The Gift:The World

The World

Mages have lived among humanity for at least as long as there have been civilizations. Sometimes, they lived openly, but usually, they lived secretly, fearful that the secrets that gave them power could fall into the wrong hands. Single organizations have not dominated over long periods of time. Mages are just too hard to control and too individual in outlook to create very stable political organizations and organizations of mages tend not to last for long. History is littered with secret societies, cabals and covens who snatch glorious power only to lose it again and be destroyed. For instance, while Hermticism has played a tremendous role in European magic in the last thousand years or so, European Hermetics have never been united under a single leader and have regularly gone to war with one another. There are two usual ways for a magical group to die. The first is defeat in mage war. Extermination of one faction by another has simply been a fact of mage history. The second is magical disaster resulting from magical research. The disaster might target all mages of that group directly, or might just bring the group into such disrepute that it dissipates or goes underground. In the modern world, the only thing that mages in general seem to agree on is that the existence of magic must be kept secret from “mortal” society for fear of magical proliferation. The mages have a big advantage in life and they don't intend to lose it.

A lot of mage groups think that they know it the true nature of reality, or at least have a uniquely correct insight into it, but the different traditions cannot agree on what it is. Many mages spend their entire lives in search of the Truth. Spirits exist corresponding to the cosmology of each magical group. Whether these spirits were created by the mages' spells of summoning or existed already is a matter of much disagreement, as is the question of whether these spirits visit in their natural forms or disguise themselves to meet the mage's expectations. There is solid evidence that very powerful beings exist but whether they are gods or not is a matter of perspective. Exactly what the nature of the universe's most powerful beings is is a hotly debated topic among mages. There are known to be a vast number of other planes, possibly an infinite number.

NEW SPAIN

Mages have their own political boundaries, calling their territories “nations”. “New Spain” is a “nation” roughly covering the area of the United States, with the exception of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, which have been ceded to the Aztec Empire which bounds New Spain to the south. Canada has split into two territories, with French-speaking Quebec declaring itself New France while the rest of Canada forms The Canadian Confederation. Travelling outside North America is dangerous and an adventure in itself. A mage without friends and allies is vulnerable. However, it can also be very rewarding. If a mage can, they are liable to make contact with mages in the area they wish to travel to, in the hope that they will be offered hospitality and protection.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF MAGES IN NEW SPAIN

Nobody is certain when Native American and European mages first became aware of each other, but they were trading and fighting long before Columbus “discovered” the Americas. With European colonization came widespread and brutal magewar as factions competed for territory. This was not the clash of two unified armies, but the brawlings of countless independent sects. Native and European groups allied with each other frequently for defense or conquest; the Europeans were not thinking in terms of establishing European control of the Americas and the Native Americans were not thinking in terms of preventing this from happening. All the same, the mortal conquests would not have been possible if the Native American mages had not been busy with magewar. The mage war never ended. It simply blended into all the other mage wars, large and small, that took place in the Americas.

Mages have fought large mage wars whenever mortals have fought large wars, either because they take a side or because a faction is taking advantage of the political instability to make a grab for power. Other major mage wars have occurred right after the revolutionary war, in the 1880s and 1890s, and throughout the 1950s. In 1959, 31 traditions of magi joined together in a non-aggression pact known as the Peace.

THE PEACE

If a house is included in the Peace, then no other tradition in the Peace may declare war on it. Anyone who kills or otherwise grossly wrongs a mage from such an tradition might be considered to have breached the Peace by providing a pretext for mage war. Standing in the way of mage war is the Council's most important duty and mages in general are committed to the Peace being kept. There are many magical groups outside the Peace, but they tend to be smaller and less prominent than the houses within it. Members of houses from the Peace may be found all over New Spain, whereas other magical groups are usually concentrated in a smaller areas for protection. Mage society in general and the Council in particular will not tolerate breaches of the Peace or threats to the secrecy of mage society. On the other hand, if you murder an innocent mortal that may or may not cause problems for you. Technically, it is none of the Council's business, but individual members or houses may be appalled and take action, especially if it is a matter of "policing our own". Some houses care more than others. In particular, the Old Houses have a tradition of being tolerant of abuse of mortals, while the Young Houses are more likely to be bothered by ethical concerns. However, even if the Council does not intervene, that doesn't mean that you got away with it. Your own magical tradition may intervene if they feel shamed by your actions or the neighboring mages may just murder you in disgust. A lot depends on the specific attitudes of your magical tradition and neighbors.

ANTAGONISTS

Within the Peace: The Peace may sound safe, but it has more in common with the Wild West or Renaissance Italy than suburban mortal America. There is law and government, but Mages scheme and plot and sometimes kill each other as they have always done and the arm of the law isn’t always long enough to reach them. The mages around you are potential allies but also potential competitors or enemies and they see you the same way.

The Outlaws: Not all traditions in New Spain are included in the Peace. Some were simply too independent, suspicious or unforgiving to join, or were too cursed, insane or dangerous to be allowed to join. These traditions tend to geographically isolate themselves, clinging together for mutual protection, so different parts of New Spain contain very different Outlaws. These mages either hide from mage society or dig in hard in their enclaves. Magical training is always arduous and Outlaw traditions should contain at least 20 points worth of skills and spells.

The Monsters: This world holds mysteries and horrors that lurk hidden in the shadows and ours is not the only world there is. The nightmares of all belief systems infest New Spain along with stranger things besides. Most supernatural creatures from horror or dark fantasy sources should be appropriate, at least as inspiration. G.M.s looking for hard stats can plunder GURPS Blood Types, GURPS Creatures of the Night, GURPS Faerie, GURPS Spirits, and GURPS Voodoo.