear, I could write up an additional post detailed how things will look from Jason's point of view. However, I'm a little hesitant to do this. The catch is that the concept of _'the spirit world'_ changes dependent on _who_ is looking. Because of that, I'd like you to have as much control as possible over what's going in. It's safe to assume that Jason can now look into the Umbra, and can see several spirits nearby. His muse is probably present, and the Efreeti might be as well. I hope this gives you some leads. Please give me a sign if you're unsure, and I'll write up a short IC post, to help you on your way.

Fanog


----------



## Fanog (Jul 28, 2003)

Whew, long IC updates. 

A little OOC update about myself: The work on my thesis is finally starting to come into gear. Not making progress was definately frustrating. I'm also beginning to have an inkling of an idea of what I'd like to be doing in a few months time. Nothing definate yet, but at least I've got some serious options. Not knowing what I would like to do was kind of gnawing at me as well. That's the problem with having too much different interests. 

That said, I've just returned from a splendid vacation, even though it was only for a week. Lots of inspiration and fresh energy. With that, I would like to express the hope that this long update I made for everyone is a signal that the game can pick up some speed again. I think you're all doing great, it seems like everyone's storyline is shaping up quite nicely, and I definately like how everyone's putting in their own ideas on how all of this is 'supposed' to become. 

Also, it seems like Mickerus has run into trouble. I've sent him an email to ask how he's doing.

That's about it, I think. Thanks everyone for your continued interest in the game, and for the way you're shaping it. 

Fanog


----------



## Keia (Aug 4, 2003)

Fanog,

Leo plans to avoid a fight at the present to learn a little about his opponent.  If the man does attack, Leo will stay on the defensive - using his newly learned abilities to move faster than normal using normal exertion.

Although Leo is a fighter/warrior by nature, he's not a dummy and doesn't want to fight a foe until he learns more about them.  Nor does he want to reveal much about himself to a potential enemy.

Keia


----------



## Fanog (Aug 4, 2003)

Keia,

you're not necessarily in combat yet, but I'll explain a few things so you know how much to post. I'll take things slow at first, almost down to individual maneuvers (which gives plenty of time for talking ).

Some basic information: In the Mage system, dodging is not passive, but active. This means that it takes up (part of) an action. You can try to do offense and defense at the same time, switching focus between them on a sliding scale.

Let me know how much info you'd like on the combat system. My personal preference would be to keep it light. In that case, just post description, and I'll pour in into 'actions'. Adding intentions as you did is greatly appreciated, helps me keep a picture of what you're going to do.

Fanog


----------



## Keia (Aug 8, 2003)

Fanog,

Leo is actively dodging for all of his actions.  He is looking to put normal effort into his dodges and/or blocks in the same manner that he jogged and testing if he gets double or triple the output.

Leo is here to learn, not to fight so he's perfectly willing to allow the man the offensive.

Keia


----------



## Keia (Aug 12, 2003)

Just checking . . . 

Keia


----------



## Fanog (Aug 13, 2003)

Yeah, I'm here. My research has finally switched to some pace, so that took up a large part of my time.

But, the fact that this was starting to feel like running one-on-one didn't help much. It seems Loxmyth is back from vacation, that's good. I don't know where the others are...

Fanog


----------



## Keia (Aug 26, 2003)

Yeah, I'd try private e-mails to them to see what's up.  Maybe they're vacationing or what-not just before school.

As for Leo, he wants to determine if what he learned from the running translates to this location as well.  If so, then he will apply that knowledge first to his defense, then to try and level the playing field and go on the offensive briefly.

If you want to go through a round or two that's okay with me.


----------



## Fanog (Aug 30, 2003)

I just got word from Byron's Ghost and Kuroshidaku. Both have had to drop from the game due to real-life business. That makes the total for this game three out of five dropped players. Not surprisingly, I'm not too happy with that. It happens, I guess.

There have been some times that I haven't been happy with the way I ran the game, and with the story I chose. The amount of dropped players may of may not have had something to do with that.

Before I start recruiting new players, I'd like to hear from you how your interest in the game is, and if that is what you want. Getting three new players in might slow down the game somewhat, but I could figure out a way to get around that.

Loxmyth and Keia, thanks for sticking with me. Please post your thoughts. Should I continue and find three new players?

Fanog


----------



## loxmyth (Sep 2, 2003)

Fanog,

Between the fact that I'm enjoying this game a lot and that the games I'm a player in have swiftly diminished, I really would like to continue playing this game.

Plus, I still know next to nothing about the setting still so we can't quit yet   I for one am all for the addition of new people if that's what will make this game run better.  I'm sorry for the loss of two of the players (before we've even met each other!) but I think we can still continue on.


----------



## Fanog (Sep 3, 2003)

Ok, I'll try and find some additional players. I sent emails to those who originally expressed interest. That's three persons, which would put us back at five. If I haven't heard from them in about a week, I'll put up a general notice here that we're re-recruiting.

Fanog


----------



## Argent Silvermage (Sep 3, 2003)

Fanog said:
			
		

> Ok, I'll try and find some additional players. I sent emails to those who originally expressed interest. That's three persons, which would put us back at five. If I haven't heard from them in about a week, I'll put up a general notice here that we're re-recruiting.
> 
> Fanog



I got your e-mail and will have a character up and running tonight or tomorrow.


----------



## Fanog (Sep 3, 2003)

Argent said:
			
		

> I got your e-mail and will have a character up and running tonight or tomorrow.



Great, nice to have you on board. Will you make a character fashioned after the concept you wrote up earlier? (technogeek, son of a scientist)

Please remember that you won't actually be awakened yet. We'll play through that. I'll insert you just on the brink, same point as the others are now.

Fanog


----------



## Argent Silvermage (Sep 3, 2003)

Fanog said:
			
		

> Great, nice to have you on board. Will you make a character fashioned after the concept you wrote up earlier? (technogeek, son of a scientist)
> 
> Please remember that you won't actually be awakened yet. We'll play through that. I'll insert you just on the brink, same point as the others are now.
> 
> Fanog



Sure thing!


----------



## Argent Silvermage (Sep 4, 2003)

*Max*

Name: Maxwell Cogswell
Residence: 
Occupation: Dilettante (Father owns Mega company)
World View: Science is everything and all things lead back to science
Personal Goals: Prove his inventions will work. Better living through Technology.
Motivations: Max is a spoiled rich kid who needs to see the world outside of a laboratory. His leaving the Lab is a dangerous endeavor in his eyes. 

Physical (Average -3)
Strength______________ OO 
Dexterity_____________ OO 
Stamina______________ OO

Social (Good -5)
Charisma______________ OOO 
Manipulation___________ OOO
Appearance____________ OO 

Mental (Excellent –7 added 1 dot for 5 freebies)
Perception_____________ OOOO
Intelligence____________ OOOOO
Wits__________________ OO

Talents (Average - 5)
Alertness______________ OO 
Awareness_____________ OO 
Dodge________________ O


Skills (Good – 9)
Crafts_________________ OOO
Drive__________________ O 
Etiquette_______________ 
Firearms_______________ O 
Meditation______________  
Performance____________ 
Stealth________________ O
Survival________________
Technology_____________ OOO

Know ledges (Excellent - 13)
Academics_____________ OO
Computer______________ OOO
Cosmology_____________ 
Enigmas_______________ OO
Investigation___________ OO
Law__________________ 
Linguistics_____________ 
Medicine_______________ O
Occult_________________ 
Science________________ OOO

Spheres 
Correspondence________ 
Entropy_______________ 
Forces________________
Life__________________
Matter________________
Mind_________________
Prime_________________
Spirit_________________ 
Time_________________ 

Advantages

Backgrounds (used 5 Freebies)
Resources_____ OOOO
Dream_____ OOO
Influence ____ OOO

Resonance 
Dynamic______________ 

 Arete
O

Willpower 
OOOOO 

More info on the way.


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## Argent Silvermage (Sep 4, 2003)

Let me know what's up. I'm itching to get involved.


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## Fanog (Sep 4, 2003)

Your stats seem fine. I was waiting for a bit of background before posting an introduction. Especially where you live, and what you've been up to the last time.

I've already got something figured out already. He's probably got a rough time ahead of him. 

Fanog


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## Argent Silvermage (Sep 4, 2003)

Max Cogswell Background:

Maxwell Cogswell is the son of wealthy industrialist. Garrison Cogswell runs Cogswell Tech. and is a leading manufacturer of computer components.

Max was raised in luxury and unfortunately alone for the most part. Shuffled from Nanny to Nanny and eventually a boarding school, he has become somewhat sullen and introverted. His one real outlet is the internet and on line gaming is a passion. 
He is also a bit of a genius and a technological prodigy; this has been a boon for Cogswell Tech.

Max is a slight man of 21. He stands 5’ 6” and weighs 140 pounds. He has black hair and black eyes and very fair skin. Usually dressed in Denim and silk, he carries the top of the line tech with him everywhere.

Max’s personality is such that he will do anything for a friend, He’s smart, irreverent and a bit moody, He likes sword and sorcery movies and James Bond-esque books. In his eyes his great shame is that he is still a virgin.
Max lives mainly in London but has a home in NYC (actualy his father's condo)


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## Fanog (Sep 4, 2003)

Wow, he's quite a character. I think I love him already. 

He's going to get a bit of a shock though. If you've read the IC thread, you'll probably get the idea. It's getting a bit late here (Europe), so I'm going to take the night to digest the character and figure out what has happened so far. Expect your introduction tomorrow.

Fanog


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## Fanog (Sep 5, 2003)

Argent,

your introduction is up. It might seem a bit heavy-handed, but I didn't want to waste too much time playing through all of that. As I've said to the others, there's just some things that have to happen to make sure that you awaken. How you react to all of those things is still entirely up to you, however. I have no plot line set in stone, so that's partly up to you.
I hope that explains some things, I didn't know if you had read through the earlier parts of the IC/OOC threads. Please ask if you still have some questions.

Fanog


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## Argent Silvermage (Sep 5, 2003)

Fanog said:
			
		

> Argent,
> 
> your introduction is up. It might seem a bit heavy-handed, but I didn't want to waste too much time playing through all of that. As I've said to the others, there's just some things that have to happen to make sure that you awaken. How you react to all of those things is still entirely up to you, however. I have no plot line set in stone, so that's partly up to you.
> I hope that explains some things, I didn't know if you had read through the earlier parts of the IC/OOC threads. Please ask if you still have some questions.
> ...



I already posted my reply. I love the idea of him being kidnapped. It fits his background. The reason I never mentioned his mother is I figured she was dead. this just gave me the reason why!
I'm still reading all of the thread. There's a lot there.


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## Fanog (Sep 5, 2003)

Nice, I think it'll work quite well. Hope he doesn't get traumatized too much.  I'll try to update you a little more to get you up to speed, but I don't have time to write updates that often. They require a bit of time. We'll see how it works out.

Things isn the IC thread aren't really essential, except for the first two posts. 

Also, when you think of it, would you please leave signatures out of the IC thread? It's not really an issue, but a slight preference for me. Thanks.

Fanog


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## Argent Silvermage (Sep 5, 2003)

Fanog said:
			
		

> Nice, I think it'll work quite well. Hope he doesn't get traumatized too much.  I'll try to update you a little more to get you up to speed, but I don't have time to write updates that often. They require a bit of time. We'll see how it works out.
> 
> Things isn the IC thread aren't really essential, except for the first two posts.
> 
> ...



No Sweat! Sigs out.


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## Dalamar (Sep 7, 2003)

Now that I finally have the time to answer to this...

I'd really like to take a try. I haven't read the IC thread at all, but a Mage game can't be bad, can it.

I'll try to wrap up my character (building on the idea I gave earlier) during the next few days, hopefully even today.


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## Fanog (Sep 7, 2003)

Great, I look forward to seeing your character. I certainly _hope_ the game isn't bad, but who am I to say...

The third person I invited couldn't make it due to his schedule. I'll edit the first post to recruit one additional person.

Fanog


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## WizWrm (Sep 7, 2003)

This game looks very interesting, and I think I might be up for it.

I've never played Mage (or any other Storyteller game, for that matter), but I've flipped through the rulebook and know the very basic workings (mechanical and story-wise) of the game; just to give you some background.

For character, I have a couple ideas: human-consciousness researcher, virtual-reality tech who thinks there might be a way to understand real life as a projected reality, a detective who gets odd hunches all the time, or an attorney who lives next to a mortuary that gets strange feelings. I'm feeling kind of scatter-brained right now; I'll work up the character later. If I suit your needs, let me know and I'll start coagulating my thoughts.


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## Fanog (Sep 7, 2003)

Sure, you're in. This is a first storyteller game for some of the others players as well. I've written a short guide to help you with the character generation rules; all of the other stuff is either explained in-character, or handled by me. You won't have to worry about the rules any more than you want to.

Argent is already playing a Technology-oriented character, so maybe you could try something else. Other characters are an artist, an athlete and a construction worker. (to give you the short of it. 

I'm looking forward to what you come up with. Always feel free to ask questions.

Fanog


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## WizWrm (Sep 8, 2003)

Fanog said:
			
		

> Sure, you're in. This is a first storyteller game for some of the others players as well. I've written a short guide to help you with the character generation rules; all of the other stuff is either explained in-character, or handled by me. You won't have to worry about the rules any more than you want to.
> 
> Argent is already playing a Technology-oriented character, so maybe you could try something else. Other characters are an artist, an athlete and a construction worker. (to give you the short of it.
> 
> ...




Great!

I don't know how far 'along the path' I should be - vague ideas and odd coincidences; to have realized something's up; to be actually be able to be doing something that contradicts 'the way things work.'

Here's an idea I'll throw out:

Todd Whitford was born in New York to a fairly well-off family. His mother was a biologist, and his father was an architect and, infrequently, a member of the city council. Both of their jobs demanded a large time commitment, and thus, as a child and adolescent, Todd had a lot of free time and was never closely watched. As so often happens with such young men, he quickly found himself in trouble; he followed a couple of his friends into a gang. He never really knew what he was getting into - it was almost naivete that put him in this position. Within a month, one of the gang's crimes went sour, forcing them to flee the gun-shop they'd been robbing in the face of police pursuit. Todd Whitford was left holding the ball - and the evidence, landing him a brief stay in jail and finally awakening his parents to what they'd inadvertently let happen.

Since he was still a juvenile in high school, Todd was transfered to an 'alternative education' school and rehabilitation center, a government-sponsored endeavor that taught young criminals skills that would hopefully put them on the path to a new life and keep them off the streets. Among other self-confidence and reflection techniques, one thing that was taught was meditation. Todd found he had an odd affinity for this - he was quickly able to get into the trance, and when he was, he would see flashes of things - of his life up to now, of the busy city around him, and, most disturbing, indecipherable images he felt strangely certain showed his future. At the same time, he began having frighteningly realistic dreams; he would see himself walking around, speaking to his parents, going to school, and many other usual and not-so-usual events; once he even thought he was watching his old gang returning as they robbed, for a second time, the store where Todd had been caught at.

Most perplexing of all to him was a dream in which Todd saw himself leaving the rehab center during the night and returning to his house. He awoke in a sweat, only to discover that he was lying on the floor of his parents' attic. They chalked it up to sleepwalking; the institute called it an escape attempt; but neither of these explained how he'd gotten through the locks.

Despite this incident, he finished his eduaction at the center and, having done well in school despite the lone act of misconduct, was funneled through a goverment-sponsored program into Boston University. But the dreams continued.

Todd is of average height, has red hair and hazel eyes, and a place on his high school's soccer team has given him a fairly athletic build. He was once fairly outgoing, but a year in the rehabilitation center surrounded by budding young criminals, many of whom had committed far worse crimes that he had, has dampened this somewhat. Todd has wisened up a bit since being caught, and he tends to be more careful around people than he once was.


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## Keia (Sep 8, 2003)

Fanog,

Sorry I've been slow to reply.  I've been able to devote much time to games that require a bit of thought (like my own and this one).  Hopefully, tonite I'll have the time and brain juice left to tackle both of them.

Keia


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## Fanog (Sep 8, 2003)

WizWrm,
the background sounds good, there's enough to make this interesting. Could you perhaps elaborate a bit on what Todd himself thinks of all that's happened. Has he tried searching for an explanation, does he 'believe' any of the stuff that's been happening to him? Is there anything that might tie him into any mythical or mystical school of thought?

Earlier in this thread, there's a post where I explain the character generation process. Click here.
There's also a thread in the Rogue's Gallery for you to post your characters. See here.

Keia,
don't worry. It can happen at times. For the moment, it will give the others a moment to 'catch up' a bit.

Fanog


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## WizWrm (Sep 8, 2003)

Fanog said:
			
		

> WizWrm,
> the background sounds good, there's enough to make this interesting. Could you perhaps elaborate a bit on what Todd himself thinks of all that's happened. Has he tried searching for an explanation, does he 'believe' any of the stuff that's been happening to him? Is there anything that might tie him into any mythical or mystical school of thought?




As far as meditation goes, I'd say he doesn't feel there's anything extremely out-of-the-ordinary in the fact that he gets "flashbacks," because that's what meditation is supposed to do - it's a tool for introspection and reflection, right? He probably brushes some of it off to stress, particularly the times when he sees things that he's sure are real - like when he "knew" that the gun-shop was being robbed again, he probably figured it was just a combination of all the trauma associated with that shop and with those people, combined with the normal reflective effects of meditation. 

The dreams, Todd's not so sure about. Todd must have some vaguely-defined explanation for himself about how he suddenly woke up several miles away; he's probably telling himself, "sleepwalking....it must have been sleepwalking....yeah, must have been that," a lot.

He's not actively looking for any supernatural explanation - he's a 'normal guy,' after all, and he's had a couple bad experiences and probably some stress. Todd probably wants to chalk it up to that, but with the extreme 'success' of the meditation,  I could see him furtively buying a book from a local bookstore on Buddhist monks and/or Eastern meditation techniques, just to see if his reaction to it has been normal; none of the other 'inmates,' said anything about strangely realistic 'flashbacks.' He's possibly enrolled himself in a meditation class (maybe taught by an ex-Buddhist monk? I had an RL teacher like that once) and asked the teacher for special advice or some-such.

Basically, Todd is trying desperately to find a normal explanation for everything. 

If there's anything more, let me know.

I'll get some time to write up his stats later today (my time), which means hopefully we'll be able to start in less than 24 hours or so.


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## Fanog (Sep 8, 2003)

Excellent, that will give me something to go on. I'll take some time to mull things over, we should be good to go once I get the stats.

Fanog


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## WizWrm (Sep 9, 2003)

My character's up, let me know if I made mistakes or should make changes for one reason or another.

Todd Whitford


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## Fanog (Sep 11, 2003)

WizWrm, sorry for the delay in getting Todd involved. His stats and background all check out, your first post is up. if you want to, you can add some things that occured while Todd sat at his table, might give everyone (including me) a bit of feeling for the character. Maybe some thoughts about how he feels about his current situation.

Fanog


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## Fanog (Sep 19, 2003)

Hi everyone,

this message is basically to let all of you know that I haven't forgotten about you. I've had a very lowsy couple of days this week. Every day I made an effort to free some time for updating, but it just didn't work. It seems as if I'm troubled with a severe lack of inspiration. As I said, my research has been awful lately, and I don't see that picking up any time soon. I hope to pick up some gumption over the weekend...

Sorry for the delays (once again). 

Fanog


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## Keia (Sep 24, 2003)

Fanog said:
			
		

> Hi everyone, ...
> 
> Sorry for the delays (once again).
> Fanog




Hang in there!  There's a light somewhere . . . 

Keia


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## WizWrm (Sep 30, 2003)

It's okay - everyone gets writer's block. Thanks for letting us know.

...and I'll just bump this to the top.


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## Fanog (Oct 28, 2003)

Hi everyone,

I'm sorry that I've kept silent for so long. I've been putting off replying, since I didn't know if I was up for continuing. It's been more than a month now, and I guess that my reluctance to pick it up again should say about enough...

Unfortunately, I cannot find the time or the energy to keep track of the story and write updates. Writing my thesis has been pretty hard, and exceptionally draining on my gumption. I don't see this returning any time soon. Because of that, I've decided to quit DM'ing this campaign. I'm truely sorry for having to bail, and for the time that you already invested in creating characters and starting the story. I also offer apologies for keeping you waiting for so long. I'm just not up to at for the moment.

I hope you'll all find other campaigns here to play in. I've greatly enjoyed DM'ing in a modern world, and have learned quite a lot about story-telling along the way. I'm really sorry that I can't find the time to finish this story...

Best,
Fanog


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