Editing The Gift:Characters (section)

==Independents==

[[Image:BikeRider.jpg]]

Twelve traditions of magi are included in the Peace, but are not otherwise allied with other groups.  They may work together with other mages, but jealously guard their freedom and independence.


===The Church of St. Christopher on the Mountain===

The Church of St. Christopher on the Mountain is a multi-denominational Christian religious society, originally from North Carolina.  The church holds that salvation comes from works alone and swear their commitment to doing good in the world in an effort to gain entrance into heaven.  They actively try to convert people to Christianity, especially other mages, but they also believe that non-Christians can go to heaven.  Like any human group, they are imperfect, and it is not unknown for mages of this group to be judgmental and simplistic.  While the church's theory emphasizes love, the recognition that there are dark forces in the world that must be fought can also lead to militancy, while the recognition that violence can be necessary to defend people from a violent world can lead to a reliance on force.  Magical ritual and symbolism is derived from Christianity and Christian tradition. The church makes no claim that their magical power derives from God in some way that other mages' power does not, though they ask God to guide them to use their magical power wisely.

Apprentices are trained to help others, using force to protect them if necessary.  Magical training is focused on allowing the student to heal the sick and drive away spirits.  They learn basic Ancient Greek so as to better understand the Bible.

Cost: 27 points.

Advantages:  Language (Classical Greek, Broken)

Perks:  Style Familiarity (Karate, Shotokan)

Skills:  Exorcism, First Aid, Guns (Pistol), Guns (Rifle), Karate (Karate, Shotokan), Physician, Psychology, Religious Rituals (Christianity), Singing, Symbol Drawing (Christian Mystic), Theology (Christianity).

Spells:

Communication and Empathy:  Sense Foes, Sense Life, Sense Emotion.

Healing:  Cure Disease, Major Healing, Minor Healing, Lend Energy, Lend Vitality, Relieve Sickness.

Meta:  Dispel Magic.  

Mind Control:  Fear.

Necromancy:  Sense Spirit, Turn Spirit.


House Stances

Magic:  Magic is a gift from God.  Thank you, God.

Themselves:  We are humble servants of the Lord.

The Council:  As the closest thing mages have to a government, they could be a little more democratic.

The Circle:  Jesus loves them.  The Good Samaritan was a pagan too.

The Cooperative:  The world the Lord made is better than they are giving it credit for.

===The Circle Road===

Mages of the Circle Road seek to understand humanity by living among different kinds of humans as one of them.  They are adamant that mortals are of equal value to mages and many members fight hard to make sure that the morals are not abused by the Gifted, an attitude that frequently leads them into conflict with other orders.  On the other hand, close contact with a variety of sub-cultures means that mages of the Circle Road often know secrets that can be very valuable to other mages.  The Circle Road was founded in 1919 by veterans of the first world war, who swore that such a terrible thing must never be allowed to happen again and who were convinced that it is sheer lack of understanding that leads humans to treat each other so terribly.  Many mages of this school have sworn never to take a human life, although it is not a requirement.  Magical ritual and symbolism is drawn from the superstitions and ritual practices of ordinary mortals from all over New Spain.

Apprentice training focuses on helping the student to understand other humans and to be able to live among them.  Spell training is aimed at teaching the apprentice to be able to alter their own appearance, so as to more easily pass in any company.

Cost: 28 points.

Advantages:  Language (French, Broken), Language (Spanish, Broken), Language (Any, Broken).

Perks:  Style Familiarity (Aikijutsu)

Skills:  Acting, Disguise, First-Aid, History (Modern U.S.), Judo (Aikijutsu), Psychology, Savoir-Faire, Sociology, Streetwise, Survival (Urban) Symbol Drawing (Circle Road).

Spells:

Animal:  Shapeshifting (Any)

Body Control:  Climbing, Itch, Pain, Resist Pain, Spasm, Stop Spasm, Alter Body, Alter Visage.

Knowledge:  Find Direction.


House Stances

Magic:  Magic is an opportunity to learn more about ourselves.

Themselves:  We are merely humans trying to work out what it means to be human.

The Council:  Their smugness makes them closet themselves away from the wealth they could find in other people.

The Circle:  In their own way, they are as insular as the Council is.

The Cooperative:  Machines are just another way to shut yourself off from humanity.  Even the internet is not enough because there are so many other places where people meet.

===Desvio===

The philosophy behind Desvio is very simple: the first task of the mage is ensure their own survival.  Desvio is an entirely pragmatic school.  It has no moral teachings and no theory of magic.  Scholastic and theoretical pursuits are not looked down on, but it is emphasized that only a mage who lives is free to pursue them.  The school was founded by a Spanish Hermetic mage and fencing instructor named Tavio Vargas shortly after he moved to California in 1850.  The original style was as much a fencing technique as anything else, but due to Vargas’ emphasis on flexibility and open-mindedness, the school has evolved greatly through the years, to the point where the sword plays no role at all.  Modern Desvio martial arts owe more to Hsing I Chuan kung fu than to European arts.  Desvio ritual and symbolism is a mish-mash of Spanish, Chinese and Native American elements, along with plenty of tricks borrowed from other sources and plenty of inventions of their own.

Mages of Desvio take on students for a variety of reasons.  Some want to hone their own skills, some want to make sure that their skills live on, and others just want to give a young relation every advantage in life.  Apprentice training is almost entirely centered around self-defense and survival and magical techniques focus on warnings, self-healing, and above all, assault with fire.  Most Desvio PCs would receive the skills and spells below, although there is some variation between mentors.

Cost: 24 points.

Perks:  Style Familiarity (Desvio)

Skills:  First-Aid, Drive (Automobile), Escape, Guns (Pistol), Guns (Rifle), Judo (Desvio), Karate (Desvio), Melee Weapon (Knife), Stealth, Streetwise, Symbol Drawing (Desvio), Throwing.

Techniques:  Aggressive Parry (Karate), Backstrike (Karate), Backstrike (Melee Weapon: Knife), Close Combat, Counterattack, Jam, TA (Karate Punch / Throat), TA (Knife Thrust / Vitals), TA (Throwing / Face).

Spells:

Fire:  Create Fire, Explosive Fireball, Ignite Fire, Fireball, Shape Fire.

Healing:  Lend Energy, Lend Vitality, Minor Healing, Stop Bleeding.

Protection and Warning:  Sense Danger, Watchdog.


House Stances

Magic:  Magic is just a force like any other.

Themselves:  We survive.

The Council:  They have numbers, but they cannot trust each other.  So their numbers are a weakness.

The Circle:  Some of them are masters of the art of survival.  Some of them just accept whatever befalls them.  Only the Crescent Moons and the Line of Mary Wood are really dangerous.

The Cooperative:  It is good to evolve, but are they really looking where you are going?

Independents:  The only ones who can fight worth a damn are the Church of St. Christopher on the Mountain, the Paulites and the Order of St. John of Manhattan.

===Exeter===

Exeter is a clan of blood relations (none of which have the last name “Exeter" anymore) who have been magically active for seven generations.  Their approach to magic is pragmatic indeed; they strive to bring safety and prosperity to themselves and their relations.  Exeter training emphasizes patience, diligence and forethought.  Exeter mages are renowned as enchanters, often leading other mages to want to do business with them.  While they have a tendency to be insular, they also take the social graces very seriously and are known for being polite and even charming.  It is said that a disgraced branch of the clan have all taken solace in undeath, but even junior Exeter do not know if this is true.  Exeter ritual and symbolism is derived from Medieval and Renaissance European and folk magic.  There is some resemblance to Hermetic practices, but with nothing like the vast body of Hermetic theory.

Apprentices are given a very thorough grounding of history to help them understand their place in the world and given a thorough training in the practical business skills that it takes to get ahead in the world.  Magical training is broad in order to give the student a greater capacity for the art of enchantment, which is favored on the grounds that preparation is the greater part of success.

Cost: 23 points.

Skills:  Accounting, Administration, Alchemy, Computer Operation, History (Medieval Europe), History (Modern Europe), History (Modern USA), Mathematics, Merchant, Savoir-Faire, Symbol Drawing (Exeter).

Spells:

Communication and Empathy:  Sense Life.

Earth:  Seek Earth.

Enchantment:  Enchant, Powerstone.

Fire:  Ignite Fire.

Knowledge:  Find Direction.

Meta-Spells:  Counterspell.

Healing:  Lend Energy.

Mind Control:  Keen Sense (Hearing)

Movement:  Teleport

Protection and Warning:  Magelock.

Technological:  Seek Energy.


House Stances

Magic:  A difficult art, but one that provides great rewards.

Themselves:  We mind our own business and expect others to do the same.

The Council:  Some people would rather sell their freedom than stand on their own two feet.

The Circle:  Long on posturing but short on discipline.  They aren’t very effective.  Their house Burning Stone pulls the stings and the others dance.

The Cooperative:  They could really make something of themselves if they would just stop fantasizing.

===The Golden Path===

Mages of the Golden Path study how to use magic to produce pleasure.  Mages follow the path in many different ways.  Some concern themselves primarily with their own pleasure, some concern themselves primarily with the pleasure of others, some merely use pleasure as a tool.  Some pursue pleasures of the intellect, some of the body, some of art, some that are simply inexplicable.  Golden Path mages are taught not to have any loyalty to the school per se, although it is unsurprising that they often enjoy each other’s company.  Some Golden Path mages have grown to treat normal human beings as toys only, using them for fun and then discarding them with little thought for the consequences.  Golden Path ritual and symbolism is highly personalized and each mage will have developed their own style.

As hedonistic as many of its mages seem to be, there is nothing easy this approach to magic and only students who are both intelligent and hard-working will become mages.  Apprentices must study various sciences that relate to pleasure of the body and mind, as well as being trained in how to manipulate human feeling.  Spells focus on mind control.  The final spell a student learns is Ecstasy, frequently leading the student to become an Ecstasy addict ever after.

Cost: 23 points.

Skills:  Biology, Botany, Chemistry, Erotic Art, Fast-Talk, First-Aid, Herb Lore, Naturalist, Physiology, Psychology, Savoir-Faire, Streetwise, Symbol Drawing (Golden Path).

Spells:

Communication and Empathy:  Sense Emotion, Sense Foes.

Mind Control:  Bravery, Charm, Ecstasy, Emotion Control, Fear, Foolishness, Loyalty, Lure.


House Stances

Magic:  The ultimate drug.

Themselves:  We are what all the others are, only we have the guts to admit it.

The Council:  Power, power, power.  But what is it all for?

The Circle:  I like them when they don’t take themselves too seriously.

The Cooperative:  They throw some very interesting parties, especially the Unchained.

===Order of St. John of Manhattan===

The Order of St. John of Manhattan is an idealistic fraternity of mages who have sworn to use their power to make the world a better place.  Some see them as overgrown children trying to live a fantasy life.  They aren’t always in the right and there have definitely been cases where their zeal has lead them to act without sufficient forethought.  On the other hand, there is no question that they have a habit of intervening to protect the weak from the strong.  The ritual and symbolism of the magic used by the order are derived from Christianity, Native American beliefs and European folklore.

Cost: 29 points.

Skills:  Drive (Automobile), Drive (Motorcycle), Judo (Any), First Aid, Guns (Pistol), Guns (Rifle), Karate (Any), Physician, Psychology, Sociology, Streetwise, Survival (Any), Survival (Urban), Symbol Drawing (Order of St. John).

Spells:

Communication and Empathy:  Sense Emotion, Sense Foes.

Healing:  Lend Energy, Lend Vitality, Minor Healing.

Mind Control:  Daze, Fascinate, Foolishness, Keen Hearing, Keen Sight, Rear Vision, Strengthen Will.

Necromantic:  Death Vision, Sense Spirit, Turn Spirit.


House Stances

Magic:  Magic is a wonderful gift we have received.  We must make ourselves worthy of it.

Themselves:  Somebody has to.

The Council:  They keep the Peace.

The Circle:  Help the helpless ones, dodge the dangerous ones.

The Cooperative:  Weird.  Still, as long as they don’t hurt anybody, they are fine with me.


===The Paulites===

The Paulites are a loose confederation of mages who dedicate themselves to surviving the next great mage war, which they believe is imminent and will be apocalyptic.  Amanda Paul, who laid down the foundations for the school, was a teacher and profit who left the Hermetic house Thoth Standing in the 1930s, believing that the end of the house was near.  Today the group’s magical style is a hodgepodge of Hermetic, native American, and European folk elements, with much that is original to the Paulites.

Paulite apprentices are trained to survive in the wild and to be able to defend themselves from attack.  Magical training focuses on the art of not being noticed.

Cost: 21 points.

Skills:  Camouflage, Drive (Automobile), First Aid, Guns (Pistol), Guns (Rifle), Herb Lore, Naturalist, Stealth, Survival (Any), Symbol Drawing (Paulite), Traps.

Spells:

Animal:  Beast-Soother.

Light and Darkness:  Continual Light, Darkness, Invisibility, Blur, Gloom, Hide, Light.

Water:  Purify Water, Seek Water.


House Stances

Magic:  Magic will destroy the world we know.  Magic is also our only hope.

Themselves:  We will survive the coming storm.

The Council:  These proud fools strut but will be laid low.

The Circle:  Nature worshippers are about to be out-evolved, because nature is about to change.

The Cooperative:  What are you going to do when the power goes out?


===Pure River Temple===

The Pure River Temple is a Hindu religious group open to mages who seek enlightenment through overcoming their attachment to their physical body.  Members are not required to be Hindus, but Hindu theology and religious ritual does play an important role in the group’s magical techniques.  The sought-after detachment affects different mages differently and the school has produced both gentle saints and cold-heartedly callous graduates.  The temple’s ritual and symbolism is Indian Hindu in character.

Apprentice training, both magical and mundane, is aimed at helping the mage to overcome the limitations of their body so that they can more easily attain enlightenment.

Cost: 29 points.

Perks:  Style Familiarity (Pure River).

Skills:  Acrobatics, Biology, Blind-Fighting, Body Control, Breath Control, Judo (Pure River), Jumping, Karate (Pure River), Meditation, Melee Weapon (Katana), Mental Strength, Physiology, Pressure Points, Pressure Secrets, Running, Swimming, Symbol Drawing (Hindu), Theology (Hinduism).

Techniques:  Acrobatic Stand, Wristlock, Breakfall, Disarming (Judo), Evade, Ground Fighting, Low Fighting, Pressure-Point Strike.

Spells:

Body Control:  Ambidexterity, Balance, Clumsiness, Grace, Haste, Itch, Reflexes, Resist Pain, Spasm, Vigor.


House Stances

Magic:  Magic is no different from the rest of the universe.  It is only our perspective that makes it different.

Themselves:  Just simple pilgrims seeking enlightenment, like so many before us.

The Council:  Why would a mage waste their time with politics?

The Circle:  Don’t you see?  You are already higher than a cat or a toad.

The Cooperative:  They have much understanding and should be observed closely.

Independents:  The Temple of the White Garland cannot achieve enlightenment because they cannot let go of themselves.


===The Silver Mirror School===

The Silver Mirror School is a philosophical society devoted to discovering the true nature of the world.  They have decided, based on ideas from western analytic philosophy and Buddhism, that the world we live in is nothing but an illusion.  Most of them are skeptics about the external world, but some of them have very clear and very strange ideas about what the true nature of the universe really is.  The school has no moral teachings, yet remains idealistic and values kindness highly.  There are almost no specifically Silver Mirror symbols or rituals, due to a suspicion than symbolism obscures reality.  They do however, develop individual magical styles as a necessary tool for interacting with the world.

Cost: 21 points.

Skills:  Artist (Calligraphy), Autohypnosis, Biology, Breath Control, Mathematics, Meditation, Philosophy (Western Analytic), Physics, Psychology, Symbol Drawing (Silver Mirror), Theology (Buddhism).

Spells:

Illusion and Creation:  Complex Illusion, Control Illusion, Dispel Illusion, Know Illusion, Perfect Illusion, Simple Illusion.

Mind Control:  Keen Hearing.

Sound:  Silence, Sound, Sound Vision.


House Stances

Magic:  That’s a highly debatable subject, but an important one.

Themselves:  We are not a school of thought.  We are broader than that.  We are a group of humans committed to finding truth by any thought necessary.

The Council:  They are clever and disciplined, but their assumptions and traditions weigh them down.  The young houses live in the real world more than the older houses do.  Rat Sniffing has too much sense to put up with it all for much longer.  Maybe we can help them become independent of the Council.

The Circle:  They have a lot to say that is interesting.  I wish they could say it more clearly.

The Cooperative:  I don’t know.  They could be the best or worst thing ever to happen to humanity.  The Human Society certainly has some interesting plans for the future.


===The Sladensville Church===

The Sladensville Church are not Christians as the name might suggest, but animists from a variety of different backgrounds.  They cooperate in order to ensure that their understanding does not die out in the modern world.  Traditionalists from Animist cultures are often horrified by the eclecticism of the tradition and of the training it offers, but the church’s ability to survive and train new apprentices has bought it a lot of security.  Members are not required to hold any particular religious views, provided that their philosophy falls somewhere under animist thought.

Students study mystical and magical belief systems from numerous cultures as well as learning to be understand nature.  Spells emphasize learning to interact with spirits, both human and otherwise.

Cost: 22 points.

Skills:  Animal Handling, Anthropology, Exorcism, Herb Lore, Meditation, Naturalist, Occultism, Stealth, Religious Rituals (Animist), Survival (Any), Symbol Drawing (Sladensville Church), Theology (Animist).

Spells:

Communication and Empathy:  Sense Emotion, Sense Foes.

Making and Breaking:  Awakened Craft Spirit, Inspired Creation.

Mind Control:  Fear, Terror.

Necromancy:  Death Vision, Sense Spirit, Summon Spirit, Turn Spirit.


House Stances

Magic:  Magic is nothing more than knowing how to talk to the spirits.

Themselves:  We are the inheritors of many traditions, keeping the knowledge that the world is alive.

The Council:  Too busy lording it over humans to truly see the world beyond.

The Circle:  Their religions are too modern to understand ancient spirits.  They need to forget the New Age crap and listen to their ancestors.

The Cooperative:  A few have glimpsed the truth, but they are too alienated from nature to understand the world.


===Temple of the White Garland===

The Temple of the White Garland is a religious organization devoted to spiritual purification by the discovery of the mage’s own divine nature.  White Temple doctrines borrow heavily from eastern philosophy and religion, particular from the Indian subcontinent, but the teachings of the school are unique to it.  The school teaches that might makes right, though this is a doctrine that many of the students reject.  Conflict between mages of this order is frequent and sometimes violent.  The temple’s ritual and symbolism is an amalgam of Hindu, Buddhist and Indian folk tradition.

Apprentice training is focused less on direct utility than on helping the mage to achieve a mystical understanding of their own power and importance.  Magical training emphasizes control over the physical world and elements in the belief that this will force the mage to confront their own godhead.


Cost: 28 points.

Advantages:  Language (Hindi, Broken)

Skills:  Artist (Any), Auto-Hypnosis, Breath Control, Folklore (Indian), Esoteric Medicine, Herb Lore, History (Ancient India), Meditation, Naturalist, Symbol Drawing (White Garland), Theology (Buddhism), Theology (Hinduism).

Spells:

Air:  Control Air Elemental, Create Air Elemental, No-Smell, Purify Air, Summon Air Elemental.

Water:  Create Water, Purify Water, Seek Water.

Weather:  Clouds, Frost, Hail, Lightning, Rain, Storm


House Stances

Magic:  Magic is simply the expression of our own divine will.  Magic teaches us who we are.

Themselves:  We are gods purely because we know that we are gods.

The Council:  They are useful for as long as they do not try to control us.

The Circle:  They are animals because they choose to be animals.

The Cooperative:  They suspect that which we know.  One day they will put aside their toys and grow up.

Independents:  The Pure River Temple are too scared of their own power to act, which makes them powerless.  The Silver Mirror School asks the right questions, but they cannot bare the answer.


===The Vale Institute===

The Vale Institute, more a loose collection of scholars than an “institute”, was founded by Dr. Morris Vale in 1923.  Vale was convinced that there is a connection between madness and magic, and that fundamental truths about magic could be learned by studying mental illness.  Vale was eventually murdered by his own horrified students for deliberately driving research subjects insane and even since then, the Vale institute has engaged in endless internal debates about morally acceptable research.  Another hot topic of debate is the degree to which the mage should alter their own consciousness in pursuit of understanding.  The Vale Institute magicians ritual and symbolism are all rooted in science at some level, but each mage develops their own personal style, some of which are eccentric to the point of being incomprehensible to outsiders.

Apprentices study the human mind and magic alike and are trained to master dream realms.  Spells focus on gaining a greater understanding of madness.

Cost: 25 points.

Skills:  Artist (Dream Projection), Dreaming, Herb Lore, Occultism, Pharmacy, Physician, Psychology, Streetwise, Survival (Urban), Symbol Drawing (Vale), Thaumatology.

Spells:

Communication and Empathy:  Dream Sending, Dream Projection, Sense Foes, Sense Emotion.

Mind Control:  Daze, Fear, Foolishness, Forgetfulness, Madness, Nightmare, Permanent Madness, Sleep, Suggestion.

Necromantic:  Death Vision.


House Stances

Magic:  Magic is the ability to discover reality and to create new realities.  It is also the ability to deceive yourself very elaborately.

Themselves:  Who else recognizes this world for the asylum it is?

The Council:  Delusions of grandeur are the most dangerous delusions of all.

The Circle:  They live in their own little world.  It makes them blind but powerful.

The Cooperative:  They are very dangerous because they think the human mind is no more than an organic computer.