Difference between revisions of "Lost Tribes: Workshop: Masks"

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To take another's mask is the ultimate sign of defeat, a fate worse than death in fact, for with the Mask goes the power the totem spirit provides. Also to lose one's mask is to lose one's place within the Tribe, for if your enemy has seen your true face then your entire tribe is put in danger.
 
To take another's mask is the ultimate sign of defeat, a fate worse than death in fact, for with the Mask goes the power the totem spirit provides. Also to lose one's mask is to lose one's place within the Tribe, for if your enemy has seen your true face then your entire tribe is put in danger.
  
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When wearing your Mask, you're in the game, and players don't get knocked out like regular folk. You're important, you're somebody (Unless you're a mouse, worse luck) you matter. That's what the Totems and the Masks do. They make you significant. That's why Buck House uses the Masks to shore up Royal power, it's the last gasp of a dying symbol, when the Monarchy has lost relevence, all it has is the secrets it has aquired over the centuries, and the need to be recognized means that they will use this power- regardless of the consequences.
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I like the idea that reincarnation exists, but only through the masks. You may be Johnny Nobody in real life, but put on the mask and you become something more. You're still Johnny Nobody at the core, but now you also share the soul and power of something that transcends the ages. And if poor Johnny takes a bullet, he's gone for good, but the next person to put on the mask gets the power that Johnny accumulated plus all those of the previous wearers all the way back to Egypt, Babylonia, Asgard or wherever.
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This brings up a question: can new masks be made? A new mask might be weak but being new, the first wearer(s) get to set its rules and future path.
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Old mask=powerful, but with restrictions set by its history and tradition.
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New mask=weak, but the wearer is free to guide its initial path of power and free to set its ground rules.
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I am of two minds in regards to mask making. I've given quite a bit of thought to the concept. Really I've been spending way too much time to this whole thing the last few days to be honest.
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Mask making back in the ancient time was a right of passage for a young tribal entering into the game for the first time. The skill was passed down from father to son and mother to daughter. A man's mask was his own and his only. The heros of old were often buried with their masks and a mask was never passed down as an inheritance.
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Over time this changed, and just as once spritual knowledge and magic was held by all within the sect, in time it became concentrated in the hands of a select few. The mask maker became a fiqure of extreme importance within the tribe, he was the seerer, the medicine man, she was the oracle and high preistess who would guide the young ones on their first spirit walk, the journey which gave the mask it's pattern, shape and form.
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In today's society the mask maker is just as revered if not as purely sacred as in the days of old. They are artistians as well as oracles, sculptures as well as seers. They may work in a variety of mediums, ceramic, leather, rubber, laxtex, faux fur or papier mâché and in wide range of artistic expressions, from the elegant, to the grotesque, and to even the cartoonishly comic, but the result is the same: a holy relic, an empty vessel waiting to be endowed by a totem's power.
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The result is that different sects tend to perfer differnt stylistic approaches. The cats by and large prefering richly elegant and refine Venetian masks or masks with an Egyptian feel, some dogs packs tend towards masks resembling those found in certain parts of Africa. While some rabbits and mice wear masks that harken back to popular cartoon characters etc etc.
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But the truth of the matter is this, despite the mask makers efforts to hide it, anyone can make a mask and a mask can be made of anything. Don't belive me? Think back to the days of your earliest childhood, and think of the first totem mask you ever wore. I'll bet ya a pint it was made of craft paper, crayon and pipecleaners and if you happen to be a cat, a little bit of glitter.
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So, if I understand you, anyone from the right background can make a mask to tap into the totem and there are no particular requirements other than the background and knowledge/belief(?)? Maybe more ornate/older/special masks grant social bonuses within a tribe or between tribes. As the characters become more powerful they can make their masks more ornate etc.
  
When wearing your Mask, you're in the game, and players don't get knocked out like regular folk. You're important, you're somebody (Unless you're a mouse, worse luck) you matter. That's what the Totems and the Masks do. They make you significant. That's why Buck House uses the Masks to shore up Royal power, it's the last gasp of a dying symbol, when the Monarchy has lost relevence, all it has is the secrets it has aquired over the centuries, and the need to be recognized means that they will use this power- regardless of the consequences.
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 +
 
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Yes and no. In a white wolf setting it would be an intel/occult roll. It's a skill set something you have to learn, study and master over the course of years. A first grader's paper plate mask may allow them to commune with their totem for the first time, but it's a crude flimsy thing at best. So while all tribals have the innate ability to forge their masks only a select few are masters of mask lore.
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The downside here and what I don't like about it is that themetically it means that obtaining ones mask could be seen or played as the tribe-verse equivilant of going down to Ollivander's wand shop and it should be a bit more deep than that.
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I see masks as being extremely personal and tied very strongly and spirtually to the indivual tribal. So while forging the mask is the art of the sect's mask maker, the form that mask takes is determined by high ritual and a tribal's own spirit quest.
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We could have both. There are the personal masks, or Personae (taking into account that "persona" means "mask") and the legacy masks, or Legare ("to bind, tie or unite"). They could be two different templates for the Tribesmen.
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The Personae are, pun intended, more personal in the sense that the Self is accentuated (or even exaggerated) by the mask. The Legare brings with it the power of the Tribe's lineage, but also the burden of being Bound.
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In other words, one can choose to leave one Tribe and join another just like you could switch alliances? Naturally, this switch is a more spiritual and personal level than just switching from Labour to Liberal Democrat or Conservative. It's renouncing your heritage and philosophy to the very core of your Self.
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In game terms, it's changing Order or Affiliation or whatever other stat that shows who you stand with.
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That's how Lambs turn into Lions and Hawks become Doves.
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Of course, many of the Tribes would deny that you can leave and join another; it's in your blood that you're a Cat, or a Dog, or whatever, and most believe it. This is why the Moles are so dangerous, how they can use other Tribe;s Masks so effectively
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Can a tribal change Totems? Absolutley not! When your a Jet, You're a Jet till the end as the song goes. Well I guess in this case you'd Be shark but whatever. No if you're a Cat you can't just up and decide to become a jackal. One's Totem is a matter of bloodline every bit as it is spirtually indentity.
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Now, can a Cat turn against her own? Absolutely. Any animal can go rabid, which btw is not the same as going feral. And a rabid beast, the aforementioned cat could in theory cast her lot in with another sect, the aforementioned jackal even to the point of becoming an honorary jackal. But she will never ever ever be a jackal.
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Of course who's going to trust a Cujo in the first place as what to stop her from turning on her adopted sect like she turned on her own? When a tribal goes rabid it is the duty of every other tribal in her sect or temple to put the Cujo down and for good.
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I can see what you're getting at, but I always thought that the importance of the Masks brought with them the symbolism of becoming. Putting on a mask is the physical acceptance of being of a Tribe. Like I said before, switching Tribes should be an intensely personal act and very rare, but IMO it should be possible.
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To use your gangster analogy, being a Jet all the way means sticking with your Tribe, but you can always jump Shark. Choice should always be critical in being of one Tribe.
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Look at it this way, if in the real world you were to go on a spirit quest to find your animal guide, you don't get to pick and choose what totem comes calling. The totem chooses you not the other way around. In the setting ones totem is not only the founder of the sect but could also and is often times the apical ancestor and founder of your family bloodline.
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Or to put it another way. A boggan can't become a Sidhe. A Tremere cant become a Ventrue. A Solar can't become a Sidereal. A cat can't become a dog.
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Bagheera and Ballou were not Wolves nor were they members of pack even though Ballous held and honoured within the pack. Ballou taught the cubs the Law of the Jungle, but he was not not did he consider himself to be a wolf.
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As far as the Mask goes I see it as a relic. It is a physical manifestation of a spirtual reality. It is the outward representation of your inward nature. It just so happens to also be a powerful magic device which allows you to tap into and invoke your totem's power.
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Otherwise the only thing that defines you as cat, dog, lion, rat or unicorn is whatever mask you decide to put on that day.
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Point taken. In game terms, then, this would define your Origin. We'd need another splat, then, something that the Tribesman can choose. In other words, while a Sidereal is and always will be a Sidereal, they can choose to be of the Golden or Bronze Faction.
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They can be specific to each tribe, but Paths are still needed.
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Off the top of my head, these could be the Paths for the Tribe of the Fox. They're inspired by Renard the Fox's four children and the meaning of their names:
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Quote:
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The Sons of Malperduys
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Reynardine: The heart-thieves. The seducers extraordinaire of the Fox Tribe.
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Rossel: The red ones. The keepers of Fox's Rites and Tricks.
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Percehaie: The hedge-piercers. Opportunists and survivalists.
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Malebranche: The evil claws. Fox's smiling killers.
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The choosable splat would be different aspects of the animal?
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    Exactly. Though we could go with general splats, I think every Totem has its own identifiable qualities, which most don't overlap. Yes, Lions,
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    Cats, Dogs and Foxes are hunters, but what they stand for varies too much. That's why I suggest something like 4 Aspects (Cardinal Aspects?)
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    defining the 4 most basic archetypes
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For a brief example, a Cat may wear the mask of the Hunter, or the mask of the Seer, but first and formost they are Cats.
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Or if you want to make it less animal specific, maybe planetary aspects?
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Oh, nobody takes the mice seriously... but they don't seem so harmless when you run into a swarm and realise that they're all wearing masks of Mars.
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A totem warrior can change their aspect through ritual. In the case of Planetary Aspects rather than Animal Aspects, the ritual to disconnect yourself from the Aspect can only be done when the planet is setting, and to reconnect to a new aspect when that Aspect's ruler is rising. (Yes, this means whe you can change Planetary aspects is very tied to where you are and the time of the year)
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I can dig this, but I would possibly change Planetary to Seasonal (or Monthly) Aspects; that feels slightly more Celtic (as it were), whereas the astronomical names feel more Roman (so were probably used by the Eagle Kings). Just my opinion though

Revision as of 12:29, 17 June 2010

To take another's mask is the ultimate sign of defeat, a fate worse than death in fact, for with the Mask goes the power the totem spirit provides. Also to lose one's mask is to lose one's place within the Tribe, for if your enemy has seen your true face then your entire tribe is put in danger.


now im just seeing the Ram masks... their leader with golden fleece. and i know someone has a set of minotaur masks out there somewhere.... also, those kitties need boots.

Nono, masks only. Faster that way, to hide one's identity. Remember, once you've been unmasked you are a pariah, a danger to your tribe and all you care about. Masks are good.


So question, how do humans react when they see a bunch of people wearing animal masks weilding weapons in public? Do they see someone wearing a mask? Do they see the animal the mask represents or do they not see the mask at all?

And most importantly what powers does ones mask afford the wearer?

In the city, no one notices cats, dogs or rats. It all fades into the background.

No one notices, except for the occasional animal lover who sees what they expect to see.


When wearing your Mask, you're in the game, and players don't get knocked out like regular folk. You're important, you're somebody (Unless you're a mouse, worse luck) you matter. That's what the Totems and the Masks do. They make you significant. That's why Buck House uses the Masks to shore up Royal power, it's the last gasp of a dying symbol, when the Monarchy has lost relevence, all it has is the secrets it has aquired over the centuries, and the need to be recognized means that they will use this power- regardless of the consequences.


I like the idea that reincarnation exists, but only through the masks. You may be Johnny Nobody in real life, but put on the mask and you become something more. You're still Johnny Nobody at the core, but now you also share the soul and power of something that transcends the ages. And if poor Johnny takes a bullet, he's gone for good, but the next person to put on the mask gets the power that Johnny accumulated plus all those of the previous wearers all the way back to Egypt, Babylonia, Asgard or wherever.

This brings up a question: can new masks be made? A new mask might be weak but being new, the first wearer(s) get to set its rules and future path.

Old mask=powerful, but with restrictions set by its history and tradition. New mask=weak, but the wearer is free to guide its initial path of power and free to set its ground rules.


I am of two minds in regards to mask making. I've given quite a bit of thought to the concept. Really I've been spending way too much time to this whole thing the last few days to be honest.

Mask making back in the ancient time was a right of passage for a young tribal entering into the game for the first time. The skill was passed down from father to son and mother to daughter. A man's mask was his own and his only. The heros of old were often buried with their masks and a mask was never passed down as an inheritance.

Over time this changed, and just as once spritual knowledge and magic was held by all within the sect, in time it became concentrated in the hands of a select few. The mask maker became a fiqure of extreme importance within the tribe, he was the seerer, the medicine man, she was the oracle and high preistess who would guide the young ones on their first spirit walk, the journey which gave the mask it's pattern, shape and form.

In today's society the mask maker is just as revered if not as purely sacred as in the days of old. They are artistians as well as oracles, sculptures as well as seers. They may work in a variety of mediums, ceramic, leather, rubber, laxtex, faux fur or papier mâché and in wide range of artistic expressions, from the elegant, to the grotesque, and to even the cartoonishly comic, but the result is the same: a holy relic, an empty vessel waiting to be endowed by a totem's power.

The result is that different sects tend to perfer differnt stylistic approaches. The cats by and large prefering richly elegant and refine Venetian masks or masks with an Egyptian feel, some dogs packs tend towards masks resembling those found in certain parts of Africa. While some rabbits and mice wear masks that harken back to popular cartoon characters etc etc.

But the truth of the matter is this, despite the mask makers efforts to hide it, anyone can make a mask and a mask can be made of anything. Don't belive me? Think back to the days of your earliest childhood, and think of the first totem mask you ever wore. I'll bet ya a pint it was made of craft paper, crayon and pipecleaners and if you happen to be a cat, a little bit of glitter.


So, if I understand you, anyone from the right background can make a mask to tap into the totem and there are no particular requirements other than the background and knowledge/belief(?)? Maybe more ornate/older/special masks grant social bonuses within a tribe or between tribes. As the characters become more powerful they can make their masks more ornate etc.


Yes and no. In a white wolf setting it would be an intel/occult roll. It's a skill set something you have to learn, study and master over the course of years. A first grader's paper plate mask may allow them to commune with their totem for the first time, but it's a crude flimsy thing at best. So while all tribals have the innate ability to forge their masks only a select few are masters of mask lore.

The downside here and what I don't like about it is that themetically it means that obtaining ones mask could be seen or played as the tribe-verse equivilant of going down to Ollivander's wand shop and it should be a bit more deep than that.

I see masks as being extremely personal and tied very strongly and spirtually to the indivual tribal. So while forging the mask is the art of the sect's mask maker, the form that mask takes is determined by high ritual and a tribal's own spirit quest.


We could have both. There are the personal masks, or Personae (taking into account that "persona" means "mask") and the legacy masks, or Legare ("to bind, tie or unite"). They could be two different templates for the Tribesmen.

The Personae are, pun intended, more personal in the sense that the Self is accentuated (or even exaggerated) by the mask. The Legare brings with it the power of the Tribe's lineage, but also the burden of being Bound.


In other words, one can choose to leave one Tribe and join another just like you could switch alliances? Naturally, this switch is a more spiritual and personal level than just switching from Labour to Liberal Democrat or Conservative. It's renouncing your heritage and philosophy to the very core of your Self.

In game terms, it's changing Order or Affiliation or whatever other stat that shows who you stand with.

That's how Lambs turn into Lions and Hawks become Doves.


Of course, many of the Tribes would deny that you can leave and join another; it's in your blood that you're a Cat, or a Dog, or whatever, and most believe it. This is why the Moles are so dangerous, how they can use other Tribe;s Masks so effectively


Can a tribal change Totems? Absolutley not! When your a Jet, You're a Jet till the end as the song goes. Well I guess in this case you'd Be shark but whatever. No if you're a Cat you can't just up and decide to become a jackal. One's Totem is a matter of bloodline every bit as it is spirtually indentity.

Now, can a Cat turn against her own? Absolutely. Any animal can go rabid, which btw is not the same as going feral. And a rabid beast, the aforementioned cat could in theory cast her lot in with another sect, the aforementioned jackal even to the point of becoming an honorary jackal. But she will never ever ever be a jackal.

Of course who's going to trust a Cujo in the first place as what to stop her from turning on her adopted sect like she turned on her own? When a tribal goes rabid it is the duty of every other tribal in her sect or temple to put the Cujo down and for good.


I can see what you're getting at, but I always thought that the importance of the Masks brought with them the symbolism of becoming. Putting on a mask is the physical acceptance of being of a Tribe. Like I said before, switching Tribes should be an intensely personal act and very rare, but IMO it should be possible.

To use your gangster analogy, being a Jet all the way means sticking with your Tribe, but you can always jump Shark. Choice should always be critical in being of one Tribe.


Look at it this way, if in the real world you were to go on a spirit quest to find your animal guide, you don't get to pick and choose what totem comes calling. The totem chooses you not the other way around. In the setting ones totem is not only the founder of the sect but could also and is often times the apical ancestor and founder of your family bloodline.

Or to put it another way. A boggan can't become a Sidhe. A Tremere cant become a Ventrue. A Solar can't become a Sidereal. A cat can't become a dog.

Bagheera and Ballou were not Wolves nor were they members of pack even though Ballous held and honoured within the pack. Ballou taught the cubs the Law of the Jungle, but he was not not did he consider himself to be a wolf.

As far as the Mask goes I see it as a relic. It is a physical manifestation of a spirtual reality. It is the outward representation of your inward nature. It just so happens to also be a powerful magic device which allows you to tap into and invoke your totem's power.

Otherwise the only thing that defines you as cat, dog, lion, rat or unicorn is whatever mask you decide to put on that day.


Point taken. In game terms, then, this would define your Origin. We'd need another splat, then, something that the Tribesman can choose. In other words, while a Sidereal is and always will be a Sidereal, they can choose to be of the Golden or Bronze Faction.

They can be specific to each tribe, but Paths are still needed.

Off the top of my head, these could be the Paths for the Tribe of the Fox. They're inspired by Renard the Fox's four children and the meaning of their names:

Quote: The Sons of Malperduys Reynardine: The heart-thieves. The seducers extraordinaire of the Fox Tribe. Rossel: The red ones. The keepers of Fox's Rites and Tricks. Percehaie: The hedge-piercers. Opportunists and survivalists. Malebranche: The evil claws. Fox's smiling killers.


The choosable splat would be different aspects of the animal?

    Exactly. Though we could go with general splats, I think every Totem has its own identifiable qualities, which most don't overlap. Yes, Lions, 
    Cats, Dogs and Foxes are hunters, but what they stand for varies too much. That's why I suggest something like 4 Aspects (Cardinal Aspects?) 
    defining the 4 most basic archetypes

For a brief example, a Cat may wear the mask of the Hunter, or the mask of the Seer, but first and formost they are Cats.

Or if you want to make it less animal specific, maybe planetary aspects?

Oh, nobody takes the mice seriously... but they don't seem so harmless when you run into a swarm and realise that they're all wearing masks of Mars.

A totem warrior can change their aspect through ritual. In the case of Planetary Aspects rather than Animal Aspects, the ritual to disconnect yourself from the Aspect can only be done when the planet is setting, and to reconnect to a new aspect when that Aspect's ruler is rising. (Yes, this means whe you can change Planetary aspects is very tied to where you are and the time of the year)


I can dig this, but I would possibly change Planetary to Seasonal (or Monthly) Aspects; that feels slightly more Celtic (as it were), whereas the astronomical names feel more Roman (so were probably used by the Eagle Kings). Just my opinion though