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Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters

2016-09-28T03:22:21Z

Kastowt: ...fixed broken link.

[[Category:Mage:_The_Awakening]][[Category:PBP]]
<center>'''''Twenty-Five Lighters''''' 
'''''Featuring the Scholars of the Lost'''''

[[Image: Htown-eclipse.jpg]]

''A Storytelling Campaign of Ambition and Passion set in Houston, Texas''

Run by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?u=6778 Martys] on the RPGnet Forums</center>

==Thread Info==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?568172-GM-Wanted-nWoD-anyone Recruitment]
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?570104-Mage-The-Awakening-Twenty-Five-Lighters OOC]
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?570105-Mage-The-Awakening-Twenty-Five-Lighters IC]

==The Scholars of the Lost==

* '''[[John Barabus]]''', '''Mastigos''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Phigment'')
* '''[[Hailey Desmond|Diamondback]]''', '''Thyrsus''' of the '''Mysterium''' (played by ''Zato-2TWO'')
* '''[[Locke]]''', '''Obrimos''' of the '''Free Council''' (played by ''Nikki6th'')
* '''[[Ruse]]''', '''Acanthus''' of the '''Guardians of the Veil''' (played by ''Lost_Arts'')
* '''[[Michael Walker|Cephisso]]''', '''Moros''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Scutarii'')

==The Setting==
===Overview and Recent History===
Now boasting a population of 2.6 million in the city proper and nearly 7 million throughout the greater metro area, the City of Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Historically the nation's primary hub for the oil and gas industry, the city suffered an economic slump in the wake of the 80s-era oil bust, but soon rebounded after successfully diversifying its economy. Previously ignored by most mages for the first hundred years of its existence in favor of such cities as New Orleans and Miami, after the one-two punches of Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Ike (which Houstonians simply refer to as "the Storm"), Houston has now overtaken New Orleans in the number of mages that base themselves in the city.

There are between forty and fifty mages known to inhabit the Greater Houston Area (as a general rule of thumb, this includes the entire area within a fifteen-mile radius of downtown Houston). The Diamond Orders have thrived in the region since the Second World War, with their first wave of migration beginning with the wartime mobilization, the second wave following the general 60s-era Sun Belt migration and the third wave coinciding with the late 80s tech and financial services booms. The Mysterium and Guardians of the Veil are the dominant Orders, having long since concentrated themselves within such Sleeper institutions as academia, the aerospace industry, law enforcement, public services, and the health care industry. The Silver Ladder and Free Council both maintain visibly active presences in the region, with their cabals working together in a shifting web of alliances and mutual partnerships. Most new self-Awakened mages tend to get scooped up by one of those two Orders, though the Silver Ladder is happy to find another home for those mages who don't fit its ideology. The Free Council boasts a larger number of mages and has thoroughly worked its way into the local telecom and energy industries. The Silver Ladder claims the greater number of cabals and has gained a stranglehold over the region's occult communities; its influence over the local religious activists and social justice organizers is no less pervasive. The Adamantine Arrows keep the lowest profile, apparently having suffered a crippling blow in September 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The Arrows are currently composed of two cabals which concentrate on their own projects and rarely ask assistance from or communicate with the other Orders. The remaining unaligned mages number a little less than a third of the total population and either remain completely aloof from the larger mage community, or maintain loose affiliations with the Free Council.

===Places of Interest===

'''Consilium'''

[[Image: ChapelCourtyard.jpg]]

* The Maxine Gavriel Collection serves as the physical location from which Houston mages coordinate their activites, air disputes, trade favors, etc. Located on a small private estate in the Upper Kirby District owned by the Gavriel family for six generations, the Consilium consists of a small chapel with a capacity of 100 persons, an art gallery displaying the family's private works, a private library containing various occult and historical volumes, a courtyard with a level 4 Hallow, four spirit Guardians and a permanent staff of eight Sleepwalker acolytes loyal to the Gavriel family. The chapel, courtyard and art gallery are open to the public, but only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

'''Y'all Come Back'''

[[Image: Bb.jpg]]

* A bed & breakfast inn with 14 rooms, located in the center of the Hyde Park District and run by the Silver Ladder mage known as Xenios, one of the city's two Heralds. All nonresident mages intending to remain in the city more than 36 hours must ensure that the Hierarch is aware of their presence, with most expected to quarter themselves at Xenios's lodgings unless another resident mage volunteers to provide his own hospitality.

'''Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park'''

[[Image: Waterwall.jpg]]

* Still stubbornly referred to as Transco Park by locals seven years after the 2003 Galleria expansion that reduced it to a third of its former size, the Hines Waterwall Park sits adjacent to the Galleria retail complex in the Uptown District. Though the park is privately owned, it is open to the public from 10am to 10pm. Until recently, the park was used as neutral ground for meetings between Pentacle mages and Seers when face-to-face meetings were necessary.

'''Saxon Tower'''

[[Image: Saxon.jpg]]

* The corporate headquarters of the Saxon Group, the 49-story skyscraper was completed in May 2000. The bottom ten floors are devoted to retail shops and parking, with the next thirty floors containing office space. Floors 40-44 contain a SkyGarden overlooking the north and east, with the remaining floors reserved as private residences for Roderick Saxon and his aides.

'''Eternity Bar'''

[[Image: Eternitybar.jpg]]

* One of the few downtown nightspots consciously targeting the over-30 crowd, the Eternity Bar is frequented by somewhat older mages who still enjoy a wild night. A tri-level venue, the Eternity consists of a small bar at the street level, a rooftop patio and bar, plus a larger lounge and dance floor just below the rooftop level.

'''The Stateroom'''

[[Image: Stateroom.jpg]]

* Billed as Houston's only revolving restaurant and located 24 stories above street-level, the Stateroom Restaurant and lounge tends to be the go-to location when higher-ranking mages wish to impress out-of-towners. The circular structure makes one complete rotation ever 45 minutes, giving an unparalleled view of the surrounding area.

'''Memorial Park'''

[[Image: Obelisk.jpg]]

* Inspired by a dream, in 2003 the sculptor and architect Dion Murdock erected this obelisk atop a 35-foot crest deep within the forests of Memorial Park, a 1500 acre urban park near the Uptown area. Mages later discovered the obelisk straddles a ley line running beneath the park, and marks the centerpoint of a cluster of Hallows that collectively have a rating of 3. During the winter of 2004-2005, the Lightning Razors chased away a nest of vampires that laid claim to the Hallows and have zealously guarded it ever since.

==The Sanctum==

===Melete House===
[[Image: KirbyHouse.jpg]]
* Constructed during the Roaring Twenties, Melete House is the current safehouse and research center for the Scholars of the Lost. Located on the outskirts of the Museum District just south of Highway 59, the structure is guarded only by the spells of obfuscation and layered mystical wards and traps erected by each of the cabal members.

===Sanctum Stats===

* Size 3 (eight-room office building later converted into a private home and art gallery before its acquisition by the cabal)
* Security 3 (protected by mundane locks and burglar bars, plus a set of Indefinite Duration nested wards and traps each rated at Potency 3)
* Library 4 (located in center of upper level; volumes include various grimoires confiscated from enemies, records and maps of global mystical sites, and detailed histories of past Atlantean and mortal sorcerers)
* Hallow 4 (entire library suffused with Mana of Resonance of "studious"; Tass collects in the form of spontaneously-appearing empty books and pamphlets)

==Cabal Associates==

==NPCs of Interest==

===Ruling Council===
* '''Heirarch''': Renee Gavriel (Mysterium)
* '''Provost Primus''': Julius (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Provost Secundus''': FuX0r (Free Council)
* '''Herald Primus''': Xenios (Silver Ladder)
* '''Herald Secundus''': Jackson Rusk (Silver Ladder)
* '''Sentinel''': Kirpan (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Sentinel''': Marian Made (Mysterium)

===Councilors===
* '''Acanthus''': Laarsen (Silver Ladder) -- Special Projects Coordinator for City Council Member Oreza and primary source of political intelligence to the Consilium
* '''Mastigos''': Logos (Guardians of the Veil) -- leader of the Cui Bono cabal and mentor of Sentinel Kirpan; together with Assita Falls, Logos has discovered or partially initiated nearly one-third of the region's novice Pentacle mages over the last two decades
* '''Moros''': Samael (Mysterium) -- leader of the Verba Non Acta cabal and long-time investigative journalist for the ''Houston Press'' alternative newsweekly
* '''Obrimos''': Hsing Sun (Mysterium) -- the Most Venerable Hsing Sun is the current abbot of Guang Tien Di Temple, leader of the Jing Dao cabal, and a sage of the Perfected Adept Legacy. One of the oldest mages in the Houston area, Hsing Sun maintains one of the largest collections of Eastern Supernal lore in North America.
* '''Thyrsus''': Assita Falls (Silver Ladder) -- leader of the Seven Mercies cabal and administrator of the Jubilee Restoration House, a private outreach organization providing a network of transitioning housing facilities and homeless shelters throughout Greater Houston.

===Diamond Orders===

====Adamantine Arrows====
* '''Fiery Analemma''' -- six mages that were the vanguard of the campaign against the Seers in the Greater Houston area. Withdrew to Galveston after the Storm after suffering major casualties during an assault against a Seer pylon operating near the Port of Houson.

====Guardians of the Veil====
* '''Cui Bono''' -- a self-styled "oversight" cabal dedicated to keeping an eye on newly-Awakened mages and "keeping them out of trouble," Cui Bono also strives to shield Sleepers from any malevolent supernatural influence. Currently guided by the Mastigos mage known as Logos, the Cui Bono mages work closely with leading mages in the region, trading information and other resorces as needed.
* '''Lightning Razors''' -- one of the larger cabals in the region, they are composed of three cells of three martially-focused mages that once worked closely with the Fiery Analemma cabal. Most notorious for pursuing and defeating the Mad One calling himself "Kadmon."

====Mysterium====
* '''Men of Letters''' -- organized by five mages of the Mysterium, the Men of Letters cabal is composed of academics from among the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University. Having recently won acclaim for repelling an incursion of passion spirits on the UST campus, the Men of Letters tend to work alone in order to concentrate on pure research.
* '''Lone Star Environmental LLC''' -- an environmental consulting company started by two mages, normally completing contracts for petrochemical firms and providing additional expertise for academic investigations.

====Silver Ladder====
* '''Thalassa, Magna & Assoc. LLP''' -- a cutthroat PIP law firm founded by Robert Thalassa and Thomasina Magna. Censured for using Awakened Arts to arrange desired outcomes in court, Thalassa and Magna nonetheless evade more adverse action against them by providing pro bono legal assistance to any mage that engages their services.
* '''Staff & Serpent''' -- SAS began eight years ago as a local coed service fraternity on the UH campus. After the original founder-mages graduated, they retained the name for the public policy research institute they organized a few years later. Staff and Serpent works closely with Thalassa and Magna, trading networking resources and research for various legal services including harassment and obstruction of their adversaries.
* '''Jubilee Restoration House''' -- now headed by Councilor Assita Falls after the assassination of its founder Kortikos by the Seers, the four mages working in this private outreach organization help provide vital services for battered women and children, the homeless, and other souls in desperate need.

===Free Council===
* '''4-Tay''' -- a hip-hop collective formed by the rap duo "4-Tay" and their Sleeper associates. Constant touring keeps them in touch with other Awakened mages throughout the South.
* '''Raditek Consultants''' -- a private firm providing IT and engineering consulting services along with temporary staffing services, started by three mages just out of college.

===Left-Hand Path Mages===
* '''Order of the Bennu''' -- reclusive sect of eight mages and non-Awakened sorcerers reported to use an Ancient Egyptian praxis. Content to stay near their communal waterfront property near the Bear Creek Reservoir, the Order has to date avoided sanction from the Consilium, though they resist any and all attempts at intrusion and surveillance with a combination of mundane technology and powerful Mind and Spirit countermagics.

===Seers of the Throne===
* '''Roderick Saxon''' -- a defector from the Mysterium, Roderick Saxon is the CEO and owner of the Saxon Group, a multinational real estate corporation that is one of the top five managers of office and residential property in the South. The Ruling Council has attempted multiple assassinations of the traitor, but as Saxon rarely leaves the tower which serves as his home and corporate headquarters and is a Master of Fate and Prime, all have failed.

===Banishers and Mad Ones===
* '''"IX"'''
* '''Kadmon'''

===Unaligned and Solitaries===
* '''Alessandro Ficino''' -- former UH communications professor and Silver Ladder renunciate who wages a vengeful hacktivist crusade against hate groups and other extremists
* '''Haroun''' -- forensic analyst and disciple of Samael with potent skill in alchemical and Enochian arts
* '''Fleur de Noire''' -- trio of transgendered mages notable for their expertise in divination and fateweaving
* '''Black Fist''' -- self-styled "professional gadfly" and performance artist who regularly stages demonstrations and protests on behalf of illegal immigrants and other social outcasts

===Sleepers===
* '''Saul Gavriel''' -- chief of staff of the Gavriel Collection
* '''Simon Gavriel''' -- liaison to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
* '''Lluvia Oreza''' -- Houston City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee
* '''Special Agent Etta Battles''' -- Special Agent Battles cut her teeth in counterterrorism and white collar crime investigation. After her promotion to SAC of the Houston FBI Field Office two years ago, Battles proved an able commander and coordinator of the eighteen month probe of AZB Associates.
* '''Sgt. Jonathan Core''' -- HPD patrolman placed on medical leave after reporting an assault by "blood-drinking skinhead freaks"
* '''Francisco Reyes''' -- minister of the Promise House, a nondenominational agency providing shelter and counseling services to homeless and runaway youths
* '''An Shen-Li''' -- music promoter affiliated with the 4-Tay collective; occasional live turntablist and instrumental artist under the alter ego "Surgical Strife"

==Local Rumors and Legends==
* A suspected serial killer is stalking the Sharpstown and Neartown areas, with police blaming four ritualistic murders on the killer over the last three months based on the Roman numeral "IX" branded on the back of the victims' necks. So far the victims were all last seen within a few blocks of either the Botanica Eleggua yerberia or the Magick Cauldron pagan supply store.
* Black Fist, the flamboyant Solitary mage formerly associated with the Fiery Analemma cabal, has been spreading whispers to the effect that the Arrows are preparing to emerge from seclusion.
* Younger mages in Southeast Houston report signs of a massive abrasion of the Gauntlet near Ellington Airport, the airfield formerly used by the US Air Force.
* Majority stockholder and AZB chairman Aydin Arvin has gone into hiding days after federal agents raided the AZB home office. Financial analysts predict that the real estate magnate Roderick Saxon will acquire all AZB assets if the company goes into bankruptcy. AZB held the leases on hundreds of acres of retail and residential properties in Pasadena, South Houston, Downtown and the Medical Center.
* Copies of the mysterious recording known as the '''Hildebrandt Tape''' are circulating through the Houston underground. Some report that the last three owners of the Tape have either been committed or have attempted suicide.
* Horakhty, the shadowy leader of the Order of the Bennu cabal, is quietly searching for a lost text known as the '''Book of the Luminous Ib'''. Some report that the Order will pay as much as twenty pawns of Tass for the text.
* Graffiti defacing a mural on the University of St. Thomas campus: "''KADMON BECOMES/OMNIA MUTANTUR/NIHIL INTERIT''." Concerned that this may mark the return of the Mad sorcerer Kadmon (whom the Council insisted had been destroyed in the series of magical battles of the nights following the Storm), Heirarch Gavriel has ordered Sentinel Marian Made to investigate, with the authority to "deputize" any mages as she sees fit.

==Misc Info==
===Character Creation===
* Choose a Path and Order
* Attributes: 9/8/7, +1 dot Favored Resistance trait
* Skills: 14/10/7
* Skill Specialties: 5
* Arcana: 9 dots, +1 dot Favored Arcanum (none rated higher than 4)
* Rotes: 12 dots
* Gnosis: 4
* Merits: 13 dots
* Mana = Wisdom = Resolve + Composure
* Choose Virtue/Vice
* Choose Nimbus, magical tools and flesh out magical style

===House Rules===

* I'm using the "To the Limit" rule from '''Tome of the Mysteries''' p.168-169, which allows mages to cast an improvised spell of one dot higher ranking than normal, if the mage has at least one dot in all of the Arcana necessary to complete the spell. Base casting pool will always be Gnosis + Arcanum, but the mage must spend one Willpower point in order to complete the casting. Also, the spell is automatically vulgar, and three additional dice will be added to the Paradox roll (which can still be reduced as normal by using magical tools or spending Mana). The Duration of any Paradox manifestations will be applied as normal.

* When using a rote, the Base Paradox Dice Pool as detailed on p.123 of the corebook is reduced by an additional die. So, a mage with Gnosis 3 or 4 will normally not roll for Paradox when casting by rote, while a mage with Gnosis 7 or 8 will have a base Paradox pool of 2 dice in a similar situation. Paradox dice can still be increased by making subsequent castings within the same scene, being in the presence of Sleeper witnesses, etc.

* Havoc and Branding will be the most common results of Paradox. Bedlam, Anomalies and Manifestations will appear only with Paradox die rolls of 4+ successes, but the kind of result and its nature is totally given over to the whim of the GM.

* When attempting to contain Paradox within his own body in a backlash, the character must roll Willpower. Successes on the roll allow the mage to absorb points of Paradox bashing damage on a one-to-one basis. Failure on the roll invokes a Havoc Paradox.

* Human sacrifice gains a number of Mana points up to the victim's Wisdom/Morality rather than Health.

* Additional rotes, new Arcana ratings and increased Gnosis can be purchased only with Arcane XP.

* Special Skill note: 
** The Occult skill functions on two levels. The first level measures general Sleeper occult lore, including stage magic, non-Awakened sorcery, and general Sleeper mysticism. The second covers rudimentary knowledge regarding other supernatural creatures. To gain more detailed knowledge regarding supernatural creatures, the character must already have a Specialty in that creature, or perform research and investigation during play to gain it.

* After the game starts, XP cost for acquiring new rotes will be one point per dot.

* Spell Tolerance = Stamina + 2, as opposed to Stamina + 1. Enchanted or imbued items carried by a mage will not count toward his Spell Tolerance limit.

* The "Arcana Mastery" chart on p.76 of the corebook will be ignored.

* PCs effectively possess two dots of Consilium Status and two dots of Order Status, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

* The PC cabal controls a level 4 Hallow and Sanctum pool of 6 dots, with a Library rated at 4 dots.

* Hallows generate their level in Tass and twice their level in Mana each day--i.e., a level 4 Hallow generates 8 points of Mana in addition to 4 points of Tass. However, Mana from a Hallow cannot be transferred directly to a Mage without the use of Prime 3 (thus, oblations will not replenish Mana unless the character has learned a Legacy) except by consuming the Tass itself in some fashion.

* [http://worldofdarkness.wikia.com/wiki/Errata_(MtAw) Unofficial Mage Errata]

Shannon Hartley

2013-01-05T06:01:27Z

Kastowt:

'''MUTANT NAME''': Index 
'''BIRTH NAME''': Shannon Hartley 
'''IDENTITY''': Public 
'''CONCEPT''': Information Manipulator 
'''POWER LEVEL''': PL8 
'''AGE''': 22 

'''APPEARANCE''': Index rarely gives more than a passing thought to his appearance, and possesses an extreme distaste for using his powers to "pass" as a human. His true form resembles a humanoid pattern of monochromatic light, with the "head" area appearing as a crackling burst of radiant psionic energy. Index also wears an armored jumpsuit constructed from AIM-derived research leaked to the Internet, modeled after the Xavier Institute uniform in a satirical tweak of the school's ideals.

[[Image:Shannon.jpg]]

'''BACKGROUND''': Unlike most mutants, Shannon Hartley's powers did not develop until his early adulthood, halfway through his third year at Embry-Riddle University. During an intense cram session, Shannon complained of a splitting headache--and then passed out. He regained awareness a week later in the infirmary of the Xavier Institute, where Henry McCoy and Emma Frost informed him that his X-gene had activated--though not without some complications. Shannon's body had been consumed in a flare of psionic energy, and now existed as "an endoskeleton of psionic force suffused with psychometric plasma." In fact, Doctor McCoy had been required to isolate Shannon's energy form within a containment unit until he gained enough control over his powers to stabilize himself. For his part, Shannon was overjoyed at the revelation that he was X-gene positive. Not even the discovery that his physical body had been utterly destroyed--forcing him to interact with others only through direct mind-to-mind communication or psionic projections--could dampen his enthusiasm.

After his release from the infirmary, he was enrolled in Ms. Frost's telepathy training class, where it was eventually discovered that his powers went far beyond telepathy. Freed from the constraints of a physical body, Shannon (now calling himself Index) found that his mind had been greatly enhanced, granting him superhuman reasoning and computational abilities. A set of new senses had developed as well, allowing Index to perceive and emit frequencies well into the radio end of the electromagnetic spectrum. Finally, Index could control and communicate with machines, generate sophisticated illusions from ambient psionic energy, alter memories, and disintegrate an object by "subtracting the information content from its psychometric pattern" (which is how he "eats" and "breathes"). In his time at the Institute, Index idolized Xorn--even going so far as to model his own appearance after his hero--and was profoundly disillusioned when Xorn revealed himself to be yet another maniac bent on world domination. The assault by "Danger" was the final straw and Index left the school to venture out on his own, convinced that the world's remaining mutants were too vulnerable while confined to one location. He also felt that once trained to use their powers safely, the students had a responsibility to leave the school and get to work on forging the world into a paradise for mutants, while covertly neutralizing any threats--whether human, mutant, or other--to that glorious future. With that purpose in mind, Index remade himself into a kind of information broker, using his special abilities to break into restricted databases and then selling the information within to interested parties. After singling out such targets as Advanced Idea Mechanics, HYDRA and the U-Men as major threats to world order (and by extension, the mutant population) and frustrating a significant fraction of their designs, Index made a series of implacable foes, with his personal safety guaranteed only by his skillful misdirection and concealment of his electronic intrusions. But somewhere he made a mistake, and the narrow evasion of a subsequent attempt on his life in Seattle forced him to relocate to Cocoa Beach, Florida. Unwilling to request assistance from the X-Men and convinced that working alone might not be beneficial in the long-term, in a sudden flash of insight Index decided to resolve both dilemmas at a stroke by volunteering for SHIELD duty. While SHIELD has kept him strictly out of the public eye and assigned to gathering domestic intelligence, Index has heard that reassignment to the Florida-based Initiative team is imminent....

'''ABILITIES''': 
STR 10 [+0], DEX 12 [+1], CON 12 [+1], INT 22 [+6], WIS 20 [+5], CHA 12 [+1]

'''SKILLS''': 
Bluff +10 [9 ranks] 
Computers +12 [6 ranks] 
Disable Device +12 [6 ranks] 
Gather Information +10 [9 ranks] 
Investigate +12 [6 ranks] 
Knowledge (Superhuman Criminals) +10 [4 ranks] 
Knowledge (Technology) +8 [2 ranks] 
Notice +12 [7 ranks] 
Search +10 [4 ranks] 
Sense Motive +12 [7 ranks] 

'''FEATS''': 
Dodge Focus x2, Eidetic Memory, Equipment x2; Improved Initiative, Jack-Of-All-Trades, Set-Up, Skill Mastery (Bluff, Gather Information, Investigate, Sense Motive), Teamwork, Uncanny Dodge (radar), Well-Informed

'''EQUIPMENT''': 
"Xavier Institute Jumpsuit" [Toughness +3; Masterwork PDA; Microscopic Vision x2, Infravision, Tracking x2; Cost 10ep]

'''POWERS''': 
'''"Perimeter Sense"''' [Cost 8pp] 
-- Super-Senses 8 [Accurate (radar); Ranged (radar); Extended x2 (radar, range increment 1000 ft); Radius (radar); Awareness (mental); Radio] 
-- Source: Mutation 
'''"Enhanced Mentation"''' [Cost 2pp] 
-- Quickness 4 [Flaw: Limited (mental tasks only, 25x normal); Cost 1pp/2 ranks] 
-- Source: Mutation 
'''"Psychoplasmic Endoskeleton"''' [Cost 8pp] 
-- Protection 8 [Cost 1pp/rank] 
-- Source: Mutation 
'''"Information Manipulation"''' [Cost 24pp + 6 AP + 5 PF] 
-- Base Power (Dynamic): Telepathy 8 [Extra: Area (range 2000 miles); Power Feat: Selective; Power Feat: Sensory Link; Cost 3pp/rank] 
-- Alternate Power (Dynamic): Comprehend 5* [speak/understand/read all languages; speak/understand machines; Cost 2pp/rank] 
-- Alternate Power (Dynamic): Datalink 8* [range 2000 miles; Power Feat: Machine Control; Cost 1pp/rank] 
-- Alternate Power (Dynamic): Illusion 8* [all senses; Extra: Sustained; Flaw: Distracting; Power Feat: Progression x2 (radius 25 ft); Power Feat: Selective; Cost 4pp/rank] 
-- Alternate Power: ESP 5* [radar sense, mental awareness; range 5 miles; Extra: Free Action; Cost 3pp/rank] 
-- Alternate Power: Mind Control 8* [Extra: Sensory Link; Flaw: Distracting; Power Feat: Mental Link; Cost 2pp/rank] 
-- Alternate Power: Disintegration 8* [Extra: Penetrating; Flaw: Full Action; Flaw: Distracting; Flaw: Touch Range; Cost 2pp/rank] 
-- Source: Mutation 
*max rank when used individually, not as part of a Dynamic Array 

'''COMBAT''': 
Base Attack +1; Base Defense +3; Dodge Bonus +2; Damage +0 (unarmed)/+8 (Disintegration); Defense +15/+13 (flat-footed); Initiative +5

'''SAVING THROWS''': 
Toughness +3/+6 (with Jumpsuit)/+11 (with Protection), Fortitude +3, Reflex +2, Will +7

'''DRAWBACKS''': 
Mute ("speaks" telepathically and holographically; uncommon, minor, 1pp) 
Mutant Supremacist (believes that mutants are inherently superior to baseline humans, uncommon, moderate, 2pp) 

'''Totals''': Abilities 32 + Skills 15 + Feats 12 + Powers 53 + Combat 8 + Saves 3 - Drawbacks 3 = 120

File:Shannon.jpg

2013-01-05T06:00:07Z

Kastowt:

File:Ib-page1.jpg

2011-04-08T22:37:09Z

Kastowt:

Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters

2011-04-08T02:48:15Z

Kastowt: /* Thread Info */

[[Category:Mage:_The_Awakening]][[Category:PBP]]
<center>'''''Twenty-Five Lighters''''' 
'''''Featuring the Scholars of the Lost'''''

[[Image: Htown-eclipse.jpg]]

''A Storytelling Campaign of Ambition and Passion set in Houston, Texas''

Run by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?u=6778 Martys] on the RPGnet Forums</center>

==Thread Info==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?568172-GM-Wanted-nWoD-anyone Recruitment]
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?570104-Mage-The-Awakening-Twenty-Five-Lighters OOC]
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?570105-Mage-The-Awakening-Twenty-Five-Lighters IC]

==The Scholars of the Lost==

* '''[[John Barabus]]''', '''Mastigos''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Phigment'')
* '''[[Hailey Desmond|Diamondback]]''', '''Thyrsus''' of the '''Mysterium''' (played by ''Zato-2TWO'')
* '''[[Locke]]''', '''Obrimos''' of the '''Free Council''' (played by ''Nikki6th'')
* '''[[Ruse]]''', '''Acanthus''' of the '''Guardians of the Veil''' (played by ''Lost_Arts'')
* '''[[Michael Walker|Cephisso]]''', '''Moros''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Scutarii'')

==The Setting==
===Overview and Recent History===
Now boasting a population of 2.6 million in the city proper and nearly 7 million throughout the greater metro area, the City of Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Historically the nation's primary hub for the oil and gas industry, the city suffered an economic slump in the wake of the 80s-era oil bust, but soon rebounded after successfully diversifying its economy. Previously ignored by most mages for the first hundred years of its existence in favor of such cities as New Orleans and Miami, after the one-two punches of Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Ike (which Houstonians simply refer to as "the Storm"), Houston has now overtaken New Orleans in the number of mages that base themselves in the city.

There are between forty and fifty mages known to inhabit the Greater Houston Area (as a general rule of thumb, this includes the entire area within a fifteen-mile radius of downtown Houston). The Diamond Orders have thrived in the region since the Second World War, with their first wave of migration beginning with the wartime mobilization, the second wave following the general 60s-era Sun Belt migration and the third wave coinciding with the late 80s tech and financial services booms. The Mysterium and Guardians of the Veil are the dominant Orders, having long since concentrated themselves within such Sleeper institutions as academia, the aerospace industry, law enforcement, public services, and the health care industry. The Silver Ladder and Free Council both maintain visibly active presences in the region, with their cabals working together in a shifting web of alliances and mutual partnerships. Most new self-Awakened mages tend to get scooped up by one of those two Orders, though the Silver Ladder is happy to find another home for those mages who don't fit its ideology. The Free Council boasts a larger number of mages and has thoroughly worked its way into the local telecom and energy industries. The Silver Ladder claims the greater number of cabals and has gained a stranglehold over the region's occult communities; its influence over the local religious activists and social justice organizers is no less pervasive. The Adamantine Arrows keep the lowest profile, apparently having suffered a crippling blow in September 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The Arrows are currently composed of two cabals which concentrate on their own projects and rarely ask assistance from or communicate with the other Orders. The remaining unaligned mages number a little less than a third of the total population and either remain completely aloof from the larger mage community, or maintain loose affiliations with the Free Council.

===Places of Interest===

'''Consilium'''

[[Image: ChapelCourtyard.jpg]]

* The Maxine Gavriel Collection serves as the physical location from which Houston mages coordinate their activites, air disputes, trade favors, etc. Located on a small private estate in the Upper Kirby District owned by the Gavriel family for six generations, the Consilium consists of a small chapel with a capacity of 100 persons, an art gallery displaying the family's private works, a private library containing various occult and historical volumes, a courtyard with a level 4 Hallow, four spirit Guardians and a permanent staff of eight Sleepwalker acolytes loyal to the Gavriel family. The chapel, courtyard and art gallery are open to the public, but only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

'''Y'all Come Back'''

[[Image: Bb.jpg]]

* A bed & breakfast inn with 14 rooms, located in the center of the Hyde Park District and run by the Silver Ladder mage known as Xenios, one of the city's two Heralds. All nonresident mages intending to remain in the city more than 36 hours must ensure that the Hierarch is aware of their presence, with most expected to quarter themselves at Xenios's lodgings unless another resident mage volunteers to provide his own hospitality.

'''Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park'''

[[Image: Waterwall.jpg]]

* Still stubbornly referred to as Transco Park by locals seven years after the 2003 Galleria expansion that reduced it to a third of its former size, the Hines Waterwall Park sits adjacent to the Galleria retail complex in the Uptown District. Though the park is privately owned, it is open to the public from 10am to 10pm. Until recently, the park was used as neutral ground for meetings between Pentacle mages and Seers when face-to-face meetings were necessary.

'''Saxon Tower'''

[[Image: Saxon.jpg]]

* The corporate headquarters of the Saxon Group, the 49-story skyscraper was completed in May 2000. The bottom ten floors are devoted to retail shops and parking, with the next thirty floors containing office space. Floors 40-44 contain a SkyGarden overlooking the north and east, with the remaining floors reserved as private residences for Roderick Saxon and his aides.

'''Eternity Bar'''

[[Image: Eternitybar.jpg]]

* One of the few downtown nightspots consciously targeting the over-30 crowd, the Eternity Bar is frequented by somewhat older mages who still enjoy a wild night. A tri-level venue, the Eternity consists of a small bar at the street level, a rooftop patio and bar, plus a larger lounge and dance floor just below the rooftop level.

'''The Stateroom'''

[[Image: Stateroom.jpg]]

* Billed as Houston's only revolving restaurant and located 24 stories above street-level, the Stateroom Restaurant and lounge tends to be the go-to location when higher-ranking mages wish to impress out-of-towners. The circular structure makes one complete rotation ever 45 minutes, giving an unparalleled view of the surrounding area.

'''Memorial Park'''

[[Image: Obelisk.jpg]]

* Inspired by a dream, in 2003 the sculptor and architect Dion Murdock erected this obelisk atop a 35-foot crest deep within the forests of Memorial Park, a 1500 acre urban park near the Uptown area. Mages later discovered the obelisk straddles a ley line running beneath the park, and marks the centerpoint of a cluster of Hallows that collectively have a rating of 3. During the winter of 2004-2005, the Lightning Razors chased away a nest of vampires that laid claim to the Hallows and have zealously guarded it ever since.

==The Sanctum==

===Melete House===
[[Image: KirbyHouse.jpg]]
* Constructed during the Roaring Twenties, Melete House is the current safehouse and research center for the Scholars of the Lost. Located on the outskirts of the Museum District just south of Highway 59, the structure is guarded only by the spells of obfuscation and layered mystical wards and traps erected by each of the cabal members.

===Sanctum Stats===

* Size 3 (eight-room office building later converted into a private home and art gallery before its acquisition by the cabal)
* Security 3 (protected by mundane locks and burglar bars, plus a set of Indefinite Duration nested wards and traps each rated at Potency 3)
* Library 4 (located in center of upper level; volumes include various grimoires confiscated from enemies, records and maps of global mystical sites, and detailed histories of past Atlantean and mortal sorcerers)
* Hallow 4 (entire library suffused with Mana of Resonance of "studious"; Tass collects in the form of spontaneously-appearing empty books and pamphlets)

==Cabal Associates==

==NPCs of Interest==

===Ruling Council===
* '''Heirarch''': Renee Gavriel (Mysterium)
* '''Provost Primus''': Julius (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Provost Secundus''': FuX0r (Free Council)
* '''Herald Primus''': Xenios (Silver Ladder)
* '''Herald Secundus''': Jackson Rusk (Silver Ladder)
* '''Sentinel''': Kirpan (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Sentinel''': Marian Made (Mysterium)

===Councilors===
* '''Acanthus''': Laarsen (Silver Ladder) -- Special Projects Coordinator for City Council Member Oreza and primary source of political intelligence to the Consilium
* '''Mastigos''': Logos (Guardians of the Veil) -- leader of the Cui Bono cabal and mentor of Sentinel Kirpan; together with Assita Falls, Logos has discovered or partially initiated nearly one-third of the region's novice Pentacle mages over the last two decades
* '''Moros''': Samael (Mysterium) -- leader of the Verba Non Acta cabal and long-time investigative journalist for the ''Houston Press'' alternative newsweekly
* '''Obrimos''': Hsing Sun (Mysterium) -- the Most Venerable Hsing Sun is the current abbot of Guang Tien Di Temple, leader of the Jing Dao cabal, and a sage of the Perfected Adept Legacy. One of the oldest mages in the Houston area, Hsing Sun maintains one of the largest collections of Eastern Supernal lore in North America.
* '''Thyrsus''': Assita Falls (Silver Ladder) -- leader of the Seven Mercies cabal and administrator of the Jubilee Restoration House, a private outreach organization providing a network of transitioning housing facilities and homeless shelters throughout Greater Houston.

===Diamond Orders===

====Adamantine Arrows====
* '''Fiery Analemma''' -- six mages that were the vanguard of the campaign against the Seers in the Greater Houston area. Withdrew to Galveston after the Storm after suffering major casualties during an assault against a Seer pylon operating near the Port of Houson.

====Guardians of the Veil====
* '''Cui Bono''' -- a self-styled "oversight" cabal dedicated to keeping an eye on newly-Awakened mages and "keeping them out of trouble," Cui Bono also strives to shield Sleepers from any malevolent supernatural influence. Currently guided by the Mastigos mage known as Logos, the Cui Bono mages work closely with leading mages in the region, trading information and other resorces as needed.
* '''Lightning Razors''' -- one of the larger cabals in the region, they are composed of three cells of three martially-focused mages that once worked closely with the Fiery Analemma cabal. Most notorious for pursuing and defeating the Mad One calling himself "Kadmon."

====Mysterium====
* '''Men of Letters''' -- organized by five mages of the Mysterium, the Men of Letters cabal is composed of academics from among the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University. Having recently won acclaim for repelling an incursion of passion spirits on the UST campus, the Men of Letters tend to work alone in order to concentrate on pure research.
* '''Lone Star Environmental LLC''' -- an environmental consulting company started by two mages, normally completing contracts for petrochemical firms and providing additional expertise for academic investigations.

====Silver Ladder====
* '''Thalassa, Magna & Assoc. LLP''' -- a cutthroat PIP law firm founded by Robert Thalassa and Thomasina Magna. Censured for using Awakened Arts to arrange desired outcomes in court, Thalassa and Magna nonetheless evade more adverse action against them by providing pro bono legal assistance to any mage that engages their services.
* '''Staff & Serpent''' -- SAS began eight years ago as a local coed service fraternity on the UH campus. After the original founder-mages graduated, they retained the name for the public policy research institute they organized a few years later. Staff and Serpent works closely with Thalassa and Magna, trading networking resources and research for various legal services including harassment and obstruction of their adversaries.
* '''Jubilee Restoration House''' -- now headed by Councilor Assita Falls after the assassination of its founder Kortikos by the Seers, the four mages working in this private outreach organization help provide vital services for battered women and children, the homeless, and other souls in desperate need.

===Free Council===
* '''4-Tay''' -- a hip-hop collective formed by the rap duo "4-Tay" and their Sleeper associates. Constant touring keeps them in touch with other Awakened mages throughout the South.
* '''Raditek Consultants''' -- a private firm providing IT and engineering consulting services along with temporary staffing services, started by three mages just out of college.

===Left-Hand Path Mages===
* '''Order of the Bennu''' -- reclusive sect of eight mages and non-Awakened sorcerers reported to use an Ancient Egyptian praxis. Content to stay near their communal waterfront property near the Bear Creek Reservoir, the Order has to date avoided sanction from the Consilium, though they resist any and all attempts at intrusion and surveillance with a combination of mundane technology and powerful Mind and Spirit countermagics.

===Seers of the Throne===
* '''Roderick Saxon''' -- a defector from the Mysterium, Roderick Saxon is the CEO and owner of the Saxon Group, a multinational real estate corporation that is one of the top five managers of office and residential property in the South. The Ruling Council has attempted multiple assassinations of the traitor, but as Saxon rarely leaves the tower which serves as his home and corporate headquarters and is a Master of Fate and Prime, all have failed.

===Banishers and Mad Ones===
* '''"IX"'''
* '''Kadmon'''

===Unaligned and Solitaries===
* '''Alessandro Ficino''' -- former UH communications professor and Silver Ladder renunciate who wages a vengeful hacktivist crusade against hate groups and other extremists
* '''Haroun''' -- forensic analyst and disciple of Samael with potent skill in alchemical and Enochian arts
* '''Fleur de Noire''' -- trio of transgendered mages notable for their expertise in divination and fateweaving
* '''Black Fist''' -- self-styled "professional gadfly" and performance artist who regularly stages demonstrations and protests on behalf of illegal immigrants and other social outcasts

===Sleepers===
* '''Saul Gavriel''' -- chief of staff of the Gavriel Collection
* '''Simon Gavriel''' -- liaison to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
* '''Lluvia Oreza''' -- Houston City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee
* '''Special Agent Etta Battles''' -- Special Agent Battles cut her teeth in counterterrorism and white collar crime investigation. After her promotion to SAC of the Houston FBI Field Office two years ago, Battles proved an able commander and coordinator of the eighteen month probe of AZB Associates.
* '''Sgt. Jonathan Core''' -- HPD patrolman placed on medical leave after reporting an assault by "blood-drinking skinhead freaks"
* '''Francisco Reyes''' -- minister of the Promise House, a nondenominational agency providing shelter and counseling services to homeless and runaway youths
* '''An Shen-Li''' -- music promoter affiliated with the 4-Tay collective; occasional live turntablist and instrumental artist under the alter ego "Surgical Strife"

==Local Rumors and Legends==
* A suspected serial killer is stalking the Sharpstown and Neartown areas, with police blaming four ritualistic murders on the killer over the last three months based on the Roman numeral "IX" branded on the back of the victims' necks. So far the victims were all last seen within a few blocks of either the Botanica Eleggua yerberia or the Magick Cauldron pagan supply store.
* Black Fist, the flamboyant Solitary mage formerly associated with the Fiery Analemma cabal, has been spreading whispers to the effect that the Arrows are preparing to emerge from seclusion.
* Younger mages in Southeast Houston report signs of a massive abrasion of the Gauntlet near Ellington Airport, the airfield formerly used by the US Air Force.
* Majority stockholder and AZB chairman Aydin Arvin has gone into hiding days after federal agents raided the AZB home office. Financial analysts predict that the real estate magnate Roderick Saxon will acquire all AZB assets if the company goes into bankruptcy. AZB held the leases on hundreds of acres of retail and residential properties in Pasadena, South Houston, Downtown and the Medical Center.
* Copies of the mysterious recording known as the '''Hildebrandt Tape''' are circulating through the Houston underground. Some report that the last three owners of the Tape have either been committed or have attempted suicide.
* Horakhty, the shadowy leader of the Order of the Bennu cabal, is quietly searching for a lost text known as the '''Book of the Luminous Ib'''. Some report that the Order will pay as much as twenty pawns of Tass for the text.
* Graffiti defacing a mural on the University of St. Thomas campus: "''KADMON BECOMES/OMNIA MUTANTUR/NIHIL INTERIT''." Concerned that this may mark the return of the Mad sorcerer Kadmon (whom the Council insisted had been destroyed in the series of magical battles of the nights following the Storm), Heirarch Gavriel has ordered Sentinel Marian Made to investigate, with the authority to "deputize" any mages as she sees fit.

==Misc Info==
===Character Creation===
* Choose a Path and Order
* Attributes: 9/8/7, +1 dot Favored Resistance trait
* Skills: 14/10/7
* Skill Specialties: 5
* Arcana: 9 dots, +1 dot Favored Arcanum (none rated higher than 4)
* Rotes: 12 dots
* Gnosis: 4
* Merits: 13 dots
* Mana = Wisdom = Resolve + Composure
* Choose Virtue/Vice
* Choose Nimbus, magical tools and flesh out magical style

===House Rules===

* I'm using the "To the Limit" rule from '''Tome of the Mysteries''' p.168-169, which allows mages to cast an improvised spell of one dot higher ranking than normal, if the mage has at least one dot in all of the Arcana necessary to complete the spell. Base casting pool will always be Gnosis + Arcanum, but the mage must spend one Willpower point in order to complete the casting. Also, the spell is automatically vulgar, and three additional dice will be added to the Paradox roll (which can still be reduced as normal by using magical tools or spending Mana). The Duration of any Paradox manifestations will be applied as normal.

* When using a rote, the Base Paradox Dice Pool as detailed on p.123 of the corebook is reduced by an additional die. So, a mage with Gnosis 3 or 4 will normally not roll for Paradox when casting by rote, while a mage with Gnosis 7 or 8 will have a base Paradox pool of 2 dice in a similar situation. Paradox dice can still be increased by making subsequent castings within the same scene, being in the presence of Sleeper witnesses, etc.

* Havoc and Branding will be the most common results of Paradox. Bedlam, Anomalies and Manifestations will appear only with Paradox die rolls of 4+ successes, but the kind of result and its nature is totally given over to the whim of the GM.

* When attempting to contain Paradox within his own body in a backlash, the character must roll Willpower. Successes on the roll allow the mage to absorb points of Paradox bashing damage on a one-to-one basis. Failure on the roll invokes a Havoc Paradox.

* Human sacrifice gains a number of Mana points up to the victim's Wisdom/Morality rather than Health.

* Additional rotes, new Arcana ratings and increased Gnosis can be purchased only with Arcane XP.

* Special Skill note: 
** The Occult skill functions on two levels. The first level measures general Sleeper occult lore, including stage magic, non-Awakened sorcery, and general Sleeper mysticism. The second covers rudimentary knowledge regarding other supernatural creatures. To gain more detailed knowledge regarding supernatural creatures, the character must already have a Specialty in that creature, or perform research and investigation during play to gain it.

* After the game starts, XP cost for acquiring new rotes will be one point per dot.

* Spell Tolerance = Stamina + 2, as opposed to Stamina + 1. Enchanted or imbued items carried by a mage will not count toward his Spell Tolerance limit.

* The "Arcana Mastery" chart on p.76 of the corebook will be ignored.

* PCs effectively possess two dots of Consilium Status and two dots of Order Status, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

* The PC cabal controls a level 4 Hallow and Sanctum pool of 6 dots, with a Library rated at 4 dots.

* Hallows generate their level in Tass and twice their level in Mana each day--i.e., a level 4 Hallow generates 8 points of Mana in addition to 4 points of Tass. However, Mana from a Hallow cannot be transferred directly to a Mage without the use of Prime 3 (thus, oblations will not replenish Mana unless the character has learned a Legacy) except by consuming the Tass itself in some fashion.

* [http://wiki.white-wolf.com/worldofdarkness/index.php?title=Mage:_The_Awakening_Core_%28Errata%29 Unofficial Mage Errata]

Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters

2011-04-08T02:03:47Z

Kastowt: /* House Rules */

[[Category:Mage:_The_Awakening]][[Category:PBP]]
<center>'''''Twenty-Five Lighters''''' 
'''''Featuring the Scholars of the Lost'''''

[[Image: Htown-eclipse.jpg]]

''A Storytelling Campaign of Ambition and Passion set in Houston, Texas''

Run by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?u=6778 Martys] on the RPGnet Forums</center>

==Thread Info==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?568172-GM-Wanted-nWoD-anyone Recruitment]
* OOC
* IC

==The Scholars of the Lost==

* '''[[John Barabus]]''', '''Mastigos''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Phigment'')
* '''[[Hailey Desmond|Diamondback]]''', '''Thyrsus''' of the '''Mysterium''' (played by ''Zato-2TWO'')
* '''[[Locke]]''', '''Obrimos''' of the '''Free Council''' (played by ''Nikki6th'')
* '''[[Ruse]]''', '''Acanthus''' of the '''Guardians of the Veil''' (played by ''Lost_Arts'')
* '''[[Michael Walker|Cephisso]]''', '''Moros''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Scutarii'')

==The Setting==
===Overview and Recent History===
Now boasting a population of 2.6 million in the city proper and nearly 7 million throughout the greater metro area, the City of Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Historically the nation's primary hub for the oil and gas industry, the city suffered an economic slump in the wake of the 80s-era oil bust, but soon rebounded after successfully diversifying its economy. Previously ignored by most mages for the first hundred years of its existence in favor of such cities as New Orleans and Miami, after the one-two punches of Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Ike (which Houstonians simply refer to as "the Storm"), Houston has now overtaken New Orleans in the number of mages that base themselves in the city.

There are between forty and fifty mages known to inhabit the Greater Houston Area (as a general rule of thumb, this includes the entire area within a fifteen-mile radius of downtown Houston). The Diamond Orders have thrived in the region since the Second World War, with their first wave of migration beginning with the wartime mobilization, the second wave following the general 60s-era Sun Belt migration and the third wave coinciding with the late 80s tech and financial services booms. The Mysterium and Guardians of the Veil are the dominant Orders, having long since concentrated themselves within such Sleeper institutions as academia, the aerospace industry, law enforcement, public services, and the health care industry. The Silver Ladder and Free Council both maintain visibly active presences in the region, with their cabals working together in a shifting web of alliances and mutual partnerships. Most new self-Awakened mages tend to get scooped up by one of those two Orders, though the Silver Ladder is happy to find another home for those mages who don't fit its ideology. The Free Council boasts a larger number of mages and has thoroughly worked its way into the local telecom and energy industries. The Silver Ladder claims the greater number of cabals and has gained a stranglehold over the region's occult communities; its influence over the local religious activists and social justice organizers is no less pervasive. The Adamantine Arrows keep the lowest profile, apparently having suffered a crippling blow in September 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The Arrows are currently composed of two cabals which concentrate on their own projects and rarely ask assistance from or communicate with the other Orders. The remaining unaligned mages number a little less than a third of the total population and either remain completely aloof from the larger mage community, or maintain loose affiliations with the Free Council.

===Places of Interest===

'''Consilium'''

[[Image: ChapelCourtyard.jpg]]

* The Maxine Gavriel Collection serves as the physical location from which Houston mages coordinate their activites, air disputes, trade favors, etc. Located on a small private estate in the Upper Kirby District owned by the Gavriel family for six generations, the Consilium consists of a small chapel with a capacity of 100 persons, an art gallery displaying the family's private works, a private library containing various occult and historical volumes, a courtyard with a level 4 Hallow, four spirit Guardians and a permanent staff of eight Sleepwalker acolytes loyal to the Gavriel family. The chapel, courtyard and art gallery are open to the public, but only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

'''Y'all Come Back'''

[[Image: Bb.jpg]]

* A bed & breakfast inn with 14 rooms, located in the center of the Hyde Park District and run by the Silver Ladder mage known as Xenios, one of the city's two Heralds. All nonresident mages intending to remain in the city more than 36 hours must ensure that the Hierarch is aware of their presence, with most expected to quarter themselves at Xenios's lodgings unless another resident mage volunteers to provide his own hospitality.

'''Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park'''

[[Image: Waterwall.jpg]]

* Still stubbornly referred to as Transco Park by locals seven years after the 2003 Galleria expansion that reduced it to a third of its former size, the Hines Waterwall Park sits adjacent to the Galleria retail complex in the Uptown District. Though the park is privately owned, it is open to the public from 10am to 10pm. Until recently, the park was used as neutral ground for meetings between Pentacle mages and Seers when face-to-face meetings were necessary.

'''Saxon Tower'''

[[Image: Saxon.jpg]]

* The corporate headquarters of the Saxon Group, the 49-story skyscraper was completed in May 2000. The bottom ten floors are devoted to retail shops and parking, with the next thirty floors containing office space. Floors 40-44 contain a SkyGarden overlooking the north and east, with the remaining floors reserved as private residences for Roderick Saxon and his aides.

'''Eternity Bar'''

[[Image: Eternitybar.jpg]]

* One of the few downtown nightspots consciously targeting the over-30 crowd, the Eternity Bar is frequented by somewhat older mages who still enjoy a wild night. A tri-level venue, the Eternity consists of a small bar at the street level, a rooftop patio and bar, plus a larger lounge and dance floor just below the rooftop level.

'''The Stateroom'''

[[Image: Stateroom.jpg]]

* Billed as Houston's only revolving restaurant and located 24 stories above street-level, the Stateroom Restaurant and lounge tends to be the go-to location when higher-ranking mages wish to impress out-of-towners. The circular structure makes one complete rotation ever 45 minutes, giving an unparalleled view of the surrounding area.

'''Memorial Park'''

[[Image: Obelisk.jpg]]

* Inspired by a dream, in 2003 the sculptor and architect Dion Murdock erected this obelisk atop a 35-foot crest deep within the forests of Memorial Park, a 1500 acre urban park near the Uptown area. Mages later discovered the obelisk straddles a ley line running beneath the park, and marks the centerpoint of a cluster of Hallows that collectively have a rating of 3. During the winter of 2004-2005, the Lightning Razors chased away a nest of vampires that laid claim to the Hallows and have zealously guarded it ever since.

==The Sanctum==

===Melete House===
[[Image: KirbyHouse.jpg]]
* Constructed during the Roaring Twenties, Melete House is the current safehouse and research center for the Scholars of the Lost. Located on the outskirts of the Museum District just south of Highway 59, the structure is guarded only by the spells of obfuscation and layered mystical wards and traps erected by each of the cabal members.

===Sanctum Stats===

* Size 3 (eight-room office building later converted into a private home and art gallery before its acquisition by the cabal)
* Security 3 (protected by mundane locks and burglar bars, plus a set of Indefinite Duration nested wards and traps each rated at Potency 3)
* Library 4 (located in center of upper level; volumes include various grimoires confiscated from enemies, records and maps of global mystical sites, and detailed histories of past Atlantean and mortal sorcerers)
* Hallow 4 (entire library suffused with Mana of Resonance of "studious"; Tass collects in the form of spontaneously-appearing empty books and pamphlets)

==Cabal Associates==

==NPCs of Interest==

===Ruling Council===
* '''Heirarch''': Renee Gavriel (Mysterium)
* '''Provost Primus''': Julius (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Provost Secundus''': FuX0r (Free Council)
* '''Herald Primus''': Xenios (Silver Ladder)
* '''Herald Secundus''': Jackson Rusk (Silver Ladder)
* '''Sentinel''': Kirpan (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Sentinel''': Marian Made (Mysterium)

===Councilors===
* '''Acanthus''': Laarsen (Silver Ladder) -- Special Projects Coordinator for City Council Member Oreza and primary source of political intelligence to the Consilium
* '''Mastigos''': Logos (Guardians of the Veil) -- leader of the Cui Bono cabal and mentor of Sentinel Kirpan; together with Assita Falls, Logos has discovered or partially initiated nearly one-third of the region's novice Pentacle mages over the last two decades
* '''Moros''': Samael (Mysterium) -- leader of the Verba Non Acta cabal and long-time investigative journalist for the ''Houston Press'' alternative newsweekly
* '''Obrimos''': Hsing Sun (Mysterium) -- the Most Venerable Hsing Sun is the current abbot of Guang Tien Di Temple, leader of the Jing Dao cabal, and a sage of the Perfected Adept Legacy. One of the oldest mages in the Houston area, Hsing Sun maintains one of the largest collections of Eastern Supernal lore in North America.
* '''Thyrsus''': Assita Falls (Silver Ladder) -- leader of the Seven Mercies cabal and administrator of the Jubilee Restoration House, a private outreach organization providing a network of transitioning housing facilities and homeless shelters throughout Greater Houston.

===Diamond Orders===

====Adamantine Arrows====
* '''Fiery Analemma''' -- six mages that were the vanguard of the campaign against the Seers in the Greater Houston area. Withdrew to Galveston after the Storm after suffering major casualties during an assault against a Seer pylon operating near the Port of Houson.

====Guardians of the Veil====
* '''Cui Bono''' -- a self-styled "oversight" cabal dedicated to keeping an eye on newly-Awakened mages and "keeping them out of trouble," Cui Bono also strives to shield Sleepers from any malevolent supernatural influence. Currently guided by the Mastigos mage known as Logos, the Cui Bono mages work closely with leading mages in the region, trading information and other resorces as needed.
* '''Lightning Razors''' -- one of the larger cabals in the region, they are composed of three cells of three martially-focused mages that once worked closely with the Fiery Analemma cabal. Most notorious for pursuing and defeating the Mad One calling himself "Kadmon."

====Mysterium====
* '''Men of Letters''' -- organized by five mages of the Mysterium, the Men of Letters cabal is composed of academics from among the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University. Having recently won acclaim for repelling an incursion of passion spirits on the UST campus, the Men of Letters tend to work alone in order to concentrate on pure research.
* '''Lone Star Environmental LLC''' -- an environmental consulting company started by two mages, normally completing contracts for petrochemical firms and providing additional expertise for academic investigations.

====Silver Ladder====
* '''Thalassa, Magna & Assoc. LLP''' -- a cutthroat PIP law firm founded by Robert Thalassa and Thomasina Magna. Censured for using Awakened Arts to arrange desired outcomes in court, Thalassa and Magna nonetheless evade more adverse action against them by providing pro bono legal assistance to any mage that engages their services.
* '''Staff & Serpent''' -- SAS began eight years ago as a local coed service fraternity on the UH campus. After the original founder-mages graduated, they retained the name for the public policy research institute they organized a few years later. Staff and Serpent works closely with Thalassa and Magna, trading networking resources and research for various legal services including harassment and obstruction of their adversaries.
* '''Jubilee Restoration House''' -- now headed by Councilor Assita Falls after the assassination of its founder Kortikos by the Seers, the four mages working in this private outreach organization help provide vital services for battered women and children, the homeless, and other souls in desperate need.

===Free Council===
* '''4-Tay''' -- a hip-hop collective formed by the rap duo "4-Tay" and their Sleeper associates. Constant touring keeps them in touch with other Awakened mages throughout the South.
* '''Raditek Consultants''' -- a private firm providing IT and engineering consulting services along with temporary staffing services, started by three mages just out of college.

===Left-Hand Path Mages===
* '''Order of the Bennu''' -- reclusive sect of eight mages and non-Awakened sorcerers reported to use an Ancient Egyptian praxis. Content to stay near their communal waterfront property near the Bear Creek Reservoir, the Order has to date avoided sanction from the Consilium, though they resist any and all attempts at intrusion and surveillance with a combination of mundane technology and powerful Mind and Spirit countermagics.

===Seers of the Throne===
* '''Roderick Saxon''' -- a defector from the Mysterium, Roderick Saxon is the CEO and owner of the Saxon Group, a multinational real estate corporation that is one of the top five managers of office and residential property in the South. The Ruling Council has attempted multiple assassinations of the traitor, but as Saxon rarely leaves the tower which serves as his home and corporate headquarters and is a Master of Fate and Prime, all have failed.

===Banishers and Mad Ones===
* '''"IX"'''
* '''Kadmon'''

===Unaligned and Solitaries===
* '''Alessandro Ficino''' -- former UH communications professor and Silver Ladder renunciate who wages a vengeful hacktivist crusade against hate groups and other extremists
* '''Haroun''' -- forensic analyst and disciple of Samael with potent skill in alchemical and Enochian arts
* '''Fleur de Noire''' -- trio of transgendered mages notable for their expertise in divination and fateweaving
* '''Black Fist''' -- self-styled "professional gadfly" and performance artist who regularly stages demonstrations and protests on behalf of illegal immigrants and other social outcasts

===Sleepers===
* '''Saul Gavriel''' -- chief of staff of the Gavriel Collection
* '''Simon Gavriel''' -- liaison to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
* '''Lluvia Oreza''' -- Houston City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee
* '''Special Agent Etta Battles''' -- Special Agent Battles cut her teeth in counterterrorism and white collar crime investigation. After her promotion to SAC of the Houston FBI Field Office two years ago, Battles proved an able commander and coordinator of the eighteen month probe of AZB Associates.
* '''Sgt. Jonathan Core''' -- HPD patrolman placed on medical leave after reporting an assault by "blood-drinking skinhead freaks"
* '''Francisco Reyes''' -- minister of the Promise House, a nondenominational agency providing shelter and counseling services to homeless and runaway youths
* '''An Shen-Li''' -- music promoter affiliated with the 4-Tay collective; occasional live turntablist and instrumental artist under the alter ego "Surgical Strife"

==Local Rumors and Legends==
* A suspected serial killer is stalking the Sharpstown and Neartown areas, with police blaming four ritualistic murders on the killer over the last three months based on the Roman numeral "IX" branded on the back of the victims' necks. So far the victims were all last seen within a few blocks of either the Botanica Eleggua yerberia or the Magick Cauldron pagan supply store.
* Black Fist, the flamboyant Solitary mage formerly associated with the Fiery Analemma cabal, has been spreading whispers to the effect that the Arrows are preparing to emerge from seclusion.
* Younger mages in Southeast Houston report signs of a massive abrasion of the Gauntlet near Ellington Airport, the airfield formerly used by the US Air Force.
* Majority stockholder and AZB chairman Aydin Arvin has gone into hiding days after federal agents raided the AZB home office. Financial analysts predict that the real estate magnate Roderick Saxon will acquire all AZB assets if the company goes into bankruptcy. AZB held the leases on hundreds of acres of retail and residential properties in Pasadena, South Houston, Downtown and the Medical Center.
* Copies of the mysterious recording known as the '''Hildebrandt Tape''' are circulating through the Houston underground. Some report that the last three owners of the Tape have either been committed or have attempted suicide.
* Horakhty, the shadowy leader of the Order of the Bennu cabal, is quietly searching for a lost text known as the '''Book of the Luminous Ib'''. Some report that the Order will pay as much as twenty pawns of Tass for the text.
* Graffiti defacing a mural on the University of St. Thomas campus: "''KADMON BECOMES/OMNIA MUTANTUR/NIHIL INTERIT''." Concerned that this may mark the return of the Mad sorcerer Kadmon (whom the Council insisted had been destroyed in the series of magical battles of the nights following the Storm), Heirarch Gavriel has ordered Sentinel Marian Made to investigate, with the authority to "deputize" any mages as she sees fit.

==Misc Info==
===Character Creation===
* Choose a Path and Order
* Attributes: 9/8/7, +1 dot Favored Resistance trait
* Skills: 14/10/7
* Skill Specialties: 5
* Arcana: 9 dots, +1 dot Favored Arcanum (none rated higher than 4)
* Rotes: 12 dots
* Gnosis: 4
* Merits: 13 dots
* Mana = Wisdom = Resolve + Composure
* Choose Virtue/Vice
* Choose Nimbus, magical tools and flesh out magical style

===House Rules===

* I'm using the "To the Limit" rule from '''Tome of the Mysteries''' p.168-169, which allows mages to cast an improvised spell of one dot higher ranking than normal, if the mage has at least one dot in all of the Arcana necessary to complete the spell. Base casting pool will always be Gnosis + Arcanum, but the mage must spend one Willpower point in order to complete the casting. Also, the spell is automatically vulgar, and three additional dice will be added to the Paradox roll (which can still be reduced as normal by using magical tools or spending Mana). The Duration of any Paradox manifestations will be applied as normal.

* When using a rote, the Base Paradox Dice Pool as detailed on p.123 of the corebook is reduced by an additional die. So, a mage with Gnosis 3 or 4 will normally not roll for Paradox when casting by rote, while a mage with Gnosis 7 or 8 will have a base Paradox pool of 2 dice in a similar situation. Paradox dice can still be increased by making subsequent castings within the same scene, being in the presence of Sleeper witnesses, etc.

* Havoc and Branding will be the most common results of Paradox. Bedlam, Anomalies and Manifestations will appear only with Paradox die rolls of 4+ successes, but the kind of result and its nature is totally given over to the whim of the GM.

* When attempting to contain Paradox within his own body in a backlash, the character must roll Willpower. Successes on the roll allow the mage to absorb points of Paradox bashing damage on a one-to-one basis. Failure on the roll invokes a Havoc Paradox.

* Human sacrifice gains a number of Mana points up to the victim's Wisdom/Morality rather than Health.

* Additional rotes, new Arcana ratings and increased Gnosis can be purchased only with Arcane XP.

* Special Skill note: 
** The Occult skill functions on two levels. The first level measures general Sleeper occult lore, including stage magic, non-Awakened sorcery, and general Sleeper mysticism. The second covers rudimentary knowledge regarding other supernatural creatures. To gain more detailed knowledge regarding supernatural creatures, the character must already have a Specialty in that creature, or perform research and investigation during play to gain it.

* After the game starts, XP cost for acquiring new rotes will be one point per dot.

* Spell Tolerance = Stamina + 2, as opposed to Stamina + 1. Enchanted or imbued items carried by a mage will not count toward his Spell Tolerance limit.

* The "Arcana Mastery" chart on p.76 of the corebook will be ignored.

* PCs effectively possess two dots of Consilium Status and two dots of Order Status, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

* The PC cabal controls a level 4 Hallow and Sanctum pool of 6 dots, with a Library rated at 4 dots.

* Hallows generate their level in Tass and twice their level in Mana each day--i.e., a level 4 Hallow generates 8 points of Mana in addition to 4 points of Tass. However, Mana from a Hallow cannot be transferred directly to a Mage without the use of Prime 3 (thus, oblations will not replenish Mana unless the character has learned a Legacy) except by consuming the Tass itself in some fashion.

* [http://wiki.white-wolf.com/worldofdarkness/index.php?title=Mage:_The_Awakening_Core_%28Errata%29 Unofficial Mage Errata]

Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters

2011-04-08T01:47:33Z

Kastowt: /* House Rules */

[[Category:Mage:_The_Awakening]][[Category:PBP]]
<center>'''''Twenty-Five Lighters''''' 
'''''Featuring the Scholars of the Lost'''''

[[Image: Htown-eclipse.jpg]]

''A Storytelling Campaign of Ambition and Passion set in Houston, Texas''

Run by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?u=6778 Martys] on the RPGnet Forums</center>

==Thread Info==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?568172-GM-Wanted-nWoD-anyone Recruitment]
* OOC
* IC

==The Scholars of the Lost==

* '''[[John Barabus]]''', '''Mastigos''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Phigment'')
* '''[[Hailey Desmond|Diamondback]]''', '''Thyrsus''' of the '''Mysterium''' (played by ''Zato-2TWO'')
* '''[[Locke]]''', '''Obrimos''' of the '''Free Council''' (played by ''Nikki6th'')
* '''[[Ruse]]''', '''Acanthus''' of the '''Guardians of the Veil''' (played by ''Lost_Arts'')
* '''[[Michael Walker|Cephisso]]''', '''Moros''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Scutarii'')

==The Setting==
===Overview and Recent History===
Now boasting a population of 2.6 million in the city proper and nearly 7 million throughout the greater metro area, the City of Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Historically the nation's primary hub for the oil and gas industry, the city suffered an economic slump in the wake of the 80s-era oil bust, but soon rebounded after successfully diversifying its economy. Previously ignored by most mages for the first hundred years of its existence in favor of such cities as New Orleans and Miami, after the one-two punches of Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Ike (which Houstonians simply refer to as "the Storm"), Houston has now overtaken New Orleans in the number of mages that base themselves in the city.

There are between forty and fifty mages known to inhabit the Greater Houston Area (as a general rule of thumb, this includes the entire area within a fifteen-mile radius of downtown Houston). The Diamond Orders have thrived in the region since the Second World War, with their first wave of migration beginning with the wartime mobilization, the second wave following the general 60s-era Sun Belt migration and the third wave coinciding with the late 80s tech and financial services booms. The Mysterium and Guardians of the Veil are the dominant Orders, having long since concentrated themselves within such Sleeper institutions as academia, the aerospace industry, law enforcement, public services, and the health care industry. The Silver Ladder and Free Council both maintain visibly active presences in the region, with their cabals working together in a shifting web of alliances and mutual partnerships. Most new self-Awakened mages tend to get scooped up by one of those two Orders, though the Silver Ladder is happy to find another home for those mages who don't fit its ideology. The Free Council boasts a larger number of mages and has thoroughly worked its way into the local telecom and energy industries. The Silver Ladder claims the greater number of cabals and has gained a stranglehold over the region's occult communities; its influence over the local religious activists and social justice organizers is no less pervasive. The Adamantine Arrows keep the lowest profile, apparently having suffered a crippling blow in September 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The Arrows are currently composed of two cabals which concentrate on their own projects and rarely ask assistance from or communicate with the other Orders. The remaining unaligned mages number a little less than a third of the total population and either remain completely aloof from the larger mage community, or maintain loose affiliations with the Free Council.

===Places of Interest===

'''Consilium'''

[[Image: ChapelCourtyard.jpg]]

* The Maxine Gavriel Collection serves as the physical location from which Houston mages coordinate their activites, air disputes, trade favors, etc. Located on a small private estate in the Upper Kirby District owned by the Gavriel family for six generations, the Consilium consists of a small chapel with a capacity of 100 persons, an art gallery displaying the family's private works, a private library containing various occult and historical volumes, a courtyard with a level 4 Hallow, four spirit Guardians and a permanent staff of eight Sleepwalker acolytes loyal to the Gavriel family. The chapel, courtyard and art gallery are open to the public, but only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

'''Y'all Come Back'''

[[Image: Bb.jpg]]

* A bed & breakfast inn with 14 rooms, located in the center of the Hyde Park District and run by the Silver Ladder mage known as Xenios, one of the city's two Heralds. All nonresident mages intending to remain in the city more than 36 hours must ensure that the Hierarch is aware of their presence, with most expected to quarter themselves at Xenios's lodgings unless another resident mage volunteers to provide his own hospitality.

'''Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park'''

[[Image: Waterwall.jpg]]

* Still stubbornly referred to as Transco Park by locals seven years after the 2003 Galleria expansion that reduced it to a third of its former size, the Hines Waterwall Park sits adjacent to the Galleria retail complex in the Uptown District. Though the park is privately owned, it is open to the public from 10am to 10pm. Until recently, the park was used as neutral ground for meetings between Pentacle mages and Seers when face-to-face meetings were necessary.

'''Saxon Tower'''

[[Image: Saxon.jpg]]

* The corporate headquarters of the Saxon Group, the 49-story skyscraper was completed in May 2000. The bottom ten floors are devoted to retail shops and parking, with the next thirty floors containing office space. Floors 40-44 contain a SkyGarden overlooking the north and east, with the remaining floors reserved as private residences for Roderick Saxon and his aides.

'''Eternity Bar'''

[[Image: Eternitybar.jpg]]

* One of the few downtown nightspots consciously targeting the over-30 crowd, the Eternity Bar is frequented by somewhat older mages who still enjoy a wild night. A tri-level venue, the Eternity consists of a small bar at the street level, a rooftop patio and bar, plus a larger lounge and dance floor just below the rooftop level.

'''The Stateroom'''

[[Image: Stateroom.jpg]]

* Billed as Houston's only revolving restaurant and located 24 stories above street-level, the Stateroom Restaurant and lounge tends to be the go-to location when higher-ranking mages wish to impress out-of-towners. The circular structure makes one complete rotation ever 45 minutes, giving an unparalleled view of the surrounding area.

'''Memorial Park'''

[[Image: Obelisk.jpg]]

* Inspired by a dream, in 2003 the sculptor and architect Dion Murdock erected this obelisk atop a 35-foot crest deep within the forests of Memorial Park, a 1500 acre urban park near the Uptown area. Mages later discovered the obelisk straddles a ley line running beneath the park, and marks the centerpoint of a cluster of Hallows that collectively have a rating of 3. During the winter of 2004-2005, the Lightning Razors chased away a nest of vampires that laid claim to the Hallows and have zealously guarded it ever since.

==The Sanctum==

===Melete House===
[[Image: KirbyHouse.jpg]]
* Constructed during the Roaring Twenties, Melete House is the current safehouse and research center for the Scholars of the Lost. Located on the outskirts of the Museum District just south of Highway 59, the structure is guarded only by the spells of obfuscation and layered mystical wards and traps erected by each of the cabal members.

===Sanctum Stats===

* Size 3 (eight-room office building later converted into a private home and art gallery before its acquisition by the cabal)
* Security 3 (protected by mundane locks and burglar bars, plus a set of Indefinite Duration nested wards and traps each rated at Potency 3)
* Library 4 (located in center of upper level; volumes include various grimoires confiscated from enemies, records and maps of global mystical sites, and detailed histories of past Atlantean and mortal sorcerers)
* Hallow 4 (entire library suffused with Mana of Resonance of "studious"; Tass collects in the form of spontaneously-appearing empty books and pamphlets)

==Cabal Associates==

==NPCs of Interest==

===Ruling Council===
* '''Heirarch''': Renee Gavriel (Mysterium)
* '''Provost Primus''': Julius (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Provost Secundus''': FuX0r (Free Council)
* '''Herald Primus''': Xenios (Silver Ladder)
* '''Herald Secundus''': Jackson Rusk (Silver Ladder)
* '''Sentinel''': Kirpan (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Sentinel''': Marian Made (Mysterium)

===Councilors===
* '''Acanthus''': Laarsen (Silver Ladder) -- Special Projects Coordinator for City Council Member Oreza and primary source of political intelligence to the Consilium
* '''Mastigos''': Logos (Guardians of the Veil) -- leader of the Cui Bono cabal and mentor of Sentinel Kirpan; together with Assita Falls, Logos has discovered or partially initiated nearly one-third of the region's novice Pentacle mages over the last two decades
* '''Moros''': Samael (Mysterium) -- leader of the Verba Non Acta cabal and long-time investigative journalist for the ''Houston Press'' alternative newsweekly
* '''Obrimos''': Hsing Sun (Mysterium) -- the Most Venerable Hsing Sun is the current abbot of Guang Tien Di Temple, leader of the Jing Dao cabal, and a sage of the Perfected Adept Legacy. One of the oldest mages in the Houston area, Hsing Sun maintains one of the largest collections of Eastern Supernal lore in North America.
* '''Thyrsus''': Assita Falls (Silver Ladder) -- leader of the Seven Mercies cabal and administrator of the Jubilee Restoration House, a private outreach organization providing a network of transitioning housing facilities and homeless shelters throughout Greater Houston.

===Diamond Orders===

====Adamantine Arrows====
* '''Fiery Analemma''' -- six mages that were the vanguard of the campaign against the Seers in the Greater Houston area. Withdrew to Galveston after the Storm after suffering major casualties during an assault against a Seer pylon operating near the Port of Houson.

====Guardians of the Veil====
* '''Cui Bono''' -- a self-styled "oversight" cabal dedicated to keeping an eye on newly-Awakened mages and "keeping them out of trouble," Cui Bono also strives to shield Sleepers from any malevolent supernatural influence. Currently guided by the Mastigos mage known as Logos, the Cui Bono mages work closely with leading mages in the region, trading information and other resorces as needed.
* '''Lightning Razors''' -- one of the larger cabals in the region, they are composed of three cells of three martially-focused mages that once worked closely with the Fiery Analemma cabal. Most notorious for pursuing and defeating the Mad One calling himself "Kadmon."

====Mysterium====
* '''Men of Letters''' -- organized by five mages of the Mysterium, the Men of Letters cabal is composed of academics from among the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University. Having recently won acclaim for repelling an incursion of passion spirits on the UST campus, the Men of Letters tend to work alone in order to concentrate on pure research.
* '''Lone Star Environmental LLC''' -- an environmental consulting company started by two mages, normally completing contracts for petrochemical firms and providing additional expertise for academic investigations.

====Silver Ladder====
* '''Thalassa, Magna & Assoc. LLP''' -- a cutthroat PIP law firm founded by Robert Thalassa and Thomasina Magna. Censured for using Awakened Arts to arrange desired outcomes in court, Thalassa and Magna nonetheless evade more adverse action against them by providing pro bono legal assistance to any mage that engages their services.
* '''Staff & Serpent''' -- SAS began eight years ago as a local coed service fraternity on the UH campus. After the original founder-mages graduated, they retained the name for the public policy research institute they organized a few years later. Staff and Serpent works closely with Thalassa and Magna, trading networking resources and research for various legal services including harassment and obstruction of their adversaries.
* '''Jubilee Restoration House''' -- now headed by Councilor Assita Falls after the assassination of its founder Kortikos by the Seers, the four mages working in this private outreach organization help provide vital services for battered women and children, the homeless, and other souls in desperate need.

===Free Council===
* '''4-Tay''' -- a hip-hop collective formed by the rap duo "4-Tay" and their Sleeper associates. Constant touring keeps them in touch with other Awakened mages throughout the South.
* '''Raditek Consultants''' -- a private firm providing IT and engineering consulting services along with temporary staffing services, started by three mages just out of college.

===Left-Hand Path Mages===
* '''Order of the Bennu''' -- reclusive sect of eight mages and non-Awakened sorcerers reported to use an Ancient Egyptian praxis. Content to stay near their communal waterfront property near the Bear Creek Reservoir, the Order has to date avoided sanction from the Consilium, though they resist any and all attempts at intrusion and surveillance with a combination of mundane technology and powerful Mind and Spirit countermagics.

===Seers of the Throne===
* '''Roderick Saxon''' -- a defector from the Mysterium, Roderick Saxon is the CEO and owner of the Saxon Group, a multinational real estate corporation that is one of the top five managers of office and residential property in the South. The Ruling Council has attempted multiple assassinations of the traitor, but as Saxon rarely leaves the tower which serves as his home and corporate headquarters and is a Master of Fate and Prime, all have failed.

===Banishers and Mad Ones===
* '''"IX"'''
* '''Kadmon'''

===Unaligned and Solitaries===
* '''Alessandro Ficino''' -- former UH communications professor and Silver Ladder renunciate who wages a vengeful hacktivist crusade against hate groups and other extremists
* '''Haroun''' -- forensic analyst and disciple of Samael with potent skill in alchemical and Enochian arts
* '''Fleur de Noire''' -- trio of transgendered mages notable for their expertise in divination and fateweaving
* '''Black Fist''' -- self-styled "professional gadfly" and performance artist who regularly stages demonstrations and protests on behalf of illegal immigrants and other social outcasts

===Sleepers===
* '''Saul Gavriel''' -- chief of staff of the Gavriel Collection
* '''Simon Gavriel''' -- liaison to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
* '''Lluvia Oreza''' -- Houston City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee
* '''Special Agent Etta Battles''' -- Special Agent Battles cut her teeth in counterterrorism and white collar crime investigation. After her promotion to SAC of the Houston FBI Field Office two years ago, Battles proved an able commander and coordinator of the eighteen month probe of AZB Associates.
* '''Sgt. Jonathan Core''' -- HPD patrolman placed on medical leave after reporting an assault by "blood-drinking skinhead freaks"
* '''Francisco Reyes''' -- minister of the Promise House, a nondenominational agency providing shelter and counseling services to homeless and runaway youths
* '''An Shen-Li''' -- music promoter affiliated with the 4-Tay collective; occasional live turntablist and instrumental artist under the alter ego "Surgical Strife"

==Local Rumors and Legends==
* A suspected serial killer is stalking the Sharpstown and Neartown areas, with police blaming four ritualistic murders on the killer over the last three months based on the Roman numeral "IX" branded on the back of the victims' necks. So far the victims were all last seen within a few blocks of either the Botanica Eleggua yerberia or the Magick Cauldron pagan supply store.
* Black Fist, the flamboyant Solitary mage formerly associated with the Fiery Analemma cabal, has been spreading whispers to the effect that the Arrows are preparing to emerge from seclusion.
* Younger mages in Southeast Houston report signs of a massive abrasion of the Gauntlet near Ellington Airport, the airfield formerly used by the US Air Force.
* Majority stockholder and AZB chairman Aydin Arvin has gone into hiding days after federal agents raided the AZB home office. Financial analysts predict that the real estate magnate Roderick Saxon will acquire all AZB assets if the company goes into bankruptcy. AZB held the leases on hundreds of acres of retail and residential properties in Pasadena, South Houston, Downtown and the Medical Center.
* Copies of the mysterious recording known as the '''Hildebrandt Tape''' are circulating through the Houston underground. Some report that the last three owners of the Tape have either been committed or have attempted suicide.
* Horakhty, the shadowy leader of the Order of the Bennu cabal, is quietly searching for a lost text known as the '''Book of the Luminous Ib'''. Some report that the Order will pay as much as twenty pawns of Tass for the text.
* Graffiti defacing a mural on the University of St. Thomas campus: "''KADMON BECOMES/OMNIA MUTANTUR/NIHIL INTERIT''." Concerned that this may mark the return of the Mad sorcerer Kadmon (whom the Council insisted had been destroyed in the series of magical battles of the nights following the Storm), Heirarch Gavriel has ordered Sentinel Marian Made to investigate, with the authority to "deputize" any mages as she sees fit.

==Misc Info==
===Character Creation===
* Choose a Path and Order
* Attributes: 9/8/7, +1 dot Favored Resistance trait
* Skills: 14/10/7
* Skill Specialties: 5
* Arcana: 9 dots, +1 dot Favored Arcanum (none rated higher than 4)
* Rotes: 12 dots
* Gnosis: 4
* Merits: 13 dots
* Mana = Wisdom = Resolve + Composure
* Choose Virtue/Vice
* Choose Nimbus, magical tools and flesh out magical style

===House Rules===

* I'm using the "To the Limit" rule from '''Tome of the Mysteries''' p.168-169, which allows mages to cast an improvised spell of one dot higher ranking than normal, if the mage has at least one dot in all of the Arcana necessary to complete the spell. Base casting pool will always be Gnosis + Arcanum, but the mage must spend one Willpower point in order to complete the casting. Also, the spell is automatically vulgar, and three additional dice will be added to the Paradox roll (which can still be reduced as normal by using magical tools or spending Mana). The Duration of any Paradox manifestations will be applied as normal.

* When using a rote, the Base Paradox Dice Pool as detailed on p.123 of the corebook is reduced by an additional die. So, a mage with Gnosis 3 or 4 will normally not roll for Paradox when casting by rote, while a mage with Gnosis 7 or 8 will have a base Paradox pool of 2 dice in a similar situation. Paradox dice can still be increased by making subsequent castings within the same scene, being in the presence of Sleeper witnesses, etc.

* Havoc and Branding will be the most common results of Paradox. Bedlam, Anomalies and Manifestations will appear only with Paradox die rolls of 4+ successes, but the kind of result and its nature is totally given over to the whim of the GM.

* When attempting to contain Paradox within his own body in a backlash, the character must roll Willpower. Successes on the roll allow the mage to absorb points of Paradox bashing damage on a one-to-one basis. Failure on the roll invokes a Havoc Paradox.

* Human sacrifice gains a number of Mana points up to the victim's Wisdom/Morality rather than Health.

* Arcane XP can be used to purchase rotes and increase Arcana as well as Gnosis.

* Special Skill note: 
** The Occult skill functions on two levels. The first level measures general Sleeper occult lore, including stage magic, non-Awakened sorcery, and general Sleeper mysticism. The second covers rudimentary knowledge regarding other supernatural creatures. To gain more detailed knowledge regarding supernatural creatures, the character must already have a Specialty in that creature, or perform research and investigation during play to gain it.

* After the game starts, XP cost for acquiring new rotes will be one point per dot.

* Spell Tolerance = Stamina + 2, as opposed to Stamina + 1. Enchanted or imbued items carried by a mage will not count toward his Spell Tolerance limit.

* The "Arcana Mastery" chart on p.76 of the corebook will be ignored.

* PCs effectively possess two dots of Consilium Status and two dots of Order Status, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

* The PC cabal controls a level 4 Hallow and Sanctum pool of 6 dots, with a Library rated at 4 dots.

* Hallows generate their level in Tass and twice their level in Mana each day--i.e., a level 4 Hallow generates 8 points of Mana in addition to 4 points of Tass. However, Mana from a Hallow cannot be transferred directly to a Mage without the use of Prime 3 (thus, oblations will not replenish Mana unless the character has learned a Legacy) except by consuming the Tass itself in some fashion.

* [http://wiki.white-wolf.com/worldofdarkness/index.php?title=Mage:_The_Awakening_Core_%28Errata%29 Unofficial Mage Errata]

Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters

2011-04-06T21:46:38Z

Kastowt: /* Sleepers */

[[Category:Mage:_The_Awakening]][[Category:PBP]]
<center>'''''Twenty-Five Lighters''''' 
'''''Featuring the Scholars of the Lost'''''

[[Image: Htown-eclipse.jpg]]

''A Storytelling Campaign of Ambition and Passion set in Houston, Texas''

Run by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?u=6778 Martys] on the RPGnet Forums</center>

==Thread Info==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?568172-GM-Wanted-nWoD-anyone Recruitment]
* OOC
* IC

==The Scholars of the Lost==

* '''[[John Barabus]]''', '''Mastigos''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Phigment'')
* '''[[Hailey Desmond|Diamondback]]''', '''Thyrsus''' of the '''Mysterium''' (played by ''Zato-2TWO'')
* '''[[Locke]]''', '''Obrimos''' of the '''Free Council''' (played by ''Nikki6th'')
* '''[[Ruse]]''', '''Acanthus''' of the '''Guardians of the Veil''' (played by ''Lost_Arts'')
* '''[[Michael Walker|Cephisso]]''', '''Moros''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Scutarii'')

==The Setting==
===Overview and Recent History===
Now boasting a population of 2.6 million in the city proper and nearly 7 million throughout the greater metro area, the City of Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Historically the nation's primary hub for the oil and gas industry, the city suffered an economic slump in the wake of the 80s-era oil bust, but soon rebounded after successfully diversifying its economy. Previously ignored by most mages for the first hundred years of its existence in favor of such cities as New Orleans and Miami, after the one-two punches of Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Ike (which Houstonians simply refer to as "the Storm"), Houston has now overtaken New Orleans in the number of mages that base themselves in the city.

There are between forty and fifty mages known to inhabit the Greater Houston Area (as a general rule of thumb, this includes the entire area within a fifteen-mile radius of downtown Houston). The Diamond Orders have thrived in the region since the Second World War, with their first wave of migration beginning with the wartime mobilization, the second wave following the general 60s-era Sun Belt migration and the third wave coinciding with the late 80s tech and financial services booms. The Mysterium and Guardians of the Veil are the dominant Orders, having long since concentrated themselves within such Sleeper institutions as academia, the aerospace industry, law enforcement, public services, and the health care industry. The Silver Ladder and Free Council both maintain visibly active presences in the region, with their cabals working together in a shifting web of alliances and mutual partnerships. Most new self-Awakened mages tend to get scooped up by one of those two Orders, though the Silver Ladder is happy to find another home for those mages who don't fit its ideology. The Free Council boasts a larger number of mages and has thoroughly worked its way into the local telecom and energy industries. The Silver Ladder claims the greater number of cabals and has gained a stranglehold over the region's occult communities; its influence over the local religious activists and social justice organizers is no less pervasive. The Adamantine Arrows keep the lowest profile, apparently having suffered a crippling blow in September 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The Arrows are currently composed of two cabals which concentrate on their own projects and rarely ask assistance from or communicate with the other Orders. The remaining unaligned mages number a little less than a third of the total population and either remain completely aloof from the larger mage community, or maintain loose affiliations with the Free Council.

===Places of Interest===

'''Consilium'''

[[Image: ChapelCourtyard.jpg]]

* The Maxine Gavriel Collection serves as the physical location from which Houston mages coordinate their activites, air disputes, trade favors, etc. Located on a small private estate in the Upper Kirby District owned by the Gavriel family for six generations, the Consilium consists of a small chapel with a capacity of 100 persons, an art gallery displaying the family's private works, a private library containing various occult and historical volumes, a courtyard with a level 4 Hallow, four spirit Guardians and a permanent staff of eight Sleepwalker acolytes loyal to the Gavriel family. The chapel, courtyard and art gallery are open to the public, but only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

'''Y'all Come Back'''

[[Image: Bb.jpg]]

* A bed & breakfast inn with 14 rooms, located in the center of the Hyde Park District and run by the Silver Ladder mage known as Xenios, one of the city's two Heralds. All nonresident mages intending to remain in the city more than 36 hours must ensure that the Hierarch is aware of their presence, with most expected to quarter themselves at Xenios's lodgings unless another resident mage volunteers to provide his own hospitality.

'''Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park'''

[[Image: Waterwall.jpg]]

* Still stubbornly referred to as Transco Park by locals seven years after the 2003 Galleria expansion that reduced it to a third of its former size, the Hines Waterwall Park sits adjacent to the Galleria retail complex in the Uptown District. Though the park is privately owned, it is open to the public from 10am to 10pm. Until recently, the park was used as neutral ground for meetings between Pentacle mages and Seers when face-to-face meetings were necessary.

'''Saxon Tower'''

[[Image: Saxon.jpg]]

* The corporate headquarters of the Saxon Group, the 49-story skyscraper was completed in May 2000. The bottom ten floors are devoted to retail shops and parking, with the next thirty floors containing office space. Floors 40-44 contain a SkyGarden overlooking the north and east, with the remaining floors reserved as private residences for Roderick Saxon and his aides.

'''Eternity Bar'''

[[Image: Eternitybar.jpg]]

* One of the few downtown nightspots consciously targeting the over-30 crowd, the Eternity Bar is frequented by somewhat older mages who still enjoy a wild night. A tri-level venue, the Eternity consists of a small bar at the street level, a rooftop patio and bar, plus a larger lounge and dance floor just below the rooftop level.

'''The Stateroom'''

[[Image: Stateroom.jpg]]

* Billed as Houston's only revolving restaurant and located 24 stories above street-level, the Stateroom Restaurant and lounge tends to be the go-to location when higher-ranking mages wish to impress out-of-towners. The circular structure makes one complete rotation ever 45 minutes, giving an unparalleled view of the surrounding area.

'''Memorial Park'''

[[Image: Obelisk.jpg]]

* Inspired by a dream, in 2003 the sculptor and architect Dion Murdock erected this obelisk atop a 35-foot crest deep within the forests of Memorial Park, a 1500 acre urban park near the Uptown area. Mages later discovered the obelisk straddles a ley line running beneath the park, and marks the centerpoint of a cluster of Hallows that collectively have a rating of 3. During the winter of 2004-2005, the Lightning Razors chased away a nest of vampires that laid claim to the Hallows and have zealously guarded it ever since.

==The Sanctum==

===Melete House===
[[Image: KirbyHouse.jpg]]
* Constructed during the Roaring Twenties, Melete House is the current safehouse and research center for the Scholars of the Lost. Located on the outskirts of the Museum District just south of Highway 59, the structure is guarded only by the spells of obfuscation and layered mystical wards and traps erected by each of the cabal members.

===Sanctum Stats===

* Size 3 (eight-room office building later converted into a private home and art gallery before its acquisition by the cabal)
* Security 3 (protected by mundane locks and burglar bars, plus a set of Indefinite Duration nested wards and traps each rated at Potency 3)
* Library 4 (located in center of upper level; volumes include various grimoires confiscated from enemies, records and maps of global mystical sites, and detailed histories of past Atlantean and mortal sorcerers)
* Hallow 4 (entire library suffused with Mana of Resonance of "studious"; Tass collects in the form of spontaneously-appearing empty books and pamphlets)

==Cabal Associates==

==NPCs of Interest==

===Ruling Council===
* '''Heirarch''': Renee Gavriel (Mysterium)
* '''Provost Primus''': Julius (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Provost Secundus''': FuX0r (Free Council)
* '''Herald Primus''': Xenios (Silver Ladder)
* '''Herald Secundus''': Jackson Rusk (Silver Ladder)
* '''Sentinel''': Kirpan (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Sentinel''': Marian Made (Mysterium)

===Councilors===
* '''Acanthus''': Laarsen (Silver Ladder) -- Special Projects Coordinator for City Council Member Oreza and primary source of political intelligence to the Consilium
* '''Mastigos''': Logos (Guardians of the Veil) -- leader of the Cui Bono cabal and mentor of Sentinel Kirpan; together with Assita Falls, Logos has discovered or partially initiated nearly one-third of the region's novice Pentacle mages over the last two decades
* '''Moros''': Samael (Mysterium) -- leader of the Verba Non Acta cabal and long-time investigative journalist for the ''Houston Press'' alternative newsweekly
* '''Obrimos''': Hsing Sun (Mysterium) -- the Most Venerable Hsing Sun is the current abbot of Guang Tien Di Temple, leader of the Jing Dao cabal, and a sage of the Perfected Adept Legacy. One of the oldest mages in the Houston area, Hsing Sun maintains one of the largest collections of Eastern Supernal lore in North America.
* '''Thyrsus''': Assita Falls (Silver Ladder) -- leader of the Seven Mercies cabal and administrator of the Jubilee Restoration House, a private outreach organization providing a network of transitioning housing facilities and homeless shelters throughout Greater Houston.

===Diamond Orders===

====Adamantine Arrows====
* '''Fiery Analemma''' -- six mages that were the vanguard of the campaign against the Seers in the Greater Houston area. Withdrew to Galveston after the Storm after suffering major casualties during an assault against a Seer pylon operating near the Port of Houson.

====Guardians of the Veil====
* '''Cui Bono''' -- a self-styled "oversight" cabal dedicated to keeping an eye on newly-Awakened mages and "keeping them out of trouble," Cui Bono also strives to shield Sleepers from any malevolent supernatural influence. Currently guided by the Mastigos mage known as Logos, the Cui Bono mages work closely with leading mages in the region, trading information and other resorces as needed.
* '''Lightning Razors''' -- one of the larger cabals in the region, they are composed of three cells of three martially-focused mages that once worked closely with the Fiery Analemma cabal. Most notorious for pursuing and defeating the Mad One calling himself "Kadmon."

====Mysterium====
* '''Men of Letters''' -- organized by five mages of the Mysterium, the Men of Letters cabal is composed of academics from among the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University. Having recently won acclaim for repelling an incursion of passion spirits on the UST campus, the Men of Letters tend to work alone in order to concentrate on pure research.
* '''Lone Star Environmental LLC''' -- an environmental consulting company started by two mages, normally completing contracts for petrochemical firms and providing additional expertise for academic investigations.

====Silver Ladder====
* '''Thalassa, Magna & Assoc. LLP''' -- a cutthroat PIP law firm founded by Robert Thalassa and Thomasina Magna. Censured for using Awakened Arts to arrange desired outcomes in court, Thalassa and Magna nonetheless evade more adverse action against them by providing pro bono legal assistance to any mage that engages their services.
* '''Staff & Serpent''' -- SAS began eight years ago as a local coed service fraternity on the UH campus. After the original founder-mages graduated, they retained the name for the public policy research institute they organized a few years later. Staff and Serpent works closely with Thalassa and Magna, trading networking resources and research for various legal services including harassment and obstruction of their adversaries.
* '''Jubilee Restoration House''' -- now headed by Councilor Assita Falls after the assassination of its founder Kortikos by the Seers, the four mages working in this private outreach organization help provide vital services for battered women and children, the homeless, and other souls in desperate need.

===Free Council===
* '''4-Tay''' -- a hip-hop collective formed by the rap duo "4-Tay" and their Sleeper associates. Constant touring keeps them in touch with other Awakened mages throughout the South.
* '''Raditek Consultants''' -- a private firm providing IT and engineering consulting services along with temporary staffing services, started by three mages just out of college.

===Left-Hand Path Mages===
* '''Order of the Bennu''' -- reclusive sect of eight mages and non-Awakened sorcerers reported to use an Ancient Egyptian praxis. Content to stay near their communal waterfront property near the Bear Creek Reservoir, the Order has to date avoided sanction from the Consilium, though they resist any and all attempts at intrusion and surveillance with a combination of mundane technology and powerful Mind and Spirit countermagics.

===Seers of the Throne===
* '''Roderick Saxon''' -- a defector from the Mysterium, Roderick Saxon is the CEO and owner of the Saxon Group, a multinational real estate corporation that is one of the top five managers of office and residential property in the South. The Ruling Council has attempted multiple assassinations of the traitor, but as Saxon rarely leaves the tower which serves as his home and corporate headquarters and is a Master of Fate and Prime, all have failed.

===Banishers and Mad Ones===
* '''"IX"'''
* '''Kadmon'''

===Unaligned and Solitaries===
* '''Alessandro Ficino''' -- former UH communications professor and Silver Ladder renunciate who wages a vengeful hacktivist crusade against hate groups and other extremists
* '''Haroun''' -- forensic analyst and disciple of Samael with potent skill in alchemical and Enochian arts
* '''Fleur de Noire''' -- trio of transgendered mages notable for their expertise in divination and fateweaving
* '''Black Fist''' -- self-styled "professional gadfly" and performance artist who regularly stages demonstrations and protests on behalf of illegal immigrants and other social outcasts

===Sleepers===
* '''Saul Gavriel''' -- chief of staff of the Gavriel Collection
* '''Simon Gavriel''' -- liaison to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
* '''Lluvia Oreza''' -- Houston City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee
* '''Special Agent Etta Battles''' -- Special Agent Battles cut her teeth in counterterrorism and white collar crime investigation. After her promotion to SAC of the Houston FBI Field Office two years ago, Battles proved an able commander and coordinator of the eighteen month probe of AZB Associates.
* '''Sgt. Jonathan Core''' -- HPD patrolman placed on medical leave after reporting an assault by "blood-drinking skinhead freaks"
* '''Francisco Reyes''' -- minister of the Promise House, a nondenominational agency providing shelter and counseling services to homeless and runaway youths
* '''An Shen-Li''' -- music promoter affiliated with the 4-Tay collective; occasional live turntablist and instrumental artist under the alter ego "Surgical Strife"

==Local Rumors and Legends==
* A suspected serial killer is stalking the Sharpstown and Neartown areas, with police blaming four ritualistic murders on the killer over the last three months based on the Roman numeral "IX" branded on the back of the victims' necks. So far the victims were all last seen within a few blocks of either the Botanica Eleggua yerberia or the Magick Cauldron pagan supply store.
* Black Fist, the flamboyant Solitary mage formerly associated with the Fiery Analemma cabal, has been spreading whispers to the effect that the Arrows are preparing to emerge from seclusion.
* Younger mages in Southeast Houston report signs of a massive abrasion of the Gauntlet near Ellington Airport, the airfield formerly used by the US Air Force.
* Majority stockholder and AZB chairman Aydin Arvin has gone into hiding days after federal agents raided the AZB home office. Financial analysts predict that the real estate magnate Roderick Saxon will acquire all AZB assets if the company goes into bankruptcy. AZB held the leases on hundreds of acres of retail and residential properties in Pasadena, South Houston, Downtown and the Medical Center.
* Copies of the mysterious recording known as the '''Hildebrandt Tape''' are circulating through the Houston underground. Some report that the last three owners of the Tape have either been committed or have attempted suicide.
* Horakhty, the shadowy leader of the Order of the Bennu cabal, is quietly searching for a lost text known as the '''Book of the Luminous Ib'''. Some report that the Order will pay as much as twenty pawns of Tass for the text.
* Graffiti defacing a mural on the University of St. Thomas campus: "''KADMON BECOMES/OMNIA MUTANTUR/NIHIL INTERIT''." Concerned that this may mark the return of the Mad sorcerer Kadmon (whom the Council insisted had been destroyed in the series of magical battles of the nights following the Storm), Heirarch Gavriel has ordered Sentinel Marian Made to investigate, with the authority to "deputize" any mages as she sees fit.

==Misc Info==
===Character Creation===
* Choose a Path and Order
* Attributes: 9/8/7, +1 dot Favored Resistance trait
* Skills: 14/10/7
* Skill Specialties: 5
* Arcana: 9 dots, +1 dot Favored Arcanum (none rated higher than 4)
* Rotes: 12 dots
* Gnosis: 4
* Merits: 13 dots
* Mana = Wisdom = Resolve + Composure
* Choose Virtue/Vice
* Choose Nimbus, magical tools and flesh out magical style

===House Rules===

* I'm using the "To the Limit" rule from '''Tome of the Mysteries''' p.168-169, which allows mages to cast an improvised spell of one dot higher ranking than normal, if the mage has at least one dot in all of the Arcana necessary to complete the spell. Base casting pool will always be Gnosis + Arcanum, but the mage must spend one Willpower point in order to complete the casting. Also, the spell is automatically vulgar, and three additional dice will be added to the Paradox roll (which can still be reduced as normal by using magical tools or spending Mana). The Duration of any Paradox manifestations will be applied as normal.

* When using a rote, the Base Paradox Dice Pool as detailed on p.123 of the corebook is reduced by an additional die. So, a mage with Gnosis 3 or 4 will normally not roll for Paradox when casting by rote, while a mage with Gnosis 7 or 8 will have a base Paradox pool of 2 dice in a similar situation. Paradox dice can still be increased by making subsequent castings within the same scene, being in the presence of Sleeper witnesses, etc.

* Havoc and Branding will be the most common results of Paradox. Bedlam, Anomalies and Manifestations will appear only with Paradox die rolls of 4+ successes, but the kind of result and its nature is totally given over to the whim of the GM.

* When attempting to contain Paradox within his own body in a backlash, the character must roll Willpower. Successes on the roll allow the mage to absorb points of Paradox bashing damage on a one-to-one basis. Failure on the roll invokes a Havoc Paradox.

* Human sacrifice gains a number of Mana points up to the victim's Wisdom/Morality rather than Health.

* Arcane XP can be used to increase Arcana as well as Gnosis.

* Special Skill note: 
** The Occult skill functions on two levels. The first level measures general Sleeper occult lore, including stage magic, non-Awakened sorcery, and general Sleeper mysticism. The second covers rudimentary knowledge regarding other supernatural creatures. To gain more detailed knowledge regarding supernatural creatures, the character must already have a Specialty in that creature, or perform research and investigation during play to gain it.

* After the game starts, XP cost for acquiring new rotes will be one point per dot.

* Spell Tolerance = Stamina + 2, as opposed to Stamina + 1. Enchanted or imbued items carried by a mage will not count toward his Spell Tolerance limit.

* The "Arcana Mastery" chart on p.76 of the corebook will be ignored.

* PCs effectively possess two dots of Consilium Status and two dots of Order Status, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

* The PC cabal controls a level 4 Hallow and Sanctum pool of 6 dots, with a Library rated at 4 dots.

* Hallows generate their level in Tass and twice their level in Mana each day--i.e., a level 4 Hallow generates 8 points of Mana in addition to 4 points of Tass. However, Mana from a Hallow cannot be transferred directly to a Mage without the use of Prime 3 (thus, oblations will not replenish Mana unless the character has learned a Legacy) except by consuming the Tass itself in some fashion.

* [http://wiki.white-wolf.com/worldofdarkness/index.php?title=Mage:_The_Awakening_Core_%28Errata%29 Unofficial Mage Errata]

Michael Walker

2011-04-06T20:02:16Z

Kastowt:

'''Shadow Name''': Cephisso 
'''Real Name''': Michael Walker 
'''Concept''': Artisan 
'''Virtue''': Charity 
'''Vice''': Gluttony 
'''Order''': Silver Ladder 
'''Path''': Moros 
'''Legacy''': The Uncrowned Kings

'''ATTRIBUTES''' 
Intelligence 3, Wits 3, Resolve 3 
Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2 
Presence 2, Manipulation 3, Composure 4

'''SKILLS''' 
Academics 2, Crafts 4 (Sculpting), Investigation 1, Occult 4, Plotics 1 (Order, Consilium), Science 2 (Materials) 
Athletics 1, Brawl 1, Firearms 1, Stealth 1, Survival 1, Weaponry 1 
Empathy 1, Expression 2 (Music), Persuasion 3, Socialize 1, Subterfuge 3

'''ARCANA''' 
Death 3, Matter 3, Mind 4 (favoured)

'''WILLPOWER''' 7 
'''WISDOM''' 6 
'''GNOSIS''' 4 
'''MANA''' 6 
'''SIZE''' 5 
'''HEALTH''' 7 
'''DEFENSE''' 3 
'''INIT MOD''' 7 
'''SPEED''' 10

'''ROTES''': 
Summon Shadows: Death 3 (3xp) 
Sculpt Ephemera: Death 3 
Breach the Vault of Memory: Mind 4 
Alter Integrity: Matter 3 
Touch of the Grave: Death 2 
Speak With the Dead: Death 1 (1xp) 
Grim Sight: Death 1 (1xp) 

'''MERITS''': 
Allies 1 (Consilium Hierarchy), Dream 2, Familiar 3 (Ghost*), Hallow 2, Resources 4, Status 2 (Silver Ladder),
Status 2 (Moros), Status 1 (Art World) 

Familiar: Shade of Walker's Wife
* Power/Finesse/Resistance 4/3/3 
* Essence 10 
* Willpower 7 
* Initiative 6 
* Defense 4
* Speed 11 
* Size 5 
* Corpus 7 
* Fetter: Michael Walker 
* Influence: "The Way" (providing guidance thru the Subtle Realms) 
* Numina: Gauntlet Breach, Living Fetter 
* Ban: Cannot cross the Gauntlet unless summoned verbally or mentally by Walker

'''MAGICAL TOOLS''' 
Dedicated Tool:

Arcana Tools: 

'''STYLE AND NIMBUS''' 

'''APPEARANCE''' 

'''BACKGROUND''' 
Cephisso is a member of the Silver Ladder and of the Path Moros. He is the owner of a major museum/art gallery and a huge collector of art, and is himself an accomplished sculptor and painter.

After his wife died he was plagued by repeat nightmares and dreams. One night he would be welcomed by the ghostly spectre of his wife and they would wander through bizarre shadow worlds, others he would be alone, lost in the darkness but knowing she was in danger somewhere if only he could just see...

After months of these dreams he finally stumbled through the darkness to a tower of bone, spiraling up and away into the heavens above. He approached and with the barest touch of the surface the shadows cleared from his eyes and everything became clear. Everything, even things he never knew could be possible.

He is a generally pleasant person, affable and sociable. He loves nothing more than to be working in his studio, perfecting his craft, combining the magic and the arts, sculpting things that no other could do. Using his wealth and prestige in the mortal world he has built up a wide rapport within the different Orders, often having guests and holding parties, dazzling people with some of the most unique works of art in the world.

He uses his work with magic and art to perfect himself, to understand the world around him and to stave off the inevitable degradation of his wife's soul. He knows that as a Ghost her fate is far from pleasant. However in death, just as in life, she can be guided and protected by his art.

Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters

2011-04-06T19:13:50Z

Kastowt:

[[Category:Mage:_The_Awakening]][[Category:PBP]]
<center>'''''Twenty-Five Lighters''''' 
'''''Featuring the Scholars of the Lost'''''

[[Image: Htown-eclipse.jpg]]

''A Storytelling Campaign of Ambition and Passion set in Houston, Texas''

Run by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?u=6778 Martys] on the RPGnet Forums</center>

==Thread Info==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?568172-GM-Wanted-nWoD-anyone Recruitment]
* OOC
* IC

==The Scholars of the Lost==

* '''[[John Barabus]]''', '''Mastigos''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Phigment'')
* '''[[Hailey Desmond|Diamondback]]''', '''Thyrsus''' of the '''Mysterium''' (played by ''Zato-2TWO'')
* '''[[Locke]]''', '''Obrimos''' of the '''Free Council''' (played by ''Nikki6th'')
* '''[[Ruse]]''', '''Acanthus''' of the '''Guardians of the Veil''' (played by ''Lost_Arts'')
* '''[[Michael Walker|Cephisso]]''', '''Moros''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Scutarii'')

==The Setting==
===Overview and Recent History===
Now boasting a population of 2.6 million in the city proper and nearly 7 million throughout the greater metro area, the City of Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Historically the nation's primary hub for the oil and gas industry, the city suffered an economic slump in the wake of the 80s-era oil bust, but soon rebounded after successfully diversifying its economy. Previously ignored by most mages for the first hundred years of its existence in favor of such cities as New Orleans and Miami, after the one-two punches of Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Ike (which Houstonians simply refer to as "the Storm"), Houston has now overtaken New Orleans in the number of mages that base themselves in the city.

There are between forty and fifty mages known to inhabit the Greater Houston Area (as a general rule of thumb, this includes the entire area within a fifteen-mile radius of downtown Houston). The Diamond Orders have thrived in the region since the Second World War, with their first wave of migration beginning with the wartime mobilization, the second wave following the general 60s-era Sun Belt migration and the third wave coinciding with the late 80s tech and financial services booms. The Mysterium and Guardians of the Veil are the dominant Orders, having long since concentrated themselves within such Sleeper institutions as academia, the aerospace industry, law enforcement, public services, and the health care industry. The Silver Ladder and Free Council both maintain visibly active presences in the region, with their cabals working together in a shifting web of alliances and mutual partnerships. Most new self-Awakened mages tend to get scooped up by one of those two Orders, though the Silver Ladder is happy to find another home for those mages who don't fit its ideology. The Free Council boasts a larger number of mages and has thoroughly worked its way into the local telecom and energy industries. The Silver Ladder claims the greater number of cabals and has gained a stranglehold over the region's occult communities; its influence over the local religious activists and social justice organizers is no less pervasive. The Adamantine Arrows keep the lowest profile, apparently having suffered a crippling blow in September 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The Arrows are currently composed of two cabals which concentrate on their own projects and rarely ask assistance from or communicate with the other Orders. The remaining unaligned mages number a little less than a third of the total population and either remain completely aloof from the larger mage community, or maintain loose affiliations with the Free Council.

===Places of Interest===

'''Consilium'''

[[Image: ChapelCourtyard.jpg]]

* The Maxine Gavriel Collection serves as the physical location from which Houston mages coordinate their activites, air disputes, trade favors, etc. Located on a small private estate in the Upper Kirby District owned by the Gavriel family for six generations, the Consilium consists of a small chapel with a capacity of 100 persons, an art gallery displaying the family's private works, a private library containing various occult and historical volumes, a courtyard with a level 4 Hallow, four spirit Guardians and a permanent staff of eight Sleepwalker acolytes loyal to the Gavriel family. The chapel, courtyard and art gallery are open to the public, but only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

'''Y'all Come Back'''

[[Image: Bb.jpg]]

* A bed & breakfast inn with 14 rooms, located in the center of the Hyde Park District and run by the Silver Ladder mage known as Xenios, one of the city's two Heralds. All nonresident mages intending to remain in the city more than 36 hours must ensure that the Hierarch is aware of their presence, with most expected to quarter themselves at Xenios's lodgings unless another resident mage volunteers to provide his own hospitality.

'''Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park'''

[[Image: Waterwall.jpg]]

* Still stubbornly referred to as Transco Park by locals seven years after the 2003 Galleria expansion that reduced it to a third of its former size, the Hines Waterwall Park sits adjacent to the Galleria retail complex in the Uptown District. Though the park is privately owned, it is open to the public from 10am to 10pm. Until recently, the park was used as neutral ground for meetings between Pentacle mages and Seers when face-to-face meetings were necessary.

'''Saxon Tower'''

[[Image: Saxon.jpg]]

* The corporate headquarters of the Saxon Group, the 49-story skyscraper was completed in May 2000. The bottom ten floors are devoted to retail shops and parking, with the next thirty floors containing office space. Floors 40-44 contain a SkyGarden overlooking the north and east, with the remaining floors reserved as private residences for Roderick Saxon and his aides.

'''Eternity Bar'''

[[Image: Eternitybar.jpg]]

* One of the few downtown nightspots consciously targeting the over-30 crowd, the Eternity Bar is frequented by somewhat older mages who still enjoy a wild night. A tri-level venue, the Eternity consists of a small bar at the street level, a rooftop patio and bar, plus a larger lounge and dance floor just below the rooftop level.

'''The Stateroom'''

[[Image: Stateroom.jpg]]

* Billed as Houston's only revolving restaurant and located 24 stories above street-level, the Stateroom Restaurant and lounge tends to be the go-to location when higher-ranking mages wish to impress out-of-towners. The circular structure makes one complete rotation ever 45 minutes, giving an unparalleled view of the surrounding area.

'''Memorial Park'''

[[Image: Obelisk.jpg]]

* Inspired by a dream, in 2003 the sculptor and architect Dion Murdock erected this obelisk atop a 35-foot crest deep within the forests of Memorial Park, a 1500 acre urban park near the Uptown area. Mages later discovered the obelisk straddles a ley line running beneath the park, and marks the centerpoint of a cluster of Hallows that collectively have a rating of 3. During the winter of 2004-2005, the Lightning Razors chased away a nest of vampires that laid claim to the Hallows and have zealously guarded it ever since.

==The Sanctum==

===Melete House===
[[Image: KirbyHouse.jpg]]
* Constructed during the Roaring Twenties, Melete House is the current safehouse and research center for the Scholars of the Lost. Located on the outskirts of the Museum District just south of Highway 59, the structure is guarded only by the spells of obfuscation and layered mystical wards and traps erected by each of the cabal members.

===Sanctum Stats===

* Size 3 (eight-room office building later converted into a private home and art gallery before its acquisition by the cabal)
* Security 3 (protected by mundane locks and burglar bars, plus a set of Indefinite Duration nested wards and traps each rated at Potency 3)
* Library 4 (located in center of upper level; volumes include various grimoires confiscated from enemies, records and maps of global mystical sites, and detailed histories of past Atlantean and mortal sorcerers)
* Hallow 4 (entire library suffused with Mana of Resonance of "studious"; Tass collects in the form of spontaneously-appearing empty books and pamphlets)

==Cabal Associates==

==NPCs of Interest==

===Ruling Council===
* '''Heirarch''': Renee Gavriel (Mysterium)
* '''Provost Primus''': Julius (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Provost Secundus''': FuX0r (Free Council)
* '''Herald Primus''': Xenios (Silver Ladder)
* '''Herald Secundus''': Jackson Rusk (Silver Ladder)
* '''Sentinel''': Kirpan (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Sentinel''': Marian Made (Mysterium)

===Councilors===
* '''Acanthus''': Laarsen (Silver Ladder) -- Special Projects Coordinator for City Council Member Oreza and primary source of political intelligence to the Consilium
* '''Mastigos''': Logos (Guardians of the Veil) -- leader of the Cui Bono cabal and mentor of Sentinel Kirpan; together with Assita Falls, Logos has discovered or partially initiated nearly one-third of the region's novice Pentacle mages over the last two decades
* '''Moros''': Samael (Mysterium) -- leader of the Verba Non Acta cabal and long-time investigative journalist for the ''Houston Press'' alternative newsweekly
* '''Obrimos''': Hsing Sun (Mysterium) -- the Most Venerable Hsing Sun is the current abbot of Guang Tien Di Temple, leader of the Jing Dao cabal, and a sage of the Perfected Adept Legacy. One of the oldest mages in the Houston area, Hsing Sun maintains one of the largest collections of Eastern Supernal lore in North America.
* '''Thyrsus''': Assita Falls (Silver Ladder) -- leader of the Seven Mercies cabal and administrator of the Jubilee Restoration House, a private outreach organization providing a network of transitioning housing facilities and homeless shelters throughout Greater Houston.

===Diamond Orders===

====Adamantine Arrows====
* '''Fiery Analemma''' -- six mages that were the vanguard of the campaign against the Seers in the Greater Houston area. Withdrew to Galveston after the Storm after suffering major casualties during an assault against a Seer pylon operating near the Port of Houson.

====Guardians of the Veil====
* '''Cui Bono''' -- a self-styled "oversight" cabal dedicated to keeping an eye on newly-Awakened mages and "keeping them out of trouble," Cui Bono also strives to shield Sleepers from any malevolent supernatural influence. Currently guided by the Mastigos mage known as Logos, the Cui Bono mages work closely with leading mages in the region, trading information and other resorces as needed.
* '''Lightning Razors''' -- one of the larger cabals in the region, they are composed of three cells of three martially-focused mages that once worked closely with the Fiery Analemma cabal. Most notorious for pursuing and defeating the Mad One calling himself "Kadmon."

====Mysterium====
* '''Men of Letters''' -- organized by five mages of the Mysterium, the Men of Letters cabal is composed of academics from among the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University. Having recently won acclaim for repelling an incursion of passion spirits on the UST campus, the Men of Letters tend to work alone in order to concentrate on pure research.
* '''Lone Star Environmental LLC''' -- an environmental consulting company started by two mages, normally completing contracts for petrochemical firms and providing additional expertise for academic investigations.

====Silver Ladder====
* '''Thalassa, Magna & Assoc. LLP''' -- a cutthroat PIP law firm founded by Robert Thalassa and Thomasina Magna. Censured for using Awakened Arts to arrange desired outcomes in court, Thalassa and Magna nonetheless evade more adverse action against them by providing pro bono legal assistance to any mage that engages their services.
* '''Staff & Serpent''' -- SAS began eight years ago as a local coed service fraternity on the UH campus. After the original founder-mages graduated, they retained the name for the public policy research institute they organized a few years later. Staff and Serpent works closely with Thalassa and Magna, trading networking resources and research for various legal services including harassment and obstruction of their adversaries.
* '''Jubilee Restoration House''' -- now headed by Councilor Assita Falls after the assassination of its founder Kortikos by the Seers, the four mages working in this private outreach organization help provide vital services for battered women and children, the homeless, and other souls in desperate need.

===Free Council===
* '''4-Tay''' -- a hip-hop collective formed by the rap duo "4-Tay" and their Sleeper associates. Constant touring keeps them in touch with other Awakened mages throughout the South.
* '''Raditek Consultants''' -- a private firm providing IT and engineering consulting services along with temporary staffing services, started by three mages just out of college.

===Left-Hand Path Mages===
* '''Order of the Bennu''' -- reclusive sect of eight mages and non-Awakened sorcerers reported to use an Ancient Egyptian praxis. Content to stay near their communal waterfront property near the Bear Creek Reservoir, the Order has to date avoided sanction from the Consilium, though they resist any and all attempts at intrusion and surveillance with a combination of mundane technology and powerful Mind and Spirit countermagics.

===Seers of the Throne===
* '''Roderick Saxon''' -- a defector from the Mysterium, Roderick Saxon is the CEO and owner of the Saxon Group, a multinational real estate corporation that is one of the top five managers of office and residential property in the South. The Ruling Council has attempted multiple assassinations of the traitor, but as Saxon rarely leaves the tower which serves as his home and corporate headquarters and is a Master of Fate and Prime, all have failed.

===Banishers and Mad Ones===
* '''"IX"'''
* '''Kadmon'''

===Unaligned and Solitaries===
* '''Alessandro Ficino''' -- former UH communications professor and Silver Ladder renunciate who wages a vengeful hacktivist crusade against hate groups and other extremists
* '''Haroun''' -- forensic analyst and disciple of Samael with potent skill in alchemical and Enochian arts
* '''Fleur de Noire''' -- trio of transgendered mages notable for their expertise in divination and fateweaving
* '''Black Fist''' -- self-styled "professional gadfly" and performance artist who regularly stages demonstrations and protests on behalf of illegal immigrants and other social outcasts

===Sleepers===
* '''Saul Gavriel''' -- chief of staff of the Gavriel Collection
* '''Simon Gavriel''' -- liaison to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
* '''Lluvia Oreza''' -- Houston City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee
* '''Special Agent Etta Battles''' -- Special Agent Battles cut her teeth in counterterrorism and white collar crime investigation. After her promotion to SAC of the Houston FBI Field Office two years ago, Battles proved an able commander and coordinator of the eighteen month probe of AZB Associates.
* '''Sgt. Jonathan Core''' -- HPD patrolman placed on medical leave after reporting an assault by "blood-drinking skinhead freaks"
* '''Francisco Reyes''' -- minister of the Promise House, a nondenominational agency providing shelter and counseling services to homeless and runaway youths
* '''An Shen-Li''' -- music promoter affiliated with the 4-Tay collective

==Local Rumors and Legends==
* A suspected serial killer is stalking the Sharpstown and Neartown areas, with police blaming four ritualistic murders on the killer over the last three months based on the Roman numeral "IX" branded on the back of the victims' necks. So far the victims were all last seen within a few blocks of either the Botanica Eleggua yerberia or the Magick Cauldron pagan supply store.
* Black Fist, the flamboyant Solitary mage formerly associated with the Fiery Analemma cabal, has been spreading whispers to the effect that the Arrows are preparing to emerge from seclusion.
* Younger mages in Southeast Houston report signs of a massive abrasion of the Gauntlet near Ellington Airport, the airfield formerly used by the US Air Force.
* Majority stockholder and AZB chairman Aydin Arvin has gone into hiding days after federal agents raided the AZB home office. Financial analysts predict that the real estate magnate Roderick Saxon will acquire all AZB assets if the company goes into bankruptcy. AZB held the leases on hundreds of acres of retail and residential properties in Pasadena, South Houston, Downtown and the Medical Center.
* Copies of the mysterious recording known as the '''Hildebrandt Tape''' are circulating through the Houston underground. Some report that the last three owners of the Tape have either been committed or have attempted suicide.
* Horakhty, the shadowy leader of the Order of the Bennu cabal, is quietly searching for a lost text known as the '''Book of the Luminous Ib'''. Some report that the Order will pay as much as twenty pawns of Tass for the text.
* Graffiti defacing a mural on the University of St. Thomas campus: "''KADMON BECOMES/OMNIA MUTANTUR/NIHIL INTERIT''." Concerned that this may mark the return of the Mad sorcerer Kadmon (whom the Council insisted had been destroyed in the series of magical battles of the nights following the Storm), Heirarch Gavriel has ordered Sentinel Marian Made to investigate, with the authority to "deputize" any mages as she sees fit.

==Misc Info==
===Character Creation===
* Choose a Path and Order
* Attributes: 9/8/7, +1 dot Favored Resistance trait
* Skills: 14/10/7
* Skill Specialties: 5
* Arcana: 9 dots, +1 dot Favored Arcanum (none rated higher than 4)
* Rotes: 12 dots
* Gnosis: 4
* Merits: 13 dots
* Mana = Wisdom = Resolve + Composure
* Choose Virtue/Vice
* Choose Nimbus, magical tools and flesh out magical style

===House Rules===

* I'm using the "To the Limit" rule from '''Tome of the Mysteries''' p.168-169, which allows mages to cast an improvised spell of one dot higher ranking than normal, if the mage has at least one dot in all of the Arcana necessary to complete the spell. Base casting pool will always be Gnosis + Arcanum, but the mage must spend one Willpower point in order to complete the casting. Also, the spell is automatically vulgar, and three additional dice will be added to the Paradox roll (which can still be reduced as normal by using magical tools or spending Mana). The Duration of any Paradox manifestations will be applied as normal.

* When using a rote, the Base Paradox Dice Pool as detailed on p.123 of the corebook is reduced by an additional die. So, a mage with Gnosis 3 or 4 will normally not roll for Paradox when casting by rote, while a mage with Gnosis 7 or 8 will have a base Paradox pool of 2 dice in a similar situation. Paradox dice can still be increased by making subsequent castings within the same scene, being in the presence of Sleeper witnesses, etc.

* Havoc and Branding will be the most common results of Paradox. Bedlam, Anomalies and Manifestations will appear only with Paradox die rolls of 4+ successes, but the kind of result and its nature is totally given over to the whim of the GM.

* When attempting to contain Paradox within his own body in a backlash, the character must roll Willpower. Successes on the roll allow the mage to absorb points of Paradox bashing damage on a one-to-one basis. Failure on the roll invokes a Havoc Paradox.

* Human sacrifice gains a number of Mana points up to the victim's Wisdom/Morality rather than Health.

* Arcane XP can be used to increase Arcana as well as Gnosis.

* Special Skill note: 
** The Occult skill functions on two levels. The first level measures general Sleeper occult lore, including stage magic, non-Awakened sorcery, and general Sleeper mysticism. The second covers rudimentary knowledge regarding other supernatural creatures. To gain more detailed knowledge regarding supernatural creatures, the character must already have a Specialty in that creature, or perform research and investigation during play to gain it.

* After the game starts, XP cost for acquiring new rotes will be one point per dot.

* Spell Tolerance = Stamina + 2, as opposed to Stamina + 1. Enchanted or imbued items carried by a mage will not count toward his Spell Tolerance limit.

* The "Arcana Mastery" chart on p.76 of the corebook will be ignored.

* PCs effectively possess two dots of Consilium Status and two dots of Order Status, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

* The PC cabal controls a level 4 Hallow and Sanctum pool of 6 dots, with a Library rated at 4 dots.

* Hallows generate their level in Tass and twice their level in Mana each day--i.e., a level 4 Hallow generates 8 points of Mana in addition to 4 points of Tass. However, Mana from a Hallow cannot be transferred directly to a Mage without the use of Prime 3 (thus, oblations will not replenish Mana unless the character has learned a Legacy) except by consuming the Tass itself in some fashion.

* [http://wiki.white-wolf.com/worldofdarkness/index.php?title=Mage:_The_Awakening_Core_%28Errata%29 Unofficial Mage Errata]

Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters

2011-04-06T08:52:26Z

Kastowt:

[[Category:Mage:_The_Awakening]][[Category:PBP]]
<center>'''''Twenty-Five Lighters''''' 
'''''Featuring the Scholars of the Lost'''''

[[Image: Htown-eclipse.jpg]]

''A Storytelling Campaign of Ambition and Passion set in Houston, Texas''

Run by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?u=6778 Martys] on the RPGnet Forums</center>

==Thread Info==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?568172-GM-Wanted-nWoD-anyone Recruitment]
* OOC
* IC

==The Scholars of the Lost==

* '''[[John Barabus]]''', '''Mastigos''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Phigment'')
* '''[[Hailey Desmond|Diamondback]]''', '''Thyrsus''' of the '''Mysterium''' (played by ''Zato-2TWO'')
* '''[[Locke]]''', '''Obrimos''' of the '''Free Council''' (played by ''Nikki6th'')
* '''[[Ruse]]''', '''Acanthus''' of the '''Guardians of the Veil''' (played by ''Lost_Arts'')
* '''[[Michael Walker|Cephisso]]''', '''Moros''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Scutarii'')

==The Setting==
===Overview and Recent History===
Now boasting a population of 2.6 million in the city proper and nearly 7 million throughout the greater metro area, the City of Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Historically the nation's primary hub for the oil and gas industry, the city suffered an economic slump in the wake of the 80s-era oil bust, but soon rebounded after successfully diversifying its economy. Previously ignored by most mages for the first hundred years of its existence in favor of such cities as New Orleans and Miami, after the one-two punches of Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Ike (which Houstonians simply refer to as "the Storm"), Houston has now overtaken New Orleans in the number of mages that base themselves in the city.

There are between forty and fifty mages known to inhabit the Greater Houston Area (as a general rule of thumb, this includes the entire area within a fifteen-mile radius of downtown Houston). The Diamond Orders have thrived in the region since the Second World War, with their first wave of migration beginning with the wartime mobilization, the second wave following the general 60s-era Sun Belt migration and the third wave coinciding with the late 80s tech and financial services booms. The Mysterium and Guardians of the Veil are the dominant Orders, having long since concentrated themselves within such Sleeper institutions as academia, the aerospace industry, law enforcement, public services, and the health care industry. The Silver Ladder and Free Council both maintain visibly active presences in the region, with their cabals working together in a shifting web of alliances and mutual partnerships. Most new self-Awakened mages tend to get scooped up by one of those two Orders, though the Silver Ladder is happy to find another home for those mages who don't fit its ideology. The Free Council boasts a larger number of mages and has thoroughly worked its way into the local telecom and energy industries. The Silver Ladder claims the greater number of cabals and has gained a stranglehold over the region's occult communities; its influence over the local religious activists and social justice organizers is no less pervasive. The Adamantine Arrows keep the lowest profile, apparently having suffered a crippling blow in September 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The Arrows are currently composed of two cabals which concentrate on their own projects and rarely ask assistance from or communicate with the other Orders. The remaining unaligned mages number a little less than a third of the total population and either remain completely aloof from the larger mage community, or maintain loose affiliations with the Free Council.

===Places of Interest===

'''Consilium'''

[[Image: ChapelCourtyard.jpg]]

* The Maxine Gavriel Collection serves as the physical location from which Houston mages coordinate their activites, air disputes, trade favors, etc. Located on a small private estate in the Upper Kirby District owned by the Gavriel family for six generations, the Consilium consists of a small chapel with a capacity of 100 persons, an art gallery displaying the family's private works, a private library containing various occult and historical volumes, a courtyard with a level 4 Hallow, four spirit Guardians and a permanent staff of eight Sleepwalker acolytes loyal to the Gavriel family. The chapel, courtyard and art gallery are open to the public, but only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

'''Y'all Come Back'''

[[Image: Bb.jpg]]

* A bed & breakfast inn with 14 rooms, located in the center of the Hyde Park District and run by the Silver Ladder mage known as Xenios, one of the city's two Heralds. All nonresident mages intending to remain in the city more than 36 hours must ensure that the Hierarch is aware of their presence, with most expected to quarter themselves at Xenios's lodgings unless another resident mage volunteers to provide his own hospitality.

'''Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park'''

[[Image: Waterwall.jpg]]

* Still stubbornly referred to as Transco Park by locals seven years after the 2003 Galleria expansion that reduced it to a third of its former size, the Hines Waterwall Park sits adjacent to the Galleria retail complex in the Uptown District. Though the park is privately owned, it is open to the public from 10am to 10pm. Until recently, the park was used as neutral ground for meetings between Pentacle mages and Seers when face-to-face meetings were necessary.

'''Saxon Tower'''

[[Image: Saxon.jpg]]

* The corporate headquarters of the Saxon Group, the 49-story skyscraper was completed in May 2000. The bottom ten floors are devoted to retail shops and parking, with the next thirty floors containing office space. Floors 40-44 contain a SkyGarden overlooking the north and east, with the remaining floors reserved as private residences for Roderick Saxon and his aides.

'''Eternity Bar'''

[[Image: Eternitybar.jpg]]

* One of the few downtown nightspots consciously targeting the over-30 crowd, the Eternity Bar is frequented by somewhat older mages who still enjoy a wild night. A tri-level venue, the Eternity consists of a small bar at the street level, a rooftop patio and bar, plus a larger lounge and dance floor just below the rooftop level.

'''The Stateroom'''

[[Image: Stateroom.jpg]]

* Billed as Houston's only revolving restaurant and located 24 stories above street-level, the Stateroom Restaurant and lounge tends to be the go-to location when higher-ranking mages wish to impress out-of-towners. The circular structure makes one complete rotation ever 45 minutes, giving an unparalleled view of the surrounding area.

'''Memorial Park'''

[[Image: Obelisk.jpg]]

* Inspired by a dream, in 2003 the sculptor and architect Dion Murdock erected this obelisk atop a 35-foot crest deep within the forests of Memorial Park, a 1500 acre urban park near the Uptown area. Mages later discovered the obelisk straddles a ley line running beneath the park, and marks the centerpoint of a cluster of Hallows that collectively have a rating of 3. During the winter of 2004-2005, the Lightning Razors chased away a nest of vampires that laid claim to the Hallows and have zealously guarded it ever since.

==The Sanctum==

===Melete House===
[[Image: KirbyHouse.jpg]]
* Constructed during the Roaring Twenties, Melete House is the current safehouse and research center for the Scholars of the Lost. Located on the outskirts of the Museum District just south of Highway 59, the structure is guarded only by the spells of obfuscation and layered mystical wards and traps erected by each of the cabal members.

===Sanctum Stats===

* Size 3 (eight-room office building later converted into a private home and art gallery before its acquisition by the cabal)
* Security 3 (protected by mundane locks and burglar bars, plus a set of Indefinite Duration nested wards and traps each rated at Potency 3)
* Library 4 (located in center of upper level; volumes include various grimoires confiscated from enemies, records and maps of global mystical sites, and detailed histories of past Atlantean and mortal sorcerers)
* Hallow 4 (entire library suffused with Mana of Resonance of "studious"; Tass collects in the form of spontaneously-appearing empty books and pamphlets)

==Cabal Associates==

==NPCs of Interest==

===Ruling Council===
* '''Heirarch''': Renee Gavriel (Mysterium)
* '''Provost Primus''': Julius (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Provost Secundus''': FuX0r (Free Council)
* '''Herald Primus''': Xenios (Silver Ladder)
* '''Herald Secundus''': Jackson Rusk (Silver Ladder)
* '''Sentinel''': Kirpan (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Sentinel''': Marian Made (Mysterium)

===Councilors===
* '''Acanthus''': Laarsen (Silver Ladder) -- Special Projects Coordinator for City Council Member Oreza and primary source of political intelligence to the Consilium
* '''Mastigos''': Logos (Guardians of the Veil) -- leader of the Cui Bono cabal and mentor of Sentinel Kirpan; together with Assita Falls, Logos has discovered or partially initiated nearly one-third of the region's novice Pentacle mages over the last two decades
* '''Moros''': Samael (Mysterium) -- leader of the Verba Non Acta cabal and long-time investigative journalist for the ''Houston Press'' alternative newsweekly
* '''Obrimos''': Hsing Sun (Mysterium) -- the Most Venerable Hsing Sun is the current abbot of Guang Tien Di Temple, leader of the Jing Dao cabal, and a sage of the Perfected Adept Legacy. One of the oldest mages in the Houston area, Hsing Sun maintains one of the largest collections of Eastern Supernal lore in North America.
* '''Thyrsus''': Assita Falls (Silver Ladder) -- leader of the Seven Mercies cabal and administrator of the Jubilee Restoration House, a private outreach organization providing a network of transitioning housing facilities and homeless shelters throughout Greater Houston.

===Diamond Orders===

====Adamantine Arrows====
* '''Fiery Analemma''' -- six mages that were the vanguard of the campaign against the Seers in the Greater Houston area. Withdrew to Galveston after the Storm after suffering major casualties during an assault against a Seer pylon operating near the Port of Houson.

====Guardians of the Veil====
* '''Cui Bono''' -- a self-styled "oversight" cabal dedicated to keeping an eye on newly-Awakened mages and "keeping them out of trouble," Cui Bono also strives to shield Sleepers from any malevolent supernatural influence. Currently guided by the Mastigos mage known as Logos, the Cui Bono mages work closely with leading mages in the region, trading information and other resorces as needed.
* '''Lightning Razors''' -- one of the larger cabals in the region, they are composed of three cells of three martially-focused mages that once worked closely with the Fiery Analemma cabal. Most notorious for pursuing and defeating the Mad One calling himself "Kadmon."

====Mysterium====
* '''Men of Letters''' -- organized by five mages of the Mysterium, the Men of Letters cabal is composed of academics from among the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University. Having recently won acclaim for repelling an incursion of passion spirits on the UST campus, the Men of Letters tend to work alone in order to concentrate on pure research.
* '''Lone Star Environmental LLC''' -- an environmental consulting company started by two mages, normally completing contracts for petrochemical firms and providing additional expertise for academic investigations.

====Silver Ladder====
* '''Thalassa, Magna & Assoc. LLP''' -- a cutthroat PIP law firm founded by Robert Thalassa and Thomasina Magna. Censured for using Awakened Arts to arrange desired outcomes in court, Thalassa and Magna nonetheless evade more adverse action against them by providing pro bono legal assistance to any mage that engages their services.
* '''Staff & Serpent''' -- SAS began eight years ago as a local coed service fraternity on the UH campus. After the original founder-mages graduated, they retained the name for the public policy research institute they organized a few years later. Staff and Serpent works closely with Thalassa and Magna, trading networking resources and research for various legal services including harassment and obstruction of their adversaries.
* '''Jubilee Restoration House''' -- now headed by Councilor Assita Falls after the assassination of its founder Kortikos by the Seers, the four mages working in this private outreach organization help provide vital services for battered women and children, the homeless, and other souls in desperate need.

===Free Council===
* '''4-Tay''' -- a hip-hop collective formed by the rap duo "4-Tay" and their Sleeper associates. Constant touring keeps them in touch with other Awakened mages throughout the South.
* '''Raditek Consultants''' -- a private firm providing IT and engineering consulting services along with temporary staffing services, started by three mages just out of college.

===Left-Hand Path Mages===
* '''Order of the Bennu''' -- reclusive sect of eight mages and non-Awakened sorcerers reported to use an Ancient Egyptian praxis. Content to stay near their communal waterfront property near the Bear Creek Reservoir, the Order has to date avoided sanction from the Consilium, though they resist any and all attempts at intrusion and surveillance with a combination of mundane technology and powerful Mind and Spirit countermagics.

===Seers of the Throne===
* '''Roderick Saxon''' -- a defector from the Mysterium, Roderick Saxon is the CEO and owner of the Saxon Group, a multinational real estate corporation that is one of the top five managers of office and residential property in the South. The Ruling Council has attempted multiple assassinations of the traitor, but as Saxon rarely leaves the tower which serves as his home and corporate headquarters and is a Master of Fate and Prime, all have failed.

===Banishers and Mad Ones===
* '''"IX"'''
* '''Kadmon'''

===Unaligned and Solitaries===
* '''Alessandro Ficino''' -- former UH communications professor and Silver Ladder renunciate who wages a vengeful hacktivist crusade against hate groups and other extremists
* '''Haroun''' -- forensic analyst and disciple of Samael with potent skill in alchemical and Enochian arts
* '''Fleur de Noire''' -- trio of transgendered mages notable for their expertise in divination and fateweaving
* '''Black Fist''' -- self-styled "professional gadfly" and performance artist who regularly stages demonstrations and protests on behalf of illegal immigrants and other social outcasts

===Sleepers===
* '''Saul Gavriel''' -- chief of staff of the Gavriel Collection
* '''Simon Gavriel''' -- liaison to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
* '''Lluvia Oreza''' -- Houston City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee
* '''Special Agent Etta Battles''' -- Special Agent Battles cut her teeth in counterterrorism and white collar crime investigation. After her promotion to SAC of the Houston FBI Field Office two years ago, Battles proved an able commander and coordinator of the eighteen month probe of AZB Associates.
* '''Sgt. Jonathan Core''' -- HPD patrolman placed on medical leave after reporting an assault by "blood-drinking skinhead freaks"
* '''Francisco Reyes''' -- minister of the Promise House, a nondenominational agency providing shelter and counseling services to homeless and runaway youths
* '''An Shen-Li''' -- music promoter affiliated with the 4-Tay collective

==Local Rumors and Legends==
* A suspected serial killer is stalking the Sharpstown and Neartown areas, with police blaming four ritualistic murders on the killer over the last three months based on the Roman numeral "IX" branded on the back of the victims' necks. So far the victims were all last seen within a few blocks of either the Botanica Eleggua yerberia or the Magick Cauldron pagan supply store.
* Black Fist, the flamboyant Solitary mage formerly associated with the Fiery Analemma cabal, has been spreading whispers to the effect that the Arrows are preparing to emerge from seclusion.
* Younger mages in Southeast Houston report signs of a massive abrasion of the Gauntlet near Ellington Airport, the airfield formerly used by the US Air Force.
* Majority stockholder and AZB chairman Aydin Arvin has gone into hiding days after federal agents raided the AZB home office. Financial analysts predict that the real estate magnate Roderick Saxon will acquire all AZB assets if the company goes into bankruptcy. AZB held the leases on hundreds of acres of retail and residential properties in Pasadena, South Houston, Downtown and the Medical Center.
* Copies of the mysterious recording known as the '''Hildebrandt Tape''' are circulating through the Houston underground. Some report that the last three owners of the Tape have either been committed or have attempted suicide.
* Horakhty, the shadowy leader of the Order of the Bennu cabal, is quietly searching for a lost text known as the '''Book of the Luminous Ib'''. Some report that the Order will pay as much as twenty pawns of Tass for the text.
* Graffiti defacing a mural on the University of St. Thomas campus: "''KADMON BECOMES/OMNIA MUTANTUR/NIHIL INTERIT''." Concerned that this may mark the return of the Mad sorcerer Kadmon (whom the Council insisted had been destroyed in the series of magical battles of the nights following the Storm), Heirarch Gavriel has ordered Sentinel Marian Made to investigate, with the authority to "deputize" any mages as she sees fit.

==Misc Info==
===Character Creation===
* Choose a Path and Order
* Attributes: 9/8/7, +1 dot Favored Resistance trait
* Skills: 14/10/7
* Skill Specialties: 5
* Arcana: 9 dots, +1 dot Favored Arcanum (none rated higher than 4)
* Rotes: 12 dots
* Gnosis: 4
* Merits: 13 dots
* Mana = Wisdom = Resolve + Composure
* Choose Virtue/Vice
* Choose Nimbus, magical tools and flesh out magical style

===House Rules===

* I'm using the "To the Limit" rule from '''Tome of the Mysteries''' p.168-169, which allows mages to cast an improvised spell of one dot higher ranking than normal, if the mage has at least one dot in all of the Arcana necessary to complete the spell. Base casting pool will always be Gnosis + Arcanum, but the mage must spend one Willpower point in order to complete the casting. Also, the spell is automatically vulgar, and three additional dice will be added to the Paradox roll (which can still be reduced as normal by using magical tools or spending Mana). The Duration of any Paradox manifestations will be applied as normal.

* When using a rote, the Base Paradox Dice Pool as detailed on p.123 of the corebook is reduced by an additional die. So, a mage with Gnosis 3 or 4 will normally not roll for Paradox when casting by rote, while a mage with Gnosis 7 or 8 will have a base Paradox pool of 2 dice in a similar situation. Paradox dice can still be increased by making subsequent castings within the same scene, being in the presence of Sleeper witnesses, etc.

* Havoc and Branding will be the most common results of Paradox. Bedlam, Anomalies and Manifestations will appear only with Paradox die rolls of 4+ successes, but the kind of result and its nature is totally given over to the whim of the GM.

* When attempting to contain Paradox within his own body in a backlash, the character must roll Willpower. Successes on the roll allow the mage to absorb points of Paradox bashing damage on a one-to-one basis. Failure on the roll invokes a Havoc Paradox.

* Human sacrifice gains a number of Mana points up to the victim's Wisdom/Morality rather than Health.

* Arcane XP can be used to increase Arcana as well as Gnosis.

* Special Skill note: 
** The Occult skill functions on two levels. The first level measures general Sleeper occult lore, including stage magic, non-Awakened sorcery, and general Sleeper mysticism. The second covers rudimentary knowledge regarding other supernatural creatures. To gain more detailed knowledge regarding supernatural creatures, the character must already have a Specialty in that creature, or perform research and investigation during play to gain it.

* After the game starts, XP cost for acquiring new rotes will be one point per dot.

* Spell Tolerance = Stamina + 2, as opposed to Stamina + 1. Enchanted or imbued items carried by a mage will not count toward his Spell Tolerance limit.

* The "Arcana Mastery" chart on p.76 of the corebook will be ignored.

* PCs effectively possess two dots of Consilium Status and two dots of Order Status, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

* The PC cabal controls a level 4 Hallow and Sanctum pool of 6 dots, with a Library rated at 4 dots.

* Hallows generate their level in Tass and twice their level in Mana each day--i.e., a level 4 Hallow generates 8 points of Mana in addition to 4 points of Tass. However, Mana from a Hallow cannot be transferred directly to a Mage without the use of Prime 3 (thus, oblations will not replenish Mana unless the character has learned a Legacy) except by consuming the Tass itself in some fashion.

Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters

2011-04-06T08:36:08Z

Kastowt:

[[Category:Mage:_The_Awakening]][[Category:PBP]]
<center>'''''Twenty-Five Lighters''''' 
'''''Featuring the Scholars of the Lost'''''

[[Image: Htown-eclipse.jpg]]

''A Storytelling Campaign of Ambition and Passion set in Houston, Texas''

Run by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?u=6778 Martys] on the RPGnet Forums</center>

==Thread Info==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?568172-GM-Wanted-nWoD-anyone Recruitment]
* OOC
* IC

==The Scholars of the Lost==

* '''[[John Barabus]]''', '''Mastigos''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Phigment'')
* '''[[Hailey Desmond|Diamondback]]''', '''Thyrsus''' of the '''Mysterium''' (played by ''Zato-2TWO'')
* '''[[Locke]]''', '''Obrimos''' of the '''Free Council''' (played by ''Nikki6th'')
* '''[[Ruse]]''', '''Acanthus''' of the '''Guardians of the Veil''' (played by ''Lost_Arts'')
* '''[[Michael Walker|Cephisso]]''', '''Moros''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Scutarii'')

==The Setting==
===Overview and Recent History===
Now boasting a population of 2.6 million in the city proper and nearly 7 million throughout the greater metro area, the City of Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Historically the nation's primary hub for the oil and gas industry, the city suffered an economic slump in the wake of the 80s-era oil bust, but soon rebounded after successfully diversifying its economy. Previously ignored by most mages for the first hundred years of its existence in favor of such cities as New Orleans and Miami, after the one-two punches of Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Ike (which Houstonians simply refer to as "the Storm"), Houston has now overtaken New Orleans in the number of mages that base themselves in the city.

There are between forty and fifty mages known to inhabit the Greater Houston Area (as a general rule of thumb, this includes the entire area within a fifteen-mile radius of downtown Houston). The Diamond Orders have thrived in the region since the Second World War, with their first wave of migration beginning with the wartime mobilization, the second wave following the general 60s-era Sun Belt migration and the third wave coinciding with the late 80s tech and financial services booms. The Mysterium and Guardians of the Veil are the dominant Orders, having long since concentrated themselves within such Sleeper institutions as academia, the aerospace industry, law enforcement, public services, and the health care industry. The Silver Ladder and Free Council both maintain visibly active presences in the region, with their cabals working together in a shifting web of alliances and mutual partnerships. Most new self-Awakened mages tend to get scooped up by one of those two Orders, though the Silver Ladder is happy to find another home for those mages who don't fit its ideology. The Free Council boasts a larger number of mages and has thoroughly worked its way into the local telecom and energy industries. The Silver Ladder claims the greater number of cabals and has gained a stranglehold over the region's occult communities; its influence over the local religious activists and social justice organizers is no less pervasive. The Adamantine Arrows keep the lowest profile, apparently having suffered a crippling blow in September 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The Arrows are currently composed of two cabals which concentrate on their own projects and rarely ask assistance from or communicate with the other Orders. The remaining unaligned mages number a little less than a third of the total population and either remain completely aloof from the larger mage community, or maintain loose affiliations with the Free Council.

===Places of Interest===

'''Consilium'''

[[Image: ChapelCourtyard.jpg]]

* The Maxine Gavriel Collection serves as the physical location from which Houston mages coordinate their activites, air disputes, trade favors, etc. Located on a small private estate in the Upper Kirby District owned by the Gavriel family for six generations, the Consilium consists of a small chapel with a capacity of 100 persons, an art gallery displaying the family's private works, a private library containing various occult and historical volumes, a courtyard with a level 4 Hallow, four spirit Guardians and a permanent staff of eight Sleepwalker acolytes loyal to the Gavriel family. The chapel, courtyard and art gallery are open to the public, but only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

'''Y'all Come Back'''

[[Image: Bb.jpg]]

* A bed & breakfast inn with 14 rooms, located in the center of the Hyde Park District and run by the Silver Ladder mage known as Xenios, one of the city's two Heralds. All nonresident mages intending to remain in the city more than 36 hours must ensure that the Hierarch is aware of their presence, with most expected to quarter themselves at Xenios's lodgings unless another resident mage volunteers to provide his own hospitality.

'''Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park'''

[[Image: Waterwall.jpg]]

* Still stubbornly referred to as Transco Park by locals seven years after the 2003 Galleria expansion that reduced it to a third of its former size, the Hines Waterwall Park sits adjacent to the Galleria retail complex in the Uptown District. Though the park is privately owned, it is open to the public from 10am to 10pm. Until recently, the park was used as neutral ground for meetings between Pentacle mages and Seers when face-to-face meetings were necessary.

'''Saxon Tower'''

[[Image: Saxon.jpg]]

* The corporate headquarters of the Saxon Group, the 49-story skyscraper was completed in May 2000. The bottom ten floors are devoted to retail shops and parking, with the next thirty floors containing office space. Floors 40-44 contain a SkyGarden overlooking the north and east, with the remaining floors reserved as private residences for Roderick Saxon and his aides.

'''Eternity Bar'''

[[Image: Eternitybar.jpg]]

* One of the few downtown nightspots consciously targeting the over-30 crowd, the Eternity Bar is frequented by somewhat older mages who still enjoy a wild night. A tri-level venue, the Eternity consists of a small bar at the street level, a rooftop patio and bar, plus a larger lounge and dance floor just below the rooftop level.

'''The Stateroom'''

[[Image: Stateroom.jpg]]

* Billed as Houston's only revolving restaurant and located 24 stories above street-level, the Stateroom Restaurant and lounge tends to be the go-to location when higher-ranking mages wish to impress out-of-towners. The circular structure makes one complete rotation ever 45 minutes, giving an unparalleled view of the surrounding area.

'''Memorial Park'''

[[Image: Obelisk.jpg]]

* Inspired by a dream, in 2003 the sculptor and architect Dion Murdock erected this obelisk atop a 35-foot crest deep within the forests of Memorial Park, a 1500 acre urban park near the Uptown area. Mages later discovered the obelisk straddles a ley line running beneath the park, and marks the centerpoint of a cluster of Hallows that collectively have a rating of 3. During the winter of 2004-2005, the Lightning Razors chased away a nest of vampires that laid claim to the Hallows and have zealously guarded it ever since.

==The Sanctum==

===Melete House===
[[Image: KirbyHouse.jpg]]
* Constructed during the Roaring Twenties, Melete House is the current safehouse and research center for the Scholars of the Lost. Located on the outskirts of the Museum District just south of Highway 59, the structure is guarded only by the spells of obfuscation and layered mystical wards and traps erected by each of the cabal members.

===Sanctum Stats===

* Size 3 (eight-room office building later converted into a private home and art gallery before its acquisition by the cabal)
* Security 3 (protected by mundane locks and burglar bars, plus a set of Indefinite Duration nested wards and traps each rated at Potency 3)
* Library 4 (located in center of upper level; volumes include various grimoires confiscated from enemies, records and maps of global mystical sites, and detailed histories of past Atlantean and mortal sorcerers)
* Hallow 4 (entire library suffused with Mana of Resonance of "studious"; Tass collects in the form of spontaneously-appearing empty books and pamphlets)

==Cabal Associates==

==NPCs of Interest==

===Ruling Council===
* '''Heirarch''': Renee Gavriel (Mysterium)
* '''Provost Primus''': Julius (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Provost Secundus''': FuX0r (Free Council)
* '''Herald Primus''': Xenios (Silver Ladder)
* '''Herald Secundus''': Jackson Rusk (Silver Ladder)
* '''Sentinel''': Kirpan (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Sentinel''': Marian Made (Mysterium)

===Councilors===
* '''Acanthus''': Laarsen (Silver Ladder) -- Special Projects Coordinator for City Council Member Oreza and primary source of political intelligence to the Consilium
* '''Mastigos''': Logos (Guardians of the Veil) -- leader of the Cui Bono cabal and mentor of Sentinel Kirpan; together with Assita Falls, Logos has discovered or partially initiated nearly one-third of the region's novice Pentacle mages over the last two decades
* '''Moros''': Samael (Mysterium) -- leader of the Verba Non Acta cabal and long-time investigative journalist for the ''Houston Press'' alternative newsweekly
* '''Obrimos''': Hsing Sun (Mysterium) -- the Most Venerable Hsing Sun is the current abbot of Guang Tien Di Temple, leader of the Jing Dao cabal, and a sage of the Perfected Adept Legacy. One of the oldest mages in the Houston area, Hsing Sun maintains one of the largest collections of Eastern Supernal lore in North America.
* '''Thyrsus''': Assita Falls (Silver Ladder) -- leader of the Seven Mercies cabal and administrator of the Jubilee Restoration House, a private outreach organization providing a network of transitioning housing facilities and homeless shelters throughout Greater Houston.

===Diamond Orders===

====Adamantine Arrows====
* '''Fiery Analemma''' -- six mages that were the vanguard of the campaign against the Seers in the Greater Houston area. Withdrew to Galveston after the Storm after suffering major casualties during an assault against a Seer pylon operating near the Port of Houson.

====Guardians of the Veil====
* '''Cui Bono''' -- a self-styled "oversight" cabal dedicated to keeping an eye on newly-Awakened mages and "keeping them out of trouble," Cui Bono also strives to shield Sleepers from any malevolent supernatural influence. Currently guided by the Mastigos mage known as Logos, the Cui Bono mages work closely with leading mages in the region, trading information and other resorces as needed.
* '''Lightning Razors''' -- one of the larger cabals in the region, they are composed of three cells of three martially-focused mages that once worked closely with the Fiery Analemma cabal. Most notorious for pursuing and defeating the Mad One calling himself "Kadmon."

====Mysterium====
* '''Men of Letters''' -- organized by five mages of the Mysterium, the Men of Letters cabal is composed of academics from among the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University. Having recently won acclaim for repelling an incursion of passion spirits on the UST campus, the Men of Letters tend to work alone in order to concentrate on pure research.
* '''Lone Star Environmental LLC''' -- an environmental consulting company started by two mages, normally completing contracts for petrochemical firms and providing additional expertise for academic investigations.

====Silver Ladder====
* '''Thalassa, Magna & Assoc. LLP''' -- a cutthroat PIP law firm founded by Robert Thalassa and Thomasina Magna. Censured for using Awakened Arts to arrange desired outcomes in court, Thalassa and Magna nonetheless evade more adverse action against them by providing pro bono legal assistance to any mage that engages their services.
* '''Staff & Serpent''' -- SAS began eight years ago as a local coed service fraternity on the UH campus. After the original founder-mages graduated, they retained the name for the public policy research institute they organized a few years later. Staff and Serpent works closely with Thalassa and Magna, trading networking resources and research for various legal services including harassment and obstruction of their adversaries.
* '''Jubilee Restoration House''' -- now headed by Councilor Assita Falls after the assassination of its founder Kortikos by the Seers, the four mages working in this private outreach organization help provide vital services for battered women and children, the homeless, and other souls in desperate need.

===Free Council===
* '''4-Tay''' -- a hip-hop collective formed by the rap duo "4-Tay" and their Sleeper associates. Constant touring keeps them in touch with other Awakened mages throughout the South.
* '''Raditek Consultants''' -- a private firm providing IT and engineering consulting services along with temporary staffing services, started by three mages just out of college.

===Left-Hand Path Mages===
* '''Order of the Bennu''' -- reclusive sect of eight mages and non-Awakened sorcerers reported to use an Ancient Egyptian praxis. Content to stay near their communal waterfront property near the Bear Creek Reservoir, the Order has to date avoided sanction from the Consilium, though they resist any and all attempts at intrusion and surveillance with a combination of mundane technology and powerful Mind and Spirit countermagics.

===Seers of the Throne===
* '''Roderick Saxon''' -- a defector from the Mysterium, Roderick Saxon is the CEO and owner of the Saxon Group, a multinational real estate corporation that is one of the top five managers of office and residential property in the South. The Ruling Council has attempted multiple assassinations of the traitor, but as Saxon rarely leaves the tower which serves as his home and corporate headquarters and is a Master of Fate and Prime, all have failed.

===Banishers and Mad Ones===
* '''"IX"'''
* '''Kadmon'''

===Unaligned and Solitaries===
* '''Alessandro Ficino''' -- former UH communications professor and Silver Ladder renunciate who wages a vengeful hacktivist crusade against hate groups and other extremists
* '''Haroun''' -- forensic analyst and disciple of Samael with potent skill in alchemical and Enochian arts
* '''Fleur de Noire''' -- trio of transgendered mages notable for their expertise in divination and fateweaving
* '''Black Fist''' -- self-styled "professional gadfly" and performance artist who regularly stages demonstrations and protests on behalf of illegal immigrants and other social outcasts

===Sleepers===
* '''Saul Gavriel''' -- chief of staff of the Gavriel Collection
* '''Simon Gavriel''' -- liaison to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
* '''Lluvia Oreza''' -- Houston City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee
* '''Special Agent Etta Battles''' -- Special Agent Battles cut her teeth in counterterrorism and white collar crime investigation. After her promotion to SAC of the Houston FBI Field Office two years ago, Battles proved an able commander and coordinator of the eighteen month probe of AZB Associates.
* '''Sgt. Jonathan Core''' -- HPD patrolman placed on medical leave after reporting an assault by "blood-drinking skinhead freaks"
* '''Francisco Reyes''' -- minister of the Promise House, a nondenominational agency providing shelter and counseling services to homeless and runaway youths
* '''An Shen-Li''' -- music promoter affiliated with the 4-Tay collective

==Local Rumors and Legends==
* A suspected serial killer is stalking the Sharpstown and Neartown areas, with police blaming four ritualistic murders on the killer over the last three months based on the Roman numeral "IX" branded on the back of the victims' necks. So far the victims were all last seen within a few blocks of either the Botanica Eleggua yerberia or the Magick Cauldron pagan supply store.
* Black Fist, the flamboyant Solitary mage formerly associated with the Fiery Analemma cabal, has been spreading whispers to the effect that the Arrows are preparing to emerge from seclusion.
* Younger mages in Southeast Houston report signs of a massive abrasion of the Gauntlet near Ellington Airport, the airfield formerly used by the US Air Force.
* Majority stockholder and AZB chairman Aydin Arvin has gone into hiding days after federal agents raided the AZB home office. Financial analysts predict that the real estate magnate Roderick Saxon will acquire all AZB assets if the company goes into bankruptcy. AZB held the leases on hundreds of acres of retail and residential properties in Pasadena, South Houston, Downtown and the Medical Center.
* Copies of the mysterious recording known as the '''Hildebrandt Tape''' are circulating through the Houston underground. Some report that the last three owners of the Tape have either been committed or have attempted suicide.
* Horakhty, the shadowy leader of the Order of the Bennu cabal, is quietly searching for a lost text known as the '''Book of the Luminous Ib'''. Some report that the Order will pay as much as twenty pawns of Tass for the text.
* Graffiti defacing a mural on the University of St. Thomas campus: "''KADMON BECOMES/OMNIA MUTANTUR/NIHIL INTERIT''." Concerned that this may mark the return of the Mad sorcerer Kadmon (whom the Council insisted had been destroyed in the series of magical battles of the nights following the Storm), Heirarch Gavriel has ordered Sentinel Marian Made to investigate, with the authority to "deputize" any mages as she sees fit.

==Misc Info==
===Character Creation===
* Choose a Path and Order
* Attributes: 9/8/7, +1 dot Favored Resistance trait
* Skills: 14/10/7
* Skill Specialties: 5
* Arcana: 9 dots, +1 dot Favored Arcanum (none rated higher than 4)
* Rotes: 12 dots
* Gnosis: 4
* Merits: 13 dots
* Mana = Wisdom = Resolve + Composure
* Choose Virtue/Vice
* Choose Nimbus, magical tools and flesh out magical style

===House Rules===

* I'm using the "To the Limit" rule from '''Tome of the Mysteries''' p.168-169, which allows mages to cast an improvised spell of one dot higher ranking than normal, if the mage has at least one dot in all of the Arcana necessary to complete the spell. Base casting pool will always be Gnosis + Arcanum, but the mage must spend one Willpower point in order to complete the casting. Also, the spell is automatically vulgar, and three additional dice will be added to the Paradox roll (which can still be reduced as normal by using magical tools or spending Mana). The Duration of any Paradox manifestations will be applied as normal.

* When using a rote, the Base Paradox Dice Pool as detailed on p.123 of the corebook is reduced by an additional die. So, a mage with Gnosis 3 or 4 will normally not roll for Paradox when casting by rote, while a mage with Gnosis 7 or 8 will have a base Paradox pool of 2 dice in a similar situation. Paradox dice can still be increased by making subsequent castings within the same scene, being in the presence of Sleeper witnesses, etc.

* Havoc and Branding will be the most common results of Paradox. Bedlam, Anomalies and Manifestations will appear only with Paradox die rolls of 4+ successes, but the kind of result and its nature is totally given over to the whim of the GM.

* When attempting to contain Paradox within his own body in a backlash, the character must roll Willpower. Successes on the roll allow the mage to absorb points of Paradox bashing damage on a one-to-one basis. Failure on the roll invokes a Havoc Paradox.

* Human sacrifice gains a number of Mana points up to the victim's Wisdom/Morality rather than Health.

* Arcane XP can be used to increase Arcana as well as Gnosis.

* Special Skill note: 
** The Occult skill functions on two levels. The first level measures general Sleeper occult lore, including stage magic, non-Awakened sorcery, and general Sleeper mysticism. The second covers rudimentary knowledge regarding other supernatural creatures. To gain more detailed knowledge regarding supernatural creatures, the character must already have a Specialty in that creature, or perform research and investigation during play to gain it.

* After the game starts, XP cost for acquiring new rotes will be one point per dot.

* Spell Tolerance = Stamina + 2, as opposed to Stamina + 1.

* The "Arcana Mastery" chart on p.76 of the corebook will be ignored.

* PCs effectively possess two dots of Consilium Status and two dots of Order Status, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

* The PC cabal controls a level 4 Hallow and Sanctum pool of 6 dots, with a Library rated at 4 dots.

* Hallows generate their level in Tass and twice their level in Mana each day--i.e., a level 4 Hallow generates 8 points of Mana in addition to 4 points of Tass. However, Mana from a Hallow cannot be transferred directly to a Mage without the use of Prime 3 (thus, oblations will not replenish Mana unless the character has learned a Legacy) except by consuming the Tass itself in some fashion.

Locke

2011-04-06T07:11:05Z

Kastowt:

'''Shadow Name''': Locke 
'''Real Name''': Kliment Kuzentsov 
'''Concept''': Human Rights Champion and Scientist 
'''Virtue''':Justice ("We are all given the same birthrights. I make sure they aren't stolen away") 
'''Vice''':Lust ("She'll find me attractive one way or another...") 
'''Path''': Obrimos 
'''Order''': Free Council ("We reach a higher level than the common man by our own desire for discovery. It should follow than that we do not keep the knowledge trapped") 
'''Legacy''': Tamers of Fire 

'''ATTRIBUTES''': 
INT 4 WIT 2 RES 4 
STR 2 DEX 3 STA 2 
PRE 2 MAN 2 COM 3 

'''SKILLS''': 
Academics 3 (research)("Gimme an hour and you'll have more than you ever wanted to know") 
Medicine 3 
Politics 2 , 
Science 5 (Physics, Biology) ("The universe is my favorite animal to examine") 
Athletics 4 (long-distance running) (" 'All the opportunities in the world' he said, but never a car.") 
Brawl 3, 
Survival 3 (Meteorology) ("If I was a weatherman, I'd be the only one with a moneyback guarantee) 
Animal Ken 3, 
Persuasion 4 

'''MERITS''': 
Language 3 (Russian, native speaker) ("No, I have not seen a moose or squirrel, but I belive I just found a wild ass") 
Technophile 1 
Artifact 5 ("Every Door Key"*) ("Lets see where this goes...") 
Striking Looks 4 ("I assure you, Magic has nothing to do with it") 
High Speech, 
Status 2 (Free Council), 
Status 2 (Consilium) 

Artifact: Every Door Key
* A highly adorned metal key--which in practical use can open no door, as it is shaped in the Atlantean symbol for the spell that powers it. Locke keeps it in a dark blue glasses case in his pocket.

'''ARCANA''': 
Forces 4 (favored), Life 4, Prime 2

'''ROTES''': 
"Wrath of the Inferno" (Fiery Transformation): Forces 4 + Life 4 ("Everything burns.") 
"Balm of Flesh" (Healing Heart): Life 3 ("You'll be fine in a second.") 
"Arrow Storm" (Turn Projectile): Forces 3 ("...apparently, imagination counts as an outside force.") 
"Rend the Weave" (Counterspell Prime): Prime 2 ("Not this time.") 

'''WILLPOWER''' 7 
'''WISDOM''' 7 
'''GNOSIS''' 4 
'''MANA''' 7/13 (Max 4 Mana/Turn) 
'''SIZE''' 5 
'''HEALTH''' 7 
'''DEFENSE''' 2 
'''INIT MOD''' 6 
'''SPEED''' 10 
'''ARMOR''' 

'''MAGICAL TOOLS''': Locke focuses his will through an immaculatly cleaned golden writswatch that he wears on the left-hand, which he favors. It's an analog watch, with the symbol for the Free Council at the 12, Atlantis as the 6, and the 10 arcana in alphabetic order. On the back is a personal engraving in Russian, which translates to "A Son Never Forgets"

'''STYLE AND NIMBUS''': during casting, the quiet and calculated Locke changes. A match is struck and the Fire inside is quickly lit. He makes wide stances for air as his body begins to sweat. The immediate area around him warms as he becomes particularly focussed in his casting, and becomes too hot to touch. It is therefore appropriate that his most powerful Rote allows him to become a walking persona of his own passionate flames.

'''APPEARANCE''': Locke is a thin, lean individual, keeping his blonde hair cut short. He wears thin, square, reading glasses that he started wearing in high school. Locke carries two glasses cases, one black for his glasses, and the other navy blue for the Every Door Key. Ever the polite professional, Locke dresses conservativly and in a business manner whenever he's not out in the field, preferring dark suits. When he is on the job, he tends to wear worn jeans and short-sleeved shirts.

'''BACKGROUND''': 
Locke, born Kliment Kuzentsov in the outskirts of Stalingrad shortly before the fall of the USSR, was brought to the United States with his family for a better opportunity of life. His father Dimitri taught him early the benefits of his adoptive country, especially education, government, and religion. Kliment, who went by the Americanized Kyle, found much more interest in the former than the latter. Always a curious and eager mind, he always looked for more information than his teachers could give.

Even through his collegiate years and up until his eventual awakening, the more he understood how the universe worked, the less he understood why. It wasn't until he went to religious studies before the why became clear. The universe worked the way it did because it was willed that way by something beyond the mortal world. He also saw that those who had the desire and understanding could do the same.

The exact moment of his Awakening was sudden and violent, as he was struck by an environmental anomaly of lightning. Scientists and doctors couldn't understand why it happened or how he survived, but Kyle knew all too well. Because he willed it to happen.

Kyle quickly joined the Free Council for being the only one willing to openly share its mysteries and offer the free exchange of ideas. He took the name Locke, to reflect the name John Locke, one of the great Enlightenment Thinkers. Locke also was chosen to become a Tamer of Fire, an ancient legacy bestowed on those worthy of being a Hero. Locke takes up the mantle in a more discrete manner. Having seen the potential someone can rise to with the right opportunities, Locke fights a campaign to give everyone a fair chance at their dreams and to reach their potential, and is passionate advocate for equal human rights. He donates his free time as a teacher, free of charge. He hopes he not only can help the less fortunate, but he hopes to find Sleepwalkers and potential Awakened where others don't look. He also continues to work in the realm of science, trying to discover how Magic can affect evolution and biology. In the realm of Sleeper science, he is experimenting with different means of using natural weather phenomena such as lightning as an energy source.

Locke

2011-04-06T07:08:57Z

Kastowt:

'''Shadow Name''': Locke 
'''Real Name''': Kliment Kuzentsov 
'''Concept''': Human Rights Champion and Scientist 
'''Virtue''':Justice ("We are all given the same birthrights. I make sure they aren't stolen away") 
'''Vice''':Lust ("She'll find me attractive one way or another...") 
'''Path''': Obrimos 
'''Order''': Free Council ("We reach a higher level than the common man by our own desire for discovery. It should follow than that we do not keep the knowledge trapped") 
'''Legacy''': Tamers of Fire 

'''ATTRIBUTES''': 
INT 4 WIT 2 RES 4 
STR 2 DEX 3 STA 2 
PRE 2 MAN 2 COM 3 

'''SKILLS''': 
Academics 3 (research)("Gimme an hour and you'll have more than you ever wanted to know") 
Medicine 3 
Politics 2 , 
Science 5 (Physics, Biology) ("The universe is my favorite animal to examine") 
Athletics 4 (long-distance running) (" 'All the opportunities in the world' he said, but never a car.") 
Brawl 3, 
Survival 3 (Meteorology) ("If I was a weatherman, I'd be the only one with a moneyback guarantee) 
Animal Ken 3, 
Persuasion 4 

'''MERITS''': 
Language 3 (Russian, native speaker) ("No, I have not seen a moose or squirrel, but I belive I just found a wild ass") 
Technophile 1 
Artifact 5 ("Every Door Key"*) ("Lets see where this goes...") 
Striking Looks 4 ("I assure you, Magic has nothing to do with it") 
High Speech, 
Status 2 (Free Council), 
Status 2 (Consilium) 

Artifact: Every Door Key
* A highly adorned metal key, which in practical use it could open no door, as it is made in the Atlantean symbol for the spell that powers it. Locke keeps it in a dark blue glasses case in his pocket.

'''ARCANA''': 
Forces 4 (favored), Life 4, Prime 2

'''ROTES''': 
"Wrath of the Inferno" (Fiery Transformation): Forces 4 + Life 4 ("Everything burns.") 
"Balm of Flesh" (Healing Heart): Life 3 ("You'll be fine in a second.") 
"Arrow Storm" (Turn Projectile): Forces 3 ("...apparently, imagination counts as an outside force.") 
"Rend the Weave" (Counterspell Prime): Prime 2 ("Not this time.") 

'''WILLPOWER''' 7 
'''WISDOM''' 7 
'''GNOSIS''' 4 
'''MANA''' 7/13 (Max 4 Mana/Turn) 
'''SIZE''' 5 
'''HEALTH''' 7 
'''DEFENSE''' 2 
'''INIT MOD''' 6 
'''SPEED''' 10 
'''ARMOR''' 

'''MAGICAL TOOLS''': Locke focuses his will through an immaculatly cleaned golden writswatch that he wears on the left-hand, which he favors. It's an analog watch, with the symbol for the Free Council at the 12, Atlantis as the 6, and the 10 arcana in alphabetic order. On the back is a personal engraving in Russian, which translates to "A Son Never Forgets"

'''STYLE AND NIMBUS''': during casting, the quiet and calculated Locke changes. A match is struck and the Fire inside is quickly lit. He makes wide stances for air as his body begins to sweat. The immediate area around him warms as he becomes particularly focussed in his casting, and becomes too hot to touch. It is therefore appropriate that his most powerful Rote allows him to become a walking persona of his own passionate flames.

'''APPEARANCE''': Locke is a thin, lean individual, keeping his blonde hair cut short. He wears thin, square, reading glasses that he started wearing in high school. Locke carries two glasses cases, one black for his glasses, and the other navy blue for the Every Door Key. Ever the polite professional, Locke dresses conservativly and in a business manner whenever he's not out in the field, preferring dark suits. When he is on the job, he tends to wear worn jeans and short-sleeved shirts.

'''BACKGROUND''': 
Locke, Born Kliment Kuzentsov in the outskirts of Stalingrad shortly before the fall of the USSR, was brought to the United States with his family for a better opportunity of life. His father Dimitri taught him early the benefits of his adoptive country, especially education, government, and religion. Kliment, who went by the Americanized Kyle, found much more interest in the former than the latter. Always a curious and eager mind, he always looked for more information than his teachers could give.

Even through his collegiate years and up until his eventual awakening, the more he understood how the universe worked, the less he understood why. It wasn't until he went to religious studies before the why became clear. The universe worked the way it did because it was willed that way by something beyond the mortal world. He also saw that those who had the desire and understanding could do the same.

The exact moment of his Awakening was sudden and violent, as he was struck by an environmental anomaly of lightning. Scientists and doctors couldn't understand why it happened or how he survived, but Kyle knew all too well. Because he willed it to happen.

Kyle quickly joined the Free Council for being the only one willing to openly share its mysteries and offer the free exchange of ideas. He took the name Locke, to reflect the name John Locke, one of the great Enlightenment Thinkers. Locke also was chosen to become a Tamer of Fire, an ancient legacy bestowed on those worthy of being a Hero. Locke takes up the mantle in a more discrete manner. Having seen the potential someone can rise to with the right opportunities, Locke fights a campaign to give everyone a fair chance at their dreams and to reach their potential, and is passionate advocate for equal human rights. He donates his free time as a teacher, free of charge. He hopes he not only can help the less fortunate, but he hopes to find Sleepwalkers and potential Awakened where others don't look. He also continues to work in the realm of science, trying to discover how Magic can affect evolution and biology. In the realm of Sleeper science, he is experimenting with different means of using natural weather phenomena such as lightning as an energy source.

John Barabus

2011-04-06T06:55:15Z

Kastowt:

'''SHADOW NAME''': John Barabus 
'''PATH''': Mastigos 
'''ORDER''': Silver Ladder 
'''VIRTUE''': Faith 
'''VICE''': Greed

'''ATTRIBUTES''' 
Int 4, Wit 3, Res 3 
Str 2, Dex 2, Sta 3 
Prs 2, Man 3, Com 3

'''SKILLS''' 
Academics 4 (Ancient History), Computers 1 (research), Investigation 3, Occult 4, Politics 1, Science 1 
Athletics 1, Brawl 1, Drive 1, Firearms 1, Larceny 2, Stealth 1, Survival 2, Weaponry 1 
Expression 2 (Educational Presentations), Persuasion 2, Socialize 2 (Formal events), Subterfuge 1 (Negotiating for historical objects)

'''WILLPOWER''' 6 
'''SIZE''' 5 
'''HEALTH''' 7 
'''DEFENSE''' 2 
'''INIT MOD''' 5 
'''WISDOM''' 7 
'''GNOSIS''': 4

'''ARCANA''': 
Mind 2, Space 4, Spirit 1, Time 3

'''MERITS''': 
Resources 4 (Personal wealth supplemented with museum income), Language 4 (1 dot each in Latin, Arabic, Hindi, and ancient Greek), Direction Sense 1, Artifact 4 (The Speaking Stick. This is a three-foot walking stick made of a dark wood, with brass-capped ends. Close examination shows it to be intricately carved with runes of Atlantean High Speech, although only mages are likely to be able to recognize them as such. It is vastly older than it appears, and does not speak. Rather, it adds weight to words the mage holding it speaks. If a mage places a hand on each brass end and speaks a promise, he is bound to it, as the Fate 2 spell "Swearing an Oath". John carries it like a cane, which is clearly an affection as he has no problem walking, and uses it to point at things.), Order Status 2 (Silver Ladder), Consilium Status 2, High Speech

'''MAGICAL TOOLS''':

'''NIMBUS'''

'''ROTES''': 
"Thinking For Many" (One Mind, Two Thoughts): Mind 1 
"Eyes on the Prize" (Finder): Space 1 
"Remote Viewing" (Scrying): Space 2 
"Wormhole" (Teleportation): Space 4 
"Gazing Through The Sands" (Postcognition): Time 2 
"Turn Back the Page" (Shifting Sands): Time 3 

'''BACKGROUND''': 
John Barabus is a noted antiquarian and history buff in the Houston area. He acquired a strong education in pre-modern history, but rather than seek a position as an instructor with a university, he found employment with the Houston Museum of Natural Science, designing educational exhibits and presentations for visitors, and sometimes traveling to other museums or historical sites to negotiate the borrowing or purchasing of exhibit materials.

It was on a trip to a shrine in India, planning a potential exhibit about the subcontinent, that he Awakened, after being separated from his guide and wandering in a sort of trance for hours. When his senses returned, he had new insights, the Speaking Stick, and the means, it seemed, to accomplish anything...

Back in Houston, he parlayed his magical talents into a comfortable degree of wealth and a certain amount of prestige and respect at the museum. He still works for the Natural Sciences museum, but on a part-time basis, and in a more ceremonial role, hosting fund-raisers, attending conferences, playing tour guide for VIP visitors, and so forth. The pay is nominal, but it keeps him busy and allows him to stay current in the field, and gives him access to the resources to expand his personal collection of historical artifacts. His house, in fact, is decorated with a collection of ancient bits and pieces of historical debris, none of which are individually especially noteworthy, but which collectively represent a very respectable hoard for a private citizen. Only another antiquarian is likely to recognize or appreciate the unique value of this pottery jar, or that fragment of old masonry, but to the right audience, it plays well. John is always alert to opportunities to add to his personal collection, and not above a little sharp dealing in the process.

John Barabus

2011-04-06T06:54:35Z

Kastowt:

'''SHADOW NAME''': John Barabus 
'''PATH''': Mastigos 
'''ORDER''': Silver Ladder 
'''VIRTUE''': Faith 
'''VICE''': Greed

'''ATTRIBUTES''' 
Int 4, Wit 3, Res 3 
Str 2, Dex 2, Sta 3 
Prs 2, Man 3, Com 3

'''SKILLS''' 
Academics 4 (Ancient History), Computers 1 (research), Investigation 3, Occult 4, Politics 1, Science 1 
Athletics 1, Brawl 1, Drive 1, Firearms 1, Larceny 2, Stealth 1, Survival 2, Weaponry 1 
Expression 2 (Educational Presentations), Persuasion 2, Socialize 2 (Formal events), Subterfuge 1 (Negotiating for historical objects)

'''WILLPOWER''' 6 
'''SIZE''' 5 
'''HEALTH''' 7 
'''DEFENSE''' 2 
'''INIT MOD''' 5 
'''WISDOM''' 7 
'''GNOSIS''': 4

'''ARCANA''': 
Mind 2, Space 4, Spirit 1, Time 3

'''MERITS''': 
Resources 4 (Personal wealth supplemented with museum income), Language 4 (1 dot each in Latin, Arabic, Hindi, and ancient Greek), Direction Sense 1, Artifact 4 (The Speaking Stick. This is a three-foot walking stick made of a dark wood, with brass-capped ends. Close examination shows it to be intricately carved with runes of Atlantean High Speech, although only mages are likely to be able to recognize them as such. It is vastly older than it appears, and does not speak. Rather, it adds weight to words the mage holding it speaks. If a mage places a hand on each brass end and speaks a promise, he is bound to it, as the Fate 2 spell "Swearing an Oath". John carries it like a cane, which is clearly an affection as he has no problem walking, and uses it to point at things.), Order Status 2 (Silver Ladder), Consilium Status 2, High Speech

'''MAGICAL TOOLS''':

'''NIMBUS'''

'''ROTES''': 
"Thinking For Many" (One Mind, Two Thoughts): Mind 1
"Eyes on the Prize" (Finder): Space 1
"Remote Viewing" (Scrying): Space 2
"Wormhole" (Teleportation): Space 4
"Gazing Through The Sands" (Postcognition): Time 2
"Turn Back the Page" (Shifting Sands): Time 3

'''BACKGROUND''': 
John Barabus is a noted antiquarian and history buff in the Houston area. He acquired a strong education in pre-modern history, but rather than seek a position as an instructor with a university, he found employment with the Houston Museum of Natural Science, designing educational exhibits and presentations for visitors, and sometimes traveling to other museums or historical sites to negotiate the borrowing or purchasing of exhibit materials.

It was on a trip to a shrine in India, planning a potential exhibit about the subcontinent, that he Awakened, after being separated from his guide and wandering in a sort of trance for hours. When his senses returned, he had new insights, the Speaking Stick, and the means, it seemed, to accomplish anything...

Back in Houston, he parlayed his magical talents into a comfortable degree of wealth and a certain amount of prestige and respect at the museum. He still works for the Natural Sciences museum, but on a part-time basis, and in a more ceremonial role, hosting fund-raisers, attending conferences, playing tour guide for VIP visitors, and so forth. The pay is nominal, but it keeps him busy and allows him to stay current in the field, and gives him access to the resources to expand his personal collection of historical artifacts. His house, in fact, is decorated with a collection of ancient bits and pieces of historical debris, none of which are individually especially noteworthy, but which collectively represent a very respectable hoard for a private citizen. Only another antiquarian is likely to recognize or appreciate the unique value of this pottery jar, or that fragment of old masonry, but to the right audience, it plays well. John is always alert to opportunities to add to his personal collection, and not above a little sharp dealing in the process.

Hailey Desmond

2011-04-06T06:54:10Z

Kastowt:

'''Shadow Name''': Diamondback 
'''Real Name''': Hailey Desmond 
'''Quote''': "You can grab your books and scoot on home if you want, Doc, but I'm gonna keep digging. I can hear them down below; they're just begging to be found!" 
'''Concept''': Adventure-loving Archaeologist-Spelunker 
'''Virtue''': Hope ("Keep at it, guys! There's something big here, I can feel it!") 
'''Vice''': Lust ("Gosh, is it steamy in here or is it just me?") 
'''Path''': Thyrsus ("You might not hear them, but I do. They say everything'll be alright. Trust me.") 
'''Order''': Mysterium ("You can keep that shiny chalice, but I'll take this dusty slab any day. This one has a story.") 
'''Legacy''': Imagineer ("If you think there's a bunch of stuff in this world that we haven't yet found, think about everything that's beyond this world!") 

'''ATTRIBUTES''' 
INT 2, WIT 4, RES 2 
STR 2, DEX 4, STA 3 
PRE 3, MAN 2, COM 3

'''SKILLS''' 
Academics: 2 
Crafts: 2 (Spec: Repairs "Don't you 'pfft' me! Just gimme the duct tape, I'll figure something out!") 
Investigation: 3 (Spec: Ruins "Hey don't throw that out! That's the corner of the epitaph I was deciphering!") 
Medicine: 3 

Athletics: 2 (Spec: Rocky Landscapes "I can scale that cliff face, no problem.") 
Brawl: 2 
Drive: 3 (Spec: Offroad "Ever surf on a dune before?") 
Firearms: 3 (Spec: Revolvers "One shot is all I need, hon. The other five bullets are there for good luck.") 
Survival: 2 
Weaponry: 2

Animal Ken: 3 
Streetwise: 4

'''MERITS''' 
High Speech, Status 2 (Consilium), Status 2 (Mysterium), Iron Stamina 3, Weapon Finesse 2 (Knives), Direction Sense 1, Enhanced Item 2 (Sunset Coyote), Resources 3, Sanctum Size 1, Sanctum Security 1

'''ARCANA''' 
Spirit 4 (Favored), Life 4, Prime 2

'''ROTES''' 
"Fulfillment" (Supreme Honing): Life 4 (Resolve + Athletics + Life, Vulgar) 
"Balm of Flesh" (Healing Heart): Life 3 (Composure + Medicine + Life, Covert) 
"Into Shadow" (Spirit Road): Spirit 3 (Resolve + Survival + Spirit) 
"Closing the Ways" (Place of Power): Spirit 2 (Resolve + Survival + Spirit)

'''WILLPOWER''' 5 
'''WISDOM''' 7 
'''GNOSIS''' 4 
'''MANA''' 7/13 (Max 4 Mana/Turn) 
'''SIZE''' 5 
'''HEALTH''' 8 
'''DEFENSE''' 4 
'''INIT MOD''': 7 
'''SPEED''' 11 
'''ARMOR''' 0 

'''WEAPON''': Sunset Coyote (Lt. Revolver, Damage 4[L], Range 20/40/80, Clip 6, Req. Str 2, Size 1)
* A .357 Colt Python with a 5-inch barrel, a polished rosewood grip and a gaudy copper finish over its stainless steel frame, Hailey's Sunset Coyote is no less an extremely lethal weapon in the hands of a trained marksman. The Atlantean runes carved into the handle and engraved onto the barrel improve the gun's balance and buffer its recoil such that even a person with Hailey's small stature can handle its kick. When not in use, Hailey keeps it in an extremely decorated velvet-lined rosewood case with the following engraved in gold: ''"When Reason and Civility flee with the setting sun, the Coyote comes a'howling."''

'''MAGICAL TOOLS''':
Hailey's magical implement is an ornate bowie knife with a rosewood handle, decorated in intricate tribal carvings. The back of the blade is inlaid with a strip of brilliant copper that seems to shimmer even when there is no light. (Bowie Knife, 2[L] Damage, Size 1/J, Durability 4, Cost 1, +1 to Crafts involving wood)

'''STYLE AND NIMBUS''': When Hailey performs her magic, she appears to be whispering softly into the air, and the ears of the Awakened can hear a tide of whispers as the air appears to respond to her. Especially powerful magic will produce a quiet roar of many ancient voices, whose words appear upon the air as wisps of smoke centered on Hailey.

'''APPEARANCE''': At home more in the wilderness than in the city, Hailey puts out an image of a modern nomadic girl. Her short chestnut brown hair is short and frayed, her green eyes glisten like natural jade, and her skin maintains a healthy even tan from her many expeditions. A practical, outdoorsy kind of girl, Hailey prefers clothes that are suited for travel; loose, simple cotton clothes, cargo pants or shorts, and any amount of harnesses, backpacks or strapped bags to meet the number of pockets she might need. Usually she is seen with a dusty leather jacket with a shoulder harness for her knife, a cropped white shirt with a harness for her pistol, denim shorts and leather hiking boots.

'''BACKGROUND''':
The daughter of accomplished historical scholar, Gilbert Desmond, Hailey takes after her father's love of ancient lore and past civilizations. While her father's passion is more academic, Hailey prefers the hands-on learning experience, aspiring to become an archeologist. Gilbert's collection or worldly lore was near completion, but he was unable to complete it, passing away only months before Hailey's graduation from college. After Gilbert's death, Hailey was more determined to set out into the world and complete her father's collection herself. When the estate was left to her, she took to spelunking and trained herself physically to traverse vast underground systems; a dramatic departure from student life, Hailey also trained herself in combat and marksmanship, becoming adept at both, and yet dreading the occasion to use them. Over time, Hailey grew into a seasoned explorer, establishing her career as an accomplished adventurer. Absorbed into the success of her expeditions, Hailey had all but abandoned Gilbert's incomplete archive. One night, however, Hailey heard strange whispers about the house. Following the wispy voice cautiously, Hailey was led to Gilbert's study, where the voice led her to some of his unfinished notes, buried deep within the archives. Looking them over, the notes detailed a tomb in Mexico that seemed to alienate itself from any recorded history of that area. After confirming the existence of an underground cave system at the coordinates she extracted from Gilbert's notes, Hailey set off to undergo the expedition she promised she'd do some years ago. 

That summer in Mexico, Hailey confronted a discovery that would change her fate. Deep within the caves beneath Mexico's scorching sun, Hailey dug and dug, hoping to find some hint of the ruins her father wrote about. No matter how far she searched, she found nothing resembling any ruins or tombs within the caverns. And yet, she was compelled to dig; not for the promise of treasure or discovery, but because the ghostly voiced had returned to beckon her to dig deeper. Eventually, she found her way into a deep underground chamber. There were no signs of crafted works, but the shape of the room and the almost ritualistic arrangement of stones suggested an esoteric purpose. Careful not to disrupt the composition, Hailey stepped into the circle of stones, and there she took her first step into the Primal Wilds. Lost in the supernal wilderness, Hailey explored and explored for what seemed to be hours on end until she came upon the great stone spire, the Watchtower of the Stone Book. In its halls, she heard once more the ghostly voice that led her here, this time more clearly. Hailey could not understand its words, but she knew what it asked of her; a promise. Etching her name into the stone of the tower's walls, Hailey chose to expose herself to the world beyond mortality, and thus Awakened. 

When she regained consciousness, she found herself on the surface of Mexico's deserts. The first thing she saw was a diamondback rattlesnake, shedding its skin. It was a good enough sign for Hailey to shed what she knew of the world and begin a new exploration of the Awakened world.

''back to [[Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters]]''

Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters

2011-04-06T05:39:34Z

Kastowt: /* House Rules */

[[Category:Mage:_The_Awakening]][[Category:PBP]]
<center>'''''Twenty-Five Lighters''''' 
'''''Featuring the Scholars of the Lost'''''

[[Image: Htown-eclipse.jpg]]

''A Storytelling Campaign of Ambition and Passion set in Houston, Texas''

Run by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?u=6778 Martys] on the RPGnet Forums</center>

==Thread Info==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?568172-GM-Wanted-nWoD-anyone Recruitment]
* OOC
* IC

==The Scholars of the Lost==

* '''[[John Barabus]]''', '''Mastigos''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Phigment'')
* '''[[Hailey Desmond|Diamondback]]''', '''Thyrsus''' of the '''Mysterium''' (played by ''Zato-2TWO'')
* '''[[Locke]]''', '''Obrimos''' of the '''Free Council''' (played by ''Nikki6th'')
* '''[[Ruse]]''', '''Acanthus''' of the '''Guardians of the Veil''' (played by ''Lost_Arts'')
* '''[[Michael Walker|Cephisso]]''', '''Moros''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Scutarii'')

==The Setting==
===Overview and Recent History===
Now boasting a population of 2.6 million in the city proper and nearly 7 million throughout the greater metro area, the City of Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Historically the nation's primary hub for the oil and gas industry, the city suffered an economic slump in the wake of the 80s-era oil bust, but soon rebounded after successfully diversifying its economy. Previously ignored by most mages for the first hundred years of its existence in favor of such cities as New Orleans and Miami, after the one-two punches of Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Ike (which Houstonians simply refer to as "the Storm"), Houston has now overtaken New Orleans in the number of mages that base themselves in the city.

There are between forty and fifty mages known to inhabit the Greater Houston Area (as a general rule of thumb, this includes the entire area within a fifteen-mile radius of downtown Houston). The Diamond Orders have thrived in the region since the Second World War, with their first wave of migration beginning with the wartime mobilization, the second wave following the general 60s-era Sun Belt migration and the third wave coinciding with the late 80s tech and financial services booms. The Mysterium and Guardians of the Veil are the dominant Orders, having long since concentrated themselves within such Sleeper institutions as academia, the aerospace industry, law enforcement, public services, and the health care industry. The Silver Ladder and Free Council both maintain visibly active presences in the region, with their cabals working together in a shifting web of alliances and mutual partnerships. Most new self-Awakened mages tend to get scooped up by one of those two Orders, though the Silver Ladder is happy to find another home for those mages who don't fit its ideology. The Free Council boasts a larger number of mages and has thoroughly worked its way into the local telecom and energy industries. The Silver Ladder claims the greater number of cabals and has gained a stranglehold over the region's occult communities; its influence over the local religious activists and social justice organizers is no less pervasive. The Adamantine Arrows keep the lowest profile, apparently having suffered a crippling blow in September 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The Arrows are currently composed of two cabals which concentrate on their own projects and rarely ask assistance from or communicate with the other Orders. The remaining unaligned mages number a little less than a third of the total population and either remain completely aloof from the larger mage community, or maintain loose affiliations with the Free Council.

===Places of Interest===

'''Consilium'''

[[Image: ChapelCourtyard.jpg]]

* The Maxine Gavriel Collection serves as the physical location from which Houston mages coordinate their activites, air disputes, trade favors, etc. Located on a small private estate in the Upper Kirby District owned by the Gavriel family for six generations, the Consilium consists of a small chapel with a capacity of 100 persons, an art gallery displaying the family's private works, a private library containing various occult and historical volumes, a courtyard with a level 4 Hallow, four spirit Guardians and a permanent staff of eight Sleepwalker acolytes loyal to the Gavriel family. The chapel, courtyard and art gallery are open to the public, but only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

'''Y'all Come Back'''

[[Image: Bb.jpg]]

* A bed & breakfast inn with 14 rooms, located in the center of the Hyde Park District and run by the Silver Ladder mage known as Xenios, one of the city's two Heralds. All nonresident mages intending to remain in the city more than 36 hours must ensure that the Hierarch is aware of their presence, with most expected to quarter themselves at Xenios's lodgings unless another resident mage volunteers to provide his own hospitality.

'''Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park'''

[[Image: Waterwall.jpg]]

* Still stubbornly referred to as Transco Park by locals seven years after the 2003 Galleria expansion that reduced it to a third of its former size, the Hines Waterwall Park sits adjacent to the Galleria retail complex in the Uptown District. Though the park is privately owned, it is open to the public from 10am to 10pm. Until recently, the park was used as neutral ground for meetings between Pentacle mages and Seers when face-to-face meetings were necessary.

'''Saxon Tower'''

[[Image: Saxon.jpg]]

* The corporate headquarters of the Saxon Group, the 49-story skyscraper was completed in May 2000. The bottom ten floors are devoted to retail shops and parking, with the next thirty floors containing office space. Floors 40-44 contain a SkyGarden overlooking the north and east, with the remaining floors reserved as private residences for Roderick Saxon and his aides.

'''Eternity Bar'''

[[Image: Eternitybar.jpg]]

* One of the few downtown nightspots consciously targeting the over-30 crowd, the Eternity Bar is frequented by somewhat older mages who still enjoy a wild night. A tri-level venue, the Eternity consists of a small bar at the street level, a rooftop patio and bar, plus a larger lounge and dance floor just below the rooftop level.

'''The Stateroom'''

[[Image: Stateroom.jpg]]

* Billed as Houston's only revolving restaurant and located 24 stories above street-level, the Stateroom Restaurant and lounge tends to be the go-to location when higher-ranking mages wish to impress out-of-towners. The circular structure makes one complete rotation ever 45 minutes, giving an unparalleled view of the surrounding area.

'''Memorial Park'''

[[Image: Obelisk.jpg]]

* Inspired by a dream, in 2003 the sculptor and architect Dion Murdock erected this obelisk atop a 35-foot crest deep within the forests of Memorial Park, a 1500 acre urban park near the Uptown area. Mages later discovered the obelisk straddles a ley line running beneath the park, and marks the centerpoint of a cluster of Hallows that collectively have a rating of 3. During the winter of 2004-2005, the Lightning Razors chased away a nest of vampires that laid claim to the Hallows and have zealously guarded it ever since.

==The Sanctum==

===Melete House===
[[Image: KirbyHouse.jpg]]
* Constructed during the Roaring Twenties, Melete House is the current safehouse and research center for the Scholars of the Lost. Located on the outskirts of the Museum District just south of Highway 59, the structure is guarded only by the spells of obfuscation and layered mystical wards and traps erected by each of the cabal members.

===Sanctum Stats===

* Size 3 (eight-room office building later converted into a private home and art gallery before its acquisition by the cabal)
* Security 3 (protected by mundane locks and burglar bars, plus a set of Indefinite Duration nested wards and traps each rated at Potency 3)
* Library 4 (located in center of upper level; volumes include various grimoires confiscated from enemies, records and maps of global mystical sites, and detailed histories of past Atlantean and mortal sorcerers)
* Hallow 4 (entire library suffused with Mana of Resonance of "studious"; Tass collects in the form of spontaneously-appearing empty books and pamphlets)

==Cabal Associates==

==NPCs of Interest==

===Ruling Council===
* '''Heirarch''': Renee Gavriel (Mysterium)
* '''Provost Primus''': Julius (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Provost Secundus''': FuX0r (Free Council)
* '''Herald Primus''': Xenios (Silver Ladder)
* '''Herald Secundus''': Jackson Rusk (Silver Ladder)
* '''Sentinel''': Kirpan (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Sentinel''': Marian Made (Mysterium)

===Councilors===
* '''Acanthus''': Laarsen (Silver Ladder) -- Special Projects Coordinator for City Council Member Oreza and primary source of political intelligence to the Consilium
* '''Mastigos''': Logos (Guardians of the Veil) -- leader of the Cui Bono cabal and mentor of Sentinel Kirpan; together with Assita Falls, Logos has discovered or partially initiated nearly one-third of the region's novice Pentacle mages over the last two decades
* '''Moros''': Samael (Mysterium) -- leader of the Verba Non Acta cabal and long-time investigative journalist for the ''Houston Press'' alternative newsweekly
* '''Obrimos''': Hsing Sun (Mysterium) -- the Most Venerable Hsing Sun is the current abbot of Guang Tien Di Temple, leader of the Jing Dao cabal, and a sage of the Perfected Adept Legacy. One of the oldest mages in the Houston area, Hsing Sun maintains one of the largest collections of Eastern Supernal lore in North America.
* '''Thyrsus''': Assita Falls (Silver Ladder) -- leader of the Seven Mercies cabal and administrator of the Jubilee Restoration House, a private outreach organization providing a network of transitioning housing facilities and homeless shelters throughout Greater Houston.

===Diamond Orders===

====Adamantine Arrows====
* '''Fiery Analemma''' -- six mages that were the vanguard of the campaign against the Seers in the Greater Houston area. Withdrew to Galveston after the Storm after suffering major casualties during an assault against a Seer pylon operating near the Port of Houson.

====Guardians of the Veil====
* '''Cui Bono''' -- a self-styled "oversight" cabal dedicated to keeping an eye on newly-Awakened mages and "keeping them out of trouble," Cui Bono also strives to shield Sleepers from any malevolent supernatural influence. Currently guided by the Mastigos mage known as Logos, the Cui Bono mages work closely with leading mages in the region, trading information and other resorces as needed.
* '''Lightning Razors''' -- one of the larger cabals in the region, they are composed of three cells of three martially-focused mages that once worked closely with the Fiery Analemma cabal. Most notorious for pursuing and defeating the Mad One calling himself "Kadmon."

====Mysterium====
* '''Men of Letters''' -- organized by five mages of the Mysterium, the Men of Letters cabal is composed of academics from among the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University. Having recently won acclaim for repelling an incursion of passion spirits on the UST campus, the Men of Letters tend to work alone in order to concentrate on pure research.
* '''Lone Star Environmental LLC''' -- an environmental consulting company started by two mages, normally completing contracts for petrochemical firms and providing additional expertise for academic investigations.

====Silver Ladder====
* '''Thalassa, Magna & Assoc. LLP''' -- a cutthroat PIP law firm founded by Robert Thalassa and Thomasina Magna. Censured for using Awakened Arts to arrange desired outcomes in court, Thalassa and Magna nonetheless evade more adverse action against them by providing pro bono legal assistance to any mage that engages their services.
* '''Staff & Serpent''' -- SAS began eight years ago as a local coed service fraternity on the UH campus. After the original founder-mages graduated, they retained the name for the public policy research institute they organized a few years later. Staff and Serpent works closely with Thalassa and Magna, trading networking resources and research for various legal services including harassment and obstruction of their adversaries.
* '''Jubilee Restoration House''' -- now headed by Councilor Assita Falls after the assassination of its founder Kortikos by the Seers, the four mages working in this private outreach organization help provide vital services for battered women and children, the homeless, and other souls in desperate need.

===Free Council===
* '''4-Tay''' -- a hip-hop collective formed by the rap duo "4-Tay" and their Sleeper associates. Constant touring keeps them in touch with other Awakened mages throughout the South.
* '''Raditek Consultants''' -- a private firm providing IT and engineering consulting services along with temporary staffing services, started by three mages just out of college.

===Left-Hand Path Mages===
* '''Order of the Bennu''' -- reclusive sect of eight mages and non-Awakened sorcerers reported to use an Ancient Egyptian praxis. Content to stay near their communal waterfront property near the Bear Creek Reservoir, the Order has to date avoided sanction from the Consilium, though they resist any and all attempts at intrusion and surveillance with a combination of mundane technology and powerful Mind and Spirit countermagics.

===Seers of the Throne===
* '''Roderick Saxon''' -- a defector from the Mysterium, Roderick Saxon is the CEO and owner of the Saxon Group, a multinational real estate corporation that is one of the top five managers of office and residential property in the South. The Ruling Council has attempted multiple assassinations of the traitor, but as Saxon rarely leaves the tower which serves as his home and corporate headquarters and is a Master of Fate and Prime, all have failed.

===Banishers and Mad Ones===
* '''"IX"'''
* '''Kadmon'''

===Unaligned and Solitaries===
* '''Alessandro Ficino''' -- former UH communications professor and Silver Ladder renunciate who wages a vengeful hacktivist crusade against hate groups and other extremists
* '''Haroun''' -- forensic analyst and disciple of Samael with potent skill in alchemical and Enochian arts
* '''Fleur de Noire''' -- trio of transgendered mages notable for their expertise in divination and fateweaving
* '''Black Fist''' -- self-styled "professional gadfly" and performance artist who regularly stages demonstrations and protests on behalf of illegal immigrants and other social outcasts

===Sleepers===
* '''Saul Gavriel''' -- chief of staff of the Gavriel Collection
* '''Simon Gavriel''' -- liaison to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
* '''Lluvia Oreza''' -- Houston City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee
* '''Special Agent Etta Battles''' -- Special Agent Battles cut her teeth in counterterrorism and white collar crime investigation. After her promotion to SAC of the Houston FBI Field Office two years ago, Battles proved an able commander and coordinator of the eighteen month probe of AZB Associates.
* '''Sgt. Jonathan Core''' -- HPD patrolman placed on medical leave after reporting an assault by "blood-drinking skinhead freaks"
* '''Francisco Reyes''' -- minister of the Promise House, a nondenominational agency providing shelter and counseling services to homeless and runaway youths
* '''An Shen-Li''' -- music promoter affiliated with the 4-Tay collective

==Local Rumors and Legends==
* A suspected serial killer is stalking the Sharpstown and Neartown areas, with police blaming four ritualistic murders on the killer over the last three months based on the Roman numeral "IX" branded on the back of the victims' necks. So far the victims were all last seen within a few blocks of either the Botanica Eleggua yerberia or the Magick Cauldron pagan supply store.
* Black Fist, the flamboyant Solitary mage formerly associated with the Fiery Analemma cabal, has been spreading whispers to the effect that the Arrows are preparing to emerge from seclusion.
* Younger mages in Southeast Houston report signs of a massive abrasion of the Gauntlet near Ellington Airport, the airfield formerly used by the US Air Force.
* Majority stockholder and AZB chairman Aydin Arvin has gone into hiding days after federal agents raided the AZB home office. Financial analysts predict that the real estate magnate Roderick Saxon will acquire all AZB assets if the company goes into bankruptcy. AZB held the leases on hundreds of acres of retail and residential properties in Pasadena, South Houston, Downtown and the Medical Center.
* Copies of the mysterious recording known as the '''Hildebrandt Tape''' are circulating through the Houston underground. Some report that the last three owners of the Tape have either been committed or have attempted suicide.
* Horakhty, the shadowy leader of the Order of the Bennu cabal, is quietly searching for a lost text known as the '''Book of the Luminous Ib'''. Some report that the Order will pay as much as twenty pawns of Tass for the text.
* Graffiti defacing a mural on the University of St. Thomas campus: "''KADMON BECOMES/OMNIA MUTANTUR/NIHIL INTERIT''." Concerned that this may mark the return of the Mad sorcerer Kadmon (whom the Council insisted had been destroyed in the series of magical battles of the nights following the Storm), Heirarch Gavriel has ordered Sentinel Marian Made to investigate, with the authority to "deputize" any mages as she sees fit.

==Misc Info==
===Character Creation===
* Choose a Path and Order
* Attributes: 9/8/7, +1 dot Favored Resistance trait
* Skills: 14/10/7
* Skill Specialties: 5
* Arcana: 9 dots, +1 dot Favored Arcanum (none rated higher than 4)
* Rotes: 12 dots
* Gnosis: 4
* Merits: 13 dots
* Mana = Wisdom = Resolve + Composure
* Choose Virtue/Vice
* Choose Nimbus, magical tools and flesh out magical style

===House Rules===

* I'm using the "To the Limit" rule from '''Tome of the Mysteries''' p.168-169, which allows mages to cast an improvised spell of one dot higher ranking than normal, if the mage has at least one dot in all of the Arcana necessary to complete the spell. Base casting pool will always be Gnosis + Arcanum, but the mage must spend one Willpower point in order to complete the casting. Also, the spell is automatically vulgar, and three additional dice will be added to the Paradox roll (which can still be reduced as normal by using magical tools or spending Mana). The Duration of any Paradox manifestations will be applied as normal.

* When using a rote, the Base Paradox Dice Pool as detailed on p.123 of the corebook is reduced by an additional die. So, a mage with Gnosis 3 or 4 will normally not roll for Paradox when casting by rote, while a mage with Gnosis 7 or 8 will have a base Paradox pool of 2 dice in a similar situation. Paradox dice can still be increased by making subsequent castings within the same scene, being in the presence of Sleeper witnesses, etc.

* Havoc and Branding will be the most common results of Paradox. Bedlam, Anomalies and Manifestations will appear only with Paradox die rolls of 4+ successes, but the kind of result and its nature is totally given over to the whim of the GM.

* When attempting to contain Paradox within his own body in a backlash, the character must roll Willpower. Successes on the roll allow the mage to absorb points of Paradox bashing damage on a one-to-one basis. Failure on the roll invokes a Havoc Paradox.

* Human sacrifice gains a number of Mana points up to the victim's Wisdom/Morality rather than Health.

* Arcane XP can be used to increase Arcana as well as Gnosis.

* Special Skill note: 
** The Occult skill functions on two levels. The first level measures general Sleeper occult lore, including stage magic, non-Awakened sorcery, and general Sleeper mysticism. The second covers rudimentary knowledge regarding other supernatural creatures. To gain more detailed knowledge regarding supernatural creatures, the character must already have a Specialty in that creature, or perform research and investigation during play to gain it.

* After the game starts, XP cost for acquiring new rotes will be one point per dot.

* Spell Tolerance = Stamina + 2, as opposed to Stamina + 1.

* PCs effectively possess two dots of Consilium Status and two dots of Order Status, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

* The PC cabal controls a level 4 Hallow and Sanctum pool of 6 dots, with a Library rated at 4 dots.

* Hallows generate their level in Tass and twice their level in Mana each day--i.e., a level 4 Hallow generates 8 points of Mana in addition to 4 points of Tass. However, Mana from a Hallow cannot be transferred directly to a Mage without the use of Prime 3 (thus, oblations will not replenish Mana unless the character has learned a Legacy) except by consuming the Tass itself in some fashion.

Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters

2011-04-06T04:34:10Z

Kastowt:

[[Category:Mage:_The_Awakening]][[Category:PBP]]
<center>'''''Twenty-Five Lighters''''' 
'''''Featuring the Scholars of the Lost'''''

[[Image: Htown-eclipse.jpg]]

''A Storytelling Campaign of Ambition and Passion set in Houston, Texas''

Run by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?u=6778 Martys] on the RPGnet Forums</center>

==Thread Info==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?568172-GM-Wanted-nWoD-anyone Recruitment]
* OOC
* IC

==The Scholars of the Lost==

* '''[[John Barabus]]''', '''Mastigos''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Phigment'')
* '''[[Hailey Desmond|Diamondback]]''', '''Thyrsus''' of the '''Mysterium''' (played by ''Zato-2TWO'')
* '''[[Locke]]''', '''Obrimos''' of the '''Free Council''' (played by ''Nikki6th'')
* '''[[Ruse]]''', '''Acanthus''' of the '''Guardians of the Veil''' (played by ''Lost_Arts'')
* '''[[Michael Walker|Cephisso]]''', '''Moros''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Scutarii'')

==The Setting==
===Overview and Recent History===
Now boasting a population of 2.6 million in the city proper and nearly 7 million throughout the greater metro area, the City of Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Historically the nation's primary hub for the oil and gas industry, the city suffered an economic slump in the wake of the 80s-era oil bust, but soon rebounded after successfully diversifying its economy. Previously ignored by most mages for the first hundred years of its existence in favor of such cities as New Orleans and Miami, after the one-two punches of Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Ike (which Houstonians simply refer to as "the Storm"), Houston has now overtaken New Orleans in the number of mages that base themselves in the city.

There are between forty and fifty mages known to inhabit the Greater Houston Area (as a general rule of thumb, this includes the entire area within a fifteen-mile radius of downtown Houston). The Diamond Orders have thrived in the region since the Second World War, with their first wave of migration beginning with the wartime mobilization, the second wave following the general 60s-era Sun Belt migration and the third wave coinciding with the late 80s tech and financial services booms. The Mysterium and Guardians of the Veil are the dominant Orders, having long since concentrated themselves within such Sleeper institutions as academia, the aerospace industry, law enforcement, public services, and the health care industry. The Silver Ladder and Free Council both maintain visibly active presences in the region, with their cabals working together in a shifting web of alliances and mutual partnerships. Most new self-Awakened mages tend to get scooped up by one of those two Orders, though the Silver Ladder is happy to find another home for those mages who don't fit its ideology. The Free Council boasts a larger number of mages and has thoroughly worked its way into the local telecom and energy industries. The Silver Ladder claims the greater number of cabals and has gained a stranglehold over the region's occult communities; its influence over the local religious activists and social justice organizers is no less pervasive. The Adamantine Arrows keep the lowest profile, apparently having suffered a crippling blow in September 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The Arrows are currently composed of two cabals which concentrate on their own projects and rarely ask assistance from or communicate with the other Orders. The remaining unaligned mages number a little less than a third of the total population and either remain completely aloof from the larger mage community, or maintain loose affiliations with the Free Council.

===Places of Interest===

'''Consilium'''

[[Image: ChapelCourtyard.jpg]]

* The Maxine Gavriel Collection serves as the physical location from which Houston mages coordinate their activites, air disputes, trade favors, etc. Located on a small private estate in the Upper Kirby District owned by the Gavriel family for six generations, the Consilium consists of a small chapel with a capacity of 100 persons, an art gallery displaying the family's private works, a private library containing various occult and historical volumes, a courtyard with a level 4 Hallow, four spirit Guardians and a permanent staff of eight Sleepwalker acolytes loyal to the Gavriel family. The chapel, courtyard and art gallery are open to the public, but only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

'''Y'all Come Back'''

[[Image: Bb.jpg]]

* A bed & breakfast inn with 14 rooms, located in the center of the Hyde Park District and run by the Silver Ladder mage known as Xenios, one of the city's two Heralds. All nonresident mages intending to remain in the city more than 36 hours must ensure that the Hierarch is aware of their presence, with most expected to quarter themselves at Xenios's lodgings unless another resident mage volunteers to provide his own hospitality.

'''Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park'''

[[Image: Waterwall.jpg]]

* Still stubbornly referred to as Transco Park by locals seven years after the 2003 Galleria expansion that reduced it to a third of its former size, the Hines Waterwall Park sits adjacent to the Galleria retail complex in the Uptown District. Though the park is privately owned, it is open to the public from 10am to 10pm. Until recently, the park was used as neutral ground for meetings between Pentacle mages and Seers when face-to-face meetings were necessary.

'''Saxon Tower'''

[[Image: Saxon.jpg]]

* The corporate headquarters of the Saxon Group, the 49-story skyscraper was completed in May 2000. The bottom ten floors are devoted to retail shops and parking, with the next thirty floors containing office space. Floors 40-44 contain a SkyGarden overlooking the north and east, with the remaining floors reserved as private residences for Roderick Saxon and his aides.

'''Eternity Bar'''

[[Image: Eternitybar.jpg]]

* One of the few downtown nightspots consciously targeting the over-30 crowd, the Eternity Bar is frequented by somewhat older mages who still enjoy a wild night. A tri-level venue, the Eternity consists of a small bar at the street level, a rooftop patio and bar, plus a larger lounge and dance floor just below the rooftop level.

'''The Stateroom'''

[[Image: Stateroom.jpg]]

* Billed as Houston's only revolving restaurant and located 24 stories above street-level, the Stateroom Restaurant and lounge tends to be the go-to location when higher-ranking mages wish to impress out-of-towners. The circular structure makes one complete rotation ever 45 minutes, giving an unparalleled view of the surrounding area.

'''Memorial Park'''

[[Image: Obelisk.jpg]]

* Inspired by a dream, in 2003 the sculptor and architect Dion Murdock erected this obelisk atop a 35-foot crest deep within the forests of Memorial Park, a 1500 acre urban park near the Uptown area. Mages later discovered the obelisk straddles a ley line running beneath the park, and marks the centerpoint of a cluster of Hallows that collectively have a rating of 3. During the winter of 2004-2005, the Lightning Razors chased away a nest of vampires that laid claim to the Hallows and have zealously guarded it ever since.

==The Sanctum==

===Melete House===
[[Image: KirbyHouse.jpg]]
* Constructed during the Roaring Twenties, Melete House is the current safehouse and research center for the Scholars of the Lost. Located on the outskirts of the Museum District just south of Highway 59, the structure is guarded only by the spells of obfuscation and layered mystical wards and traps erected by each of the cabal members.

===Sanctum Stats===

* Size 3 (eight-room office building later converted into a private home and art gallery before its acquisition by the cabal)
* Security 3 (protected by mundane locks and burglar bars, plus a set of Indefinite Duration nested wards and traps each rated at Potency 3)
* Library 4 (located in center of upper level; volumes include various grimoires confiscated from enemies, records and maps of global mystical sites, and detailed histories of past Atlantean and mortal sorcerers)
* Hallow 4 (entire library suffused with Mana of Resonance of "studious"; Tass collects in the form of spontaneously-appearing empty books and pamphlets)

==Cabal Associates==

==NPCs of Interest==

===Ruling Council===
* '''Heirarch''': Renee Gavriel (Mysterium)
* '''Provost Primus''': Julius (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Provost Secundus''': FuX0r (Free Council)
* '''Herald Primus''': Xenios (Silver Ladder)
* '''Herald Secundus''': Jackson Rusk (Silver Ladder)
* '''Sentinel''': Kirpan (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Sentinel''': Marian Made (Mysterium)

===Councilors===
* '''Acanthus''': Laarsen (Silver Ladder) -- Special Projects Coordinator for City Council Member Oreza and primary source of political intelligence to the Consilium
* '''Mastigos''': Logos (Guardians of the Veil) -- leader of the Cui Bono cabal and mentor of Sentinel Kirpan; together with Assita Falls, Logos has discovered or partially initiated nearly one-third of the region's novice Pentacle mages over the last two decades
* '''Moros''': Samael (Mysterium) -- leader of the Verba Non Acta cabal and long-time investigative journalist for the ''Houston Press'' alternative newsweekly
* '''Obrimos''': Hsing Sun (Mysterium) -- the Most Venerable Hsing Sun is the current abbot of Guang Tien Di Temple, leader of the Jing Dao cabal, and a sage of the Perfected Adept Legacy. One of the oldest mages in the Houston area, Hsing Sun maintains one of the largest collections of Eastern Supernal lore in North America.
* '''Thyrsus''': Assita Falls (Silver Ladder) -- leader of the Seven Mercies cabal and administrator of the Jubilee Restoration House, a private outreach organization providing a network of transitioning housing facilities and homeless shelters throughout Greater Houston.

===Diamond Orders===

====Adamantine Arrows====
* '''Fiery Analemma''' -- six mages that were the vanguard of the campaign against the Seers in the Greater Houston area. Withdrew to Galveston after the Storm after suffering major casualties during an assault against a Seer pylon operating near the Port of Houson.

====Guardians of the Veil====
* '''Cui Bono''' -- a self-styled "oversight" cabal dedicated to keeping an eye on newly-Awakened mages and "keeping them out of trouble," Cui Bono also strives to shield Sleepers from any malevolent supernatural influence. Currently guided by the Mastigos mage known as Logos, the Cui Bono mages work closely with leading mages in the region, trading information and other resorces as needed.
* '''Lightning Razors''' -- one of the larger cabals in the region, they are composed of three cells of three martially-focused mages that once worked closely with the Fiery Analemma cabal. Most notorious for pursuing and defeating the Mad One calling himself "Kadmon."

====Mysterium====
* '''Men of Letters''' -- organized by five mages of the Mysterium, the Men of Letters cabal is composed of academics from among the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University. Having recently won acclaim for repelling an incursion of passion spirits on the UST campus, the Men of Letters tend to work alone in order to concentrate on pure research.
* '''Lone Star Environmental LLC''' -- an environmental consulting company started by two mages, normally completing contracts for petrochemical firms and providing additional expertise for academic investigations.

====Silver Ladder====
* '''Thalassa, Magna & Assoc. LLP''' -- a cutthroat PIP law firm founded by Robert Thalassa and Thomasina Magna. Censured for using Awakened Arts to arrange desired outcomes in court, Thalassa and Magna nonetheless evade more adverse action against them by providing pro bono legal assistance to any mage that engages their services.
* '''Staff & Serpent''' -- SAS began eight years ago as a local coed service fraternity on the UH campus. After the original founder-mages graduated, they retained the name for the public policy research institute they organized a few years later. Staff and Serpent works closely with Thalassa and Magna, trading networking resources and research for various legal services including harassment and obstruction of their adversaries.
* '''Jubilee Restoration House''' -- now headed by Councilor Assita Falls after the assassination of its founder Kortikos by the Seers, the four mages working in this private outreach organization help provide vital services for battered women and children, the homeless, and other souls in desperate need.

===Free Council===
* '''4-Tay''' -- a hip-hop collective formed by the rap duo "4-Tay" and their Sleeper associates. Constant touring keeps them in touch with other Awakened mages throughout the South.
* '''Raditek Consultants''' -- a private firm providing IT and engineering consulting services along with temporary staffing services, started by three mages just out of college.

===Left-Hand Path Mages===
* '''Order of the Bennu''' -- reclusive sect of eight mages and non-Awakened sorcerers reported to use an Ancient Egyptian praxis. Content to stay near their communal waterfront property near the Bear Creek Reservoir, the Order has to date avoided sanction from the Consilium, though they resist any and all attempts at intrusion and surveillance with a combination of mundane technology and powerful Mind and Spirit countermagics.

===Seers of the Throne===
* '''Roderick Saxon''' -- a defector from the Mysterium, Roderick Saxon is the CEO and owner of the Saxon Group, a multinational real estate corporation that is one of the top five managers of office and residential property in the South. The Ruling Council has attempted multiple assassinations of the traitor, but as Saxon rarely leaves the tower which serves as his home and corporate headquarters and is a Master of Fate and Prime, all have failed.

===Banishers and Mad Ones===
* '''"IX"'''
* '''Kadmon'''

===Unaligned and Solitaries===
* '''Alessandro Ficino''' -- former UH communications professor and Silver Ladder renunciate who wages a vengeful hacktivist crusade against hate groups and other extremists
* '''Haroun''' -- forensic analyst and disciple of Samael with potent skill in alchemical and Enochian arts
* '''Fleur de Noire''' -- trio of transgendered mages notable for their expertise in divination and fateweaving
* '''Black Fist''' -- self-styled "professional gadfly" and performance artist who regularly stages demonstrations and protests on behalf of illegal immigrants and other social outcasts

===Sleepers===
* '''Saul Gavriel''' -- chief of staff of the Gavriel Collection
* '''Simon Gavriel''' -- liaison to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
* '''Lluvia Oreza''' -- Houston City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee
* '''Special Agent Etta Battles''' -- Special Agent Battles cut her teeth in counterterrorism and white collar crime investigation. After her promotion to SAC of the Houston FBI Field Office two years ago, Battles proved an able commander and coordinator of the eighteen month probe of AZB Associates.
* '''Sgt. Jonathan Core''' -- HPD patrolman placed on medical leave after reporting an assault by "blood-drinking skinhead freaks"
* '''Francisco Reyes''' -- minister of the Promise House, a nondenominational agency providing shelter and counseling services to homeless and runaway youths
* '''An Shen-Li''' -- music promoter affiliated with the 4-Tay collective

==Local Rumors and Legends==
* A suspected serial killer is stalking the Sharpstown and Neartown areas, with police blaming four ritualistic murders on the killer over the last three months based on the Roman numeral "IX" branded on the back of the victims' necks. So far the victims were all last seen within a few blocks of either the Botanica Eleggua yerberia or the Magick Cauldron pagan supply store.
* Black Fist, the flamboyant Solitary mage formerly associated with the Fiery Analemma cabal, has been spreading whispers to the effect that the Arrows are preparing to emerge from seclusion.
* Younger mages in Southeast Houston report signs of a massive abrasion of the Gauntlet near Ellington Airport, the airfield formerly used by the US Air Force.
* Majority stockholder and AZB chairman Aydin Arvin has gone into hiding days after federal agents raided the AZB home office. Financial analysts predict that the real estate magnate Roderick Saxon will acquire all AZB assets if the company goes into bankruptcy. AZB held the leases on hundreds of acres of retail and residential properties in Pasadena, South Houston, Downtown and the Medical Center.
* Copies of the mysterious recording known as the '''Hildebrandt Tape''' are circulating through the Houston underground. Some report that the last three owners of the Tape have either been committed or have attempted suicide.
* Horakhty, the shadowy leader of the Order of the Bennu cabal, is quietly searching for a lost text known as the '''Book of the Luminous Ib'''. Some report that the Order will pay as much as twenty pawns of Tass for the text.
* Graffiti defacing a mural on the University of St. Thomas campus: "''KADMON BECOMES/OMNIA MUTANTUR/NIHIL INTERIT''." Concerned that this may mark the return of the Mad sorcerer Kadmon (whom the Council insisted had been destroyed in the series of magical battles of the nights following the Storm), Heirarch Gavriel has ordered Sentinel Marian Made to investigate, with the authority to "deputize" any mages as she sees fit.

==Misc Info==
===Character Creation===
* Choose a Path and Order
* Attributes: 9/8/7, +1 dot Favored Resistance trait
* Skills: 14/10/7
* Skill Specialties: 5
* Arcana: 9 dots, +1 dot Favored Arcanum (none rated higher than 4)
* Rotes: 12 dots
* Gnosis: 4
* Merits: 13 dots
* Mana = Wisdom = Resolve + Composure
* Choose Virtue/Vice
* Choose Nimbus, magical tools and flesh out magical style

===House Rules===

* I'm using the "To the Limit" rule from Tome of the Mysteries, which allows mages to cast an improvised spell of one dot higher ranking than normal, if the mage has at least one dot in all of the Arcana necessary to complete the spell. Base casting pool will always be Gnosis + Arcanum, but the mage must spend one Willpower point in order to complete the casting. Also, the spell is automatically vulgar, and three additional dice will be added to the Paradox roll (which can still be reduced as normal by using magical tools or spending Mana). The Duration of any Paradox manifestations will be applied as normal.

* When using a rote, the Base Paradox Dice Pool as detailed on p.123 of the corebook is reduced by an additional die. So, a mage with Gnosis 3 or 4 will normally not roll for Paradox when casting by rote, while a mage with Gnosis 7 or 8 will have a base Paradox pool of 2 dice in a similar situation. Paradox dice can still be increased by making subsequent castings within the same scene, being in the presence of Sleeper witnesses, etc.

* Special Skill note: 
** The Occult skill functions on two levels. The first level measures general Sleeper occult lore, including stage magic, non-Awakened sorcery, and general Sleeper mysticism. The second covers rudimentary knowledge regarding other supernatural creatures. To gain more detailed knowledge regarding supernatural creatures, the character must already have a Specialty in that creature, or perform research and investigation during play to gain it.

* After the game starts, XP cost for acquiring new rotes will be one point per dot.

* Spell Tolerance = Stamina + 2, as opposed to Stamina + 1.

* PCs effectively possess two dots of Consilium Status and two dots of Order Status, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

* The PC cabal controls a level 4 Hallow and Sanctum pool of 6 dots, with a Library rated at 4 dots.

* Hallows generate their level in Tass and twice their level in Mana each day--i.e., a level 4 Hallow generates 8 points of Mana in addition to 4 points of Tass. However, Mana from a Hallow cannot be transferred directly to a Mage without the use of Prime 3 (thus, oblations will not replenish Mana unless the character has learned a Legacy) except by consuming the Tass itself in some fashion.

Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters

2011-04-06T03:50:33Z

Kastowt: /* The Sanctum */

[[Category:Mage:_The_Awakening]][[Category:PBP]]
'''''Twenty-Five Lighters'''''

[[Image: Htown-eclipse.jpg]]

''A Storytelling Campaign of Ambition and Passion set in Houston, Texas''

Run by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?u=6778 Martys] on the RPGnet Forums

==Thread Info==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?568172-GM-Wanted-nWoD-anyone Recruitment]
* OOC
* IC

==The Scholars of the Lost==

* '''[[John Barabus]]''', '''Mastigos''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Phigment'')
* '''[[Hailey Desmond|Diamondback]]''', '''Thyrsus''' of the '''Mysterium''' (played by ''Zato-2TWO'')
* '''[[Locke]]''', '''Obrimos''' of the '''Free Council''' (played by ''Nikki6th'')
* '''[[Ruse]]''', '''Acanthus''' of the '''Guardians of the Veil''' (played by ''Lost_Arts'')
* '''[[Michael Walker|Cephisso]]''', '''Moros''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Scutarii'')

==The Setting==
===Overview and Recent History===
Now boasting a population of 2.6 million in the city proper and nearly 7 million throughout the greater metro area, the City of Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Historically the nation's primary hub for the oil and gas industry, the city suffered an economic slump in the wake of the 80s-era oil bust, but soon rebounded after successfully diversifying its economy. Previously ignored by most mages for the first hundred years of its existence in favor of such cities as New Orleans and Miami, after the one-two punches of Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Ike (which Houstonians simply refer to as "the Storm"), Houston has now overtaken New Orleans in the number of mages that base themselves in the city.

There are between forty and fifty mages known to inhabit the Greater Houston Area (as a general rule of thumb, this includes the entire area within a fifteen-mile radius of downtown Houston). The Diamond Orders have thrived in the region since the Second World War, with their first wave of migration beginning with the wartime mobilization, the second wave following the general 60s-era Sun Belt migration and the third wave coinciding with the late 80s tech and financial services booms. The Mysterium and Guardians of the Veil are the dominant Orders, having long since concentrated themselves within such Sleeper institutions as academia, the aerospace industry, law enforcement, public services, and the health care industry. The Silver Ladder and Free Council both maintain visibly active presences in the region, with their cabals working together in a shifting web of alliances and mutual partnerships. Most new self-Awakened mages tend to get scooped up by one of those two Orders, though the Silver Ladder is happy to find another home for those mages who don't fit its ideology. The Free Council boasts a larger number of mages and has thoroughly worked its way into the local telecom and energy industries. The Silver Ladder claims the greater number of cabals and has gained a stranglehold over the region's occult communities; its influence over the local religious activists and social justice organizers is no less pervasive. The Adamantine Arrows keep the lowest profile, apparently having suffered a crippling blow in September 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The Arrows are currently composed of two cabals which concentrate on their own projects and rarely ask assistance from or communicate with the other Orders. The remaining unaligned mages number a little less than a third of the total population and either remain completely aloof from the larger mage community, or maintain loose affiliations with the Free Council.

===Places of Interest===

'''Consilium'''

[[Image: ChapelCourtyard.jpg]]

* The Maxine Gavriel Collection serves as the physical location from which Houston mages coordinate their activites, air disputes, trade favors, etc. Located on a small private estate in the Upper Kirby District owned by the Gavriel family for six generations, the Consilium consists of a small chapel with a capacity of 100 persons, an art gallery displaying the family's private works, a private library containing various occult and historical volumes, a courtyard with a level 4 Hallow, four spirit Guardians and a permanent staff of eight Sleepwalker acolytes loyal to the Gavriel family. The chapel, courtyard and art gallery are open to the public, but only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

'''Y'all Come Back'''

[[Image: Bb.jpg]]

* A bed & breakfast inn with 14 rooms, located in the center of the Hyde Park District and run by the Silver Ladder mage known as Xenios, one of the city's two Heralds. All nonresident mages intending to remain in the city more than 36 hours must ensure that the Hierarch is aware of their presence, with most expected to quarter themselves at Xenios's lodgings unless another resident mage volunteers to provide his own hospitality.

'''Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park'''

[[Image: Waterwall.jpg]]

* Still stubbornly referred to as Transco Park by locals seven years after the 2003 Galleria expansion that reduced it to a third of its former size, the Hines Waterwall Park sits adjacent to the Galleria retail complex in the Uptown District. Though the park is privately owned, it is open to the public from 10am to 10pm. Until recently, the park was used as neutral ground for meetings between Pentacle mages and Seers when face-to-face meetings were necessary.

'''Saxon Tower'''

[[Image: Saxon.jpg]]

* The corporate headquarters of the Saxon Group, the 49-story skyscraper was completed in May 2000. The bottom ten floors are devoted to retail shops and parking, with the next thirty floors containing office space. Floors 40-44 contain a SkyGarden overlooking the north and east, with the remaining floors reserved as private residences for Roderick Saxon and his aides.

'''Eternity Bar'''

[[Image: Eternitybar.jpg]]

* One of the few downtown nightspots consciously targeting the over-30 crowd, the Eternity Bar is frequented by somewhat older mages who still enjoy a wild night. A tri-level venue, the Eternity consists of a small bar at the street level, a rooftop patio and bar, plus a larger lounge and dance floor just below the rooftop level.

'''The Stateroom'''

[[Image: Stateroom.jpg]]

* Billed as Houston's only revolving restaurant and located 24 stories above street-level, the Stateroom Restaurant and lounge tends to be the go-to location when higher-ranking mages wish to impress out-of-towners. The circular structure makes one complete rotation ever 45 minutes, giving an unparalleled view of the surrounding area.

'''Memorial Park'''

[[Image: Obelisk.jpg]]

* Inspired by a dream, in 2003 the sculptor and architect Dion Murdock erected this obelisk atop a 35-foot crest deep within the forests of Memorial Park, a 1500 acre urban park near the Uptown area. Mages later discovered the obelisk straddles a ley line running beneath the park, and marks the centerpoint of a cluster of Hallows that collectively have a rating of 3. During the winter of 2004-2005, the Lightning Razors chased away a nest of vampires that laid claim to the Hallows and have zealously guarded it ever since.

==The Sanctum==

===Melete House===
[[Image: KirbyHouse.jpg]]
* Constructed during the Roaring Twenties, Melete House is the current safehouse and research center for the Scholars of the Lost. Located on the outskirts of the Museum District just south of Highway 59, the structure is guarded only by the spells of obfuscation and layered mystical wards and traps erected by each of the cabal members.

===Sanctum Stats===

* Size 3 (eight-room office building later converted into a private home and art gallery before its acquisition by the cabal)
* Security 3 (protected by mundane locks and burglar bars, plus a set of Indefinite Duration nested wards and traps each rated at Potency 3)
* Library 4 (located in center of upper level; volumes include various grimoires confiscated from enemies, records and maps of global mystical sites, and detailed histories of past Atlantean and mortal sorcerers)
* Hallow 4 (entire library suffused with Mana of Resonance of "studious"; Tass collects in the form of spontaneously-appearing empty books and pamphlets)

==Cabal Associates==

==NPCs of Interest==

===Ruling Council===
* '''Heirarch''': Renee Gavriel (Mysterium)
* '''Provost Primus''': Julius (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Provost Secundus''': FuX0r (Free Council)
* '''Herald Primus''': Xenios (Silver Ladder)
* '''Herald Secundus''': Jackson Rusk (Silver Ladder)
* '''Sentinel''': Kirpan (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Sentinel''': Marian Made (Mysterium)

===Councilors===
* '''Acanthus''': Laarsen (Silver Ladder) -- Special Projects Coordinator for City Council Member Oreza and primary source of political intelligence to the Consilium
* '''Mastigos''': Logos (Guardians of the Veil) -- leader of the Cui Bono cabal and mentor of Sentinel Kirpan; together with Assita Falls, Logos has discovered or partially initiated nearly one-third of the region's novice Pentacle mages over the last two decades
* '''Moros''': Samael (Mysterium) -- leader of the Verba Non Acta cabal and long-time investigative journalist for the ''Houston Press'' alternative newsweekly
* '''Obrimos''': Hsing Sun (Mysterium) -- the Most Venerable Hsing Sun is the current abbot of Guang Tien Di Temple, leader of the Jing Dao cabal, and a sage of the Perfected Adept Legacy. One of the oldest mages in the Houston area, Hsing Sun maintains one of the largest collections of Eastern Supernal lore in North America.
* '''Thyrsus''': Assita Falls (Silver Ladder) -- leader of the Seven Mercies cabal and administrator of the Jubilee Restoration House, a private outreach organization providing a network of transitioning housing facilities and homeless shelters throughout Greater Houston.

===Diamond Orders===

====Adamantine Arrows====
* '''Fiery Analemma''' -- six mages that were the vanguard of the campaign against the Seers in the Greater Houston area. Withdrew to Galveston after the Storm after suffering major casualties during an assault against a Seer pylon operating near the Port of Houson.

====Guardians of the Veil====
* '''Cui Bono''' -- a self-styled "oversight" cabal dedicated to keeping an eye on newly-Awakened mages and "keeping them out of trouble," Cui Bono also strives to shield Sleepers from any malevolent supernatural influence. Currently guided by the Mastigos mage known as Logos, the Cui Bono mages work closely with leading mages in the region, trading information and other resorces as needed.
* '''Lightning Razors''' -- one of the larger cabals in the region, they are composed of three cells of three martially-focused mages that once worked closely with the Fiery Analemma cabal. Most notorious for pursuing and defeating the Mad One calling himself "Kadmon."

====Mysterium====
* '''Men of Letters''' -- organized by five mages of the Mysterium, the Men of Letters cabal is composed of academics from among the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University. Having recently won acclaim for repelling an incursion of passion spirits on the UST campus, the Men of Letters tend to work alone in order to concentrate on pure research.
* '''Lone Star Environmental LLC''' -- an environmental consulting company started by two mages, normally completing contracts for petrochemical firms and providing additional expertise for academic investigations.

====Silver Ladder====
* '''Thalassa, Magna & Assoc. LLP''' -- a cutthroat PIP law firm founded by Robert Thalassa and Thomasina Magna. Censured for using Awakened Arts to arrange desired outcomes in court, Thalassa and Magna nonetheless evade more adverse action against them by providing pro bono legal assistance to any mage that engages their services.
* '''Staff & Serpent''' -- SAS began eight years ago as a local coed service fraternity on the UH campus. After the original founder-mages graduated, they retained the name for the public policy research institute they organized a few years later. Staff and Serpent works closely with Thalassa and Magna, trading networking resources and research for various legal services including harassment and obstruction of their adversaries.
* '''Jubilee Restoration House''' -- now headed by Councilor Assita Falls after the assassination of its founder Kortikos by the Seers, the four mages working in this private outreach organization help provide vital services for battered women and children, the homeless, and other souls in desperate need.

===Free Council===
* '''4-Tay''' -- a hip-hop collective formed by the rap duo "4-Tay" and their Sleeper associates. Constant touring keeps them in touch with other Awakened mages throughout the South.
* '''Raditek Consultants''' -- a private firm providing IT and engineering consulting services along with temporary staffing services, started by three mages just out of college.

===Left-Hand Path Mages===
* '''Order of the Bennu''' -- reclusive sect of eight mages and non-Awakened sorcerers reported to use an Ancient Egyptian praxis. Content to stay near their communal waterfront property near the Bear Creek Reservoir, the Order has to date avoided sanction from the Consilium, though they resist any and all attempts at intrusion and surveillance with a combination of mundane technology and powerful Mind and Spirit countermagics.

===Seers of the Throne===
* '''Roderick Saxon''' -- a defector from the Mysterium, Roderick Saxon is the CEO and owner of the Saxon Group, a multinational real estate corporation that is one of the top five managers of office and residential property in the South. The Ruling Council has attempted multiple assassinations of the traitor, but as Saxon rarely leaves the tower which serves as his home and corporate headquarters and is a Master of Fate and Prime, all have failed.

===Banishers and Mad Ones===
* '''"IX"'''
* '''Kadmon'''

===Unaligned and Solitaries===
* '''Alessandro Ficino''' -- former UH communications professor and Silver Ladder renunciate who wages a vengeful hacktivist crusade against hate groups and other extremists
* '''Haroun''' -- forensic analyst and disciple of Samael with potent skill in alchemical and Enochian arts
* '''Fleur de Noire''' -- trio of transgendered mages notable for their expertise in divination and fateweaving
* '''Black Fist''' -- self-styled "professional gadfly" and performance artist who regularly stages demonstrations and protests on behalf of illegal immigrants and other social outcasts

===Sleepers===
* '''Saul Gavriel''' -- chief of staff of the Gavriel Collection
* '''Simon Gavriel''' -- liaison to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
* '''Lluvia Oreza''' -- Houston City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee
* '''Special Agent Etta Battles''' -- Special Agent Battles cut her teeth in counterterrorism and white collar crime investigation. After her promotion to SAC of the Houston FBI Field Office two years ago, Battles proved an able commander and coordinator of the eighteen month probe of AZB Associates.
* '''Sgt. Jonathan Core''' -- HPD patrolman placed on medical leave after reporting an assault by "blood-drinking skinhead freaks"
* '''Francisco Reyes''' -- minister of the Promise House, a nondenominational agency providing shelter and counseling services to homeless and runaway youths
* '''An Shen-Li''' -- music promoter affiliated with the 4-Tay collective

==Local Rumors and Legends==
* A suspected serial killer is stalking the Sharpstown and Neartown areas, with police blaming four ritualistic murders on the killer over the last three months based on the Roman numeral "IX" branded on the back of the victims' necks. So far the victims were all last seen within a few blocks of either the Botanica Eleggua yerberia or the Magick Cauldron pagan supply store.
* Black Fist, the flamboyant Solitary mage formerly associated with the Fiery Analemma cabal, has been spreading whispers to the effect that the Arrows are preparing to emerge from seclusion.
* Younger mages in Southeast Houston report signs of a massive abrasion of the Gauntlet near Ellington Airport, the airfield formerly used by the US Air Force.
* Majority stockholder and AZB chairman Aydin Arvin has gone into hiding days after federal agents raided the AZB home office. Financial analysts predict that the real estate magnate Roderick Saxon will acquire all AZB assets if the company goes into bankruptcy. AZB held the leases on hundreds of acres of retail and residential properties in Pasadena, South Houston, Downtown and the Medical Center.
* Copies of the mysterious recording known as the '''Hildebrandt Tape''' are circulating through the Houston underground. Some report that the last three owners of the Tape have either been committed or have attempted suicide.
* Horakhty, the shadowy leader of the Order of the Bennu cabal, is quietly searching for a lost text known as the '''Book of the Luminous Ib'''. Some report that the Order will pay as much as twenty pawns of Tass for the text.
* Graffiti defacing a mural on the University of St. Thomas campus: "''KADMON BECOMES/OMNIA MUTANTUR/NIHIL INTERIT''." Concerned that this may mark the return of the Mad sorcerer Kadmon (whom the Council insisted had been destroyed in the series of magical battles of the nights following the Storm), Heirarch Gavriel has ordered Sentinel Marian Made to investigate, with the authority to "deputize" any mages as she sees fit.

==Misc Info==
===Character Creation===
* Choose a Path and Order
* Attributes: 9/8/7, +1 dot Favored Resistance trait
* Skills: 14/10/7
* Skill Specialties: 5
* Arcana: 9 dots, +1 dot Favored Arcanum (none rated higher than 4)
* Rotes: 12 dots
* Gnosis: 4
* Merits: 13 dots
* Mana = Wisdom = Resolve + Composure
* Choose Virtue/Vice
* Choose Nimbus, magical tools and flesh out magical style

===House Rules===

* I'm using the "To the Limit" rule from Tome of the Mysteries, which allows mages to cast an improvised spell of one dot higher ranking than normal, if the mage has at least one dot in all of the Arcana necessary to complete the spell. Base casting pool will always be Gnosis + Arcanum, but the mage must spend one Willpower point in order to complete the casting. Also, the spell is automatically vulgar, and three additional dice will be added to the Paradox roll (which can still be reduced as normal by using magical tools or spending Mana). The Duration of any Paradox manifestations will be applied as normal.

* When using a rote, the Base Paradox Dice Pool as detailed on p.123 of the corebook is reduced by an additional die. So, a mage with Gnosis 3 or 4 will normally not roll for Paradox when casting by rote, while a mage with Gnosis 7 or 8 will have a base Paradox pool of 2 dice in a similar situation. Paradox dice can still be increased by making subsequent castings within the same scene, being in the presence of Sleeper witnesses, etc.

* Special Skill note: 
** The Occult skill functions on two levels. The first level measures general Sleeper occult lore, including stage magic, non-Awakened sorcery, and general Sleeper mysticism. The second covers rudimentary knowledge regarding other supernatural creatures. To gain more detailed knowledge regarding supernatural creatures, the character must already have a Specialty in that creature, or perform research and investigation during play to gain it.

* After the game starts, XP cost for acquiring new rotes will be one point per dot.

* Spell Tolerance = Stamina + 2, as opposed to Stamina + 1.

* PCs effectively possess two dots of Consilium Status and two dots of Order Status, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

* The PC cabal controls a level 4 Hallow and Sanctum pool of 6 dots, with a Library rated at 4 dots.

* Hallows generate their level in Tass and twice their level in Mana each day--i.e., a level 4 Hallow generates 8 points of Mana in addition to 4 points of Tass. However, Mana from a Hallow cannot be transferred directly to a Mage without the use of Prime 3 (thus, oblations will not replenish Mana unless the character has learned a Legacy) except by consuming the Tass itself in some fashion.

Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters

2011-04-06T03:07:13Z

Kastowt: /* The Cabal */

[[Category:Mage:_The_Awakening]][[Category:PBP]]
'''''Twenty-Five Lighters'''''

[[Image: Htown-eclipse.jpg]]

''A Storytelling Campaign of Ambition and Passion set in Houston, Texas''

Run by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?u=6778 Martys] on the RPGnet Forums

==Thread Info==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?568172-GM-Wanted-nWoD-anyone Recruitment]
* OOC
* IC

==The Scholars of the Lost==

* '''[[John Barabus]]''', '''Mastigos''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Phigment'')
* '''[[Hailey Desmond|Diamondback]]''', '''Thyrsus''' of the '''Mysterium''' (played by ''Zato-2TWO'')
* '''[[Locke]]''', '''Obrimos''' of the '''Free Council''' (played by ''Nikki6th'')
* '''[[Ruse]]''', '''Acanthus''' of the '''Guardians of the Veil''' (played by ''Lost_Arts'')
* '''[[Michael Walker|Cephisso]]''', '''Moros''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Scutarii'')

==The Setting==
===Overview and Recent History===
Now boasting a population of 2.6 million in the city proper and nearly 7 million throughout the greater metro area, the City of Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Historically the nation's primary hub for the oil and gas industry, the city suffered an economic slump in the wake of the 80s-era oil bust, but soon rebounded after successfully diversifying its economy. Previously ignored by most mages for the first hundred years of its existence in favor of such cities as New Orleans and Miami, after the one-two punches of Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Ike (which Houstonians simply refer to as "the Storm"), Houston has now overtaken New Orleans in the number of mages that base themselves in the city.

There are between forty and fifty mages known to inhabit the Greater Houston Area (as a general rule of thumb, this includes the entire area within a fifteen-mile radius of downtown Houston). The Diamond Orders have thrived in the region since the Second World War, with their first wave of migration beginning with the wartime mobilization, the second wave following the general 60s-era Sun Belt migration and the third wave coinciding with the late 80s tech and financial services booms. The Mysterium and Guardians of the Veil are the dominant Orders, having long since concentrated themselves within such Sleeper institutions as academia, the aerospace industry, law enforcement, public services, and the health care industry. The Silver Ladder and Free Council both maintain visibly active presences in the region, with their cabals working together in a shifting web of alliances and mutual partnerships. Most new self-Awakened mages tend to get scooped up by one of those two Orders, though the Silver Ladder is happy to find another home for those mages who don't fit its ideology. The Free Council boasts a larger number of mages and has thoroughly worked its way into the local telecom and energy industries. The Silver Ladder claims the greater number of cabals and has gained a stranglehold over the region's occult communities; its influence over the local religious activists and social justice organizers is no less pervasive. The Adamantine Arrows keep the lowest profile, apparently having suffered a crippling blow in September 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The Arrows are currently composed of two cabals which concentrate on their own projects and rarely ask assistance from or communicate with the other Orders. The remaining unaligned mages number a little less than a third of the total population and either remain completely aloof from the larger mage community, or maintain loose affiliations with the Free Council.

===Places of Interest===

'''Consilium'''

[[Image: ChapelCourtyard.jpg]]

* The Maxine Gavriel Collection serves as the physical location from which Houston mages coordinate their activites, air disputes, trade favors, etc. Located on a small private estate in the Upper Kirby District owned by the Gavriel family for six generations, the Consilium consists of a small chapel with a capacity of 100 persons, an art gallery displaying the family's private works, a private library containing various occult and historical volumes, a courtyard with a level 4 Hallow, four spirit Guardians and a permanent staff of eight Sleepwalker acolytes loyal to the Gavriel family. The chapel, courtyard and art gallery are open to the public, but only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

'''Y'all Come Back'''

[[Image: Bb.jpg]]

* A bed & breakfast inn with 14 rooms, located in the center of the Hyde Park District and run by the Silver Ladder mage known as Xenios, one of the city's two Heralds. All nonresident mages intending to remain in the city more than 36 hours must ensure that the Hierarch is aware of their presence, with most expected to quarter themselves at Xenios's lodgings unless another resident mage volunteers to provide his own hospitality.

'''Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park'''

[[Image: Waterwall.jpg]]

* Still stubbornly referred to as Transco Park by locals seven years after the 2003 Galleria expansion that reduced it to a third of its former size, the Hines Waterwall Park sits adjacent to the Galleria retail complex in the Uptown District. Though the park is privately owned, it is open to the public from 10am to 10pm. Until recently, the park was used as neutral ground for meetings between Pentacle mages and Seers when face-to-face meetings were necessary.

'''Saxon Tower'''

[[Image: Saxon.jpg]]

* The corporate headquarters of the Saxon Group, the 49-story skyscraper was completed in May 2000. The bottom ten floors are devoted to retail shops and parking, with the next thirty floors containing office space. Floors 40-44 contain a SkyGarden overlooking the north and east, with the remaining floors reserved as private residences for Roderick Saxon and his aides.

'''Eternity Bar'''

[[Image: Eternitybar.jpg]]

* One of the few downtown nightspots consciously targeting the over-30 crowd, the Eternity Bar is frequented by somewhat older mages who still enjoy a wild night. A tri-level venue, the Eternity consists of a small bar at the street level, a rooftop patio and bar, plus a larger lounge and dance floor just below the rooftop level.

'''The Stateroom'''

[[Image: Stateroom.jpg]]

* Billed as Houston's only revolving restaurant and located 24 stories above street-level, the Stateroom Restaurant and lounge tends to be the go-to location when higher-ranking mages wish to impress out-of-towners. The circular structure makes one complete rotation ever 45 minutes, giving an unparalleled view of the surrounding area.

'''Memorial Park'''

[[Image: Obelisk.jpg]]

* Inspired by a dream, in 2003 the sculptor and architect Dion Murdock erected this obelisk atop a 35-foot crest deep within the forests of Memorial Park, a 1500 acre urban park near the Uptown area. Mages later discovered the obelisk straddles a ley line running beneath the park, and marks the centerpoint of a cluster of Hallows that collectively have a rating of 3. During the winter of 2004-2005, the Lightning Razors chased away a nest of vampires that laid claim to the Hallows and have zealously guarded it ever since.

==The Sanctum==

==Cabal Associates==

==NPCs of Interest==

===Ruling Council===
* '''Heirarch''': Renee Gavriel (Mysterium)
* '''Provost Primus''': Julius (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Provost Secundus''': FuX0r (Free Council)
* '''Herald Primus''': Xenios (Silver Ladder)
* '''Herald Secundus''': Jackson Rusk (Silver Ladder)
* '''Sentinel''': Kirpan (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Sentinel''': Marian Made (Mysterium)

===Councilors===
* '''Acanthus''': Laarsen (Silver Ladder) -- Special Projects Coordinator for City Council Member Oreza and primary source of political intelligence to the Consilium
* '''Mastigos''': Logos (Guardians of the Veil) -- leader of the Cui Bono cabal and mentor of Sentinel Kirpan; together with Assita Falls, Logos has discovered or partially initiated nearly one-third of the region's novice Pentacle mages over the last two decades
* '''Moros''': Samael (Mysterium) -- leader of the Verba Non Acta cabal and long-time investigative journalist for the ''Houston Press'' alternative newsweekly
* '''Obrimos''': Hsing Sun (Mysterium) -- the Most Venerable Hsing Sun is the current abbot of Guang Tien Di Temple, leader of the Jing Dao cabal, and a sage of the Perfected Adept Legacy. One of the oldest mages in the Houston area, Hsing Sun maintains one of the largest collections of Eastern Supernal lore in North America.
* '''Thyrsus''': Assita Falls (Silver Ladder) -- leader of the Seven Mercies cabal and administrator of the Jubilee Restoration House, a private outreach organization providing a network of transitioning housing facilities and homeless shelters throughout Greater Houston.

===Diamond Orders===

====Adamantine Arrows====
* '''Fiery Analemma''' -- six mages that were the vanguard of the campaign against the Seers in the Greater Houston area. Withdrew to Galveston after the Storm after suffering major casualties during an assault against a Seer pylon operating near the Port of Houson.

====Guardians of the Veil====
* '''Cui Bono''' -- a self-styled "oversight" cabal dedicated to keeping an eye on newly-Awakened mages and "keeping them out of trouble," Cui Bono also strives to shield Sleepers from any malevolent supernatural influence. Currently guided by the Mastigos mage known as Logos, the Cui Bono mages work closely with leading mages in the region, trading information and other resorces as needed.
* '''Lightning Razors''' -- one of the larger cabals in the region, they are composed of three cells of three martially-focused mages that once worked closely with the Fiery Analemma cabal. Most notorious for pursuing and defeating the Mad One calling himself "Kadmon."

====Mysterium====
* '''Men of Letters''' -- organized by five mages of the Mysterium, the Men of Letters cabal is composed of academics from among the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University. Having recently won acclaim for repelling an incursion of passion spirits on the UST campus, the Men of Letters tend to work alone in order to concentrate on pure research.
* '''Lone Star Environmental LLC''' -- an environmental consulting company started by two mages, normally completing contracts for petrochemical firms and providing additional expertise for academic investigations.

====Silver Ladder====
* '''Thalassa, Magna & Assoc. LLP''' -- a cutthroat PIP law firm founded by Robert Thalassa and Thomasina Magna. Censured for using Awakened Arts to arrange desired outcomes in court, Thalassa and Magna nonetheless evade more adverse action against them by providing pro bono legal assistance to any mage that engages their services.
* '''Staff & Serpent''' -- SAS began eight years ago as a local coed service fraternity on the UH campus. After the original founder-mages graduated, they retained the name for the public policy research institute they organized a few years later. Staff and Serpent works closely with Thalassa and Magna, trading networking resources and research for various legal services including harassment and obstruction of their adversaries.
* '''Jubilee Restoration House''' -- now headed by Councilor Assita Falls after the assassination of its founder Kortikos by the Seers, the four mages working in this private outreach organization help provide vital services for battered women and children, the homeless, and other souls in desperate need.

===Free Council===
* '''4-Tay''' -- a hip-hop collective formed by the rap duo "4-Tay" and their Sleeper associates. Constant touring keeps them in touch with other Awakened mages throughout the South.
* '''Raditek Consultants''' -- a private firm providing IT and engineering consulting services along with temporary staffing services, started by three mages just out of college.

===Left-Hand Path Mages===
* '''Order of the Bennu''' -- reclusive sect of eight mages and non-Awakened sorcerers reported to use an Ancient Egyptian praxis. Content to stay near their communal waterfront property near the Bear Creek Reservoir, the Order has to date avoided sanction from the Consilium, though they resist any and all attempts at intrusion and surveillance with a combination of mundane technology and powerful Mind and Spirit countermagics.

===Seers of the Throne===
* '''Roderick Saxon''' -- a defector from the Mysterium, Roderick Saxon is the CEO and owner of the Saxon Group, a multinational real estate corporation that is one of the top five managers of office and residential property in the South. The Ruling Council has attempted multiple assassinations of the traitor, but as Saxon rarely leaves the tower which serves as his home and corporate headquarters and is a Master of Fate and Prime, all have failed.

===Banishers and Mad Ones===
* '''"IX"'''
* '''Kadmon'''

===Unaligned and Solitaries===
* '''Alessandro Ficino''' -- former UH communications professor and Silver Ladder renunciate who wages a vengeful hacktivist crusade against hate groups and other extremists
* '''Haroun''' -- forensic analyst and disciple of Samael with potent skill in alchemical and Enochian arts
* '''Fleur de Noire''' -- trio of transgendered mages notable for their expertise in divination and fateweaving
* '''Black Fist''' -- self-styled "professional gadfly" and performance artist who regularly stages demonstrations and protests on behalf of illegal immigrants and other social outcasts

===Sleepers===
* '''Saul Gavriel''' -- chief of staff of the Gavriel Collection
* '''Simon Gavriel''' -- liaison to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
* '''Lluvia Oreza''' -- Houston City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee
* '''Special Agent Etta Battles''' -- Special Agent Battles cut her teeth in counterterrorism and white collar crime investigation. After her promotion to SAC of the Houston FBI Field Office two years ago, Battles proved an able commander and coordinator of the eighteen month probe of AZB Associates.
* '''Sgt. Jonathan Core''' -- HPD patrolman placed on medical leave after reporting an assault by "blood-drinking skinhead freaks"
* '''Francisco Reyes''' -- minister of the Promise House, a nondenominational agency providing shelter and counseling services to homeless and runaway youths
* '''An Shen-Li''' -- music promoter affiliated with the 4-Tay collective

==Local Rumors and Legends==
* A suspected serial killer is stalking the Sharpstown and Neartown areas, with police blaming four ritualistic murders on the killer over the last three months based on the Roman numeral "IX" branded on the back of the victims' necks. So far the victims were all last seen within a few blocks of either the Botanica Eleggua yerberia or the Magick Cauldron pagan supply store.
* Black Fist, the flamboyant Solitary mage formerly associated with the Fiery Analemma cabal, has been spreading whispers to the effect that the Arrows are preparing to emerge from seclusion.
* Younger mages in Southeast Houston report signs of a massive abrasion of the Gauntlet near Ellington Airport, the airfield formerly used by the US Air Force.
* Majority stockholder and AZB chairman Aydin Arvin has gone into hiding days after federal agents raided the AZB home office. Financial analysts predict that the real estate magnate Roderick Saxon will acquire all AZB assets if the company goes into bankruptcy. AZB held the leases on hundreds of acres of retail and residential properties in Pasadena, South Houston, Downtown and the Medical Center.
* Copies of the mysterious recording known as the '''Hildebrandt Tape''' are circulating through the Houston underground. Some report that the last three owners of the Tape have either been committed or have attempted suicide.
* Horakhty, the shadowy leader of the Order of the Bennu cabal, is quietly searching for a lost text known as the '''Book of the Luminous Ib'''. Some report that the Order will pay as much as twenty pawns of Tass for the text.
* Graffiti defacing a mural on the University of St. Thomas campus: "''KADMON BECOMES/OMNIA MUTANTUR/NIHIL INTERIT''." Concerned that this may mark the return of the Mad sorcerer Kadmon (whom the Council insisted had been destroyed in the series of magical battles of the nights following the Storm), Heirarch Gavriel has ordered Sentinel Marian Made to investigate, with the authority to "deputize" any mages as she sees fit.

==Misc Info==
===Character Creation===
* Choose a Path and Order
* Attributes: 9/8/7, +1 dot Favored Resistance trait
* Skills: 14/10/7
* Skill Specialties: 5
* Arcana: 9 dots, +1 dot Favored Arcanum (none rated higher than 4)
* Rotes: 12 dots
* Gnosis: 4
* Merits: 13 dots
* Mana = Wisdom = Resolve + Composure
* Choose Virtue/Vice
* Choose Nimbus, magical tools and flesh out magical style

===House Rules===

* I'm using the "To the Limit" rule from Tome of the Mysteries, which allows mages to cast an improvised spell of one dot higher ranking than normal, if the mage has at least one dot in all of the Arcana necessary to complete the spell. Base casting pool will always be Gnosis + Arcanum, but the mage must spend one Willpower point in order to complete the casting. Also, the spell is automatically vulgar, and three additional dice will be added to the Paradox roll (which can still be reduced as normal by using magical tools or spending Mana). The Duration of any Paradox manifestations will be applied as normal.

* When using a rote, the Base Paradox Dice Pool as detailed on p.123 of the corebook is reduced by an additional die. So, a mage with Gnosis 3 or 4 will normally not roll for Paradox when casting by rote, while a mage with Gnosis 7 or 8 will have a base Paradox pool of 2 dice in a similar situation. Paradox dice can still be increased by making subsequent castings within the same scene, being in the presence of Sleeper witnesses, etc.

* Special Skill note: 
** The Occult skill functions on two levels. The first level measures general Sleeper occult lore, including stage magic, non-Awakened sorcery, and general Sleeper mysticism. The second covers rudimentary knowledge regarding other supernatural creatures. To gain more detailed knowledge regarding supernatural creatures, the character must already have a Specialty in that creature, or perform research and investigation during play to gain it.

* After the game starts, XP cost for acquiring new rotes will be one point per dot.

* Spell Tolerance = Stamina + 2, as opposed to Stamina + 1.

* PCs effectively possess two dots of Consilium Status and two dots of Order Status, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

* The PC cabal controls a level 4 Hallow and Sanctum pool of 6 dots, with a Library rated at 4 dots.

* Hallows generate their level in Tass and twice their level in Mana each day--i.e., a level 4 Hallow generates 8 points of Mana in addition to 4 points of Tass. However, Mana from a Hallow cannot be transferred directly to a Mage without the use of Prime 3 (thus, oblations will not replenish Mana unless the character has learned a Legacy) except by consuming the Tass itself in some fashion.

Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters

2011-04-06T03:06:03Z

Kastowt: /* The Cabal */

[[Category:Mage:_The_Awakening]][[Category:PBP]]
'''''Twenty-Five Lighters'''''

[[Image: Htown-eclipse.jpg]]

''A Storytelling Campaign of Ambition and Passion set in Houston, Texas''

Run by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?u=6778 Martys] on the RPGnet Forums

==Thread Info==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?568172-GM-Wanted-nWoD-anyone Recruitment]
* OOC
* IC

==The Cabal==
"'''Scholars of the Lost'''"

* '''[[John Barabus]]''', '''Mastigos''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Phigment'')
*'''[[Hailey Desmond|Diamondback]]''', '''Thyrsus''' of the '''Mysterium''' (played by ''Zato-2TWO'')
*'''[[Locke]]''', '''Obrimos''' of the '''Free Council''' (played by ''Nikki6th'')
*'''[[Ruse]]''', '''Acanthus''' of the '''Guardians of the Veil''' (played by ''Lost_Arts'')
*'''[[Michael Walker|Cephisso]]''', '''Moros''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Scutarii'')

==The Setting==
===Overview and Recent History===
Now boasting a population of 2.6 million in the city proper and nearly 7 million throughout the greater metro area, the City of Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Historically the nation's primary hub for the oil and gas industry, the city suffered an economic slump in the wake of the 80s-era oil bust, but soon rebounded after successfully diversifying its economy. Previously ignored by most mages for the first hundred years of its existence in favor of such cities as New Orleans and Miami, after the one-two punches of Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Ike (which Houstonians simply refer to as "the Storm"), Houston has now overtaken New Orleans in the number of mages that base themselves in the city.

There are between forty and fifty mages known to inhabit the Greater Houston Area (as a general rule of thumb, this includes the entire area within a fifteen-mile radius of downtown Houston). The Diamond Orders have thrived in the region since the Second World War, with their first wave of migration beginning with the wartime mobilization, the second wave following the general 60s-era Sun Belt migration and the third wave coinciding with the late 80s tech and financial services booms. The Mysterium and Guardians of the Veil are the dominant Orders, having long since concentrated themselves within such Sleeper institutions as academia, the aerospace industry, law enforcement, public services, and the health care industry. The Silver Ladder and Free Council both maintain visibly active presences in the region, with their cabals working together in a shifting web of alliances and mutual partnerships. Most new self-Awakened mages tend to get scooped up by one of those two Orders, though the Silver Ladder is happy to find another home for those mages who don't fit its ideology. The Free Council boasts a larger number of mages and has thoroughly worked its way into the local telecom and energy industries. The Silver Ladder claims the greater number of cabals and has gained a stranglehold over the region's occult communities; its influence over the local religious activists and social justice organizers is no less pervasive. The Adamantine Arrows keep the lowest profile, apparently having suffered a crippling blow in September 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The Arrows are currently composed of two cabals which concentrate on their own projects and rarely ask assistance from or communicate with the other Orders. The remaining unaligned mages number a little less than a third of the total population and either remain completely aloof from the larger mage community, or maintain loose affiliations with the Free Council.

===Places of Interest===

'''Consilium'''

[[Image: ChapelCourtyard.jpg]]

* The Maxine Gavriel Collection serves as the physical location from which Houston mages coordinate their activites, air disputes, trade favors, etc. Located on a small private estate in the Upper Kirby District owned by the Gavriel family for six generations, the Consilium consists of a small chapel with a capacity of 100 persons, an art gallery displaying the family's private works, a private library containing various occult and historical volumes, a courtyard with a level 4 Hallow, four spirit Guardians and a permanent staff of eight Sleepwalker acolytes loyal to the Gavriel family. The chapel, courtyard and art gallery are open to the public, but only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

'''Y'all Come Back'''

[[Image: Bb.jpg]]

* A bed & breakfast inn with 14 rooms, located in the center of the Hyde Park District and run by the Silver Ladder mage known as Xenios, one of the city's two Heralds. All nonresident mages intending to remain in the city more than 36 hours must ensure that the Hierarch is aware of their presence, with most expected to quarter themselves at Xenios's lodgings unless another resident mage volunteers to provide his own hospitality.

'''Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park'''

[[Image: Waterwall.jpg]]

* Still stubbornly referred to as Transco Park by locals seven years after the 2003 Galleria expansion that reduced it to a third of its former size, the Hines Waterwall Park sits adjacent to the Galleria retail complex in the Uptown District. Though the park is privately owned, it is open to the public from 10am to 10pm. Until recently, the park was used as neutral ground for meetings between Pentacle mages and Seers when face-to-face meetings were necessary.

'''Saxon Tower'''

[[Image: Saxon.jpg]]

* The corporate headquarters of the Saxon Group, the 49-story skyscraper was completed in May 2000. The bottom ten floors are devoted to retail shops and parking, with the next thirty floors containing office space. Floors 40-44 contain a SkyGarden overlooking the north and east, with the remaining floors reserved as private residences for Roderick Saxon and his aides.

'''Eternity Bar'''

[[Image: Eternitybar.jpg]]

* One of the few downtown nightspots consciously targeting the over-30 crowd, the Eternity Bar is frequented by somewhat older mages who still enjoy a wild night. A tri-level venue, the Eternity consists of a small bar at the street level, a rooftop patio and bar, plus a larger lounge and dance floor just below the rooftop level.

'''The Stateroom'''

[[Image: Stateroom.jpg]]

* Billed as Houston's only revolving restaurant and located 24 stories above street-level, the Stateroom Restaurant and lounge tends to be the go-to location when higher-ranking mages wish to impress out-of-towners. The circular structure makes one complete rotation ever 45 minutes, giving an unparalleled view of the surrounding area.

'''Memorial Park'''

[[Image: Obelisk.jpg]]

* Inspired by a dream, in 2003 the sculptor and architect Dion Murdock erected this obelisk atop a 35-foot crest deep within the forests of Memorial Park, a 1500 acre urban park near the Uptown area. Mages later discovered the obelisk straddles a ley line running beneath the park, and marks the centerpoint of a cluster of Hallows that collectively have a rating of 3. During the winter of 2004-2005, the Lightning Razors chased away a nest of vampires that laid claim to the Hallows and have zealously guarded it ever since.

==The Sanctum==

==Cabal Associates==

==NPCs of Interest==

===Ruling Council===
* '''Heirarch''': Renee Gavriel (Mysterium)
* '''Provost Primus''': Julius (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Provost Secundus''': FuX0r (Free Council)
* '''Herald Primus''': Xenios (Silver Ladder)
* '''Herald Secundus''': Jackson Rusk (Silver Ladder)
* '''Sentinel''': Kirpan (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Sentinel''': Marian Made (Mysterium)

===Councilors===
* '''Acanthus''': Laarsen (Silver Ladder) -- Special Projects Coordinator for City Council Member Oreza and primary source of political intelligence to the Consilium
* '''Mastigos''': Logos (Guardians of the Veil) -- leader of the Cui Bono cabal and mentor of Sentinel Kirpan; together with Assita Falls, Logos has discovered or partially initiated nearly one-third of the region's novice Pentacle mages over the last two decades
* '''Moros''': Samael (Mysterium) -- leader of the Verba Non Acta cabal and long-time investigative journalist for the ''Houston Press'' alternative newsweekly
* '''Obrimos''': Hsing Sun (Mysterium) -- the Most Venerable Hsing Sun is the current abbot of Guang Tien Di Temple, leader of the Jing Dao cabal, and a sage of the Perfected Adept Legacy. One of the oldest mages in the Houston area, Hsing Sun maintains one of the largest collections of Eastern Supernal lore in North America.
* '''Thyrsus''': Assita Falls (Silver Ladder) -- leader of the Seven Mercies cabal and administrator of the Jubilee Restoration House, a private outreach organization providing a network of transitioning housing facilities and homeless shelters throughout Greater Houston.

===Diamond Orders===

====Adamantine Arrows====
* '''Fiery Analemma''' -- six mages that were the vanguard of the campaign against the Seers in the Greater Houston area. Withdrew to Galveston after the Storm after suffering major casualties during an assault against a Seer pylon operating near the Port of Houson.

====Guardians of the Veil====
* '''Cui Bono''' -- a self-styled "oversight" cabal dedicated to keeping an eye on newly-Awakened mages and "keeping them out of trouble," Cui Bono also strives to shield Sleepers from any malevolent supernatural influence. Currently guided by the Mastigos mage known as Logos, the Cui Bono mages work closely with leading mages in the region, trading information and other resorces as needed.
* '''Lightning Razors''' -- one of the larger cabals in the region, they are composed of three cells of three martially-focused mages that once worked closely with the Fiery Analemma cabal. Most notorious for pursuing and defeating the Mad One calling himself "Kadmon."

====Mysterium====
* '''Men of Letters''' -- organized by five mages of the Mysterium, the Men of Letters cabal is composed of academics from among the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University. Having recently won acclaim for repelling an incursion of passion spirits on the UST campus, the Men of Letters tend to work alone in order to concentrate on pure research.
* '''Lone Star Environmental LLC''' -- an environmental consulting company started by two mages, normally completing contracts for petrochemical firms and providing additional expertise for academic investigations.

====Silver Ladder====
* '''Thalassa, Magna & Assoc. LLP''' -- a cutthroat PIP law firm founded by Robert Thalassa and Thomasina Magna. Censured for using Awakened Arts to arrange desired outcomes in court, Thalassa and Magna nonetheless evade more adverse action against them by providing pro bono legal assistance to any mage that engages their services.
* '''Staff & Serpent''' -- SAS began eight years ago as a local coed service fraternity on the UH campus. After the original founder-mages graduated, they retained the name for the public policy research institute they organized a few years later. Staff and Serpent works closely with Thalassa and Magna, trading networking resources and research for various legal services including harassment and obstruction of their adversaries.
* '''Jubilee Restoration House''' -- now headed by Councilor Assita Falls after the assassination of its founder Kortikos by the Seers, the four mages working in this private outreach organization help provide vital services for battered women and children, the homeless, and other souls in desperate need.

===Free Council===
* '''4-Tay''' -- a hip-hop collective formed by the rap duo "4-Tay" and their Sleeper associates. Constant touring keeps them in touch with other Awakened mages throughout the South.
* '''Raditek Consultants''' -- a private firm providing IT and engineering consulting services along with temporary staffing services, started by three mages just out of college.

===Left-Hand Path Mages===
* '''Order of the Bennu''' -- reclusive sect of eight mages and non-Awakened sorcerers reported to use an Ancient Egyptian praxis. Content to stay near their communal waterfront property near the Bear Creek Reservoir, the Order has to date avoided sanction from the Consilium, though they resist any and all attempts at intrusion and surveillance with a combination of mundane technology and powerful Mind and Spirit countermagics.

===Seers of the Throne===
* '''Roderick Saxon''' -- a defector from the Mysterium, Roderick Saxon is the CEO and owner of the Saxon Group, a multinational real estate corporation that is one of the top five managers of office and residential property in the South. The Ruling Council has attempted multiple assassinations of the traitor, but as Saxon rarely leaves the tower which serves as his home and corporate headquarters and is a Master of Fate and Prime, all have failed.

===Banishers and Mad Ones===
* '''"IX"'''
* '''Kadmon'''

===Unaligned and Solitaries===
* '''Alessandro Ficino''' -- former UH communications professor and Silver Ladder renunciate who wages a vengeful hacktivist crusade against hate groups and other extremists
* '''Haroun''' -- forensic analyst and disciple of Samael with potent skill in alchemical and Enochian arts
* '''Fleur de Noire''' -- trio of transgendered mages notable for their expertise in divination and fateweaving
* '''Black Fist''' -- self-styled "professional gadfly" and performance artist who regularly stages demonstrations and protests on behalf of illegal immigrants and other social outcasts

===Sleepers===
* '''Saul Gavriel''' -- chief of staff of the Gavriel Collection
* '''Simon Gavriel''' -- liaison to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
* '''Lluvia Oreza''' -- Houston City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee
* '''Special Agent Etta Battles''' -- Special Agent Battles cut her teeth in counterterrorism and white collar crime investigation. After her promotion to SAC of the Houston FBI Field Office two years ago, Battles proved an able commander and coordinator of the eighteen month probe of AZB Associates.
* '''Sgt. Jonathan Core''' -- HPD patrolman placed on medical leave after reporting an assault by "blood-drinking skinhead freaks"
* '''Francisco Reyes''' -- minister of the Promise House, a nondenominational agency providing shelter and counseling services to homeless and runaway youths
* '''An Shen-Li''' -- music promoter affiliated with the 4-Tay collective

==Local Rumors and Legends==
* A suspected serial killer is stalking the Sharpstown and Neartown areas, with police blaming four ritualistic murders on the killer over the last three months based on the Roman numeral "IX" branded on the back of the victims' necks. So far the victims were all last seen within a few blocks of either the Botanica Eleggua yerberia or the Magick Cauldron pagan supply store.
* Black Fist, the flamboyant Solitary mage formerly associated with the Fiery Analemma cabal, has been spreading whispers to the effect that the Arrows are preparing to emerge from seclusion.
* Younger mages in Southeast Houston report signs of a massive abrasion of the Gauntlet near Ellington Airport, the airfield formerly used by the US Air Force.
* Majority stockholder and AZB chairman Aydin Arvin has gone into hiding days after federal agents raided the AZB home office. Financial analysts predict that the real estate magnate Roderick Saxon will acquire all AZB assets if the company goes into bankruptcy. AZB held the leases on hundreds of acres of retail and residential properties in Pasadena, South Houston, Downtown and the Medical Center.
* Copies of the mysterious recording known as the '''Hildebrandt Tape''' are circulating through the Houston underground. Some report that the last three owners of the Tape have either been committed or have attempted suicide.
* Horakhty, the shadowy leader of the Order of the Bennu cabal, is quietly searching for a lost text known as the '''Book of the Luminous Ib'''. Some report that the Order will pay as much as twenty pawns of Tass for the text.
* Graffiti defacing a mural on the University of St. Thomas campus: "''KADMON BECOMES/OMNIA MUTANTUR/NIHIL INTERIT''." Concerned that this may mark the return of the Mad sorcerer Kadmon (whom the Council insisted had been destroyed in the series of magical battles of the nights following the Storm), Heirarch Gavriel has ordered Sentinel Marian Made to investigate, with the authority to "deputize" any mages as she sees fit.

==Misc Info==
===Character Creation===
* Choose a Path and Order
* Attributes: 9/8/7, +1 dot Favored Resistance trait
* Skills: 14/10/7
* Skill Specialties: 5
* Arcana: 9 dots, +1 dot Favored Arcanum (none rated higher than 4)
* Rotes: 12 dots
* Gnosis: 4
* Merits: 13 dots
* Mana = Wisdom = Resolve + Composure
* Choose Virtue/Vice
* Choose Nimbus, magical tools and flesh out magical style

===House Rules===

* I'm using the "To the Limit" rule from Tome of the Mysteries, which allows mages to cast an improvised spell of one dot higher ranking than normal, if the mage has at least one dot in all of the Arcana necessary to complete the spell. Base casting pool will always be Gnosis + Arcanum, but the mage must spend one Willpower point in order to complete the casting. Also, the spell is automatically vulgar, and three additional dice will be added to the Paradox roll (which can still be reduced as normal by using magical tools or spending Mana). The Duration of any Paradox manifestations will be applied as normal.

* When using a rote, the Base Paradox Dice Pool as detailed on p.123 of the corebook is reduced by an additional die. So, a mage with Gnosis 3 or 4 will normally not roll for Paradox when casting by rote, while a mage with Gnosis 7 or 8 will have a base Paradox pool of 2 dice in a similar situation. Paradox dice can still be increased by making subsequent castings within the same scene, being in the presence of Sleeper witnesses, etc.

* Special Skill note: 
** The Occult skill functions on two levels. The first level measures general Sleeper occult lore, including stage magic, non-Awakened sorcery, and general Sleeper mysticism. The second covers rudimentary knowledge regarding other supernatural creatures. To gain more detailed knowledge regarding supernatural creatures, the character must already have a Specialty in that creature, or perform research and investigation during play to gain it.

* After the game starts, XP cost for acquiring new rotes will be one point per dot.

* Spell Tolerance = Stamina + 2, as opposed to Stamina + 1.

* PCs effectively possess two dots of Consilium Status and two dots of Order Status, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

* The PC cabal controls a level 4 Hallow and Sanctum pool of 6 dots, with a Library rated at 4 dots.

* Hallows generate their level in Tass and twice their level in Mana each day--i.e., a level 4 Hallow generates 8 points of Mana in addition to 4 points of Tass. However, Mana from a Hallow cannot be transferred directly to a Mage without the use of Prime 3 (thus, oblations will not replenish Mana unless the character has learned a Legacy) except by consuming the Tass itself in some fashion.

File:KirbyHouse.jpg

2011-04-05T06:52:58Z

Kastowt: uploaded a new version of "File:KirbyHouse.jpg"

File:KirbyHouse.jpg

2011-04-05T06:41:30Z

Kastowt:

Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters

2011-04-05T00:21:40Z

Kastowt: /* House Rules */

[[Category:Mage:_The_Awakening]][[Category:PBP]]
'''''Twenty-Five Lighters'''''

[[Image: Htown-eclipse.jpg]]

''A Storytelling Campaign of Ambition and Passion set in Houston, Texas''

Run by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?u=6778 Martys] on the RPGnet Forums

==Thread Info==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?568172-GM-Wanted-nWoD-anyone Recruitment]
* OOC
* IC

==The Cabal==
* '''[[John Barabus]]''', '''Mastigos''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Phigment'')
*'''[[Ajna]]''', '''Thyrsus''' of the '''Mysterium''' (played by ''Zato-2TWO'')
*'''[[Locke]]''', '''Obrimos''' of the '''Free Council''' (played by ''Nikki6th'')
*'''[[Ruse]]''', '''Acanthus''' of the '''Guardians of the Veil''' (played by ''Lost_Arts'')
*'''[[Michael Walker|Cephisso]]''', '''Moros''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Scutarii'')

==The Setting==
===Overview and Recent History===
Now boasting a population of 2.6 million in the city proper and nearly 7 million throughout the greater metro area, the City of Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Historically the nation's primary hub for the oil and gas industry, the city suffered an economic slump in the wake of the 80s-era oil bust, but soon rebounded after successfully diversifying its economy. Previously ignored by most mages for the first hundred years of its existence in favor of such cities as New Orleans and Miami, after the one-two punches of Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Ike (which Houstonians simply refer to as "the Storm"), Houston has now overtaken New Orleans in the number of mages that base themselves in the city.

There are between forty and fifty mages known to inhabit the Greater Houston Area (as a general rule of thumb, this includes the entire area within a fifteen-mile radius of downtown Houston). The Diamond Orders have thrived in the region since the Second World War, with their first wave of migration beginning with the wartime mobilization, the second wave following the general 60s-era Sun Belt migration and the third wave coinciding with the late 80s tech and financial services booms. The Mysterium and Guardians of the Veil are the dominant Orders, having long since concentrated themselves within such Sleeper institutions as academia, the aerospace industry, law enforcement, public services, and the health care industry. The Silver Ladder and Free Council both maintain visibly active presences in the region, with their cabals working together in a shifting web of alliances and mutual partnerships. Most new self-Awakened mages tend to get scooped up by one of those two Orders, though the Silver Ladder is happy to find another home for those mages who don't fit its ideology. The Free Council boasts a larger number of mages and has thoroughly worked its way into the local telecom and energy industries. The Silver Ladder claims the greater number of cabals and has gained a stranglehold over the region's occult communities; its influence over the local religious activists and social justice organizers is no less pervasive. The Adamantine Arrows keep the lowest profile, apparently having suffered a crippling blow in September 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The Arrows are currently composed of two cabals which concentrate on their own projects and rarely ask assistance from or communicate with the other Orders. The remaining unaligned mages number a little less than a third of the total population and either remain completely aloof from the larger mage community, or maintain loose affiliations with the Free Council.

===Places of Interest===

'''Consilium'''

[[Image: ChapelCourtyard.jpg]]

* The Maxine Gavriel Collection serves as the physical location from which Houston mages coordinate their activites, air disputes, trade favors, etc. Located on a small private estate in the Upper Kirby District owned by the Gavriel family for six generations, the Consilium consists of a small chapel with a capacity of 100 persons, an art gallery displaying the family's private works, a private library containing various occult and historical volumes, a courtyard with a level 4 Hallow, four spirit Guardians and a permanent staff of eight Sleepwalker acolytes loyal to the Gavriel family. The chapel, courtyard and art gallery are open to the public, but only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

'''Y'all Come Back'''

[[Image: Bb.jpg]]

* A bed & breakfast inn with 14 rooms, located in the center of the Hyde Park District and run by the Silver Ladder mage known as Xenios, one of the city's two Heralds. All nonresident mages intending to remain in the city more than 36 hours must ensure that the Hierarch is aware of their presence, with most expected to quarter themselves at Xenios's lodgings unless another resident mage volunteers to provide his own hospitality.

'''Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park'''

[[Image: Waterwall.jpg]]

* Still stubbornly referred to as Transco Park by locals seven years after the 2003 Galleria expansion that reduced it to a third of its former size, the Hines Waterwall Park sits adjacent to the Galleria retail complex in the Uptown District. Though the park is privately owned, it is open to the public from 10am to 10pm. Until recently, the park was used as neutral ground for meetings between Pentacle mages and Seers when face-to-face meetings were necessary.

'''Saxon Tower'''

[[Image: Saxon.jpg]]

* The corporate headquarters of the Saxon Group, the 49-story skyscraper was completed in May 2000. The bottom ten floors are devoted to retail shops and parking, with the next thirty floors containing office space. Floors 40-44 contain a SkyGarden overlooking the north and east, with the remaining floors reserved as private residences for Roderick Saxon and his aides.

'''Eternity Bar'''

[[Image: Eternitybar.jpg]]

* One of the few downtown nightspots consciously targeting the over-30 crowd, the Eternity Bar is frequented by somewhat older mages who still enjoy a wild night. A tri-level venue, the Eternity consists of a small bar at the street level, a rooftop patio and bar, plus a larger lounge and dance floor just below the rooftop level.

'''The Stateroom'''

[[Image: Stateroom.jpg]]

* Billed as Houston's only revolving restaurant and located 24 stories above street-level, the Stateroom Restaurant and lounge tends to be the go-to location when higher-ranking mages wish to impress out-of-towners. The circular structure makes one complete rotation ever 45 minutes, giving an unparalleled view of the surrounding area.

'''Memorial Park'''

[[Image: Obelisk.jpg]]

* Inspired by a dream, in 2003 the sculptor and architect Dion Murdock erected this obelisk atop a 35-foot crest deep within the forests of Memorial Park, a 1500 acre urban park near the Uptown area. Mages later discovered the obelisk straddles a ley line running beneath the park, and marks the centerpoint of a cluster of Hallows that collectively have a rating of 3. During the winter of 2004-2005, the Lightning Razors chased away a nest of vampires that laid claim to the Hallows and have zealously guarded it ever since.

==The Sanctum==

==Cabal Associates==

==NPCs of Interest==

===Ruling Council===
* '''Heirarch''': Renee Gavriel (Mysterium)
* '''Provost Primus''': Julius (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Provost Secundus''': FuX0r (Free Council)
* '''Herald Primus''': Xenios (Silver Ladder)
* '''Herald Secundus''': Jackson Rusk (Silver Ladder)
* '''Sentinel''': Kirpan (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Sentinel''': Marian Made (Mysterium)

===Councilors===
* '''Acanthus''': Laarsen (Silver Ladder) -- Special Projects Coordinator for City Council Member Oreza and primary source of political intelligence to the Consilium
* '''Mastigos''': Logos (Guardians of the Veil) -- leader of the Cui Bono cabal and mentor of Sentinel Kirpan; together with Assita Falls, Logos has discovered or partially initiated nearly one-third of the region's novice Pentacle mages over the last two decades
* '''Moros''': Samael (Mysterium) -- leader of the Verba Non Acta cabal and long-time investigative journalist for the ''Houston Press'' alternative newsweekly
* '''Obrimos''': Hsing Sun (Mysterium) -- the Most Venerable Hsing Sun is the current abbot of Guang Tien Di Temple, leader of the Jing Dao cabal, and a sage of the Perfected Adept Legacy. One of the oldest mages in the Houston area, Hsing Sun maintains one of the largest collections of Eastern Supernal lore in North America.
* '''Thyrsus''': Assita Falls (Silver Ladder) -- leader of the Seven Mercies cabal and administrator of the Jubilee Restoration House, a private outreach organization providing a network of transitioning housing facilities and homeless shelters throughout Greater Houston.

===Diamond Orders===

====Adamantine Arrows====
* '''Fiery Analemma''' -- six mages that were the vanguard of the campaign against the Seers in the Greater Houston area. Withdrew to Galveston after the Storm after suffering major casualties during an assault against a Seer pylon operating near the Port of Houson.

====Guardians of the Veil====
* '''Cui Bono''' -- a self-styled "oversight" cabal dedicated to keeping an eye on newly-Awakened mages and "keeping them out of trouble," Cui Bono also strives to shield Sleepers from any malevolent supernatural influence. Currently guided by the Mastigos mage known as Logos, the Cui Bono mages work closely with leading mages in the region, trading information and other resorces as needed.
* '''Lightning Razors''' -- one of the larger cabals in the region, they are composed of three cells of three martially-focused mages that once worked closely with the Fiery Analemma cabal. Most notorious for pursuing and defeating the Mad One calling himself "Kadmon."

====Mysterium====
* '''Men of Letters''' -- organized by five mages of the Mysterium, the Men of Letters cabal is composed of academics from among the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University. Having recently won acclaim for repelling an incursion of passion spirits on the UST campus, the Men of Letters tend to work alone in order to concentrate on pure research.
* '''Lone Star Environmental LLC''' -- an environmental consulting company started by two mages, normally completing contracts for petrochemical firms and providing additional expertise for academic investigations.

====Silver Ladder====
* '''Thalassa, Magna & Assoc. LLP''' -- a cutthroat PIP law firm founded by Robert Thalassa and Thomasina Magna. Censured for using Awakened Arts to arrange desired outcomes in court, Thalassa and Magna nonetheless evade more adverse action against them by providing pro bono legal assistance to any mage that engages their services.
* '''Staff & Serpent''' -- SAS began eight years ago as a local coed service fraternity on the UH campus. After the original founder-mages graduated, they retained the name for the public policy research institute they organized a few years later. Staff and Serpent works closely with Thalassa and Magna, trading networking resources and research for various legal services including harassment and obstruction of their adversaries.
* '''Jubilee Restoration House''' -- now headed by Councilor Assita Falls after the assassination of its founder Kortikos by the Seers, the four mages working in this private outreach organization help provide vital services for battered women and children, the homeless, and other souls in desperate need.

===Free Council===
* '''4-Tay''' -- a hip-hop collective formed by the rap duo "4-Tay" and their Sleeper associates. Constant touring keeps them in touch with other Awakened mages throughout the South.
* '''Raditek Consultants''' -- a private firm providing IT and engineering consulting services along with temporary staffing services, started by three mages just out of college.

===Left-Hand Path Mages===
* '''Order of the Bennu''' -- reclusive sect of eight mages and non-Awakened sorcerers reported to use an Ancient Egyptian praxis. Content to stay near their communal waterfront property near the Bear Creek Reservoir, the Order has to date avoided sanction from the Consilium, though they resist any and all attempts at intrusion and surveillance with a combination of mundane technology and powerful Mind and Spirit countermagics.

===Seers of the Throne===
* '''Roderick Saxon''' -- a defector from the Mysterium, Roderick Saxon is the CEO and owner of the Saxon Group, a multinational real estate corporation that is one of the top five managers of office and residential property in the South. The Ruling Council has attempted multiple assassinations of the traitor, but as Saxon rarely leaves the tower which serves as his home and corporate headquarters and is a Master of Fate and Prime, all have failed.

===Banishers and Mad Ones===
* '''"IX"'''
* '''Kadmon'''

===Unaligned and Solitaries===
* '''Alessandro Ficino''' -- former UH communications professor and Silver Ladder renunciate who wages a vengeful hacktivist crusade against hate groups and other extremists
* '''Haroun''' -- forensic analyst and disciple of Samael with potent skill in alchemical and Enochian arts
* '''Fleur de Noire''' -- trio of transgendered mages notable for their expertise in divination and fateweaving
* '''Black Fist''' -- self-styled "professional gadfly" and performance artist who regularly stages demonstrations and protests on behalf of illegal immigrants and other social outcasts

===Sleepers===
* '''Saul Gavriel''' -- chief of staff of the Gavriel Collection
* '''Simon Gavriel''' -- liaison to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
* '''Lluvia Oreza''' -- Houston City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee
* '''Special Agent Etta Battles''' -- Special Agent Battles cut her teeth in counterterrorism and white collar crime investigation. After her promotion to SAC of the Houston FBI Field Office two years ago, Battles proved an able commander and coordinator of the eighteen month probe of AZB Associates.
* '''Sgt. Jonathan Core''' -- HPD patrolman placed on medical leave after reporting an assault by "blood-drinking skinhead freaks"
* '''Francisco Reyes''' -- minister of the Promise House, a nondenominational agency providing shelter and counseling services to homeless and runaway youths
* '''An Shen-Li''' -- music promoter affiliated with the 4-Tay collective

==Local Rumors and Legends==
* A suspected serial killer is stalking the Sharpstown and Neartown areas, with police blaming four ritualistic murders on the killer over the last three months based on the Roman numeral "IX" branded on the back of the victims' necks. So far the victims were all last seen within a few blocks of either the Botanica Eleggua yerberia or the Magick Cauldron pagan supply store.
* Black Fist, the flamboyant Solitary mage formerly associated with the Fiery Analemma cabal, has been spreading whispers to the effect that the Arrows are preparing to emerge from seclusion.
* Younger mages in Southeast Houston report signs of a massive abrasion of the Gauntlet near Ellington Airport, the airfield formerly used by the US Air Force.
* Majority stockholder and AZB chairman Aydin Arvin has gone into hiding days after federal agents raided the AZB home office. Financial analysts predict that the real estate magnate Roderick Saxon will acquire all AZB assets if the company goes into bankruptcy. AZB held the leases on hundreds of acres of retail and residential properties in Pasadena, South Houston, Downtown and the Medical Center.
* Copies of the mysterious recording known as the '''Hildebrandt Tape''' are circulating through the Houston underground. Some report that the last three owners of the Tape have either been committed or have attempted suicide.
* Horakhty, the shadowy leader of the Order of the Bennu cabal, is quietly searching for a lost text known as the '''Book of the Luminous Ib'''. Some report that the Order will pay as much as twenty pawns of Tass for the text.
* Graffiti defacing a mural on the University of St. Thomas campus: "''KADMON BECOMES/OMNIA MUTANTUR/NIHIL INTERIT''." Concerned that this may mark the return of the Mad sorcerer Kadmon (whom the Council insisted had been destroyed in the series of magical battles of the nights following the Storm), Heirarch Gavriel has ordered Sentinel Marian Made to investigate, with the authority to "deputize" any mages as she sees fit.

==Misc Info==
===Character Creation===
* Choose a Path and Order
* Attributes: 9/8/7, +1 dot Favored Resistance trait
* Skills: 14/10/7
* Skill Specialties: 5
* Arcana: 9 dots, +1 dot Favored Arcanum (none rated higher than 4)
* Rotes: 12 dots
* Gnosis: 4
* Merits: 13 dots
* Mana = Wisdom = Resolve + Composure
* Choose Virtue/Vice
* Choose Nimbus, magical tools and flesh out magical style

===House Rules===

* I'm using the "To the Limit" rule from Tome of the Mysteries, which allows mages to cast an improvised spell of one dot higher ranking than normal, if the mage has at least one dot in all of the Arcana necessary to complete the spell. Base casting pool will always be Gnosis + Arcanum, but the mage must spend one Willpower point in order to complete the casting. Also, the spell is automatically vulgar, and three additional dice will be added to the Paradox roll (which can still be reduced as normal by using magical tools or spending Mana). The Duration of any Paradox manifestations will be applied as normal.

* When using a rote, the Base Paradox Dice Pool as detailed on p.123 of the corebook is reduced by an additional die. So, a mage with Gnosis 3 or 4 will normally not roll for Paradox when casting by rote, while a mage with Gnosis 7 or 8 will have a base Paradox pool of 2 dice in a similar situation. Paradox dice can still be increased by making subsequent castings within the same scene, being in the presence of Sleeper witnesses, etc.

* Special Skill note: 
** The Occult skill functions on two levels. The first level measures general Sleeper occult lore, including stage magic, non-Awakened sorcery, and general Sleeper mysticism. The second covers rudimentary knowledge regarding other supernatural creatures. To gain more detailed knowledge regarding supernatural creatures, the character must already have a Specialty in that creature, or perform research and investigation during play to gain it.

* After the game starts, XP cost for acquiring new rotes will be one point per dot.

* Spell Tolerance = Stamina + 2, as opposed to Stamina + 1.

* PCs effectively possess two dots of Consilium Status and two dots of Order Status, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

* The PC cabal controls a level 4 Hallow and Sanctum pool of 6 dots, with a Library rated at 4 dots.

* Hallows generate their level in Tass and twice their level in Mana each day--i.e., a level 4 Hallow generates 8 points of Mana in addition to 4 points of Tass. However, Mana from a Hallow cannot be transferred directly to a Mage without the use of Prime 3 (thus, oblations will not replenish Mana unless the character has learned a Legacy) except by consuming the Tass itself in some fashion.

Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters

2011-04-04T22:41:33Z

Kastowt: /* The Cabal */

[[Category:Mage:_The_Awakening]][[Category:PBP]]
'''''Twenty-Five Lighters'''''

[[Image: Htown-eclipse.jpg]]

''A Storytelling Campaign of Ambition and Passion set in Houston, Texas''

Run by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?u=6778 Martys] on the RPGnet Forums

==Thread Info==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?568172-GM-Wanted-nWoD-anyone Recruitment]
* OOC
* IC

==The Cabal==
* '''[[John Barabus]]''', '''Mastigos''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Phigment'')
*'''[[Ajna]]''', '''Thyrsus''' of the '''Mysterium''' (played by ''Zato-2TWO'')
*'''[[Locke]]''', '''Obrimos''' of the '''Free Council''' (played by ''Nikki6th'')
*'''[[Ruse]]''', '''Acanthus''' of the '''Guardians of the Veil''' (played by ''Lost_Arts'')
*'''[[Michael Walker|Cephisso]]''', '''Moros''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Scutarii'')

==The Setting==
===Overview and Recent History===
Now boasting a population of 2.6 million in the city proper and nearly 7 million throughout the greater metro area, the City of Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Historically the nation's primary hub for the oil and gas industry, the city suffered an economic slump in the wake of the 80s-era oil bust, but soon rebounded after successfully diversifying its economy. Previously ignored by most mages for the first hundred years of its existence in favor of such cities as New Orleans and Miami, after the one-two punches of Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Ike (which Houstonians simply refer to as "the Storm"), Houston has now overtaken New Orleans in the number of mages that base themselves in the city.

There are between forty and fifty mages known to inhabit the Greater Houston Area (as a general rule of thumb, this includes the entire area within a fifteen-mile radius of downtown Houston). The Diamond Orders have thrived in the region since the Second World War, with their first wave of migration beginning with the wartime mobilization, the second wave following the general 60s-era Sun Belt migration and the third wave coinciding with the late 80s tech and financial services booms. The Mysterium and Guardians of the Veil are the dominant Orders, having long since concentrated themselves within such Sleeper institutions as academia, the aerospace industry, law enforcement, public services, and the health care industry. The Silver Ladder and Free Council both maintain visibly active presences in the region, with their cabals working together in a shifting web of alliances and mutual partnerships. Most new self-Awakened mages tend to get scooped up by one of those two Orders, though the Silver Ladder is happy to find another home for those mages who don't fit its ideology. The Free Council boasts a larger number of mages and has thoroughly worked its way into the local telecom and energy industries. The Silver Ladder claims the greater number of cabals and has gained a stranglehold over the region's occult communities; its influence over the local religious activists and social justice organizers is no less pervasive. The Adamantine Arrows keep the lowest profile, apparently having suffered a crippling blow in September 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The Arrows are currently composed of two cabals which concentrate on their own projects and rarely ask assistance from or communicate with the other Orders. The remaining unaligned mages number a little less than a third of the total population and either remain completely aloof from the larger mage community, or maintain loose affiliations with the Free Council.

===Places of Interest===

'''Consilium'''

[[Image: ChapelCourtyard.jpg]]

* The Maxine Gavriel Collection serves as the physical location from which Houston mages coordinate their activites, air disputes, trade favors, etc. Located on a small private estate in the Upper Kirby District owned by the Gavriel family for six generations, the Consilium consists of a small chapel with a capacity of 100 persons, an art gallery displaying the family's private works, a private library containing various occult and historical volumes, a courtyard with a level 4 Hallow, four spirit Guardians and a permanent staff of eight Sleepwalker acolytes loyal to the Gavriel family. The chapel, courtyard and art gallery are open to the public, but only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

'''Y'all Come Back'''

[[Image: Bb.jpg]]

* A bed & breakfast inn with 14 rooms, located in the center of the Hyde Park District and run by the Silver Ladder mage known as Xenios, one of the city's two Heralds. All nonresident mages intending to remain in the city more than 36 hours must ensure that the Hierarch is aware of their presence, with most expected to quarter themselves at Xenios's lodgings unless another resident mage volunteers to provide his own hospitality.

'''Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park'''

[[Image: Waterwall.jpg]]

* Still stubbornly referred to as Transco Park by locals seven years after the 2003 Galleria expansion that reduced it to a third of its former size, the Hines Waterwall Park sits adjacent to the Galleria retail complex in the Uptown District. Though the park is privately owned, it is open to the public from 10am to 10pm. Until recently, the park was used as neutral ground for meetings between Pentacle mages and Seers when face-to-face meetings were necessary.

'''Saxon Tower'''

[[Image: Saxon.jpg]]

* The corporate headquarters of the Saxon Group, the 49-story skyscraper was completed in May 2000. The bottom ten floors are devoted to retail shops and parking, with the next thirty floors containing office space. Floors 40-44 contain a SkyGarden overlooking the north and east, with the remaining floors reserved as private residences for Roderick Saxon and his aides.

'''Eternity Bar'''

[[Image: Eternitybar.jpg]]

* One of the few downtown nightspots consciously targeting the over-30 crowd, the Eternity Bar is frequented by somewhat older mages who still enjoy a wild night. A tri-level venue, the Eternity consists of a small bar at the street level, a rooftop patio and bar, plus a larger lounge and dance floor just below the rooftop level.

'''The Stateroom'''

[[Image: Stateroom.jpg]]

* Billed as Houston's only revolving restaurant and located 24 stories above street-level, the Stateroom Restaurant and lounge tends to be the go-to location when higher-ranking mages wish to impress out-of-towners. The circular structure makes one complete rotation ever 45 minutes, giving an unparalleled view of the surrounding area.

'''Memorial Park'''

[[Image: Obelisk.jpg]]

* Inspired by a dream, in 2003 the sculptor and architect Dion Murdock erected this obelisk atop a 35-foot crest deep within the forests of Memorial Park, a 1500 acre urban park near the Uptown area. Mages later discovered the obelisk straddles a ley line running beneath the park, and marks the centerpoint of a cluster of Hallows that collectively have a rating of 3. During the winter of 2004-2005, the Lightning Razors chased away a nest of vampires that laid claim to the Hallows and have zealously guarded it ever since.

==The Sanctum==

==Cabal Associates==

==NPCs of Interest==

===Ruling Council===
* '''Heirarch''': Renee Gavriel (Mysterium)
* '''Provost Primus''': Julius (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Provost Secundus''': FuX0r (Free Council)
* '''Herald Primus''': Xenios (Silver Ladder)
* '''Herald Secundus''': Jackson Rusk (Silver Ladder)
* '''Sentinel''': Kirpan (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Sentinel''': Marian Made (Mysterium)

===Councilors===
* '''Acanthus''': Laarsen (Silver Ladder) -- Special Projects Coordinator for City Council Member Oreza and primary source of political intelligence to the Consilium
* '''Mastigos''': Logos (Guardians of the Veil) -- leader of the Cui Bono cabal and mentor of Sentinel Kirpan; together with Assita Falls, Logos has discovered or partially initiated nearly one-third of the region's novice Pentacle mages over the last two decades
* '''Moros''': Samael (Mysterium) -- leader of the Verba Non Acta cabal and long-time investigative journalist for the ''Houston Press'' alternative newsweekly
* '''Obrimos''': Hsing Sun (Mysterium) -- the Most Venerable Hsing Sun is the current abbot of Guang Tien Di Temple, leader of the Jing Dao cabal, and a sage of the Perfected Adept Legacy. One of the oldest mages in the Houston area, Hsing Sun maintains one of the largest collections of Eastern Supernal lore in North America.
* '''Thyrsus''': Assita Falls (Silver Ladder) -- leader of the Seven Mercies cabal and administrator of the Jubilee Restoration House, a private outreach organization providing a network of transitioning housing facilities and homeless shelters throughout Greater Houston.

===Diamond Orders===

====Adamantine Arrows====
* '''Fiery Analemma''' -- six mages that were the vanguard of the campaign against the Seers in the Greater Houston area. Withdrew to Galveston after the Storm after suffering major casualties during an assault against a Seer pylon operating near the Port of Houson.

====Guardians of the Veil====
* '''Cui Bono''' -- a self-styled "oversight" cabal dedicated to keeping an eye on newly-Awakened mages and "keeping them out of trouble," Cui Bono also strives to shield Sleepers from any malevolent supernatural influence. Currently guided by the Mastigos mage known as Logos, the Cui Bono mages work closely with leading mages in the region, trading information and other resorces as needed.
* '''Lightning Razors''' -- one of the larger cabals in the region, they are composed of three cells of three martially-focused mages that once worked closely with the Fiery Analemma cabal. Most notorious for pursuing and defeating the Mad One calling himself "Kadmon."

====Mysterium====
* '''Men of Letters''' -- organized by five mages of the Mysterium, the Men of Letters cabal is composed of academics from among the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University. Having recently won acclaim for repelling an incursion of passion spirits on the UST campus, the Men of Letters tend to work alone in order to concentrate on pure research.
* '''Lone Star Environmental LLC''' -- an environmental consulting company started by two mages, normally completing contracts for petrochemical firms and providing additional expertise for academic investigations.

====Silver Ladder====
* '''Thalassa, Magna & Assoc. LLP''' -- a cutthroat PIP law firm founded by Robert Thalassa and Thomasina Magna. Censured for using Awakened Arts to arrange desired outcomes in court, Thalassa and Magna nonetheless evade more adverse action against them by providing pro bono legal assistance to any mage that engages their services.
* '''Staff & Serpent''' -- SAS began eight years ago as a local coed service fraternity on the UH campus. After the original founder-mages graduated, they retained the name for the public policy research institute they organized a few years later. Staff and Serpent works closely with Thalassa and Magna, trading networking resources and research for various legal services including harassment and obstruction of their adversaries.
* '''Jubilee Restoration House''' -- now headed by Councilor Assita Falls after the assassination of its founder Kortikos by the Seers, the four mages working in this private outreach organization help provide vital services for battered women and children, the homeless, and other souls in desperate need.

===Free Council===
* '''4-Tay''' -- a hip-hop collective formed by the rap duo "4-Tay" and their Sleeper associates. Constant touring keeps them in touch with other Awakened mages throughout the South.
* '''Raditek Consultants''' -- a private firm providing IT and engineering consulting services along with temporary staffing services, started by three mages just out of college.

===Left-Hand Path Mages===
* '''Order of the Bennu''' -- reclusive sect of eight mages and non-Awakened sorcerers reported to use an Ancient Egyptian praxis. Content to stay near their communal waterfront property near the Bear Creek Reservoir, the Order has to date avoided sanction from the Consilium, though they resist any and all attempts at intrusion and surveillance with a combination of mundane technology and powerful Mind and Spirit countermagics.

===Seers of the Throne===
* '''Roderick Saxon''' -- a defector from the Mysterium, Roderick Saxon is the CEO and owner of the Saxon Group, a multinational real estate corporation that is one of the top five managers of office and residential property in the South. The Ruling Council has attempted multiple assassinations of the traitor, but as Saxon rarely leaves the tower which serves as his home and corporate headquarters and is a Master of Fate and Prime, all have failed.

===Banishers and Mad Ones===
* '''"IX"'''
* '''Kadmon'''

===Unaligned and Solitaries===
* '''Alessandro Ficino''' -- former UH communications professor and Silver Ladder renunciate who wages a vengeful hacktivist crusade against hate groups and other extremists
* '''Haroun''' -- forensic analyst and disciple of Samael with potent skill in alchemical and Enochian arts
* '''Fleur de Noire''' -- trio of transgendered mages notable for their expertise in divination and fateweaving
* '''Black Fist''' -- self-styled "professional gadfly" and performance artist who regularly stages demonstrations and protests on behalf of illegal immigrants and other social outcasts

===Sleepers===
* '''Saul Gavriel''' -- chief of staff of the Gavriel Collection
* '''Simon Gavriel''' -- liaison to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
* '''Lluvia Oreza''' -- Houston City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee
* '''Special Agent Etta Battles''' -- Special Agent Battles cut her teeth in counterterrorism and white collar crime investigation. After her promotion to SAC of the Houston FBI Field Office two years ago, Battles proved an able commander and coordinator of the eighteen month probe of AZB Associates.
* '''Sgt. Jonathan Core''' -- HPD patrolman placed on medical leave after reporting an assault by "blood-drinking skinhead freaks"
* '''Francisco Reyes''' -- minister of the Promise House, a nondenominational agency providing shelter and counseling services to homeless and runaway youths
* '''An Shen-Li''' -- music promoter affiliated with the 4-Tay collective

==Local Rumors and Legends==
* A suspected serial killer is stalking the Sharpstown and Neartown areas, with police blaming four ritualistic murders on the killer over the last three months based on the Roman numeral "IX" branded on the back of the victims' necks. So far the victims were all last seen within a few blocks of either the Botanica Eleggua yerberia or the Magick Cauldron pagan supply store.
* Black Fist, the flamboyant Solitary mage formerly associated with the Fiery Analemma cabal, has been spreading whispers to the effect that the Arrows are preparing to emerge from seclusion.
* Younger mages in Southeast Houston report signs of a massive abrasion of the Gauntlet near Ellington Airport, the airfield formerly used by the US Air Force.
* Majority stockholder and AZB chairman Aydin Arvin has gone into hiding days after federal agents raided the AZB home office. Financial analysts predict that the real estate magnate Roderick Saxon will acquire all AZB assets if the company goes into bankruptcy. AZB held the leases on hundreds of acres of retail and residential properties in Pasadena, South Houston, Downtown and the Medical Center.
* Copies of the mysterious recording known as the '''Hildebrandt Tape''' are circulating through the Houston underground. Some report that the last three owners of the Tape have either been committed or have attempted suicide.
* Horakhty, the shadowy leader of the Order of the Bennu cabal, is quietly searching for a lost text known as the '''Book of the Luminous Ib'''. Some report that the Order will pay as much as twenty pawns of Tass for the text.
* Graffiti defacing a mural on the University of St. Thomas campus: "''KADMON BECOMES/OMNIA MUTANTUR/NIHIL INTERIT''." Concerned that this may mark the return of the Mad sorcerer Kadmon (whom the Council insisted had been destroyed in the series of magical battles of the nights following the Storm), Heirarch Gavriel has ordered Sentinel Marian Made to investigate, with the authority to "deputize" any mages as she sees fit.

==Misc Info==
===Character Creation===
* Choose a Path and Order
* Attributes: 9/8/7, +1 dot Favored Resistance trait
* Skills: 14/10/7
* Skill Specialties: 5
* Arcana: 9 dots, +1 dot Favored Arcanum (none rated higher than 4)
* Rotes: 12 dots
* Gnosis: 4
* Merits: 13 dots
* Mana = Wisdom = Resolve + Composure
* Choose Virtue/Vice
* Choose Nimbus, magical tools and flesh out magical style

===House Rules===

* I'm using the "To the Limit" rule from Tome of the Mysteries, which allows mages to cast an improvised spell of one dot higher ranking than normal, if the mage has at least one dot in all of the Arcana necessary to complete the spell. Base casting pool will always be Gnosis + Arcanum, but the mage must spend one Willpower point in order to complete the casting. Also, the spell is automatically vulgar, and three additional dice will be added to the Paradox roll (which can still be reduced as normal by using magical tools or spending Mana).

* When using a rote, the Base Paradox Dice Pool as detailed on p.123 of the corebook is reduced by an additional die. So, a mage with Gnosis 3 or 4 will not roll for Paradox when casting by rote, while a mage with Gnosis 7 or 8 will have a base Paradox pool of 2 dice in a similar situation.

* After the game starts, XP cost for acquiring new rotes will be one point per dot.

* Spell Tolerance = Stamina + 2, as opposed to Stamina + 1.

* PCs effectively possess two dots of Consilium Status and two dots of Order Status, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

* The PC cabal controls a level 4 Hallow and Sanctum pool of 6 dots, with a Library rated at 4 dots.

* Hallows generate their level in Tass and twice their level in Mana each day--i.e., a level 4 Hallow generates 8 points of Mana in addition to 4 points of Tass. However, Mana from a Hallow cannot be transferred directly to a Mage without the use of Prime 3 (thus, oblations will not replenish Mana unless the character has learned a Legacy) except by consuming the Tass itself in some fashion.

Michael Walker

2011-04-04T22:36:34Z

Kastowt:

'''Shadow Name''': Cephisso 
'''Real Name''': Michael Walker 
'''Concept''': Artisan 
'''Virtue''': Charity 
'''Vice''': Gluttony 
'''Order''': Silver Ladder 
'''Path''': Moros 
'''Legacy''': The Uncrowned Kings

'''ATTRIBUTES''' 
Intelligence 3, Wits 3, Resolve 3 
Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2 
Presence 2, Manipulation 3, Composure 4

'''SKILLS''' 
Academics 2, Crafts 4 (Sculpting), Investigation 1, Occult 4, Plotics 1 (Order, Consilium), Science 2 (Materials) 
Athletics 1, Brawl 1, Firearms 1, Stealth 1, Survival 1, Weaponry 1 
Empathy 1, Expression 2 (Music), Persuasion 3, Socialize 1, Subterfuge 3

'''ARCANA''' 
Death 3, Matter 3, Mind 4 (favoured)

'''WILLPOWER''' 7 
'''WISDOM''' 6 
'''GNOSIS''' 4 
'''MANA''' 6 
'''SIZE''' 5 
'''HEALTH''' 7 
'''DEFENSE''' 3 
'''INIT MOD''' 7 
'''SPEED''' 10

'''ROTES''': 
Summon Shadows: Death 3 (3xp) 
Sculpt Ephemera: Death 3 
Breach the Vault of Memory: Mind 4 
Alter Integrity: Matter 3 
Touch of the Grave: Death 2 
Speak With the Dead: Death 1 (1xp) 
Grim Sight: Death 1 (1xp) 

'''MERITS''': 
Dream 2, Familiar 3 (Ghost*), Hallow 2, Resources 4, Status 2 (Silver Ladder),
Status 2 (Moros), Status 1 (Art World) 

Familiar: Shade of Walker's Wife
* Power/Finesse/Resistance 4/3/3 
* Essence 10 
* Willpower 7 
* Initiative 6 
* Defense 4
* Speed 11 
* Size 5 
* Corpus 7 
* Fetter: Michael Walker 
* Influence: "The Way" (providing guidance thru the Subtle Realms) 
* Numina: Gauntlet Breach, Living Fetter 
* Ban: Cannot cross the Gauntlet unless summoned verbally or mentally by Walker

'''MAGICAL TOOLS''' 
Dedicated Tool:

Arcana Tools: 

'''STYLE AND NIMBUS''' 

'''APPEARANCE''' 

'''BACKGROUND''' 
Cephisso is a member of the Silver Ladder and of the Path Moros. He is the owner of a major museum/art gallery and a huge collector of art, and is himself an accomplished sculptor and painter.

After his wife died he was plagued by repeat nightmares and dreams. One night he would be welcomed by the ghostly spectre of his wife and they would wander through bizarre shadow worlds, others he would be alone, lost in the darkness but knowing she was in danger somewhere if only he could just see...

After months of these dreams he finally stumbled through the darkness to a tower of bone, spiraling up and away into the heavens above. He approached and with the barest touch of the surface the shadows cleared from his eyes and everything became clear. Everything, even things he never knew could be possible.

He is a generally pleasant person, affable and sociable. He loves nothing more than to be working in his studio, perfecting his craft, combining the magic and the arts, sculpting things that no other could do. Using his wealth and prestige in the mortal world he has built up a wide rapport within the different Orders, often having guests and holding parties, dazzling people with some of the most unique works of art in the world.

He uses his work with magic and art to perfect himself, to understand the world around him and to stave off the inevitable degradation of his wife's soul. He knows that as a Ghost her fate is far from pleasant. However in death, just as in life, she can be guided and protected by his art.

Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters

2011-04-04T21:57:00Z

Kastowt: /* The Cabal */

[[Category:Mage:_The_Awakening]][[Category:PBP]]
'''''Twenty-Five Lighters'''''

[[Image: Htown-eclipse.jpg]]

''A Storytelling Campaign of Ambition and Passion set in Houston, Texas''

Run by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?u=6778 Martys] on the RPGnet Forums

==Thread Info==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?568172-GM-Wanted-nWoD-anyone Recruitment]
* OOC
* IC

==The Cabal==
* '''[[John Barabus]]''', '''Mastigos''' of the '''Mysterium''' (played by ''Phigment'')
*'''[[Ajna]]''', '''Thyrsus''' of the '''Mysterium''' (played by ''Zato-2TWO'')
*'''[[Locke]]''', '''Obrimos''' of the '''Free Council''' (played by ''Nikki6th'')
*'''[[Ruse]]''', '''Acanthus''' of the '''Guardians of the Veil''' (played by ''Lost_Arts'')
*'''[[Michael Walker|Cephisso]]''', '''Moros''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Scutarii'')

==The Setting==
===Overview and Recent History===
Now boasting a population of 2.6 million in the city proper and nearly 7 million throughout the greater metro area, the City of Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Historically the nation's primary hub for the oil and gas industry, the city suffered an economic slump in the wake of the 80s-era oil bust, but soon rebounded after successfully diversifying its economy. Previously ignored by most mages for the first hundred years of its existence in favor of such cities as New Orleans and Miami, after the one-two punches of Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Ike (which Houstonians simply refer to as "the Storm"), Houston has now overtaken New Orleans in the number of mages that base themselves in the city.

There are between forty and fifty mages known to inhabit the Greater Houston Area (as a general rule of thumb, this includes the entire area within a fifteen-mile radius of downtown Houston). The Diamond Orders have thrived in the region since the Second World War, with their first wave of migration beginning with the wartime mobilization, the second wave following the general 60s-era Sun Belt migration and the third wave coinciding with the late 80s tech and financial services booms. The Mysterium and Guardians of the Veil are the dominant Orders, having long since concentrated themselves within such Sleeper institutions as academia, the aerospace industry, law enforcement, public services, and the health care industry. The Silver Ladder and Free Council both maintain visibly active presences in the region, with their cabals working together in a shifting web of alliances and mutual partnerships. Most new self-Awakened mages tend to get scooped up by one of those two Orders, though the Silver Ladder is happy to find another home for those mages who don't fit its ideology. The Free Council boasts a larger number of mages and has thoroughly worked its way into the local telecom and energy industries. The Silver Ladder claims the greater number of cabals and has gained a stranglehold over the region's occult communities; its influence over the local religious activists and social justice organizers is no less pervasive. The Adamantine Arrows keep the lowest profile, apparently having suffered a crippling blow in September 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The Arrows are currently composed of two cabals which concentrate on their own projects and rarely ask assistance from or communicate with the other Orders. The remaining unaligned mages number a little less than a third of the total population and either remain completely aloof from the larger mage community, or maintain loose affiliations with the Free Council.

===Places of Interest===

'''Consilium'''

[[Image: ChapelCourtyard.jpg]]

* The Maxine Gavriel Collection serves as the physical location from which Houston mages coordinate their activites, air disputes, trade favors, etc. Located on a small private estate in the Upper Kirby District owned by the Gavriel family for six generations, the Consilium consists of a small chapel with a capacity of 100 persons, an art gallery displaying the family's private works, a private library containing various occult and historical volumes, a courtyard with a level 4 Hallow, four spirit Guardians and a permanent staff of eight Sleepwalker acolytes loyal to the Gavriel family. The chapel, courtyard and art gallery are open to the public, but only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

'''Y'all Come Back'''

[[Image: Bb.jpg]]

* A bed & breakfast inn with 14 rooms, located in the center of the Hyde Park District and run by the Silver Ladder mage known as Xenios, one of the city's two Heralds. All nonresident mages intending to remain in the city more than 36 hours must ensure that the Hierarch is aware of their presence, with most expected to quarter themselves at Xenios's lodgings unless another resident mage volunteers to provide his own hospitality.

'''Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park'''

[[Image: Waterwall.jpg]]

* Still stubbornly referred to as Transco Park by locals seven years after the 2003 Galleria expansion that reduced it to a third of its former size, the Hines Waterwall Park sits adjacent to the Galleria retail complex in the Uptown District. Though the park is privately owned, it is open to the public from 10am to 10pm. Until recently, the park was used as neutral ground for meetings between Pentacle mages and Seers when face-to-face meetings were necessary.

'''Saxon Tower'''

[[Image: Saxon.jpg]]

* The corporate headquarters of the Saxon Group, the 49-story skyscraper was completed in May 2000. The bottom ten floors are devoted to retail shops and parking, with the next thirty floors containing office space. Floors 40-44 contain a SkyGarden overlooking the north and east, with the remaining floors reserved as private residences for Roderick Saxon and his aides.

'''Eternity Bar'''

[[Image: Eternitybar.jpg]]

* One of the few downtown nightspots consciously targeting the over-30 crowd, the Eternity Bar is frequented by somewhat older mages who still enjoy a wild night. A tri-level venue, the Eternity consists of a small bar at the street level, a rooftop patio and bar, plus a larger lounge and dance floor just below the rooftop level.

'''The Stateroom'''

[[Image: Stateroom.jpg]]

* Billed as Houston's only revolving restaurant and located 24 stories above street-level, the Stateroom Restaurant and lounge tends to be the go-to location when higher-ranking mages wish to impress out-of-towners. The circular structure makes one complete rotation ever 45 minutes, giving an unparalleled view of the surrounding area.

'''Memorial Park'''

[[Image: Obelisk.jpg]]

* Inspired by a dream, in 2003 the sculptor and architect Dion Murdock erected this obelisk atop a 35-foot crest deep within the forests of Memorial Park, a 1500 acre urban park near the Uptown area. Mages later discovered the obelisk straddles a ley line running beneath the park, and marks the centerpoint of a cluster of Hallows that collectively have a rating of 3. During the winter of 2004-2005, the Lightning Razors chased away a nest of vampires that laid claim to the Hallows and have zealously guarded it ever since.

==The Sanctum==

==Cabal Associates==

==NPCs of Interest==

===Ruling Council===
* '''Heirarch''': Renee Gavriel (Mysterium)
* '''Provost Primus''': Julius (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Provost Secundus''': FuX0r (Free Council)
* '''Herald Primus''': Xenios (Silver Ladder)
* '''Herald Secundus''': Jackson Rusk (Silver Ladder)
* '''Sentinel''': Kirpan (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Sentinel''': Marian Made (Mysterium)

===Councilors===
* '''Acanthus''': Laarsen (Silver Ladder) -- Special Projects Coordinator for City Council Member Oreza and primary source of political intelligence to the Consilium
* '''Mastigos''': Logos (Guardians of the Veil) -- leader of the Cui Bono cabal and mentor of Sentinel Kirpan; together with Assita Falls, Logos has discovered or partially initiated nearly one-third of the region's novice Pentacle mages over the last two decades
* '''Moros''': Samael (Mysterium) -- leader of the Verba Non Acta cabal and long-time investigative journalist for the ''Houston Press'' alternative newsweekly
* '''Obrimos''': Hsing Sun (Mysterium) -- the Most Venerable Hsing Sun is the current abbot of Guang Tien Di Temple, leader of the Jing Dao cabal, and a sage of the Perfected Adept Legacy. One of the oldest mages in the Houston area, Hsing Sun maintains one of the largest collections of Eastern Supernal lore in North America.
* '''Thyrsus''': Assita Falls (Silver Ladder) -- leader of the Seven Mercies cabal and administrator of the Jubilee Restoration House, a private outreach organization providing a network of transitioning housing facilities and homeless shelters throughout Greater Houston.

===Diamond Orders===

====Adamantine Arrows====
* '''Fiery Analemma''' -- six mages that were the vanguard of the campaign against the Seers in the Greater Houston area. Withdrew to Galveston after the Storm after suffering major casualties during an assault against a Seer pylon operating near the Port of Houson.

====Guardians of the Veil====
* '''Cui Bono''' -- a self-styled "oversight" cabal dedicated to keeping an eye on newly-Awakened mages and "keeping them out of trouble," Cui Bono also strives to shield Sleepers from any malevolent supernatural influence. Currently guided by the Mastigos mage known as Logos, the Cui Bono mages work closely with leading mages in the region, trading information and other resorces as needed.
* '''Lightning Razors''' -- one of the larger cabals in the region, they are composed of three cells of three martially-focused mages that once worked closely with the Fiery Analemma cabal. Most notorious for pursuing and defeating the Mad One calling himself "Kadmon."

====Mysterium====
* '''Men of Letters''' -- organized by five mages of the Mysterium, the Men of Letters cabal is composed of academics from among the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University. Having recently won acclaim for repelling an incursion of passion spirits on the UST campus, the Men of Letters tend to work alone in order to concentrate on pure research.
* '''Lone Star Environmental LLC''' -- an environmental consulting company started by two mages, normally completing contracts for petrochemical firms and providing additional expertise for academic investigations.

====Silver Ladder====
* '''Thalassa, Magna & Assoc. LLP''' -- a cutthroat PIP law firm founded by Robert Thalassa and Thomasina Magna. Censured for using Awakened Arts to arrange desired outcomes in court, Thalassa and Magna nonetheless evade more adverse action against them by providing pro bono legal assistance to any mage that engages their services.
* '''Staff & Serpent''' -- SAS began eight years ago as a local coed service fraternity on the UH campus. After the original founder-mages graduated, they retained the name for the public policy research institute they organized a few years later. Staff and Serpent works closely with Thalassa and Magna, trading networking resources and research for various legal services including harassment and obstruction of their adversaries.
* '''Jubilee Restoration House''' -- now headed by Councilor Assita Falls after the assassination of its founder Kortikos by the Seers, the four mages working in this private outreach organization help provide vital services for battered women and children, the homeless, and other souls in desperate need.

===Free Council===
* '''4-Tay''' -- a hip-hop collective formed by the rap duo "4-Tay" and their Sleeper associates. Constant touring keeps them in touch with other Awakened mages throughout the South.
* '''Raditek Consultants''' -- a private firm providing IT and engineering consulting services along with temporary staffing services, started by three mages just out of college.

===Left-Hand Path Mages===
* '''Order of the Bennu''' -- reclusive sect of eight mages and non-Awakened sorcerers reported to use an Ancient Egyptian praxis. Content to stay near their communal waterfront property near the Bear Creek Reservoir, the Order has to date avoided sanction from the Consilium, though they resist any and all attempts at intrusion and surveillance with a combination of mundane technology and powerful Mind and Spirit countermagics.

===Seers of the Throne===
* '''Roderick Saxon''' -- a defector from the Mysterium, Roderick Saxon is the CEO and owner of the Saxon Group, a multinational real estate corporation that is one of the top five managers of office and residential property in the South. The Ruling Council has attempted multiple assassinations of the traitor, but as Saxon rarely leaves the tower which serves as his home and corporate headquarters and is a Master of Fate and Prime, all have failed.

===Banishers and Mad Ones===
* '''"IX"'''
* '''Kadmon'''

===Unaligned and Solitaries===
* '''Alessandro Ficino''' -- former UH communications professor and Silver Ladder renunciate who wages a vengeful hacktivist crusade against hate groups and other extremists
* '''Haroun''' -- forensic analyst and disciple of Samael with potent skill in alchemical and Enochian arts
* '''Fleur de Noire''' -- trio of transgendered mages notable for their expertise in divination and fateweaving
* '''Black Fist''' -- self-styled "professional gadfly" and performance artist who regularly stages demonstrations and protests on behalf of illegal immigrants and other social outcasts

===Sleepers===
* '''Saul Gavriel''' -- chief of staff of the Gavriel Collection
* '''Simon Gavriel''' -- liaison to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
* '''Lluvia Oreza''' -- Houston City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee
* '''Special Agent Etta Battles''' -- Special Agent Battles cut her teeth in counterterrorism and white collar crime investigation. After her promotion to SAC of the Houston FBI Field Office two years ago, Battles proved an able commander and coordinator of the eighteen month probe of AZB Associates.
* '''Sgt. Jonathan Core''' -- HPD patrolman placed on medical leave after reporting an assault by "blood-drinking skinhead freaks"
* '''Francisco Reyes''' -- minister of the Promise House, a nondenominational agency providing shelter and counseling services to homeless and runaway youths
* '''An Shen-Li''' -- music promoter affiliated with the 4-Tay collective

==Local Rumors and Legends==
* A suspected serial killer is stalking the Sharpstown and Neartown areas, with police blaming four ritualistic murders on the killer over the last three months based on the Roman numeral "IX" branded on the back of the victims' necks. So far the victims were all last seen within a few blocks of either the Botanica Eleggua yerberia or the Magick Cauldron pagan supply store.
* Black Fist, the flamboyant Solitary mage formerly associated with the Fiery Analemma cabal, has been spreading whispers to the effect that the Arrows are preparing to emerge from seclusion.
* Younger mages in Southeast Houston report signs of a massive abrasion of the Gauntlet near Ellington Airport, the airfield formerly used by the US Air Force.
* Majority stockholder and AZB chairman Aydin Arvin has gone into hiding days after federal agents raided the AZB home office. Financial analysts predict that the real estate magnate Roderick Saxon will acquire all AZB assets if the company goes into bankruptcy. AZB held the leases on hundreds of acres of retail and residential properties in Pasadena, South Houston, Downtown and the Medical Center.
* Copies of the mysterious recording known as the '''Hildebrandt Tape''' are circulating through the Houston underground. Some report that the last three owners of the Tape have either been committed or have attempted suicide.
* Horakhty, the shadowy leader of the Order of the Bennu cabal, is quietly searching for a lost text known as the '''Book of the Luminous Ib'''. Some report that the Order will pay as much as twenty pawns of Tass for the text.
* Graffiti defacing a mural on the University of St. Thomas campus: "''KADMON BECOMES/OMNIA MUTANTUR/NIHIL INTERIT''." Concerned that this may mark the return of the Mad sorcerer Kadmon (whom the Council insisted had been destroyed in the series of magical battles of the nights following the Storm), Heirarch Gavriel has ordered Sentinel Marian Made to investigate, with the authority to "deputize" any mages as she sees fit.

==Misc Info==
===Character Creation===
* Choose a Path and Order
* Attributes: 9/8/7, +1 dot Favored Resistance trait
* Skills: 14/10/7
* Skill Specialties: 5
* Arcana: 9 dots, +1 dot Favored Arcanum (none rated higher than 4)
* Rotes: 12 dots
* Gnosis: 4
* Merits: 13 dots
* Mana = Wisdom = Resolve + Composure
* Choose Virtue/Vice
* Choose Nimbus, magical tools and flesh out magical style

===House Rules===

* I'm using the "To the Limit" rule from Tome of the Mysteries, which allows mages to cast an improvised spell of one dot higher ranking than normal, if the mage has at least one dot in all of the Arcana necessary to complete the spell. Base casting pool will always be Gnosis + Arcanum, but the mage must spend one Willpower point in order to complete the casting. Also, the spell is automatically vulgar, and three additional dice will be added to the Paradox roll (which can still be reduced as normal by using magical tools or spending Mana).

* When using a rote, the Base Paradox Dice Pool as detailed on p.123 of the corebook is reduced by an additional die. So, a mage with Gnosis 3 or 4 will not roll for Paradox when casting by rote, while a mage with Gnosis 7 or 8 will have a base Paradox pool of 2 dice in a similar situation.

* After the game starts, XP cost for acquiring new rotes will be one point per dot.

* Spell Tolerance = Stamina + 2, as opposed to Stamina + 1.

* PCs effectively possess two dots of Consilium Status and two dots of Order Status, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

* The PC cabal controls a level 4 Hallow and Sanctum pool of 6 dots, with a Library rated at 4 dots.

* Hallows generate their level in Tass and twice their level in Mana each day--i.e., a level 4 Hallow generates 8 points of Mana in addition to 4 points of Tass. However, Mana from a Hallow cannot be transferred directly to a Mage without the use of Prime 3 (thus, oblations will not replenish Mana unless the character has learned a Legacy) except by consuming the Tass itself in some fashion.

Michael Walker

2011-04-04T21:54:58Z

Kastowt: Created page with ''''Shadow Name''': Cephisso '''Real Name''': Michael Walker '''Concept''': Thief and Gambler turned Antiquities Dealer '''Virtue''': Justice '''Vice''': Wrat…'

'''Shadow Name''': Cephisso 
'''Real Name''': Michael Walker 
'''Concept''': Thief and Gambler turned Antiquities Dealer 
'''Virtue''': Justice 
'''Vice''': Wrath 
'''Order''': Guardians of the Veil 
'''Path''': Acanthus 
'''Legacy''': The Awakened Gambit

'''ATTRIBUTES''' 
Intelligence 2, Wits 4, Resolve 3 
Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Stamina 2 
Presence 2, Manipulation 4, Composure 3

'''SKILLS''' 
Academics 2 (Literature), Investigation 2, Occult 2 (Magic), Politics 1 
Athletics 2, Brawl 2, Drive 1, Firearms 2, Larceny 4 (Slight-of-hand), Stealth 3 
Empathy 2, Persuasion 2 (Brokering a Deal, Short Cons), Socialize 2, Streetwise 2, Subterfuge 1

'''ARCANA''' 
Fate 4 (Favored), Time 3, Mind 2, Prime 1

'''WILLPOWER''' 6 
'''WISDOM''' 5 
'''GNOSIS''' 4 
'''MANA''' 5 
'''SIZE''' 5 
'''HEALTH''' 7 
'''DEFENSE''' 4 
'''INIT MOD''' 7 
'''SPEED''' 11

'''ROTES''' (6xp spent on rotes): 
"Indra's Net" (Interconnections): Fate 1 
"Four Leaf Clover" (Lucky Coin): Fate 3 
"Scales of Thought" (Third Eye): Mind 1 
"Donning the Inner Mask" (Alter Aura): Mind 2 
"Forever Stranger" (Incognito Presence): Mind 2 
"Artifact Hunt" (Analyze Enchanted Item): Prime 1 
"Unweaving the Flaw" (Dispel Magic): Prime 1 
"Gazing Through Sands" (Postcognition): Time 2 
"Divination" (Speak The Name of Tomorrow): Time 3

'''MERITS''' (4xp on merits): 
High Speech, Order Status 2 (Guardians of the Veil), Consilium Status 2 (Houston), Destiny 3, Resources 3, Barfly 1, Danger Sense 1, Contacts 3 (Antiquities Trade), Language 1 (Latin), Language 2 (French)

'''MAGICAL TOOLS''' 
Dedicated Tool: A Silver Double Headed Coin. It is intricately designed and shows George Washington on both sides, the pentacle being subtly hidden in the design. Ruse tends to run it along his knuckles and pull other tricks with it when he is agitated. He received this from his first mortal mentor before going off to college, it is perhaps his most valued possession.

Arcana Tools: 
Fate: A marked pack of cards. He's been carrying them for years, always on the look out for someone who hasn't learnt not to gamble with him. 
Time: A gold clockwork pocket watch, something he keeps as an affectation as much as a tool.

'''STYLE AND NIMBUS''' 
Ruse tends to vary in his approach, moving between highly planned actions to totally spontaneous reactions. What they share is that everything he does tends to possess a degree of risk. He likes to walk the knifes edge and this is keenly shown in whatever Ruse is up to.

His nimbus tends to take the form of the sound of a decks of cards being shuffled and light breezes. At greater expenditure more casino sounds follow, the largest being the spin of the roulette wheel, the slowly bouncing ball creating crashes that sound like cymbals and gale force winds.

'''APPEARANCE''' 
Ruse is a fairly handsome man in his early thirties, standing at about 5 foot eleven inches tall and slim wiry build. He has brown eyes and short dark-brown hair along with an immaculately groomed mustache and short beard. He is often seen in reading glasses with large silver frames.

He often dresses in suits composed of a tailored white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a grey waistcoat and grey fitted trousers. If he bothers to wear a jacket in the Texas winter, he tends to wear a surprisingly tatty green-grey coat. He commonly carries a deck of cards and a gold pocket watch, along with a Silver engraved lighter and a packet of cheap cigarettes inside the suits pockets.

'''EARLY LIFE''' 
Born in Las Vegas, young Max spent a lot of his youngest years playing backstage in many of the various shows in Vegas. His father, a croupier at various casinos during his youth taught him his first few card tricks, aiming to prevent his son ever getting conned by the duplicitous punters he saw everyday. His mother a Cajun, had moved to Vegas from New Orleans with hope of being a singer of some some renown but ended up singing in the various shows, normally assisting more major acts as vocalist.

His youth came to an end, when his father suffered a stroke and in the years that followed poverty plagued the family. Determined to support his parents, when not in school, Max started picking pockets and using the little tricks his father taught him to scam tourists. By fifteen he was one of the better known short conmen on the strip. His mother disapproved and his father, well he never really recovered from the stroke, he dying three weeks before Max's fifteenth birthday. Max was always lucky in his cons, rarely taking anything folks would miss and avoiding police attention despite his reputation. This was due at least in part to the fact that he didn't 'work' with any regularity, trying to keep his grades up in school while earning a living. It was surprising then when he stole an odd silver coin from a old man just off the Strip, when he did get caught. The cops would of thrown his arse in jail had the man chosen not to prosecute, instead taking the boy under his wing in an attempt to straighten him out.

This was how Max got started in the antiques business, the trade this Albert Spengler was in. At first he resented the honest work, seeing it in some twisted way as a betrayal of the skills of his father. As time passed though he grew to love it, the age and history of it all, the little mysteries of the past left behind in the items. He began to view Albert as a second father figure, their for him in his adolescence in a way his own father had been too sick to do. Even his mother grew close to Albert, eventually the to married and as much as Max liked working in the store, they pressured him to go to college and learn more of the world.

Initially studying History, Max soon changed his major to Literature, finding a love of classic novels. Turning some of the tricks he'd learnt under Albert he started hunting down down rare novels, at first just to read and possess them but later capitalizing on the idea of adding rare novels to the business he so enjoyed working in. Graduating he tried to set up his own shop back in Vegas but nearly went bankrupt after a year. Partnering with Albert was all that saved him from bankruptcy, taking fairly specialist clients as his reputation grew. It was this that led to his Awakening.

'''AWAKENING''' 
On graduating from College, Albert had given Max the coin he had attempted to steal all those years ago, a double-headed silver dollar. The coin was the reason Max ended up meeting his biggest client, a wealthy bibliophile Mikhail Geortsky. Having wandered into the shop one day, the Los Angeles, Mikhail ended up loosing money to a bored Max, while he browse what trivial books Max had kept visible. When realizing how he'd been tricked the man was at first angry, till in the argument he noticed the books Max didn't keep out.

The man provided a wealth of opportunities to pursue Max's passion. Through working with Mikhail, Max ended up working with various anonymous clients, the people Mikhail had been representing. This was little issue to Max until he was sent to retrieve a copy of a Latin manuscript called '''De Umbra Regni Quinque Portis'''. To cut a long story short, acquiring the manuscript lead him through hell and back, embroiling him in a plot with murder, suicide and a crazy cult. It also cost him his remaining family, as Albert was killed as a warning and his mother to this day won't speak with him.

He tried to finish the job by presenting it to his obfuscated employer at his lavish Orange County Estate, who turned out to be Mikhail himself. This turned into a total nightmare, when Mikhail tried to kill him for it and the cult
stormed the compound. Fleeing into the botanical greenhouses, Max stumbled into Arcadia. Stumbling his way to the tower he say ahead, knowing he was being pursued by something, he scrambled to the top leaving the manuscript he clutched to himself there, as he used the double-headed coin to scratch his name into his watchtower.

Shortly afterwards, in the cleanup of one of their Labyrinth's going totally off the rails, he was found in the greenhouse by the Guardian's of the Veil.

'''HOUSTON''' 
Having been in Houston for nearly seven years, Max again runs an Antiques and Rare Books Shop, under the name Jonathan Russo, some ten years later now based in Houston under the Shadow Name Ruse. The shop acts as a cover for removing certain objects that come through from circulation and into either the local censorium or if they aren't dangerous into the hands of other responsible local mages.

He is an active member of the Consilium and his order has recently retired from being a retrieval specialist for the Guardians when he picked up too much heat after a botched heist from the local Free Council Member. Whatever he is doing for them now is kept quiet and few outside the local branch of the organization could even guess at it. His cabal suspect many things, but Ruse is nothing if not close mouthed about the topic.

Locke

2011-04-04T21:53:20Z

Kastowt: Created page with ''''Shadow Name''': Locke '''Real Name''': Kliment Kuzentsov '''Concept''': Human Rights Champion '''Virtue''': '''Vice''': '''Path''': Obrimos '''Or…'

'''Shadow Name''': Locke 
'''Real Name''': Kliment Kuzentsov 
'''Concept''': Human Rights Champion 
'''Virtue''': 
'''Vice''': 
'''Path''': Obrimos 
'''Order''': Free Council 
'''Legacy''': Tamers of Fire 

'''ATTRIBUTES''': 
INT 4 WIT 2 RES 4 
STR 2 DEX 3 STA 2 
PRE 2 MAN 2 COM 3 

'''SKILLS''': 
Academics 3 (research), Medicine 3, Politics 2, Science 5 (Physics, Biology) 
Athletics 4 (swimming), Brawl 3, Survival 3 (Meteorology) 
Animal Ken 3, Persuasion 4 

'''MERITS''': 
Language 3 (Russian, native speaker), Technophile 1, Artifact 5 ("Every Door Key"*), Striking Looks 4, High Speech, Status 2 (Free Council), Status 2 (Consilium) 

Artifact: Every Door Key
* A highly adorned metal key, which in practical use it could open no door, as it is made in the Atlantean symbol for the spell that powers it. Locke keeps it in a dark blue glasses case in his pocket.

'''ARCANA''': 
Forces 4 (favored), Life 4, Prime 2

'''ROTES''': 

'''WILLPOWER''' 7 
'''WISDOM''' 7 
'''GNOSIS''' 4 
'''MANA''' 7/13 (Max 4 Mana/Turn) 
'''SIZE''' 5 
'''HEALTH''' 7 
'''DEFENSE''' 2 
'''INIT MOD''' 6 
'''SPEED''' 10 
'''ARMOR''' 

'''MAGICAL TOOLS''':

'''STYLE AND NIMBUS''':

'''APPEARANCE''':

'''BACKGROUND''': 
Locke, Born Kliment Kuzentsov in the outskirts of Stalingrad shortly before the fall of the USSR, was brought to the United States with his family for a better opportunity of life. His father Dimitri taught him early the benefits of his adoptive country, especially education and religion. Kliment, who went by the Americanized Kyle, found much more interest in the former than the latter. Always a curious and eager mind, he always looked for more information than his teachers could give.

Even through his collegiate years and his eventual awakening, the more he understood how the universe worked, the less he understood why. It wasn't until he went to religious studies before the why became clear. The universe worked the way it did because it was willed that way by something beyond the mortal world. He also saw that those who had the desire and understanding could do the same.

The exact moment of his Awakening was sudden and violent, as he was struck by an environmental anomaly of lightning. Scientists and doctors couldn't understand why it happened or how he survived, but Kyle knew all too well. Because he willed it to happen.

Kyle quickly joined the Free Council for being the only one willing to openly share its mysteries and offer the free exchange of ideas. He took the name Locke, to reflect the name John Locke, one of the great Enlightenment Thinkers. Locke also was chosen to become a Tamer of Fire, an ancient legacy bestowed on those worthy of being a Hero. Locke takes up the mantle in a more docile manner. Having seen the potential someone can rise to with the right opportunities, Locke fights a campaign to give everyone a fair chance at their dreams and to reach their potential, and is passionate advocate for equal human rights.

Ruse

2011-04-04T21:30:36Z

Kastowt:

'''Shadow Name''': Ruse 
'''Real Name''': Max D'Alessio 
'''Concept''': Thief and Gambler turned Antiquities Dealer 
'''Virtue''': Justice 
'''Vice''': Wrath 
'''Order''': Guardians of the Veil 
'''Path''': Acanthus 
'''Legacy''': The Awakened Gambit

'''ATTRIBUTES''' 
Intelligence 2, Wits 4, Resolve 3 
Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Stamina 2 
Presence 2, Manipulation 4, Composure 3

'''SKILLS''' 
Academics 2 (Literature), Investigation 2, Occult 2 (Magic), Politics 1 
Athletics 2, Brawl 2, Drive 1, Firearms 2, Larceny 4 (Slight-of-hand), Stealth 3 
Empathy 2, Persuasion 2 (Brokering a Deal, Short Cons), Socialize 2, Streetwise 2, Subterfuge 1

'''ARCANA''' 
Fate 4 (Favored), Time 3, Mind 2, Prime 1

'''WILLPOWER''' 6 
'''WISDOM''' 5 
'''GNOSIS''' 4 
'''MANA''' 5 
'''SIZE''' 5 
'''HEALTH''' 7 
'''DEFENSE''' 4 
'''INIT MOD''' 7 
'''SPEED''' 11

'''ROTES''' (6xp spent on rotes): 
"Indra's Net" (Interconnections): Fate 1 
"Four Leaf Clover" (Lucky Coin): Fate 3 
"Scales of Thought" (Third Eye): Mind 1 
"Donning the Inner Mask" (Alter Aura): Mind 2 
"Forever Stranger" (Incognito Presence): Mind 2 
"Artifact Hunt" (Analyze Enchanted Item): Prime 1 
"Unweaving the Flaw" (Dispel Magic): Prime 1 
"Gazing Through Sands" (Postcognition): Time 2 
"Divination" (Speak The Name of Tomorrow): Time 3

'''MERITS''' (4xp on merits): 
High Speech, Order Status 2 (Guardians of the Veil), Consilium Status 2 (Houston), Destiny 3, Resources 3, Barfly 1, Danger Sense 1, Contacts 3 (Antiquities Trade), Language 1 (Latin), Language 2 (French)

'''MAGICAL TOOLS''' 
Dedicated Tool: A Silver Double Headed Coin. It is intricately designed and shows George Washington on both sides, the pentacle being subtly hidden in the design. Ruse tends to run it along his knuckles and pull other tricks with it when he is agitated. He received this from his first mortal mentor before going off to college, it is perhaps his most valued possession.

Arcana Tools: 
Fate: A marked pack of cards. He's been carrying them for years, always on the look out for someone who hasn't learnt not to gamble with him. 
Time: A gold clockwork pocket watch, something he keeps as an affectation as much as a tool.

'''STYLE AND NIMBUS''' 
Ruse tends to vary in his approach, moving between highly planned actions to totally spontaneous reactions. What they share is that everything he does tends to possess a degree of risk. He likes to walk the knifes edge and this is keenly shown in whatever Ruse is up to.

His nimbus tends to take the form of the sound of a decks of cards being shuffled and light breezes. At greater expenditure more casino sounds follow, the largest being the spin of the roulette wheel, the slowly bouncing ball creating crashes that sound like cymbals and gale force winds.

'''APPEARANCE''' 
Ruse is a fairly handsome man in his early thirties, standing at about 5 foot eleven inches tall and slim wiry build. He has brown eyes and short dark-brown hair along with an immaculately groomed mustache and short beard. He is often seen in reading glasses with large silver frames.

He often dresses in suits composed of a tailored white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a grey waistcoat and grey fitted trousers. If he bothers to wear a jacket in the Texas winter, he tends to wear a surprisingly tatty green-grey coat. He commonly carries a deck of cards and a gold pocket watch, along with a Silver engraved lighter and a packet of cheap cigarettes inside the suits pockets.

'''EARLY LIFE''' 
Born in Las Vegas, young Max spent a lot of his youngest years playing backstage in many of the various shows in Vegas. His father, a croupier at various casinos during his youth taught him his first few card tricks, aiming to prevent his son ever getting conned by the duplicitous punters he saw everyday. His mother a Cajun, had moved to Vegas from New Orleans with hope of being a singer of some some renown but ended up singing in the various shows, normally assisting more major acts as vocalist.

His youth came to an end, when his father suffered a stroke and in the years that followed poverty plagued the family. Determined to support his parents, when not in school, Max started picking pockets and using the little tricks his father taught him to scam tourists. By fifteen he was one of the better known short conmen on the strip. His mother disapproved and his father, well he never really recovered from the stroke, he dying three weeks before Max's fifteenth birthday. Max was always lucky in his cons, rarely taking anything folks would miss and avoiding police attention despite his reputation. This was due at least in part to the fact that he didn't 'work' with any regularity, trying to keep his grades up in school while earning a living. It was surprising then when he stole an odd silver coin from a old man just off the Strip, when he did get caught. The cops would of thrown his arse in jail had the man chosen not to prosecute, instead taking the boy under his wing in an attempt to straighten him out.

This was how Max got started in the antiques business, the trade this Albert Spengler was in. At first he resented the honest work, seeing it in some twisted way as a betrayal of the skills of his father. As time passed though he grew to love it, the age and history of it all, the little mysteries of the past left behind in the items. He began to view Albert as a second father figure, their for him in his adolescence in a way his own father had been too sick to do. Even his mother grew close to Albert, eventually the to married and as much as Max liked working in the store, they pressured him to go to college and learn more of the world.

Initially studying History, Max soon changed his major to Literature, finding a love of classic novels. Turning some of the tricks he'd learnt under Albert he started hunting down down rare novels, at first just to read and possess them but later capitalizing on the idea of adding rare novels to the business he so enjoyed working in. Graduating he tried to set up his own shop back in Vegas but nearly went bankrupt after a year. Partnering with Albert was all that saved him from bankruptcy, taking fairly specialist clients as his reputation grew. It was this that led to his Awakening.

'''AWAKENING''' 
On graduating from College, Albert had given Max the coin he had attempted to steal all those years ago, a double-headed silver dollar. The coin was the reason Max ended up meeting his biggest client, a wealthy bibliophile Mikhail Geortsky. Having wandered into the shop one day, the Los Angeles, Mikhail ended up loosing money to a bored Max, while he browse what trivial books Max had kept visible. When realizing how he'd been tricked the man was at first angry, till in the argument he noticed the books Max didn't keep out.

The man provided a wealth of opportunities to pursue Max's passion. Through working with Mikhail, Max ended up working with various anonymous clients, the people Mikhail had been representing. This was little issue to Max until he was sent to retrieve a copy of a Latin manuscript called '''De Umbra Regni Quinque Portis'''. To cut a long story short, acquiring the manuscript lead him through hell and back, embroiling him in a plot with murder, suicide and a crazy cult. It also cost him his remaining family, as Albert was killed as a warning and his mother to this day won't speak with him.

He tried to finish the job by presenting it to his obfuscated employer at his lavish Orange County Estate, who turned out to be Mikhail himself. This turned into a total nightmare, when Mikhail tried to kill him for it and the cult
stormed the compound. Fleeing into the botanical greenhouses, Max stumbled into Arcadia. Stumbling his way to the tower he say ahead, knowing he was being pursued by something, he scrambled to the top leaving the manuscript he clutched to himself there, as he used the double-headed coin to scratch his name into his watchtower.

Shortly afterwards, in the cleanup of one of their Labyrinth's going totally off the rails, he was found in the greenhouse by the Guardian's of the Veil.

'''HOUSTON''' 
Having been in Houston for nearly seven years, Max again runs an Antiques and Rare Books Shop, under the name Jonathan Russo, some ten years later now based in Houston under the Shadow Name Ruse. The shop acts as a cover for removing certain objects that come through from circulation and into either the local censorium or if they aren't dangerous into the hands of other responsible local mages.

He is an active member of the Consilium and his order has recently retired from being a retrieval specialist for the Guardians when he picked up too much heat after a botched heist from the local Free Council Member. Whatever he is doing for them now is kept quiet and few outside the local branch of the organization could even guess at it. His cabal suspect many things, but Ruse is nothing if not close mouthed about the topic.

Hailey Desmond

2011-04-04T21:27:52Z

Kastowt:

'''Shadow Name''': Ajna 
'''Real Name''': Audrey Maybell 
'''Quote''': "You are certainly welcome to try again, if you wish. I have no objections to defeating you one more time." 
'''Concept''': Traveling Cultural Anthropologist 
'''Virtue''': Temperance ("Too much of one thing spoils the taste, don't you think?") 
'''Vice''': Lust ("Goodness, is it steamy in here or is it just me?") 
'''Path''': Thyrsus ("Evolution? No, I am simply building upon the masterpiece body of man.") 
'''Order''': Mysterium ("Of course I don't have all the answers. I haven't yet had the opportunity to extract them.") 
'''Legacy''': Daksha ("Not all of us are this perfect, but we ought to be. Wouldn't that be wonderful?") 

'''ATTRIBUTES''' 
INT 2, WIT 4, RES 2 
STR 3, DEX 4, STR 2 
PRE 3, MAN 2, COM 3

'''SKILLS''' 
Academics: 2 (Spec: Anthropology "Oh, I remember this from the excursion I took to Tibet. Wonderful place, good people and excellent dining.") 
Investigation: 2 
Medicine: 3 
Occult: 3 (Spec: Cultural Beliefs "You may want to take off your shoes at the door. They won't be as polite as I am about it if you don't.")

Athletics: 3 
Brawl: 4 (Spec: Shaolin "There's no finding a good Shaolin trainer in Houston. Better to just go to the monastery myself.") 
Survival: 3 
Weaponry: 4 (Spec: Kris "Doesn't it make the loveliest swoops and turns? Of course, you won't have a chance to cherish its grace.")

Animal Ken: 2 
Empathy: 2 
Persuasion: 3 (Spec: Seduction "Now, look at me. Take as long as you like. Can you bring yourself to say 'no'?")

'''MERITS''' 
High Speech, Status 2 (Consilium), Status 2 (Mysterium), Fighting Finesse 2 (Daggers), Fighting Style 3 (Kung Fu: Focused Attack, Iron Skin, Defensive Attack), Artifact 3 ("Reaper Nail"*), Resources 3, Sanctum Size 1, Sanctum Security 1

'''ARCANA''' 
Life 4 (Favored), Space 4, Spirit 2

'''ROTES''' 
"Fulfillment" (Supreme Honing): Life 4 (Resolve + Athletics + Life, Vulgar) 
"Balm of Flesh" (Healing Heart): Life 3 (Composure + Medicine + Life, Covert) 
"Twisting Threads" (Untouchable): Space 2 (Wits + Occult + Space, Covert) 
"Parting the Shadow" (Exorcist's Eye): Spirit 1 (Wits + Occult + Spirit) 
"Grasp the Otherworld" (Gossamer Touch): Spirit 2 (Dexterity + Athletics + Spirit) 

'''WILLPOWER''' 5 
'''WISDOM''' 7 
'''GNOSIS''' 4 
'''MANA''' 7/13 (Max 4 Mana/Turn) 
'''SIZE''' 5 
'''HEALTH''' 7 
'''DEFENSE''' 4 
'''INIT MOD''': 7 
'''SPEED''' 12 
'''ARMOR''' 1 (vs bashing only) 

Artifact: Reaper Nail (Kris, 2[L] damage, Size 2[J], Durability 3, Cost 2)
* A Kris knife of considerable value, the Reaper Nail is an ornate curved dagger with a wicked, wavy blade. The grip is polished dark ironwood with painted engravings, and the curving blade is steel with gold etchings. It is said that its blade is capable of reaching into Twilight and rending the corpus of spirits. Inherently spellled with "Gossamer Touch"

'''MAGICAL TOOLS''':

'''STYLE AND NIMBUS''':

'''APPEARANCE''':

'''BACKGROUND''':

Hailey Desmond

2011-04-04T21:24:26Z

Kastowt: Created page with ''''Shadow Name''': Ajna '''Real Name''': Audrey Maybell '''Quote''': "You are certainly welcome to try again, if you wish. I have no objections to defeating you one mor…'

'''Shadow Name''': Ajna 
'''Real Name''': Audrey Maybell 
'''Quote''': "You are certainly welcome to try again, if you wish. I have no objections to defeating you one more time." 
'''Concept''': Traveling Cultural Anthropologist 
'''Virtue''': Temperance ("Too much of one thing spoils the taste, don't you think?") 
'''Vice''': Lust ("Goodness, is it steamy in here or is it just me?") 
'''Path''': Thyrsus ("Evolution? No, I am simply building upon the masterpiece body of man.") 
'''Order''': Mysterium ("Of course I don't have all the answers. I haven't yet had the opportunity to extract them.") 
'''Legacy''': Daksha ("Not all of us are this perfect, but we ought to be. Wouldn't that be wonderful?") 

'''ATTRIBUTES''' 
INT 2, WIT 4, RES 2 
STR 3, DEX 4, STR 2 
PRE 3, MAN 2, COM 3

'''SKILLS''' 
Academics: 2 (Spec: Anthropology "Oh, I remember this from the excursion I took to Tibet. Wonderful place, good people and excellent dining.") 
Investigation: 2 
Medicine: 3 
Occult: 3 (Spec: Cultural Beliefs "You may want to take off your shoes at the door. They won't be as polite as I am about it if you don't.")

Athletics: 3 
Brawl: 4 (Spec: Shaolin "There's no finding a good Shaolin trainer in Houston. Better to just go to the monastery myself.") 
Survival: 3 
Weaponry: 4 (Spec: Kris "Doesn't it make the loveliest swoops and turns? Of course, you won't have a chance to cherish its grace.")

Animal Ken: 2 
Empathy: 2 
Persuasion: 3 (Spec: Seduction "Now, look at me. Take as long as you like. Can you bring yourself to say 'no'?")

'''MERITS''' 
High Speech, Status 2 (Consilium), Status 2 (Mysterium), Fighting Finesse 2 (Daggers), Fighting Style 3 (Kung Fu: Focused Attack, Iron Skin, Defensive Attack), Artifact 3 ("Reaper Nail"*), Resources 3, Sanctum Size 1, Sanctum Security 1

'''ARCANA''' 
Life 4 (Favored), Space 4, Spirit 2

'''ROTES''' 
Fulfillment (Supreme Honing): Life 4 (Resolve + Athletics + Life, Vulgar)
Balm of Flesh (Healing Heart): Life 3 (Composure + Medicine + Life, Covert)
Twisting Threads (Untouchable): Space 2 (Wits + Occult + Space, Covert)
Parting the Shadow (Exorcist's Eye): Spirit 1 (Wits + Occult + Spirit)
Grasp the Otherworld (Gossamer Touch): Spirit 2 (Dexterity + Athletics + Spirit)

'''WILLPOWER''' 5 
'''WISDOM''' 7 
'''GNOSIS''' 4 
'''MANA''' 7/13 (Max 4 Mana/Turn) 
'''SIZE''' 5 
'''HEALTH''' 7 
'''DEFENSE''' 4 
'''INIT MOD''': 7 
'''SPEED''' 12 
'''ARMOR''' 1 (vs bashing only) 

Artifact: Reaper Nail (Kris, 2[L] damage, Size 2[J], Durability 3, Cost 2)
* A Kris knife of considerable value, the Reaper Nail is an ornate curved dagger with a wicked, wavy blade. The grip is polished dark ironwood with painted engravings, and the curving blade is steel with gold etchings. It is said that its blade is capable of reaching into Twilight and rending the corpus of spirits. Inherently spellled with "Gossamer Touch"

'''MAGICAL TOOLS''':

'''STYLE AND NIMBUS''':

'''APPEARANCE''':

'''BACKGROUND''':

Ruse

2011-04-04T21:17:12Z

Kastowt:

'''Shadow Name''': Ruse 
'''Real Name''': Max D'Alessio 
'''Concept''': Thief and Gambler turned Antiquities Dealer 
'''Virtue''': Justice 
'''Vice''': Wrath 
'''Order''': Guardians of the Veil 
'''Path''': Acanthus 
'''Legacy''': The Awakened Gambit

'''ATTRIBUTES''' 
Intelligence 2, Wits 4, Resolve 3 
Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Stamina 2 
Presence 2, Manipulation 4, Composure 3

'''SKILLS''' 
Academics 2 (Literature), Investigation 2, Occult 2 (Magic), Politics 1 
Athletics 2, Brawl 2, Drive 1, Firearms 2, Larceny 4 (Slight-of-hand), Stealth 3 
Empathy 2, Persuasion 2 (Brokering a Deal, Short Cons), Socialize 2, Streetwise 2, Subterfuge 1

'''ARCANA''' 
Fate 4 (Favored), Time 3, Mind 2, Prime 1

'''WILLPOWER''' 6 
'''WISDOM''' 5 
'''GNOSIS''' 4 
'''MANA''' 5 
'''SIZE''' 5 
'''HEALTH''' 7 
'''DEFENSE''' 4 
'''INIT MOD''' 7 
'''SPEED''' 11

'''ROTES''' (6xp spent on rotes): 
Indra's Net: Interconnections (Fate 1), Four Leaf Clover: Lucky Coin (Fate 3), Scales of Thought: Third Eye (Mind 1), Donning the Inner Mask: Alter Aura (Mind 2), Forever Stranger: Incognito Presence (Mind 2), Artifact Hunt: Analyze Enchanted Item (Prime 1), Unweaving the Flaw: Dispel Magic (Prime 1), Gazing Through Sands: Postcognition (Time 2), Divination: Speak The Name of Tomorrow (Time 3)

'''MERITS''' (4xp on merits): 
High Speech, Order Status 2 (Guardians of the Veil), Consilium Status 2 (Houston), Destiny 3, Resources 3, Barfly 1, Danger Sense 1, Contacts 3 (Antiquities Trade), Language 1 (Latin), Language 2 (French)

'''MAGICAL TOOLS''' 
Dedicated Tool: A Silver Double Headed Coin. It is intricately designed and shows George Washington on both sides, the pentacle being subtly hidden in the design. Ruse tends to run it along his knuckles and pull other tricks with it when he is agitated. He received this from his first mortal mentor before going off to college, it is perhaps his most valued possession.

Arcana Tools: 
Fate: A marked pack of cards. He's been carrying them for years, always on the look out for someone who hasn't learnt not to gamble with him. 
Time: A gold clockwork pocket watch, something he keeps as an affectation as much as a tool.

'''STYLE AND NIMBUS''' 
Ruse tends to vary in his approach, moving between highly planned actions to totally spontaneous reactions. What they share is that everything he does tends to possess a degree of risk. He likes to walk the knifes edge and this is keenly shown in whatever Ruse is up to.

His nimbus tends to take the form of the sound of a decks of cards being shuffled and light breezes. At greater expenditure more casino sounds follow, the largest being the spin of the roulette wheel, the slowly bouncing ball creating crashes that sound like cymbals and gale force winds.

'''APPEARANCE''' 
Ruse is a fairly handsome man in his early thirties, standing at about 5 foot eleven inches tall and slim wiry build. He has brown eyes and short dark-brown hair along with an immaculately groomed mustache and short beard. He is often seen in reading glasses with large silver frames.

He often dresses in suits composed of a tailored white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a grey waistcoat and grey fitted trousers. If he bothers to wear a jacket in the Texas winter, he tends to wear a surprisingly tatty green-grey coat. He commonly carries a deck of cards and a gold pocket watch, along with a Silver engraved lighter and a packet of cheap cigarettes inside the suits pockets.

'''EARLY LIFE''' 
Born in Las Vegas, young Max spent a lot of his youngest years playing backstage in many of the various shows in Vegas. His father, a croupier at various casinos during his youth taught him his first few card tricks, aiming to prevent his son ever getting conned by the duplicitous punters he saw everyday. His mother a Cajun, had moved to Vegas from New Orleans with hope of being a singer of some some renown but ended up singing in the various shows, normally assisting more major acts as vocalist.

His youth came to an end, when his father suffered a stroke and in the years that followed poverty plagued the family. Determined to support his parents, when not in school, Max started picking pockets and using the little tricks his father taught him to scam tourists. By fifteen he was one of the better known short conmen on the strip. His mother disapproved and his father, well he never really recovered from the stroke, he dying three weeks before Max's fifteenth birthday. Max was always lucky in his cons, rarely taking anything folks would miss and avoiding police attention despite his reputation. This was due at least in part to the fact that he didn't 'work' with any regularity, trying to keep his grades up in school while earning a living. It was surprising then when he stole an odd silver coin from a old man just off the Strip, when he did get caught. The cops would of thrown his arse in jail had the man chosen not to prosecute, instead taking the boy under his wing in an attempt to straighten him out.

This was how Max got started in the antiques business, the trade this Albert Spengler was in. At first he resented the honest work, seeing it in some twisted way as a betrayal of the skills of his father. As time passed though he grew to love it, the age and history of it all, the little mysteries of the past left behind in the items. He began to view Albert as a second father figure, their for him in his adolescence in a way his own father had been too sick to do. Even his mother grew close to Albert, eventually the to married and as much as Max liked working in the store, they pressured him to go to college and learn more of the world.

Initially studying History, Max soon changed his major to Literature, finding a love of classic novels. Turning some of the tricks he'd learnt under Albert he started hunting down down rare novels, at first just to read and possess them but later capitalizing on the idea of adding rare novels to the business he so enjoyed working in. Graduating he tried to set up his own shop back in Vegas but nearly went bankrupt after a year. Partnering with Albert was all that saved him from bankruptcy, taking fairly specialist clients as his reputation grew. It was this that led to his Awakening.

'''AWAKENING''' 
On graduating from College, Albert had given Max the coin he had attempted to steal all those years ago, a double-headed silver dollar. The coin was the reason Max ended up meeting his biggest client, a wealthy bibliophile Mikhail Geortsky. Having wandered into the shop one day, the Los Angeles, Mikhail ended up loosing money to a bored Max, while he browse what trivial books Max had kept visible. When realizing how he'd been tricked the man was at first angry, till in the argument he noticed the books Max didn't keep out.

The man provided a wealth of opportunities to pursue Max's passion. Through working with Mikhail, Max ended up working with various anonymous clients, the people Mikhail had been representing. This was little issue to Max until he was sent to retrieve a copy of a Latin manuscript called '''De Umbra Regni Quinque Portis'''. To cut a long story short, acquiring the manuscript lead him through hell and back, embroiling him in a plot with murder, suicide and a crazy cult. It also cost him his remaining family, as Albert was killed as a warning and his mother to this day won't speak with him.

He tried to finish the job by presenting it to his obfuscated employer at his lavish Orange County Estate, who turned out to be Mikhail himself. This turned into a total nightmare, when Mikhail tried to kill him for it and the cult
stormed the compound. Fleeing into the botanical greenhouses, Max stumbled into Arcadia. Stumbling his way to the tower he say ahead, knowing he was being pursued by something, he scrambled to the top leaving the manuscript he clutched to himself there, as he used the double-headed coin to scratch his name into his watchtower.

Shortly afterwards, in the cleanup of one of their Labyrinth's going totally off the rails, he was found in the greenhouse by the Guardian's of the Veil.

'''HOUSTON''' 
Having been in Houston for nearly seven years, Max again runs an Antiques and Rare Books Shop, under the name Jonathan Russo, some ten years later now based in Houston under the Shadow Name Ruse. The shop acts as a cover for removing certain objects that come through from circulation and into either the local censorium or if they aren't dangerous into the hands of other responsible local mages.

He is an active member of the Consilium and his order has recently retired from being a retrieval specialist for the Guardians when he picked up too much heat after a botched heist from the local Free Council Member. Whatever he is doing for them now is kept quiet and few outside the local branch of the organization could even guess at it. His cabal suspect many things, but Ruse is nothing if not close mouthed about the topic.

Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters

2011-04-04T21:01:56Z

Kastowt:

[[Category:Mage:_The_Awakening]][[Category:PBP]]
'''''Twenty-Five Lighters'''''

[[Image: Htown-eclipse.jpg]]

''A Storytelling Campaign of Ambition and Passion set in Houston, Texas''

Run by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?u=6778 Martys] on the RPGnet Forums

==Thread Info==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?568172-GM-Wanted-nWoD-anyone Recruitment]
* OOC
* IC

==The Cabal==
* '''[[John Barabus]]''', '''Mastigos''' of the '''Mysterium''' (played by ''Phigment'')
*'''[[Ajna]]''', '''Thyrsus''' of the '''Mysterium''' (played by ''Zato-2TWO'')
*'''[[Locke]]''', '''Obrimos''' of the '''Free Council''' (played by ''Nikki6th'')
*'''[[Ruse]]''', '''Acanthus''' of the '''Guardians of the Veil''' (played by ''Lost_Arts'')
*'''[[Michael Walker]]''', '''Moros''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Scutarii'')

==The Setting==
===Overview and Recent History===
Now boasting a population of 2.6 million in the city proper and nearly 7 million throughout the greater metro area, the City of Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Historically the nation's primary hub for the oil and gas industry, the city suffered an economic slump in the wake of the 80s-era oil bust, but soon rebounded after successfully diversifying its economy. Previously ignored by most mages for the first hundred years of its existence in favor of such cities as New Orleans and Miami, after the one-two punches of Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Ike (which Houstonians simply refer to as "the Storm"), Houston has now overtaken New Orleans in the number of mages that base themselves in the city.

There are between forty and fifty mages known to inhabit the Greater Houston Area (as a general rule of thumb, this includes the entire area within a fifteen-mile radius of downtown Houston). The Diamond Orders have thrived in the region since the Second World War, with their first wave of migration beginning with the wartime mobilization, the second wave following the general 60s-era Sun Belt migration and the third wave coinciding with the late 80s tech and financial services booms. The Mysterium and Guardians of the Veil are the dominant Orders, having long since concentrated themselves within such Sleeper institutions as academia, the aerospace industry, law enforcement, public services, and the health care industry. The Silver Ladder and Free Council both maintain visibly active presences in the region, with their cabals working together in a shifting web of alliances and mutual partnerships. Most new self-Awakened mages tend to get scooped up by one of those two Orders, though the Silver Ladder is happy to find another home for those mages who don't fit its ideology. The Free Council boasts a larger number of mages and has thoroughly worked its way into the local telecom and energy industries. The Silver Ladder claims the greater number of cabals and has gained a stranglehold over the region's occult communities; its influence over the local religious activists and social justice organizers is no less pervasive. The Adamantine Arrows keep the lowest profile, apparently having suffered a crippling blow in September 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The Arrows are currently composed of two cabals which concentrate on their own projects and rarely ask assistance from or communicate with the other Orders. The remaining unaligned mages number a little less than a third of the total population and either remain completely aloof from the larger mage community, or maintain loose affiliations with the Free Council.

===Places of Interest===

'''Consilium'''

[[Image: ChapelCourtyard.jpg]]

* The Maxine Gavriel Collection serves as the physical location from which Houston mages coordinate their activites, air disputes, trade favors, etc. Located on a small private estate in the Upper Kirby District owned by the Gavriel family for six generations, the Consilium consists of a small chapel with a capacity of 100 persons, an art gallery displaying the family's private works, a private library containing various occult and historical volumes, a courtyard with a level 4 Hallow, four spirit Guardians and a permanent staff of eight Sleepwalker acolytes loyal to the Gavriel family. The chapel, courtyard and art gallery are open to the public, but only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

'''Y'all Come Back'''

[[Image: Bb.jpg]]

* A bed & breakfast inn with 14 rooms, located in the center of the Hyde Park District and run by the Silver Ladder mage known as Xenios, one of the city's two Heralds. All nonresident mages intending to remain in the city more than 36 hours must ensure that the Hierarch is aware of their presence, with most expected to quarter themselves at Xenios's lodgings unless another resident mage volunteers to provide his own hospitality.

'''Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park'''

[[Image: Waterwall.jpg]]

* Still stubbornly referred to as Transco Park by locals seven years after the 2003 Galleria expansion that reduced it to a third of its former size, the Hines Waterwall Park sits adjacent to the Galleria retail complex in the Uptown District. Though the park is privately owned, it is open to the public from 10am to 10pm. Until recently, the park was used as neutral ground for meetings between Pentacle mages and Seers when face-to-face meetings were necessary.

'''Saxon Tower'''

[[Image: Saxon.jpg]]

* The corporate headquarters of the Saxon Group, the 49-story skyscraper was completed in May 2000. The bottom ten floors are devoted to retail shops and parking, with the next thirty floors containing office space. Floors 40-44 contain a SkyGarden overlooking the north and east, with the remaining floors reserved as private residences for Roderick Saxon and his aides.

'''Eternity Bar'''

[[Image: Eternitybar.jpg]]

* One of the few downtown nightspots consciously targeting the over-30 crowd, the Eternity Bar is frequented by somewhat older mages who still enjoy a wild night. A tri-level venue, the Eternity consists of a small bar at the street level, a rooftop patio and bar, plus a larger lounge and dance floor just below the rooftop level.

'''The Stateroom'''

[[Image: Stateroom.jpg]]

* Billed as Houston's only revolving restaurant and located 24 stories above street-level, the Stateroom Restaurant and lounge tends to be the go-to location when higher-ranking mages wish to impress out-of-towners. The circular structure makes one complete rotation ever 45 minutes, giving an unparalleled view of the surrounding area.

'''Memorial Park'''

[[Image: Obelisk.jpg]]

* Inspired by a dream, in 2003 the sculptor and architect Dion Murdock erected this obelisk atop a 35-foot crest deep within the forests of Memorial Park, a 1500 acre urban park near the Uptown area. Mages later discovered the obelisk straddles a ley line running beneath the park, and marks the centerpoint of a cluster of Hallows that collectively have a rating of 3. During the winter of 2004-2005, the Lightning Razors chased away a nest of vampires that laid claim to the Hallows and have zealously guarded it ever since.

==The Sanctum==

==Cabal Associates==

==NPCs of Interest==

===Ruling Council===
* '''Heirarch''': Renee Gavriel (Mysterium)
* '''Provost Primus''': Julius (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Provost Secundus''': FuX0r (Free Council)
* '''Herald Primus''': Xenios (Silver Ladder)
* '''Herald Secundus''': Jackson Rusk (Silver Ladder)
* '''Sentinel''': Kirpan (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Sentinel''': Marian Made (Mysterium)

===Councilors===
* '''Acanthus''': Laarsen (Silver Ladder) -- Special Projects Coordinator for City Council Member Oreza and primary source of political intelligence to the Consilium
* '''Mastigos''': Logos (Guardians of the Veil) -- leader of the Cui Bono cabal and mentor of Sentinel Kirpan; together with Assita Falls, Logos has discovered or partially initiated nearly one-third of the region's novice Pentacle mages over the last two decades
* '''Moros''': Samael (Mysterium) -- leader of the Verba Non Acta cabal and long-time investigative journalist for the ''Houston Press'' alternative newsweekly
* '''Obrimos''': Hsing Sun (Mysterium) -- the Most Venerable Hsing Sun is the current abbot of Guang Tien Di Temple, leader of the Jing Dao cabal, and a sage of the Perfected Adept Legacy. One of the oldest mages in the Houston area, Hsing Sun maintains one of the largest collections of Eastern Supernal lore in North America.
* '''Thyrsus''': Assita Falls (Silver Ladder) -- leader of the Seven Mercies cabal and administrator of the Jubilee Restoration House, a private outreach organization providing a network of transitioning housing facilities and homeless shelters throughout Greater Houston.

===Diamond Orders===

====Adamantine Arrows====
* '''Fiery Analemma''' -- six mages that were the vanguard of the campaign against the Seers in the Greater Houston area. Withdrew to Galveston after the Storm after suffering major casualties during an assault against a Seer pylon operating near the Port of Houson.

====Guardians of the Veil====
* '''Cui Bono''' -- a self-styled "oversight" cabal dedicated to keeping an eye on newly-Awakened mages and "keeping them out of trouble," Cui Bono also strives to shield Sleepers from any malevolent supernatural influence. Currently guided by the Mastigos mage known as Logos, the Cui Bono mages work closely with leading mages in the region, trading information and other resorces as needed.
* '''Lightning Razors''' -- one of the larger cabals in the region, they are composed of three cells of three martially-focused mages that once worked closely with the Fiery Analemma cabal. Most notorious for pursuing and defeating the Mad One calling himself "Kadmon."

====Mysterium====
* '''Men of Letters''' -- organized by five mages of the Mysterium, the Men of Letters cabal is composed of academics from among the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University. Having recently won acclaim for repelling an incursion of passion spirits on the UST campus, the Men of Letters tend to work alone in order to concentrate on pure research.
* '''Lone Star Environmental LLC''' -- an environmental consulting company started by two mages, normally completing contracts for petrochemical firms and providing additional expertise for academic investigations.

====Silver Ladder====
* '''Thalassa, Magna & Assoc. LLP''' -- a cutthroat PIP law firm founded by Robert Thalassa and Thomasina Magna. Censured for using Awakened Arts to arrange desired outcomes in court, Thalassa and Magna nonetheless evade more adverse action against them by providing pro bono legal assistance to any mage that engages their services.
* '''Staff & Serpent''' -- SAS began eight years ago as a local coed service fraternity on the UH campus. After the original founder-mages graduated, they retained the name for the public policy research institute they organized a few years later. Staff and Serpent works closely with Thalassa and Magna, trading networking resources and research for various legal services including harassment and obstruction of their adversaries.
* '''Jubilee Restoration House''' -- now headed by Councilor Assita Falls after the assassination of its founder Kortikos by the Seers, the four mages working in this private outreach organization help provide vital services for battered women and children, the homeless, and other souls in desperate need.

===Free Council===
* '''4-Tay''' -- a hip-hop collective formed by the rap duo "4-Tay" and their Sleeper associates. Constant touring keeps them in touch with other Awakened mages throughout the South.
* '''Raditek Consultants''' -- a private firm providing IT and engineering consulting services along with temporary staffing services, started by three mages just out of college.

===Left-Hand Path Mages===
* '''Order of the Bennu''' -- reclusive sect of eight mages and non-Awakened sorcerers reported to use an Ancient Egyptian praxis. Content to stay near their communal waterfront property near the Bear Creek Reservoir, the Order has to date avoided sanction from the Consilium, though they resist any and all attempts at intrusion and surveillance with a combination of mundane technology and powerful Mind and Spirit countermagics.

===Seers of the Throne===
* '''Roderick Saxon''' -- a defector from the Mysterium, Roderick Saxon is the CEO and owner of the Saxon Group, a multinational real estate corporation that is one of the top five managers of office and residential property in the South. The Ruling Council has attempted multiple assassinations of the traitor, but as Saxon rarely leaves the tower which serves as his home and corporate headquarters and is a Master of Fate and Prime, all have failed.

===Banishers and Mad Ones===
* '''"IX"'''
* '''Kadmon'''

===Unaligned and Solitaries===
* '''Alessandro Ficino''' -- former UH communications professor and Silver Ladder renunciate who wages a vengeful hacktivist crusade against hate groups and other extremists
* '''Haroun''' -- forensic analyst and disciple of Samael with potent skill in alchemical and Enochian arts
* '''Fleur de Noire''' -- trio of transgendered mages notable for their expertise in divination and fateweaving
* '''Black Fist''' -- self-styled "professional gadfly" and performance artist who regularly stages demonstrations and protests on behalf of illegal immigrants and other social outcasts

===Sleepers===
* '''Saul Gavriel''' -- chief of staff of the Gavriel Collection
* '''Simon Gavriel''' -- liaison to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
* '''Lluvia Oreza''' -- Houston City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee
* '''Special Agent Etta Battles''' -- Special Agent Battles cut her teeth in counterterrorism and white collar crime investigation. After her promotion to SAC of the Houston FBI Field Office two years ago, Battles proved an able commander and coordinator of the eighteen month probe of AZB Associates.
* '''Sgt. Jonathan Core''' -- HPD patrolman placed on medical leave after reporting an assault by "blood-drinking skinhead freaks"
* '''Francisco Reyes''' -- minister of the Promise House, a nondenominational agency providing shelter and counseling services to homeless and runaway youths
* '''An Shen-Li''' -- music promoter affiliated with the 4-Tay collective

==Local Rumors and Legends==
* A suspected serial killer is stalking the Sharpstown and Neartown areas, with police blaming four ritualistic murders on the killer over the last three months based on the Roman numeral "IX" branded on the back of the victims' necks. So far the victims were all last seen within a few blocks of either the Botanica Eleggua yerberia or the Magick Cauldron pagan supply store.
* Black Fist, the flamboyant Solitary mage formerly associated with the Fiery Analemma cabal, has been spreading whispers to the effect that the Arrows are preparing to emerge from seclusion.
* Younger mages in Southeast Houston report signs of a massive abrasion of the Gauntlet near Ellington Airport, the airfield formerly used by the US Air Force.
* Majority stockholder and AZB chairman Aydin Arvin has gone into hiding days after federal agents raided the AZB home office. Financial analysts predict that the real estate magnate Roderick Saxon will acquire all AZB assets if the company goes into bankruptcy. AZB held the leases on hundreds of acres of retail and residential properties in Pasadena, South Houston, Downtown and the Medical Center.
* Copies of the mysterious recording known as the '''Hildebrandt Tape''' are circulating through the Houston underground. Some report that the last three owners of the Tape have either been committed or have attempted suicide.
* Horakhty, the shadowy leader of the Order of the Bennu cabal, is quietly searching for a lost text known as the '''Book of the Luminous Ib'''. Some report that the Order will pay as much as twenty pawns of Tass for the text.
* Graffiti defacing a mural on the University of St. Thomas campus: "''KADMON BECOMES/OMNIA MUTANTUR/NIHIL INTERIT''." Concerned that this may mark the return of the Mad sorcerer Kadmon (whom the Council insisted had been destroyed in the series of magical battles of the nights following the Storm), Heirarch Gavriel has ordered Sentinel Marian Made to investigate, with the authority to "deputize" any mages as she sees fit.

==Misc Info==
===Character Creation===
* Choose a Path and Order
* Attributes: 9/8/7, +1 dot Favored Resistance trait
* Skills: 14/10/7
* Skill Specialties: 5
* Arcana: 9 dots, +1 dot Favored Arcanum (none rated higher than 4)
* Rotes: 12 dots
* Gnosis: 4
* Merits: 13 dots
* Mana = Wisdom = Resolve + Composure
* Choose Virtue/Vice
* Choose Nimbus, magical tools and flesh out magical style

===House Rules===

* I'm using the "To the Limit" rule from Tome of the Mysteries, which allows mages to cast an improvised spell of one dot higher ranking than normal, if the mage has at least one dot in all of the Arcana necessary to complete the spell. Base casting pool will always be Gnosis + Arcanum, but the mage must spend one Willpower point in order to complete the casting. Also, the spell is automatically vulgar, and three additional dice will be added to the Paradox roll (which can still be reduced as normal by using magical tools or spending Mana).

* When using a rote, the Base Paradox Dice Pool as detailed on p.123 of the corebook is reduced by an additional die. So, a mage with Gnosis 3 or 4 will not roll for Paradox when casting by rote, while a mage with Gnosis 7 or 8 will have a base Paradox pool of 2 dice in a similar situation.

* After the game starts, XP cost for acquiring new rotes will be one point per dot.

* Spell Tolerance = Stamina + 2, as opposed to Stamina + 1.

* PCs effectively possess two dots of Consilium Status and two dots of Order Status, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

* The PC cabal controls a level 4 Hallow and Sanctum pool of 6 dots, with a Library rated at 4 dots.

* Hallows generate their level in Tass and twice their level in Mana each day--i.e., a level 4 Hallow generates 8 points of Mana in addition to 4 points of Tass. However, Mana from a Hallow cannot be transferred directly to a Mage without the use of Prime 3 (thus, oblations will not replenish Mana unless the character has learned a Legacy) except by consuming the Tass itself in some fashion.

John Barabus

2011-04-04T07:47:40Z

Kastowt:

'''SHADOW NAME''': John Barabus 
'''PATH''': Mastigos 
'''ORDER''': Silver Ladder 
'''VIRTUE''': Faith 
'''VICE''': Greed

'''ATTRIBUTES''' 
Int 4, Wit 3, Res 3 
Str 2, Dex 2, Sta 3 
Prs 2, Man 3, Com 3

'''SKILLS''' 
Academics 4 (Ancient History), Computers 1 (research), Investigation 3, Occult 4, Politics 1, Science 1 
Athletics 1, Brawl 1, Drive 1, Firearms 1, Larceny 2, Stealth 1, Survival 2, Weaponry 1 
Expression 2 (Educational Presentations), Persuasion 2, Socialize 2 (Formal events), Subterfuge 1 (Negotiating for historical objects)

'''WILLPOWER''' 6 
'''SIZE''' 5 
'''HEALTH''' 7 
'''DEFENSE''' 2 
'''INIT MOD''' 5 
'''WISDOM''' 7 
'''GNOSIS''': 4

'''ARCANA''': 
Mind 2, Space 4, Spirit 1, Time 3

'''MERITS''': 
Resources 4 (Personal wealth supplemented with museum income), Language 4 (1 dot each in Latin, Arabic, Hindi, and ancient Greek), Direction Sense 1, Artifact 4 (The Speaking Stick. This is a three-foot walking stick made of a dark wood, with brass-capped ends. Close examination shows it to be intricately carved with runes of Atlantean High Speech, although only mages are likely to be able to recognize them as such. It is vastly older than it appears, and does not speak. Rather, it adds weight to words the mage holding it speaks. If a mage places a hand on each brass end and speaks a promise, he is bound to it, as the Fate 2 spell "Swearing an Oath". John carries it like a cane, which is clearly an affection as he has no problem walking, and uses it to point at things.), Order Status 2 (Silver Ladder), Consilium Status 2, High Speech

'''MAGICAL TOOLS''':

'''NIMBUS'''

'''ROTES''': 
Thinking For Many: Mind 1 (One Mind, Two Thoughts), Eyes on the Prize: Space 1 (Finder), Remote Viewing: Space 2 (Scrying), Wormhole: Space 4 (Teleportation), Gazing Through The Sands: Time 2 (Postcognition), Turn Back the Page: Time 3 (Shifting Sands)

'''BACKGROUND''': 
John Barabus is a noted antiquarian and history buff in the Houston area. He acquired a strong education in pre-modern history, but rather than seek a position as an instructor with a university, he found employment with the Houston Museum of Natural Science, designing educational exhibits and presentations for visitors, and sometimes traveling to other museums or historical sites to negotiate the borrowing or purchasing of exhibit materials.

It was on a trip to a shrine in India, planning a potential exhibit about the subcontinent, that he Awakened, after being separated from his guide and wandering in a sort of trance for hours. When his senses returned, he had new insights, the Speaking Stick, and the means, it seemed, to accomplish anything...

Back in Houston, he parlayed his magical talents into a comfortable degree of wealth and a certain amount of prestige and respect at the museum. He still works for the Natural Sciences museum, but on a part-time basis, and in a more ceremonial role, hosting fund-raisers, attending conferences, playing tour guide for VIP visitors, and so forth. The pay is nominal, but it keeps him busy and allows him to stay current in the field, and gives him access to the resources to expand his personal collection of historical artifacts. His house, in fact, is decorated with a collection of ancient bits and pieces of historical debris, none of which are individually especially noteworthy, but which collectively represent a very respectable hoard for a private citizen. Only another antiquarian is likely to recognize or appreciate the unique value of this pottery jar, or that fragment of old masonry, but to the right audience, it plays well. John is always alert to opportunities to add to his personal collection, and not above a little sharp dealing in the process.

Ruse

2011-04-04T07:45:55Z

Kastowt:

'''Shadow Name''': Ruse 
'''Real Name''': Max D'Alessio 
'''Concept''': Thief and Gambler turned Antiquities Dealer 
'''Virtue''': Justice 
'''Vice''': Wrath 
'''Order''': Guardians of the Veil 
'''Path''': Acanthus 
'''Legacy''': The Awakened Gambit

'''ATTRIBUTES''' 
Intelligence 2, Wits 4, Resolve 3 
Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Stamina 2 
Presence 2, Manipulation 4, Composure 3

'''SKILLS''' 
Academics 2 (Literature), Investigation 2, Occult 2 (Magic), Politics 1 
Athletics 2, Brawl 2, Drive 1, Firearms 2, Larceny 4 (Slight-of-hand), Stealth 3 
Empathy 2, Persuasion 2 (Brokering a Deal, Short Cons), Socialize 2, Streetwise 2, Subterfuge 1

'''ARCANA''' 
Fate 4 (Favored), Time 3, Mind 2, Prime 1

'''WILLPOWER''' 6 
'''WISDOM''' 5 
'''GNOSIS''' 4 
'''SIZE''' 5 
'''HEALTH''' 7 
'''DEFENSE''' 4 
'''INIT MOD''' 7 
'''SPEED''' 11

'''ROTES''' (6xp spent on rotes): 
Indra's Net: Interconnections (Fate 1), Four Leaf Clover: Lucky Coin (Fate 3), Scales of Thought: Third Eye (Mind 1), Donning the Inner Mask: Alter Aura (Mind 2), Forever Stranger: Incognito Presence (Mind 2), Artifact Hunt: Analyze Enchanted Item (Prime 1), Unweaving the Flaw: Dispel Magic (Prime 1), Gazing Through Sands: Postcognition (Time 2), Divination: Speak The Name of Tomorrow (Time 3)

'''MERITS''' (4xp on merits): 
High Speech, Order Status 2 (Guardians of the Veil), Consilium Status 2 (Houston), Destiny 3, Resources 3, Barfly 1, Danger Sense 1, Contacts 3 (Antiquities Trade), Language 1 (Latin), Language 2 (French)

'''MAGICAL TOOLS''' 
Dedicated Tool: A Silver Double Headed Coin. It is intricately designed and shows George Washington on both sides, the pentacle being subtly hidden in the design. Ruse tends to run it along his knuckles and pull other tricks with it when he is agitated. He received this from his first mortal mentor before going off to college, it is perhaps his most valued possession.

Arcana Tools: 
Fate: A marked pack of cards. He's been carrying them for years, always on the look out for someone who hasn't learnt not to gamble with him. 
Time: A gold clockwork pocket watch, something he keeps as an affectation as much as a tool.

'''STYLE AND NIMBUS''' 
Ruse tends to vary in his approach, moving between highly planned actions to totally spontaneous reactions. What they share is that everything he does tends to possess a degree of risk. He likes to walk the knifes edge and this is keenly shown in whatever Ruse is up to.

His nimbus tends to take the form of the sound of a decks of cards being shuffled and light breezes. At greater expenditure more casino sounds follow, the largest being the spin of the roulette wheel, the slowly bouncing ball creating crashes that sound like cymbals and gale force winds.

'''APPEARANCE''' 
Ruse is a fairly handsome man in his early thirties, standing at about 5 foot eleven inches tall and slim wiry build. He has brown eyes and short dark-brown hair along with an immaculately groomed mustache and short beard. He is often seen in reading glasses with large silver frames.

He often dresses in suits composed of a tailored white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a grey waistcoat and grey fitted trousers. If he bothers to wear a jacket in the Texas winter, he tends to wear a surprisingly tatty green-grey coat. He commonly carries a deck of cards and a gold pocket watch, along with a Silver engraved lighter and a packet of cheap cigarettes inside the suits pockets.

'''EARLY LIFE''' 
Born in Las Vegas, young Max spent a lot of his youngest years playing backstage in many of the various shows in Vegas. His father, a croupier at various casinos during his youth taught him his first few card tricks, aiming to prevent his son ever getting conned by the duplicitous punters he saw everyday. His mother a Cajun, had moved to Vegas from New Orleans with hope of being a singer of some some renown but ended up singing in the various shows, normally assisting more major acts as vocalist.

His youth came to an end, when his father suffered a stroke and in the years that followed poverty plagued the family. Determined to support his parents, when not in school, Max started picking pockets and using the little tricks his father taught him to scam tourists. By fifteen he was one of the better known short conmen on the strip. His mother disapproved and his father, well he never really recovered from the stroke, he dying three weeks before Max's fifteenth birthday. Max was always lucky in his cons, rarely taking anything folks would miss and avoiding police attention despite his reputation. This was due at least in part to the fact that he didn't 'work' with any regularity, trying to keep his grades up in school while earning a living. It was surprising then when he stole an odd silver coin from a old man just off the Strip, when he did get caught. The cops would of thrown his arse in jail had the man chosen not to prosecute, instead taking the boy under his wing in an attempt to straighten him out.

This was how Max got started in the antiques business, the trade this Albert Spengler was in. At first he resented the honest work, seeing it in some twisted way as a betrayal of the skills of his father. As time passed though he grew to love it, the age and history of it all, the little mysteries of the past left behind in the items. He began to view Albert as a second father figure, their for him in his adolescence in a way his own father had been too sick to do. Even his mother grew close to Albert, eventually the to married and as much as Max liked working in the store, they pressured him to go to college and learn more of the world.

Initially studying History, Max soon changed his major to Literature, finding a love of classic novels. Turning some of the tricks he'd learnt under Albert he started hunting down down rare novels, at first just to read and possess them but later capitalizing on the idea of adding rare novels to the business he so enjoyed working in. Graduating he tried to set up his own shop back in Vegas but nearly went bankrupt after a year. Partnering with Albert was all that saved him from bankruptcy, taking fairly specialist clients as his reputation grew. It was this that led to his Awakening.

'''AWAKENING''' 
On graduating from College, Albert had given Max the coin he had attempted to steal all those years ago, a double-headed silver dollar. The coin was the reason Max ended up meeting his biggest client, a wealthy bibliophile Mikhail Geortsky. Having wandered into the shop one day, the Los Angeles, Mikhail ended up loosing money to a bored Max, while he browse what trivial books Max had kept visible. When realizing how he'd been tricked the man was at first angry, till in the argument he noticed the books Max didn't keep out.

The man provided a wealth of opportunities to pursue Max's passion. Through working with Mikhail, Max ended up working with various anonymous clients, the people Mikhail had been representing. This was little issue to Max until he was sent to retrieve a copy of a Latin manuscript called '''De Umbra Regni Quinque Portis'''. To cut a long story short, acquiring the manuscript lead him through hell and back, embroiling him in a plot with murder, suicide and a crazy cult. It also cost him his remaining family, as Albert was killed as a warning and his mother to this day won't speak with him.

He tried to finish the job by presenting it to his obfuscated employer at his lavish Orange County Estate, who turned out to be Mikhail himself. This turned into a total nightmare, when Mikhail tried to kill him for it and the cult
stormed the compound. Fleeing into the botanical greenhouses, Max stumbled into Arcadia. Stumbling his way to the tower he say ahead, knowing he was being pursued by something, he scrambled to the top leaving the manuscript he clutched to himself there, as he used the double-headed coin to scratch his name into his watchtower.

Shortly afterwards, in the cleanup of one of their Labyrinth's going totally off the rails, he was found in the greenhouse by the Guardian's of the Veil.

'''HOUSTON''' 
Having been in Houston for nearly seven years, Max again runs an Antiques and Rare Books Shop, under the name Jonathan Russo, some ten years later now based in Houston under the Shadow Name Ruse. The shop acts as a cover for removing certain objects that come through from circulation and into either the local censorium or if they aren't dangerous into the hands of other responsible local mages.

He is an active member of the Consilium and his order has recently retired from being a retrieval specialist for the Guardians when he picked up too much heat after a botched heist from the local Free Council Member. Whatever he is doing for them now is kept quiet and few outside the local branch of the organization could even guess at it. His cabal suspect many things, but Ruse is nothing if not close mouthed about the topic.

Ruse

2011-04-04T07:30:55Z

Kastowt: Created page with ''''Shadow Name''': Ruse '''Real Name''': Max D'Alessio '''Concept''': Thief and Gambler turned Antiquities Dealer '''Virtue''': Justice '''Vice''': Wrath '''Order''': Guardi…'

'''Shadow Name''': Ruse

'''Real Name''': Max D'Alessio

'''Concept''': Thief and Gambler turned Antiquities Dealer

'''Virtue''': Justice

'''Vice''': Wrath

'''Order''': Guardians of the Veil

'''Path''': Acanthus

'''Legacy''': The Awakened Gambit

'''ATTRIBUTES'''

Intelligence 2, Wits 4, Resolve 3

Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Stamina 2

Presence 2, Manipulation 4, Composure 3

'''SKILLS'''

Academics 2 (Literature), Investigation 2, Occult 2 (Magic), Politics 1

Athletics 2, Brawl 2, Drive 1, Firearms 2, Larceny 4 (Slight-of-hand), Stealth 3

Empathy 2, Persuasion 2 (Brokering a Deal, Short Cons), Socialize 2, Streetwise 2, Subterfuge 1

'''ARCANA'''

Fate 4 (Favored), Time 3, Mind 2, Prime 1

'''WILLPOWER''' 6

'''WISDOM''' 5

'''GNOSIS''' 4

'''SIZE''' 5

'''HEALTH''' 7

'''DEFENSE''' 4

'''INIT MOD''' 7

'''SPEED''' 11

'''ROTES''' (6xp spent on rotes):

Indra's Net: Interconnections (Fate 1), Four Leaf Clover: Lucky Coin (Fate 3), Scales of Thought: Third Eye (Mind 1), Donning the Inner Mask: Alter Aura (Mind 2), Forever Stranger: Incognito Presence (Mind 2), Artifact Hunt: Analyze Enchanted Item (Prime 1), Unweaving the Flaw: Dispel Magic (Prime 1), Gazing Through Sands: Postcognition (Time 2), Divination: Speak The Name of Tomorrow (Time 3)

'''MERITS''' (4xp on merits):

High Speech, Order Status 2 (Guardians of the Veil), Consilium Status 2 (Houston), Destiny 3, Resources 3, Barfly 1, Danger Sense 1, Contacts 3 (Antiquities Trade), Language 1 (Latin), Language 2 (French)

'''MAGICAL TOOLS'''

Dedicated Tool: A Silver Double Headed Coin. It is intricately designed and shows George Washington on both sides, the pentacle being subtly hidden in the design. Ruse tends to run it along his knuckles and pull other tricks with it when he is agitated. He received this from his first mortal mentor before going off to college, it is perhaps his most valued possession.

Arcana Tools:

Fate: A marked pack of cards. He's been carrying them for years, always on the look out for someone who hasn't learnt not to gamble with him.

Time: A gold clockwork pocket watch, something he keeps as an affectation as much as a tool.

'''STYLE AND NIMBUS'''

Ruse tends to vary in his approach, moving between highly planned actions to totally spontaneous reactions. What they share is that everything he does tends to possess a degree of risk. He likes to walk the knifes edge and this is keenly shown in whatever Ruse is up to.

His nimbus tends to take the form of the sound of a decks of cards being shuffled and light breezes. At greater expenditure more casino sounds follow, the largest being the spin of the roulette wheel, the slowly bouncing ball creating crashes that sound like cymbals and gale force winds.

'''APPEARANCE'''

Ruse is a fairly handsome man in his early thirties, standing at about 5 foot eleven inches tall and slim wiry build. He has brown eyes and short dark-brown hair along with an immaculately groomed mustache and short beard. He is often seen in reading glasses with large silver frames.

He often dresses in suits composed of a tailored white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a grey waistcoat and grey fitted trousers. If he bothers to wear a jacket in the Texas winter, he tends to wear a surprisingly tatty green-grey coat. He commonly carries a deck of cards and a gold pocket watch, along with a Silver engraved lighter and a packet of cheap cigarettes inside the suits pockets.

'''EARLY LIFE'''

Born in Las Vegas, young Max spent a lot of his youngest years playing backstage in many of the various shows in Vegas. His father, a croupier at various casinos during his youth taught him his first few card tricks, aiming to prevent his son ever getting conned by the duplicitous punters he saw everyday. His mother a Cajun, had moved to Vegas from New Orleans with hope of being a singer of some some renown but ended up singing in the various shows, normally assisting more major acts as vocalist.

His youth came to an end, when his father suffered a stroke and in the years that followed poverty plagued the family. Determined to support his parents, when not in school, Max started picking pockets and using the little tricks his father taught him to scam tourists. By fifteen he was one of the better known short conmen on the strip. His mother disapproved and his father, well he never really recovered from the stroke, he dying three weeks before Max's fifteenth birthday. Max was always lucky in his cons, rarely taking anything folks would miss and avoiding police attention despite his reputation. This was due at least in part to the fact that he didn't 'work' with any regularity, trying to keep his grades up in school while earning a living. It was surprising then when he stole an odd silver coin from a old man just off the Strip, when he did get caught. The cops would of thrown his arse in jail had the man chosen not to prosecute, instead taking the boy under his wing in an attempt to straighten him out.

This was how Max got started in the antiques business, the trade this Albert Spengler was in. At first he resented the honest work, seeing it in some twisted way as a betrayal of the skills of his father. As time passed though he grew to love it, the age and history of it all, the little mysteries of the past left behind in the items. He began to view Albert as a second father figure, their for him in his adolescence in a way his own father had been too sick to do. Even his mother grew close to Albert, eventually the to married and as much as Max liked working in the store, they pressured him to go to college and learn more of the world.

Initially studying History, Max soon changed his major to Literature, finding a love of classic novels. Turning some of the tricks he'd learnt under Albert he started hunting down down rare novels, at first just to read and possess them but later capitalizing on the idea of adding rare novels to the business he so enjoyed working in. Graduating he tried to set up his own shop back in Vegas but nearly went bankrupt after a year. Partnering with Albert was all that saved him from bankruptcy, taking fairly specialist clients as his reputation grew. It was this that led to his Awakening.

'''AWAKENING'''

On graduating from College, Albert had given Max the coin he had attempted to steal all those years ago, a double-headed silver dollar. The coin was the reason Max ended up meeting his biggest client, a wealthy bibliophile Mikhail Geortsky. Having wandered into the shop one day, the Los Angeles, Mikhail ended up loosing money to a bored Max, while he browse what trivial books Max had kept visible. When realizing how he'd been tricked the man was at first angry, till in the argument he noticed the books Max didn't keep out.

The man provided a wealth of opportunities to pursue Max's passion. Through working with Mikhail, Max ended up working with various anonymous clients, the people Mikhail had been representing. This was little issue to Max until he was sent to retrieve a copy of a Latin manuscript called '''De Umbra Regni Quinque Portis'''. To cut a long story short, acquiring the manuscript lead him through hell and back, embroiling him in a plot with murder, suicide and a crazy cult. It also cost him his remaining family, as Albert was killed as a warning and his mother to this day won't speak with him.

He tried to finish the job by presenting it to his obfuscated employer at his lavish Orange County Estate, who turned out to be Mikhail himself. This turned into a total nightmare, when Mikhail tried to kill him for it and the cult
stormed the compound. Fleeing into the botanical greenhouses, Max stumbled into Arcadia. Stumbling his way to the tower he say ahead, knowing he was being pursued by something, he scrambled to the top leaving the manuscript he clutched to himself there, as he used the double-headed coin to scratch his name into his watchtower.

Shortly afterwards, in the cleanup of one of their Labyrinth's going totally off the rails, he was found in the greenhouse by the Guardian's of the Veil.

'''HOUSTON'''

Having been in Houston for nearly seven years, Max again runs an Antiques and Rare Books Shop, under the name Jonathan Russo, some ten years later now based in Houston under the Shadow Name Ruse. The shop acts as a cover for removing certain objects that come through from circulation and into either the local censorium or if they aren't dangerous into the hands of other responsible local mages.

He is an active member of the Consilium and his order has recently retired from being a retrieval specialist for the Guardians when he picked up too much heat after a botched heist from the local Free Council Member. Whatever he is doing for them now is kept quiet and few outside the local branch of the organization could even guess at it. His cabal suspect many things, but Ruse is nothing if not close mouthed about the topic.

Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters

2011-04-04T07:09:51Z

Kastowt: /* The Cabal */

[[Category:Mage:_The_Awakening]][[Category:PBP]]
'''''Twenty-Five Lighters'''''

[[Image: Htown-eclipse.jpg]]

''A Storytelling Campaign of Ambition and Passion set in Houston, Texas''

Run by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?u=6778 Martys] on the RPGnet Forums

==Thread Info==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?568172-GM-Wanted-nWoD-anyone Recruitment]
* OOC
* IC

==The Cabal==
* '''[[John Barabus]]''', '''Mastigos''' of the '''Mysterium''' (played by ''Phigment'')
*'''[[Hailey Desmond]]''', '''Thyrsus''' of the '''Mysterium''' (played by ''Zato-2TWO'')
*'''[[Locke]]''', '''Obrimos''' of the '''Free Council''' (played by ''Nikki6th'')
*'''[[Ruse]]''', '''Acanthus''' of the '''Guardians of the Veil''' (played by ''Lost_Arts'')
*'''[[Michael Walker]]''', '''Moros''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Scutarii'')

==The Setting==
===Overview and Recent History===
Now boasting a population of 2.6 million in the city proper and nearly 7 million throughout the greater metro area, the City of Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Historically the nation's primary hub for the oil and gas industry, the city suffered an economic slump in the wake of the 80s-era oil bust, but soon rebounded after successfully diversifying its economy. Previously ignored by most mages for the first hundred years of its existence in favor of such cities as New Orleans and Miami, after the one-two punches of Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Ike (which Houstonians simply refer to as "the Storm"), Houston has now overtaken New Orleans in the number of mages that base themselves in the city.

There are between forty and fifty mages known to inhabit the Greater Houston Area (as a general rule of thumb, this includes the entire area within a fifteen-mile radius of downtown Houston). The Diamond Orders have thrived in the region since the Second World War, with their first wave of migration beginning with the wartime mobilization, the second wave following the general 60s-era Sun Belt migration and the third wave coinciding with the late 80s tech and financial services booms. The Mysterium and Guardians of the Veil are the dominant Orders, having long since concentrated themselves within such Sleeper institutions as academia, the aerospace industry, law enforcement, public services, and the health care industry. The Silver Ladder and Free Council both maintain visibly active presences in the region, with their cabals working together in a shifting web of alliances and mutual partnerships. Most new self-Awakened mages tend to get scooped up by one of those two Orders, though the Silver Ladder is happy to find another home for those mages who don't fit its ideology. The Free Council boasts a larger number of mages and has thoroughly worked its way into the local telecom and energy industries. The Silver Ladder claims the greater number of cabals and has gained a stranglehold over the region's occult communities; its influence over the local religious activists and social justice organizers is no less pervasive. The Adamantine Arrows keep the lowest profile, apparently having suffered a crippling blow in September 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The Arrows are currently composed of two cabals which concentrate on their own projects and rarely ask assistance from or communicate with the other Orders. The remaining unaligned mages number a little less than a third of the total population and either remain completely aloof from the larger mage community, or maintain loose affiliations with the Free Council.

===Places of Interest===

'''Consilium'''

[[Image: ChapelCourtyard.jpg]]

* The Maxine Gavriel Collection serves as the physical location from which Houston mages coordinate their activites, air disputes, trade favors, etc. Located on a small private estate in the Upper Kirby District owned by the Gavriel family for six generations, the Consilium consists of a small chapel with a capacity of 100 persons, an art gallery displaying the family's private works, a private library containing various occult and historical volumes, a courtyard with a level 4 Hallow, four spirit Guardians and a permanent staff of eight Sleepwalker acolytes loyal to the Gavriel family. The chapel, courtyard and art gallery are open to the public, but only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

'''Y'all Come Back'''

[[Image: Bb.jpg]]

* A bed & breakfast inn with 14 rooms, located in the center of the Hyde Park District and run by the Silver Ladder mage known as Xenios, one of the city's two Heralds. All nonresident mages intending to remain in the city more than 36 hours must ensure that the Hierarch is aware of their presence, with most expected to quarter themselves at Xenios's lodgings unless another resident mage volunteers to provide his own hospitality.

'''Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park'''

[[Image: Waterwall.jpg]]

* Still stubbornly referred to as Transco Park by locals seven years after the 2003 Galleria expansion that reduced it to a third of its former size, the Hines Waterwall Park sits adjacent to the Galleria retail complex in the Uptown District. Though the park is privately owned, it is open to the public from 10am to 10pm. Until recently, the park was used as neutral ground for meetings between Pentacle mages and Seers when face-to-face meetings were necessary.

'''Saxon Tower'''

[[Image: Saxon.jpg]]

* The corporate headquarters of the Saxon Group, the 49-story skyscraper was completed in May 2000. The bottom ten floors are devoted to retail shops and parking, with the next thirty floors containing office space. Floors 40-44 contain a SkyGarden overlooking the north and east, with the remaining floors reserved as private residences for Roderick Saxon and his aides.

'''Eternity Bar'''

[[Image: Eternitybar.jpg]]

* One of the few downtown nightspots consciously targeting the over-30 crowd, the Eternity Bar is frequented by somewhat older mages who still enjoy a wild night. A tri-level venue, the Eternity consists of a small bar at the street level, a rooftop patio and bar, plus a larger lounge and dance floor just below the rooftop level.

'''The Stateroom'''

[[Image: Stateroom.jpg]]

* Billed as Houston's only revolving restaurant and located 24 stories above street-level, the Stateroom Restaurant and lounge tends to be the go-to location when higher-ranking mages wish to impress out-of-towners. The circular structure makes one complete rotation ever 45 minutes, giving an unparalleled view of the surrounding area.

'''Memorial Park'''

[[Image: Obelisk.jpg]]

* Inspired by a dream, in 2003 the sculptor and architect Dion Murdock erected this obelisk atop a 35-foot crest deep within the forests of Memorial Park, a 1500 acre urban park near the Uptown area. Mages later discovered the obelisk straddles a ley line running beneath the park, and marks the centerpoint of a cluster of Hallows that collectively have a rating of 3. During the winter of 2004-2005, the Lightning Razors chased away a nest of vampires that laid claim to the Hallows and have zealously guarded it ever since.

==The Sanctum==

==Cabal Associates==

==NPCs of Interest==

===Ruling Council===
* '''Heirarch''': Renee Gavriel (Mysterium)
* '''Provost Primus''': Julius (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Provost Secundus''': FuX0r (Free Council)
* '''Herald Primus''': Xenios (Silver Ladder)
* '''Herald Secundus''': Jackson Rusk (Silver Ladder)
* '''Sentinel''': Kirpan (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Sentinel''': Marian Made (Mysterium)

===Councilors===
* '''Acanthus''': Laarsen (Silver Ladder) -- Special Projects Coordinator for City Council Member Oreza and primary source of political intelligence to the Consilium
* '''Mastigos''': Logos (Guardians of the Veil) -- leader of the Cui Bono cabal and mentor of Sentinel Kirpan; together with Assita Falls, Logos has discovered or partially initiated nearly one-third of the region's novice Pentacle mages over the last two decades
* '''Moros''': Samael (Mysterium) -- leader of the Verba Non Acta cabal and long-time investigative journalist for the ''Houston Press'' alternative newsweekly
* '''Obrimos''': Hsing Sun (Mysterium) -- the Most Venerable Hsing Sun is the current abbot of Guang Tien Di Temple, leader of the Jing Dao cabal, and a sage of the Perfected Adept Legacy. One of the oldest mages in the Houston area, Hsing Sun maintains one of the largest collections of Eastern Supernal lore in North America.
* '''Thyrsus''': Assita Falls (Silver Ladder) -- leader of the Seven Mercies cabal and administrator of the Jubilee Restoration House, a private outreach organization providing a network of transitioning housing facilities and homeless shelters throughout Greater Houston.

===Diamond Orders===

====Adamantine Arrows====
* '''Fiery Analemma''' -- six mages that were the vanguard of the campaign against the Seers in the Greater Houston area. Withdrew to Galveston after the Storm after suffering major casualties during an assault against a Seer pylon operating near the Port of Houson.

====Guardians of the Veil====
* '''Cui Bono''' -- a self-styled "oversight" cabal dedicated to keeping an eye on newly-Awakened mages and "keeping them out of trouble," Cui Bono also strives to shield Sleepers from any malevolent supernatural influence. Currently guided by the Mastigos mage known as Logos, the Cui Bono mages work closely with leading mages in the region, trading information and other resorces as needed.
* '''Lightning Razors''' -- one of the larger cabals in the region, they are composed of three cells of three martially-focused mages that once worked closely with the Fiery Analemma cabal. Most notorious for pursuing and defeating the Mad One calling himself "Kadmon."

====Mysterium====
* '''Men of Letters''' -- organized by five mages of the Mysterium, the Men of Letters cabal is composed of academics from among the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University. Having recently won acclaim for repelling an incursion of passion spirits on the UST campus, the Men of Letters tend to work alone in order to concentrate on pure research.
* '''Lone Star Environmental LLC''' -- an environmental consulting company started by two mages, normally completing contracts for petrochemical firms and providing additional expertise for academic investigations.

====Silver Ladder====
* '''Thalassa, Magna & Assoc. LLP''' -- a cutthroat PIP law firm founded by Robert Thalassa and Thomasina Magna. Censured for using Awakened Arts to arrange desired outcomes in court, Thalassa and Magna nonetheless evade more adverse action against them by providing pro bono legal assistance to any mage that engages their services.
* '''Staff & Serpent''' -- SAS began eight years ago as a local coed service fraternity on the UH campus. After the original founder-mages graduated, they retained the name for the public policy research institute they organized a few years later. Staff and Serpent works closely with Thalassa and Magna, trading networking resources and research for various legal services including harassment and obstruction of their adversaries.
* '''Jubilee Restoration House''' -- now headed by Councilor Assita Falls after the assassination of its founder Kortikos by the Seers, the four mages working in this private outreach organization help provide vital services for battered women and children, the homeless, and other souls in desperate need.

===Free Council===
* '''4-Tay''' -- a hip-hop collective formed by the rap duo "4-Tay" and their Sleeper associates. Constant touring keeps them in touch with other Awakened mages throughout the South.
* '''Raditek Consultants''' -- a private firm providing IT and engineering consulting services along with temporary staffing services, started by three mages just out of college.

===Left-Hand Path Mages===
* '''Order of the Bennu''' -- reclusive sect of eight mages and non-Awakened sorcerers reported to use an Ancient Egyptian praxis. Content to stay near their communal waterfront property near the Bear Creek Reservoir, the Order has to date avoided sanction from the Consilium, though they resist any and all attempts at intrusion and surveillance with a combination of mundane technology and powerful Mind and Spirit countermagics.

===Seers of the Throne===
* '''Roderick Saxon''' -- a defector from the Mysterium, Roderick Saxon is the CEO and owner of the Saxon Group, a multinational real estate corporation that is one of the top five managers of office and residential property in the South. The Ruling Council has attempted multiple assassinations of the traitor, but as Saxon rarely leaves the tower which serves as his home and corporate headquarters and is a Master of Fate and Prime, all have failed.

===Banishers and Mad Ones===
* '''"IX"'''
* '''Kadmon'''

===Unaligned and Solitaries===
* '''Alessandro Ficino''' -- former UH communications professor and Silver Ladder renunciate who wages a vengeful hacktivist crusade against hate groups and other extremists
* '''Haroun''' -- forensic analyst and disciple of Samael with potent skill in alchemical and Enochian arts
* '''Fleur de Noire''' -- trio of transgendered mages notable for their expertise in divination and fateweaving
* '''Black Fist''' -- self-styled "professional gadfly" and performance artist who regularly stages demonstrations and protests on behalf of illegal immigrants and other social outcasts

===Sleepers===
* '''Saul Gavriel''' -- chief of staff of the Gavriel Collection
* '''Simon Gavriel''' -- liaison to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
* '''Lluvia Oreza''' -- Houston City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee
* '''Special Agent Etta Battles''' -- Special Agent Battles cut her teeth in counterterrorism and white collar crime investigation. After her promotion to SAC of the Houston FBI Field Office two years ago, Battles proved an able commander and coordinator of the eighteen month probe of AZB Associates.
* '''Sgt. Jonathan Core''' -- HPD patrolman placed on medical leave after reporting an assault by "blood-drinking skinhead freaks"
* '''Francisco Reyes''' -- minister of the Promise House, a nondenominational agency providing shelter and counseling services to homeless and runaway youths
* '''An Shen-Li''' -- music promoter affiliated with the 4-Tay collective

==Local Rumors and Legends==
* A suspected serial killer is stalking the Sharpstown and Neartown areas, with police blaming four ritualistic murders on the killer over the last three months based on the Roman numeral "IX" branded on the back of the victims' necks. So far the victims were all last seen within a few blocks of either the Botanica Eleggua yerberia or the Magick Cauldron pagan supply store.
* Black Fist, the flamboyant Solitary mage formerly associated with the Fiery Analemma cabal, has been spreading whispers to the effect that the Arrows are preparing to emerge from seclusion.
* Younger mages in Southeast Houston report signs of a massive abrasion of the Gauntlet near Ellington Airport, the airfield formerly used by the US Air Force.
* Majority stockholder and AZB chairman Aydin Arvin has gone into hiding days after federal agents raided the AZB home office. Financial analysts predict that the real estate magnate Roderick Saxon will acquire all AZB assets if the company goes into bankruptcy. AZB held the leases on hundreds of acres of retail and residential properties in Pasadena, South Houston, Downtown and the Medical Center.
* Copies of the mysterious recording known as the '''Hildebrandt Tape''' are circulating through the Houston underground. Some report that the last three owners of the Tape have either been committed or have attempted suicide.
* Horakhty, the shadowy leader of the Order of the Bennu cabal, is quietly searching for a lost text known as the '''Book of the Luminous Ib'''. Some report that the Order will pay as much as twenty pawns of Tass for the text.
* Graffiti defacing a mural on the University of St. Thomas campus: "''KADMON BECOMES/OMNIA MUTANTUR/NIHIL INTERIT''." Concerned that this may mark the return of the Mad sorcerer Kadmon (whom the Council insisted had been destroyed in the series of magical battles of the nights following the Storm), Heirarch Gavriel has ordered Sentinel Marian Made to investigate, with the authority to "deputize" any mages as she sees fit.

==Misc Info==
===Character Creation===
* Choose a Path and Order
* Attributes: 9/8/7, +1 dot Favored Resistance trait
* Skills: 14/10/7
* Skill Specialties: 5
* Arcana: 9 dots, +1 dot Favored Arcanum (none rated higher than 4)
* Rotes: 12 dots
* Gnosis: 4
* Merits: 13 dots
* Mana = Wisdom = Resolve + Composure
* Choose Virtue/Vice
* Choose Nimbus, magical tools and flesh out magical style

===House Rules===

* I'm using the "To the Limit" rule from Tome of the Mysteries, which allows mages to cast an improvised spell of one dot higher ranking than normal, if the mage has at least one dot in all of the Arcana necessary to complete the spell. Base casting pool will always be Gnosis + Arcanum, but the mage must spend one Willpower point in order to complete the casting. Also, the spell is automatically vulgar, and three additional dice will be added to the Paradox roll (which can still be reduced as normal by using magical tools or spending Mana).

* When using a rote, the Base Paradox Dice Pool as detailed on p.123 of the corebook is reduced by an additional die. So, a mage with Gnosis 3 or 4 will not roll for Paradox when casting by rote, while a mage with Gnosis 7 or 8 will have a base Paradox pool of 2 dice in a similar situation.

* After the game starts, XP cost for acquiring new rotes will be one point per dot.

* Spell Tolerance = Stamina + 2, as opposed to Stamina + 1.

* PCs effectively possess two dots of Consilium Status and two dots of Order Status, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

* The PC cabal controls a level 4 Hallow and Sanctum pool of 6 dots, with a Library rated at 4 dots.

* Hallows generate their level in Tass and twice their level in Mana each day--i.e., a level 4 Hallow generates 8 points of Mana in addition to 4 points of Tass. However, Mana from a Hallow cannot be transferred directly to a Mage without the use of Prime 3 (thus, oblations will not replenish Mana unless the character has learned a Legacy) except by consuming the Tass itself in some fashion.

Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters

2011-04-04T07:05:49Z

Kastowt: /* The Cabal */

[[Category:Mage:_The_Awakening]][[Category:PBP]]
'''''Twenty-Five Lighters'''''

[[Image: Htown-eclipse.jpg]]

''A Storytelling Campaign of Ambition and Passion set in Houston, Texas''

Run by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?u=6778 Martys] on the RPGnet Forums

==Thread Info==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?568172-GM-Wanted-nWoD-anyone Recruitment]
* OOC
* IC

==The Cabal==
* '''[[John Barabus]]''', '''Mastigos''' of the '''Mysterium''' (played by ''Phigment'')
*'''[[Hailey Desmond]]''', '''Thyrsus''' of the '''Mysterium''' (played by ''Zato-2TWO'')
*'''[[Locke]]''', '''Obrimos''' of the '''Free Council''' (played by ''Nikki6th'')
*'''[[Max D'Angelo]]''', '''Acanthus''' of the '''Guardians of the Veil''' (played by ''Lost_Arts'')
*'''[[Michael Walker]]''', '''Moros''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by ''Scutarii'')

==The Setting==
===Overview and Recent History===
Now boasting a population of 2.6 million in the city proper and nearly 7 million throughout the greater metro area, the City of Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Historically the nation's primary hub for the oil and gas industry, the city suffered an economic slump in the wake of the 80s-era oil bust, but soon rebounded after successfully diversifying its economy. Previously ignored by most mages for the first hundred years of its existence in favor of such cities as New Orleans and Miami, after the one-two punches of Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Ike (which Houstonians simply refer to as "the Storm"), Houston has now overtaken New Orleans in the number of mages that base themselves in the city.

There are between forty and fifty mages known to inhabit the Greater Houston Area (as a general rule of thumb, this includes the entire area within a fifteen-mile radius of downtown Houston). The Diamond Orders have thrived in the region since the Second World War, with their first wave of migration beginning with the wartime mobilization, the second wave following the general 60s-era Sun Belt migration and the third wave coinciding with the late 80s tech and financial services booms. The Mysterium and Guardians of the Veil are the dominant Orders, having long since concentrated themselves within such Sleeper institutions as academia, the aerospace industry, law enforcement, public services, and the health care industry. The Silver Ladder and Free Council both maintain visibly active presences in the region, with their cabals working together in a shifting web of alliances and mutual partnerships. Most new self-Awakened mages tend to get scooped up by one of those two Orders, though the Silver Ladder is happy to find another home for those mages who don't fit its ideology. The Free Council boasts a larger number of mages and has thoroughly worked its way into the local telecom and energy industries. The Silver Ladder claims the greater number of cabals and has gained a stranglehold over the region's occult communities; its influence over the local religious activists and social justice organizers is no less pervasive. The Adamantine Arrows keep the lowest profile, apparently having suffered a crippling blow in September 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The Arrows are currently composed of two cabals which concentrate on their own projects and rarely ask assistance from or communicate with the other Orders. The remaining unaligned mages number a little less than a third of the total population and either remain completely aloof from the larger mage community, or maintain loose affiliations with the Free Council.

===Places of Interest===

'''Consilium'''

[[Image: ChapelCourtyard.jpg]]

* The Maxine Gavriel Collection serves as the physical location from which Houston mages coordinate their activites, air disputes, trade favors, etc. Located on a small private estate in the Upper Kirby District owned by the Gavriel family for six generations, the Consilium consists of a small chapel with a capacity of 100 persons, an art gallery displaying the family's private works, a private library containing various occult and historical volumes, a courtyard with a level 4 Hallow, four spirit Guardians and a permanent staff of eight Sleepwalker acolytes loyal to the Gavriel family. The chapel, courtyard and art gallery are open to the public, but only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

'''Y'all Come Back'''

[[Image: Bb.jpg]]

* A bed & breakfast inn with 14 rooms, located in the center of the Hyde Park District and run by the Silver Ladder mage known as Xenios, one of the city's two Heralds. All nonresident mages intending to remain in the city more than 36 hours must ensure that the Hierarch is aware of their presence, with most expected to quarter themselves at Xenios's lodgings unless another resident mage volunteers to provide his own hospitality.

'''Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park'''

[[Image: Waterwall.jpg]]

* Still stubbornly referred to as Transco Park by locals seven years after the 2003 Galleria expansion that reduced it to a third of its former size, the Hines Waterwall Park sits adjacent to the Galleria retail complex in the Uptown District. Though the park is privately owned, it is open to the public from 10am to 10pm. Until recently, the park was used as neutral ground for meetings between Pentacle mages and Seers when face-to-face meetings were necessary.

'''Saxon Tower'''

[[Image: Saxon.jpg]]

* The corporate headquarters of the Saxon Group, the 49-story skyscraper was completed in May 2000. The bottom ten floors are devoted to retail shops and parking, with the next thirty floors containing office space. Floors 40-44 contain a SkyGarden overlooking the north and east, with the remaining floors reserved as private residences for Roderick Saxon and his aides.

'''Eternity Bar'''

[[Image: Eternitybar.jpg]]

* One of the few downtown nightspots consciously targeting the over-30 crowd, the Eternity Bar is frequented by somewhat older mages who still enjoy a wild night. A tri-level venue, the Eternity consists of a small bar at the street level, a rooftop patio and bar, plus a larger lounge and dance floor just below the rooftop level.

'''The Stateroom'''

[[Image: Stateroom.jpg]]

* Billed as Houston's only revolving restaurant and located 24 stories above street-level, the Stateroom Restaurant and lounge tends to be the go-to location when higher-ranking mages wish to impress out-of-towners. The circular structure makes one complete rotation ever 45 minutes, giving an unparalleled view of the surrounding area.

'''Memorial Park'''

[[Image: Obelisk.jpg]]

* Inspired by a dream, in 2003 the sculptor and architect Dion Murdock erected this obelisk atop a 35-foot crest deep within the forests of Memorial Park, a 1500 acre urban park near the Uptown area. Mages later discovered the obelisk straddles a ley line running beneath the park, and marks the centerpoint of a cluster of Hallows that collectively have a rating of 3. During the winter of 2004-2005, the Lightning Razors chased away a nest of vampires that laid claim to the Hallows and have zealously guarded it ever since.

==The Sanctum==

==Cabal Associates==

==NPCs of Interest==

===Ruling Council===
* '''Heirarch''': Renee Gavriel (Mysterium)
* '''Provost Primus''': Julius (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Provost Secundus''': FuX0r (Free Council)
* '''Herald Primus''': Xenios (Silver Ladder)
* '''Herald Secundus''': Jackson Rusk (Silver Ladder)
* '''Sentinel''': Kirpan (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Sentinel''': Marian Made (Mysterium)

===Councilors===
* '''Acanthus''': Laarsen (Silver Ladder) -- Special Projects Coordinator for City Council Member Oreza and primary source of political intelligence to the Consilium
* '''Mastigos''': Logos (Guardians of the Veil) -- leader of the Cui Bono cabal and mentor of Sentinel Kirpan; together with Assita Falls, Logos has discovered or partially initiated nearly one-third of the region's novice Pentacle mages over the last two decades
* '''Moros''': Samael (Mysterium) -- leader of the Verba Non Acta cabal and long-time investigative journalist for the ''Houston Press'' alternative newsweekly
* '''Obrimos''': Hsing Sun (Mysterium) -- the Most Venerable Hsing Sun is the current abbot of Guang Tien Di Temple, leader of the Jing Dao cabal, and a sage of the Perfected Adept Legacy. One of the oldest mages in the Houston area, Hsing Sun maintains one of the largest collections of Eastern Supernal lore in North America.
* '''Thyrsus''': Assita Falls (Silver Ladder) -- leader of the Seven Mercies cabal and administrator of the Jubilee Restoration House, a private outreach organization providing a network of transitioning housing facilities and homeless shelters throughout Greater Houston.

===Diamond Orders===

====Adamantine Arrows====
* '''Fiery Analemma''' -- six mages that were the vanguard of the campaign against the Seers in the Greater Houston area. Withdrew to Galveston after the Storm after suffering major casualties during an assault against a Seer pylon operating near the Port of Houson.

====Guardians of the Veil====
* '''Cui Bono''' -- a self-styled "oversight" cabal dedicated to keeping an eye on newly-Awakened mages and "keeping them out of trouble," Cui Bono also strives to shield Sleepers from any malevolent supernatural influence. Currently guided by the Mastigos mage known as Logos, the Cui Bono mages work closely with leading mages in the region, trading information and other resorces as needed.
* '''Lightning Razors''' -- one of the larger cabals in the region, they are composed of three cells of three martially-focused mages that once worked closely with the Fiery Analemma cabal. Most notorious for pursuing and defeating the Mad One calling himself "Kadmon."

====Mysterium====
* '''Men of Letters''' -- organized by five mages of the Mysterium, the Men of Letters cabal is composed of academics from among the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University. Having recently won acclaim for repelling an incursion of passion spirits on the UST campus, the Men of Letters tend to work alone in order to concentrate on pure research.
* '''Lone Star Environmental LLC''' -- an environmental consulting company started by two mages, normally completing contracts for petrochemical firms and providing additional expertise for academic investigations.

====Silver Ladder====
* '''Thalassa, Magna & Assoc. LLP''' -- a cutthroat PIP law firm founded by Robert Thalassa and Thomasina Magna. Censured for using Awakened Arts to arrange desired outcomes in court, Thalassa and Magna nonetheless evade more adverse action against them by providing pro bono legal assistance to any mage that engages their services.
* '''Staff & Serpent''' -- SAS began eight years ago as a local coed service fraternity on the UH campus. After the original founder-mages graduated, they retained the name for the public policy research institute they organized a few years later. Staff and Serpent works closely with Thalassa and Magna, trading networking resources and research for various legal services including harassment and obstruction of their adversaries.
* '''Jubilee Restoration House''' -- now headed by Councilor Assita Falls after the assassination of its founder Kortikos by the Seers, the four mages working in this private outreach organization help provide vital services for battered women and children, the homeless, and other souls in desperate need.

===Free Council===
* '''4-Tay''' -- a hip-hop collective formed by the rap duo "4-Tay" and their Sleeper associates. Constant touring keeps them in touch with other Awakened mages throughout the South.
* '''Raditek Consultants''' -- a private firm providing IT and engineering consulting services along with temporary staffing services, started by three mages just out of college.

===Left-Hand Path Mages===
* '''Order of the Bennu''' -- reclusive sect of eight mages and non-Awakened sorcerers reported to use an Ancient Egyptian praxis. Content to stay near their communal waterfront property near the Bear Creek Reservoir, the Order has to date avoided sanction from the Consilium, though they resist any and all attempts at intrusion and surveillance with a combination of mundane technology and powerful Mind and Spirit countermagics.

===Seers of the Throne===
* '''Roderick Saxon''' -- a defector from the Mysterium, Roderick Saxon is the CEO and owner of the Saxon Group, a multinational real estate corporation that is one of the top five managers of office and residential property in the South. The Ruling Council has attempted multiple assassinations of the traitor, but as Saxon rarely leaves the tower which serves as his home and corporate headquarters and is a Master of Fate and Prime, all have failed.

===Banishers and Mad Ones===
* '''"IX"'''
* '''Kadmon'''

===Unaligned and Solitaries===
* '''Alessandro Ficino''' -- former UH communications professor and Silver Ladder renunciate who wages a vengeful hacktivist crusade against hate groups and other extremists
* '''Haroun''' -- forensic analyst and disciple of Samael with potent skill in alchemical and Enochian arts
* '''Fleur de Noire''' -- trio of transgendered mages notable for their expertise in divination and fateweaving
* '''Black Fist''' -- self-styled "professional gadfly" and performance artist who regularly stages demonstrations and protests on behalf of illegal immigrants and other social outcasts

===Sleepers===
* '''Saul Gavriel''' -- chief of staff of the Gavriel Collection
* '''Simon Gavriel''' -- liaison to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
* '''Lluvia Oreza''' -- Houston City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee
* '''Special Agent Etta Battles''' -- Special Agent Battles cut her teeth in counterterrorism and white collar crime investigation. After her promotion to SAC of the Houston FBI Field Office two years ago, Battles proved an able commander and coordinator of the eighteen month probe of AZB Associates.
* '''Sgt. Jonathan Core''' -- HPD patrolman placed on medical leave after reporting an assault by "blood-drinking skinhead freaks"
* '''Francisco Reyes''' -- minister of the Promise House, a nondenominational agency providing shelter and counseling services to homeless and runaway youths
* '''An Shen-Li''' -- music promoter affiliated with the 4-Tay collective

==Local Rumors and Legends==
* A suspected serial killer is stalking the Sharpstown and Neartown areas, with police blaming four ritualistic murders on the killer over the last three months based on the Roman numeral "IX" branded on the back of the victims' necks. So far the victims were all last seen within a few blocks of either the Botanica Eleggua yerberia or the Magick Cauldron pagan supply store.
* Black Fist, the flamboyant Solitary mage formerly associated with the Fiery Analemma cabal, has been spreading whispers to the effect that the Arrows are preparing to emerge from seclusion.
* Younger mages in Southeast Houston report signs of a massive abrasion of the Gauntlet near Ellington Airport, the airfield formerly used by the US Air Force.
* Majority stockholder and AZB chairman Aydin Arvin has gone into hiding days after federal agents raided the AZB home office. Financial analysts predict that the real estate magnate Roderick Saxon will acquire all AZB assets if the company goes into bankruptcy. AZB held the leases on hundreds of acres of retail and residential properties in Pasadena, South Houston, Downtown and the Medical Center.
* Copies of the mysterious recording known as the '''Hildebrandt Tape''' are circulating through the Houston underground. Some report that the last three owners of the Tape have either been committed or have attempted suicide.
* Horakhty, the shadowy leader of the Order of the Bennu cabal, is quietly searching for a lost text known as the '''Book of the Luminous Ib'''. Some report that the Order will pay as much as twenty pawns of Tass for the text.
* Graffiti defacing a mural on the University of St. Thomas campus: "''KADMON BECOMES/OMNIA MUTANTUR/NIHIL INTERIT''." Concerned that this may mark the return of the Mad sorcerer Kadmon (whom the Council insisted had been destroyed in the series of magical battles of the nights following the Storm), Heirarch Gavriel has ordered Sentinel Marian Made to investigate, with the authority to "deputize" any mages as she sees fit.

==Misc Info==
===Character Creation===
* Choose a Path and Order
* Attributes: 9/8/7, +1 dot Favored Resistance trait
* Skills: 14/10/7
* Skill Specialties: 5
* Arcana: 9 dots, +1 dot Favored Arcanum (none rated higher than 4)
* Rotes: 12 dots
* Gnosis: 4
* Merits: 13 dots
* Mana = Wisdom = Resolve + Composure
* Choose Virtue/Vice
* Choose Nimbus, magical tools and flesh out magical style

===House Rules===

* I'm using the "To the Limit" rule from Tome of the Mysteries, which allows mages to cast an improvised spell of one dot higher ranking than normal, if the mage has at least one dot in all of the Arcana necessary to complete the spell. Base casting pool will always be Gnosis + Arcanum, but the mage must spend one Willpower point in order to complete the casting. Also, the spell is automatically vulgar, and three additional dice will be added to the Paradox roll (which can still be reduced as normal by using magical tools or spending Mana).

* When using a rote, the Base Paradox Dice Pool as detailed on p.123 of the corebook is reduced by an additional die. So, a mage with Gnosis 3 or 4 will not roll for Paradox when casting by rote, while a mage with Gnosis 7 or 8 will have a base Paradox pool of 2 dice in a similar situation.

* After the game starts, XP cost for acquiring new rotes will be one point per dot.

* Spell Tolerance = Stamina + 2, as opposed to Stamina + 1.

* PCs effectively possess two dots of Consilium Status and two dots of Order Status, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

* The PC cabal controls a level 4 Hallow and Sanctum pool of 6 dots, with a Library rated at 4 dots.

* Hallows generate their level in Tass and twice their level in Mana each day--i.e., a level 4 Hallow generates 8 points of Mana in addition to 4 points of Tass. However, Mana from a Hallow cannot be transferred directly to a Mage without the use of Prime 3 (thus, oblations will not replenish Mana unless the character has learned a Legacy) except by consuming the Tass itself in some fashion.

Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters

2011-04-04T07:05:16Z

Kastowt: /* The Cabal */

[[Category:Mage:_The_Awakening]][[Category:PBP]]
'''''Twenty-Five Lighters'''''

[[Image: Htown-eclipse.jpg]]

''A Storytelling Campaign of Ambition and Passion set in Houston, Texas''

Run by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?u=6778 Martys] on the RPGnet Forums

==Thread Info==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?568172-GM-Wanted-nWoD-anyone Recruitment]
* OOC
* IC

==The Cabal==
* '''[[John Barabus]]''', '''Mastigos''' of the '''Mysterium''' (played by Phigment)
*'''[[Hailey Desmond]]''', '''Thyrsus''' of the '''Mysterium''' (played by Zato-2TWO)
*'''[[Locke]]''', '''Obrimos''' of the '''Free Council''' (played by Nikki6th)
*'''[[Max D'Angelo]]''', '''Acanthus''' of the '''Guardians of the Veil''' (played by Lost_Arts)
*'''[[Michael Walker]]''', '''Moros''' of the '''Silver Ladder''' (played by Scutarii)

==The Setting==
===Overview and Recent History===
Now boasting a population of 2.6 million in the city proper and nearly 7 million throughout the greater metro area, the City of Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Historically the nation's primary hub for the oil and gas industry, the city suffered an economic slump in the wake of the 80s-era oil bust, but soon rebounded after successfully diversifying its economy. Previously ignored by most mages for the first hundred years of its existence in favor of such cities as New Orleans and Miami, after the one-two punches of Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Ike (which Houstonians simply refer to as "the Storm"), Houston has now overtaken New Orleans in the number of mages that base themselves in the city.

There are between forty and fifty mages known to inhabit the Greater Houston Area (as a general rule of thumb, this includes the entire area within a fifteen-mile radius of downtown Houston). The Diamond Orders have thrived in the region since the Second World War, with their first wave of migration beginning with the wartime mobilization, the second wave following the general 60s-era Sun Belt migration and the third wave coinciding with the late 80s tech and financial services booms. The Mysterium and Guardians of the Veil are the dominant Orders, having long since concentrated themselves within such Sleeper institutions as academia, the aerospace industry, law enforcement, public services, and the health care industry. The Silver Ladder and Free Council both maintain visibly active presences in the region, with their cabals working together in a shifting web of alliances and mutual partnerships. Most new self-Awakened mages tend to get scooped up by one of those two Orders, though the Silver Ladder is happy to find another home for those mages who don't fit its ideology. The Free Council boasts a larger number of mages and has thoroughly worked its way into the local telecom and energy industries. The Silver Ladder claims the greater number of cabals and has gained a stranglehold over the region's occult communities; its influence over the local religious activists and social justice organizers is no less pervasive. The Adamantine Arrows keep the lowest profile, apparently having suffered a crippling blow in September 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The Arrows are currently composed of two cabals which concentrate on their own projects and rarely ask assistance from or communicate with the other Orders. The remaining unaligned mages number a little less than a third of the total population and either remain completely aloof from the larger mage community, or maintain loose affiliations with the Free Council.

===Places of Interest===

'''Consilium'''

[[Image: ChapelCourtyard.jpg]]

* The Maxine Gavriel Collection serves as the physical location from which Houston mages coordinate their activites, air disputes, trade favors, etc. Located on a small private estate in the Upper Kirby District owned by the Gavriel family for six generations, the Consilium consists of a small chapel with a capacity of 100 persons, an art gallery displaying the family's private works, a private library containing various occult and historical volumes, a courtyard with a level 4 Hallow, four spirit Guardians and a permanent staff of eight Sleepwalker acolytes loyal to the Gavriel family. The chapel, courtyard and art gallery are open to the public, but only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

'''Y'all Come Back'''

[[Image: Bb.jpg]]

* A bed & breakfast inn with 14 rooms, located in the center of the Hyde Park District and run by the Silver Ladder mage known as Xenios, one of the city's two Heralds. All nonresident mages intending to remain in the city more than 36 hours must ensure that the Hierarch is aware of their presence, with most expected to quarter themselves at Xenios's lodgings unless another resident mage volunteers to provide his own hospitality.

'''Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park'''

[[Image: Waterwall.jpg]]

* Still stubbornly referred to as Transco Park by locals seven years after the 2003 Galleria expansion that reduced it to a third of its former size, the Hines Waterwall Park sits adjacent to the Galleria retail complex in the Uptown District. Though the park is privately owned, it is open to the public from 10am to 10pm. Until recently, the park was used as neutral ground for meetings between Pentacle mages and Seers when face-to-face meetings were necessary.

'''Saxon Tower'''

[[Image: Saxon.jpg]]

* The corporate headquarters of the Saxon Group, the 49-story skyscraper was completed in May 2000. The bottom ten floors are devoted to retail shops and parking, with the next thirty floors containing office space. Floors 40-44 contain a SkyGarden overlooking the north and east, with the remaining floors reserved as private residences for Roderick Saxon and his aides.

'''Eternity Bar'''

[[Image: Eternitybar.jpg]]

* One of the few downtown nightspots consciously targeting the over-30 crowd, the Eternity Bar is frequented by somewhat older mages who still enjoy a wild night. A tri-level venue, the Eternity consists of a small bar at the street level, a rooftop patio and bar, plus a larger lounge and dance floor just below the rooftop level.

'''The Stateroom'''

[[Image: Stateroom.jpg]]

* Billed as Houston's only revolving restaurant and located 24 stories above street-level, the Stateroom Restaurant and lounge tends to be the go-to location when higher-ranking mages wish to impress out-of-towners. The circular structure makes one complete rotation ever 45 minutes, giving an unparalleled view of the surrounding area.

'''Memorial Park'''

[[Image: Obelisk.jpg]]

* Inspired by a dream, in 2003 the sculptor and architect Dion Murdock erected this obelisk atop a 35-foot crest deep within the forests of Memorial Park, a 1500 acre urban park near the Uptown area. Mages later discovered the obelisk straddles a ley line running beneath the park, and marks the centerpoint of a cluster of Hallows that collectively have a rating of 3. During the winter of 2004-2005, the Lightning Razors chased away a nest of vampires that laid claim to the Hallows and have zealously guarded it ever since.

==The Sanctum==

==Cabal Associates==

==NPCs of Interest==

===Ruling Council===
* '''Heirarch''': Renee Gavriel (Mysterium)
* '''Provost Primus''': Julius (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Provost Secundus''': FuX0r (Free Council)
* '''Herald Primus''': Xenios (Silver Ladder)
* '''Herald Secundus''': Jackson Rusk (Silver Ladder)
* '''Sentinel''': Kirpan (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Sentinel''': Marian Made (Mysterium)

===Councilors===
* '''Acanthus''': Laarsen (Silver Ladder) -- Special Projects Coordinator for City Council Member Oreza and primary source of political intelligence to the Consilium
* '''Mastigos''': Logos (Guardians of the Veil) -- leader of the Cui Bono cabal and mentor of Sentinel Kirpan; together with Assita Falls, Logos has discovered or partially initiated nearly one-third of the region's novice Pentacle mages over the last two decades
* '''Moros''': Samael (Mysterium) -- leader of the Verba Non Acta cabal and long-time investigative journalist for the ''Houston Press'' alternative newsweekly
* '''Obrimos''': Hsing Sun (Mysterium) -- the Most Venerable Hsing Sun is the current abbot of Guang Tien Di Temple, leader of the Jing Dao cabal, and a sage of the Perfected Adept Legacy. One of the oldest mages in the Houston area, Hsing Sun maintains one of the largest collections of Eastern Supernal lore in North America.
* '''Thyrsus''': Assita Falls (Silver Ladder) -- leader of the Seven Mercies cabal and administrator of the Jubilee Restoration House, a private outreach organization providing a network of transitioning housing facilities and homeless shelters throughout Greater Houston.

===Diamond Orders===

====Adamantine Arrows====
* '''Fiery Analemma''' -- six mages that were the vanguard of the campaign against the Seers in the Greater Houston area. Withdrew to Galveston after the Storm after suffering major casualties during an assault against a Seer pylon operating near the Port of Houson.

====Guardians of the Veil====
* '''Cui Bono''' -- a self-styled "oversight" cabal dedicated to keeping an eye on newly-Awakened mages and "keeping them out of trouble," Cui Bono also strives to shield Sleepers from any malevolent supernatural influence. Currently guided by the Mastigos mage known as Logos, the Cui Bono mages work closely with leading mages in the region, trading information and other resorces as needed.
* '''Lightning Razors''' -- one of the larger cabals in the region, they are composed of three cells of three martially-focused mages that once worked closely with the Fiery Analemma cabal. Most notorious for pursuing and defeating the Mad One calling himself "Kadmon."

====Mysterium====
* '''Men of Letters''' -- organized by five mages of the Mysterium, the Men of Letters cabal is composed of academics from among the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University. Having recently won acclaim for repelling an incursion of passion spirits on the UST campus, the Men of Letters tend to work alone in order to concentrate on pure research.
* '''Lone Star Environmental LLC''' -- an environmental consulting company started by two mages, normally completing contracts for petrochemical firms and providing additional expertise for academic investigations.

====Silver Ladder====
* '''Thalassa, Magna & Assoc. LLP''' -- a cutthroat PIP law firm founded by Robert Thalassa and Thomasina Magna. Censured for using Awakened Arts to arrange desired outcomes in court, Thalassa and Magna nonetheless evade more adverse action against them by providing pro bono legal assistance to any mage that engages their services.
* '''Staff & Serpent''' -- SAS began eight years ago as a local coed service fraternity on the UH campus. After the original founder-mages graduated, they retained the name for the public policy research institute they organized a few years later. Staff and Serpent works closely with Thalassa and Magna, trading networking resources and research for various legal services including harassment and obstruction of their adversaries.
* '''Jubilee Restoration House''' -- now headed by Councilor Assita Falls after the assassination of its founder Kortikos by the Seers, the four mages working in this private outreach organization help provide vital services for battered women and children, the homeless, and other souls in desperate need.

===Free Council===
* '''4-Tay''' -- a hip-hop collective formed by the rap duo "4-Tay" and their Sleeper associates. Constant touring keeps them in touch with other Awakened mages throughout the South.
* '''Raditek Consultants''' -- a private firm providing IT and engineering consulting services along with temporary staffing services, started by three mages just out of college.

===Left-Hand Path Mages===
* '''Order of the Bennu''' -- reclusive sect of eight mages and non-Awakened sorcerers reported to use an Ancient Egyptian praxis. Content to stay near their communal waterfront property near the Bear Creek Reservoir, the Order has to date avoided sanction from the Consilium, though they resist any and all attempts at intrusion and surveillance with a combination of mundane technology and powerful Mind and Spirit countermagics.

===Seers of the Throne===
* '''Roderick Saxon''' -- a defector from the Mysterium, Roderick Saxon is the CEO and owner of the Saxon Group, a multinational real estate corporation that is one of the top five managers of office and residential property in the South. The Ruling Council has attempted multiple assassinations of the traitor, but as Saxon rarely leaves the tower which serves as his home and corporate headquarters and is a Master of Fate and Prime, all have failed.

===Banishers and Mad Ones===
* '''"IX"'''
* '''Kadmon'''

===Unaligned and Solitaries===
* '''Alessandro Ficino''' -- former UH communications professor and Silver Ladder renunciate who wages a vengeful hacktivist crusade against hate groups and other extremists
* '''Haroun''' -- forensic analyst and disciple of Samael with potent skill in alchemical and Enochian arts
* '''Fleur de Noire''' -- trio of transgendered mages notable for their expertise in divination and fateweaving
* '''Black Fist''' -- self-styled "professional gadfly" and performance artist who regularly stages demonstrations and protests on behalf of illegal immigrants and other social outcasts

===Sleepers===
* '''Saul Gavriel''' -- chief of staff of the Gavriel Collection
* '''Simon Gavriel''' -- liaison to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
* '''Lluvia Oreza''' -- Houston City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee
* '''Special Agent Etta Battles''' -- Special Agent Battles cut her teeth in counterterrorism and white collar crime investigation. After her promotion to SAC of the Houston FBI Field Office two years ago, Battles proved an able commander and coordinator of the eighteen month probe of AZB Associates.
* '''Sgt. Jonathan Core''' -- HPD patrolman placed on medical leave after reporting an assault by "blood-drinking skinhead freaks"
* '''Francisco Reyes''' -- minister of the Promise House, a nondenominational agency providing shelter and counseling services to homeless and runaway youths
* '''An Shen-Li''' -- music promoter affiliated with the 4-Tay collective

==Local Rumors and Legends==
* A suspected serial killer is stalking the Sharpstown and Neartown areas, with police blaming four ritualistic murders on the killer over the last three months based on the Roman numeral "IX" branded on the back of the victims' necks. So far the victims were all last seen within a few blocks of either the Botanica Eleggua yerberia or the Magick Cauldron pagan supply store.
* Black Fist, the flamboyant Solitary mage formerly associated with the Fiery Analemma cabal, has been spreading whispers to the effect that the Arrows are preparing to emerge from seclusion.
* Younger mages in Southeast Houston report signs of a massive abrasion of the Gauntlet near Ellington Airport, the airfield formerly used by the US Air Force.
* Majority stockholder and AZB chairman Aydin Arvin has gone into hiding days after federal agents raided the AZB home office. Financial analysts predict that the real estate magnate Roderick Saxon will acquire all AZB assets if the company goes into bankruptcy. AZB held the leases on hundreds of acres of retail and residential properties in Pasadena, South Houston, Downtown and the Medical Center.
* Copies of the mysterious recording known as the '''Hildebrandt Tape''' are circulating through the Houston underground. Some report that the last three owners of the Tape have either been committed or have attempted suicide.
* Horakhty, the shadowy leader of the Order of the Bennu cabal, is quietly searching for a lost text known as the '''Book of the Luminous Ib'''. Some report that the Order will pay as much as twenty pawns of Tass for the text.
* Graffiti defacing a mural on the University of St. Thomas campus: "''KADMON BECOMES/OMNIA MUTANTUR/NIHIL INTERIT''." Concerned that this may mark the return of the Mad sorcerer Kadmon (whom the Council insisted had been destroyed in the series of magical battles of the nights following the Storm), Heirarch Gavriel has ordered Sentinel Marian Made to investigate, with the authority to "deputize" any mages as she sees fit.

==Misc Info==
===Character Creation===
* Choose a Path and Order
* Attributes: 9/8/7, +1 dot Favored Resistance trait
* Skills: 14/10/7
* Skill Specialties: 5
* Arcana: 9 dots, +1 dot Favored Arcanum (none rated higher than 4)
* Rotes: 12 dots
* Gnosis: 4
* Merits: 13 dots
* Mana = Wisdom = Resolve + Composure
* Choose Virtue/Vice
* Choose Nimbus, magical tools and flesh out magical style

===House Rules===

* I'm using the "To the Limit" rule from Tome of the Mysteries, which allows mages to cast an improvised spell of one dot higher ranking than normal, if the mage has at least one dot in all of the Arcana necessary to complete the spell. Base casting pool will always be Gnosis + Arcanum, but the mage must spend one Willpower point in order to complete the casting. Also, the spell is automatically vulgar, and three additional dice will be added to the Paradox roll (which can still be reduced as normal by using magical tools or spending Mana).

* When using a rote, the Base Paradox Dice Pool as detailed on p.123 of the corebook is reduced by an additional die. So, a mage with Gnosis 3 or 4 will not roll for Paradox when casting by rote, while a mage with Gnosis 7 or 8 will have a base Paradox pool of 2 dice in a similar situation.

* After the game starts, XP cost for acquiring new rotes will be one point per dot.

* Spell Tolerance = Stamina + 2, as opposed to Stamina + 1.

* PCs effectively possess two dots of Consilium Status and two dots of Order Status, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

* The PC cabal controls a level 4 Hallow and Sanctum pool of 6 dots, with a Library rated at 4 dots.

* Hallows generate their level in Tass and twice their level in Mana each day--i.e., a level 4 Hallow generates 8 points of Mana in addition to 4 points of Tass. However, Mana from a Hallow cannot be transferred directly to a Mage without the use of Prime 3 (thus, oblations will not replenish Mana unless the character has learned a Legacy) except by consuming the Tass itself in some fashion.

Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters

2011-04-04T06:26:01Z

Kastowt: /* Places of Interest */

[[Category:Mage:_The_Awakening]][[Category:PBP]]
'''''Twenty-Five Lighters'''''

[[Image: Htown-eclipse.jpg]]

''A Storytelling Campaign of Ambition and Passion set in Houston, Texas''

Run by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?u=6778 Martys] on the RPGnet Forums

==Thread Info==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?568172-GM-Wanted-nWoD-anyone Recruitment]
* OOC
* IC

==The Cabal==
* '''[[John Barabus]]''', '''Mastigos''' of the '''Mysterium'''
*'''[[Hailey Desmond]]''', '''Thyrsus''' of the '''Mysterium'''
*'''[[Locke]]''', '''Obrimos''' of the '''Free Council'''
*'''[[Max D'Angelo]]''', '''Acanthus''' of the '''Guardians of the Veil'''
*'''[[Michael Walker]]''', '''Moros''' of the '''Silver Ladder'''

==The Setting==
===Overview and Recent History===
Now boasting a population of 2.6 million in the city proper and nearly 7 million throughout the greater metro area, the City of Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Historically the nation's primary hub for the oil and gas industry, the city suffered an economic slump in the wake of the 80s-era oil bust, but soon rebounded after successfully diversifying its economy. Previously ignored by most mages for the first hundred years of its existence in favor of such cities as New Orleans and Miami, after the one-two punches of Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Ike (which Houstonians simply refer to as "the Storm"), Houston has now overtaken New Orleans in the number of mages that base themselves in the city.

There are between forty and fifty mages known to inhabit the Greater Houston Area (as a general rule of thumb, this includes the entire area within a fifteen-mile radius of downtown Houston). The Diamond Orders have thrived in the region since the Second World War, with their first wave of migration beginning with the wartime mobilization, the second wave following the general 60s-era Sun Belt migration and the third wave coinciding with the late 80s tech and financial services booms. The Mysterium and Guardians of the Veil are the dominant Orders, having long since concentrated themselves within such Sleeper institutions as academia, the aerospace industry, law enforcement, public services, and the health care industry. The Silver Ladder and Free Council both maintain visibly active presences in the region, with their cabals working together in a shifting web of alliances and mutual partnerships. Most new self-Awakened mages tend to get scooped up by one of those two Orders, though the Silver Ladder is happy to find another home for those mages who don't fit its ideology. The Free Council boasts a larger number of mages and has thoroughly worked its way into the local telecom and energy industries. The Silver Ladder claims the greater number of cabals and has gained a stranglehold over the region's occult communities; its influence over the local religious activists and social justice organizers is no less pervasive. The Adamantine Arrows keep the lowest profile, apparently having suffered a crippling blow in September 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The Arrows are currently composed of two cabals which concentrate on their own projects and rarely ask assistance from or communicate with the other Orders. The remaining unaligned mages number a little less than a third of the total population and either remain completely aloof from the larger mage community, or maintain loose affiliations with the Free Council.

===Places of Interest===

'''Consilium'''

[[Image: ChapelCourtyard.jpg]]

* The Maxine Gavriel Collection serves as the physical location from which Houston mages coordinate their activites, air disputes, trade favors, etc. Located on a small private estate in the Upper Kirby District owned by the Gavriel family for six generations, the Consilium consists of a small chapel with a capacity of 100 persons, an art gallery displaying the family's private works, a private library containing various occult and historical volumes, a courtyard with a level 4 Hallow, four spirit Guardians and a permanent staff of eight Sleepwalker acolytes loyal to the Gavriel family. The chapel, courtyard and art gallery are open to the public, but only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

'''Y'all Come Back'''

[[Image: Bb.jpg]]

* A bed & breakfast inn with 14 rooms, located in the center of the Hyde Park District and run by the Silver Ladder mage known as Xenios, one of the city's two Heralds. All nonresident mages intending to remain in the city more than 36 hours must ensure that the Hierarch is aware of their presence, with most expected to quarter themselves at Xenios's lodgings unless another resident mage volunteers to provide his own hospitality.

'''Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park'''

[[Image: Waterwall.jpg]]

* Still stubbornly referred to as Transco Park by locals seven years after the 2003 Galleria expansion that reduced it to a third of its former size, the Hines Waterwall Park sits adjacent to the Galleria retail complex in the Uptown District. Though the park is privately owned, it is open to the public from 10am to 10pm. Until recently, the park was used as neutral ground for meetings between Pentacle mages and Seers when face-to-face meetings were necessary.

'''Saxon Tower'''

[[Image: Saxon.jpg]]

* The corporate headquarters of the Saxon Group, the 49-story skyscraper was completed in May 2000. The bottom ten floors are devoted to retail shops and parking, with the next thirty floors containing office space. Floors 40-44 contain a SkyGarden overlooking the north and east, with the remaining floors reserved as private residences for Roderick Saxon and his aides.

'''Eternity Bar'''

[[Image: Eternitybar.jpg]]

* One of the few downtown nightspots consciously targeting the over-30 crowd, the Eternity Bar is frequented by somewhat older mages who still enjoy a wild night. A tri-level venue, the Eternity consists of a small bar at the street level, a rooftop patio and bar, plus a larger lounge and dance floor just below the rooftop level.

'''The Stateroom'''

[[Image: Stateroom.jpg]]

* Billed as Houston's only revolving restaurant and located 24 stories above street-level, the Stateroom Restaurant and lounge tends to be the go-to location when higher-ranking mages wish to impress out-of-towners. The circular structure makes one complete rotation ever 45 minutes, giving an unparalleled view of the surrounding area.

'''Memorial Park'''

[[Image: Obelisk.jpg]]

* Inspired by a dream, in 2003 the sculptor and architect Dion Murdock erected this obelisk atop a 35-foot crest deep within the forests of Memorial Park, a 1500 acre urban park near the Uptown area. Mages later discovered the obelisk straddles a ley line running beneath the park, and marks the centerpoint of a cluster of Hallows that collectively have a rating of 3. During the winter of 2004-2005, the Lightning Razors chased away a nest of vampires that laid claim to the Hallows and have zealously guarded it ever since.

==The Sanctum==

==Cabal Associates==

==NPCs of Interest==

===Ruling Council===
* '''Heirarch''': Renee Gavriel (Mysterium)
* '''Provost Primus''': Julius (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Provost Secundus''': FuX0r (Free Council)
* '''Herald Primus''': Xenios (Silver Ladder)
* '''Herald Secundus''': Jackson Rusk (Silver Ladder)
* '''Sentinel''': Kirpan (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Sentinel''': Marian Made (Mysterium)

===Councilors===
* '''Acanthus''': Laarsen (Silver Ladder) -- Special Projects Coordinator for City Council Member Oreza and primary source of political intelligence to the Consilium
* '''Mastigos''': Logos (Guardians of the Veil) -- leader of the Cui Bono cabal and mentor of Sentinel Kirpan; together with Assita Falls, Logos has discovered or partially initiated nearly one-third of the region's novice Pentacle mages over the last two decades
* '''Moros''': Samael (Mysterium) -- leader of the Verba Non Acta cabal and long-time investigative journalist for the ''Houston Press'' alternative newsweekly
* '''Obrimos''': Hsing Sun (Mysterium) -- the Most Venerable Hsing Sun is the current abbot of Guang Tien Di Temple, leader of the Jing Dao cabal, and a sage of the Perfected Adept Legacy. One of the oldest mages in the Houston area, Hsing Sun maintains one of the largest collections of Eastern Supernal lore in North America.
* '''Thyrsus''': Assita Falls (Silver Ladder) -- leader of the Seven Mercies cabal and administrator of the Jubilee Restoration House, a private outreach organization providing a network of transitioning housing facilities and homeless shelters throughout Greater Houston.

===Diamond Orders===

====Adamantine Arrows====
* '''Fiery Analemma''' -- six mages that were the vanguard of the campaign against the Seers in the Greater Houston area. Withdrew to Galveston after the Storm after suffering major casualties during an assault against a Seer pylon operating near the Port of Houson.

====Guardians of the Veil====
* '''Cui Bono''' -- a self-styled "oversight" cabal dedicated to keeping an eye on newly-Awakened mages and "keeping them out of trouble," Cui Bono also strives to shield Sleepers from any malevolent supernatural influence. Currently guided by the Mastigos mage known as Logos, the Cui Bono mages work closely with leading mages in the region, trading information and other resorces as needed.
* '''Lightning Razors''' -- one of the larger cabals in the region, they are composed of three cells of three martially-focused mages that once worked closely with the Fiery Analemma cabal. Most notorious for pursuing and defeating the Mad One calling himself "Kadmon."

====Mysterium====
* '''Men of Letters''' -- organized by five mages of the Mysterium, the Men of Letters cabal is composed of academics from among the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University. Having recently won acclaim for repelling an incursion of passion spirits on the UST campus, the Men of Letters tend to work alone in order to concentrate on pure research.
* '''Lone Star Environmental LLC''' -- an environmental consulting company started by two mages, normally completing contracts for petrochemical firms and providing additional expertise for academic investigations.

====Silver Ladder====
* '''Thalassa, Magna & Assoc. LLP''' -- a cutthroat PIP law firm founded by Robert Thalassa and Thomasina Magna. Censured for using Awakened Arts to arrange desired outcomes in court, Thalassa and Magna nonetheless evade more adverse action against them by providing pro bono legal assistance to any mage that engages their services.
* '''Staff & Serpent''' -- SAS began eight years ago as a local coed service fraternity on the UH campus. After the original founder-mages graduated, they retained the name for the public policy research institute they organized a few years later. Staff and Serpent works closely with Thalassa and Magna, trading networking resources and research for various legal services including harassment and obstruction of their adversaries.
* '''Jubilee Restoration House''' -- now headed by Councilor Assita Falls after the assassination of its founder Kortikos by the Seers, the four mages working in this private outreach organization help provide vital services for battered women and children, the homeless, and other souls in desperate need.

===Free Council===
* '''4-Tay''' -- a hip-hop collective formed by the rap duo "4-Tay" and their Sleeper associates. Constant touring keeps them in touch with other Awakened mages throughout the South.
* '''Raditek Consultants''' -- a private firm providing IT and engineering consulting services along with temporary staffing services, started by three mages just out of college.

===Left-Hand Path Mages===
* '''Order of the Bennu''' -- reclusive sect of eight mages and non-Awakened sorcerers reported to use an Ancient Egyptian praxis. Content to stay near their communal waterfront property near the Bear Creek Reservoir, the Order has to date avoided sanction from the Consilium, though they resist any and all attempts at intrusion and surveillance with a combination of mundane technology and powerful Mind and Spirit countermagics.

===Seers of the Throne===
* '''Roderick Saxon''' -- a defector from the Mysterium, Roderick Saxon is the CEO and owner of the Saxon Group, a multinational real estate corporation that is one of the top five managers of office and residential property in the South. The Ruling Council has attempted multiple assassinations of the traitor, but as Saxon rarely leaves the tower which serves as his home and corporate headquarters and is a Master of Fate and Prime, all have failed.

===Banishers and Mad Ones===
* '''"IX"'''
* '''Kadmon'''

===Unaligned and Solitaries===
* '''Alessandro Ficino''' -- former UH communications professor and Silver Ladder renunciate who wages a vengeful hacktivist crusade against hate groups and other extremists
* '''Haroun''' -- forensic analyst and disciple of Samael with potent skill in alchemical and Enochian arts
* '''Fleur de Noire''' -- trio of transgendered mages notable for their expertise in divination and fateweaving
* '''Black Fist''' -- self-styled "professional gadfly" and performance artist who regularly stages demonstrations and protests on behalf of illegal immigrants and other social outcasts

===Sleepers===
* '''Saul Gavriel''' -- chief of staff of the Gavriel Collection
* '''Simon Gavriel''' -- liaison to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
* '''Lluvia Oreza''' -- Houston City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee
* '''Special Agent Etta Battles''' -- Special Agent Battles cut her teeth in counterterrorism and white collar crime investigation. After her promotion to SAC of the Houston FBI Field Office two years ago, Battles proved an able commander and coordinator of the eighteen month probe of AZB Associates.
* '''Sgt. Jonathan Core''' -- HPD patrolman placed on medical leave after reporting an assault by "blood-drinking skinhead freaks"
* '''Francisco Reyes''' -- minister of the Promise House, a nondenominational agency providing shelter and counseling services to homeless and runaway youths
* '''An Shen-Li''' -- music promoter affiliated with the 4-Tay collective

==Local Rumors and Legends==
* A suspected serial killer is stalking the Sharpstown and Neartown areas, with police blaming four ritualistic murders on the killer over the last three months based on the Roman numeral "IX" branded on the back of the victims' necks. So far the victims were all last seen within a few blocks of either the Botanica Eleggua yerberia or the Magick Cauldron pagan supply store.
* Black Fist, the flamboyant Solitary mage formerly associated with the Fiery Analemma cabal, has been spreading whispers to the effect that the Arrows are preparing to emerge from seclusion.
* Younger mages in Southeast Houston report signs of a massive abrasion of the Gauntlet near Ellington Airport, the airfield formerly used by the US Air Force.
* Majority stockholder and AZB chairman Aydin Arvin has gone into hiding days after federal agents raided the AZB home office. Financial analysts predict that the real estate magnate Roderick Saxon will acquire all AZB assets if the company goes into bankruptcy. AZB held the leases on hundreds of acres of retail and residential properties in Pasadena, South Houston, Downtown and the Medical Center.
* Copies of the mysterious recording known as the '''Hildebrandt Tape''' are circulating through the Houston underground. Some report that the last three owners of the Tape have either been committed or have attempted suicide.
* Horakhty, the shadowy leader of the Order of the Bennu cabal, is quietly searching for a lost text known as the '''Book of the Luminous Ib'''. Some report that the Order will pay as much as twenty pawns of Tass for the text.
* Graffiti defacing a mural on the University of St. Thomas campus: "''KADMON BECOMES/OMNIA MUTANTUR/NIHIL INTERIT''." Concerned that this may mark the return of the Mad sorcerer Kadmon (whom the Council insisted had been destroyed in the series of magical battles of the nights following the Storm), Heirarch Gavriel has ordered Sentinel Marian Made to investigate, with the authority to "deputize" any mages as she sees fit.

==Misc Info==
===Character Creation===
* Choose a Path and Order
* Attributes: 9/8/7, +1 dot Favored Resistance trait
* Skills: 14/10/7
* Skill Specialties: 5
* Arcana: 9 dots, +1 dot Favored Arcanum (none rated higher than 4)
* Rotes: 12 dots
* Gnosis: 4
* Merits: 13 dots
* Mana = Wisdom = Resolve + Composure
* Choose Virtue/Vice
* Choose Nimbus, magical tools and flesh out magical style

===House Rules===

* I'm using the "To the Limit" rule from Tome of the Mysteries, which allows mages to cast an improvised spell of one dot higher ranking than normal, if the mage has at least one dot in all of the Arcana necessary to complete the spell. Base casting pool will always be Gnosis + Arcanum, but the mage must spend one Willpower point in order to complete the casting. Also, the spell is automatically vulgar, and three additional dice will be added to the Paradox roll (which can still be reduced as normal by using magical tools or spending Mana).

* When using a rote, the Base Paradox Dice Pool as detailed on p.123 of the corebook is reduced by an additional die. So, a mage with Gnosis 3 or 4 will not roll for Paradox when casting by rote, while a mage with Gnosis 7 or 8 will have a base Paradox pool of 2 dice in a similar situation.

* After the game starts, XP cost for acquiring new rotes will be one point per dot.

* Spell Tolerance = Stamina + 2, as opposed to Stamina + 1.

* PCs effectively possess two dots of Consilium Status and two dots of Order Status, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

* The PC cabal controls a level 4 Hallow and Sanctum pool of 6 dots, with a Library rated at 4 dots.

* Hallows generate their level in Tass and twice their level in Mana each day--i.e., a level 4 Hallow generates 8 points of Mana in addition to 4 points of Tass. However, Mana from a Hallow cannot be transferred directly to a Mage without the use of Prime 3 (thus, oblations will not replenish Mana unless the character has learned a Legacy) except by consuming the Tass itself in some fashion.

Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters

2011-04-04T05:42:57Z

Kastowt: /* Places of Interest */

[[Category:Mage:_The_Awakening]][[Category:PBP]]
'''''Twenty-Five Lighters'''''

[[Image: Htown-eclipse.jpg]]

''A Storytelling Campaign of Ambition and Passion set in Houston, Texas''

Run by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?u=6778 Martys] on the RPGnet Forums

==Thread Info==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?568172-GM-Wanted-nWoD-anyone Recruitment]
* OOC
* IC

==The Cabal==
* '''[[John Barabus]]''', '''Mastigos''' of the '''Mysterium'''
*'''[[Hailey Desmond]]''', '''Thyrsus''' of the '''Mysterium'''
*'''[[Locke]]''', '''Obrimos''' of the '''Free Council'''
*'''[[Max D'Angelo]]''', '''Acanthus''' of the '''Guardians of the Veil'''
*'''[[Michael Walker]]''', '''Moros''' of the '''Silver Ladder'''

==The Setting==
===Overview and Recent History===
Now boasting a population of 2.6 million in the city proper and nearly 7 million throughout the greater metro area, the City of Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Historically the nation's primary hub for the oil and gas industry, the city suffered an economic slump in the wake of the 80s-era oil bust, but soon rebounded after successfully diversifying its economy. Previously ignored by most mages for the first hundred years of its existence in favor of such cities as New Orleans and Miami, after the one-two punches of Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Ike (which Houstonians simply refer to as "the Storm"), Houston has now overtaken New Orleans in the number of mages that base themselves in the city.

There are between forty and fifty mages known to inhabit the Greater Houston Area (as a general rule of thumb, this includes the entire area within a fifteen-mile radius of downtown Houston). The Diamond Orders have thrived in the region since the Second World War, with their first wave of migration beginning with the wartime mobilization, the second wave following the general 60s-era Sun Belt migration and the third wave coinciding with the late 80s tech and financial services booms. The Mysterium and Guardians of the Veil are the dominant Orders, having long since concentrated themselves within such Sleeper institutions as academia, the aerospace industry, law enforcement, public services, and the health care industry. The Silver Ladder and Free Council both maintain visibly active presences in the region, with their cabals working together in a shifting web of alliances and mutual partnerships. Most new self-Awakened mages tend to get scooped up by one of those two Orders, though the Silver Ladder is happy to find another home for those mages who don't fit its ideology. The Free Council boasts a larger number of mages and has thoroughly worked its way into the local telecom and energy industries. The Silver Ladder claims the greater number of cabals and has gained a stranglehold over the region's occult communities; its influence over the local religious activists and social justice organizers is no less pervasive. The Adamantine Arrows keep the lowest profile, apparently having suffered a crippling blow in September 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The Arrows are currently composed of two cabals which concentrate on their own projects and rarely ask assistance from or communicate with the other Orders. The remaining unaligned mages number a little less than a third of the total population and either remain completely aloof from the larger mage community, or maintain loose affiliations with the Free Council.

===Places of Interest===

'''Consilium'''

[[Image: ChapelCourtyard.jpg]]

* The Maxine Gavriel Collection serves as the physical location from which Houston mages coordinate their activites, air disputes, trade favors, etc. Located on a small private estate in the Upper Kirby District owned by the Gavriel family for six generations, the Consilium consists of a small chapel with a capacity of 100 persons, an art gallery displaying the family's private works, a private library containing various occult and historical volumes, a courtyard with a level 4 Hallow, four spirit Guardians and a permanent staff of eight Sleepwalker acolytes loyal to the Gavriel family. The chapel, courtyard and art gallery are open to the public, but only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

'''Y'all Come Back'''

[[Image: Bb.jpg]]

* A bed & breakfast inn with 14 rooms, located in the center of the Hyde Park District and run by the Silver Ladder mage known as Xenios, one of the city's two Heralds. All nonresident mages intending to remain in the city more than 36 hours must ensure that the Hierarch is aware of their presence, with most expected to quarter themselves at Xenios's lodgings unless another resident mage volunteers to provide his own hospitality.

'''Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park'''

[[Image: Waterwall.jpg]]

* Still stubbornly referred to as Transco Park by locals seven years after the 2003 Galleria expansion that reduced it to a third of its former size, the Hines Waterwall Park sits adjacent to the Galleria retail complex in the Uptown District. Though the park is privately owned, it is open to the public from 10am to 10pm. Until recently, the park was used as neutral ground for meetings between Pentacle mages and Seers when face-to-face meetings were necessary.

'''Saxon Tower'''

[[Image: Saxon.jpg]]

* The corporate headquarters of the Saxon Group, the 49-story skyscraper was completed in May 2000. The bottom ten floors are devoted to retail shops and parking, with the next thirty floors containing office space. Floors 40-44 contain a SkyGarden overlooking the north and west, with the remaining floors reserved as private residences for Roderick Saxon and his aides.

'''Eternity Bar'''

[[Image: Eternitybar.jpg]]

* One of the few downtown nightspots consciously targeting the over-30 crowd, the Eternity Bar is frequented by somewhat older mages who still enjoy a wild night. A tri-level venue, the Eternity consists of a small bar at the street level, a rooftop patio and bar, plus a larger lounge and dance floor just below the rooftop level.

'''The Stateroom'''

[[Image: Stateroom.jpg]]

* Billed as Houston's only revolving restaurant and located 24 stories above street-level, the Stateroom Restaurant and lounge tends to be the go-to location when higher-ranking mages wish to impress out-of-towners. The circular structure makes one complete rotation ever 45 minutes, giving an unparalleled view of the surrounding area.

'''Memorial Park'''

[[Image: Obelisk.jpg]]

* Inspired by a dream, in 2003 the sculptor and architect Dion Murdock erected this obelisk atop a 35-foot crest deep within the forests of Memorial Park, a 1500 acre urban park near the Uptown area. Mages later discovered the obelisk straddles a ley line running beneath the park, and marks the centerpoint of a cluster of Hallows that collectively have a rating of 3. During the winter of 2004-2005, the Lightning Razors chased away a nest of vampires that laid claim to the Hallows and have zealously guarded it ever since.

==The Sanctum==

==Cabal Associates==

==NPCs of Interest==

===Ruling Council===
* '''Heirarch''': Renee Gavriel (Mysterium)
* '''Provost Primus''': Julius (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Provost Secundus''': FuX0r (Free Council)
* '''Herald Primus''': Xenios (Silver Ladder)
* '''Herald Secundus''': Jackson Rusk (Silver Ladder)
* '''Sentinel''': Kirpan (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Sentinel''': Marian Made (Mysterium)

===Councilors===
* '''Acanthus''': Laarsen (Silver Ladder) -- Special Projects Coordinator for City Council Member Oreza and primary source of political intelligence to the Consilium
* '''Mastigos''': Logos (Guardians of the Veil) -- leader of the Cui Bono cabal and mentor of Sentinel Kirpan; together with Assita Falls, Logos has discovered or partially initiated nearly one-third of the region's novice Pentacle mages over the last two decades
* '''Moros''': Samael (Mysterium) -- leader of the Verba Non Acta cabal and long-time investigative journalist for the ''Houston Press'' alternative newsweekly
* '''Obrimos''': Hsing Sun (Mysterium) -- the Most Venerable Hsing Sun is the current abbot of Guang Tien Di Temple, leader of the Jing Dao cabal, and a sage of the Perfected Adept Legacy. One of the oldest mages in the Houston area, Hsing Sun maintains one of the largest collections of Eastern Supernal lore in North America.
* '''Thyrsus''': Assita Falls (Silver Ladder) -- leader of the Seven Mercies cabal and administrator of the Jubilee Restoration House, a private outreach organization providing a network of transitioning housing facilities and homeless shelters throughout Greater Houston.

===Diamond Orders===

====Adamantine Arrows====
* '''Fiery Analemma''' -- six mages that were the vanguard of the campaign against the Seers in the Greater Houston area. Withdrew to Galveston after the Storm after suffering major casualties during an assault against a Seer pylon operating near the Port of Houson.

====Guardians of the Veil====
* '''Cui Bono''' -- a self-styled "oversight" cabal dedicated to keeping an eye on newly-Awakened mages and "keeping them out of trouble," Cui Bono also strives to shield Sleepers from any malevolent supernatural influence. Currently guided by the Mastigos mage known as Logos, the Cui Bono mages work closely with leading mages in the region, trading information and other resorces as needed.
* '''Lightning Razors''' -- one of the larger cabals in the region, they are composed of three cells of three martially-focused mages that once worked closely with the Fiery Analemma cabal. Most notorious for pursuing and defeating the Mad One calling himself "Kadmon."

====Mysterium====
* '''Men of Letters''' -- organized by five mages of the Mysterium, the Men of Letters cabal is composed of academics from among the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University. Having recently won acclaim for repelling an incursion of passion spirits on the UST campus, the Men of Letters tend to work alone in order to concentrate on pure research.
* '''Lone Star Environmental LLC''' -- an environmental consulting company started by two mages, normally completing contracts for petrochemical firms and providing additional expertise for academic investigations.

====Silver Ladder====
* '''Thalassa, Magna & Assoc. LLP''' -- a cutthroat PIP law firm founded by Robert Thalassa and Thomasina Magna. Censured for using Awakened Arts to arrange desired outcomes in court, Thalassa and Magna nonetheless evade more adverse action against them by providing pro bono legal assistance to any mage that engages their services.
* '''Staff & Serpent''' -- SAS began eight years ago as a local coed service fraternity on the UH campus. After the original founder-mages graduated, they retained the name for the public policy research institute they organized a few years later. Staff and Serpent works closely with Thalassa and Magna, trading networking resources and research for various legal services including harassment and obstruction of their adversaries.
* '''Jubilee Restoration House''' -- now headed by Councilor Assita Falls after the assassination of its founder Kortikos by the Seers, the four mages working in this private outreach organization help provide vital services for battered women and children, the homeless, and other souls in desperate need.

===Free Council===
* '''4-Tay''' -- a hip-hop collective formed by the rap duo "4-Tay" and their Sleeper associates. Constant touring keeps them in touch with other Awakened mages throughout the South.
* '''Raditek Consultants''' -- a private firm providing IT and engineering consulting services along with temporary staffing services, started by three mages just out of college.

===Left-Hand Path Mages===
* '''Order of the Bennu''' -- reclusive sect of eight mages and non-Awakened sorcerers reported to use an Ancient Egyptian praxis. Content to stay near their communal waterfront property near the Bear Creek Reservoir, the Order has to date avoided sanction from the Consilium, though they resist any and all attempts at intrusion and surveillance with a combination of mundane technology and powerful Mind and Spirit countermagics.

===Seers of the Throne===
* '''Roderick Saxon''' -- a defector from the Mysterium, Roderick Saxon is the CEO and owner of the Saxon Group, a multinational real estate corporation that is one of the top five managers of office and residential property in the South. The Ruling Council has attempted multiple assassinations of the traitor, but as Saxon rarely leaves the tower which serves as his home and corporate headquarters and is a Master of Fate and Prime, all have failed.

===Banishers and Mad Ones===
* '''"IX"'''
* '''Kadmon'''

===Unaligned and Solitaries===
* '''Alessandro Ficino''' -- former UH communications professor and Silver Ladder renunciate who wages a vengeful hacktivist crusade against hate groups and other extremists
* '''Haroun''' -- forensic analyst and disciple of Samael with potent skill in alchemical and Enochian arts
* '''Fleur de Noire''' -- trio of transgendered mages notable for their expertise in divination and fateweaving
* '''Black Fist''' -- self-styled "professional gadfly" and performance artist who regularly stages demonstrations and protests on behalf of illegal immigrants and other social outcasts

===Sleepers===
* '''Saul Gavriel''' -- chief of staff of the Gavriel Collection
* '''Simon Gavriel''' -- liaison to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
* '''Lluvia Oreza''' -- Houston City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee
* '''Special Agent Etta Battles''' -- Special Agent Battles cut her teeth in counterterrorism and white collar crime investigation. After her promotion to SAC of the Houston FBI Field Office two years ago, Battles proved an able commander and coordinator of the eighteen month probe of AZB Associates.
* '''Sgt. Jonathan Core''' -- HPD patrolman placed on medical leave after reporting an assault by "blood-drinking skinhead freaks"
* '''Francisco Reyes''' -- minister of the Promise House, a nondenominational agency providing shelter and counseling services to homeless and runaway youths
* '''An Shen-Li''' -- music promoter affiliated with the 4-Tay collective

==Local Rumors and Legends==
* A suspected serial killer is stalking the Sharpstown and Neartown areas, with police blaming four ritualistic murders on the killer over the last three months based on the Roman numeral "IX" branded on the back of the victims' necks. So far the victims were all last seen within a few blocks of either the Botanica Eleggua yerberia or the Magick Cauldron pagan supply store.
* Black Fist, the flamboyant Solitary mage formerly associated with the Fiery Analemma cabal, has been spreading whispers to the effect that the Arrows are preparing to emerge from seclusion.
* Younger mages in Southeast Houston report signs of a massive abrasion of the Gauntlet near Ellington Airport, the airfield formerly used by the US Air Force.
* Majority stockholder and AZB chairman Aydin Arvin has gone into hiding days after federal agents raided the AZB home office. Financial analysts predict that the real estate magnate Roderick Saxon will acquire all AZB assets if the company goes into bankruptcy. AZB held the leases on hundreds of acres of retail and residential properties in Pasadena, South Houston, Downtown and the Medical Center.
* Copies of the mysterious recording known as the '''Hildebrandt Tape''' are circulating through the Houston underground. Some report that the last three owners of the Tape have either been committed or have attempted suicide.
* Horakhty, the shadowy leader of the Order of the Bennu cabal, is quietly searching for a lost text known as the '''Book of the Luminous Ib'''. Some report that the Order will pay as much as twenty pawns of Tass for the text.
* Graffiti defacing a mural on the University of St. Thomas campus: "''KADMON BECOMES/OMNIA MUTANTUR/NIHIL INTERIT''." Concerned that this may mark the return of the Mad sorcerer Kadmon (whom the Council insisted had been destroyed in the series of magical battles of the nights following the Storm), Heirarch Gavriel has ordered Sentinel Marian Made to investigate, with the authority to "deputize" any mages as she sees fit.

==Misc Info==
===Character Creation===
* Choose a Path and Order
* Attributes: 9/8/7, +1 dot Favored Resistance trait
* Skills: 14/10/7
* Skill Specialties: 5
* Arcana: 9 dots, +1 dot Favored Arcanum (none rated higher than 4)
* Rotes: 12 dots
* Gnosis: 4
* Merits: 13 dots
* Mana = Wisdom = Resolve + Composure
* Choose Virtue/Vice
* Choose Nimbus, magical tools and flesh out magical style

===House Rules===

* I'm using the "To the Limit" rule from Tome of the Mysteries, which allows mages to cast an improvised spell of one dot higher ranking than normal, if the mage has at least one dot in all of the Arcana necessary to complete the spell. Base casting pool will always be Gnosis + Arcanum, but the mage must spend one Willpower point in order to complete the casting. Also, the spell is automatically vulgar, and three additional dice will be added to the Paradox roll (which can still be reduced as normal by using magical tools or spending Mana).

* When using a rote, the Base Paradox Dice Pool as detailed on p.123 of the corebook is reduced by an additional die. So, a mage with Gnosis 3 or 4 will not roll for Paradox when casting by rote, while a mage with Gnosis 7 or 8 will have a base Paradox pool of 2 dice in a similar situation.

* After the game starts, XP cost for acquiring new rotes will be one point per dot.

* Spell Tolerance = Stamina + 2, as opposed to Stamina + 1.

* PCs effectively possess two dots of Consilium Status and two dots of Order Status, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

* The PC cabal controls a level 4 Hallow and Sanctum pool of 6 dots, with a Library rated at 4 dots.

* Hallows generate their level in Tass and twice their level in Mana each day--i.e., a level 4 Hallow generates 8 points of Mana in addition to 4 points of Tass. However, Mana from a Hallow cannot be transferred directly to a Mage without the use of Prime 3 (thus, oblations will not replenish Mana unless the character has learned a Legacy) except by consuming the Tass itself in some fashion.

Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters

2011-04-04T05:37:36Z

Kastowt:

[[Category:Mage:_The_Awakening]][[Category:PBP]]
'''''Twenty-Five Lighters'''''

[[Image: Htown-eclipse.jpg]]

''A Storytelling Campaign of Ambition and Passion set in Houston, Texas''

Run by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?u=6778 Martys] on the RPGnet Forums

==Thread Info==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?568172-GM-Wanted-nWoD-anyone Recruitment]
* OOC
* IC

==The Cabal==
* '''[[John Barabus]]''', '''Mastigos''' of the '''Mysterium'''
*'''[[Hailey Desmond]]''', '''Thyrsus''' of the '''Mysterium'''
*'''[[Locke]]''', '''Obrimos''' of the '''Free Council'''
*'''[[Max D'Angelo]]''', '''Acanthus''' of the '''Guardians of the Veil'''
*'''[[Michael Walker]]''', '''Moros''' of the '''Silver Ladder'''

==The Setting==
===Overview and Recent History===
Now boasting a population of 2.6 million in the city proper and nearly 7 million throughout the greater metro area, the City of Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Historically the nation's primary hub for the oil and gas industry, the city suffered an economic slump in the wake of the 80s-era oil bust, but soon rebounded after successfully diversifying its economy. Previously ignored by most mages for the first hundred years of its existence in favor of such cities as New Orleans and Miami, after the one-two punches of Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Ike (which Houstonians simply refer to as "the Storm"), Houston has now overtaken New Orleans in the number of mages that base themselves in the city.

There are between forty and fifty mages known to inhabit the Greater Houston Area (as a general rule of thumb, this includes the entire area within a fifteen-mile radius of downtown Houston). The Diamond Orders have thrived in the region since the Second World War, with their first wave of migration beginning with the wartime mobilization, the second wave following the general 60s-era Sun Belt migration and the third wave coinciding with the late 80s tech and financial services booms. The Mysterium and Guardians of the Veil are the dominant Orders, having long since concentrated themselves within such Sleeper institutions as academia, the aerospace industry, law enforcement, public services, and the health care industry. The Silver Ladder and Free Council both maintain visibly active presences in the region, with their cabals working together in a shifting web of alliances and mutual partnerships. Most new self-Awakened mages tend to get scooped up by one of those two Orders, though the Silver Ladder is happy to find another home for those mages who don't fit its ideology. The Free Council boasts a larger number of mages and has thoroughly worked its way into the local telecom and energy industries. The Silver Ladder claims the greater number of cabals and has gained a stranglehold over the region's occult communities; its influence over the local religious activists and social justice organizers is no less pervasive. The Adamantine Arrows keep the lowest profile, apparently having suffered a crippling blow in September 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The Arrows are currently composed of two cabals which concentrate on their own projects and rarely ask assistance from or communicate with the other Orders. The remaining unaligned mages number a little less than a third of the total population and either remain completely aloof from the larger mage community, or maintain loose affiliations with the Free Council.

===Places of Interest===

'''Consilium'''

[[Image: ChapelCourtyard.jpg]]

* The Maxine Gavriel Collection serves as the physical location from which Houston mages coordinate their activites, air disputes, trade favors, etc. Located on a small private estate in the Upper Kirby District owned by the Gavriel family for six generations, the Consilium consists of a small chapel with a capacity of 100 persons, an art gallery displaying the family's private works, a private library containing various occult and historical volumes, a courtyard with a level 4 Hallow, four spirit Guardians and a permanent staff of eight Sleepwalker acolytes loyal to the Gavriel family. The chapel, courtyard and art gallery are open to the public, but only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

'''Y'all Come Back'''

[[Image: Bb.jpg]]

* A bed & breakfast inn with 14 rooms, located in the center of the Hyde Park District and run by the Silver Ladder mage known as Xenios, one of the city's two Heralds. All nonresident mages intending to remain in the city more than 36 hours must ensure that the Hierarch is aware of their presence, with most expected to quarter themselves at Xenios's lodgings unless another resident mage volunteers to provide his own hospitality.

'''Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park'''

[[Image: Waterwall.jpg]]

* Still stubbornly referred to as Transco Park by locals seven years after the 2003 Galleria expansion that reduced it to a third of its former size, the Hines Waterwall Park sits adjacent to the Galleria retail complex in the Uptown District. Though the park is privately owned, it is open to the public from 10am to 10pm. Until recently, the park was used as neutral ground for meetings between Pentacle mages and Seers when face-to-face meetings were necessary.

'''Saxon Tower'''

[[Image: Saxon.jpg]]

* The corporate headquarters of the Saxon Group, the 48-story skyscraper was completed in May 2000. The bottom ten floors are devoted to retail shops and parking, with the next thirty floors containing office space. Floors 40-45 contain a SkyGarden overlooking the north and west, with the remaining floors reserved as private residences for Roderick Saxon and his aides.

'''Eternity Bar'''

[[Image: Eternitybar.jpg]]

* One of the few downtown nightspots consciously targeting the over-30 crowd, the Eternity Bar is frequented by somewhat older mages who still enjoy a wild night. A tri-level venue, the Eternity consists of a small bar at the street level, a rooftop patio and bar, plus a larger lounge and dance floor just below the rooftop level.

'''The Stateroom'''

[[Image: Stateroom.jpg]]

* Billed as Houston's only revolving restaurant and located 24 stories above street-level, the Stateroom Restaurant and lounge tends to be the go-to location when higher-ranking mages wish to impress out-of-towners. The circular structure makes one complete rotation ever 45 minutes, giving an unparalleled view of the surrounding area.

'''Memorial Park'''

[[Image: Obelisk.jpg]]

* Inspired by a dream, in 2003 the sculptor and architect Dion Murdock erected this obelisk atop a 35-foot crest deep within the forests of Memorial Park, a 1500 acre urban park near the Uptown area. Mages later discovered the obelisk straddles a ley line running beneath the park, and marks the centerpoint of a cluster of Hallows that collectively have a rating of 3. During the winter of 2004-2005, the Lightning Razors chased away a nest of vampires that laid claim to the Hallows and have zealously guarded it ever since.

==The Sanctum==

==Cabal Associates==

==NPCs of Interest==

===Ruling Council===
* '''Heirarch''': Renee Gavriel (Mysterium)
* '''Provost Primus''': Julius (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Provost Secundus''': FuX0r (Free Council)
* '''Herald Primus''': Xenios (Silver Ladder)
* '''Herald Secundus''': Jackson Rusk (Silver Ladder)
* '''Sentinel''': Kirpan (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Sentinel''': Marian Made (Mysterium)

===Councilors===
* '''Acanthus''': Laarsen (Silver Ladder) -- Special Projects Coordinator for City Council Member Oreza and primary source of political intelligence to the Consilium
* '''Mastigos''': Logos (Guardians of the Veil) -- leader of the Cui Bono cabal and mentor of Sentinel Kirpan; together with Assita Falls, Logos has discovered or partially initiated nearly one-third of the region's novice Pentacle mages over the last two decades
* '''Moros''': Samael (Mysterium) -- leader of the Verba Non Acta cabal and long-time investigative journalist for the ''Houston Press'' alternative newsweekly
* '''Obrimos''': Hsing Sun (Mysterium) -- the Most Venerable Hsing Sun is the current abbot of Guang Tien Di Temple, leader of the Jing Dao cabal, and a sage of the Perfected Adept Legacy. One of the oldest mages in the Houston area, Hsing Sun maintains one of the largest collections of Eastern Supernal lore in North America.
* '''Thyrsus''': Assita Falls (Silver Ladder) -- leader of the Seven Mercies cabal and administrator of the Jubilee Restoration House, a private outreach organization providing a network of transitioning housing facilities and homeless shelters throughout Greater Houston.

===Diamond Orders===

====Adamantine Arrows====
* '''Fiery Analemma''' -- six mages that were the vanguard of the campaign against the Seers in the Greater Houston area. Withdrew to Galveston after the Storm after suffering major casualties during an assault against a Seer pylon operating near the Port of Houson.

====Guardians of the Veil====
* '''Cui Bono''' -- a self-styled "oversight" cabal dedicated to keeping an eye on newly-Awakened mages and "keeping them out of trouble," Cui Bono also strives to shield Sleepers from any malevolent supernatural influence. Currently guided by the Mastigos mage known as Logos, the Cui Bono mages work closely with leading mages in the region, trading information and other resorces as needed.
* '''Lightning Razors''' -- one of the larger cabals in the region, they are composed of three cells of three martially-focused mages that once worked closely with the Fiery Analemma cabal. Most notorious for pursuing and defeating the Mad One calling himself "Kadmon."

====Mysterium====
* '''Men of Letters''' -- organized by five mages of the Mysterium, the Men of Letters cabal is composed of academics from among the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University. Having recently won acclaim for repelling an incursion of passion spirits on the UST campus, the Men of Letters tend to work alone in order to concentrate on pure research.
* '''Lone Star Environmental LLC''' -- an environmental consulting company started by two mages, normally completing contracts for petrochemical firms and providing additional expertise for academic investigations.

====Silver Ladder====
* '''Thalassa, Magna & Assoc. LLP''' -- a cutthroat PIP law firm founded by Robert Thalassa and Thomasina Magna. Censured for using Awakened Arts to arrange desired outcomes in court, Thalassa and Magna nonetheless evade more adverse action against them by providing pro bono legal assistance to any mage that engages their services.
* '''Staff & Serpent''' -- SAS began eight years ago as a local coed service fraternity on the UH campus. After the original founder-mages graduated, they retained the name for the public policy research institute they organized a few years later. Staff and Serpent works closely with Thalassa and Magna, trading networking resources and research for various legal services including harassment and obstruction of their adversaries.
* '''Jubilee Restoration House''' -- now headed by Councilor Assita Falls after the assassination of its founder Kortikos by the Seers, the four mages working in this private outreach organization help provide vital services for battered women and children, the homeless, and other souls in desperate need.

===Free Council===
* '''4-Tay''' -- a hip-hop collective formed by the rap duo "4-Tay" and their Sleeper associates. Constant touring keeps them in touch with other Awakened mages throughout the South.
* '''Raditek Consultants''' -- a private firm providing IT and engineering consulting services along with temporary staffing services, started by three mages just out of college.

===Left-Hand Path Mages===
* '''Order of the Bennu''' -- reclusive sect of eight mages and non-Awakened sorcerers reported to use an Ancient Egyptian praxis. Content to stay near their communal waterfront property near the Bear Creek Reservoir, the Order has to date avoided sanction from the Consilium, though they resist any and all attempts at intrusion and surveillance with a combination of mundane technology and powerful Mind and Spirit countermagics.

===Seers of the Throne===
* '''Roderick Saxon''' -- a defector from the Mysterium, Roderick Saxon is the CEO and owner of the Saxon Group, a multinational real estate corporation that is one of the top five managers of office and residential property in the South. The Ruling Council has attempted multiple assassinations of the traitor, but as Saxon rarely leaves the tower which serves as his home and corporate headquarters and is a Master of Fate and Prime, all have failed.

===Banishers and Mad Ones===
* '''"IX"'''
* '''Kadmon'''

===Unaligned and Solitaries===
* '''Alessandro Ficino''' -- former UH communications professor and Silver Ladder renunciate who wages a vengeful hacktivist crusade against hate groups and other extremists
* '''Haroun''' -- forensic analyst and disciple of Samael with potent skill in alchemical and Enochian arts
* '''Fleur de Noire''' -- trio of transgendered mages notable for their expertise in divination and fateweaving
* '''Black Fist''' -- self-styled "professional gadfly" and performance artist who regularly stages demonstrations and protests on behalf of illegal immigrants and other social outcasts

===Sleepers===
* '''Saul Gavriel''' -- chief of staff of the Gavriel Collection
* '''Simon Gavriel''' -- liaison to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
* '''Lluvia Oreza''' -- Houston City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee
* '''Special Agent Etta Battles''' -- Special Agent Battles cut her teeth in counterterrorism and white collar crime investigation. After her promotion to SAC of the Houston FBI Field Office two years ago, Battles proved an able commander and coordinator of the eighteen month probe of AZB Associates.
* '''Sgt. Jonathan Core''' -- HPD patrolman placed on medical leave after reporting an assault by "blood-drinking skinhead freaks"
* '''Francisco Reyes''' -- minister of the Promise House, a nondenominational agency providing shelter and counseling services to homeless and runaway youths
* '''An Shen-Li''' -- music promoter affiliated with the 4-Tay collective

==Local Rumors and Legends==
* A suspected serial killer is stalking the Sharpstown and Neartown areas, with police blaming four ritualistic murders on the killer over the last three months based on the Roman numeral "IX" branded on the back of the victims' necks. So far the victims were all last seen within a few blocks of either the Botanica Eleggua yerberia or the Magick Cauldron pagan supply store.
* Black Fist, the flamboyant Solitary mage formerly associated with the Fiery Analemma cabal, has been spreading whispers to the effect that the Arrows are preparing to emerge from seclusion.
* Younger mages in Southeast Houston report signs of a massive abrasion of the Gauntlet near Ellington Airport, the airfield formerly used by the US Air Force.
* Majority stockholder and AZB chairman Aydin Arvin has gone into hiding days after federal agents raided the AZB home office. Financial analysts predict that the real estate magnate Roderick Saxon will acquire all AZB assets if the company goes into bankruptcy. AZB held the leases on hundreds of acres of retail and residential properties in Pasadena, South Houston, Downtown and the Medical Center.
* Copies of the mysterious recording known as the '''Hildebrandt Tape''' are circulating through the Houston underground. Some report that the last three owners of the Tape have either been committed or have attempted suicide.
* Horakhty, the shadowy leader of the Order of the Bennu cabal, is quietly searching for a lost text known as the '''Book of the Luminous Ib'''. Some report that the Order will pay as much as twenty pawns of Tass for the text.
* Graffiti defacing a mural on the University of St. Thomas campus: "''KADMON BECOMES/OMNIA MUTANTUR/NIHIL INTERIT''." Concerned that this may mark the return of the Mad sorcerer Kadmon (whom the Council insisted had been destroyed in the series of magical battles of the nights following the Storm), Heirarch Gavriel has ordered Sentinel Marian Made to investigate, with the authority to "deputize" any mages as she sees fit.

==Misc Info==
===Character Creation===
* Choose a Path and Order
* Attributes: 9/8/7, +1 dot Favored Resistance trait
* Skills: 14/10/7
* Skill Specialties: 5
* Arcana: 9 dots, +1 dot Favored Arcanum (none rated higher than 4)
* Rotes: 12 dots
* Gnosis: 4
* Merits: 13 dots
* Mana = Wisdom = Resolve + Composure
* Choose Virtue/Vice
* Choose Nimbus, magical tools and flesh out magical style

===House Rules===

* I'm using the "To the Limit" rule from Tome of the Mysteries, which allows mages to cast an improvised spell of one dot higher ranking than normal, if the mage has at least one dot in all of the Arcana necessary to complete the spell. Base casting pool will always be Gnosis + Arcanum, but the mage must spend one Willpower point in order to complete the casting. Also, the spell is automatically vulgar, and three additional dice will be added to the Paradox roll (which can still be reduced as normal by using magical tools or spending Mana).

* When using a rote, the Base Paradox Dice Pool as detailed on p.123 of the corebook is reduced by an additional die. So, a mage with Gnosis 3 or 4 will not roll for Paradox when casting by rote, while a mage with Gnosis 7 or 8 will have a base Paradox pool of 2 dice in a similar situation.

* After the game starts, XP cost for acquiring new rotes will be one point per dot.

* Spell Tolerance = Stamina + 2, as opposed to Stamina + 1.

* PCs effectively possess two dots of Consilium Status and two dots of Order Status, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

* The PC cabal controls a level 4 Hallow and Sanctum pool of 6 dots, with a Library rated at 4 dots.

* Hallows generate their level in Tass and twice their level in Mana each day--i.e., a level 4 Hallow generates 8 points of Mana in addition to 4 points of Tass. However, Mana from a Hallow cannot be transferred directly to a Mage without the use of Prime 3 (thus, oblations will not replenish Mana unless the character has learned a Legacy) except by consuming the Tass itself in some fashion.

File:Saxon.jpg

2011-04-04T05:01:33Z

Kastowt:

Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters

2011-04-04T02:02:46Z

Kastowt: /* Places of Interest */

[[Category:Mage:_The_Awakening]][[Category:PBP]]
'''''Twenty-Five Lighters'''''

[[Image: Htown-eclipse.jpg]]

''A Storytelling Campaign of Ambition and Passion set in Houston, Texas''

Run by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?u=6778 Martys] on the RPGnet Forums

==Thread Info==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?568172-GM-Wanted-nWoD-anyone Recruitment]
* OOC
* IC

==The Cabal==
* '''[[John Barabus]]''', '''Mastigos''' of the '''Mysterium'''
*'''[[Hailey Desmond]]''', '''Thyrsus''' of the '''Mysterium'''
*'''[[Locke]]''', '''Obrimos''' of the '''Free Council'''
*'''[[Max D'Angelo]]''', '''Acanthus''' of the '''Guardians of the Veil'''
*'''[[Michael Walker]]''', '''Moros''' of the '''Silver Ladder'''

==The Setting==
===Overview and Recent History===
Now boasting a population of 2.6 million in the city proper and nearly 7 million throughout the greater metro area, the City of Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Historically the nation's primary hub for the oil and gas industry, the city suffered an economic slump in the wake of the 80s-era oil bust, but soon rebounded after successfully diversifying its economy. Previously ignored by most mages for the first hundred years of its existence in favor of such cities as New Orleans and Miami, after the one-two punches of Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Ike (which Houstonians simply refer to as "the Storm"), Houston has now overtaken New Orleans in the number of mages that base themselves in the city.

There are between forty and fifty mages known to inhabit the Greater Houston Area (as a general rule of thumb, this includes the entire area within a fifteen-mile radius of downtown Houston). The Diamond Orders have thrived in the region since the Second World War, with their first wave of migration beginning with the wartime mobilization, the second wave following the general 60s-era Sun Belt migration and the third wave coinciding with the late 80s tech and financial services booms. The Mysterium and Guardians of the Veil are the dominant Orders, having long since concentrated themselves within such Sleeper institutions as academia, the aerospace industry, law enforcement, public services, and the health care industry. The Silver Ladder and Free Council both maintain visibly active presences in the region, with their cabals working together in a shifting web of alliances and mutual partnerships. Most new self-Awakened mages tend to get scooped up by one of those two Orders, though the Silver Ladder is happy to find another home for those mages who don't fit its ideology. The Free Council boasts a larger number of mages and has thoroughly worked its way into the local telecom and energy industries. The Silver Ladder claims the greater number of cabals and has gained a stranglehold over the region's occult communities; its influence over the local religious activists and social justice organizers is no less pervasive. The Adamantine Arrows keep the lowest profile, apparently having suffered a crippling blow in September 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The Arrows are currently composed of two cabals which concentrate on their own projects and rarely ask assistance from or communicate with the other Orders. The remaining unaligned mages number a little less than a third of the total population and either remain completely aloof from the larger mage community, or maintain loose affiliations with the Free Council.

===Places of Interest===

'''Consilium'''

[[Image: ChapelCourtyard.jpg]]

* The Maxine Gavriel Collection serves as the physical location from which Houston mages coordinate their activites, air disputes, trade favors, etc. Located on a small private estate in the Upper Kirby District owned by the Gavriel family for six generations, the Consilium consists of a small chapel with a capacity of 100 persons, an art gallery displaying the family's private works, a private library containing various occult and historical volumes, a courtyard with a level 4 Hallow, four spirit Guardians and a permanent staff of eight Sleepwalker acolytes loyal to the Gavriel family. The chapel, courtyard and art gallery are open to the public, but only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

'''Y'all Come Back'''

[[Image: Bb.jpg]]

* A bed & breakfast inn with 14 rooms, located in the center of the Hyde Park District and run by the Silver Ladder mage known as Xenios, one of the city's two Heralds. All nonresident mages intending to remain in the city more than 36 hours must ensure that the Hierarch is aware of their presence, with most expected to quarter themselves at Xenios's lodgings unless another resident mage volunteers to provide his own hospitality.

'''Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park'''

[[Image: Waterwall.jpg]]

* Still stubbornly referred to as Transco Park by locals seven years after the 2003 Galleria expansion that reduced it to a third of its former size, the Hines Waterwall Park sits adjacent to the Galleria retail complex in the Uptown District. Though the park is privately owned, it is open to the public from 10am to 10pm. Until recently, the park was used as neutral ground for meetings between Pentacle mages and Seers when face-to-face meetings were necessary.

'''Eternity Bar'''

[[Image: Eternitybar.jpg]]

* One of the few downtown nightspots consciously targeting the over-30 crowd, the Eternity Bar is frequented by somewhat older mages who still enjoy a wild night. A tri-level venue, the Eternity consists of a small bar at the street level, a rooftop patio and bar, plus a larger lounge and dance floor just below the rooftop level.

'''The Stateroom'''

[[Image: Stateroom.jpg]]

* Billed as Houston's only revolving restaurant and located 24 stories above street-level, the Stateroom Restaurant and lounge tends to be the go-to location when higher-ranking mages wish to impress out-of-towners. The circular structure makes one complete rotation ever 45 minutes, giving an unparalleled view of the surrounding area.

'''Memorial Park'''

[[Image: Obelisk.jpg]]

* Inspired by a dream, in 2003 the sculptor and architect Dion Murdock erected this obelisk atop a 35-foot crest deep within the forests of Memorial Park, a 1500 acre urban park near the Uptown area. Mages later discovered the obelisk straddles a ley line running beneath the park, and marks the centerpoint of a cluster of Hallows that collectively have a rating of 3. During the winter of 2004-2005, the Lightning Razors chased away a nest of vampires that laid claim to the Hallows and have zealously guarded it ever since.

==The Sanctum==

==Cabal Associates==

==NPCs of Interest==

===Ruling Council===
* '''Heirarch''': Renee Gavriel (Mysterium)
* '''Provost Primus''': Julius (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Provost Secundus''': FuX0r (Free Council)
* '''Herald Primus''': Xenios (Silver Ladder)
* '''Herald Secundus''': Jackson Rusk (Silver Ladder)
* '''Sentinel''': Kirpan (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Sentinel''': Marian Made (Mysterium)

===Councilors===
* '''Acanthus''': Laarsen (Silver Ladder) -- Special Projects Coordinator for City Council Member Oreza and primary source of political intelligence to the Consilium
* '''Mastigos''': Logos (Guardians of the Veil) -- leader of the Cui Bono cabal and mentor of Sentinel Kirpan; together with Assita Falls, Logos has discovered or partially initiated nearly one-third of the region's novice Pentacle mages over the last two decades
* '''Moros''': Samael (Mysterium) -- leader of the Verba Non Acta cabal and long-time investigative journalist for the ''Houston Press'' alternative newsweekly
* '''Obrimos''': Hsing Sun (Mysterium) -- the Most Venerable Hsing Sun is the current abbot of Guang Tien Di Temple, leader of the Jing Dao cabal, and a sage of the Perfected Adept Legacy. One of the oldest mages in the Houston area, Hsing Sun maintains one of the largest collections of Eastern Supernal lore in North America.
* '''Thyrsus''': Assita Falls (Silver Ladder) -- leader of the Seven Mercies cabal and administrator of the Jubilee Restoration House, a private outreach organization providing a network of transitioning housing facilities and homeless shelters throughout Greater Houston.

===Diamond Orders===

====Adamantine Arrows====
* '''Fiery Analemma''' -- six mages that were the vanguard of the campaign against the Seers in the Greater Houston area. Withdrew to Galveston after the Storm after suffering major casualties during an assault against a Seer pylon operating near the Port of Houson.

====Guardians of the Veil====
* '''Cui Bono''' -- a self-styled "oversight" cabal dedicated to keeping an eye on newly-Awakened mages and "keeping them out of trouble," Cui Bono also strives to shield Sleepers from any malevolent supernatural influence. Currently guided by the Mastigos mage known as Logos, the Cui Bono mages work closely with leading mages in the region, trading information and other resorces as needed.
* '''Lightning Razors''' -- one of the larger cabals in the region, they are composed of three cells of three martially-focused mages that once worked closely with the Fiery Analemma cabal. Most notorious for pursuing and defeating the Mad One calling himself "Kadmon."

====Mysterium====
* '''Men of Letters''' -- organized by five mages of the Mysterium, the Men of Letters cabal is composed of academics from among the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University. Having recently won acclaim for repelling an incursion of passion spirits on the UST campus, the Men of Letters tend to work alone in order to concentrate on pure research.
* '''Lone Star Environmental LLC''' -- an environmental consulting company started by two mages, normally completing contracts for petrochemical firms and providing additional expertise for academic investigations.

====Silver Ladder====
* '''Thalassa, Magna & Assoc. LLP''' -- a cutthroat PIP law firm founded by Robert Thalassa and Thomasina Magna. Censured for using Awakened Arts to arrange desired outcomes in court, Thalassa and Magna nonetheless evade more adverse action against them by providing pro bono legal assistance to any mage that engages their services.
* '''Staff & Serpent''' -- SAS began eight years ago as a local coed service fraternity on the UH campus. After the original founder-mages graduated, they retained the name for the public policy research institute they organized a few years later. Staff and Serpent works closely with Thalassa and Magna, trading networking resources and research for various legal services including harassment and obstruction of their adversaries.
* '''Jubilee Restoration House''' -- now headed by Councilor Assita Falls after the assassination of its founder Kortikos by the Seers, the four mages working in this private outreach organization help provide vital services for battered women and children, the homeless, and other souls in desperate need.

===Free Council===
* '''4-Tay''' -- a hip-hop collective formed by the rap duo "4-Tay" and their Sleeper associates. Constant touring keeps them in touch with other Awakened mages throughout the South.
* '''Raditek Consultants''' -- a private firm providing IT and engineering consulting services along with temporary staffing services, started by three mages just out of college.

===Left-Hand Path Mages===
* '''Order of the Bennu'''

===Seers of the Throne===
* '''Roderick Saxon'''

===Banishers and Mad Ones===
* '''"IX"'''
* '''Kadmon'''

===Unaligned and Solitaries===
* '''Alessandro Ficino''' -- former UH communications professor and Silver Ladder renunciate who wages a vengeful hacktivist crusade against hate groups and other extremists
* '''Haroun''' -- forensic analyst and disciple of Samael with potent skill in alchemical and Enochian arts
* '''Fleur de Noire''' -- trio of transgendered mages notable for their expertise in divination and fateweaving
* '''Black Fist''' -- self-styled "professional gadfly" and performance artist who regularly stages demonstrations and protests on behalf of illegal immigrants and other social outcasts

===Sleepers===
* '''Saul Gavriel''' -- chief of staff of the Gavriel Collection
* '''Simon Gavriel''' -- liaison to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
* '''Lluvia Oreza''' -- Houston City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee
* '''Special Agent Etta Battles''' -- Special Agent Battles cut her teeth in counterterrorism and white collar crime investigation. After her promotion to SAC of the Houston FBI Field Office two years ago, Battles proved an able commander and coordinator of the eighteen month probe of AZB Associates.
* '''Sgt. Jonathan Core''' -- HPD patrolman placed on medical leave after reporting an assault by "blood-drinking skinhead freaks"
* '''Francisco Reyes''' -- minister of the Promise House, a nondenominational agency providing shelter and counseling services to homeless and runaway youths
* '''An Shen-Li''' -- music promoter affiliated with the 4-Tay collective

==Local Rumors and Legends==
* A suspected serial killer is stalking the Sharpstown and Neartown areas, with police blaming four ritualistic murders on the killer over the last three months based on the Roman numeral "IX" branded on the back of the victims' necks. So far the victims were all last seen within a few blocks of either the Botanica Eleggua yerberia or the Magick Cauldron pagan supply store.
* Black Fist, the flamboyant Solitary mage formerly associated with the Fiery Analemma cabal, has been spreading whispers to the effect that the Arrows are preparing to emerge from seclusion.
* Younger mages in Southeast Houston report signs of a massive abrasion of the Gauntlet near Ellington Airport, the airfield formerly used by the US Air Force.
* Majority stockholder and AZB chairman Aydin Arvin has gone into hiding days after federal agents raided the AZB home office. Financial analysts predict that the real estate magnate Roderick Saxon will acquire all AZB assets if the company goes into bankruptcy. AZB held the leases on hundreds of acres of retail and residential properties in Pasadena, South Houston, Downtown and the Medical Center.
* Copies of the mysterious recording known as the '''Hildebrandt Tape''' are circulating through the Houston underground. Some report that the last three owners of the Tape have either been committed or have attempted suicide.
* Horakhty, the shadowy leader of the Order of the Bennu cabal, is quietly searching for a lost text known as the '''Book of the Luminous Ib'''. Some report that the Order will pay as much as twenty pawns of Tass for the text.
* Graffiti defacing a mural on the University of St. Thomas campus: "''KADMON BECOMES/OMNIA MUTANTUR/NIHIL INTERIT''." Concerned that this may mark the return of the Mad sorcerer Kadmon (whom the Council insisted had been destroyed in the series of magical battles of the nights following the Storm), Heirarch Gavriel has ordered Sentinel Marian Made to investigate, with the authority to "deputize" any mages as she sees fit.

==Misc Info==
===Character Creation===
* Choose a Path and Order
* Attributes: 9/8/7, +1 dot Favored Resistance trait
* Skills: 14/10/7
* Skill Specialties: 5
* Arcana: 9 dots, +1 dot Favored Arcanum (none rated higher than 4)
* Rotes: 12 dots
* Gnosis: 4
* Merits: 13 dots
* Mana = Wisdom = Resolve + Composure
* Choose Virtue/Vice
* Choose Nimbus, magical tools and flesh out magical style

===House Rules===

* I'm using the "To the Limit" rule from Tome of the Mysteries, which allows mages to cast an improvised spell of one dot higher ranking than normal, if the mage has at least one dot in all of the Arcana necessary to complete the spell. Base casting pool will always be Gnosis + Arcanum, but the mage must spend one Willpower point in order to complete the casting. Also, the spell is automatically vulgar, and three additional dice will be added to the Paradox roll (which can still be reduced as normal by using magical tools or spending Mana).

* When using a rote, the Base Paradox Dice Pool as detailed on p.123 of the corebook is reduced by an additional die. So, a mage with Gnosis 3 or 4 will not roll for Paradox when casting by rote, while a mage with Gnosis 7 or 8 will have a base Paradox pool of 2 dice in a similar situation.

* After the game starts, XP cost for acquiring new rotes will be one point per dot.

* Spell Tolerance = Stamina + 2, as opposed to Stamina + 1.

* PCs effectively possess two dots of Consilium Status and two dots of Order Status, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

* The PC cabal controls a level 4 Hallow and Sanctum pool of 6 dots, with a Library rated at 4 dots.

* Hallows generate their level in Tass and twice their level in Mana each day--i.e., a level 4 Hallow generates 8 points of Mana in addition to 4 points of Tass. However, Mana from a Hallow cannot be transferred directly to a Mage without the use of Prime 3 (thus, oblations will not replenish Mana unless the character has learned a Legacy) except by consuming the Tass itself in some fashion.

File:Bb.jpg

2011-04-03T20:57:25Z

Kastowt: uploaded a new version of "File:Bb.jpg"

Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters

2011-04-03T20:37:26Z

Kastowt: /* Character Creation */

[[Category:Mage:_The_Awakening]][[Category:PBP]]
'''''Twenty-Five Lighters'''''

[[Image: Htown-eclipse.jpg]]

''A Storytelling Campaign of Ambition and Passion set in Houston, Texas''

Run by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?u=6778 Martys] on the RPGnet Forums

==Thread Info==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?568172-GM-Wanted-nWoD-anyone Recruitment]
* OOC
* IC

==The Cabal==
* '''[[John Barabus]]''', '''Mastigos''' of the '''Mysterium'''
*'''[[Hailey Desmond]]''', '''Thyrsus''' of the '''Mysterium'''
*'''[[Locke]]''', '''Obrimos''' of the '''Free Council'''
*'''[[Max D'Angelo]]''', '''Acanthus''' of the '''Guardians of the Veil'''
*'''[[Michael Walker]]''', '''Moros''' of the '''Silver Ladder'''

==The Setting==
===Overview and Recent History===
Now boasting a population of 2.6 million in the city proper and nearly 7 million throughout the greater metro area, the City of Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Historically the nation's primary hub for the oil and gas industry, the city suffered an economic slump in the wake of the 80s-era oil bust, but soon rebounded after successfully diversifying its economy. Previously ignored by most mages for the first hundred years of its existence in favor of such cities as New Orleans and Miami, after the one-two punches of Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Ike (which Houstonians simply refer to as "the Storm"), Houston has now overtaken New Orleans in the number of mages that base themselves in the city.

There are between forty and fifty mages known to inhabit the Greater Houston Area (as a general rule of thumb, this includes the entire area within a fifteen-mile radius of downtown Houston). The Diamond Orders have thrived in the region since the Second World War, with their first wave of migration beginning with the wartime mobilization, the second wave following the general 60s-era Sun Belt migration and the third wave coinciding with the late 80s tech and financial services booms. The Mysterium and Guardians of the Veil are the dominant Orders, having long since concentrated themselves within such Sleeper institutions as academia, the aerospace industry, law enforcement, public services, and the health care industry. The Silver Ladder and Free Council both maintain visibly active presences in the region, with their cabals working together in a shifting web of alliances and mutual partnerships. Most new self-Awakened mages tend to get scooped up by one of those two Orders, though the Silver Ladder is happy to find another home for those mages who don't fit its ideology. The Free Council boasts a larger number of mages and has thoroughly worked its way into the local telecom and energy industries. The Silver Ladder claims the greater number of cabals and has gained a stranglehold over the region's occult communities; its influence over the local religious activists and social justice organizers is no less pervasive. The Adamantine Arrows keep the lowest profile, apparently having suffered a crippling blow in September 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The Arrows are currently composed of two cabals which concentrate on their own projects and rarely ask assistance from or communicate with the other Orders. The remaining unaligned mages number a little less than a third of the total population and either remain completely aloof from the larger mage community, or maintain loose affiliations with the Free Council.

===Places of Interest===

'''Consilium'''

[[Image: ChapelCourtyard.jpg]]

* The Maxine Gavriel Collection serves as the physical location from which Houston mages coordinate their activites, air disputes, trade favors, etc. Located on a small private estate in the Upper Kirby District owned by the Gavriel family for six generations, the Consilium consists of a small chapel with a capacity of 100 persons, an art gallery displaying the family's private works, a private library containing various occult and historical volumes, a courtyard with a level 4 Hallow, four spirit Guardians and a permanent staff of eight Sleepwalker acolytes loyal to the Gavriel family. The chapel, courtyard and art gallery are open to the public, but only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

'''Y'all Come Back'''

[[Image: Bb.jpg]]

* A bed & breakfast located in the center of the Hyde Park District and run by the Silver Ladder mage known as Xenios, one of the city's two Heralds. All nonresident mages intending to remain in the city more than 36 hours must ensure that the Hierarch is aware of their presence, with most expected to quarter themselves at Xenios's lodgings unless another resident mage volunteers to provide his own hospitality.

'''Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park'''

[[Image: Waterwall.jpg]]

* Still stubbornly referred to as Transco Park by locals seven years after the 2003 Galleria expansion that reduced it to a third of its former size, the Hines Waterwall Park sits adjacent to the Galleria retail complex in the Uptown District. Though the park is privately owned, it is open to the public from 10am to 10pm. Until recently, the park was used as neutral ground for meetings between Pentacle mages and Seers when face-to-face meetings were necessary.

'''Eternity Bar'''

[[Image: Eternitybar.jpg]]

* One of the few downtown nightspots consciously targeting the over-30 crowd, the Eternity Bar is frequented by somewhat older mages who still enjoy a wild night. A tri-level venue, the Eternity consists of a small bar at the street level, a rooftop patio and bar, plus a larger lounge and dance floor just below the rooftop level.

'''The Stateroom'''

[[Image: Stateroom.jpg]]

* Billed as Houston's only revolving restaurant and located 24 stories above street-level, the Stateroom Restaurant and lounge tends to be the go-to location when higher-ranking mages wish to impress out-of-towners. The circular structure makes one complete rotation ever 45 minutes, giving an unparalleled view of the surrounding area.

'''Memorial Park'''

[[Image: Obelisk.jpg]]

* Inspired by a dream, in 2003 the sculptor and architect Dion Murdock erected this obelisk atop a 35-foot crest deep within the forests of Memorial Park, a 1500 acre urban park near the Uptown area. Mages later discovered the obelisk straddles a ley line running beneath the park, and marks the centerpoint of a cluster of Hallows that collectively have a rating of 3. During the winter of 2004-2005, the Lightning Razors chased away a nest of vampires that laid claim to the Hallows and have zealously guarded it ever since.

==The Sanctum==

==Cabal Associates==

==NPCs of Interest==

===Ruling Council===
* '''Heirarch''': Renee Gavriel (Mysterium)
* '''Provost Primus''': Julius (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Provost Secundus''': FuX0r (Free Council)
* '''Herald Primus''': Xenios (Silver Ladder)
* '''Herald Secundus''': Jackson Rusk (Silver Ladder)
* '''Sentinel''': Kirpan (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Sentinel''': Marian Made (Mysterium)

===Councilors===
* '''Acanthus''': Laarsen (Silver Ladder) -- Special Projects Coordinator for City Council Member Oreza and primary source of political intelligence to the Consilium
* '''Mastigos''': Logos (Guardians of the Veil) -- leader of the Cui Bono cabal and mentor of Sentinel Kirpan; together with Assita Falls, Logos has discovered or partially initiated nearly one-third of the region's novice Pentacle mages over the last two decades
* '''Moros''': Samael (Mysterium) -- leader of the Verba Non Acta cabal and long-time investigative journalist for the ''Houston Press'' alternative newsweekly
* '''Obrimos''': Hsing Sun (Mysterium) -- the Most Venerable Hsing Sun is the current abbot of Guang Tien Di Temple, leader of the Jing Dao cabal, and a sage of the Perfected Adept Legacy. One of the oldest mages in the Houston area, Hsing Sun maintains one of the largest collections of Eastern Supernal lore in North America.
* '''Thyrsus''': Assita Falls (Silver Ladder) -- leader of the Seven Mercies cabal and administrator of the Jubilee Restoration House, a private outreach organization providing a network of transitioning housing facilities and homeless shelters throughout Greater Houston.

===Diamond Orders===

====Adamantine Arrows====
* '''Fiery Analemma''' -- six mages that were the vanguard of the campaign against the Seers in the Greater Houston area. Withdrew to Galveston after the Storm after suffering major casualties during an assault against a Seer pylon operating near the Port of Houson.

====Guardians of the Veil====
* '''Cui Bono''' -- a self-styled "oversight" cabal dedicated to keeping an eye on newly-Awakened mages and "keeping them out of trouble," Cui Bono also strives to shield Sleepers from any malevolent supernatural influence. Currently guided by the Mastigos mage known as Logos, the Cui Bono mages work closely with leading mages in the region, trading information and other resorces as needed.
* '''Lightning Razors''' -- one of the larger cabals in the region, they are composed of three cells of three martially-focused mages that once worked closely with the Fiery Analemma cabal. Most notorious for pursuing and defeating the Mad One calling himself "Kadmon."

====Mysterium====
* '''Men of Letters''' -- organized by five mages of the Mysterium, the Men of Letters cabal is composed of academics from among the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University. Having recently won acclaim for repelling an incursion of passion spirits on the UST campus, the Men of Letters tend to work alone in order to concentrate on pure research.
* '''Lone Star Environmental LLC''' -- an environmental consulting company started by two mages, normally completing contracts for petrochemical firms and providing additional expertise for academic investigations.

====Silver Ladder====
* '''Thalassa, Magna & Assoc. LLP''' -- a cutthroat PIP law firm founded by Robert Thalassa and Thomasina Magna. Censured for using Awakened Arts to arrange desired outcomes in court, Thalassa and Magna nonetheless evade more adverse action against them by providing pro bono legal assistance to any mage that engages their services.
* '''Staff & Serpent''' -- SAS began eight years ago as a local coed service fraternity on the UH campus. After the original founder-mages graduated, they retained the name for the public policy research institute they organized a few years later. Staff and Serpent works closely with Thalassa and Magna, trading networking resources and research for various legal services including harassment and obstruction of their adversaries.
* '''Jubilee Restoration House''' -- now headed by Councilor Assita Falls after the assassination of its founder Kortikos by the Seers, the four mages working in this private outreach organization help provide vital services for battered women and children, the homeless, and other souls in desperate need.

===Free Council===
* '''4-Tay''' -- a hip-hop collective formed by the rap duo "4-Tay" and their Sleeper associates. Constant touring keeps them in touch with other Awakened mages throughout the South.
* '''Raditek Consultants''' -- a private firm providing IT and engineering consulting services along with temporary staffing services, started by three mages just out of college.

===Left-Hand Path Mages===
* '''Order of the Bennu'''

===Seers of the Throne===
* '''Roderick Saxon'''

===Banishers and Mad Ones===
* '''"IX"'''
* '''Kadmon'''

===Unaligned and Solitaries===
* '''Alessandro Ficino''' -- former UH communications professor and Silver Ladder renunciate who wages a vengeful hacktivist crusade against hate groups and other extremists
* '''Haroun''' -- forensic analyst and disciple of Samael with potent skill in alchemical and Enochian arts
* '''Fleur de Noire''' -- trio of transgendered mages notable for their expertise in divination and fateweaving
* '''Black Fist''' -- self-styled "professional gadfly" and performance artist who regularly stages demonstrations and protests on behalf of illegal immigrants and other social outcasts

===Sleepers===
* '''Saul Gavriel''' -- chief of staff of the Gavriel Collection
* '''Simon Gavriel''' -- liaison to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
* '''Lluvia Oreza''' -- Houston City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee
* '''Special Agent Etta Battles''' -- Special Agent Battles cut her teeth in counterterrorism and white collar crime investigation. After her promotion to SAC of the Houston FBI Field Office two years ago, Battles proved an able commander and coordinator of the eighteen month probe of AZB Associates.
* '''Sgt. Jonathan Core''' -- HPD patrolman placed on medical leave after reporting an assault by "blood-drinking skinhead freaks"
* '''Francisco Reyes''' -- minister of the Promise House, a nondenominational agency providing shelter and counseling services to homeless and runaway youths
* '''An Shen-Li''' -- music promoter affiliated with the 4-Tay collective

==Local Rumors and Legends==
* A suspected serial killer is stalking the Sharpstown and Neartown areas, with police blaming four ritualistic murders on the killer over the last three months based on the Roman numeral "IX" branded on the back of the victims' necks. So far the victims were all last seen within a few blocks of either the Botanica Eleggua yerberia or the Magick Cauldron pagan supply store.
* Black Fist, the flamboyant Solitary mage formerly associated with the Fiery Analemma cabal, has been spreading whispers to the effect that the Arrows are preparing to emerge from seclusion.
* Younger mages in Southeast Houston report signs of a massive abrasion of the Gauntlet near Ellington Airport, the airfield formerly used by the US Air Force.
* Majority stockholder and AZB chairman Aydin Arvin has gone into hiding days after federal agents raided the AZB home office. Financial analysts predict that the real estate magnate Roderick Saxon will acquire all AZB assets if the company goes into bankruptcy. AZB held the leases on hundreds of acres of retail and residential properties in Pasadena, South Houston, Downtown and the Medical Center.
* Copies of the mysterious recording known as the '''Hildebrandt Tape''' are circulating through the Houston underground. Some report that the last three owners of the Tape have either been committed or have attempted suicide.
* Horakhty, the shadowy leader of the Order of the Bennu cabal, is quietly searching for a lost text known as the '''Book of the Luminous Ib'''. Some report that the Order will pay as much as twenty pawns of Tass for the text.
* Graffiti defacing a mural on the University of St. Thomas campus: "''KADMON BECOMES/OMNIA MUTANTUR/NIHIL INTERIT''." Concerned that this may mark the return of the Mad sorcerer Kadmon (whom the Council insisted had been destroyed in the series of magical battles of the nights following the Storm), Heirarch Gavriel has ordered Sentinel Marian Made to investigate, with the authority to "deputize" any mages as she sees fit.

==Misc Info==
===Character Creation===
* Choose a Path and Order
* Attributes: 9/8/7, +1 dot Favored Resistance trait
* Skills: 14/10/7
* Skill Specialties: 5
* Arcana: 9 dots, +1 dot Favored Arcanum (none rated higher than 4)
* Rotes: 12 dots
* Gnosis: 4
* Merits: 13 dots
* Mana = Wisdom = Resolve + Composure
* Choose Virtue/Vice
* Choose Nimbus, magical tools and flesh out magical style

===House Rules===

* I'm using the "To the Limit" rule from Tome of the Mysteries, which allows mages to cast an improvised spell of one dot higher ranking than normal, if the mage has at least one dot in all of the Arcana necessary to complete the spell. Base casting pool will always be Gnosis + Arcanum, but the mage must spend one Willpower point in order to complete the casting. Also, the spell is automatically vulgar, and three additional dice will be added to the Paradox roll (which can still be reduced as normal by using magical tools or spending Mana).

* When using a rote, the Base Paradox Dice Pool as detailed on p.123 of the corebook is reduced by an additional die. So, a mage with Gnosis 3 or 4 will not roll for Paradox when casting by rote, while a mage with Gnosis 7 or 8 will have a base Paradox pool of 2 dice in a similar situation.

* After the game starts, XP cost for acquiring new rotes will be one point per dot.

* Spell Tolerance = Stamina + 2, as opposed to Stamina + 1.

* PCs effectively possess two dots of Consilium Status and two dots of Order Status, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

* The PC cabal controls a level 4 Hallow and Sanctum pool of 6 dots, with a Library rated at 4 dots.

* Hallows generate their level in Tass and twice their level in Mana each day--i.e., a level 4 Hallow generates 8 points of Mana in addition to 4 points of Tass. However, Mana from a Hallow cannot be transferred directly to a Mage without the use of Prime 3 (thus, oblations will not replenish Mana unless the character has learned a Legacy) except by consuming the Tass itself in some fashion.

Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters

2011-04-03T20:33:36Z

Kastowt: /* Places of Interest */

[[Category:Mage:_The_Awakening]][[Category:PBP]]
'''''Twenty-Five Lighters'''''

[[Image: Htown-eclipse.jpg]]

''A Storytelling Campaign of Ambition and Passion set in Houston, Texas''

Run by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?u=6778 Martys] on the RPGnet Forums

==Thread Info==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?568172-GM-Wanted-nWoD-anyone Recruitment]
* OOC
* IC

==The Cabal==
* '''[[John Barabus]]''', '''Mastigos''' of the '''Mysterium'''
*'''[[Hailey Desmond]]''', '''Thyrsus''' of the '''Mysterium'''
*'''[[Locke]]''', '''Obrimos''' of the '''Free Council'''
*'''[[Max D'Angelo]]''', '''Acanthus''' of the '''Guardians of the Veil'''
*'''[[Michael Walker]]''', '''Moros''' of the '''Silver Ladder'''

==The Setting==
===Overview and Recent History===
Now boasting a population of 2.6 million in the city proper and nearly 7 million throughout the greater metro area, the City of Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Historically the nation's primary hub for the oil and gas industry, the city suffered an economic slump in the wake of the 80s-era oil bust, but soon rebounded after successfully diversifying its economy. Previously ignored by most mages for the first hundred years of its existence in favor of such cities as New Orleans and Miami, after the one-two punches of Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Ike (which Houstonians simply refer to as "the Storm"), Houston has now overtaken New Orleans in the number of mages that base themselves in the city.

There are between forty and fifty mages known to inhabit the Greater Houston Area (as a general rule of thumb, this includes the entire area within a fifteen-mile radius of downtown Houston). The Diamond Orders have thrived in the region since the Second World War, with their first wave of migration beginning with the wartime mobilization, the second wave following the general 60s-era Sun Belt migration and the third wave coinciding with the late 80s tech and financial services booms. The Mysterium and Guardians of the Veil are the dominant Orders, having long since concentrated themselves within such Sleeper institutions as academia, the aerospace industry, law enforcement, public services, and the health care industry. The Silver Ladder and Free Council both maintain visibly active presences in the region, with their cabals working together in a shifting web of alliances and mutual partnerships. Most new self-Awakened mages tend to get scooped up by one of those two Orders, though the Silver Ladder is happy to find another home for those mages who don't fit its ideology. The Free Council boasts a larger number of mages and has thoroughly worked its way into the local telecom and energy industries. The Silver Ladder claims the greater number of cabals and has gained a stranglehold over the region's occult communities; its influence over the local religious activists and social justice organizers is no less pervasive. The Adamantine Arrows keep the lowest profile, apparently having suffered a crippling blow in September 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The Arrows are currently composed of two cabals which concentrate on their own projects and rarely ask assistance from or communicate with the other Orders. The remaining unaligned mages number a little less than a third of the total population and either remain completely aloof from the larger mage community, or maintain loose affiliations with the Free Council.

===Places of Interest===

'''Consilium'''

[[Image: ChapelCourtyard.jpg]]

* The Maxine Gavriel Collection serves as the physical location from which Houston mages coordinate their activites, air disputes, trade favors, etc. Located on a small private estate in the Upper Kirby District owned by the Gavriel family for six generations, the Consilium consists of a small chapel with a capacity of 100 persons, an art gallery displaying the family's private works, a private library containing various occult and historical volumes, a courtyard with a level 4 Hallow, four spirit Guardians and a permanent staff of eight Sleepwalker acolytes loyal to the Gavriel family. The chapel, courtyard and art gallery are open to the public, but only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

'''Y'all Come Back'''

[[Image: Bb.jpg]]

* A bed & breakfast located in the center of the Hyde Park District and run by the Silver Ladder mage known as Xenios, one of the city's two Heralds. All nonresident mages intending to remain in the city more than 36 hours must ensure that the Hierarch is aware of their presence, with most expected to quarter themselves at Xenios's lodgings unless another resident mage volunteers to provide his own hospitality.

'''Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park'''

[[Image: Waterwall.jpg]]

* Still stubbornly referred to as Transco Park by locals seven years after the 2003 Galleria expansion that reduced it to a third of its former size, the Hines Waterwall Park sits adjacent to the Galleria retail complex in the Uptown District. Though the park is privately owned, it is open to the public from 10am to 10pm. Until recently, the park was used as neutral ground for meetings between Pentacle mages and Seers when face-to-face meetings were necessary.

'''Eternity Bar'''

[[Image: Eternitybar.jpg]]

* One of the few downtown nightspots consciously targeting the over-30 crowd, the Eternity Bar is frequented by somewhat older mages who still enjoy a wild night. A tri-level venue, the Eternity consists of a small bar at the street level, a rooftop patio and bar, plus a larger lounge and dance floor just below the rooftop level.

'''The Stateroom'''

[[Image: Stateroom.jpg]]

* Billed as Houston's only revolving restaurant and located 24 stories above street-level, the Stateroom Restaurant and lounge tends to be the go-to location when higher-ranking mages wish to impress out-of-towners. The circular structure makes one complete rotation ever 45 minutes, giving an unparalleled view of the surrounding area.

'''Memorial Park'''

[[Image: Obelisk.jpg]]

* Inspired by a dream, in 2003 the sculptor and architect Dion Murdock erected this obelisk atop a 35-foot crest deep within the forests of Memorial Park, a 1500 acre urban park near the Uptown area. Mages later discovered the obelisk straddles a ley line running beneath the park, and marks the centerpoint of a cluster of Hallows that collectively have a rating of 3. During the winter of 2004-2005, the Lightning Razors chased away a nest of vampires that laid claim to the Hallows and have zealously guarded it ever since.

==The Sanctum==

==Cabal Associates==

==NPCs of Interest==

===Ruling Council===
* '''Heirarch''': Renee Gavriel (Mysterium)
* '''Provost Primus''': Julius (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Provost Secundus''': FuX0r (Free Council)
* '''Herald Primus''': Xenios (Silver Ladder)
* '''Herald Secundus''': Jackson Rusk (Silver Ladder)
* '''Sentinel''': Kirpan (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Sentinel''': Marian Made (Mysterium)

===Councilors===
* '''Acanthus''': Laarsen (Silver Ladder) -- Special Projects Coordinator for City Council Member Oreza and primary source of political intelligence to the Consilium
* '''Mastigos''': Logos (Guardians of the Veil) -- leader of the Cui Bono cabal and mentor of Sentinel Kirpan; together with Assita Falls, Logos has discovered or partially initiated nearly one-third of the region's novice Pentacle mages over the last two decades
* '''Moros''': Samael (Mysterium) -- leader of the Verba Non Acta cabal and long-time investigative journalist for the ''Houston Press'' alternative newsweekly
* '''Obrimos''': Hsing Sun (Mysterium) -- the Most Venerable Hsing Sun is the current abbot of Guang Tien Di Temple, leader of the Jing Dao cabal, and a sage of the Perfected Adept Legacy. One of the oldest mages in the Houston area, Hsing Sun maintains one of the largest collections of Eastern Supernal lore in North America.
* '''Thyrsus''': Assita Falls (Silver Ladder) -- leader of the Seven Mercies cabal and administrator of the Jubilee Restoration House, a private outreach organization providing a network of transitioning housing facilities and homeless shelters throughout Greater Houston.

===Diamond Orders===

====Adamantine Arrows====
* '''Fiery Analemma''' -- six mages that were the vanguard of the campaign against the Seers in the Greater Houston area. Withdrew to Galveston after the Storm after suffering major casualties during an assault against a Seer pylon operating near the Port of Houson.

====Guardians of the Veil====
* '''Cui Bono''' -- a self-styled "oversight" cabal dedicated to keeping an eye on newly-Awakened mages and "keeping them out of trouble," Cui Bono also strives to shield Sleepers from any malevolent supernatural influence. Currently guided by the Mastigos mage known as Logos, the Cui Bono mages work closely with leading mages in the region, trading information and other resorces as needed.
* '''Lightning Razors''' -- one of the larger cabals in the region, they are composed of three cells of three martially-focused mages that once worked closely with the Fiery Analemma cabal. Most notorious for pursuing and defeating the Mad One calling himself "Kadmon."

====Mysterium====
* '''Men of Letters''' -- organized by five mages of the Mysterium, the Men of Letters cabal is composed of academics from among the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University. Having recently won acclaim for repelling an incursion of passion spirits on the UST campus, the Men of Letters tend to work alone in order to concentrate on pure research.
* '''Lone Star Environmental LLC''' -- an environmental consulting company started by two mages, normally completing contracts for petrochemical firms and providing additional expertise for academic investigations.

====Silver Ladder====
* '''Thalassa, Magna & Assoc. LLP''' -- a cutthroat PIP law firm founded by Robert Thalassa and Thomasina Magna. Censured for using Awakened Arts to arrange desired outcomes in court, Thalassa and Magna nonetheless evade more adverse action against them by providing pro bono legal assistance to any mage that engages their services.
* '''Staff & Serpent''' -- SAS began eight years ago as a local coed service fraternity on the UH campus. After the original founder-mages graduated, they retained the name for the public policy research institute they organized a few years later. Staff and Serpent works closely with Thalassa and Magna, trading networking resources and research for various legal services including harassment and obstruction of their adversaries.
* '''Jubilee Restoration House''' -- now headed by Councilor Assita Falls after the assassination of its founder Kortikos by the Seers, the four mages working in this private outreach organization help provide vital services for battered women and children, the homeless, and other souls in desperate need.

===Free Council===
* '''4-Tay''' -- a hip-hop collective formed by the rap duo "4-Tay" and their Sleeper associates. Constant touring keeps them in touch with other Awakened mages throughout the South.
* '''Raditek Consultants''' -- a private firm providing IT and engineering consulting services along with temporary staffing services, started by three mages just out of college.

===Left-Hand Path Mages===
* '''Order of the Bennu'''

===Seers of the Throne===
* '''Roderick Saxon'''

===Banishers and Mad Ones===
* '''"IX"'''
* '''Kadmon'''

===Unaligned and Solitaries===
* '''Alessandro Ficino''' -- former UH communications professor and Silver Ladder renunciate who wages a vengeful hacktivist crusade against hate groups and other extremists
* '''Haroun''' -- forensic analyst and disciple of Samael with potent skill in alchemical and Enochian arts
* '''Fleur de Noire''' -- trio of transgendered mages notable for their expertise in divination and fateweaving
* '''Black Fist''' -- self-styled "professional gadfly" and performance artist who regularly stages demonstrations and protests on behalf of illegal immigrants and other social outcasts

===Sleepers===
* '''Saul Gavriel''' -- chief of staff of the Gavriel Collection
* '''Simon Gavriel''' -- liaison to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
* '''Lluvia Oreza''' -- Houston City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee
* '''Special Agent Etta Battles''' -- Special Agent Battles cut her teeth in counterterrorism and white collar crime investigation. After her promotion to SAC of the Houston FBI Field Office two years ago, Battles proved an able commander and coordinator of the eighteen month probe of AZB Associates.
* '''Sgt. Jonathan Core''' -- HPD patrolman placed on medical leave after reporting an assault by "blood-drinking skinhead freaks"
* '''Francisco Reyes''' -- minister of the Promise House, a nondenominational agency providing shelter and counseling services to homeless and runaway youths
* '''An Shen-Li''' -- music promoter affiliated with the 4-Tay collective

==Local Rumors and Legends==
* A suspected serial killer is stalking the Sharpstown and Neartown areas, with police blaming four ritualistic murders on the killer over the last three months based on the Roman numeral "IX" branded on the back of the victims' necks. So far the victims were all last seen within a few blocks of either the Botanica Eleggua yerberia or the Magick Cauldron pagan supply store.
* Black Fist, the flamboyant Solitary mage formerly associated with the Fiery Analemma cabal, has been spreading whispers to the effect that the Arrows are preparing to emerge from seclusion.
* Younger mages in Southeast Houston report signs of a massive abrasion of the Gauntlet near Ellington Airport, the airfield formerly used by the US Air Force.
* Majority stockholder and AZB chairman Aydin Arvin has gone into hiding days after federal agents raided the AZB home office. Financial analysts predict that the real estate magnate Roderick Saxon will acquire all AZB assets if the company goes into bankruptcy. AZB held the leases on hundreds of acres of retail and residential properties in Pasadena, South Houston, Downtown and the Medical Center.
* Copies of the mysterious recording known as the '''Hildebrandt Tape''' are circulating through the Houston underground. Some report that the last three owners of the Tape have either been committed or have attempted suicide.
* Horakhty, the shadowy leader of the Order of the Bennu cabal, is quietly searching for a lost text known as the '''Book of the Luminous Ib'''. Some report that the Order will pay as much as twenty pawns of Tass for the text.
* Graffiti defacing a mural on the University of St. Thomas campus: "''KADMON BECOMES/OMNIA MUTANTUR/NIHIL INTERIT''." Concerned that this may mark the return of the Mad sorcerer Kadmon (whom the Council insisted had been destroyed in the series of magical battles of the nights following the Storm), Heirarch Gavriel has ordered Sentinel Marian Made to investigate, with the authority to "deputize" any mages as she sees fit.

==Misc Info==
===Character Creation===
* Choose a Path and Order
* Attributes: 9/8/7, +1 dot Favored Resistance trait
* Skills: 14/10/7
* Skill Specialties: 5
* Arcana: 9 dots, +1 dot Favored Arcanum (none rated higher than 4)
* Rotes: 12 dots
* Gnosis: 4
* Merits: 13 dots
* Mana = Wisdom
* Choose Virtue/Vice
* Choose magical tools and flesh out magical style

===House Rules===

* I'm using the "To the Limit" rule from Tome of the Mysteries, which allows mages to cast an improvised spell of one dot higher ranking than normal, if the mage has at least one dot in all of the Arcana necessary to complete the spell. Base casting pool will always be Gnosis + Arcanum, but the mage must spend one Willpower point in order to complete the casting. Also, the spell is automatically vulgar, and three additional dice will be added to the Paradox roll (which can still be reduced as normal by using magical tools or spending Mana).

* When using a rote, the Base Paradox Dice Pool as detailed on p.123 of the corebook is reduced by an additional die. So, a mage with Gnosis 3 or 4 will not roll for Paradox when casting by rote, while a mage with Gnosis 7 or 8 will have a base Paradox pool of 2 dice in a similar situation.

* After the game starts, XP cost for acquiring new rotes will be one point per dot.

* Spell Tolerance = Stamina + 2, as opposed to Stamina + 1.

* PCs effectively possess two dots of Consilium Status and two dots of Order Status, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

* The PC cabal controls a level 4 Hallow and Sanctum pool of 6 dots, with a Library rated at 4 dots.

* Hallows generate their level in Tass and twice their level in Mana each day--i.e., a level 4 Hallow generates 8 points of Mana in addition to 4 points of Tass. However, Mana from a Hallow cannot be transferred directly to a Mage without the use of Prime 3 (thus, oblations will not replenish Mana unless the character has learned a Legacy) except by consuming the Tass itself in some fashion.

Mage: the Awakening: Twenty-Five Lighters

2011-04-03T20:16:08Z

Kastowt:

[[Category:Mage:_The_Awakening]][[Category:PBP]]
'''''Twenty-Five Lighters'''''

[[Image: Htown-eclipse.jpg]]

''A Storytelling Campaign of Ambition and Passion set in Houston, Texas''

Run by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?u=6778 Martys] on the RPGnet Forums

==Thread Info==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?568172-GM-Wanted-nWoD-anyone Recruitment]
* OOC
* IC

==The Cabal==
* '''[[John Barabus]]''', '''Mastigos''' of the '''Mysterium'''
*'''[[Hailey Desmond]]''', '''Thyrsus''' of the '''Mysterium'''
*'''[[Locke]]''', '''Obrimos''' of the '''Free Council'''
*'''[[Max D'Angelo]]''', '''Acanthus''' of the '''Guardians of the Veil'''
*'''[[Michael Walker]]''', '''Moros''' of the '''Silver Ladder'''

==The Setting==
===Overview and Recent History===
Now boasting a population of 2.6 million in the city proper and nearly 7 million throughout the greater metro area, the City of Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the South. Historically the nation's primary hub for the oil and gas industry, the city suffered an economic slump in the wake of the 80s-era oil bust, but soon rebounded after successfully diversifying its economy. Previously ignored by most mages for the first hundred years of its existence in favor of such cities as New Orleans and Miami, after the one-two punches of Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Ike (which Houstonians simply refer to as "the Storm"), Houston has now overtaken New Orleans in the number of mages that base themselves in the city.

There are between forty and fifty mages known to inhabit the Greater Houston Area (as a general rule of thumb, this includes the entire area within a fifteen-mile radius of downtown Houston). The Diamond Orders have thrived in the region since the Second World War, with their first wave of migration beginning with the wartime mobilization, the second wave following the general 60s-era Sun Belt migration and the third wave coinciding with the late 80s tech and financial services booms. The Mysterium and Guardians of the Veil are the dominant Orders, having long since concentrated themselves within such Sleeper institutions as academia, the aerospace industry, law enforcement, public services, and the health care industry. The Silver Ladder and Free Council both maintain visibly active presences in the region, with their cabals working together in a shifting web of alliances and mutual partnerships. Most new self-Awakened mages tend to get scooped up by one of those two Orders, though the Silver Ladder is happy to find another home for those mages who don't fit its ideology. The Free Council boasts a larger number of mages and has thoroughly worked its way into the local telecom and energy industries. The Silver Ladder claims the greater number of cabals and has gained a stranglehold over the region's occult communities; its influence over the local religious activists and social justice organizers is no less pervasive. The Adamantine Arrows keep the lowest profile, apparently having suffered a crippling blow in September 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The Arrows are currently composed of two cabals which concentrate on their own projects and rarely ask assistance from or communicate with the other Orders. The remaining unaligned mages number a little less than a third of the total population and either remain completely aloof from the larger mage community, or maintain loose affiliations with the Free Council.

===Places of Interest===

'''Consilium'''

[[Image: ChapelCourtyard.jpg]]

* The Maxine Gavriel Collection serves as the physical location from which Houston mages coordinate their activites, air disputes, trade favors, etc. Located on a small private estate in the Upper Kirby District owned by the Gavriel family for six generations, the Consilium consists of a small chapel with a capacity of 100 persons, an art gallery displaying the family's private works, a private library containing various occult and historical volumes, a courtyard with a level 4 Hallow, four spirit Guardians and a permanent staff of eight Sleepwalker acolytes loyal to the Gavriel family. The chapel, courtyard and art gallery are open to the public, but only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

'''Y'all Come Back'''

[[Image: Bb.jpg]]

* A bed & breakfast located in the center of the Hyde Park District and run by the Silver Ladder mage known as Xenios, one of the city's two Heralds. All nonresident mages intending to remain in the city more than 36 hours must ensure that the Hierarch is aware of their presence, with most expected to quarter themselves at Xenios's lodgings unless another resident mage volunteers to provide his own hospitality.

'''Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park'''

[[Image: Waterwall.jpg]]

* Still stubbornly referred to as Transco Park by locals seven years after the 2003 Galleria expansion that reduced it to a third of its former size, the Hines Waterwall Park sits adjacent to the Galleria retail complex in the Uptown District. Though the park is privately owned, it is open to the public from 10am to 10pm. Until recently, the park was used as neutral ground for meetings between Pentacle mages and Seers when face-to-face meetings were necessary.

'''Eternity Bar'''

[[Image: Eternitybar.jpg]]

* One of the few downtown nightspots consciously targeting the over-30 crowd, the Eternity Bar is frequented by somewhat older mages who still enjoy a wild night. A tri-level venue, the Eternity consists of a small bar at the street level, a rooftop patio and bar, plus a larger lounge and dance floor just below the rooftop level.

'''The Stateroom'''

[[Image: Stateroom.jpg]]

* Billed as Houston's only revolving restaurant and located 24 stories above street-level, the Stateroom Restaurant and lounge tends to be the go-to location when higher-ranking mages wish to impress out-of-towners. The structure makes one complete revolution ever 45 minutes, giving an unparalled view of the surrounding area.

'''Memorial Park'''

[[Image: Obelisk.jpg]]

* Inspired by a dream, in 2003 the sculptor and architect Dion Murdock erected this obelisk atop a 35-foot crest deep within the forests of Memorial Park, a 1500 acre urban park near the Uptown area. Mages later discovered the obelisk straddles a ley line running beneath the park, and marks the centerpoint of a cluster of Hallows that collectively have a rating of 3. During the winter of 2004-2005, the Lightning Razors chased away a nest of vampires that laid claim to the Hallows and have zealously guarded it ever since.

==The Sanctum==

==Cabal Associates==

==NPCs of Interest==

===Ruling Council===
* '''Heirarch''': Renee Gavriel (Mysterium)
* '''Provost Primus''': Julius (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Provost Secundus''': FuX0r (Free Council)
* '''Herald Primus''': Xenios (Silver Ladder)
* '''Herald Secundus''': Jackson Rusk (Silver Ladder)
* '''Sentinel''': Kirpan (Guardians of the Veil)
* '''Sentinel''': Marian Made (Mysterium)

===Councilors===
* '''Acanthus''': Laarsen (Silver Ladder) -- Special Projects Coordinator for City Council Member Oreza and primary source of political intelligence to the Consilium
* '''Mastigos''': Logos (Guardians of the Veil) -- leader of the Cui Bono cabal and mentor of Sentinel Kirpan; together with Assita Falls, Logos has discovered or partially initiated nearly one-third of the region's novice Pentacle mages over the last two decades
* '''Moros''': Samael (Mysterium) -- leader of the Verba Non Acta cabal and long-time investigative journalist for the ''Houston Press'' alternative newsweekly
* '''Obrimos''': Hsing Sun (Mysterium) -- the Most Venerable Hsing Sun is the current abbot of Guang Tien Di Temple, leader of the Jing Dao cabal, and a sage of the Perfected Adept Legacy. One of the oldest mages in the Houston area, Hsing Sun maintains one of the largest collections of Eastern Supernal lore in North America.
* '''Thyrsus''': Assita Falls (Silver Ladder) -- leader of the Seven Mercies cabal and administrator of the Jubilee Restoration House, a private outreach organization providing a network of transitioning housing facilities and homeless shelters throughout Greater Houston.

===Diamond Orders===

====Adamantine Arrows====
* '''Fiery Analemma''' -- six mages that were the vanguard of the campaign against the Seers in the Greater Houston area. Withdrew to Galveston after the Storm after suffering major casualties during an assault against a Seer pylon operating near the Port of Houson.

====Guardians of the Veil====
* '''Cui Bono''' -- a self-styled "oversight" cabal dedicated to keeping an eye on newly-Awakened mages and "keeping them out of trouble," Cui Bono also strives to shield Sleepers from any malevolent supernatural influence. Currently guided by the Mastigos mage known as Logos, the Cui Bono mages work closely with leading mages in the region, trading information and other resorces as needed.
* '''Lightning Razors''' -- one of the larger cabals in the region, they are composed of three cells of three martially-focused mages that once worked closely with the Fiery Analemma cabal. Most notorious for pursuing and defeating the Mad One calling himself "Kadmon."

====Mysterium====
* '''Men of Letters''' -- organized by five mages of the Mysterium, the Men of Letters cabal is composed of academics from among the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University. Having recently won acclaim for repelling an incursion of passion spirits on the UST campus, the Men of Letters tend to work alone in order to concentrate on pure research.
* '''Lone Star Environmental LLC''' -- an environmental consulting company started by two mages, normally completing contracts for petrochemical firms and providing additional expertise for academic investigations.

====Silver Ladder====
* '''Thalassa, Magna & Assoc. LLP''' -- a cutthroat PIP law firm founded by Robert Thalassa and Thomasina Magna. Censured for using Awakened Arts to arrange desired outcomes in court, Thalassa and Magna nonetheless evade more adverse action against them by providing pro bono legal assistance to any mage that engages their services.
* '''Staff & Serpent''' -- SAS began eight years ago as a local coed service fraternity on the UH campus. After the original founder-mages graduated, they retained the name for the public policy research institute they organized a few years later. Staff and Serpent works closely with Thalassa and Magna, trading networking resources and research for various legal services including harassment and obstruction of their adversaries.
* '''Jubilee Restoration House''' -- now headed by Councilor Assita Falls after the assassination of its founder Kortikos by the Seers, the four mages working in this private outreach organization help provide vital services for battered women and children, the homeless, and other souls in desperate need.

===Free Council===
* '''4-Tay''' -- a hip-hop collective formed by the rap duo "4-Tay" and their Sleeper associates. Constant touring keeps them in touch with other Awakened mages throughout the South.
* '''Raditek Consultants''' -- a private firm providing IT and engineering consulting services along with temporary staffing services, started by three mages just out of college.

===Left-Hand Path Mages===
* '''Order of the Bennu'''

===Seers of the Throne===
* '''Roderick Saxon'''

===Banishers and Mad Ones===
* '''"IX"'''
* '''Kadmon'''

===Unaligned and Solitaries===
* '''Alessandro Ficino''' -- former UH communications professor and Silver Ladder renunciate who wages a vengeful hacktivist crusade against hate groups and other extremists
* '''Haroun''' -- forensic analyst and disciple of Samael with potent skill in alchemical and Enochian arts
* '''Fleur de Noire''' -- trio of transgendered mages notable for their expertise in divination and fateweaving
* '''Black Fist''' -- self-styled "professional gadfly" and performance artist who regularly stages demonstrations and protests on behalf of illegal immigrants and other social outcasts

===Sleepers===
* '''Saul Gavriel''' -- chief of staff of the Gavriel Collection
* '''Simon Gavriel''' -- liaison to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
* '''Lluvia Oreza''' -- Houston City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee
* '''Special Agent Etta Battles''' -- Special Agent Battles cut her teeth in counterterrorism and white collar crime investigation. After her promotion to SAC of the Houston FBI Field Office two years ago, Battles proved an able commander and coordinator of the eighteen month probe of AZB Associates.
* '''Sgt. Jonathan Core''' -- HPD patrolman placed on medical leave after reporting an assault by "blood-drinking skinhead freaks"
* '''Francisco Reyes''' -- minister of the Promise House, a nondenominational agency providing shelter and counseling services to homeless and runaway youths
* '''An Shen-Li''' -- music promoter affiliated with the 4-Tay collective

==Local Rumors and Legends==
* A suspected serial killer is stalking the Sharpstown and Neartown areas, with police blaming four ritualistic murders on the killer over the last three months based on the Roman numeral "IX" branded on the back of the victims' necks. So far the victims were all last seen within a few blocks of either the Botanica Eleggua yerberia or the Magick Cauldron pagan supply store.
* Black Fist, the flamboyant Solitary mage formerly associated with the Fiery Analemma cabal, has been spreading whispers to the effect that the Arrows are preparing to emerge from seclusion.
* Younger mages in Southeast Houston report signs of a massive abrasion of the Gauntlet near Ellington Airport, the airfield formerly used by the US Air Force.
* Majority stockholder and AZB chairman Aydin Arvin has gone into hiding days after federal agents raided the AZB home office. Financial analysts predict that the real estate magnate Roderick Saxon will acquire all AZB assets if the company goes into bankruptcy. AZB held the leases on hundreds of acres of retail and residential properties in Pasadena, South Houston, Downtown and the Medical Center.
* Copies of the mysterious recording known as the '''Hildebrandt Tape''' are circulating through the Houston underground. Some report that the last three owners of the Tape have either been committed or have attempted suicide.
* Horakhty, the shadowy leader of the Order of the Bennu cabal, is quietly searching for a lost text known as the '''Book of the Luminous Ib'''. Some report that the Order will pay as much as twenty pawns of Tass for the text.
* Graffiti defacing a mural on the University of St. Thomas campus: "''KADMON BECOMES/OMNIA MUTANTUR/NIHIL INTERIT''." Concerned that this may mark the return of the Mad sorcerer Kadmon (whom the Council insisted had been destroyed in the series of magical battles of the nights following the Storm), Heirarch Gavriel has ordered Sentinel Marian Made to investigate, with the authority to "deputize" any mages as she sees fit.

==Misc Info==
===Character Creation===
* Choose a Path and Order
* Attributes: 9/8/7, +1 dot Favored Resistance trait
* Skills: 14/10/7
* Skill Specialties: 5
* Arcana: 9 dots, +1 dot Favored Arcanum (none rated higher than 4)
* Rotes: 12 dots
* Gnosis: 4
* Merits: 13 dots
* Mana = Wisdom
* Choose Virtue/Vice
* Choose magical tools and flesh out magical style

===House Rules===

* I'm using the "To the Limit" rule from Tome of the Mysteries, which allows mages to cast an improvised spell of one dot higher ranking than normal, if the mage has at least one dot in all of the Arcana necessary to complete the spell. Base casting pool will always be Gnosis + Arcanum, but the mage must spend one Willpower point in order to complete the casting. Also, the spell is automatically vulgar, and three additional dice will be added to the Paradox roll (which can still be reduced as normal by using magical tools or spending Mana).

* When using a rote, the Base Paradox Dice Pool as detailed on p.123 of the corebook is reduced by an additional die. So, a mage with Gnosis 3 or 4 will not roll for Paradox when casting by rote, while a mage with Gnosis 7 or 8 will have a base Paradox pool of 2 dice in a similar situation.

* After the game starts, XP cost for acquiring new rotes will be one point per dot.

* Spell Tolerance = Stamina + 2, as opposed to Stamina + 1.

* PCs effectively possess two dots of Consilium Status and two dots of Order Status, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof.

* The PC cabal controls a level 4 Hallow and Sanctum pool of 6 dots, with a Library rated at 4 dots.

* Hallows generate their level in Tass and twice their level in Mana each day--i.e., a level 4 Hallow generates 8 points of Mana in addition to 4 points of Tass. However, Mana from a Hallow cannot be transferred directly to a Mage without the use of Prime 3 (thus, oblations will not replenish Mana unless the character has learned a Legacy) except by consuming the Tass itself in some fashion.