Bridging the Divide:Antaeus

Antaeus

An associate professor of sociology at Stanford, Dr Sam Kawaguchi is a well built but unassuming man of mixed Japanese/Greek heritage. A Bay Area native, he attended UW Madison on a wrestling scholarship, before moving on to the University of Chicago for his graduate and doctorate work. He tried out for the US Olympic team in 2008, but failed to make the team by a few points. In his Shadow Guise as Antaeus, he seeks to study and catalog the spirit ecology of the San Francisco area. He is a honest and patient man, but burns with ambition.

Stats

Path: Thrysus

Order: Mysterium

Virtue: Honesty

Vice: Ambition

Nimbus: The sound of wild stags fighting for dominance, the smell of sweat and fresh earth

Nimbus Tilt: 8-again on Athletics rolls

Arcane Experience: 0

Experience Points: 0/5

Aspirations and Obsessions

Long-Term: Gain tenure at Stanford

Short-Term: Gain a familiar

Short Term: Improve relations with Ekadanta

Obsession: Studying and cataloging the spirits of San Francisco

Conditions

None

Status

Health: [][][][][][][][]

Willpower: 6/6

Gnosis: 2

Mana: 11/11 (2/turn)

Wisdom: 7

Size: 5

Defense: 4

Speed: 10

Initiative Modifier: +5

Attributes

Intelligence 3

Wits 2

Resolve 3

Strength 3

Dexterity 2

Stamina 3

Presence 1

Manipulation 2

Composure 3

Skills

Academics 3 (Professional Skill)

- Sociology +1

Computer 1

Crafts

Investigation 4 (Professional Skill, Rote Skill)

Medicine

Occult 3 (Rote Skill)

Politics 1

Science 1

Athletics 3

Brawl 3

- Wrestling +1

Drive 1

Firearms

Larceny

Stealth

Survival (Rote Skill)

Weaponry

Animal Ken

Empathy 2

- Spirit Empathy +1

Expression

Intimidation

Persuasion 1

Socialize 1

Streetwise

Subterfuge

Merits

Spirit-Touched 2 (+1 to all non-violent interactions with spirits in Shadow/Twilight)

Grappling 3 (Style)

High Speech 1

Professional Training (Professor) 2

Shadow Name 2

Status (Mysterium) 1

Status (University) 1

Contacts (Stanford Faculty)

Contacts (Sociological Community)

Arcana

Spirit 3

Life 2

Time 1

Praxes

Know Spirit (Spirit 1)

Green Light/Red Light (Time 1)

Rotes

Body Control (Athletics) (Life 2)

Heightened Senses (Investigation) (Life 1)

Reaching (Athletics) (Spirit 3)

Equipment

Dedicated Magical Tool: A battered journal, written in cipher, full of strange footnotes and marginalia.

Questions

- Character Portrait:

Sam dresses in typical 'young professor' attire, business casual, a suit but no tie. He's significantly more athletic than the average academic, but his shy demeanor makes him stand out less than one would expect.

- Description of your Awakening, and how you perceive your Watchtower/Realm/Path

Sam's Awakening began during his US Olympic Wrestling trials. He experienced visions and hallucinations, matches becoming mighty dominance battles between rutting stags and boars. The distraction caused him to lose critical points and he failed to place. The failure was crushing and he rejected wrestling (and, subconsciously the Awakening) for years. He devoted himself to study and fought to ignore the visions when they came. He especially stayed away from wild places, as they seemed to be a trigger.

The visions faded in frequency and intensity, and he was able to complete his doctorate and get a position at Stanford as an associate professor. Returning home permanently, he reconnected with old Bay Area friends and was convinced to go camping. Among the redwood forests, he became disoriented and lost, wandering for what seemed like days. When he was at his lowest point he was attacked by a huge and monstrous boar, and was forced to wrestle the great beast to survive. The primal struggle completed his Awakening.

Antaeus sees magic as a symbiotic meta-construct of the beings and societies that interact with it. Their actions influence it, it influences them. The beings within it range in intelligence from mindless worms to the outer limits of genius. Yet they are bound together into a single unified system which is greater in wisdom than the sum of it's parts, infinite and unknowable. The whole thing is a feedback loop, a socio-gnostic orobourous.

- Brief description of how each of your Arcana fits into your magical worldview. How do you sense it, what metaphorical role does it hold

Spirit is a lens which alters our perception to see and do what we otherwise could not. It can be a telescope, a magnifying glass, or even a laser.

Life is the medium through which the message of magic is transmitted and recorded. It's the notebook on which the pattern is written.

Time is a waterfall, the River Future cascading over the now into the River Past. The water is all the same, the only difference is where you find it - or put it.

- Description of an NPC connected to your character. A major back story figure, a rival, a friend. Someone I can incorporate

Karen Cook, Ray Lyman Wilbur Professor of Sociology at Stanford. She is Sam's boss, good natured and supportive. She is concerned that his papers and research aren't up to his previous standards.

- Free spin. Description of another NPC, an important Artifact or location, a short vignette that says something about your character

Jeff Crocker, high school friend. He's a physical therapist for the SF Giants. An outdoor enthusiast, he was the one who convinced Sam to go camping among the redwoods. They are still fairly close, but Jeff thinks something bad happened when Sam got lost, and Sam's reticence to discuss it only deepens his concern.