General Purpose Thread for Setting Discussion

My, rpol is quite green today!

So what does everyone think they are going to do with spheres?

I save my spheres for last, basing them on my concept, etc.

I'm kind of in the waiting on the big concept so I can come in with my personal concept which will then lead to spheres and such mode.

not really a group of chatterboxes here are we?  lol

no we don't. speaking of, now that we have a better idea of who is gonna be in the game and such, how often do people think they can post? i am hoping for like 2 or 3 times a week. more is welcome, but 2 is my goal.

2-3 times a week is doable for me, maybe a bit more frequently.

I can post 5 pretty easily. Weekdays, not weekend.

Just an FYI, i'm out of town this Fri-Sun...so my availability during that time will be low.

I can usually post multiple times a day and if need be I will log on during the weekend but I don't usually get on Friday or Saturday.

I can post once a day, sometimes more.

If my current character meets the muster I'll be playing an Order of Hermes sorcerer, no spheres, Alchemy will be my main focus.

If the cast is really this big we can always split into a faster group and slower.

Do sorcerers count as sleepers?  I really have no idea what they are or do.

I thought they didn't, especially if they're raised within a tradition. I mean, can't see chantries keeping a bunch of sleepers around.

Sorcerers for the purpose of this game are not Sleepers unless you have Merits/Flaws that say otherwise. Spvnky, I will provide you with more info on them later.

I've been reading the book a bit and some wikis.  Seems like they can do magic stuff but more like a D&D mage or wizard?

As I understand it, sorcerers are "sleepwalkers", they are unawakened, but don't count as paradox inducing, this is the same as all the other supernaturals excerpt hunters, who could count as sleepers.

Most of it is ritual, takes time. Some is quick. They can create items anyone can use, though. With the right paths. Some of the psychic stuff is cool, too.

All of the above is essentially correct. They also have very limited magic. One way the authors and fans have usually put it is: Mage Spheres rewrite reality wholesale while Sorcerers/Hedge Magicians/Psychic Paths work with the bounds of acceptable reality. This is maybe not the best analogy, but it is largely true.

Sorcerer Paths are pretty static in what they can do, but can be enhanced with rituals. I do explicitly allow rituals that allow you to mix Paths in specific, narrow ways (you have to have dots in both Paths for this).


Another way to illustrate the difference between them is an fluff example of both a Mage and a Sorcerer casting and preparing a fireball.

1) the Mage utilizes his paradigm and creates/copies a ritual (usually via Forces 3/Prime 2) and hangs the spell on himself for later use. Later on that day he is ready to toast some HIT marks and flings his fireball....

2) the Sorcerer utilizes his paradigm and creates/copies a ritual (usually via a variant of Hellfire Path) and hangs the spell on himself for later use. Later on that day he is ready to toast some HIT marks and flings his fireball....


Let's assume both were wild successes. They roast some HIT marks pretty good. The Sorcerer is then having to worry about his next action. Hope he has a new spell ready, cause Sorcerer fast casting can be very hard. However, the Mage has a bevy of options for the next round, but now has to worry about a dash of Paradox from doing vulgar magic.

How's everyone? It got so quiet.

Well, I stopped trying to initiate conversation because no one really seemed interested.

I'm here and ready to play!

Thank you all for your patience. As you can see in the game voting thread, I have been unexpectedly busy with work and have had less time to devote to thinking about the game structure than I had planned.

Anyway, it looks like you three are the main ones at this point. Online games are notorious for losing players (and GMs). I will not vanish on you. I might post late at times, as work has been getting weird from lazy coworkers to be frank, but I really want this game to take off. Thank you for staying onboard this long, this is part of why I accepted so many players.

I want you guys to go ahead and start making characters for those who have not yet. My plan is to have them all ready by the end of this coming week so we can start playing the following week proper. I am aware life might get in the way, as it has for me. So if you need more time, it can be granted to a point and maybe have you join the game slightly later, but please, PLEASE communicate this to me.

ASK QUESTIONS! I know the 80's outside the US is not the most known area for everybody in this group.  I am planning on having some of the initial reason the group is together to be related to an increase in Technocratic pressure, especially of the NWO and Syndicate variety.

I'm still here.

I am also still here.

Is there anyway to make a node moveable?  Like a traveling node or something like that?

Can the node be in a pocket dimension type space?

technically yes. i forget where, but there is an item that has one in it, that can be mailed around. i will have to dig it up. revised book i think.

So, where are people's heads about spheres. My character is likely to have spirit 4, matter 3, as least prime 3. Not sure what else.

Life 4, prime 3, mind 3, correspondence 3 for me

I was thinking correspondence as well for umbral travel and the like. But that's a pot of overlap

I am pretty sure umbral travel is all spirit?

What Umbral travel is and how to get there is all based on your mages paradigm.

Gotcha, so I may go with some entropy or time. Both could fit in different ways.

But whatever your paradigm it is the spirit sphere that governs it.  Even the technocracy uses the Spirit sphere to umbral travel, even though they consider it space travel.

Hermetics (and possibly others) can use Mind to astral project through the gauntlet.

There may be other ways as well, as a non sphere caster my character can get there through other means.

I was under the impression only mages and fera could travel the umbra. And isn't the astral projection into the the penumbra only?

Tremere can do it with the Thaumaturgical path of the spirit I believe.  Since sorcerers use the equivalent of rotes I imagine that there method is attached to the spirit sphere too.  might even be able to do it with the necromancy discipline?

With some freebies added in, I'm looking at:

Time: 4
Entropy: 3
Life: 3
Mind 3
Correspondence 2

It's thematic for the character.

Looks like I'm ending up with

Prime 4
Spirit 4
Time 3
Matter 3

I think it works with the current concept which I'm posting and would be happy to take changes.

Looks like we are only missing forces at this point then.  :)

First on the subject of mobile nodes: the only canon version i am aware of is the Folding Gate of Armaghast on pages 52-53 of Forged by Dragon's Fire book, revised edition. this is a 10 point wonder.

Second, Umbral travel is mostly spirit magic yes, but not exclusively. Mind 4 allows travel into the Astral Umbra. In fact it almost requires Mind magic to reach the higher states of the Astral Umbra, however rare exceptions exist. This method is basically astral projection unless you use other spheres to project your body there.
To travel to the Dark Umbra/Shadowlands of Wraith you need Entropy 4/Spirit 3/Life 2 for yourself to enter bodily, Entropy 5/Spirit 4/Life 3 for others.
There are rotes that don't involve spirit magic to enter the Digital Web, but these usually require normal or magical computers/VR tech and all involve correspondence magic.
Now it IS possible to get from one area of the umbra to another (either from one umbra layer to the next or to an entirely different umbra). These can involve literal travel through the umbra or using correspondence magic to get there. The most universal of these paths is the realm of the Axis Mundi. However other ways exist, such as through dream realms which can touch all three layers. Other portals always exist, but that is often a matter of finding them and knowing some cosmology is VERY useful for that if you are so inclined.
Anything beyond the Horizon is not yet attainable by the group unless they have items/allies/patrons with the ability to transport and/or survive out there. A full ethership as is being discussed in another thread is one such possibility.
The above is NOT an exhaustive list of what is possible, canon or otherwise.

Having said all of the above, I am friendly to making umbral travel more accessible, and I like to award player sphere creativity. there is ALWAYS another way to travel, just a matter if you have the right mindset and spheres at your disposal. One thing about how spirit travel works is that it is very easy for one member of the party being able to travel to a part of some umbral layer that nobody else can. So ideas that get around this problem I am supportive of, long as some logic is there. and logic to mages is inherently subjective, remember that.


third: non mages entering/traveling the umbra. yes this is possible, but it varies a lot. for vampires, there are various methods. necromancy has more than one way to enter the shadowlands (depending on edition and game era). High level Auspex and maybe a few other odd disciplines allow limited forms of astral projection. going into the middle umbra/spirit wilds aka where the fera mostly go is much harder for vamps but not strictly impossible. mostly only wyrm spirits would like them, even then not always.
Kuei-jin can most certainly enter the various umbra with multiple methods and do so with some regularity. in fact interacting with spirits is part of what they do.
Sorcerers can enter the umbra on their own, but it is rare and powerful abilities that allow it. the main way canon wise is oneiromancy 6, allowing physical entry to the dream realm, and thus if careful to other parts of the umbra. I would allow lower dot methods of entering the various umbra physically, but they would be high level rituals involving dots in multiple paths. powerful enchantment or alchemy could work, but i would require at least 5 dots for anything remotely permanent, with probably drawbacks or limitations. for more temporary use of umbral travel, lower dots are just fine.

fourth, for sphere crossovers, well sometimes having the same sphere is a great boon. it allows for helping in ritual castings, the more similar the paradigm the better, at least for the effect involved. and lots of prime magic is never a bad thing. every mage needs a bit of prime past a certain point of what they can do. it is the great enabler of magic.

So that would be the equivalent of a 4-dot wonder?

I find the WOD cosmology to be kind of a mess myself.

Another way to travel is through Portals, which can be created by Correspondence alone.

4 dot wonder? you mean the item i mentioned?

yes portals are fine. though portals from the real world to spirit and back still require some spirit.

and yes the WoD cosmology as a whole is rather convoluted. i will be keeping some of its structure, but only so tightly. the various umbra books i am using as guidelines, not strict reality. and they vary alot between 2nd and revised. if it helps i am somewhat preferring how things look in 2nd. i intend to make traveling the spirit wilds a bit friendlier. i don't want you guys having to worry about random werewolves showing up to eat you (unless you have pissed them off directly).

Yeah, the portable node thing.  4 dots is up to 10 points.  Honestly the wonders have always been just confusing as hell to me...lol.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:50, Tue 02 Apr 2019.

Anyone watch American Gods?  It's kind of like the war between the traditions and the technocracy, lol.

yes i think it should be a 4 dot wonder. and wonder stuff can be confusing. it is convoluted, which is why i also allow you to just use the basic wonders around in the basic book. however the other convoluted stuff in book of secrets (or forged by dragon's fire for revised) really broadens what can be done, and i consider it worth the effort if you care about that sort of thing. but then i love that stuff.


and i watched the first season of American Gods. it was quite entertaining and yes has a lot of parallels with the trad/tech war.

I watched part of the first season and wasn't sold on it. Does it get better after a few episodes? I think the oy one I really liked was the Anansi intro one. That said, I would always be hoping Media wins.

So, we can pool node and a point in wonder each? Or just pool the node and lower it by 4. I think I had node 3 in my current character sheet version. I'm getting close to finished.

i would allow a custom portable node inside an item idea, and thus effectively spending some of the "wonder" points representing a node proper. ie say you have a 12 point wonder, but you want to add a 3 point node to it, i would just simply say this is a 15 point wonder, with the understanding that 3 points of it represent a node that relies on the item to access in whatever way the item is designed....

HOWEVER this is super rare stuff, or everybody would be doing it. this is the kind of thing that is really cools but many wise GMs would want to keep a limit on or it could get out of hand in my opinion (unless of course that was the point). so i would allow exactly one example of a portable node item in this game, minimum correspondence 3 effect is required to access it on a purely personal level (4 to go inside the item proper with other people and/or allow them access to it while you are the attuned user). the only exception to this i would allow would be multiple items that are tied together and share a common creator and story/history.

i think this answers your question.

Nodes are such a pain in the butt.  Want the quintessence?  better not be too big, otherwise every mage and garou in the world is gonna be looking for you.

you are not wrong. however small and unknown nodes are indeed available. big and new nodes are pretty rare, but not impossible. if it helps, there is the potential for undiscovered (save maybe by the party?) underwater powerful nodes. not all nodes are really suitable for claiming by most Fera, in this case Rokea aka weresharks. at least this is the view i take and enforce. if you want a big private node, you can have it, but we will need to work on why it is unknown. imagine having some arcane background like effect tied to the node, ancient magic or something else weird hiding it from general view.

Nodes can spring from all sorts of things and events and can theoretically be created indirectly by people manipulating events that MIGHT spawn a node and strengthening it over time.

this also part of why the traditions have stayed together so long, internally and with each other. claiming and holding onto nodes of any worth requires secrecy and/or power. not too mention nodes are the primary way of making and maintaining horizon realms, which are mage prime real estate.

and sometimes small nodes can go unclaimed for a number of reasons. maybe a truce to share among certain groups (at least potential for such amongst mythical mages and say fae or something), or just not worth the effort even if it is known. some nodes are in inconvenient locations.

and when it comes to finding nodes, it is not like most mages have their prime sense turned on 24/7, and it usually on a short range unless they continuously probe a given area, in particular for technocracy agents who might get noticed using weird gadgets all the time canvasing an area for a small or new node.

having said all this, yes having a node as a shared/pooled background for a bigger one is a very smart idea.

i am friendly to the idea of tying a node to other backgrounds, pooled or solo. tying them to a chantry of a larger group of mages might make it technically yours (you might even be the senior mage there given the starting power level).

OMG, this game is driving me insane, I swear I log on every half hour to see if anyone is posting!  LOL

it is fine, i am glad you are very excited but don't wear yourself thin. i will sometimes go a day or 2 without posting. expect that. don't go crazy friend :).

I got my character sheet mostly done and is in to the GM.

I'm wondering, though, if we might open it up to some pre-game RP. I kind of find lounging around talking time, or maybe doing some day to day stuff can help to both finalize any last touches for a character and prime us for getting into character once we actually start.

Honestly, my biggest concern so far in this game is that none of the players seem even vaguely interested in chatting, lol.  Not sure that a rp thread would help that but I'm down....:)

I did for a bit but I kind of got the same feeling which is strange.

And my character is not half Japanese/half American Jewish living in the Tel Aviv art scene with a good reputation and a decent amount of fame as an artist. Her new interest is clothing design but she still paints quite a bit along with the occasional sculpture. A lot of her magic is fully art based. So, anyone with more eclectic interests or connections could definitely know her.

She is also noticeable. Quite. Uncanny 3 along with the fame 3 and status 3. High charisma, quite attractive in that interesting compelling way not the girl next door sort of way. I'm going to figure out the uncanny specifics, though. She has the bardic gift, spirit magnet 5 (so anyone with spirit 1 should be able to see that).

So Freddie is completely androgenous, they have changed gender and species so often that they don't even remember what their original gender was.  Freddie is based around a belief in transhumanism and the "true" ubermensch philosophy (meaning that every human has the ability to excel past the limits placed on them by humanity itself).

I have found it difficult to write in a gender neutral fashion so Freddie will probably refer to themselves in the third person often.

Megumi will want to learn life magic but she has none now. It's spirit 4, prime 2, time 3, matter 3, mind 2. Although, I'd imagine there are a few healing talens on her body just in case. She has no combat ability, but if it really came down to it there's that fun spirit 4 summoning spirits to wreck a body thing.

Megumi?  Where is that name from?

It's Japanese. Megumi Rubinek.

I'm up for chatting, it's just that everyone has been so quiet...

My biggest concern with this game (and other Mage games) is the nature of the magic system itself. I find the mechanics of the system off-putting and prone to min/maxing by players who are very well versed in using the system. I am not that facile with the system, and will rely on ooc discussions to help figure out the mechanics of making specific effects happen. I understand the basics, but I am by no means an expert. Hopefully, as with other Mage games I have played in, this will not be an issue.

I just asked because I have a friend in WOW whose character name is Megumi, lol.

Dr.  I have to admit that mage is my favorite oWoD game...:) Have you looked at the book "how do they do that"?  It's a really good resource.  Though I will say one of my favorite aspects of mage is that you can't really min/max it.  Unlike the other genres in oWoD you cannot escape or ignore paradox, you mess up you pay, period.  I think that it really encourages creativity more than any other game.

Yeah, I have read the 'how do they do that'..it's just that when it comes to a specific effect I may need some ooc help to make sure I have all the mechanics lined up properly.

The limiting factor is usually one's belief system in how everything works. Though, mages by 3-4 dots can do some seriously impressive things, especially if they're in their sanctum or, better yet, in an umbral realm. I'm not sure how min-maxing really happens terribly much in a system that is super open. I've always found more min-maxing in more concrete games like DnD 3rd edition or Shadowrun.

Megumi's also the name of one of my favorite voice actresses who was in basically everything in the 90s including Faye in Cowboy Beebop.

The biggest limiter for mages is arete.  5 is generally the level I like to be at.  I'm not certain about m20 but in previous editions you really had no chance to make anything permanent wothout having a 5 arete (and I prefer to be able to pick up the 5th sphere dot).  Other than that the only limitation is your imagination.

I would consider 5 to be quite high. I mean, that's a lot of xp. And there's plenty at 4 that can made permanent with prime.

The challenge comes in things like 'Given my paradigm, I want to use Sphere X in this way to have this effect', and then be told 'Oh to do that, you really need Sphere Y as well or else you can't do that thing'.

I've gone thought Mage 20 and I *think* I have a good understanding of what my sphere levels ans combinations allow me to do and not do, but inevitably I'll have made a mistake and find my character useless as accomplishing the type of magic that I thought he should be able to do.

That's why I prefer low Arete games - less stuff like that to worry about when you can only do simple stuff.

I think one of the most powerful spheres is Entropy 2 (control probability).  I had a chaos mage (hollow one) that used that as his main magic ability for quite awhile.  Combat, x enemy trips and hits their head on a rock.  Need money, oh look I found a bank envelope with $1000 in it. Being chased by someone, they turn left when you turned right.  That baddy just happens to have a favorite sister/brother that looks like you.  Truly an amazing ability.

You can literally do anything with any sphere if you have a good enough imagination though (or even working knowledge). Technically invisibility, for example, is a forces effect but I could do it with life (perfect camo skin), spirit (summon a spirit to hide me), entropy (they just don't notice me), correspondence (I'm not actually there), matter (I'm actually that rock), mind (I'm not the Droid you're looking for), or time (I hopped ten minutes into the future after whoever was looking for me left).  Interestingly prime is the most difficult to work with yet probably one of the most necessary spheres.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:26, Mon 08 Apr 2019.

The real key is preparation. if you have some things prepared just in case you're able to get away or get through or whatever.

I do think arete 2 or so can be terribly frustrating, though. I mean, it's just impossible to do almost anything at that point. But, I've played in those and in crazy games where I had a 4th generation vampire from the second city and the mages and fera were equally bad-ass.

The easiest to address first: i am very open to creating some sort of Pre Game Forum or something for some early RP stuff. This can help integrate players if they wish. doesn't even necessarily have to be canon in case you discover something about your character through RP that you feel needs to addressed. Canon or not, this is along the same idea as a prelude, so why not?

Relating to this, yes some of the players here are not that responsive, and honestly this is why I accepted so many players really. I knew some were likely to vanish. We have 3 commonly posting (Random/Megumi, PCO/Frankie, Dr/Hank), 1 who posts some (Hanklowe/Sorcerer character), and one who says they are working on a character idea (Gabrielle). I have not heard from Gabrielle since Thursday my time (EST). All other players and waiting list i have heard from in some time, or in the case of kingjawa hardly at all.

I will not be surprised if some of the later drop the game or I just put them on the backburner/waitinglist. I will post to them in a day or two to let them know to talk to me soon or I will remove them as active players. Also, as real life always happens, if any of you guys need to take time away from the game, I can always put you on a temporary leave kinda thing, since some of you here seem pretty invested in this game. However if your time gone is too long I will put you on a waiting list if i find some more active people. Hopefully it will not come to this but life happens.





So for magic and spheres, well the How Do You Do That? book is both very helpful and a big mess. It has many redunancies, some things I think are just plain wrong (which is why i declared the base book to rule over the THIS book if they conflict) and is very messy. It needs some serious editorial work (then again White Wolf has a long history of badly edited books). I love and hate the book honestly. I am going to go through the book again soon to comment on any optional rules in there you should be made aware of (sorry I meant to do this days ago but life has been busy lately, will explain in the appropriate thread). I will comment more on optional sphere stuff in the appropriate thread when I do so.

also, yes Entropy 2 control probability needs some commentary: it can do crazy amounts of stuff, however its main strict limitation is that it needs to have a basic situation to manipulate. it cannot create things from nothing. I understand that how GMs/STs interpret this can vary a lot. For example: i would be iffy on the example "oh look I found a bank envelope with $1000 in it." unless the possibility of money already being in said envelope already existed that didn't require it to just fully manifest there. Now this could work in the right circumstances, like some kind of money contest or something of that nature. The money has to preexist to some degree. Now I consider this far easier to do with electronic money because you are not creating the money in the same sense, but manipulating electronic data, again this has some limitations. Basically, you have to have a situation or potential situation to be able to manipulate. Now it is of course possible to use other spheres to create something that you can then manipulate via Entropy 2.

on a related note: yes prime can be a very esoteric sphere, but also very very useful.
also in some previous editions i think the writers got lazy or didn't think when writing some examples or what spheres are required to do them. like one in Sorcerer's Crusade said just spirit 2 was enough to summon a mist via Call spirit effect. first off, yes spirit 2 could call a spirit, but 1) the spirit desired might not be around, 2) the spirit has to be convinced to do the act and 3) do you even know enough to know if said spirit can even do the thing you want it to do?

Non binding canonically would be good. And, since we know each other somewhat, perhaps an evening on the town?

I think that is a great idea. I will post something to that affect tomorrow I think after work. Working on the Sphere houserules right now.

I have most of the sphere stuff up that i wanted to houserule. Tomorrow I might try to make crafting magical items more friendly and easy. Heavily considering making them cost less Quintessence to make. Enough to entice players to try making them, but still to make it a feat worthy of a story (unless a talen or charm ie one shot items).

I am slowly going over the Magical crafting rules in both core m20 and book of secrets and tomorrow will post any alterations.

Man, I feel like I should take sphere inept for spirit, lol.

Also, can you switch my name over please?
This message was last edited by the player at 03:06, Wed 10 Apr 2019.

character name changed. also sphere inept is always available.

Feel free to switch my character name as well.

Mine, too.

I'm thinking I may switch matter for some entropy. Maybe 3 dots mind 2 entropy or the other way around. Thinking about it she has nothing that is really tangible in her magic except matter and it makes a lot more sense to keep everything more...I'm not sure the word to use. Maybe ephemeral.

That was my thinking for my character, in that he’s not skilled with external things like forces and matter. Life made sense for him as he started with himself and slowly learned how to effect life outside him.

I could see life eventually, and maybe other things as they expand. It seems mind 3 could be interesting with art literally influencing people.

I am trying to wrap my head around higher spheres of entropy. Like 3-4. Can someone help so I can decide where the 2 and where the 3 will go?

Well, with level 3 entropy you can start giving bad guys minuses to their roles (bad luck) or good guys bonuses to their roles (good luck).  Both of those are REALLY powerful if you have time to make a ritual out of it, nothing is more awesome than having +5 successes to every roll....lol.
It will also let you disintegrate objects by causing them to decay quickly

Entorpy 4 is when entropy will start doing actual physical (aggravated) damage to living beings (not vampires though) and of course you can do the opposite too, putting someone into the prime of life....:)

Thanks. I think mind may fit more for 3, then. Art that really can make people think.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:24, Thu 11 Apr 2019.

It's the 80's...do we have cell phones? ;-)

Some people do. They're likely big bricks. I'd imagine Megumi might since she's pretty rich.

I figured Freddie just called your house phone if you do not have a cell.

I got my first cell when I was 16, so 1995. It wasn't much nicer than that. And I still had a pager. Now, I miss



Dropped one from the roof of a 4 story building...it didn't even drop the call.

1) 80's and cellphones and mage: yes Sleepers have some primitive cell phones, like the blocks mentioned. but anybody with a technocratic background or has a good friend in the Virtual Adepts or Society of Ether can have.....better cell phones. if it is from the Sons of Ether, expect it to have "non standard" functions...

2) about entropy 2 and 3: keep in mind too many perfect/mind blowing bits of luck in a row, especially during a single combat or scene gets unbelievable after a certain point.

3) Art for mind effects is VERY appropriate.

also i like the ways you guys are approaching sphere selection via knowing your characters. your GM/ST highly approves.

also all names should be changed now. if one is not and i have not noticed. please notify me so i can fix it.

I'm going with mind 3, entropy 2. More for happenstance effects than anything to represent her strange life.

Honestly, I used a cell phone because I figured sending a message with mind would be vulgar without witnesses and I didn't want to start down that path already....lol.

I get the feeling we're erring a bit on the side of coincidental in this game. Not completely, but still.

Israel launched cellphone service in 1986. In 1987 the only hand held phone available was the DynaTAC, the "brick" phone. It was fairly large. When that MicroTAC in the picture above was launched having one made you the center of attention anytime you pulled it out.

In fact, looking at that MicroTAC, it's a 90's model because it has a LCD display instead of the red LED display.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:37, Thu 11 Apr 2019.

Are we going to share our character sheets/background with each other? I'm just trying to get a sense of what we know about everyone, especially if we are all already acquainted.

Maybe a thread for that?

Sharing your character sheets specifically is entirely up to you as the players, on an individual basis. i know some people like to keep some aspects secret, or not.

for actual backgrounds, well if you want some secrets, you are only required to reveal what is necessary to get along with the other characters and to explain on the surface why you are in tel aviv (lying is allowed, this is a spy flavored game after all). however you of course are free to show around your full backgrounds, as an in character thing and/or OOC.


i might make a thread for that. still working on some modifications to the magic item crafting rules and helping someone with character making.

Hey all!

looks like I'm being tagged in. My concept was a coincidental magic focused, Correspondence, Mind, Matter specialized Orphan who is a street magician,

Can everyone active sound off with your concepts and sphere priorities so that I don't step on anyone's toes?

I'm a sorcerer alchemist who lives on a yacht.

Famous artist, designer, spirit expert who has more than a few hanging around all the time. Unforgettable...as in 3 dots in anti-arcane, and plenty of money that totally goes against all the Bohemian ideals she may profess, but people keep paying too much for her works.

Updated Crafting Items rules are up, sorry for the long wait. was also helping somebody understand how the magic system works for one player who will be late in joining us.

Also, so a book I was expecting to take a long time to get out suddenly dropped yesterday, Gods and Monsters for Mage 20th edition. Anything I have said about creating familiars using the Core book rules or Forged By Dragon's Fire still stands. I have just bought the book today and will peruse it for any information that might be useful to you guys. I will not force you guys to suddenly adapt to a new thing that would superchange your character sheet unless it was necessary (unless you request it individually or together).

Ecstatic Sensualist who thinks he serves Lady Luck’ with a focus on time, life, mind, and entropy

Akashik (now) genderless person who believes in the ability of every human to exceed the "norms". Life 4, mind 3, correspondence 3, prime 3.

BTW Monatan, your character and mine should get along famously.

Mine are prime 2, spirit 4, time 3, mind 3, entropy 2.

I saw someone posting that they were interested in an Ahl-i-Baatin. Did that end up happening? If not, then maybe one would fit.

I don't believe there is one. I think we shifted to more of a Traditions game instead of the disparates. Not that it really matters.

Is there a character sheet for v20 floating around?

No. I edited the one from the character sheet thread in heaven enough for my character but all the skills aren't perfect except the ones I have.

https://mrgone.rocksolidshells...cial_Interactive.pdf

character sheet link above. this is not one i am requiring, just one i am aware of. you are always welcome to retask another edition's sheet long as you properly list different abilities and what not.

yes we have decided upon Traditions. This means the following are allowed: characters who are at least ALIGNED with the Traditions, if still picking. Traditions mages, Orphans who will eventually be adopted by a Tradition, traitors from another group (Crafts/Disparates, Technocrats) who will probably be forcibly adopted sooner or later, and Hollow Ones. I know I originally said it would be traitors and Trads only, but I think this makes some sense, plus a number of characters fall into the traitor or Orphan category.

Problem is getting that into the game. That's why I edited one that's on this site. But, like I said, I didn't fix everything. Only the things I needed to for my character. Still, if you want to use it I'm happy to share my character sheet.

And, in the 80s I believe the Hollow Ones were affiliated with the traditions as they were being courted to join for a while. It's later they tell them where they can stick it.

Yeah sounds fine to me.

And yeah Hollow Ones have sorta hung around the Traditions to varying degrees for decades anyway, so while not a Tradition in the proper sense recognized by the Tradition Council, they are often allowed to hang around to varying degrees.

They won't let us join because they're jelly that we have better clothes and less restrictive paradigms.

Judging by the activity in the Tel Aviv thread, things seem to be dying down as far as pre game activity. I am sorry we are starting off so slowly, but i probably should have anticipated this knowing how rpol games tend to have a sudden surge in activity and lots of silence, sometimes with more surges of activity. I assure I am still here and helping some people along for the game, as some people are taking a bit of extra time to refurbish their characters.
So if people get antsy for the game to start, i can jump start the basic plot in some way that won't fully require every extra character detail done yet.

Crap, sorry I have been kinda busy, lol.

I think we were all waiting on Freddie to move whatever we're doing forward much, so the player being busy would do it.

I got a sufficiently bland and vague post up for others to reply to....lol

Woohoo, mediocrity at it's mehiest. ;)

Can we get a "dossier" thread where we can each just post what the other characters would know about us?  It will help me at least with interacting with the others.



Well, I wasn't sure who would be the first to respond or find Freddie so I wanted to leave it open ended...:)

sure sure that all makes sense to me.

Can you also turn on the character sheets for everyone. If you make them user editable we can can put then under our character details.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:35, Wed 17 Apr 2019.

think i did it correctly. this is why i am glad you made that suggestion. i would have normally assumed that was automatically on.

They are working now.

Clearly I need to summon a bacchanalia spirit in the IC thread.

Ok so with all the delays and website errors, i think we can safely say that the people who are active in the in Tel Aviv thread are the only players we will have out of the current pool. I have not heard anything from the others in some time or nothing substantial.

Frankly i was hoping to have a few more players to keep the rp flowing some.

So Montana, Megumi, August and Freddie, you guys seem to be the only players for now. what do you guys think? ready to go ahead and start play with you guys as the dominant/only players or want me to try and recruit a few more?

Four is a decent number...but I can go either way.

W/e you want GM....:)

I think four is a good number too. And, yes, the site error was interesting. it was a new one for me.

And me?!  I'm there but had nothing recent to say....

I vote for starting with who we currently have.

Well, we are not waiting on me....:)

Apologies all. I've had issues with my computer not charging. I *think* it's where the power supply connects, as there's a lot of play when it's plugged in.

If I'm still welcome, I'll get caught up.

We haven't started proper, yet.

If you can open it up and see if the connectors can be bent in that may work. Depending on the laptop you have.

Hello all again i am sorry for making you guys wait for responses lately from me. that is my fault. i have been very distracted lately.

Ok so a few things:

1) I have made you guys wait long enough for a proper start. Our official start date will be Sunday or Monday of this coming week. I will post our proper introduction at that time. As has been stated before, the night in tel aviv thread can or cannot be canon, as those involved players wish.

2) As has been stated previously about players who are behind on character making or who had issues getting in touch: for players like Satoriasis who are basically built you are welcome to join right on in next week with the rest or you can take some more time to get a feel for what is going on. for players like Gabrielle who have some of their concept but not a proper character yet i want us to get your character more ready before you fully jump in, but in the meantime you are welcome to post side stuff about your character and handle NPC stuff :). But we need to finish that character, neither of us have been in touch with each other.

As always, any questions or concerns for your GM/ST who has been very late in posting, please ask away.

Apologies all,
Lord of Naps

Ok game is almost ready. Will post starting details after work tomorrow evening, late.

No worries here. I'm in the midst of testing hell. Today, and the rest of the week, is one on one with a kid with ODD.