Editing The Gift:Characters (section)

==The Cooperative==

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The Cooperative is the loose union of five magical traditions that seek to use science and technology to free the study of magic from obsolete ideas.  In practice, the five disagree and bicker as often as they agree and cooperate.  The Bridewell Reading Group and Ex Nihilo find the other three to be hopelessly mired in mysticism instead of being the level-headed scientists they ought to be.  On the other end of the spectrum, the Unchained are regarded as deranged by everyone but the Human Society.  All Cooperative mages couch their spells in scientific conceptual schemes, even when expressing mystical things.


===The Bridewell Reading Group===

The Bridewell Reading Group began as a small conspiracy of scientists from across the United States in the 1960s who became convinced of the reality of magic and wanted to subject it to study.  They encountered the Council early but refused to join on the grounds that Hermeticism is a religion and science should proceed without religious interference.  Nevertheless, they have maintained close contact with the Hermetic house Atom Turning, much to the Council’s chagrin.  The group maintains a vague commitment to benefitting humanity but each mage is left to themselves to determine what that means.  In most cases, mages simply pursue their studies, sure that they are helping just by increasing the store of knowledge.  Other mages take a more proactive role, laying schemes in accordance to their own personal view of what people need.  Some Bridewell mages think that it is high time that mundanes learned the truth about magic and Osiris Risen has had to go to considerable lengths to stop them.

Apprentices are provided with a broad scientific training.  An emphasis on what the groups calls “fundamentals” leads to a particular focus on matter and energy.  An apprentice’s spells reflect the need to understand the building blocks of the universe before larger questions can be settled.

Cost:  22 points

Skills:  Alchemy, Astronomy, Chemistry, Computer Operation, Geology, Mathematics, Metallurgy, Meteorology, Physics, Symbol Drawing (Scientific), Thaumatology.

Spells:

Air:  Create Air, Purify Air, Shape Air.

Earth:  Seek Earth, Shape Earth.

Fire:  Ignite Fire, Shape Fire.

Water:  Create Water, Seek Water, Shape Water, Purify Water.


House Stances

Magic:  Magic requires serious scientific study.

Themselves: We are scientists.

The Council:  They understand that magic requires serious scientific study.  House Atom Turning even understands something about science. Unfortunately, the rest of them are so lost in their archaic theories and Hermetic trappings that they can never see clearly.  Burning Stone is very clever indeed but the other houses are their dupes.

The Circle:  Dreamers.  It is time they woke up.  Is reality so hard to face?

The Cooperative:  Quite frankly, we are the only hope humanity has.

Independents:  Exeter are always a pleasure to do business with.  They are serious and reliable.  The Silver Mirror School talks more crap than sense, but they do occasionally get some very interesting ideas.

===The Children of Sol===

The Children of Sol are modern animists who believe that there are spirits inhabiting every object.  The more complex the object, the more sophisticated the spirit, with the spirits of machines being the most important and capable of all.  Unlike most magicians, Children of Sol are less likely to treat spirits as slaves to be mastered than equals to be negotiated with.  The close connection between the Children of Sol and the spirit world can make them unpredictable and difficult to deal with - the spirits have strange priorities and desires, and can be very insistent.  Indeed, some Children of Sol can put the interests of spirits ''above'' human interests, resulting in actions that may look wantonly evil from a normal human perspective.  While the Children have much in common with other animist traditions, they find themselves more at home in the Cooperative, where their love of technology meets with an enthusiastic reception.  The group is named after Sol, one name of the spirit of the sun.

Cost:  25 points

Skills:  Computer Hacking, Computer Operation, Computer Programming, Cryptography, Drive (Automobile), Drive (Motorcycle), Electrician, Electronics (Any), Electronics Operation (Any), Mechanic (Any), Symbol Drawing (Scientific).

Spells:

Air:  Create Air, Lightning, Purify Air, Shape Air, Sparkstorm, Wall of Wind, Windstorm.

Movement:  Apportation, Locksmith.

Necromantic:  Animation, Death Vision, Summon Spirit.

Technological:  Animate Machine, Machine Control.


House Stances

Magic:  The shamans were right.  The universe is driven by spirits.  Finally, we have the 
technology to embrace that.

Themselves:  We are tuned in to the frequency of reality itself.  It is there for anyone who wants to listen.

The Council:  They are on the right track, but they have been out-evolved.  We are the updated version of what they are.

The Circle:  They have power and understanding but they are too timid to ever do anything with it - except for the crazy ones.

The Cooperative:  Ugh!  They don’t even know they are wizards!  Still, they are the only true friends we have.

Independents:  The Sladensville Church understand the basic nature of the world, but they have failed to keep up to date.  We have so much in common and they don’t even know it.

===The Human Society===

Originally a splinter-group from the Children of Sol, the Human society seeks self-transformation through the union of magic and technology.  Different members have different opinions about what they, and the rest of humanity, should become, but Society members are expected not to interfere with each other’s projects.  Some seek a new existence in cyberspace, some a complete redesign of the human body, while others are chasing goals they can only express in metaphor.  The empasis on personal change leads often leads to significant excentricity if not outright madness.  The mage is always seeking to alter themselves so as to reach a higher state, and they "higher" they go, the stranger they are likely to get.  Members of the Society often act as patrons to mortals or mortal organizations, particularly in an effort to foster personal change, acting in what they take to be the mortals' best interests.

Apprentice training is focused on teaching the student to understand humanity, technology, and the connections between them.  Magical training focuses on machine possession, so that the mage can expand their consciousness, and self-defense, on the grounds that the world is a dangerous place.

Cost:  28 points

Skills:  Anthropology, Biology, Computer Hacking, Computer Operation, Computer Programming, Mathematics, Philosophy (Transhumanist), Philosophy (Western Analytic), Psychology, Sociology, Symbol Drawing (Scientific).

Spells:

Animal:  Animal Control (Fly), Beast-Soother, Rider Within.

Air:  Create Air, Lightning, Purify Air, Shape Air, Sparkstorm, Wall of Wind, Windstorm.

Movement:  Apportation, Locksmith.

Technological:  Permanent Machine Possession, Machine Control, Machine Possession, Reveal Function, Seek Machine.


House Stances

Magic:  Just another technology humanity created as an aid to its own evolution.

Themselves: We are transcending our humanity, leading the way for others.

The Council:  They are obsessed with power over the world and are so satisfied with themselves that they think nothing of self-transformation.  They are stagnant.  Rat Sniffing is the only house that even has their brains turns on.  Maybe we can convince them to defect.

The Circle:  They are facing backwards, into the past, but they are heading into the future whether they like it or not.

The Cooperative:  They need a little less focus on the external world and a little more focus on themselves.  All the same, they are somewhat useful allies.

Independents:  The Circle Road have great insight into what humans are, but it never occurs to them to think of what they could be.  The Order of St. John of Manhattan understand that humanity can be more than it is but they lack the imagination to build new futures.

===Ex Nihilo===

Ex Nihilo exists in order to create new life out of computers by making them self-aware.  Members differ in their views about why this ought to be done.  Many think it is the next step in evolution, some say that computers are better than humans, some just want to be gods.  While only a small minority of Ex Nihilo mages actually want to see humanity replaced by computers, some do.  This genocidal agenda is unsurprisingly disturbing to many even in the open-minded Cooperative and there has been significant debate about the degree to which such “intolerance” should be “tolerated”.  Ex Nihilo has been been forced to put down its own members on numerous occasions for fear of the Cooperative stepping in, or worse yet, the Council.  The group has many artificially intelligent contacts and allies, a number of which only exist in cyberspace.  Some of these entities were created by mages of Ex Nihilo, while others appear to have evolved naturally.

Apprentices are drilled in any skill that might help them to understand computers.  The apprentice’s final test before becoming a mage is to wake a computer into sentience.

Cost:  22 points

Skills:  Computer Hacking, Computer Operation, Computer Programming, Cryptography, Electrician, Electronics (Computers), Electronics Operation (Computers), Electronics Repair (Computers), Mathematics, Symbol Drawing (Scientific), Typing.

Spells:

Mind Control:  Daze, Disorient, Encrypt, Foolishness, Forgetfulness, Sleep, Wisdom.

Necromancy:  Animation, Death Vision, Summon Spirit.

Technological:  Awaken Computer.


House Stances

Magic:  Magic is the creative energy of the universe.  Only magic can truly create something out of nothing.

Themselves: We are the midwives of the new age.  We will awaken new and better life on this Earth.

The Council:  They understand the importance of following a program, but their methods are obsolete.

The Circle:  They bow to things less evolved than themselves.  Have some pride!

The Cooperative:  They are getting there.  They will soon work out what we already know.

===The Unchained===

The Unchained are dedicated to the proposition that people need to "free" their minds.  Members seem to have different conceptions of what “freeing the mind” is and pursue it in many different ways.  Some study science, some meditate, some create art, some alter their consciousness with drugs; any path to the goal is acceptable.  The Unchained makes use of both Hermetic and Wiccan rituals, as well as many from other traditions and some they made up themselves.  While some Unchained are ascetics, The Unchained as a whole are famous for partying hard.  The stranger and more extreme the party, the more likely it is to help the guests to free themselves.  Emotional release is seen as a transformative tool to achieve new perspectives and different states of mind.  More extreme members of the order have been known to deliberately drive themselves or others insane, in the hope of gaining magical insight through loosening the bonds of reason.

Despite the love of freedom and pleasure, apprenticeship is a lot of hard work and study only the academically successful ever become mages.  It is emphasized to the student that freeing the mind is an arduous process and the very opposite of going with the flow.  Academic training is designed to allow the student to bring out their full potential as a human being.  Spells taught focus on illusion and mind control, as an aid to breaking down the barriers between the mind and the world.

Cost:  28 points

Skills:  Artist (Any), Botany, Chemistry, Computer Operation, Dancing, First-Aid, Herb Law, Meditation, Psychology, Musical Instrument (Any), Naturalist, Occultism, Ritual Magic (Western Hermetic), Ritual Magic (Wiccan), Symbol Drawing (Unchained).

Spells:

Illusion and Creation:  Complex Illusion, Control Illusion, Independence, Initiative, Know Illusion, Perfect Illusion, Simple Elusion.

Mind Control:  Daze, Disorient, Fascinate, Foolishness, Forgetfulness, Wisdom.


House Stances

Magic:  Magic is the only thing that can free your mind.  So free your mind.

Themselves: Just another gang of fools looking for enlightenment.

The Council:  They love rules, so they hate freedom.  Magic should liberate humanity, not bind it.  They know some good tricks, though.  Their house Flying Crane produces some incredible art.  Perhaps they can be corrupted.

The Circle:  Weird and wonderful.  I’m glad their path works for them.  They badly need to update their information technology, though.

The Cooperative:  They are not very safe, not very sane, and not always fun, but they are the safest, sanest, most fun group of mages that you are ever going to find.

Independents:  The Golden Path mages can show you things from a new perspective.  What could be better?  The Temple of the White Garland would produce genuinely good art if they could only get over themselves.