Mage
History
Restricted Merits
- Kinfolk: It's important to understand why you want to be Kinfolk. Mages are traditionally a very gregarious group of people and Dies Irae does not limit interactions with other spheres. Therefore, you could as a normal Mage, hang out with shifters. That said, kinfolk and mages are at a strange crossroads. Kinfolk have many expectations in Garou society; Mages are often seen as dangerous enemies who destroy Caerns and steal Fetishes to drink the magical energy within. Additionally, Mages also often have very strange relationships with spirits and seem to not have much in the way of knowledge about the Triat. This leads to Kinfolk Mages living very precarious lives where they often cannot speak about their Awakened life to their Shifter (and generally speaking, Garou) relatives, or their shifter relationships to their Awakened Cabalmates. You will be expected to understand how your character fits into whatever Shifter group you are kinfolk of and how this dichotomy affects their lives. This can often be the entire struggle of a character and their entire RP focus, so please bear that in mind. Kinfolk Mages will be a dual-sphere character who will need to work with both Shifter staff and Mage staff on their concepts. Please make sure that your character's relationship (or lack thereof if you're a callow/unknowing kinfolk) is indicated in your background.
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Banned Merits
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Restricted Concepts
- Nephandi BSD Kinfolk: I would really rather not. Nephandi who want to be considered part of the Wyrm sphere will need to be employed by Pentex. This even goes for Malfeans. Remember, you are not Wyrmish as a Nephandus, you serve oblivion/universal Entropy in some way. We might be splitting hairs, but BSDs aren't any more inclined to trust you than they would any other Mage.
Banned Concepts
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There are three rules of thumb to abide by if you want to run Mage PrPs or plots. The overall gist is that everything should have consequences, and that we do not operate within a vacuum. If things happen in Mage, it affects the rest of the game (arguably more than many other Spheres).
- The Travails of Magick: Mages are hubristic creatures by nature. They will incur Paradox because they think they can get away with something, or they don't think about the consequences of changing Reality. Reality will snap back when stretched enough and you will be expected to run Paradox backlashes. If you feel uncomfortable running backlashes for your friends, please notify staff and we'll handle it either on site or via +job. Second, Awakened magick is a powerful thing and can often lead to large-scale changes. You must receive permission to make any changes to the grid that would be permanent or require adjustments. This isn't to say that plots including this will be denied, but they may be adjusted. That said, if there are on-the-fly changes (collapsing a bridge, blowing up a building, etc.) this falls into the territory of staff, as there will be a response from the city at large. Please let us know if this occurs.
- No Silly Bullshit: Okay, look. Mage can sometimes be campy and ridiculous. Some would say the whole point of the Etherites is to play off camp. That said, there's an extent to which camp is allowable. If you're following the plot to children's cartoons or doing junk like having dinosaurs rampage through part of San Diego, this is 100% vetoed. There are umbral realms where things like dinosaurs exist, but on Earth, a dinosaur would be similar to Bygones in that the power of Disbelief would immediately destroy them. If you're wondering if you've surpassed camp, chances are you have. But if you really would like to get an eye on your plot, page staff.
- Nephandi, Technocrats, Traditionalists: Since we do allow all of the Mage factions, having adversaries that are part of the other factions (ex. if you're running a plot for Traditionalists and showcase a Nephandic adversary), please let staff know. This may impact the way that the other factions interact with the game, as not all NPCs are going to be faceless. Even the most distant k'llashaa Nephandus is still going to be known by other Nephandi in the city. This means that your players may have a target painted on their back if they take out that lone Nephandus. Staff is always willing to work with you to make your plots have far-reaching consequences. We can also work with you to find other ways to incorporate adversaries that may not cause factional animosity -- more so than normal. Marauders are free game, of course. The Disparates have largely been hunted to extinction, but they still show up on occasion. Remember that any Mage can be evil, and an Orphan can be just as compelling as a Nephandus with the right motivations if your players want to be the good guys.