Lineage:Mage Society

Houses and Orders

Mage society is built around loyalties to Houses and Orders. Almost all mages are a member of one or the other, since it is usually the only way to obtain magical training and access to spells. Anyone with magical talent who isn’t born into a House or recruited into an Order will probably never find out that magic even exists.

Cults

Periodically organisations dedicated (at least theorectically) to some sort of philosophical beliefs arise in mage society. They are called "cults". The largest of these is of course the Rebellion, but many others have arisen in the thousands of years of recorded mage history. Cults don't often survive for long, being despised by the Houses and without allies among the rebels. However, scattered idiosynchratic groups exist all over the world, usually in hiding. Nobody knows for sure how many of the rumoured cults are real, nor how many of the cults that have been "wiped-out" in history live on in secret. Famous historical cults inclue the Levelers, who sought to abolish distinctions of wealth, the Knights Templar, who embraced abmition and renounced morality as an illusion, and the Transcenders, who maintain that only virtual reality is real. A favorite mage rumour is that two Orders are in fact cults not related to the Rebellion who are simply using it as cover. Which two seems to vary with which Order the mage wants to get in trouble.

Mage Government

The mages of the US have no centralised government. Instead, the U.S., like most of the world, is a patchwork of vague, overlapping territories representing the spheres of influence of different Houses and Orders. Territory need not consist in a stretch of land. It could be the right to run all casinos in a city, or the right to infiltrate the police force, or it could be Microsoft. The most territory by far is held by the Thirteen Houses, and Houses usually own significantly more territory than Orders.

The most powerful House in the United States is the House of Stuart. The Stuarts are the head of a power bloc formed by four Houses from England; Stuart, Lancaster, York and Warwick. These Houses do not rule the others, but they are the dominant force among them.

Disputes

Mages recognize no common body of law. In theory, a mage’s rights extend as far as their ability to defend them. In practice, this means that security usually lies in being a member of a group. Mages working with the Houses rely on their House to back them up. Mages of the Rebellion rely on other rebels and especially on their Orders. Mages who owe no political allegiance gather in their own cabals, pursuing their own desires and ambitions.

The degree to which an individual can expect backup will vary greatly depending on the situation and can be difficult to predict. Much will depend on how great a patron the group was to the individual, which ways the winds of politics are currently blowing, and on the individual personalities of people in power. Naturally, feuds over who wrongfully killed who are common in mage societies and may last for centuries.

Minor magewars are common, occurring either between local mages or, more rarely, between whole Houses and Orders. The Houses tend to be much better at conducting magewar than the Orders of the Rebellion are. However, magewar between a House and an Order always runs the risk of drawing in other rebels. It is rare for one Order of the Rebellion to declare magewar on another Order of the Rebellion and it always generates a political crisis. Magewars are usually fought for economic reasons, a strategic competition for assets rather than an ideological clash. Houses and Orders do not declare magewar lightly and almost never do it over a matter of principle.

Mage Religion

It is believed that the universe is ruled by Heaven and Hell, abode of Angels and Demons respectively. Both species are alien and incomprehensible to humans, Angels seeming arbitrary and Demons sadistically cruel. Nobody knows for sure what either want with humanity because Angels don’t speak and Demons lie. The powerful mage Houses have always done their best to bow to Heaven’s will and to avoid upsetting Demons although few mages are genuinely religious, especially in the modern world. The Rebellion on the other hand has throughout history denied the authority of Heaven and Hell alike and has conducted harrowings to release the damned from Hell.

Mages and Mortals

The Houses have always considered mages to be a class apart, superior to mortals and natural rulers of the world. The distinction between mage and mortal has been the distinction between the ruling class and the subject, the shepherd and the sheep. Mages of the Houses are still likely to love and care about mortals that they know personally, including their mortal spouses and family members. Furthermore, abuse of someone related to a House by blood is liable to offend the honor of the House. Most children born to a blooded mage are born mortal, but mortal and mage children are almost never raised together, an arrangement that generally requires mortal spouses to be treated with mind controlling magic. Most in the modern Rebellion accept equality between mages and mortals, at least in theory. In the Houses and Rebellion alike, mortal friends and family are rarely let in on the truth about the world. A mortal’s mind can be read so the more they know, the more of a danger they are to themselves and anyone they know about.

Mages and Blood

The Houses traditionally consider a mage who is related to a House by blood to be a class apart from a mage who isn’t. A mage who is related to a House is said to be “blooded”. Most mages in the Rebellion are “unblooded”. Most blooded mages take spouses who are not mages and are not related to a House. Two mages can produce off-spring and the off-spring will almost always be a mage, but they also almost always suffer from physical and/or psychological and/or magical problems, over and above any that are always associated with either bloodline.

Mages and Gender

Female mages have almost always been the equals of male mages in both The Houses and The Rebellion. As they comprise roughly half of their group’s strength, any other arrangement just wouldn’t be practical. This equality has almost never been extended to mortal women and the Houses have often used sexism in mortal society as a tool of control. Historically, where there have been attempts to promote gender equality, The Rebellion has usually been involved.

Mages and Race

Mages have rarely subscribed to racist theories, even in times of great racism. Mage society’s egalitarianism has little to do with universal love and much to do with the desire to keep accurate record of human assets and strategic alternatives. A mage from any House may be of any race, provided that they have some blood tie to the House. Similarly, the Orders recruit without consideration of race. The fact that mages study humanity too closely to fall for racist theories has not prevented The Houses from using mortal racism to their advantage as a tool of control. Historically, where there have been attempts to promote racial equality, The Rebellion has usually been involved.

Social Relations: Affiliation, Reputation, Claim to Hospitality and Reaction Modifiers

The different Houses and Orders have a complicated political relationship and individual reaction modifiers are best judged by the GM on a case by case basis desping on the specific situation. For this reason, no mechanical reputation modifier is listed in the descriptions of the Houses and Orders. Here are some general guidelines.

Every known rebel has a claim to hospitality from every other rebel. Every mage who serves a House has a claim to hospitality with the House. Since there is a reciprical duty to offer hospitality, this is worth no points.

Rebels can usually be expected to react to other known rebels at at least +1, or +2 if the subject of their reaction is from a known rebel Order, or +3 if the subject is from the same Order. Rebels can usually be expected to react to mages trained by a House at at least -1, -2 if they are not known to be rebels. Rebels are likely to react to a “hound”, a mage from a rebel Order who serves a House, at -3.

A mage from a House who has not turned rebel is liable to react to any mage who serves their House at at least +1, +2 if the subject is a hound (they have no competing loyalties), +3 if the subject was trained by the same House. They have no general reaction penalties against rebels or mages serving other Houses, since such mages represent both opportunities and dangers.

This just scratches the surface of mage relations, however. Every group of mages are known for certain skills and abilities and the more in demand these abilities are, the better the mage will be received. Moreover, every group of mages has a history of alliances, feuds and vendettas that will color their interactions to a degree that depends on the personalities of the specific mages involved. The GM will be best off deciding on appropriate modifiers on a case-by-case basis.

Lexicon

Angel: Noun. Supernatural creature associated with Heaven. Example: “Run! Its an Angel!”

Bleeder: Noun. A mortal as opposed to a mage. Example: “The mages all made it but we lost a couple of bleeders”.

Blood: Adjective. Is a mage who is related to me. Example: “Jane is blood. I could never betray her”.

Blooded: Adjective. Related to a magical House by blood. Example: “You can rely on him. He’s blooded” or “Don’t trust him. He’s blooded”.

The Damned: Noun. A human resident of a hell, or any human who is definitely going to be. Example: “Let the rebels take care of the damned. We’ve got business to attend to”.

Demon: Supernatural creature associated with Hell. Example: “Run! It’s a Demon!”

Harrower: Noun. A mage who raids hells to release the damned. Few mages even in the Rebellion go Harrowing, but every Order supports it. Example: “I’ll stay here. I’d only get in the way at a Harrowing”.

Hell: Noun. Any place where torture is occuring, especially if it is inhabited by demons or the damned. Example: “Holy Shit! It’s a hell!”. Hell is also the sum of these places. Example: “Fuck all the Demons in Hell!”.

House: A powerful organization of mages who are related by blood. Example: “You never betray the House. Ever”.

The Houses: Noun. The sum of all organizations that have not declared for the Rebellion, including any Orders. Example: “The Houses rule the world. They always have. They always will”.

The Kiss: The final death of a damned person, releasing them from hell. Example: “I gave him The Kiss and the screaming stopped at last”.

Hound: Noun. Member of a rebel order who allies with the Houses. Example: “A hound has no loyalty but to the hand that feeds it”.

Modron: A mage who sides with Heaven or Hell. Example: “Its too late for him. He’s a modron”.

Order: An organization of mages that does not require blood relationship to join. Example: “Welcome to the Order. I hope you like it because you can never leave”.

Rebel: Noun. Any mage who sides with the Rebellion against Heaven and Hell, whethey they come from a rebel order or not. Example: “Those stupid rebels and their sanctimonius whining. I think they like being losers”.

Rebellion: Noun. A political movement among mages. The Rebellion rejects the authority of Heaven and Hell and seeks to eliminate hells. The Rebellion does not recognize the authority of the Houses, but the two factions are not presently at war. Example: “The Rebellion is for mages who would rather be sheep than wolves”

Ronin: A blooded mage who joins the Rebellion. Example: “You bring disgrace to the family, you ronin!”.

Satan: Noun. A human who knowingly leads another human to damnation. Example: “I’m going to show you a mercy you never had, Satan. I’m going to kill you”.

Sell: Adjective: To leave in a hell. Example: “We tried but we had to sell her. There was nothing we could do”.

Territory: Noun. Places you control that are magically valuable for some reason. Example: “What are you doing in my territory?”. Cabals of mages often hold joint territory, as it makes it much easier to defend. Most of the strategically important territory is in the hands of The Houses, as it has been throughout history.

The Thirteen Houses: Noun. The thirteen Houses recognized as being the richest and most powerful in the United States. The Thirteen Houses effectively rules the U.S.. The Houses are Anjou, Capet, Carolus, Flavii, Hapsburg, Julii, Lancaster, Medici, Romanov, Stuart, Trastámara, Warwick and York.