Greetings, magelings! Today's usual blog post is missing due to a whole lot of life happening all at once, and I apologize for that. I moved back to Los Angeles, started a new job, and my writing routine for the past few months is in chaos. I'm also going to be on a cruise next week, which means this place will look pretty sparse for the rest of the month.
But fear not! I expect to have a lot of writing time by the pool for 7 days, so I'll have blog posts galore when I return. Hang in there, mages, it's only for a few more weeks!
In the meantime, hit me up with your Mage questions in the comments below, and check out my previous posts for any Mage tidbits that you might have missed. Also, if you like what I do here and want to see me continue to feature more awesome Mage stuff on my blog, a small donation through my Ko-fi button on the right would make my day and help me afford a new keyboard for my desktop computer. The shift key has been sticking, making writing very interesting of late...
See you in a few weeks!
Monday, February 12, 2018
Monday, February 5, 2018
The Traditions Ascendant Chronicle, or "Hey, Let Me Tell You About My Game"
WORD OF WARNING TO MY PLAYERS: THERE BE SPOILERS HERE! If you're a player in my Traditions Ascendant Chronicle, close this page and go work on your character playlist or something!
I'm serious! Don't make me summon an army of Black Suits to scare you off!
Alright, you asked for it: IT'S BLACK SUIT TIME.
Good, now that my players have been scared off, here's a little peek behind the curtain of my Mage game, beyond the few hints I've offered in previous posts.
The Traditions Ascendant Chronicle is my take on the status quo of the current Mage setting, informed by the years of Mage games I've run for other groups. There have been some changes and updates to the history of Mage, mostly to reconcile my own Mage storyline with the official Mage metaplot, but a number of events are similar enough that anyone with even a passing knowledge of Mage's previous editions can jump right in. The Horizon War happened, the Avatar Storm happened, the Second Massasa War happened, the Rogue Council transmissions happened. The end of the world scenarios outlined in Ascension, however, have never come to pass. No calamity happened in 2012 that wasn't averted by the Traditions.
Major events in my Mage setting that might be a bit different from the Mage status quo: The Avatar Storm has dissipated, as have the transmissions from the Rogue Council. The latter is because the New Horizon Council has been around for the better part of a decade, formed shortly after the Los Angeles Convocation. At that convocation, the Traditions banded together and purged the Traditions of Nephandic influence, including the Nephandi who had impersonated Jeremy Case and led the Hollow Ones and various renegade mages on a campaign to destroy Horizon. Also different, the barriers between the living world and the realm of the dead almost vanished completely thanks to the efforts of the Orphic Circle, but their scheme was discovered and disrupted, and a sizable contingent of Spirit-savvy Traditionalists worked to restore that part of the Gauntlet and return the dead who had invaded when the barriers were at their thinnest.
So, Traditions Ascendant is named because the Traditions are looking better now than they have in the past 15-20 years. They're reclaiming their old power, bit by bit, and adapting to a world that is not nearly as apathetic as some would think. Awakenings are on the rise, the Technocracy is in turmoil, and elections for the New Horizon Council seats are coming up soon. It's a good time to be a Traditionalist... at least, on the surface.
Unbeknownst to my players, not all is as it should be. As noted, the Technocracy is in the midst of great turmoil, divided between a Union that wants to protect humanity from supernatural evils and a sizable contingent that want to bring the world low under their brand of order. This is due to a great deal of Nephandic influence spreading through the Technocracy from the top down thanks to the Syndicate's Special Projects Division, and they're looking to reestablish their foothold in the Traditions. Add to that the reemergence of Voormas and the House of Helekar, the greatest threat that exists within the Traditions, and my players will soon have more to worry about than restless dead and newly rediscovered spirit paths.
The theme of this chronicle is "Preserve the past, save the future." This is at the core of most of my campaign's major conflicts at the moment. The players are recruited to help rediscover Wonders and protect nodes, all in service to protecting the Traditions and their power, or acquiring the tools and people necessary to survive and grow into the future. The mood in this chronicle is "Hope and wonder." The World of Darkness is a terrifying and dangerous place, but the Traditions bring hope to those who don't fit into neat little Technocratic boxes. The Traditions are given hope, as well, with each new mage who joins their ranks and every discovery that helps them to avoid making the mistakes that plagued them in the past. And through it all, from the hidden sites of nodes among their city to the newly rediscovered Horizon realms beyond their world, a sense of wonder and awe permeates each story in this chronicle.
And that's the foundation of my Traditions Ascendant Chronicle. While I've hinted at my chronicle in previous posts as they relate to the game I'm running, future blog posts will tackle individual sessions and the subject matter that comes up within them. In the meantime, if you have any questions about the Traditions Ascendant Chronicle, pop them into the comments below and I'll tackle them in short order!
I'm serious! Don't make me summon an army of Black Suits to scare you off!
Alright, you asked for it: IT'S BLACK SUIT TIME.
 |
| Roll Willpower, difficulty 10. |
Good, now that my players have been scared off, here's a little peek behind the curtain of my Mage game, beyond the few hints I've offered in previous posts.
The Traditions Ascendant Chronicle is my take on the status quo of the current Mage setting, informed by the years of Mage games I've run for other groups. There have been some changes and updates to the history of Mage, mostly to reconcile my own Mage storyline with the official Mage metaplot, but a number of events are similar enough that anyone with even a passing knowledge of Mage's previous editions can jump right in. The Horizon War happened, the Avatar Storm happened, the Second Massasa War happened, the Rogue Council transmissions happened. The end of the world scenarios outlined in Ascension, however, have never come to pass. No calamity happened in 2012 that wasn't averted by the Traditions.
Major events in my Mage setting that might be a bit different from the Mage status quo: The Avatar Storm has dissipated, as have the transmissions from the Rogue Council. The latter is because the New Horizon Council has been around for the better part of a decade, formed shortly after the Los Angeles Convocation. At that convocation, the Traditions banded together and purged the Traditions of Nephandic influence, including the Nephandi who had impersonated Jeremy Case and led the Hollow Ones and various renegade mages on a campaign to destroy Horizon. Also different, the barriers between the living world and the realm of the dead almost vanished completely thanks to the efforts of the Orphic Circle, but their scheme was discovered and disrupted, and a sizable contingent of Spirit-savvy Traditionalists worked to restore that part of the Gauntlet and return the dead who had invaded when the barriers were at their thinnest.
 |
| Sorry, no zombie apocalypse today. |
So, Traditions Ascendant is named because the Traditions are looking better now than they have in the past 15-20 years. They're reclaiming their old power, bit by bit, and adapting to a world that is not nearly as apathetic as some would think. Awakenings are on the rise, the Technocracy is in turmoil, and elections for the New Horizon Council seats are coming up soon. It's a good time to be a Traditionalist... at least, on the surface.
Unbeknownst to my players, not all is as it should be. As noted, the Technocracy is in the midst of great turmoil, divided between a Union that wants to protect humanity from supernatural evils and a sizable contingent that want to bring the world low under their brand of order. This is due to a great deal of Nephandic influence spreading through the Technocracy from the top down thanks to the Syndicate's Special Projects Division, and they're looking to reestablish their foothold in the Traditions. Add to that the reemergence of Voormas and the House of Helekar, the greatest threat that exists within the Traditions, and my players will soon have more to worry about than restless dead and newly rediscovered spirit paths.
The theme of this chronicle is "Preserve the past, save the future." This is at the core of most of my campaign's major conflicts at the moment. The players are recruited to help rediscover Wonders and protect nodes, all in service to protecting the Traditions and their power, or acquiring the tools and people necessary to survive and grow into the future. The mood in this chronicle is "Hope and wonder." The World of Darkness is a terrifying and dangerous place, but the Traditions bring hope to those who don't fit into neat little Technocratic boxes. The Traditions are given hope, as well, with each new mage who joins their ranks and every discovery that helps them to avoid making the mistakes that plagued them in the past. And through it all, from the hidden sites of nodes among their city to the newly rediscovered Horizon realms beyond their world, a sense of wonder and awe permeates each story in this chronicle.
 |
| I mean, there's a reason she's called Wonder Woman, right? |
And that's the foundation of my Traditions Ascendant Chronicle. While I've hinted at my chronicle in previous posts as they relate to the game I'm running, future blog posts will tackle individual sessions and the subject matter that comes up within them. In the meantime, if you have any questions about the Traditions Ascendant Chronicle, pop them into the comments below and I'll tackle them in short order!
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