Harbin, China 60 Life in the Consilium 81

Hilo, HI, USA 61 Maps, Not Territories 81

Karachi, Pakistan 61 Diplomacy 81
Krakow, Poland 61 War in Heaven 82
Kunming, China 62 Sleeper Concerns 83
Kyzylorda Oblysy, Kazakhstan 62 Convocations 84
Lucknow, India 62 Protocol 84
Male, Maldives 62 The Code Duello 86
Maracaibo, Venezuela 63 Law of the Sword: Duels Arcane 87
Merida, Mexico 63 Duels Among the Orders 87
Millard and Sevier County, UT 63 Factions 88
Mogadishu, Somalia 63 Heretical Factions 89
Monaco, Monaco 64 Internal Relations 89
Monteverde, Costa Rica 64 Conflicting Loyalties 90
Narok County, Kenya 64 New Merit: Faction Member (• to •••) 90
Nassau, The Bahamas 65 Example Factions 91
Ndola, Zambia 65 Adamantine Arrow 91
Okinawa, Japan 65 Guardians of the Veil 93
Paramaribo, Suriname 66 Mysterium 95
Prague, Czechia 66 Silver Ladder 97
Qazvin, Iran 67 Free Council 98
Quito, Ecuador 67 Cross-Order Factions 101
Reykjavik, Iceland 67
San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA 68 Chapter Four:
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Seattle, USA
68
68 Running the Pentacle 106
Singapore, Singapore 69 Awakened Society 106
St. John, New Brunswick, Canada 69 Cabal Friction 106
Tamunging, Guam 69 Consilium Politics 108
Toowoomba, Australia 70 Vive la Difference 109
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia 70 Fellow Travelers 112
Ushuaia, Argentina 70 Convocations 114
Vimy, France 71 Cast of Characters 116
Yakutsk, Russia 71 Character Elements 116
Zanzibar, Tanzania 71 Aspirations 121
The Order Realms 72 Obsessions 123
The Diamond Citadel 72
The Luminous Bastion
The Bloodstone Labyrinth
72
72
Chapter Five:
The Sublime Athenaeum 73 Caput Mundi 130
The Hieraconian Spires 73
Magical History of New York 130
The Gardens of Triumph 74
Lenapehoking (Prehistory-1664) 130

Chapter Three: New York (1665-1897)

The City of Greater New York (1898-2001)
131
132
The Points of the Pentacle 78 Turifex’s Folly (2001)
New York Today
134
134
Supernal and Phenomenal 78 Manhattan 134
The Great Rights 78 Brooklyn 135

4 Tome of the Pentacle

 Queens 135 The Other City 148
The Bronx 136 Command and Control 148
Staten Island 136 The Shadow of New York 149
The Tri-State Area 137 The Nomad Courts of Manhattan 150
Five Points 138 Constancies and Curiosities 150
Adamantine Arrow: The Wise Guys 138 The House of Ariadne 152
Guardians of the Veil: The Node Rangers 139 Walking the Threads 152
Mysterium: The Stone and the Ivy 139 Attainments 153
Silver Ladder: Kings, Queens, Princes, and Villages 140 Citizens That Never Sleep 155
Free Council: The Great Mistake 140 Amuse, the Objective One 155
The Arrangement 141 The Bagman, a Cop 156
The Seers of the Throne 141 Engineers of the System 157
Minor Mysteries 143 Diagram, Master of Genius Boxing 158
Cats of New York 143 Perfected Adepts: The Genius Version 159
Ghost Trains 144 Diamante, the Cracked Sentinel 160
The Miracle Mets 145 Landlord 162
East Egg, West Egg 145 Intendants of the Building 163
The Diner of the Time Before 145 Lucasta Brumel:
The Mysteryof Manhattan 146 The Trend is Domination; the Fashion is Chaos 163
Urban Shift 146 Outis, the Interfector 165
Mental Breakdown 147 Seshat, Hierarch of the Outer Boroughs 166

TABLE OF CONTENTS 5
Vesper’s walking along at a pace that would make
any longtime New Yorker proud. Riley almost has
Or your hair standing on end before lightning strikes.”
They’re taking the long way around, partly hoping any
to scurry to keep up. Riley tells herself it’s because the watchers they’ve picked up grow bored, partly hoping
Londoner’s got half a foot on her, not because Riley keeps to catch the city shifting around them. So far, all the
swiveling her head around looking for signs of Seers. shifting’s been the mundane type: people in business
suits and sneakers swerving around construction, a
Not that she’d spot them, of course, or be able to detour around Times Square’s tourists and traffic,
tell which surveillance cameras they’ve piggybacked following the scent of fresh bread to a hole-in-the-wall
onto. Chances are, some Pyramid agent clocked her via bakery for a quick breakfast. Manhattan itself remains
face-recognition the second she stepped off the train stubbornly static, its Mystery elusive.
and has been tracking them since. But she’s not doing
anything. They’re both very intentionally not doing They’re in Midtown, headed downtown along Sixth
anything, and it means they’ve been left alone so far. Avenue — past Radio City, past Rockefeller Center, in
That’s the way it works, these days: If you’re a Pentacle the middle of the corporate stretch. Riley’s senses have
mage venturing into Manhattan, you keep your head been crawling since they stepped foot on the island, but
down and your hands to yourself. this section of the city makes it even worse. Manhattan —
all of it — is Seer territory. These skyscrapers full of law
Anything more, the slightest hint of magic, and they’ll firms, investment banks, and media conglomerates only
shift you right on off the island. amplify the sense that she and Vesper are being watched.
The streets are quieter right now — not empty, never
“I want to see it happen,” Vesper says, as though
empty in New York — but most of this district’s denizens
she’s reading Riley’s mind. “Just once, while I’m here.”
are entrenched at their desks or stuck in conference rooms
She’s in town on Vault business, sent by the London
for a little longer. It’s the lull before people trickle out on
Mystagogues to retrieve a long-lost tome. It caused a
their lunch hours, and Riley feels terribly exposed.
stir among the curators here in New York — if the book
was lost here, shouldn’t they be the ones to retrieve it, It gets better as they approach 42nd Street and hang
and protect it in one of the city’s Athenaea? Why send a left. On Fifth Avenue, the stone lions on the steps of
it back across the pond to be locked away? The Order’s the New York Public Library — named Patience and
older branches sometimes treat their American coun- Fortitude — stand their eternal guard. Riley nods as
terparts like younger siblings, which causes friction they pass between them. With patience and fortitude,
among the higher-ups. Still, like siblings, they know the Pentacle might yet take the island back from the
what to offer to placate their colleagues. For helping Pyramid.
London’s Archivists retrieve this grimoire, one of the
rarely-seen special collections will come over here on Vesper’s contact sits at a table in the massive reading
loan: not just books, but Artifacts that would make even room, watching the entryway from behind a laptop
her friends in the Arrow go pale. covered in punk band stickers. He gets up when they’re
10 paces away, closes the laptop, and heads up into the
Some of the other Orders think of the Mysterium stacks. They follow him to one of the research rooms
as little more than librarians, poring over dusty man- tucked away. Riley’s never been here before, even
uscripts through thick, Coke-bottle lenses. It used to though she practically grew up in the library. She’s not
itch at Riley, feeling dismissed as a threat by her peers. sure if this place was opened up with recent renova-
Then the Vault approached her, and she learned just tions, or if it’s a factor of the Mystery. She suspects the
how useful being underestimated could be. former — the tricky thing about the Mystery is, once
the changes are in place, that’s simply how things have
“They say you feel it before it starts,” Riley says.
always been, and no one’s ever the wiser unless they’re
“Like the lights getting brighter during a power surge.
a mage who witnessed the shift firsthand.
 Vesper closes the door — even in a library, there’s a as she traces a symbol of High Speech in the air. “Let’s
din: shuffling pages, footsteps on marble floors, chairs get kicked out of the library.”
scraping and throats clearing. She shuts out the world,
and now it’s just her, and Riley, and the contact. “You It’s quiet for a moment, as Vesper’s spell settles. The
don’t have it, do you, Cade.” She says it softly, as though effect is little more than a party trick — a flare of light,
a librarian might shush her even though they’re alone. its afterimage burning with Prime. You see that kind
of tag all over the city, the magical equivalent of Kilroy
He shakes his head. “I lost it. Here. Sort of.” He runs was here. In the New York Public Library, in the heart
a hand over the shelves, and Riley glimpses healing of Pyramid territory, it’s a deliberate tweak to their
runes tattooed on his fingers. “This room was about 10 adversaries’ noses.
feet longer, last time I was in it. There was a case full of
law books right here, and I stashed mine in the middle Whoever’s on surveillance duty definitely notices.
of them because I was being chased. I altered it, so it’d
“Here it comes,” says Cade. He holds onto a book-
look like one of the set.” Cade grimaces. “It was a great
shelf like it will do him any good.
plan: The magic alerted the Seers to my position; they
shifted me out of Manhattan. I should’ve been able to Riley’s hair stands on end. Everything in the room
pluck the book off the shelf and walk out of some library is limned in silver, and the lights grow so bright she’s
in Hoboken or Queens, wherever they’d sent me. Hell sure they’ll explode.
of a way to put distance between me and my pursuers.”
The library rumbles around them. Wood creaks and
“Using the Seers’ control to your benefit. I like it,” groans as shelves heave out of their places. Cracks form
says Vesper. “But you don’t have the book.” in the marble floor, surrounding the mages. From all
around them comes the susurrus of shuffling pages.
“No. I did. I had eyes on it almost the whole time the
Then the walls fold in on themselves, even as the ceiling
world was tumbling into its new place. Then, just before
shoots up another ten feet. Riley’s stomach lurches with
things settled...it disappeared.”
the sense of moving even while she stands utterly still.
Riley gets it. “It’s in the other city.”
Vesper, on the other hand, darts around the space.
“The what?” asks Vesper. She’s knocking books off shelves with a sweep of her
arm, and leaving trails of chaos in her wake. Riley’s both
“It’s the place things go when they don’t quite fit horrified and intrigued — wrecking a library’s not the
in the new spot. You know how sometimes, you take sort of thing any upstanding Mystagogue ought to do,
something apart, and when you put it back together you but damn if it doesn’t look sort of thrilling. She’s up
have pieces leftover? The city — Manhattan itself, not to something else, too. Riley can’t quite get the scope
the Seers — puts them...somewhere.” Riley’s never seen of it, but Vesper’s forming another spell as she runs. A
it, but she’s heard about it. Every mage she knows has beacon? A taunt? Maybe a little of both.
a story about a friend-of-a-friend who got stuck there,
for a minute or an hour, or has heard tales of someone The Seer at the controls probably doesn’t care what
who never returned. Vesper’s up to: They’ll get arrested for disturbing the
peace and destruction of property in Queens rather than
“So how do we get to it?” Manhattan and be out of his hair. But Vesper’s spell gets
the attention of something bigger than the Seer. Riley
“No one knows. You can’t force a shift.” briefly wonders what it’s like on his end — she’s hoping
for a control panel shorting out, maybe a surge of Prime
“But you can,” says Vesper. “We’ve been trying not
hot enough to fry his eyebrows off — but they’ll never
to trigger one all day.”
know. One minute it’s the Seers booting them out of
“Yeah, but a person controls that. That’s the Seers Manhattan; the next, the city itself takes over the shift.
scooping you up and putting you down outside of
The library slams back into place, like a subway car
Manhattan. They stole the idea from the city, but it’s
coming to a sudden, shuddering halt. For a moment, Riley
not quite the same working. We need the city to move
thinks she even hears brakes squealing on train tracks.
us.” No one’s been able to get into that other Manhat-
No. Whatever that sound was, it wasn’t made by anything so
tan intentionally, but that doesn’t mean mages haven’t
mundane. They’re not in Manhattan anymore, her senses
spent years trying. Riley sees the spark of excitement
tell her that much. But they’re not in the other boroughs,
in Vesper’s eyes; her own hunger for knowledge rises
either, or Jersey City, or anywhere she recognizes.
to meet it. “You have an idea.”
The room’s bigger now, part of some other library.
“If the Seers are imitating the city’s Mystery, maybe
The stacks go on for hundreds of yards beyond her,
we can make the city take over theirs.” Vesper grins
and tall windows along the far-off walls reveal a roiling ing. Titles change on spines when dying bulbs flicker.
gray sky outside. Darkness pools in the rows where others have gone
out. At the end of one such row, lit by only one dim,
“We’ve lost Cade,” says Vesper. The bookshelf he was bare bulb, something has built a nest out of tattered
clutching is gone, too. Riley hopes he’s somewhere safe. encyclopedias.
They’re certainly not. That screech splits the air In its center, like some strange egg, sits Vesper’s book.
again, and a hulking shadow slinks behind the stacks
a few rows away. “Let’s find the book,” says Riley. Claws scrabble on the marble floor. An enraged
“We shouldn’t stay here long.” It’s not that she doesn’t screech makes Riley’s blood run cold. “I’m betting
want to — so few have seen this other New York. While that thing built the nest,” she says. “If you can grab
Vesper strides further into the library, Riley wonders if the book, I can get us out of here before we have a
she could linger, gather the sort of research that would pissed off mama monster in our faces.” She can feel
send her career in the Mysterium skyrocketing. her New York close by, like it’s on the other side of
a piece of onionskin paper. Push hard enough, and
She glances around, trying to get a sense of where the she can break through. That’s why they assigned her
exit might be. A peek outside, to find a landmark, or even to help Vesper: Riley’s good at getting in and out of
a street sign, that’s all she wants. Except, she’s on assign- places she shouldn’t be.
ment right now: aid Vesper, get her home safely. She’s
new enough to the Vault that abandoning her responsi- Vesper dives in and snatches the book. Riley’s on
bilities now would put a serious dent in her ambitions. her heels, the imago for home forming in her mind. She
grabs for Vesper’s wrist and turns as the creature’s hot
My career or my obsession. She can follow Vesper deep- breath hits her neck. It smells of damp books and rotting
er into the stacks, or find the door and see what city paper. It rears up, spreading wide its leathery wings
has been cobbled together on the other side. No one’s stitched together from ancient tomes.
ever been back here once they’ve escaped. This might
be her only shot at studying it. Only, she wouldn’t be When it slams its bulk down, its claws catch only air.
the first to come home and say, “I walked around a
bit.” That’s interesting, sure, but not groundbreaking. •••
It’s the story you tell your friends over drinks, not the
one that attracts the Hierophants’ notice. Riley groans and pushes a pile of books off her
chest. From above comes the clatter of someone
Maybe I’ll be the first to find the way back. shoving a book into the return slot. She shoves herself
out of the cart where she’s landed before she can get a
Whatever Vesper did, she got the city’s attention. concussion from War and Peace or whatever’s coming
Riley needs to learn from her, to understand the spell down the chute at her.
and adapt it. It’s the best of both worlds: advancement
in pursuit of her Mystery; her Mystery in pursuit of A few feet away, Vesper’s clutching the rescued book
advancement. She darts after Vesper. to her chest and checking her phone. “Cade’s safe,” she
says. “The Staten Island branch has a research room,
“Glad you could join me,” says the other mage when now. Where are we?”
Riley catches up to her. Vesper’s holding a yellowed
card in her hand — one of the old checkout cards they “Brooklyn,” says Riley. “My hometown library. The
tucked into the backs of library books in the days before Archive’s not far from here.”
bar codes and databases. Names and due dates cover
“Good work today.” Vesper brushes dust from the
it in elegant script. The writing shifts as Vesper pauses
grimoire’s cover. “You should come to London some-
at an intersection of shelves. Ink flows like the hands
time. We know a thing or two about old cities and
on a compass, guiding her toward the missing book.
hidden places.”
All the while, that screeching sounds closer and
Riley smiles, a million questions already piling up in
closer. The farther back they go, the sparser the light-
her mind. “I’d like that very much.”
 “You said their prayer — is this the religion you believe in, then?”
“I believe in them all.”
Vin frowned. “None of them contradict each other?”
Sazed smiled. “Oh, often and frequently they do.
But, I respect the truths behind them all.”
— Brandon Sanderson, The Final Empire

Mood: Differences
Humans crave community. Whether it’s the light of a fire
holding back the darkness of a prehistoric night, or a group of
scholars arguing about philosophy in a library or a crowded bar,
the drive to be together, to share warmth and knowledge and
safety has been there since before the Fall.
The Pentacle Orders haven’t always existed in the forms they
and Similarities
If a character teleports to the far side of the world chasing a
take today. Mage society formed slowly, over centuries and mil-
Mystery and meets the locals, they’ll learn that their counter-
lennia, shifting according to social upheaval, exploration, and
parts are both incredibly different and still recognizably of the
discovery. As members of smaller, local Orders met peers from
same Order. They might not know every local custom upon
distant lands, willworkers found commonalities in their practices
arrival, but they’re able to get their bearings and find an ally
and beliefs. Sharing knowledge was far more beneficial than
who’ll show them what they need to know. The Gold Laws
hoarding it (though some mages would disagree on how much or
of Lex Magica give them a starting point; everything else will
with whom or when).
come with time.
Working together is a process, one that sometimes comes with a

What’s in This Book?

steep learning curve. Today, the Pentacle is a functioning alliance, but
that wasn’t always assured — and as with any organization, continued
success requires constant maintenance.
Chapter One: A History of Magic presents the entire known

Theme: Syncretism timeline of events related to the Pentacle’s formation and history,
as well as its constituent parts. It contains entries for important
historical characters involved in those events and presents three
One-on-one, mages and sometimes Orders within a Consilium Orders lost to time: the Keepers of the Word, the Pancryptiates,
see each other as rivals for Mysteries, but beyond the immediate, and the original Tremere Order as it was before its collapse.
their history and culture is one of taking good qualities from one
Chapter Two: The Pentacle Worldwide shows a global
another, and working together to build something new. Like real
overview of the Pentacle’s organization, culture, and practices
occultists, they’d rather swap notes on what works than fight over
in various places around the world. It puts a spotlight on the
dogmatic beliefs, and the Pentacle — the alliance of two radically
theme and mood of this book, showing how Pentacle mages have
opposed sects because they’re stronger together than apart — is
both new and familiar experiences when they cooperate across
the ultimate expression of that. The Lex Magica are built on a
regional and international lines. Finally, it provides brief entries
foundation of avoiding conflict between mages wherever possible.
for locations all over the globe, highlighting the Pentacle’s activity
Intrigues are common, but outright infighting, not so much.

What's In This Book 11

 Chapter Four: Running the Pentacle is full of Storyteller advice
for how to run Mage: The Awakening games with broad scopes
Appropriation and and contact with the wider Pentacle beyond the characters’ local
Cultural Concerns Consilium and Caucuses. It also contains tools for creating evoc-
Two English terms often used by mages, with ative and interesting Storyteller characters for Mage chronicles on
calques and loan words in other languages, bear the fly, including lists of character concepts, Aspirations, and Ob-
special discussion: mana and cabal. Both terms sessions that can be cherry-picked, combined, or even randomized.
were in-use before the Pentacle alliance; though Finally, Chapter Five: Awakened New York is a full playable
previously called pneuma, the Diamond adopted setting for New York City as the Consilium to which the players’
the term mana when cultural anthropology rose cabal belongs. It includes a history of Awakened society in the
in prominence and the co-opted Melanesian area, the modern state of it in each of the Five Boroughs and other
concept was applied to several similar concepts. adjacent regions, and details about the local Pentacle Orders and
Cabal derived from a word applying to Jewish Iron Pyramid. It presents NYC’s High Mystery along with other
mystical traditions, gradually becoming known Mysteries the Storyteller can use as story hooks, the House of
as a more generic synonym for occult secrets Ariadne Legacy in full, and key Storyteller characters for the set-
and eventually to any secretive group that holds ting. Note that where a character entry gives Legacy Attainments,
power. The Free Council never fully adopted the it only lists those Attainments the character knows, not all five.
word, preferring their own phrasing of column,
but Diamond and mixed-Order mage groups of-
ten use cabal instead. Lexicon
As Libertine influence in the Pentacle rose along- Apocalypse Mysteriorum: Diamond historians’ term for the
side the discipline of postcolonialism, and as period following the publication of the Corpus Mysteriorum, in
decolonial activity became more prominent in which the Keepers of the Word and Pancryptiates were dissolved as
the late 20th century, younger mages raised con- Orders and most of their membership formed the Mysterium.
cerns regarding the two terms — mana for ap- “Apocalypse” is used in its original meaning of “revelation.”
propriating a specific Polynesian cultural concept
Ašipu: The Sumerian and Akkadian Great Cult in the Sun-
rather than a generic word for the fuel of magic
dered Age, which became corrupted by the Exarchs in the rise
itself, and cabal for potentially antisemitic conno-
of Babylon to become the Barutu.
tations. Should the Pentacle ever hold a Grand
Convocation, it is a certainty that mages will Atlantean antitype: Later Diamond historians’ term for the
question the continued usage of both words. groups in the Foundation Age Schools and Orders that would re-
main to become the Diamond, as opposed to the Tyrannic antitype.
Storytellers, be aware of these issues when us-
ing both words in-game, and don’t be afraid to Barutu: The Babylonian Great Cult in the Sundered Age, con-
openly broach the topic and everyone’s comfort sidered a precursor to the Seers of the Throne by modern mages.
using these words during planning or introductory Bonfire, the: The mass purge of Sleeper lore from Keeper Mou-
sessions — no game term should take precedence seions converting to Mysterium Athenaea in the Expansion Age.
over a real person’s feelings — or, if everyone
agrees, broaching the controversy over the terms Credentes: The lower of the two ranks of Pancryptiate seniority,
in the setting. Potential substitutions for mana in- equivalent to a Mystagogue Neokoros.
clude élan or orgone; for cabal, consider coven, darshana: Literally Sanskrit for “view” or “sight,” but meaning
circle, or galère. a system of thought. The cross-cultural alliances of Schools along
philosophical lines that gradually became each Diamond Order
during the Foundation Age.
Fang Shih: The Chinese Great Cult in the Foundation Age.
and influence there for Storytellers to include as story hooks in
their chronicles. Foundation Age: The time between Alexander the Great’s
death in 323 BCE and the first Great Convocation and the
Chapter Three: Perfecting an Alliance delves into the large-
evacuation of the Library of Alexandria in 265 CE. The original
scale relations between Pentacle groups beyond the Caucus level
Diamond Orders formed during this period, but were not named
and the logistics and politics such relations can require as story
as such until its end when the Diamond Precept formed as a Sect
hooks showing how cabals and individual mages can get involved
around them.
in compelling ways. It presents the Convocation as a playable
event, details a traditional Pentacle expansion of the basic Duel Great Cult: Later mages’ term for the cultural context of
Arcane, and gives information on a plethora of factions both mages within a particular society, nation, or people. The practice
within and across the Pentacle Orders for characters to interact of Awakened magic within that culture. The Foundation Age
with or involve themselves in. involved darshanas from several Great Cults associating with their
equivalents in other Cults rather than staying bound to their own
culture, forming the earliest Orders.

12 introduction
 Great Refusal, the: The conflict between Nameless Orders
Psychic: While in modern speech this means anyone with
and the Seers of the Throne following the majority of Nameless
mental supernatural powers, in the Foundation period mages
rejecting the proposed Technocratic Union. The founding revolu-
used it for what are now called Sleepwalkers, counterpart to
tion of the Free Council.
Hylic and Pneumatic.
Hylic: An archaic and pejorative term for a Sleeper, mean-
Savant: A Keeper of the Word with acknowledged mastery of
ing someone bound to the material world through their own
mental records.
short-sightedness. The term fell out of use in favor of the less
judgmental “Sleeper” and “Awakened” metaphor among the School: An organization of mages and Sleepwalkers based in a
Diamond Orders except for the Pancryptiates, who continued specific Great Cult, often an expression of a darshana within that
using it until their dissolution. Cult. Technically all Schools were, in modern terms, Nameless
Orders, but Diamond historians prefer this term to avoid labeling
Karpani: The Persian Great Cult in the Foundation Age.
their own ancestors as Nameless.
Keepers of the Word: A former Diamond Order that merged
Scriptor: A Keeper of the Word with acknowledged mastery of
with the Pancryptiates to become the Mysterium after the Apoca-
physical records.
lypse Mysteriorum.
Serapeum: A Keeper Mouseion founded by another Mouseion.
Lacuna: The furthest boundary of temporal sympathy for a
All Mouseions existed in a pyramid of descent from one another
particular subject, before which it did not exist and cannot be
back to the original at the Library of Alexandria and owed fealty
affected by magic from the present.
to their originator.
Logos: “The Word.” The Keeper concept of universal knowledge
Splinter: Modern slang (especially used by the Free Council)
transmitted from person to person.
for a uchronia.
Mantra Sadhaki: The Indian Great Cult during the Founda-
Sundering, The: The cataclysm around the turn of the fifth
tion Age.
millennium BCE that created the Gauntlet between the material
Maškim: The Eblaite (Syrian) Great Cult during the Sundered Age. and Shadow worlds. Because this was an irrevocable, fundamental
Mouseion: Both a Keepers of the Word Caucus and its central ar- change to the entirety of both worlds but did not retroactively
chive, equivalent to a Mysterium Aethenaeum. Used interchange- change history as the Fall did, it is also the Lacuna of both worlds
ably as in the Order’s creed the two were considered indivisible. and anything that preexisted it in either, marking the boundary
Pancryptiates: A former Diamond Order that merged with the of Awakened prehistory.
Keepers of the Word to become the Mysterium after the Apocalypse Synhedrion: The Judean Great Cult in the Foundation Age.
Mysteriorum. Technocratic Union: The proposed alliance between many
Pelasgians: The Greek and Macedonian Great Cult during the Nameless Orders and the Seers of the Throne. The creation of
Foundation Age. the Union was averted by the Great Refusal.
Perfecti: The higher of the two ranks of the Pancryptiates, Tyrannic antitype: Later mages’ term for the groups in the
equivalent to a Mystagogue Dadouchos. Foundation Age Schools that later became Exarch-aligned Name-
Philologoi: Fully initiated members of the Keepers of the Word. less Orders, and later still Seers of the Throne.
Pneumatic: The counterpart term to Hylic, the archaic term uchronia: Literally meaning an event which did not happen,
for the state of being a mage in the Foundation Age, replaced the Awakened term for timelines rewritten or undone through
among the Diamond Orders by “Awakened.” magic or other Mysteries.
prima materia: An archaic name for Mana, used by Diamond Weret-Hekau: The Egyptian Great Cult in the Sundered,
mages until the 16th century, after which the Prime Arcanum Scholastic, and Foundation Ages.
is named.

Lexicon 13
 For Manon, the future was a memory.
In her fifteenth year, working in the printer’s shop, she’d scraped together the 40 centimes to visit the Exposition Uni-
verselle, the great fair marking the centenary of the Revolution. The crowds flocked to the gardens, Panoramas, and to M.
Eiffel’s Tower, but Manon was entranced by the Palace of Machines. Seeing the wonders of engineering in one place, the
promise of a glorious 20th century to come, inspired her first steps out of Sleep. Years later, Awake and in the Movement,
she’d accompanied her Column into the Temenos searching for the spark of human optimism, and found humanity’s vision
of the future instead. The others had been surprised at the shape the Futurama took, but she saw the familiar steel pavilion
and thought “of course.” Ever since, she’d returned again and again, encountering other visitors occasionally. Then, two
years ago, she realized she’d seen one mage more than once, and struck up conversation. Three more “chance” encounters
later, he confessed he’d been coming back hoping to see her, and her visits became more frequent.
Brunel was waiting on the viewing platform, the flickering of his Amnion standing out against the blurred figments making
up the “crowd.” He turned at the sound of her boots on the metal stairs, and Manon saw his expression.
“What’s wrong?” She crossed the catwalk, took his arm. He grimaced and took a long moment to speak.
“Thank God you’re here. Where are you? Physically?”
“In the meeting house Demesne. Why—”
“—You don’t have much time. Please, Manon, listen to me carefully. You need to come here, to England. I’m not at the Society,
but where I am… It’s warded.” She felt him cast a spell, and a sigil appeared in the air between them. “You need to have this
symbol somewhere on your person, but it will only work for the next three days.”
“Tell me what’s happened.” He shook his head and she reached for his cheek, turning his face to look at her. “Brunel. Tell me.”
“The Ministry sent another delegation. There was a vote.”
“They’ve been approaching everyone. How close?”
He hesitated “33 to 5.”
She exhaled, relieved. “Five isn’t bad. It’s not perfect, but it isn’t a disaster. We can contain—”
“Manon. The five were against. The Society of Ether is joining the Union.”
Manon froze, silent.
“You have to get out of Paris. We didn’t betray Razi’s plan, but we didn’t have
to. They already knew. Please, love, I can’t stay any longer — wake yourself
and come to me.”
“You… Weren’t one of the five, were you?”
“I made a deal for your safe passage. It will… We will be safe.
I promise.” His astral form melted away as he woke. Manon
stared out over the machines, seeing for the first time the
rust and decay creeping from the edges. Hope for the
future, crumbling as she watched.
A figure in dark formal attire, skin stretched over
bone like an embalmed corpse, flickered into sight
beside her. He joined her, silently, waiting for her
to speak.
“London is against us,” she said at last. “We
were right.”
“I am so sorry, Manon.”
“You saw the Key?”
Kosciej opened his palm, and the sigil ap-
peared above it. “We’re spreading the word as
we speak. You will tell Razi yourself?” He waited,
and Manon nodded. “Then I have business in
London.”
Manon didn’t respond.
The Morphean cleared his throat. “When we
attack. What about Brunel?”
Manon turned away from the Machines. She
knew she wouldn’t ever return.
“Destroy the followers of the Lie.”
 The history of thought, of knowledge, of philosophy,
of literature seems to be seeking, and discovering, more and more discontinuities.
– Michel Foucault

Upon being introduced to the Orders, a newly Awakened mage not unanimous, and neither was the acceptance of the Pentacle.
is adrift in a sea of capitalized words, convoluted metaphysics, and The history of the Pentacle is the history of the Awakened. A
deadly secrets. Prospective mentors focus on what their Order chronicle of their obsessions, beliefs, rivalries, hopes, fears, tri-
is like here and now, in the 21st century and the local Caucus. umphs, and disasters. The modern Orders stand on a foundation
Most raw apprentices have a simplistic understanding of the millennia-old, and to fully understand where the Pentacle is, a
three sects’ histories, believing the Diamond and Seers stretch mage must understand where they’ve been. The metaphysics,
back to the Time Before and the Free Council’s revolution was theories, and understanding of the universe masters teach their
the sole change to the status quo. As they gain experience and apprentices didn’t appear overnight but were obsessed over and
understanding, their knowledge of Awakened history deepens — pieced together by past generations.
the Awakened started as isolated Nameless Orders and in three
Ignorance of history isn’t just blinkered, it’s often dangerous.
great leaps formed into the modern sects. The four Diamond
Even if a mage researching a Mystery finds an account from a
Orders date from Alexander the Great’s empire, the Seers from
historical counterpart, lack of understanding of that past mage’s
renaissance Italy, and the Free Council from the Great Refusal
context leads to mistakes. A théarch finds what she thinks is an
in 1899, but all three sects have Legacies and groups much, much
ancient record of the Lex Magica and brings it to her Consilium,
older. Mystagogues read the Corpus Mysteriorum and learn that
not realizing it was written by a group of mages who are now
before its Author revealed the truth of living magic their Order
Seers. A young British mage names himself “Arthur,” unwittingly
was divided in two, but upon its revelation they abandoned their
making himself a target for the Imperial spells of the archmaster
infighting. Unless their obsessions lead to an interest in history,
who engineered the original’s doom over a millennium ago. A
that’s sufficient for basic training.
Mystagogue recognizes the seals of an ancient cache as bearing
Or it would be if any of it were true. the marks of the Pancryptiates, but fails to understand it was a
The Adamantine Arrow is technically the youngest Order and hold-out group who violently resisted the Mysterium’s creation,
was founded in 1946. The Diamond officially formed some 500 and that their long-dormant spells are about to trigger. A lich
years after Alexander died. The two “halves” of the Mysterium dating from a war between factions now coexisting peacefully in
were entirely separate Orders, and the Mysterium’s creation was the Pentacle seeks revenge for long-forgotten crimes.
a bitterly fought struggle that cost lives and left some groups
expelled. A whole sixth Order joined the Diamond, spent over
three centuries as part of it, and was exiled for its members’ ter-
rible crimes. Far from eternally divided sects, Exarch cults arose
Magical Histories
throughout history, often from within the Orders’ own ranks, and For Sleepers, the past isn’t certain. Human memory is imper-
conducted several brutal pogroms against their kin long before fect; individuals remember events they participated in slightly
the Ministries. The modern-day Free Council indeed includes differently depending on their biases minutes after they happen,
many Legacies just as old, if not older, than their allies, but in and long-term memories are even less reliable. For historians
the tangles of history many of those groups have been Diamond building a picture of the past, the availability and bias of sourc-
at one point or another or even Seer. The Great Refusal was es is all-important, and the further back an event lies the less

16 chapter One: A History of Magic

available and reliable firsthand accounts become. Archaeology bursting with analyses of past events. Basic historiography is not
attempts to interpret material traces for suggestions about past the problem; temporal sympathy itself is.
people’s cultures, but only a tiny amount of a culture appears in
its remains. Sleepers divide the past into prehistory and history
based on the presence of understandable writing to provide
Istros’ Knife
contemporary accounts. European archaeologists refer to ages of In 230 BCE, a Keeper of the Word named Istros conducted
dominant material technologies — Stone, Copper, Bronze, Iron. a demonstration for his student Circe. Escorting her to a black-
Events caught up in the mythology of religions — especially in smith’s forge, he instructed her in the forging of a knife, inscribed
and around the Diamond’s heartlands, which birthed so many on the blade with a single word of her choosing that would
faiths — become clouded by metaphor and dogma. Describing identify it, unquestioningly, as hers. He used magic to stamp the
the past, let alone understanding it, is a life’s pursuit. knife, nonmagical as it was, with the Nimbus of its owner. He
also cast “Constant Presence” on it, protecting it against changes
For mages, Time is an Arcanum. Theirs to command.
to the timeline.
An Awakened historian has much less need of written sources.
And then he went back in time to the start of the day and gave
If she goes to the place she wants to know about, or finds an
a different lecture.
object or person that was once at the time she’s interested in,
it takes little practice with Time to view events for herself via The next day, Istros presented Circe with a knife she never
“Postcognition,” even if she can only view minutes in a single forged and invited her to cast “Postcognition” upon it, to view
spell. When reading written accounts, basic knowledge of Prime herself sweating over the forge while she knew for certain she’d
magic detects deliberate falsehood, eliminating the worst bias been studying a Grimoire instead.
and revealing what the writer believed. Although most mages die Circe became one of the most celebrated Awakened historians
young to misadventure, Life magic means those who pass to old of the ancient world, and she took her mentor’s lesson to heart.
age do so decades after their Sleeping contemporaries, extending Variations on Istros’ demonstration as she described it are still
the availability of eyewitness accounts. Nor does simple death used by the Mysterium and Guardians today, and “Istros’ Knife”
bar a mage from being interviewed — mages summon ancient is as well known to mages as “Occam’s Razor” and “Schrodinger’s
sages from their soul stones, create artificial ghosts, imprint their Cat” are to Sleepers.
memories into objects, or even linger as liches. A dedicated mage The crux is this: while the Awakened have immeasurable
with the right research materials and interview subjects can write advantages over Sleepers when studying the past, the basis of
perfectly accurate histories using magic, and over the centuries the those advantages is not perfectly reliable. Time changes. The
Pentacle has collected a great many of actions of mages and other supernatural events constantly alter
them. The Mysterium’s Athenaea are the past, and while most things alter with it, every single act of

Magical Histories 17
time travel introduces aberrations and ripples. Whether they’re
as small as a mage’s magical tools traveling with him though a
“Shifting Sands” spell and becoming minutes older than they Footprints of Fellow Travelers
should be, or as large as a ruin of the Time Before that no longer While the effects are often as small as those result-
has an origin in the timeline, the Fallen World is littered with ing from casual use of “Shifting Sands,” uchronia
objects and people with temporal sympathy to events that never created by other supernatural beings in the Fallen
happened. Mages call these overwritten timelines uchronia or, World such as Unchained demons or Arisen mum-
less formally, splinters, and Awakened historians must treat the mies are classed as Silver or Bronze depending
on whether the overwritten events respond to
sources of temporal sympathy for their inquiries with as much
Awakened magic. Demons’ use of “Four Minutes
skepticism as Sleepers treat the provenance of records. Naturally, Ago” and similar powers are Bronze (as are all
these discontinuities themselves become the focus for many mag- uchronia caused by God-Machine Infrastructure,)
es’ Obsessions, collecting otherwise mundane items that allow while the effects of Arisen timelessness are Silver
access to fascinating alternate pasts. Uchronia aren’t, strictly and overpower non-Imperial magic.
speaking, parallel worlds — each is an event that was once part of
this history before someone or something changed it. They aren’t
“more true” than the extant timeline (if anything, less) but in the
very act of their being removed from history they offer reflections
under the known Practices. Because Mastery can only send a
and insights into it. Why a uchronia now never happened is often
subject back within its own timeline, Awakened historians are
just as interesting as what it contains.
reasonably certain that any event older than a century and a

Uchronia half is safe from meddling willworkers barring truly unusual

circumstances.
Awakened scholars recognize four main types of uchronia.
Gold uchronia, also known as Aponoia, result from changes to Lacunae
the Supernal Realm itself, irrevocably and retroactively altering the Temporal sympathy has its limits; beyond “vastly different”
Fallen World. The best known is the Fall; ruins of the Time Before (Mage, p. 186), no sympathy exists to grasp with magic. A mage
all come from slightly different versions of the Awakened City. cannot use a rubber object to view the life of the trees it was drawn
Other cases on smaller scales have been recorded — individual from, or see an iron item before it was melted down and recast
mages returning from the Watchtowers newly Awakened into a as something else. Mages call these uncrossable gaps in temporal
world they don’t recognize. Unlike most uchronia, the events of sympathy “lacunae,” and the consideration of them is why most
these rewritten pasts no longer exist even in the pasts of surviv- mages invested in viewing the remote past of a place travel to it
ing items and people — attempts at “Postcognition,” “Temporal in the present or employ Space magic rather than using items
Summoning,” or dating magics fail as described on Mage p. 311 for sympathy.
or reveal what now “always” happened.
Unfortunately, the Earth itself has a lacuna. In the far past,
Silver and Bronze uchronia result from Mysteries taking place the material world and Shadow Realm had no Gauntlet between
within the Fallen World. They range from hours to centuries of them, but instead a third liminal realm that intruded on both in
alternate past, and may be Open (the changed timeline starts out quiet places. That world was destroyed in a cataclysm, becoming
the same as reality, slowly diverges, and cuts off at the magical the Gauntlet and wrenching the world away from its Shadow.
event that erased it) or Closed (neither end of the changed section Magical historians don’t know how long the devastation took
of timeline happened in what is now reality, such that it resembles or exactly when it started, but nothing in the material world or
an alternate universe.) They may be the result of Imperial spells, Shadow Realm has temporal sympathy beyond 4960 BCE.
or the actions of Supernal entities, or caused by other Mysteries.
The Underworld and Astral Realms are even more challenging.
Silver uchronia don’t perfectly avoid or reject Time magic as
The Underworld periodically undergoes vast changes the Awak-
Gold ones do but simply overpower it as though the spell doesn’t
ened do not fully understand, such that even ghosts claiming to
have enough Potency, implying godlike beings as causes, and can
be thousands of years old in its deepest regions might only have
potentially be accessed by archmastery or other Mysteries such as
usable pasts for a few centuries. Astral Realms are subjective and
strange temporal Irises in Emanation Realms. Bronze uchronia
created anew each time someone visits them, so each realm visited
allow mages using temporal sympathy to access them, if they
has a lacuna of the moment the caster arrived, even when using
can find a subject that experienced them. Examples include the
the temporal sympathy of beings (even other mages) within it.
Open Bronze Queendom of Cxaxa Qherephis, the Closed Bronze
splinters of history accessible in Seattle’s Apocalypse Vault, the As Sleeper historians must label everything before the adoption
Open Silver Arthurian Britain created by Myrddin Emrys, or the of translatable writing “prehistory” and use alternate methods,
Closed Silver Irem of the Pillars. their Awakened counterparts must seek the counsel of surviving
entities or look for possible sources of temporal sympathy surviv-
Iron uchronia are those resulting from mages’ spells, where
ing in Emanation Realms, Verges, or other Mysteries — such as
both cause and effect of the temporal divergence are explicable
Omphalos Stones — that may have insulated them.

18 chapter One: A History of Magic

New Spells
Awakened historians often make use of specialized spells in Sharing Memories
their studies. As an addition to the Reach options listed for
“Read the Depths” (Mage, p. 162), for +1 Reach
Memento (Matter •• Mind ••••) a mage can copy one of her own memories or
one from a second subject into the first subject’s
Practice: Patterning mind without hiding it as one of the subject’s own
Primary Factor: Duration or altering their existing ones. The result feels un-
natural to the subject and is obviously magical
Suggested Rote Skills: Academics, Expression, Intimidation when cast on a Sleeper.
Rather than use “Read the Depths” to share memories directly,
this spell allows a mage to store her own recollections within external
objects for later use. The subject must be a mindless object, which
the spell enchants to hold the memory until the end of its Duration.
The subject isn’t visible to Active Mage Sight using only Mind •
as it isn’t a thinking being, but the Mind •• Attainment “Mind’s Eye”
shows it as a fragmentary astral projection while the spell is active.
Timeline
Until the spell’s Duration runs out, the memory may be accessed Pentacle historians divide human history into three broad
using “Read the Depths” cast with the object as its subject or with epochs, or Yuga, depending on the existence of the Diamond or
other memory-reading powers. Spells and supernatural powers that Pentacle, and subdivide those into 12 main ages or periods, with
work on surface level thoughts fail, as the object has none. 11 historical events marking the changes between them. The ages
are academic terms applied with hindsight — no one woke up in
Read History (Time •) 1101 and declared that they now lived in the Draconic Age, but
by 1150 the Diamond acknowledged the difference. Likewise, the
Practice: Knowing
events used as marker points between the ages are not without
Primary Factor: Potency controversy and disagreement between experts, some so much
Suggested Rote Skills: Investigation, Occult, Empathy so that alternate dates are used by different Orders or regions
Usually cast in preparation before “Postcognition” or similar of the world.
magic, this basic spell assesses the subject’s timeline, revealing its The Empty Yuga consists of:
exact age. This is revealed as the length of timeline the subject has
• The Fallen Age (p. XX,) lasting from the Toba super-vol-
experienced in the Fallen World, not a date, meaning subjects that
canic eruption around 75,000 BCE to the Sundering,
have time traveled may yield confusing results. The caster may also
which concluded in 4960 BCE. The age of scattered
search for the time elapsed since a specified event at which the
fragments, myths, and anonymous prehistoric traces of a
subject was present, in which case the spell becomes Withstood
world without a Gauntlet or Veil.
by the subject’s temporal sympathy to that event.
+1 Reach: The caster also learns the subject’s elapsed time • The Sundered Age (p. XX,) lasting until the Bronze Age
since its last lacuna, and therefore the extent of time available to Collapse in 1105 BCE. The age of sorcerer kings and
temporal sympathy. queens, supernatural beings openly ruling isolated city-
+1 Reach: Instead of looking for an event, the caster probes states, and the repeated rise and fall of nascent Awakened
the temporal sympathy itself, searching for the time elapsed since societies.
it was at a specified strength. The spell becomes Withstood by
• The Scholastic Age (p. XX,) lasting until the death of Al-
a level of temporal sympathy the player chooses, and reveals the
exander the Great in 323 BCE. The age of national Great
length of time since the subject began that level.
Cults and schools emerging within Sleeper civilizations,
Lacuna (Time ••••) and the formation of peoples and groups that would
become part of the Diamond.
Practice: Unraveling
• The Foundation Age (p. XX,) lasting until the first
Primary Factor: Potency
Great Convocation at Alexandria in 265 CE. The age of
Withstand: Temporal sympathy (Connection) cross-cultural contact leading to mages slowly organizing
Suggested Rote Skills: Academics, Occult, Subterfuge into Orders rather than national cults, philosophical bat-
The mage grasps the subject’s temporal sympathy at a desired tles between rival visions of the Awakened Nation, and
point and destroys it, creating a lacuna and forever preventing the the formation of the Diamond Precept as a sect.
use of temporal sympathy to access anything further back than it. The Diamond Yuga consists of:
The spell is Withstood by the Connection level of the point that
will now be the lacuna, and the effect is Lasting. • The Consilium Age (p. XX,) lasting until the Tremere
Adoption in 700 CE. The age of the initial Diamond

Timeline 19
 Reading the Timelines
Dates and ranges are given in BCE or CE. A u indicates that the event took place in a uchronia. A ? indicates
that the date is only estimated, even using magic.

Orders riding the Roman Empire and Six Dynasties out-

ward, producing the Lex Magica, and keeping the flame The Empty Yuga
of magic alive in an often-hostile world. The longest and least well-known Yuga, the Empty Yuga consists
• The Draconic Age (p. XX,) lasting until the Convocation of of all human prehistory and history until the formalization of
Antioch in 1100 CE. The age of the Diamond’s temptation the Diamond Precept as the first sect.
by the Tremere, testing its strength against external enemies —
Reapers, Exarchal Nameless Orders, and other supernatural The Fallen Age: 75,000 BCE to 4960 BCE
beings — while the corruption within slowly grows. Mages obsessed with the world before the global lacuna of the
Sundering are in the same situation as Sleeper archaeologists studying
• The Divided Age (p. XX,) lasting until the Apocalypse the Neolithic: No “big picture” exists, only a handful of surviving
Mysteriorum in 1247 CE. The age of recrimination and sites and fragmented artifacts that serve as clues. This is an age of
infighting as the Lex Magica is tested to a breaking point conjecture, anonymous fragmentary relics, and whispers of long-van-
and the Diamond nearly collapses, until the Corpus ished Mysteries. Before the Pentacle, Diamond mages described this
Author shows the exhausted Pancryptiates and Keepers a age as stretching from “the Fall.” Since the Free Council’s inclusion
revelation. and greater Sleeper understanding of Earth’s prehistory, modern
• The Expansion Age (p. XX,) lasting until L’Hegemonie Pentacle prehistorians instead mark it by a near-extinction event deep
Secrète in 1505 CE. The age of optimism, confidence, in the past. While several rival schemes for delineating even earlier
and refound purpose. Buoyed by the Mysterium’s forma- events have been proposed, none has gained widespread acceptance.
tion and the surrounding Sleeper civilizations’ increased ?u BCE: The Time Before ends, creating the Fallen World.
exploration of the world, the Diamond rapidly expands While the Fall could, in theory, have “happened” at any point
its area of influence, syncretizing mages of other peoples in history (or even the future) and retroactively created all of
into the Orders. history “before” itself, Awakened prehistorians know that
even before the Sundering, Neolithic mages were aware of a
• The Opposition Age (p. XX,) lasting until the Free As- vanished Time Before and Awakened to the Watchtowers. The
sembly of France in 1789 CE. The age of overextension Awakened City was in the “past” even before human cities
and nemesis following hubris. The Seers of the Throne existed. Awakened histories written by Diamond or Seer au-
now exist as a rival sect, and the Diamond finds itself in thors always begin with the Fall, out of convention borne from
a battle for the collective soul of humanity — a battle it is a lack of anywhere to place it but a need to acknowledge it.
steadily losing.
?74,000 BCE: The Toba super-volcano erupts in Indone-
• The Revolutionary Age (p. XX,) lasting until the Great sia, causing a global 10-year winter and 1,000-year climate
Refusal in 1899 CE. The age of the Nameless War, as social change that nearly kills all large mammalian life, including
and political changes inflate the numbers of those left the multiple species of humans present in the Fallen World.
out of the Diamond and Seers to congregate in countless The event reduces the human population to only 15,000
Nameless Orders, blaming both sects for ignoring human- modern humans in Africa and a few thousand Neanderthals
ity’s wishes in their conflict. As the Diamond realizes its in Europe. The population is so low that no Awakened exist
error and withdraws from Sleeper empires and the Seers for long periods, and anyone who does Awaken does so as
assume victory is at hand, the Assemblies become a power a solitary. If any magical society existed in Fallen history
to be reckoned with. before the eruption, no traces have ever been found. The
The Pentacle Yuga consists of: cause of the eruption is unknown, but even modern-day
Sumatra hosts an unusual number of Bound and Irises to
• The Early Pentacle Period (p. XX,) lasting until the Grand Aetheric Emanation Realms. The lake that now fills the
Caucus of the Arrow in 1946 CE. The newborn Pentacle volcano’s caldera contains a Mystery: a 10-meter diameter
faces tensions within and without as former enemies try spherical area deep underwater, invisible to Sleeping eyes,
to work together and determine how the new alliance which triggers Peripheral Mage Sight as though it were an
should relate to Sleepers while the Sleeping world burns. Awakening in progress. It’s actually a reflective, perfect solid
• The current Modern Pentacle Period (p. XX), encompass- in the Supernal World that redirects all spells cast on it to a
ing the period after WWII and into the present day. random subject bearing the caster’s Long-Term Nimbus, no

20 chapter One: A History of Magic

matter how far away. Mages attempting Active Mage Sight 6000 to 5000 BCE: The majority of Fallen Age sites known
while inside the sphere vanish as though they accessed an to modern mages come from this last millennium, thanks
Iris. None have ever returned. to the increasingly settled population and the adoption
of pottery and (in the latter 500 years) worked metal as
?60,000 to 41,000 BCE: Humanity expands outward from media for High Speech. Mages lived openly among Sleep-
Africa, reaching Europe, Asia, and Australia. European hu- ers, building demesnes in their Sancta to work without
mans make contact, compete, and interbreed with Neander- Dissonance, and interceded with the supernatural on their
thals. The increased population means multiple Awakened communities’ behalf. A handful of still-existing Legacies
at a time are theoretically possible, but as humanity is distrib- claim descent from this period, most notably the Storm
uted so thinly across Earth in small hunter-gatherer groups, Keepers (Acanthus, Forces) but most of the Legacies from
no Awakened society exists yet. No conclusive evidence of this time are lost — only names like “Hollow Keepers” and
whether Neanderthals had human souls or could Awaken “Bull’s Children” remain, etched in fragmentary High
has ever been found, but the subject remains a matter of Speech into ceramic tablets.
passionate Obsession for a handful of archaeomancers.

?40,000 BCE: Modern humans exterminate the last Nean-

derthals in the Fallen World. Several populations linger in
Emanation Realms and the Shadow, gradually transforming
into spirits or strange near-human entities. Based on figu- Portraits of
rines and idols carved into ivory and stone, humans have
contact with part-human, part-animal beings believed to
the Sundered Age
be the inhabitants of the third realm between the material Cxaxa Qherephis, The Cold Smile
and Shadow.
The Demon-Queen of a nameless kingdom, Cxaxa
?28,000 BCE: Cave art near Bhopal depicts human figures Qherephis is one of the earliest mages whose names
surrounded by abstract lines representing mana; the earliest modern willworkers know. Her reputation lasted
known evidence of mages and Mage Sight. long after her death, and later Empty Yuga mages in
the Great Cults that gave rise to the Diamond spoke
?26,000 BCE: A ceramic figurine of a pregnant woman about her in the way scholars in the Pentacle Yuga
Imbued with a minor healing spell is both the oldest surviv- spoke of Merlin, Imhotep, and Gadeiros. Through
ing magical tool and the oldest known Imbued Item. The these secondhand legends, a picture emerges of a
figurine was recovered from a long-extinct Hallow in the tribeswoman who Awakened as a Mastigos and
Pavlov Hills by Czech Mystagogues in 1940, and is now in carved a queendom out of the Maghreb, turning her
the Prague Athenaeum. nomadic people into a bandit army that worshipped
her as a goddess, and enforced her rule with spells
?16,000 BCE: Alaskan hunter-gatherers migrate south into
and summoned Pandemonic demons.
North America, a handful of Awakened with them.
Over her reign, Qherephis became more and
?9000 BCE: A ritual complex at Göbekli Tepe in Turkey more extreme and her Ruin fortress developed into
contains the earliest known Daimonomikon. A stone pillar a Pandemonic Verge. Her army enslaved whole
carved into an animal-headed humanoid, carefully extract- tribes and dragged them to the shifting labyrinth
ed by Sleepwalker archaeologists during excavation in the of the mad queen, fuel for the mass human sacri-
late 1990s, bears the magical imprint of a long-vanished, fices needed to gather enough Mana to feed her
unknown Legacy’s first three Attainments. The Legacy legion of demons. Cxaxa herself sacrificed parts
relied on the pre-Sundering cosmology and involved the of her own body, replacing them with Supernal
practitioner taking on the aspects of otherworldly entities. In prosthetics her demons granted as boons. She
1998, a Turkish Thyrsus named Aşiki acquired the pillar and ate her own heart and gained a glass one filled
Enraptured himself attempting to learn the now-impossible with a million flies. She tore out her eyes and
Attainments. The pillar was confiscated by the Bellerophon gained stone ones that saw weakness. Whether
Group (p. XX), who captured him three months later. Its it was the attempt to become a Supernal being
current whereabouts are unknown. piecemeal, the mass murder, or simply living for
decades inside a Verge, Cxaxa paid the price for
7000 to 6000 BCE: Urban settlements appear in China,
her obsessions; she became Enraptured and her
Anatolia, and the Levant as agriculture begins. With the
fortress twisted even more under the influence of
steady shift to sedentary agriculture from nomadic hunting,
her Tulpa, killing or driving away her followers.
the population increases until Awakened mages have a rudi-
Finally, alone and trapped in a maze of her own
mentary society, although no organization beyond Legacies
broken Wisdom, she committed suicide.
is believed to exist.

Timeline 21
 declares herself the successor of “the ascendent ones” who
built it. Following her death, her fortress succumbs to Dis-
Portraits of sonance and vanishes from the Fallen World, becoming a
the Sundered Age Bronze uchronia.
– Imhotep, The one who comes in peace ?u4000 to 3832 BCE: In a Silver uchronia, a city-state is con-
structed somewhere in Northern Egypt (or extreme Eastern
An Obrimos and fourth-degree Master of Prime,
Libya) by entities linked to a Lower Depth. Known as Irem
Forces, Matter, and Space, Imhotep is regarded
of the Pillars, it influences cultures all over the ancient Near
as the first Diamond mage, especially by Legacies
East and Northern Africa, wars with other supernaturally
and factions originating with the Weret-Hekau,
controlled cities, and then erases itself from the timeline in
even if he wouldn’t recognize the sect’s philoso-
a deliberate ritual, consumed by its patron realm.
phies were he alive today. Despite popular leg-
end that he Ascended or became an archmaster, ?4000 BCE to 3000 BCE: The earliest city-states of Sumer
Imhotep died of extended old age with multiple are openly ruled by various supernatural interests, from the
witnesses in 2625 BCE. Sleeper archaeologists vampires of Eridu and Ur to the Unchained demons of Bad-ti-
have never found his tomb for good reason; bira. The Awakened are no exception, but their city of Kish is
the Great Cult he founded laid him to rest in an not ruled by any forebear of the Diamond. Rather, the Baalim
Emanation Realm of the Aether, linked to by an (“Lords”) of Kish are what modern mages would understand
Iris in the Saqarra Necropolis near Memphis. That as Scelesti, commanding Paradoxes and summoning legions
Iris was destroyed in the 8th Century BCE (p. XX), of Gulmoth via an Abyssal Verge to war on their neighbors.
and finding a new route to Imhotep’s tomb has
been a recurrent obsession among Near-Eastern ?u3600 BCE: An anonymous group of Thyrsus mages estab-
Obrimos ever since. lishes itself off the coast of the Persian Gulf, in what is now
Bahrain, and attempts to undo the Sundering by merging
the material and Shadow worlds together. Its efforts establish
a garden-like paradise of magically controlled spirits tending
?5000 BCE: Founding of Eridu in Sumer. At this time a
material life, but an unknown disaster — possibly a Paradox
village of mud-brick houses, it will become the first city in
— destroys the settlement.
the world.
3050 BCE: As King Narmer unites Upper and Lower Egypt,
?5000 BCE: The Sundering starts, forcing the Shadow and
a cabal based in the funerary temple complex at Abedju is
material worlds apart.
guided by strange dreams to the earliest known Supernal Ar-
tifact: a gold bracelet that grants the ability to see and interact
The Sundered Age: 4960 BCE to 1105 BCE with all forms of Twilight. Known as the Abedju Cipher, it
becomes part of the royal regalia of Egypt for several centu-
4960 BCE: The Sundering ends, marking the beginning of
ries, and passes through many hands after that — Awakened,
magical history.
Sleeper, and inhuman alike — as its history and notability
4500 BCE: Mages in the Neolithic societies of coastal Spain far outweigh its objectively humble magical power. Several
and France become obsessed with finding a way out of the factions of Seers regard it as a holy relic and enthusiastically
Fallen World through the night sky. They construct magi- chase rumors of who might own it even today.
cally enhanced long barrows built around their demesnes
2844 BCE: The first recorded gathering of disparate mages
that bind their souls and gnosis to their bodies as liches and
for common purpose sees the end of the Baalim of Kish,
sustain near-permanent astral travel. Modern-day surviving
as an alliance of Awakened from other Sumerian states
members of these “Stone Pilots” are the oldest still-existing
successfully conquers the city and seals the Iris creating its
mages in the Fallen World, returning to their preserved
Verge. The fighting involves several summoned Supernal
physical bodies every few centuries to adjust their demesnes
entities and Ochemata and causes the great flood of Meso-
for stellar drift and renew their spells. The Pancryptiates (and
potamia. Several individuals named in the Sumerian Kings
later Mysterium) will claim them as honored ancestors and
List as establishing new city-states after the deluge are mag-
guard them during their return cycles from outside interfer-
es, including Jushur, the first king of the re-founded Kish.
ence. After six and a half millennia of focused astral travel,
Rather than an ancestor of any Pentacle Order, Jushur would
the few dozen remaining Stone Pilots are irretrievably insane,
be a Seer of the Throne in modern terms; he worships the
and would be Enraptured if they weren’t already Wights (p.
Exarchs as gods, bears the Prelacy of the Psychopomp, and
XX), but attempting to interview one is a rite of passage for
claims that the Heavens command Kish’s taming. Under his
Spanish Mystagogues.
leadership, Kish goes on to dominate Early Dynastic Sumer,
u4400 BCE: In the steppes of what will be Tunisia, Cxaxa but in the centuries that follow control of the region moves
Qherephis seizes control of a ruin of the Time Before and from city to city.

22 chapter One: A History of Magic

 2600 BCE: Mages in the Indus Valley (known to the Sumeri-
ans as “Meluhha”) discover an unusual pocket realm contain-
Portraits of ing a pristine, empty city built with architectural techniques
the Sundered Age that won’t be developed for centuries. Although the Iris to
the realm collapses soon after, the mages apply what they saw
Marduk, The God of Babylon to the growing urban centers of their homeland.
Marduk was a unique Mystery; no being like 2600 to 2500 BCE: In the trading city of Ebla, which sits
him has ever been seen again. Partially astral in what is now Northern Syria on the trade route between
in nature, Marduk drew strength from and re- the Mediterranean and Sumer, Eblaite mages form a Great
inforced the concepts of stern leadership and Cult known as the Maškim. They enjoy open recognition as
Amorite rule of Babylon. He had no physical representatives of the Eblaite monarchy and report directly
body when he first contacted the Amorite tribes, to the queen. The Maškim discover that a pool used as a
but manifested by temporarily riding anyone in water source by caravans near the city holds a Mystery; the
a leadership position — sometimes as a voice pool “remembers” the sympathetic links of anyone immersed
in their head, sometimes via outright possession. in it to whatever they regard as home, and transfers them
He was powerful enough to forge agreements at random to anyone drinking the water. The effect causes
with thousand-year-old vampires, gods of feelings of wanderlust in Sleepers, but with Space magic the
Shadow, and (presumably) Ochemata of the Maškim copy and preserve the links to create an early travel
Exarchs as peers. All he ever said of his origin nexus, meeting other mages from as far as Egypt, Sumer,
was that he was “of the stars,” but now dwelled Europe, and the Indus Valley. The Maškim carefully regulate
within the people of Babylon — literally at the magical access to the pool; their written records of these rules
start of his reign, but slumbering for periods are considered the earliest known Lex Magica.
within cultic statues of himself in the later empire.
Mages examining the history of Babylon have 2550 BCE: A renegade Ašipu Obrimos named Hidar leads
proposed various theories of Marduk’s true na- his cabal in murdering the Shadow thunderstorm-spirit
ture, but none have been proven. Popular theo- Mer, who was controlling the city of Mari via its Claimed
ries include a spirit that consumed a summoned offspring. Under the cabal’s puppet king, Mari becomes
Goetia, a mutant Begotten formed of authority increasingly hostile to neighboring countries, especially Ebla.
rather than fear, a direct creation of the Exarchs,
the Genius Locus of Babylon, and an idigam co- 2371 BCE: Powerful beings linked to the uchronia of lost
alesced into an astral god. Irem arise all over Egypt and surrounding regions, accom-
panied by (or causing) a wave of natural disasters, religious
With Time spells now a valid means of inquiry, extremism, and political infighting that changes Egyptian
the Sundered Age is much better understood society forever, cementing the power of regional nobility.
than its predecessor. Unfortunately, with en-
hanced understanding comes the awareness of Although these beings scatter across the world and never
how altered history is. The rise of human civiliza- reappear in such concentration of time and space, this first
tions and the first cities is rife with uchronia. This arrival greatly disrupts the Weret-Hekau, many of whom
is the world of vanished post-Atlantean sorcerer die attempting to defend their interests. Some survivors
kingdoms that now never existed, legendary at- retreat to Imhotep’s Emanation Realm while others flee to
tempts to undo the Fall, and supernatural beings the Levant and Ebla, meeting and becoming absorbed into
— including mages — openly ruling Sleepers. other nascent magical societies as they go.

2334 BCE: Sargon of Akkad conquers Kish, then Mari, then

northern Eblaite vassals, unifying the Sumerian city-states as
2800 to 2700 BCE: In the generations following the deluge,
the Akkadian Empire. The empire is rife with supernatural
Sumerian Awakened form the Ašipu, the earliest named
influences; Sargon himself is a Proximus, and his daughter
Great Cult, to train newly Awakened mages to avoid the
Enheduanna becomes a vampire after being sent to Ur as
Abyss and prevent another Kish. Rivalries between cities
a priestess.
and the constant pressure of other supernatural beings at
large in the Fertile Crescent prevent them from amassing 2200 to 2100 BCE: Global droughts spark mass migrations.
much power, but several Legacies form under the loose social The nomadic Amorites, inhabitants of the highland deserts
cohesion the Cult offers. west of Sumer and south of Elam and Mari, encroach on
those lands.
2700 to 2625 BCE: Career of Imhotep, the Egyptian high
priest of Re, chancellor to King Djoser, and architect of 2154 BCE: The Akkadian Empire collapses under famine
the Step Pyramid. Under his guidance, Egypt’s Awakened and raiding from northern foreigners. Backed by its vampiric
formalize into the Weret-Hekau, the oldest Great Cult to lords, Ur becomes the capital of a new Sumerian Empire.
later join the Diamond Orders.

Timeline 23
2100 BCE: King Ur-Nammu of Ur orders the construction against one another to their destruction while preserving
of the city’s Ziggurat in honor of the “god” Sin, actually an his own resources.
already-ancient Nosferatu vampire and the progenitor of the
undead that plague the city. 1897 BCE: The Amorite leader Sumu-Abum takes over a
small town named Babylon a few miles from Kazallu, with
2078 BCE: Yu the Great becomes the first emperor of the Marduk advising him. Barutu mages establish a sanctum in
Xia dynasty in China, marking the climax of the Three the town but do not challenge Marduk’s rule — the Prelates
Sovereigns and Five Emperors period, a Closed Bronze among them have received Mystery Commands to let the
uchronia in which legendary divine rulers brought various “god” be, for now.
innovations to their subjects. The uchronia has a definite
end point here when the last of the Five Emperors (Shun) 1754 BCE: Babylon is now a major city, and under its king
chooses Yu as a successor, but Awakened historians have (and Marduk’s current host) Hammurabi it dominates south-
been unable to determine how far back it extends, or even ern Sumer. Marduk commands Hammurabi to set out a code
produce a definitive list of who the seven rulers before Shun of law for the kingdom’s mortal subjects, and itself cements
were. While Western mages often describe it as “the Chinese a century of alliances among the kingdom’s supernatural
Atlantis,” Asian Awakened reject the comparison – the beings with the Code of Marduk, a set of shadow laws out-
three and five happened (in several forms) and benefited lining territories, conduct, and punishments, with ultimate
all humanity rather than ending in hubris and destruction. authority resting with the god via its chosen “governors,”
such as Sin for the undead. The Barutu agree to the Code
2030 BCE: At the height of a war with the city of Ikinkalis, an but the Awakened have no governor, as Marduk insists it is
inferno consumes Ebla and burns it to the ground. Surviving speaking directly to the Heavens the mages serve, and the
Maškim using “Postcognition” trace the destruction to one of dreams their leaders receive back it up.
the king’s advisors named Zazalla, who was arguing against
the release of prisoners of war in the moments immediately 1700 BCE: Ilsu-nasir, a Moros and the leader of the Barutu,
before the disaster. In the instant before the very air turned constructs a great statue of Marduk from perfected stone
to fire, Zazalla’s appearance changed; he appeared to be and enchants it to allow the god to use it as a host, freeing
made of pieced-together corpses. The city is rebuilt over the it from having to move from mind to mind. Over the next
following decades, but the Maškim have lost most of their century, Marduk becomes increasingly reliant on “resting”
leadership and never recover their strength. within the statue.

2004 BCE: Amorite raids have become so widespread 1660 to 1610 BCE: The archmaster Gadeiros locates a Su-
in Sumer that its economy is collapsing and famine runs pernal verge on the Minoan island of Thera, and builds a
rampant. The weakened Ur is invaded by Elam (present-day coalition of mages from across the Mediterranean to attempt
Iran) and the king kidnapped. In the chaos, Amorites seize a grand project: the creation of a new Awakened City, mod-
control of several towns and cities, establishing their own eled after ruins of the Time Before, to return the Awakened
dynasties, while officials from the former dynasty attempt to their rightful place in the cosmos. The grandiose plan
to regain control. Four months before the invasion, a cabal involves mages from across the world gathering to cast hun-
of mages known as the Fourfold, based in the temple of dreds of layered spells in support of Imperial workings by
Shamash, receive a vision from their god of Ur’s destruction Gadeiros and other archmasters, and ends in utter disaster.
and lead the evacuation of magical resources from the city’s One ritualist deliberately causes a Paradox, and the resulting
Ašipu sancta. Shamash is commonly known as Ishtar’s cascade failure kills all involved, collapses the Verge, and
husband, a god of divine justice, but his sacred number of triggers the volcanic eruption of Thera, doing irreparable
four, his four-pointed disk symbol, and his mythic role of damage to the Minoan civilization on nearby Crete.
being all-seeing point modern mages toward him being an
1600 to 1046 BCE: The rulers of Shang dynasty China are
alias for the Eye, Exarch of Space and surveillance. Within
obsessed with the afterlife and divination, which over the
20 years of the evacuation, the Fourfold and other cabals
centuries becomes a tightly controlled and regulated indus-
specializing in divination and interpreting the will of the
try. Any major decision requires hundreds of divinations,
gods (i.e., proto-Seers) have gained so much respect among
all carefully notarized and recorded. Rather than open rule
the Ašipu in exile that magical historians treat the Ašipu
as in other civilizations, Awakened diviners form a society
as ending here, replaced as the Great Cult of Sumer by the
called the Sutoru Misutiri, to steer the dynasty through its
“Barutu,” with a shift in emphasis from the organization’s
prophetic advice. The society lasts centuries, keeps excellent
traditional role of guarding against sorcery and unsafe magic
written records still held by Chinese Athenea today, and are
to one of guiding Sleeper society.
claimed as honored ancestors by both the Mysterium and
1950 BCE: The city of Kazallu is the site of a three-way the Seers of the Throne.
battle between bull-headed shapeshifters who worship the
1595 BCE: Hittites from the North invade Babylon and
sun, vampiric monsters descended from Sin of Ur, and a
steal the statue of Marduk. The Babylonians never hear
third entity named Marduk, who successfully turns his rivals

24 chapter One: A History of Magic

 from the “god” again, even after the statue’s return 25 years 970 BCE: King Solomon’s 40-year reign begins. As a Guard-
later. Without Marduk to keep its Code, the supernatural ian of the Veil, he wears the Masque of Adamant Judge,
inhabitants of the kingdom commence infighting. To mod- ruling wisely — or Wisely — over Sleepers and willworkers
ern mages with the benefit of hindsight, the Exarchs clearly alike. He holds power over beasts, spirits, demons, and djinn,
engineered Babylon’s downfall as much as they backed its and travels to Astral Realms where he meets with Goetia
rise, which has disturbing implications for other fallen civili- whom histories record as angels. Artifacts related to his
zations but raises the question of what it was about Babylon’s career abound, including his seal and his table. His fabled
empire they wanted. Key is actually a Grimoire.

1457 BCE: The battle (and subsequent siege) of Megiddo 820 BCE: Five théarchs claiming to be the inheritors to the
between Egyptian and Caananite forces sees mages on both Five Kings of Silver Ladder lore who heard the Oracles’ voices
sides. The Weret-Hekau are victorious and rout their rivals, try to rebuild the Awakened City. Calling it Hyperborea, they
cementing their control of the region. build a palace on the North Sea and work magic to change
the climate in the surrounding environs. Whether it’s the
1250 to 1105 BCE: The Bronze Age collapses. Europe and weather magic or the attempt to call other mages to join
the Mediterranean suffer decades of droughts followed by them, disaster befalls the island. Though it’s not their last
political upheaval, after which the peoples the Fertile Cres- attempt at rebuilding the Awakened City, the Silver Ladder
cent once traded for metal with turn to raiding them, and refines its approach to creating Hieraconis, teaching mages
the Prelates among those civilizations’ mages slowly stop that the dream of the Final City might not be realized until
receiving Mystery Commands over the century and a half long after they’re gone.
it takes. Although mages cannot find any single obvious
trigger for the collapse, the end result is undeniable; almost 7th century BCE: Hong Fu-Sang (the Scarlet Mulberry
every city in the western Mediterranean and Fertile Crescent Society) is founded in Gansu. Its members use herbal com-
is destroyed, except for a few powerful states that clung on pounds, arcane physical exercises, and personal asceticism
and would later recolonize the territory between themselves. to aid in their Astral travels. In their search for Peng-lai, the
Notably, every single civilization openly ruled by supernatural Fortunate Island of the Immortals, they create a dream atlas
forces is “targeted” by the collapse. Near-Eastern Civilization and found a storehouse in Fu-Sang Guo, the Mulberry Land,
and the magical groups that grew with it are virtually wiped which dreamers use as a waystation before pressing deeper
out, leaving only the Weret-Hekau as a surviving Great Cult. into the Astral.

770 to 690 BCE: As Sparta descends into lawlessness, a

The Scholastic Age: 1105 BCE to 323 BCE Legacy specializing in blood magic arises and calls itself the
The magical population increases again. More Great Cults Sons of Phobos. Vampires devour the Legacy in a blood
appear and begin to notice common cause with individuals in ritual seeking to steal its magic, but the vampires extinguish
other lands. Over the course of this period, the Watchtowers take themselves with raw imbibed Supernal power. The Sons rise
their modern appearances. With hindsight, external factors are as heart-devouring blood sorcerers, having partially received
pushing the Diamond together. the curse of vampirism. King Lycurgus drives them under-
ground as Sparta reforms, despite prodigious and bloody
1090 BCE: In the waning Shang dynasty, a group of Chinese
displays of might on the battlefield.
mages dissatisfied with the Sutoru Misutiri’s control of the
kingdom begin a conspiracy to manufacture its downfall 740 BCE: During an invasion of Egypt by Nubian Kushites,
via manipulation of Fate to sponsor potential usurpers and Weret-Hekau sancta in Memphis are sacked by persons un-
topple the “foundation of misled wisdom.” The conspiracy known (the Weret-Hekau suspect supernatural involvement)
calls itself the Rebirth of the Rat, but as they habitually shield and countless treasures of the Old and New Kingdom are
their meetings from Time magic to stay hidden from their lost. Amid the disaster, the Iris to Imhotep’s Emanation
rivals, the precise nature of the conspiracy is mysterious to Realm is destroyed.
modern mages.
665 BCE: The Library of Ashurbanipal is founded in
?1000 BCE: Spells that were once stable begin suddenly Nineveh. Mystagogues theorize it was built atop one of the
and swiftly degrading, and greater magics introduce strange three Athenaea Prima, which were legendary storehouses
anomalies into the Fallen World. Seeking an explanation, their predecessors constructed before the Fall containing
a group of 14 archmasters called the Quiet Astrally project the Alae Draconis’ knowledge and protected by unique
to Oroboros and witness firsthand how mages’ spells risk enchantments and defenses.
drawing the Abyss into the Fallen World. None return
unscathed. While they attempt to warn other mages of the 612 BCE: The Library of Ashurbanipal is destroyed when
risks, the Quiet are met with suspicion — if other Orders Babylonians, Scythians, and Medes attack the city. Wheth-
meet with them at all. Realizing they must be the bulwarks er the Exarchs’ agents had a hand in this as they did with
against the Abyss widening further, they reform into the Babylon’s fall 900 years prior is unclear.
Guardians of the Veil.

Timeline 25
 551 BCE to 479 BCE: This period encompasses the life of
Master Kong Qiu, aka Confucius. Many early Arrow mages
follow his teachings, seeing echoes of Atlantean ideals in Portraits of
his views on appropriate actions, respect, and compassion the Foundation Age
— though they part ways philosophically when it comes to
Briareus, The Concealed
matters of combat and war.
When Sleepers discuss personality archetypes,
509 BCE: The New Constructionists, a group of pro-
they cite Carl Jung, but the Greek mage Briareus’
to-Guardians led by a pleb-born mage called Fasces, take
work predates his by millennia. The father of
advantage of the rape of Lucretia to destroy the Roman mon-
Awakened psychoanalysis was an actor before
archy. In the years following, mages flock to Rome, drawn
Awakening as an Obrimos while portraying a
by access to private societies and places to practice magic
god on stage, and was recruited by a Phulakion
and share knowledge. Willworkers establish an Awakened
school (a precursor to the Guardians of the Veil)
Tribune as Roman influence expands.
who sent him to learn from the famous philosopher
360 BCE: In his works Timaios and the unfinished Kritias, Theophrastus as part of his training. The combi-
Plato speaks of Atlantis. Mages find his observations about the nation of his Obrimos need to develop rules, his
Awakened City uncanny, and for the first time, the idea of it training for the stage, repeated vision quests into
enters Sleeper dialogue. Rumors abound, speculating that the his Oneiros, and Theophrastus’ development of
second half of Kritias and a third volume, Hermokrates, exist, platonic forms into early character studies led to
though no records of either have been found. Briareus’ lifelong obsession.
Briareus fervently believed that consciousness,
323 BCE: Alexander the Great dies. During his reign,
especially for Sleepers, was an illusion created
syncretism flourished. Alexander often allowed those he
by the interaction of set personality archetypes
conquered to retain their culture and religion, which exposed
represented by Goetia within the Oneiros, and
his subjects to new religious practices and philosophical
that by understanding that inner ecology of
beliefs. The Awakened, too, found commonalities and new
ideas, he could eventually predict how a subject
insights as they met mages from distant lands. Alexander was
would respond to any stimulus. His books de-
a Sleeper with an exceptional mind for strategy and warfare.
scribed thousands of archetypes in extremely dry
Even today, certain mages insist he was a willworker, though
terms, but found practical application. Briareus
to which Order he belonged is a matter of scholarly debate.
constructed dozens of theoretical “minds” from
Some Guardians claim him, while others are certain he
different archetypes, and by meditative practice
belonged to the Arrow. The Sons of Phobos, who enjoyed
learned how to react as they would, changing his
secret patronage under his reign, claim he was transformed
own personality in the process. Guardians cele-
into a vampire.
brate his work on assuming constructed minds as
the invention of Masques, and it’s the origin of his
The Foundation Age: 322 BCE to 265 CE sobriquet, but the Order also uses his theories in
The early Orders form in the Diadochi era. The initial Order mem- basic spycraft to assess the motivations of assets.
bership includes the Arrow, Ladder, Keepers, and Pancryptiates, with Sadly for Briareus, his story ends tragically: he
the Guardians joining only a few years later. These early Orders are still accidentally erased his own mind while examin-
the distinct minority of mages, and notably encompass many groups ing its structure and starved to death before any-
that will later be Seers. The proto-Diamond stays this way until the one found him.
Roman Republic becomes an empire, after which they separate into
two Antitypes. The Tyrannic Antitype are the proto-Seers who believe
in ruling humanity in service to the Exarchs, while the Atlantean
305 BCE: A Guardian named Admeta discovers the wealthy
Antitype are what will become the Diamond.
Eleuisian family she works for founded a secret fellowship
321 BCE: Alexander leaves his empire to “the strongest,” that practices mystic rites. Admeta shares her own false
though his advisors dispute who, exactly, that is. The suc- occult information and is initiated into the cult, forming
cession war, called the Diadochi, lasts 40 years and ends the first Labyrinth. Guardians adopt and adapt these
with the Hellenic empire split in four: the Ptolemaic King- mystery cults around the world, using them to distract
dom, the Seleucid Empire, the Kingdom of Pergamon, and unworthy Sleepers while guiding those with potential
Macedon. His satraps withdrawing to Macedon opens the toward Awakening.
way for Chandragupta Maurya to conquer northwest India,
establishing the Maurya Empire. “Diadochi” is also the name 295 BCE: The Library of Alexandria is founded. The Keep-
the Tyrannoi use, as they pit Sleeper and Awakened generals ers of the Word form with the founding of this first great
against one another to control humanity by keeping it in a Mouseion.
state of eternal war.

26 chapter One: A History of Magic

?: The monsters the Tremere have spent centuries torturing supernatural beings in his prohibition, and doesn’t care if
and interrogating manage to imprison the mages in turn. “The people believe Yeshua was divine or not, but he refuses to
Captivity,” as the Tremere call it, changes the mages’ souls. let anyone prove it one way or another.

270 to 265 BCE: The mages of the Phoenix Brethren build 66 to 135 CE: Tyrannoi infighting supports the Roman
the Adytum of the Mysteries in a Shadow Realm. Originally Empire in the Judaic Rebellions, crushing the Jewish mystic
planned as a perfected library where knowledge would never Cult (and stamping out Father worship in the process). At-
be corrupted or forgotten, over time it becomes an entire lantean mages, who were still trying to recruit the Israelite
city. The Phoenix Brethren keep construction of this “New Great Cult into the Orders, take this as a sign of hostility.
Atlantis” to themselves, but upon its completion invite the
rest of their Order to join them. Records differ on what 97 CE: Attempts to bridge the Parthian Empire and create
those who ventured there found, if anything at all. What’s diplomatic ties between the Roman and Han Empires fail,
known is that the city was a failure. After several decades, to the consternation of the proto-Ladder.
the Order’s Caucuses warn mages against seeking it out, and
120 CE: Aquilinus Thrax, a warrior-mage of the Adaman-
the Mysterium ultimately keeps the event a secret from all
tine Arrow, marches his IX Legion into Pictish territory to
but its most trusted members.
force the native mystics there to share the secrets of human
230 BCE: The Serapeum, a Keeper archive created from do- sacrifice. The officers sacrifice their own soldiers to live on
nations from a Mouseion (“mentor” Caucus) — in this case, as war-gods. The Arrow believes the mages are lost for the
from the Library of Alexandria — is founded. The Keepers next several centuries.
are now the earliest recognizable Order. Istros demonstrates
184 to 185 CE: The Exarchs’ emissaries struggle to retain
his Knife.
control in the Three Kingdoms. Zhang Jue, one of the leaders
218 BCE: While Hannibal crosses the Alps, General-wor- of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, is rumored to be a powerful
shiping Diadochi attack a proto-Arrow sanctum; the Arrow sorcerer. Though he never makes the claim himself, his life is
is victorious but discovers it was infiltrated — and the lead a common area of study for Diamond historians. During this
proto-Seer is their own Adamant Sage’s brother. period, the wars cause many warped Awakenings. Responding
to both the high numbers of Banishers and more mundane
55 BCE: Roman expedition into Britain encounters Druids. concerns, Order mages’ actions win them respect in the region.
Arrow mages traveling with Caesar obey the Order’s leaders
and desert from the army to study the Druids’ magic. When ?2nd Century CE: The Teraphim, an Artifact that allows a
the Romans return and attack the sacred isle of Mona, those Minister to communicate with the Exarchs, is uncovered in
same Arrows fight alongside the Druids. the Sahara and taken to Rome. It’s kept under heavy guard,
and passed down from Seer to Seer through the ages.
?50 BCE: Attempting to endure the Captivity, many Tremere
seek respite in Egypt, where they come under thrall to an ?2nd Century CE: The Guardian named Abraxas creates the
ancient vampire sorcerer called the Theban. The vampire com- Labyrinth known as the Basilideans. Sleepers and mages within
mands the Tremere to pursue occult secrets and artifacts, many the cult believe him to be a god, and many of his Awakened
of which still reside with the Order when the Captivity ends. followers are certain Abraxas is the Heiromagus. Eventually, the
cult sows enough chaos that it attracts other Orders’ attention.
4 BCE to 33 CE: The life of Yeshua ben Yosef, aka Jesus. The Adamantine Arrow asserts that one of their warriors killed
Despite keen interest from future mages, the life, ministry, Abraxas in his sanctum in Alexandria, though members of his
death, and supposed resurrection of the Christian messiah cult insist he vanished and later appeared to them in spirit.
remain mysterious. A handful of contemporary records from
the Synhedrion lists him among the many revolutionary 250 CE: Awakened society is now firmly split between
preachers of the time, but his alleged divinity only became neoplatonists (proto-Diamond) and gnostics (proto-Seers).
a matter of obsession for mages after the fact, by which time Relationships between the two sects are hostile.
it was too late. Christianity has had such an impact on world
265 CE: The first Convocation is held at Alexandria. The
religion that the Father, Exarch of dogma, murderously
Atlantean mages meet and decide to expel Tyrannic cabals,
defends Yeshua’s timeline. A Greater Ochema of the Father
setting down the precepts of the initial Orders and stating
leads a host of Supernal Angels to intercept and warn off
that they aren’t part of any Sleeper civilization but draw from
anyone attempting to witness Christ through time and make
all (“The Awakened are One Nation” — i.e., the Diamond
terrible examples of those brave enough to interfere. The
Precept). The Consilium of Alexandria is disbanded and the
Father doesn’t discriminate between Awakened and other
Library evacuated for fear of Tyrannic reprisals.

Timeline 27
The Diamond Yuga
Lasting nearly 2000 years, this period stretches from the early Portraits of
days of the Diamond to just after the Great Refusal. the Consilium Age
Myrddin Emrys,
The Consilium Age: 265 CE to 700 CE The Once and Future Archmaster
300 CE: The age begins with friendly contact with mages in Although he is without question the most famous
Wagadou (usually called Ghana). The local Nameless Order, (or infamous) mage in all history, to the point
called the Broken Wings, slowly joins the Keepers, though where even Sleepers have heard of “Merlin” be-
like the Jewish Cult it doesn’t feel the need to fully assimilate. yond his creation of the Arthurian uchronia, the
early career of Myrddin Emrys remains shrouded
?4th Century CE: Following visions of a being they call
in mystery even as the Silver Ladder celebrates
the Seventh Dragon, the Tremere learn of a fortress in
his archmastery and Ascension.
the Carpathian Mountains called Chur, which is guarded
by the warrior-Masters of the Invoked Veil. Promising the “Myrddin” is a title, not a Shadow Name; every
god-monsters they’ve imprisoned freedom in exchange for chief druid of the Walkers in Mists Legacy has
their aid, the Tremere and their captives launch an assault been Myrddin, Merlin, Marzhin, or one of a
on Chur and break the seals holding the Seventh Dragon. variety of other spellings since before the Roman
The entity heals the Tremere, ending the Captivity. conquest of Britain, long before the uchronia. To
complicate matters, the Arthurian Merlin arrived
u?4th Century CE: One of the Tremere veterans of the in 480 CE using his archmastery of Time and free-
assault on Chur tracks a master of the Nagaraja Legacy to ly admitted that his Shadow Name of Emrys was
the Hindu Kush and consumes his soul, creating the first one he’d assumed upon exceeding the known
Tremere House. The Tremere devours the rest of the Legacy. Practices. Officially, the Silver Ladder isn’t certain
Multiple Bronze uchronia surround the consumption, some which Merlin Emrys was; the Walkers in Mists,
of which affect the personal timelines of the Legacy’s lon- however, believe that unless Emrys has yet to be
gest-lived members stretching back to the 2nd Century CE. born, the most likely candidate is Myrddin Wyllt.
After Awakening at the battle of Arfderydd, Wyllt
410 CE: Visigoths sack Rome. Guardians of the Veil in the
was obsessed with forging one nation out of the
city take the opportunity to assassinate every known Seer
fractious British tribes, spoke of a need for a uni-
of the Throne and their agents. The last Roman legions
fying story, vanished under mysterious circum-
leave Britannia.
stances in the early 7th century, and was record-
427 CE: Nalanda, considered the first residential university, ed in the Legacy’s annals as having a Nimbus of
is founded in Magadha, India. It draws both Sleeper and “renewal,” while the archmaster’s Imperial works
Awakened scholars from across the world. Pilgrims from cause a well-documented sensation of aging
China, Korea, and Tibet visit in later centuries, bringing backward in anyone scrutinizing them.
texts to Nalanda and carrying others home with them. The
Keepers of the Word establish a Mouseion here, facilitating
the spread of knowledge between Caucuses.
Destiny’s focal point of Arthur, and then deliberately triggers
451 CE: Arrow battlemages fight on both sides of the Battle its Bane to cement things. In each uchronia, Myrddin creates
of the Catalaunian Fields, where Roman general Flavius and then destroys Camelot. He Ascends in the process, but
Aetius and King Theodric I of the Visigoths join forces to history is rewritten, confusing historians’ views of what was
turn back the Huns under Attila’s command. going on in western Europe at this time.
476 CE: The Western Roman Empire ends and Europe 486 CE: Clovis I defeats Syagrius, a Roman military leader,
enters a dark age. Constant conflict makes it difficult for and by the time of his death in 511 his kingdom includes
the Orders to hold much sway; the Diamond scatters, and much of Gaul and Germania. His descendants continue to
even the Guardians falter. Isolated Consilia keep the peace, partition his kingdoms and style themselves Merovingians.
but there's no attempt at organizing beyond them. The kings claim descent from a sacred lineage; in reality, the
Dynasty is one of Proximi (Forces, Mind, Prime). The Silver
480 to 540 CE: This period encompasses the rough extent
Ladder inducts the Merovingian Dynasty into the Order.
of the 17 uchronia making up Arthurian Britain. Through
impossibly wide-ranging spells, decades of manipulation, and ?6th Century CE: Chinese Keepers of the Word codify and
low cunning, Myrddin Emrys exploits the lack of a single ruler adopt Guanxi from Confucian principles, defining relation-
of Britain to create the national Destiny that one would arise, ships of trust and loyalty between mages within the Order
stage-manages the birth, childhood, and assumption as that that guide them in favor trading, obligations to one another,

28 chapter One: A History of Magic

 and aiding peers in need. Guanxi supersedes a local Ruling
Council’s laws when the two conflict.
Portraits of the Draconic Age
570 CE: Muhammad ibn Abdullah is born. Like Yeshua ben
Yosef, his legacy has a major impact on world religion, and Lady Catarine Beldam, The Wildcat
an Ochema of the Father likewise defends Muhammad’s
timeline from scrutiny. This defense largely ends upon Mu-
Most European théarchs have heard of Beldam
hammad’s death in 632, though Tetrarchs in the Father’s
(sometimes misnamed “Bedlam”), the Deacon
service occlude key events of Muslim history until 874 and
who survived a Tremere assassination attempt to
the death of Hasan al-Askari.
denounce that twisted Order at the Convocation
of Antioch and bring an end to the Draconic Age
573 CE: Merlin Awakens at the battle of Arfderydd, 200 before conveniently vanishing from Awakened
years after he was first seen. history books. The truth lay far from her saintly
image: the Tremere acted only in self-defense,
676 CE: At the behest of the Arrow mage Keenheart, the Grand and she exposed them out of sheer spite. The
Caucus of Chalons takes place on Catalaunian Fields. During daughter of a French nobleman, Catarine terror-
this meeting, the western Arrow decide to refocus on Seers and ized servants and peers alike before Awakening
Banishers (called “Timori”) rather than other enemies. as a Mastigos. Taking the Shadow Name of
“Wildcat,” she took to Awakened politics with
700 CE: The Tremere approach the Diamond Orders, the enthusiasm of a sociopath, earning her rank
positioning themselves as hunters of Seers, Scelesti, Reap- in the Silver Ladder with ruthless (and reckless)
ers, and other monsters. They ask for — and are granted behavior. Seeking ways to elevate her own pow-
— membership. er, she became obsessed with the Rapt, archmas-
ters, Reapers, and Archons before realizing the
The Draconic Age: 700 CE to 1100 CE connection between an ancient Reaper Legacy
and a Tremere House. The Tremere cabal she ap-
In the 8th century, Nameless groups on the fringes of the Di-
proached demanding tutelage turned her down,
amond's sphere of influence — India, Scandinavia, and central
sparking the fatal confrontation.
Europe — whom the Pancryptiates and Arrow deal with as soul-in-
terested monster hunters with a habit of antagonizing the Keepers Only a handful of mages know what happened
— reveal that they've formed an Order and demand membership next. Rejecting the Tremere for their rejection of
of the Diamond as the Tremere. Diamond culture gets more her, she vanished from her Consilium in search
self-consciously symbolic. It’s during this period that the Orders of the monsters that first damaged the Tremere’s
adopt their “draconic” iconography and most of their modern souls, believing in her hubris that she could dis-
precepts. The Diamond's sphere of influence remains mostly cover a superior state of existence to their Hollow
stable — Europe, Russia, India, North Africa, and Asia. Contact souls. She found a vampiric entity of the Lower
with other magical cultures via ephemeral realms continues. Depths (a “Strix”) willing to participate in her ex-
periments, but it did not go as planned; the entity
? 8th Century CE: The Tremere attack vampires. The other
was destroyed and Catarine was killed, but she
Orders offer no help, unwilling to revisit the hostilities be-
was remade as a unique form of Wight: a ghost
tween mages and the undead over control of Rome.
mage that can drink the souls of mages to sustain
?8th Century CE: The Keepers of Vedet are founded. This herself without Anchors. The Wildcat has been
Slavic Legacy sets the virtuous dead to rest and protects sighted a few times every century since her death,
Sleepers from angry ghosts, spirits, and other beings. People even up to the modern day.
in the eastern European and Central Asian communities call
them “witchkeepers” and believe they’ve found a way to turn
the devil’s power to good.
793 to 1066 CE: This period encompasses Viking ex-
745 to 751 CE: The Merovingian Dynasty’s growing de- pansion and invasions. The witch-priests of the Seo Hel
lusions of sacred grandeur eventually lead the Proximi to Legacy harry Norse raiders. Soldiers believe the goddess
directly threaten their Awakened benefactors. The Ladder, Hel’s followers can deny people an honored afterlife.
already ill-disposed toward its wayward Dynasty for its arro- Sleepers and Awakened band together to fight them. The
gance and decadence, allies with Pepin the Short, father of Tremere, who continue to fight Reaper Legacies, lead
Charlemagne, to overthrow the last Merovingian king. The Diamond mages against the Seo Hel to defeat the Reapers
Dynasty's fall marks the definitive end of overt Awakened in a battle outside Gdansk. While their allies believe the
attempts to openly rule over humanity. The Merovingian Tremere who rode into the wilderness after stragglers lost,
line continues to antagonize the Ladder over the coming in truth their mages stole the Legacy during the battle and
centuries. faked their deaths.

Timeline 29
 1021 CE: Vikings settle in North America. Awakened among
them make contact with Native mages. Out of the Diamond
Orders, the Adamantine Arrow especially finds common Portraits of the Divided Age
cause with the willworkers of the tribes they meet, viewing
Veritas, The Apotheosian
them as peers who understand that conflict, war, and death
are essential parts of life. To the Adamantine Arrow’s great shame, the most
famous Seer in history — the man who founded
Early 11th Century CE: Théarch orator Larva sponsors a
the first modern Ministry and coined the very term
semi-Tyrannoi revival, convincing his peers he’s communi-
“Seer of the Throne” to describe himself — was
cated with the Oracles and that, if the Order constructs a
once an Arrow. Veritas Awakened at the dawn
star ladder from the Fallen World, the Oracles will begin one
of the 13th century as an Obrimos and took up
from the Supernal. When the two halves meet, the ladder will
the sword as a warrior for Heaven. Like many
dispel the Abyss. Icelandic Magister Ulfsdottir accuses him
Arrow Theurgists of his time, he joined the Fourth
of being an agent of the Exarchs, creating a bloody schism
Crusade and marched to what he believed would
within the Order. Ulfsdottir wins a fatal duel against Larva,
be the liberation of Jerusalem. When the Crusade
proving her suspicions. The Silver Ladder ensures the other
stalled in 1205 CE and sacked Constantinople
Orders never learn of this.
instead, Arrow battled Arrow as Greek mages
Late 11th Century CE: Having decimated the number of fought back. The futile horror of the war broke
monsters and Reapers in their territories, the Tremere set something in Veritas, who returned to Rome
their sights on mages of the Diamond Orders. obsessed with Christianity’s flaws. He spent a
quarter of a century arguing that as Sleeper reli-
1099 CE: At the Convocation of Antioch, Lady Catarine gions were inherently flawed it was a mistake for
Beldam, called the Wildcat, exposes the Tremere as Reapers. the Arrow to serve them; but if a true, Supernal
The Legacy’s mages are declared nefandi and expelled. What religion could be found, it would be a unifying
influence of their membership the Diamond doesn’t erase, force for humanity. He attracted followers from
the Tremere steal or destroy themselves on their way out. his own Order and the Silver Ladder, Keepers,
and Pancryptiates. Eventually, his quest led him
The Divided Age: 1100 CE to 1247 CE deep into the Astral Realms, where he confronted
Lilith and Azazel, the Aeons of Prime and Forces,
Human society is increasingly polarized during this period — and demanded they grant him audience with the
not one large empire the Diamond can get behind, but compris- Almighty.
ing multiple power blocs warring on one another, which turns
mages against each other, too. The Keepers and Pancryptiates Exactly where the Aeons sent him is unknown.
are especially badly hit by the Tremere’s expulsion — as main Paternoster Seers learn that he entered a “void
targets of their ire and their closest allies, respectively — and fall between worlds” that his contemporary detrac-
to infighting as well. tors believed to be the Abyss, but which mod-
ern Arrows with centuries of studying the ene-
12th Century CE: The post-Diamond Tremere follow my behind them now theorize to have been an
rumors of “ghost centurions” to Valkhof Castle in the Emanation Realm. Whatever the nature of that
Netherlands. There, they find the remaining Thrax Arrow place, Veritas nearly succumbed to madness in-
mages, whom that Order deemed lost in the 9th century. side it, until an Ochema of the Father rescued him.
The Tremere attack and absorb them, forming their newest He returned to the Fallen World more than just a
House. Prelate; accounts describe his Nimbus as having
the painful effect on onlookers that Ochemata
13th century CE:-The Adamantine Arrow hosts the first
cause, leading some to suspect Veritas actually
revival of the Pythian Games in Greece. The games combine
died beyond the world and was replaced. His
contemporary and ancient sports to test mages’ abilities.
following among the Diamond grew rapidly as
Willworkers from across the Orders are invited to participate.
he espoused a new religion open only to mag-
1202 to 1205 CE: The Theurgist Veritas participates in the es, until the Convocation of Rome declared them
Fourth Crusade and flees to Rome in its aftermath. Left-Handed for breaking the Diamond Precept
and preaching Tyranny. They quit the Orders en
1205 CE: Arrow fight Arrow in the Fourth Crusade’s siege masse and became the Church of Paternoster, the
of Constantinople, and the Athenaeum of Hagia Sophia is largest European Nameless Order and — 200
sacked and looted. years later — a founding Ministry of the Seers.
1209 to 1229 CE: This period encompasses the Albigensian
Crusade, during which the French crown (at the behest of
Pope Innocent III) attempts to wipe out Catharism in south-

30 chapter One: A History of Magic

 1244 CE: Though the Albigensian Crusade ended nearly 15
years before, a small group of Cathars remains, resisting the
Portraits of the Divided Age Catholic Church and the Inquisition. When Cathars murder
two Inquisitors, the French royal military lays siege to the Ca-
the Corpus Author, Founder of the Mysterium
thars’ stronghold, the Château de Montségur. The siege lasts
In the centuries since their Order’s creation, nine months, ending in the Cathars’ surrender. 210 defenders
Mystagogues have been understandably fasci- burn in a bonfire. A few are rumored to have escaped via a secret
nated by the author of the Corpus Mysteriorum. route and recovered relics buried in the nearby forest, some of
Unfortunately, the archmaster in question took which may have been Artifacts under Pancryptiate protection.
great pains to render herself anonymous, believ-
1240s CE: Mongol invasions in Europe force both Sleeper rulers
ing that if she could be identified as a member
and Diamond Orders to cease warring among each other — tem-
of any particular Keeper or Pancryptiate group,
porarily — to defend against the invading armies. Though the
the opposite Order would reject unification, and
cessation of hostilities doesn’t last, it sets the stage for previously
she would be a target for Exarchal attention. The
feuding Consilia to settle their differences in decades to come.
scraps the Mysterium has learned are kept secret
until certain levels of initiation per the Order’s 1247 CE: In the wake of the Corpus Mysteriorum’s publication
custom, but even a Hierophant has more ques- and its author’s Ascension, the Keepers of the Word and
tions than answers. It is almost certain that the Pancryptiates begin to unite as one Order: the Mysterium,
Author was a woman, and metaphorical clues in which pulls practices from both traditions equally. Diamond
the Corpus suggest she may have been a Muslim historians later call this period the Apocalypse Mysteriorum.
before Awakening as an Obrimos. A section of
the Corpus breaks into the first person for a few
paragraphs while describing wisdom using the The Expansion Age: 1248 CE to 1505 CE
archaic term “Sophia,” giving rise to a controver- With the Tremere openly hunting rivals and proto-Seer groups
sial theory in the 18th century that it may have warring among themselves, the Diamond settles in for a few centuries
been her Shadow Name, and to the existence of of being the responsible, stable option. Its sphere of influence grows
several Grimoires collectively called the Sophiad into Africa, Russia, and the formerly Tremere territories as western
that are the Apocrypha to the Corpus’ Bible. exploration continues, and they make formal contact with native
Modern searches for clues concentrate on 12th mages, some of whom begin to assimilate. For the first and only
century Damascene Pancryptiates and 10th cen- period in history, the Diamond encompasses the majority of mages.
tury Andalusian Keepers, but so far, the Author
1249 CE: The Pancryptiates officially dissolve.
remains incognito. Several Mystagogue histo-
rians have pointed out that even if the Author’s 1260 CE: The Keepers of the Word officially dissolve.
identity were discovered, it would be immediately
Censored to the very deepest levels of initiation; 1270 CE: Paternoster mages experience dream visions and
perhaps, say certain conspiracy theories, it al- follow strange lights in the sky above the Tunisian Steppes,
ready has been. convinced these are messages from the Father. There, they
find the entity they dub the Tutor and bring it back to their
sanctum in Tunis. Within months, they discover it’s not a
wounded Ochema as they first believed, but a being from
ern France, severely weakening Pancryptiates allied with the the Lower Depths.
neo-Gnostic movement.
1337 CE: In the wake of Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage to Mecca,
1230 CE: Veritas tries to force the Aeons Lilith and Azazel mages in Mali prepare for an influx of other willworkers from
to propel him to the Supernal, but he becomes trapped in across Europe and Asia. Mansa Musa’s death threatens to
an unknown place beyond the Anima Mundi (now thought destabilize his empire; the Orders attempt to secure trade
to be a Tyrannate) where he is rescued — and enslaved — by routes and keep the peace while unrest brews around them.
the Father.
1346 to 1353 CE: The Black Death kills over half the popula-
1235 CE: The Diamond is pushed out of Ghana with the tion of Europe. Medieval science can’t explain its origin, and
establishment of the Mali Empire; the Broken Wings are even as mages debate their responsibility to intervene, the
destroyed. plague kills communities faster than the Awakened — who
are susceptible themselves — can keep up.
1235 CE: Veritas steals the Teraphim from Rome and founds
Paternoster as its first Apotheosian. By the end of the period, 15th Century CE: Travelers return to Europe with texts
it’s unquestionably the largest Seer group, and even larger from the Middle East and Far East. Among these are long-
than some of the Diamond Orders. lost Grimoires which proto-Hegemons use to found the
Architects of the Future Legacy.

Timeline 31
 15th Century CE: The Vienna Consilium produces the of 100,000 Leaves for the next four centuries, resulting in
Codex Cruciatum to codify Abyssal Legacies and magical prac- uchronia continuing to appear backward in time.
tices. The text differentiates between foolish and malicious
workings, and suggests penalties for transgressors. 1630 to 1640 CE: Seer Ministries are split between the
Hegemony, which supports a Christian Reformation, and
1492 CE: Columbus lands in Bermuda, marking the start Paternoster, which supports the Counter-Reformation. One
of the European invasion of America. would split Christendom into rival factions, while the other
would consolidate its power in the hands of Rome. The Di-
1499 CE: Two Arrow mages named Erebus and Walpurga are amond Orders use this infighting to weaken the Seers’ hold
ordered into conflict over Milan (Erebus attacking, Walpurga on Sleeper religion. The Bubonic Plague spreads through
defending) backed by Swiss mercenaries and their own cabals. Europe, and mages despair to see a repeat of the Black
Finding their Adamant Sages’ orders and ethics lacking, they Death in terms of the loss of life and their inability to halt
go rogue and found the Free Companies. They gain fame fight- its course. Meanwhile, the Inquisition targets anyone who
ing throughout Italy, hiring out their might in exchange for doesn’t conceal their relationship with the supernatural.
gold, Mana, and lore, working for Sleepers and Consilia alike.
They also become liches in a fortress built in the Underworld. 1633 CE: A Mystagogue cabal called the Stone Assembly,
part of the Cambridge Consilium in England, charters the
1505 CE: The Hegemony — and the Seers of the Throne — first Consilium in the Americas in Boston. Though the Hi-
founded in Italy. erarch and Councilors insist they’re inclusive, most positions
are filled by white men who own property.
The Opposition Age: 1506 CE to 1789 CE 1633 CE: Japan closes its borders in Sakoku. The brigand
The Seers of the Throne are founded in the 16th century as and swordsman Hagetaka, a solitary mage, founds the
the Hegemony become the first Ministry, and the Diamond’s Brotherhood of the Demon Wind and later leads it in
opposition goes from barely organized to much better organized joining the Arrow.
than the Diamond Orders are within a decade. As colonialism
builds steam, the period of happy contact with outsiders sours. 1666 CE: The London, Prague, and Heidelberg Consilia
Where the Diamond manages to portray itself as separate from brutally suppress the Shoal of Night, a Nameless Order
the Seers, syncretism continues. Where it doesn’t, as in the Ca- collecting what lore it can from the Time Before and letting
ribbean, Nameless Orders flourish and organize. Mana gets its Sleepers analyze it.
modern name as the Diamond encounters Pacific mages.
1670 CE: The Mali Empire collapses, and the Diamond
1519 to 1521 CE: The Spanish invade the Aztec Empire. Orders return to the area.
While some Arrow mages are already embedded within Aztec
civilization, they’re unable to rebuff both Cortés’ army and 1680 CE: Manchu warlords, fearful of Hong Fu-Sang prac-
the smallpox outbreak that rages through the population. tices, attack their compounds in Gansu, kill the society’s
acolytes, and burn their texts. Only a few of their dreamers
1567 CE: Just as the Legacy is contemplating a petition to be rec- escape, fleeing into the Temenos and sealing themselves in
ognized as an Order, the Keepers of Vedet find their reputation the Temple of the Dreaming Butterfly.
in tatters. Rumor suggests the witch-keepers have succumbed to
Satan’s power and are sending evil spirits to torment Sleepers 1690 CE: An Abyssal incursion nearly consumes Naples
throughout the region. The search for the truth leads the Vedma before an Arrow Jesuit named Alessandro Grimaldi sum-
and Vedmak to the Carpathian Mountains — and the fortress of mons a Seraph.
Chur. Though the battle is hard-fought, the Tremere win and
absorb the attacking mages, forming House Vedmak. 1713 CE: The Company of the Codex is founded in Nassau.
This Nameless Order is a thorn in the sides of both the
1580s CE: North America is (re)colonized at Roanoke. Diamond and the Seers. Formed from the dispossessed and
disenfranchised, they believe every mage deserves an equal
u1626 CE: Fleeing persecution in Europe, a cabal called Epo- voice, and they share in the spoils of the Mysteries they
na’s Chariot emigrates to the Americas and rapidly comes into discover — or those they wrest from their enemies by force.
conflict with local Massachuseuk willworkers. Under siege Within their territory, the power of Supernal symbols of
from spirits made manifest by tribal mages, Epona’s Chariot authority wanes, alarming the Silver Ladder.
summons an Abyssal entity called the Blasphemous Scribe to
eliminate their foes from time itself. The tribal mages vanish 1714: Three Turkish Thunderbolt Guardians destroy Erebus and
from history in the resulting uchronia; only one of the four Walpurga in Venice, 200 years after the Free Companies formed.
surviving cabal members remembers both the new — now true
— history and an anti-history of a land overrun with demons 1716: A Silver Ladder Convocation of the American Colo-
and plagued by torment. That mage forms the cult of the Red nies calls for war against the Company of the Codex. The
Word, which continues to gather the histories of the Prince other Orders disagree, but the Ladder accepts an offer from
Margaret Howell, Tetrarch of Hegemony in the Caribbean.

32 chapter One: A History of Magic

 1752 CE: An Abyssal cult made up of nasnasi who used to 1848 CE: Further revolutions sweep through 50 European
be Acanthus takes up residence in the missing 11 days from countries in a phenomenon later historians call the Spring-
the Julian-Gregorian calendar switchover. time of Nations, as working classes and reformers demand
more rights, an end to monarchies, the establishment of
1764 CE: The Sculoa di Otranto, a mysterious school for representative democracies, freedom of the press, and more.
young Awakened maintained in an old Athenaeum, is These uprisings aren’t coordinated, and not all succeed, but
founded in Italy. Previously only inhabited by its Curator they signify a time of massive political and social change.
— always called the Otranto — and their apprentice, the
current Otranto expands the number of residents to nine, 1840 to 1850 CE: Writer Edgar Allan Poe (whom Arrows
giving no explanation. Visitors who stray from permitted later deem a Sleepwalker) has increasingly powerful dreams
areas frequently meet horrific fates. about a passage to the Earth’s interior at the South Pole.
Not only do these dreams make it into his writing, but they
1775 to 1783 CE: British colonies in North America rebel affect the Temenos as well. American mages — and later, will-
against their monarch across the sea, waging the American workers in Europe, South America, and Japan — are drawn
Revolutionary War. The colonists win, forming the new to a spire in the Astral Realm similar to one in his works,
nation of the United States of America. which also sometimes manifests in the Fallen World. Even
more disturbing, many experience visions of Watchtowers
1789 CE: Riding the wave of the Sleeper revolution that begins
crumbling. After a Guardian learns the plot of his next story,
in France, many Awakened in Paris disavow both Diamond and
dubbed “The Light-House,” Poe disappears for three days.
Seers to form the Free Assembly of France, the first mage As-
Shortly after his return, he dies.
sembly. This alliance of Nameless Orders serves as the template
for what will later become the Assemblies of the Free Council.

The Revolutionary Age: 1790 CE to 1900 CE Portraits of

Social and political changes from the late Opposition Age the Revolutionary Age
and throughout the Revolutionary Age provoke the formation
Razi, Diplomat of the Great Refusal
of new Nameless groups who align with existing holdouts from
Diamond and Seer dominance to form the first Assemblies. Born in Shiraz, Persia in 1856, son of a minor gov-
What future Awakened historians will dub “the Nameless War” ernment official, Razi Awakened at an unusually
consists mostly of simmering tensions with occasional isolated early age after exposure to High Speech in the ruins
breakouts of magical violence, and lasts roughly from the French of Persepolis. The Mystagogue whose expedition
Revolution to the Indian Rebellion — though Awakened scholars caused the accident sponsored his education, and
disagree vehemently about this range. he attended the famous Dar-ul Funun university,
1790 to 1799 CE: Following in America’s footsteps, the founded by the Shah to modernize Persia. A poly-
French people enact a bloody revolution that spans a de- math with a gift for languages, social theories, and
cade, culminating in the downfall of the Bourbon dynasty, economics, Razi became a diplomat and traveled
the rise and fall of the French republic, and the rise of extensively, eventually dropping out of his Sleeper
Napoleon. The Parisian Consilium faces opposition of its life entirely after his parents’ deaths. Declining
own from Nameless mages rejecting the Diamond Precept, membership in the Mysterium without rancor, Razi
and French Seers take advantage of the situation to tempt found his calling in the rapid social development
those Nameless into joining the Iron Pyramid instead. Di- of the steadily gathering Nameless. As he moved
amond mages in Paris begin to gather allies to help them from Assembly to Assembly, he made the contacts
combat this threat. that would later make the Great Refusal possible.
His ability to empathize with anyone and boundless
1808 to 1833 CE: The Spanish-American wars of indepen- fascination with how others operate kept the of-
dence span a quarter of a century, as localized civil wars be- ten-fractious Assemblies together, but it was the firm
came secessionist civil wars throughout the Spanish Empire. courage of his convictions beneath the friendliness
that fueled the plan to betray Hegemony.
1816 CE: Strange weather abnormalities lead to a sudden
drop in global temperatures. The Year Without A Summer In the 20th century, Razi enjoyed six decades of
is the coldest on record, leading to food shortages and riots retirement in the Pentacle he’d helped create, ap-
throughout Europe. Abyssal imagery creeps into humanity’s pearing at Convocations and Assemblies all over
dreams, heralding an imminent end to the world; modern the world. He politely refused any attempts to put
Awakened looking back on the phenomenon still have no him in charge of anything, but took a keen interest in
explanation for this Mystery, but most believe the world really anything new. He was last seen in the early 1970s,
was about to end, and something or someone prevented it. and is believed to have passed away of old age.

Timeline 33
1851 to 1864 CE: Nameless mages participate in Heavenly
Kingdom and Boxer Rebellions in China.
Portraits of
1857 CE: After the Indian Rebellion, British mages take the Revolutionary Age
scriptures from Agra and release the “Agra Revelations,” Vidocq, The Wise Hierarch
which provide a new and unprecedented perspective on
the Time Before. After their release, mages across the world If Vidocq ever traveled beyond the Île-de-France
report contact from entities claiming to come from pre-Fall in his lifetime, he never mentioned it. A young re-
societies. Efforts to reconcile them prove impossible and cruit to the Sûreté, the civilian police force of Paris,
the Mysterium downplays the texts over time, though some he Awakened in 1858 after becoming obsessed
willworkers still subscribe to their cosmology even now. with a series of murders the police had deemed
unrelated. Though the authorities arrested clear
1863 CE: Teresa Abiola suffers a Tyrannic Awakening in perpetrators for each, Vidocq learned the true
Brazil and starts a Nameless Order that sees the “Exus” culprit was a Seer of the Throne. A Diamond ca-
(Exarchs) as beings to be negotiated with. While the bal who took Vidocq in dealt with that Seer.
majority of them would abandon that belief and join the
Free Council at the end of the century, some Sons of the Naming himself after the Sûreté’s founder,
Exus still exist. Vidocq joined the Silver Ladder and became a
Factotum, a Sentinel, and a Lictor. He despised
1868 CE: Nameless mages participate in the Meiji Resto- unfairness in the law, whether Sleeper law under
ration, which brings about significant changes to Japan’s Emperor Napoleon III or the Lex Magica, and
political and social structure. made punitive judgments against those he saw
as abusing positions of authority. After censuring
1874 CE: The Black Hills Gold Rush begins in Sioux territo- the Arrow Provost of Paris for seizing a Hallow
ry, tempting colonial prospectors to intrude on Native land claimed by a Nameless column, he became
to mine it for gold. While the Diamond Orders attempt to known among the region’s non-Diamond mages
make in-roads with indigenous mages, many willworkers head as the Consilium official to trust, which helped him
for territory where the Diamond’s not yet established. They broker peace with the Parisian Assembly during
see little need for Consilia, preferring to explore Mysteries the Third Republic’s end and ensured the safety of
without excessive oversight. mages on both sides through the Paris Commune.
1885 to 1900 CE: Sleeper societies dedicated to contacting His accomplishments saw him acclaimed first as
entities “beyond the veil” lead to a renewed interest in the théarch Councilor and later Hierarch. When that
supernatural. Some Libertines try to join such groups and Assembly became the flashpoint of the Great
guide them, while Guardians of the Veil jump on the op- Refusal, Vidocq lent his Consilium’s aid and ad-
portunity to form new Labyrinths. Still other Orders recruit vised peers across Europe to do the same. He
promising occultists — or expose those frauds whose practices invited mages from across the world to the Great
threaten to strengthen the Lie. Convocation of Paris, ostensibly to welcome the
new 20th century, and whipped a surprise vote
1886 CE: The Adamantine Arrow undergoes another ideo- to acknowledge the newly formed Free Council.
logical purge. The renowned Adamant Sage Al-Ghayba of As the most accomplished théarch ever in terms
Istanbul names the “Three Zaqqum,” or three heresies the of the Order’s goals — he was, after all, direct-
Order recognizes: absolute pacifism, amoral warfare, and ly responsible for bringing tens of thousands of
treachery. mages into the Awakened Nation — Vidocq
1889 CE: Panopticon finds the first Shroud of Observation spent the remaining decades of his life described
(Mage, p. 310) under London, a sign that they are on the as the Lafayette to the Nameless’ Revolution and
verge of ascending to Greater Ministry status. lauded with honorific titles like “Grand Magister”
from Consilia he never visited. He was most proud
1895 CE: The Hegemonic Ministry begins approaching of the title the Free Council voted to give him:
Nameless cabals, offering them an alliance called the Tech- “Libertine.”
nocratic Union. Mages who reject the offers become enemies
of the Throne.
member tells his lover in Paris. She sounds the alarm, and the
1896 CE: The Persian mage Razi spreads the plan among Great Refusal is issued earlier than planned. Throughout the
other Nameless to band together in refusal of the Seers’ offer year, they reject the Seers’ offer violently, and they brutally
and launch an attack against them in retaliation for their . hunt down and purge any groups who intend to accept, so
their plans aren’t further exposed.
1899 CE: In March, the London Assembly takes the Seers up
on their offer and informs Hegemony of the plan, but one

34 chapter One: A History of Magic

 Portraits of the Revolutionary Age
Kosciej, The Deathless
The Great Refusal and the first years of the Pentacle saw mages who had spent decades or more as vehement
enemies suddenly needing to work together, putting old grudges and hostilities aside. While the alliance was
created by peacemakers like Razi and Vidocq, the Nameless War saw factions on all sides commit terrorist
acts against their opposites, and the Nameless only survived the Great Refusal against the Seers thanks to the
hard-won experience of war Assemblies who’d honed their tactics against the very Consilia the movement now
relied on for support. The most infamous of these seasoned guerrillas was — and to Guardian consternation,
still is — Kosciej the Deathless.
The British-born son of Russian socialists who fled to England in 1848, Kosciej Awakened as a Mastigos while
trying to organize a strike and was recruited by the Bristol Caucus of the Guardians of the Veil, who saw po-
tential in him as an agent for dethroning unworthy leaders. Unfortunately, his Red Veil initiation went terribly
wrong, resulting in several deaths, and left the apostate Kosciej with a hatred for the Order. He resurfaced in the
1870s as the ringleader of an Anarcho-Communist Assembly and Legacy called the Parliament of the Needle
(Mastigos, Mind) who applied its principles of common ownership to the Mysteries by merging portions of
their Oneiroi into the Legacy’s Temenos Realm, creating a shared Astral Lorehouse all members could access
simply by concentrating rather than lengthy meditation. Later Attainments allowed members to share senses
and memories and even possess one another, which is how the Parliament earned its infamy using younger
members as Trojan horses for experienced battle mages to enter and sabotage Diamond and Seer sancta. A
Guardian assassin finally succeeded in murdering Kosciej’s body in 1889, but he somehow survived in Astral
form, continuing to ride his apprentices when he needed to act in the material world.
Thanks to his network of eyes, ears, and souls in Assemblies across western Europe, Kosciej was one of the
first influential Nameless to realize the pattern of columns being approached by Hegemony and was heavily
involved in the planning and execution of the Great Refusal. While diplomatic voices like Razi organized
Assemblies to defer Hegemony’s offer, mages like Kosciej murdered Nameless who accepted alongside the
Seers they allied with. When the Paris Convocation recognized the Free Council and offered the Pentacle
alliance, Kosciej was one of the few syndics to vote against it, arguing that the new sect needed a period to
stand alone to avoid being absorbed by the Diamond. He accepted the democratic result and signed the alli-
ance treaty despite his misgivings, but his reluctance, history of violence against its allies, and lichdom greatly
reduced his influence in the Free Council over the Early Pentacle period, while Guardian Caucuses repeatedly
tried to have the Parliament declared Left-Handed. Kosciej hasn’t left the Legacy’s Astral realm in decades, but
if tension between the two sects ever comes to blows, the old lich will be ready.

1899 CE: On New Year’s Eve, the gathered Nameless declare the area of their influence. Despite these efforts, two years
themselves the Council of Free Assemblies, and the Nameless later Walter Vaughn Awakens as a Banisher and swiftly
War turns hot — directed almost entirely at the Seers. forms a cult of “witch-hunters.” Hierarch Anchorus spends
five years trying to cure the Harrowed Awakening of one of
1900 CE: In the summer in Paris, the Great Convocation his followers without success.
of Europe offers the Free Council an alliance called the
Pentacle, and this time they accept. 1917 CE: In Halifax, Nova Scotia, two ships collide in the
strait connecting the harbor to Bedford Basin. One ship
The Pentacle Yuga carries a large amount of high explosives. The resulting
blast injures over 1700 people and injures another 9000.
The first half of the 20th century is the Pentacle’s honeymoon Structures within a half-mile are obliterated. A tsunami de-
period, albeit one punctuated by two world wars, global pandem- stroys the nearby Mi’kmaq community. Though it’s blamed
ics, and numerous disasters. on both vessels’ crews, the Halifax Explosion is actually an
extermination effort by Paternoster.
The Early Pentacle: 1900 CE to 1946 CE 1917 CE to 1921 CE: The Pentacle mostly stays out of
1906 to 1911 CE: The San Francisco Consilium exterminates the Russian Revolution, but the Seers of the Throne have
all Banishers in the county, going to great lengths to scrub no such compunctions. Their meddling creates multiple

Timeline 35
 uchronia that Pentacle mages still stumble across in the and dissenting members of the two Orders reveal the Seers
modern day. as still-active agents of Pantechnicon, trust between the Free
Council and the Silver Ladder collapses. Relations between
1929 CE: The Jnanamukti (“Fist of Wisdom”) heresy is found- the two Orders remain cold for the rest of the century.
ed by theosophists reviving abandoned Pacryptiate theories.
It blames Sleeper culture for corrupting Supernal Truths and 1956 CE: A Free Company heretic-Arrow group called the
strengthening the Lie, and encourage mages to actively work Garduna slaughters the entire Budapest Consilium during
to destroy Sleeper art, technology, and institutions. the Hungarian Revolution.

1946 CE: In the wake of World War II, the Grand Ada- 1975 CE: Wild economic shifts in the United States — due
mantine Caucus meets in Tibet. For seven days, Arrow in part to stock market fluctuations — coincide with a surge
mages who fought on all sides of the conflict discuss what in Awakenings, although Alethians present and future
the Order’s involvement in modern warfare and Sleeper disagree on whether there’s any correlation. Pentacle and
politics should look like. They redefine the Phalanxes and Seers race each other to recruit the new mages and struggle
ban championing Sleeper causes, deciding to instead focus with the question of whether to take control of Wall Street,
their efforts against their older enemies, such as Seers of the and if so, how.
Throne and Banishers.
1987 to 1989 CE: These two years encompass the Mage War
of Chicago. With rumors of the powerful Celestial Flange in
The Modern Pentacle: 1945 CE Onward the city, the Lex Magica break down as cabals openly battle
The shine is off the Pentacle. The Seer Ministries and the Or- one another over the Mystery; the Seers spur this internecine
ders — Diamond, Free Council, Seer, and Tremere — have taken conflict on. Most of the city’s Awakened population dies over
their modern forms, and the US Silver Ladder and Free Council the course of the War, including Chicago’s Hierarch. The
have fallen out to the point of antagonism, with many Assemblies Consilium slowly reconstitutes itself over the next decade
no longer participating in Consilia. The Orders grapple with their and a half from what proves to be the last large-scale urban
members’ actions in World War II in various ways. conflict of Awakened of the 20th century.
1946 to 1950 CE: Concerted efforts by American Free 2000 to 2001 CE: Within a year, several incidents dra-
Council and Silver Ladder Caucuses establish ratlines in matically heighten tensions between the Pentacle and the
Europe to smuggle formerly fascist mages into the US and Pyramid, including the assassination of a prominent théarch
allow them to take up new Shadow Names within the two in Los Angeles, Praetorian involvement in the Sierra Leone
Orders. “Operation Oracle” requires coordination of doz- Civil War, the culmination of a decades-long toxification of
ens of cabals, daring expeditions into still-warm warzones Canberra’s Labyrinth, and Turifex’s Folly in New York. Seer
and the evasion of Pentacle forces hostile to the program’s victories and the marking of the Great Refusal’s centennial
goals. The Silver Ladder asserts that the Awakened are above anniversary prompt Libertines worldwide to make peace
Sleeper politics, while the Free Council sees a way to “save” with the Silver Ladder and recommit their Order to the
repentant Seer Pylons among the fascists. When Guardians Pentacle alliance.

36 chapter One: A History of Magic

 The Lost Orders
The Orders of the Diamond Precept have waxed and waned in
the 1700 years since the Diamond Yuga began. Before the Free
Council, before the Seers of the Throne, the Diamond was the
The Shape of Things to Come
dominant sect of the Fallen World’s Awakened and counted as Future centuries are not kind to the wayward Orders, leading
members three now-vanished Orders along the surviving three: to their loss. The Pancryptiates and the Keepers of the Word
the Silver Ladder, Adamantine Arrow, and Guardians of the grow more hostile to one another, and even the Lex Magica fail
Veil. The following pages detail these lost Orders as they existed to prevent worsening conflict. Left unchecked, these tensions
in the 11th century, at the height of the Draconic Age when all might have cracked the Diamond, but the Corpus Mysteriorum’s
three were present. They are: publication unified the two Orders within a scant few years, to
the shock of many. Among the Corpus’ insights were the stun-
• The Keepers of the Word, an Order of scholars and ning declarations that Pancryptia isn’t alive, but magic itself is,
teachers who believe all human knowledge makes up a and the Orders’ individual magical symbolism were patterns in
collective divine force. a larger, cohesive whole. Even had they shared no other points
of commonality — and both had long chosen to ignore the vast
• The Pancryptiates, an Order devoted to the protection of symmetries between their doctrines — each held truth above all
magic from Sleepers and Dissonance, preserving what’s else, and neither would deny the revelations of the Corpus.
left against the corrosion of the Fallen World.
The Tremere fare both better and worse. Their time within the
• The Tremere, dedicated to the ascendency of the human Diamond allowed them to devour Reaper Legacies to diversify
soul, who aggressively push back the boundaries of exis- their ranks and achieve a state of perpetuation; their expulsion
tence, force secrets from gods, and put monsters to the from the Diamond removed the mask from the monster. Their
sword. modern Order can be seen in Nameless and Accursed.

Atlantis and the Free Council

The Diamond is not the Pentacle; the Council of Free Assemblies does not claim a caste in the Awakened City or
any mythical Atlantean symbolism. They are not meant to magically emulate anything save the mystical weight
of human society. The Diamond believes as above, so below; the hundreds of cultures and Legacies that make
up the Free Council respond with as below, so above. The Diamond finds their age-old philosophies tested,
not in opposition from the Seers, but from an ally who wishes improvement and the progress of humanity. The
Awakened City never was, even if it once was; any Atlantis that might exist must be constructed anew.
In the past century, the thought repeats itself, even among those who have never read the writings of those
who came before: perhaps the Free Council is meant to invigorate human understanding of the Supernal from
that uniquely human perspective. And why not? The ideal of the Awakened City has changed with every age,
as Diamond Orders have come and gone. In the Diamond’s formal Atlantean symbolism — no, the Pentacle’s
— they are Anima Draconis, the soul of the dragon, the great peers of the Awakened City, leaving it with per-
petual revolution and infinite renewal to climb to inconceivable heights.

The Lost Orders 37

 Thank you for meeting me here, and please; you have nothing to fear. Your
teachers tell me you have voiced doubts about your placement with our Order,
and I mean to address them.
First, I am told you cannot read. This is the simplest flaw to correct. It
will be my honor to teach you if you have the desire to learn. Second, you
were a tree-wright before you Awakened, and are apprehensive about a
scholarly life. Which brings us here.
Look around you, at this great church. It has been under construction for
thirty years — will not be finished for thirty more. The original architect studied
in Ravenna. He was inspired by the monuments of the old empire there, and the work con-
tinues under his apprentice. That’s how it is with craftsmen such as yourself, yes? Your skills
are passed down, refined, like embers from a flame sparking new fires. Did you ever wonder
where it all comes from? Where did your skills, your words, your very ideas originate? We would
celebrate your skill, hone it, and let you discover its source.
But that is not why I know you have a future with us. The Guardians who found you
say that when they explained the Supernal and Fallen Worlds to you, when they described
the Astral, spiritual, and deathly lands beyond this one, you asked them a question. Do you
remember what it was?
In all this vast cosmos of symbol and phenomenon, you asked them where God was.
Would you like to know?
The Supernal World may be pure, undifferentiated truth, but it requires a world of
Phenomena to embody and understand those truths, a cycle that remains despite the
Lie making that world Fallen. Every time a thinking being perceives the world around
them and comprehends it, they touch the divine. The difference between a willworker
using a spell to reveal a Mystery and a child learning her first words is only one of de-
grees. Revelation. Understanding. Learning. These are magical, in any context. Teaching.
Explaining. Recording. These further the comprehension of others, transmitting the
Supernal from the initial revelation, sparking enlightenment in every mind it touches and
bringing each closer to the Supernal. Through the collective understanding of humanity,
the Fallen World understands itself. This is holy.
The oldest and most organized Diamond Order, the Keepers of the Word
— also known as Sacristans — collect and stand guard over the collective
knowledge of humanity, which they call Logos, “the Word.” Much more
than librarians, though, the Keepers aspire to teach, to spread Logos
wherever possible by introducing new minds to preserved ideas
and — they hope — capturing the new thoughts that build on them.
Where other Orders strictly separate the magical from the
mundane, Keepers believe wholeheartedly that all knowledge is
worthwhile. The smallest revelation in the dullest mind is still a
soul touching the Supernal, worthy of celebration. The Awakened
are special only in that they can perceive the process of perception,

38 chapter One: A History of Magic

comprehend comprehension, and touch the Supernal more directly.
All questions are divine, but magic allows a mage to answer questions
Honor the Teacher
a Sleeper could never even pose. The Order does not value only To teach another is to be the vehicle of Logos recreating itself
academics — practical, social, and artistic skills are Logos, too — but in another mind, and to take responsibility for all the Logos it
notably has a much closer relationship to Sleeper religion than its goes on to generate. The mentor-student bond is so sacred to the
counterparts. This is thanks to the ancient ties between learning Keepers that they extend it to their Caucuses as a whole; every
and faith in the Diamond’s territories and the compatibility of the Keeper archive or Serapeum is founded by a donation of copied
Orders’ beliefs with the dominant religions in Europe and Asia. To materials from a “mentor” Caucus or Mouseion. Members of
many Sacristans, Logos is literally God, a divine force permeating the “student” Caucus owe their parent institution a formal
the Fallen World as it reaches for the Supernal to comprehend itself. tithe of knowledge every 10 years, connecting the Order across
Mages join the Keepers of the Word when they want to the world in a branching web of fealty. Before the Diamond’s
focus on what magic can reveal about the mundane rather than formalization, every Keeper Caucus ultimately traced loyalty to
abandoning it, when they want to spread enlightenment and the original Mouseion in Alexandria, but in the Diamond Yuga,
help Sleepers shake off ignorance, when they want to protect or over a dozen apex Mouseions exist spread out across the world,
nurture the achievements of others, or when they retain their trading Logos with one another as equals.
faith from before Awakening and seek to reconcile it with their
experience as mages. Xenia and Dora
More formal than the analogous concept of guanxi the Myste-
Core Beliefs: Logos rium will adopt, the twin concepts of Xenia and Dora ritualize
relationships between Keeper Caucuses outside the bonds of
The divine sum of all knowledge, Logos is a force separate
Serapeum and Mouseion. A Sacristan traveling in foreign territory
from individuals, held within minds and recording media. Logos
can expect safety, shelter, protection, and respect from any Keeper
is created ex nihilo with every act of perception, understanding,
Caucus under the guest-friendship of Xenia for as long as they
or inspiration, and while it vanishes if the medium containing
need, even in the case of other locals calling for their head, but
it is destroyed (whether the death of a person or the burning
this does not come without price; the traveler must present their
of a book), it promulgates naturally when shared. The classic
host with Dora, a tribute in Logos consummate to the aid given.
metaphor used by Keeper instructors with their students is to
compare a man writing a book with one lighting a bonfire. Just as
others may light torches in the fire and start hearths of their own,
The Divine Word
spreading the flame so that even if the original is extinguished the Other mages use the church as individual actors, but in so-
fire continues, anyone reading the book will manifest the Logos cieties where learning is interlinked with faith so much that a
set down long after the author’s death. The Order sees itself as library outside of a monastery or temple is almost unheard of,
tending that flame — saving ideas from the originating mind on the Keepers of the Word are steeped in it. Religion as a sacred
behalf of future generations, husbanding Logos’ growth over the idea shared between humans is the very essence of Logos, and a
centuries. Although indescribable quantities of Logos are lost large minority of Keepers retain and celebrate faith held before
every day with every human death, and the Order has suffered Awakening, employing fringe or advanced theology to reconcile
tragic setbacks and losses across the centuries, Sacristans carry their Supernal insights with that faith. To these mages, Logos is
an optimism not seen in their fellow Diamond mages. Human a divine force bridging the Fallen and Supernal Worlds.
progress may be slow, it may stumble and fall back on occasion,
but it does progress. One day, Keepers believe, the communal
mind of humanity will be strong enough to Awaken, and the
Caucus
Fall will be reversed. A Keeper Mouseion or Serapeum is indivisible from its archives
in the manner of a Mystagogue Athenaeum. Keeper Caucuses
Knowledge is Power are strictly meritocratic, each member graded on expertise in
magical, spiritual, and mundane fields. The rank titles used by
As custodians of the greatest body of knowledge in the Fallen the Diamond to signify achievement with the Arcana (Mage, pg.
World, Keepers are well aware of its inherent value to others. 123) originated with this Order.
Other mages covet the Keepers’ collections for their magical con-
New members of the Order are called Mathetes. Each is expect-
tent, but the scholarly Order knows things about the mundane
ed to become literate if not already and dedicate themselves to as
world that would change Sleepers’ lives if released — designs for
broad a spread of studies as they can manage, only specializing
Roman steam engines, magically accurate histories, crop rotation
once they achieve the magical rank of Disciple in at least one
manuals, maps of unknown continents, biographies of legendary
magical (esoteric) and nonmagical (exoteric) subject. Mathetes
figures, and more. When dealing with the Awakened, the Order
may not claim Xenia at other Caucuses unless accompanied by
has a simple yet ironclad policy; the Keeper Caucus must profit
a higher-ranking Keeper and must have a recognized member
in any information exchange, to ensure their allies take the
of the Order serving as a mentor. Once a Sacristan has enough
matter seriously and maximize the capture of Logos. As for the
knowledge of their primary exoteric focus to teach others and is
nonmagical information, which “lost” innovations to release and
an Adept of at least one Arcanum, they become a Philologos,
when is the subject of passionate debate in Keeper Caucuses.

Keepers of the Word 39

a full member of the Order. Higher titles demonstrate mastery backing, the Keepers are magical hoarders who’ll wait until you’re
not of the Arcana but of methods of preserving and nourishing desperate for information they hold and take everything in return
Logos: Scriptors maintain written records, Savants memorize as at best, or outright thieves at worst.
much information as possible in case of disaster, and Pedagogues
specialize in training other Keepers. Concepts
Mysteries • Guild Leader: Careful, careful, now — my instructions are
whispers to my apprentice, laced liberally with admoni-
To Keepers, the revelation sparked by a Mystery is more import- tion. The boy cannot see clearly beyond the length of his
ant than the Mystery itself. In cases of temporary phenomena, arms, but this weakness comes with the great strength of
Keepers record as much magical insight as they can, interviewing seeing things far more closely. Thus, he is the ideal student
other mages or Sleepers after the fact if necessary. When a Mystery to train in the art of the most delicate filigree. This piece is
is long-term, repeatable, or bound to a creature or object, a good destined for a great man funding my projects, but neither
Keeper should acquire it for preservation so it can inspire others. my student nor my patron understands the symbols I
If that means taking it from another mage, the Order is willing instruct the boy to push into the metal. Knowledge must
to pay from its hoard of Logos, but Keepers are notorious for be shared, even among those who do not yet understand.
not taking “no” for an answer and stealing from the unwilling.
• Imam: The red thread has disappeared from the sky.
Magical Symbolism: Shared Knowledge Salah al jama'ah has concluded, and the richest among
the congregants have rolled up their fine rugs and left.
Other Orders characterize Keepers as book-obsessed archivists,
There are two kinds: those who go through the motions
but Sacristans understand that their records and collections are
of supplication without belief, and those who are so sure
more akin to a winter grain store than a treasure vault. To grow,
in their belief that they will not heed challenge. Those
Logos must be shared. Knowledge is useless without being taught.
who remain behind are the seekers, the wanderers, the
An idea shared is one safe, for now, from oblivion. Logos is not
troubled ones, those who wish to discuss the philosophies
bound to individual human minds; Keepers are fascinated by
of the Greeks and the worshippers of Isa ibn Maryam
communal minds, Astral Realms (especially the Temenos), and
against the words of our Athar. I lead them to the thread
knowledge propagating by unusual means. Keepers chase rumors
of truth that flows through those beliefs and the hadith.
of Sleepwalkers dreaming about past lives or exhibiting psychic
When they depart, all are alight with fires in the mind,
powers. The Order especially reveres the rare Genius Loci, sponta-
fires that shall grow, leap, and burn brightly. Inshallah,
neous incorporeal minds of physical places that sometimes appear
these words will never perish from the Earth.
in the Fallen World, which Keepers regard as divine expressions
of communal Logos bursting forth from its human hosts.
In the formal symbolism of the Draconic Age, the Keepers are
Stereotypes
the Corpus Draconis: the Body of the Dragon, the great archive of Arrow: If they wish only to serve something, we can always
Mysteries revealed and knowledge safeguarded that serves as the use watchdogs.
foundation of the Awakened City. Guardians: How dare they preach morality when their secrets
do untold injury to God?
Hubris Pancryptiates: How selfish, to focus on one’s own convenience
Keepers are on a mission, often a holy one, to acquire secrets rather than the whole.
and share them when necessary. By their own standards, they are Silver Ladder: It’s a worthy goal to be a good advisor. Supply
wealthier than any other Order, and they have a societal need to them with the advice to give.
both instruct others and be repaid for it. No surprise, then, that
Tremere: They push the boundaries of knowledge, but will
so many Sacristans are infuriatingly prideful and condescending
they pass on what they find?
when dealing with outsiders, and that’s when dealing with mag-
es as peers. To mages without the protection of a Consilium, Tyrannic Cults: Irrelevant cowards serving the wrong master.
whether Nameless, apostate, or simply lacking enough political God isn’t in the Supernal World, no matter how much you
debase yourself.

40 chapter One: A History of Magic

 You have been tested, and faced the Abyss, and you remain standing. You have tasted oblivion, yet you
persist. You have heard that we are dangerous. You have heard we are godslayers and fae-breakers, those
who destroy the bindings of those Bound only to bind them anew in service to the Awakened. All of
these are true, and we are dangerous indeed, but those are the crudest elements of what we are.
We did not join the Diamond; the Diamond joined us. You see it in their precepts
of what magic is. Challenge, fragility, understanding, loneliness...and humanity’s
birthright. The desire to claim Imperium, the desire to dominate — this is the soul of
the dragon, this is what it means to be alive, Awake, and human. Everything else is
shadows and symbols, and we are the only pure things in existence.
The body of the Dragon is necessary, but it is a thing of flesh. Without the
proper spirit, the flesh is nothing. Without the hunger, the Dragon is without
purpose. We give that purpose by freeing you from all who would enslave you.
And here you realize the final truth of enslavement, the last manacle upon
your soul: that of the Watchtowers. We can show you how to go beyond it, be-
yond the Watchtower awash in the blood of gods and heroes, to the truly sublime.
The only path to Ascension. The Seventh Watchtower.
Would you know joy, and sate yourself upon your birthright?
Nothing in existence can deny the Awakened soul, and no action is too grave
taken in service of claiming their rights. These claims demand sacrifice, and
the Awakened will sacrifice others in turn to climb until they reach Heaven
through their passion. Desire transcends every symbol, a principle of divine
smokeless flame, the hunger like fire burning in the heart of all Creation. Beyond
the symbols of a mage’s Imago, beyond their Astral self and their spells, lies the
complex interplay of the subtle Arcana demarcating the soul’s reflection within
reality. Beyond that is will. Beyond even that is hunger.
In the 8th century, the Nameless groups on the fringes of the Diamond's sphere
of influence in India, Scandinavia, and central Europe revealed they had formed
an Order via a centralized belief and fully formed praxes with their Supernal sym-
bolism in the Atlantean mode of thought. The Order now known as Tremere
formally — and aggressively — requested Diamond membership. The Pancryp-
tiates and Arrow had long and cordial dealings with the Legacies attached to
this Nameless Order, regarding them as monster hunters with an interest
in souls and an amusing habit of antagonizing the Keepers of the Word.
Some raised objections based on the disappearance of another Nameless
Order and the dark rumors regarding a horrifically vulgar assault on the
Carpathian fortress of Chur, but the Tremere successfully downplayed all
concerns and silenced their critics. The discussions of where the Tremere
would fit within the Awakened City precipitated the Diamond’s culture
growing more self-consciously symbolic. It is either evidence of their
unique insights or evidence of their unbridled hubris — or both — that
the Tremere represent the most ephemeral aspect of the Awakened City.
Mages join the Tremere when they want to test themselves against
beings of great power and take that power by force, they’re inter-

Tremere 41
ested into delving into the Mysteries of the soul and the subtle obsessed. For the most part, the inhuman exists to be enslaved or
Arcana, or they wish to hunt monsters and Reaper Legacies who destroyed by those worthier of the power it claims.
consume the souls of humanity. For their crimes against the potential of the human soul, Reap-
ers count among these fiends’ numbers and must be hunted — so
Core Beliefs: Shaking the Boundaries says official Order doctrine, anyway.
The will to power is in the blood of the Dragon. The Tremere were
made to dominate, destined to challenge hierarchies and break
The Seven Dragons
limits in pursuit of the greatest Mysteries. Their oral history — In Tremere parlance, “Dragon” refers to a Watchtower and its cor-
backed by some amount of temporal evidence — holds that their responding Oracle. The Five Watchtowers, or Dragons, and the Paths
prehistoric progenitors repudiated the old gods of the Supernal. they offer to Awakened souls are traps for those who would settle for
To protect their societies, the “shakers of the borders” claimed shackling their potential, like filtering pure white light through a prism
the heart-souls of the primeval beings of Spirit and Flesh to fuel and only allowing oneself to see one color. The Sixth Watchtower is
acts of great magic and followed — however unknowingly — the the domain of the Fallen Blood, once-sublime beings corrupted by the
universal principles of hunger and passion. Abyss into mere monstrous wretches claiming power of which they are
These oral histories and Legacy-based traditions were codified unworthy. But a Seventh stands beyond them all as the original road
in a sacred text called The Suspire, laying out the history of their for human souls to walk into the Supernal, unfettered and endlessly
constituent Legacies and Nameless Order. Meant to be sung aloud ravenous. Those who stood to benefit from seeing that the Awakened
in joyous tones, The Suspire describes the complex numerology that never reached their full potential concealed this Watchtower and their
forms the basis of the Tremere’s beliefs. It recounts their mythic servants conspired to seal it away, but the Tremere freed it and devoted
history, claiming a connection to prehistoric mages capable of themselves to following in its footsteps.
stealing souls from powerful primordial entities and exploiting The Seventh Watchtower perfectly reflects every facet of the
them to power their Demesnes, and details their contemporary human soul’s subtle nature, the purest shining beacon calling
origins up through the storming of Chur. The rest is dedicated those souls home to the Supernal through the shrouds of the
to expounding upon the Order’s core beliefs. Abyss and false Paths. Pursuing this Dragon requires the Tremere
Only the most trusted disciples actually read The Suspire to learn the to master all five subtle Arcana: Death, Fate, Mind, Prime, and
secrets of the Seventh Watchtower, though the Order indoctrinates Spirit. They study souls more thoroughly — and experiment with
initiates in its precepts. Where the other Orders believe in emulating them more creatively — than even the most unorthodox of their
the Supernal, the Tremere seek out intercessory entities and wrest Diamond colleagues. Other Orders may call them too ambitious,
their power from them. The Seers may grovel to the Exarchs and the even power-hungry, but the Tremere know the only way to truly
rest of the Diamond practically worships the false Watchtowers, but cast off the chains of the Fallen World is to embrace that hunger.
the Tremere know that magic must be tamed. Forcibly.
The Secret Suspire
Break the Gods The final core tenet of the Tremere is one they don’t reveal
Awakened souls possess limitless potential, but Supernal enti- to anyone outside the uppermost echelons of the Order. These
ties are as limited as the Watchtowers they represent, positioning elite call themselves Hollow, having sacrificed their own souls to
them below the Exarchs. Yet still they perch beyond humanity’s the Seventh Dragon in the ultimate act of selflessness for enlight-
direct reach, leering at the Fallen World like gargoyles from the enment’s sake. Thus freed from the tyranny of their Paths, they
parapet and wielding Supernal power of which they are unworthy. may devour the souls of others to temporarily sate their infinite
The weak prostrate themselves in supplication; the meek bargain hunger and master unhindered the full breadth of the Arcana that
and endure the gods’ tests; but the strong, filled with righteous govern the soul. In many ways, the Tremere Order as part of the
indignation, bind the gods and command them to relinquish their Diamond operates no differently than it will after its exposure;
secrets, or even strike them down and claim their seats. Taming the only major loss it sustains in its expulsion is the convenient
the Supernal is an Awakened right. organization of ignorant apprentices that helps deflect attention
from what the Order’s leadership does in the shadows.
Contempt for the Inhuman
The undead, the inhabitants of the Astral and the false Arca-
Caucus
dia, stranger beings of flesh and spirit — these are of the Sixth The Diamond immediately recognizes the Tremere as the
Watchtower, the tower of monsters, warping what was once foremost experts on matters of the soul and the effects upon it by
sublime into Fallen forms through the corruption of the Abyss. powers not directly descended from the Supernal. The Tremere
Destroying them and claiming their power leads humanity closer won early fame and accolades from a grateful Diamond by con-
to the Supernal, step by step. Some Mysterious entities are ex- quering and destroying multiple Reaper Legacies.
ceptions, such as the dark creatures made of boundless hunger Tremere Caucuses are fewer and further between than those
with a link to the deep Astral Realms where their souls should of other Orders, but they are close-knit, organizing themselves
be, or the soulless beings filled with a curiously familiar fire, and into factions called Houses that seem to encompass both Legacies
such exceptions leave most Tremere both greatly discomfited and and roles within the Caucus. Initiates without House are known

42 chapter One: A History of Magic

as enfantes, instructed in the subtle Arcana and the Order’s ed but ultimately accepted. In Atlantean symbological parlance, they
doctrine in exchange for service. This sense of transaction per- are Fames Draconis: the Hunger of the Dragon, the desire to dominate
meates the Tremere on virtually every level; everything must be all magic, claim Imperium, and breach the boundaries of the universe.
bargained for. To give something up freely indicates that it was
never yours to begin with, and the recipient is thus within their Hubris
rights to take as much as they like. Joining a House grants the
The Dragon seeks domination, and while even the most ava-
rank of custos, which comes with the charge to oversee initiates’
ricious Tremere admits it’s theoretically possible to go too far in
training and discipline; several tiers of custos exist, with various
slaking their lust for knowledge, the truth is most never recognize
levels of benefits conferred at each. All serve under the princeps,
this line when they cross it. More so than any other Diamond
the House’s leader. The Caucus as a whole has no single leader.
Order, the Tremere push the Wisdom of their initiates, demand-
Tremere Houses take the names and magical symbols of destroyed ing the sacrifice of morality in exchange for power to remake the
Reaper Legacies, seemingly proof of Left-Handed means brought universe. Their obsession with souls, and their contempt for the
aright. The Norse Seo Hel, the Hellenistic Nagaraja, and the Gallic lingering humanity in the monsters of the night, all speak to the
Belenoi all hold high positions in the Order, taking it upon them- spiritual damage their drives wreak — but these can be turned to-
selves to train respected but Houseless veteran Tremere called vena- ward benign or even altruistic ends, and thus, the Tremere persist.
tors — those dedicated to the hunt for new Reaper Legacies to smite.
Venators are experts in discerning Reapers from ordinary mages and
protecting the souls of the unwary from fell magics.
Concepts
Other Legacies associate themselves with the Order and receive • Monster Hunter: I grasp the sword of my ancestors, those
the benefits of membership, though without the additional Hibernian warriors who came before me, and draw it forth
political clout of a House. Known non-House Legacies of the from the sheath with the slickened sound of scraped leather.
Tremere include the solitary Tamers of the Cave, the cipher-mage The undead shells hurled at me by some great monster split
Sphinxes, and the curious cult-based Legacy known as the Walkers apart like rotten fruit beneath enchanted steel. As I stalk
of Echoes. Many of the related supra-Legacies called the Elemental deeper into his stone tomb, sealed and cared for by an ex-
Masteries find common symbolism with the Tremere — magic tended barrow-clan, I can feel his soul, heavy and ponderous
must be tamed, the ephemeral and the physical are one — but like stone, and I feel the small pebbles carried by his followers
their heterodox traditions, some ancient beyond measure, are the as they rush to meet me. I so look forward to claiming the
stated reason their members are not allowed the rank of custos. secrets of his magic. I wonder how heavy the soul will be.

Mysteries • Apprentice: This is the way of magic, I am told, my eyes

downcast. The other Diamond representatives are all dis-
Tremere seek Mysteries involving the soul and the subtle Ar- ciples and masters, decades into their studies with the keys
cana, or those that lend themselves to being tapped for power. to a thousand unlocked Mysteries metaphorically dangling
They relish their role in the Diamond as monster and Reaper from their belts. My House master teaches that the rest of
hunters, stalking the world for those of the Fallen Blood, though the Diamond has it backward — apprentices must learn the
most leave it to the masters among them to pore over the Praxes, ways of Awakened society and play politics, while the great
Yantras, soul stones, and Grimoires of these fallen Legacies and masters focus on the Mysteries of the soul. As I step up to
dole them out to the other members in further defense of the the Convocation platform to address those gathered, I feel
Awakened Nation. As those who would demand, rather than a great rush. The least of the Tremere is peer to the greatest
request, boons and knowledge from Supernal entities, many of the rest of the Diamond. I expect my master will want to
Tremere are fascinated by the Bound and take every opportunity receive a gratuity forth insight, along with my thanks.
to find them, study them, and subvert them to their own control.
Stereotypes
Magical Symbolism: Hunger Arrow: Fight, struggle, and dominate. How can you be so close
The Tremere must always transgress against the limits of Awak- to the truth and not see it?
ened power, for the endless hunger of the Seventh Dragon can Guardians: Even now, they watch us, waiting for some sign of
never truly be sated. Avarice leads to freedom. Ambition leads perfidy. They will not find it.
to enlightenment. The Order’s magical tools incorporate blood
Keepers: They hunger to consume all knowledge, which is sym-
and viscera, bones, and other grossly physical implements, a stark
pathy inducing, but they focus on the sweets rather than the meat.
contrast to their focus on the soul; to the Tremere, the ephemeral
and the physical are one, binding the universe with hunger and Pancryptiates: Our closest allies, fellow walkers between worlds,
passion. Bowls and cups feature among their tools as well, waiting but they mistake the journey for the destination.
to be filled with what the word has to offer. Silver Ladder: The leaders of the Awakened City, perhaps. The
In a move so characteristic that the Diamond cited it for years as leaders of all Awakened, no.
a quick and dirty way to describe the Order to others, the Tremere Tyrannic Cults: We were once slaves as they are, and where we
claimed their own draconic symbolism, which the other Orders disput- fought for our freedom they cringe like dogs at their masters’ voice.

Tremere 43
 I am loath to cleave you from your reveries, sir knight. I assure you, Toledo will still be claimed
from the Saracens in the morning. And your name still celebrated, for your lineage is the blood royal
of León, and these are your family’s lands. My only question concerns your family, and it is simple:
Do you remember your father’s face?
You have not forgotten it. Do you remember the face of your grandfather? Or his father,
before him? Ah, they you never knew — and now that they are gone, those faces are gone with them.
We remember faces — the important ones, anyway — by setting them into imagery. Incomplete, but
preservation nonetheless, a fragment of humanity existing in the great tide of anonymity. This is no
vagary of fate of lineages and legacies, but the most profound act of defiance by the strong. The
world wants to forget them and all their works. Only the mighty persist
against this passion.
Magic is nothing so profane as a king’s bearded face.
Magic is a sacred flame flickering against the cold winds of
the world. You remember the faces of your fathers by setting
their likeness to paint. You guard the guttering flame by cupping
your hand. We preserve magic from ignorance, from becoming lost from
this world forever. Magic cannot be held by those unable to grasp it. We
must gather the cooling embers from ash and stone, from whence no fire
can kindle. The cold winds howl, and we will answer with our own voices.
You fought for one legacy. Will you fight for all the others?
The Fallen World is dark, abhorring light and magic and memory. The Lie chains the
teeming masses of humanity. Even when the Hylic — the Sleepers — lift their heads from
slumber, they experience the Phenomenal as an inescapable prison — still chained to the
galley, but now deprived of the bliss of ignorance. To be Pneumatic — Awakened — is
a horror, and the claws of the Abyss and the axes of the Tyrants punish any who try to
strike their chains and flee. Sleepers invite the Abyss whenever they encounter the
Supernal, damaging the magic and the Phenomenal simply by existing. One need
only look at the wonders of the ancients or twisted uchronia marking the efforts
of mages to weep at their loss. Every day, Gnosis and its expression grow further
apart. When the Wise separate knowledge and action, the Abyss flourishes in the
liminal space between, and bridging that gap slowly grows impossible.
The Pancryptiates know all creation is hostile to magic, and fight against that
hostility, seeking to either remove themselves from the world or build enduring
bulwarks of magic and knowledge where the Abyss holds little sway. They battle
the titular pancryptia, the tendency of Dissonance to destroy magic and veil mag-
ical secrets behind Mysteries and uchronia. Not all knowledge is magical — no
Pancryptiate would keep the tallies of ancient Roman harvests alongside precious
grimoires — and of all the Orders, the Pancryptiates seek to hold themselves apart
from the Phenomenal World and associate only with their peers. To this end, they
build grand towering demesnes in secret places, summon Supernal entities to
bargain for knowledge, study the Abyss to better know the enemy, explore
Emanations, and above all else seek a way out of the Fallen World.
Mages join the Pancryptiates when they want to define themselves
by supporting others, learn self-discipline and control over their magic,

44 chapter One: A History of Magic

come from a martial or regimented background and want to the terms Hylic and Pneumatic instead of Sleeper and Awakened,
keep that ethos, or believe magic should be wielded with honor reflecting their belief that Sleepers choose to believe the Lie and
and responsibility. reinforce it with Dissonance rather than see the truth. Though
they care little for knowledge besides the Supernal, Pancryptiates
Core Beliefs: Pancryptia point to libraries and scroll repositories put to the flame by the
ignorant as a phenomenal example of the danger pancryptia pos-
The antithesis of Gnosis, the Pancryptiates hold pancryptia to es. The most compassionate Pancryptiates possess a quiet sadness
be not merely a force of entropy or nature, but a malignant and when they regard or interact with Sleepers; the most judgmental
living entity seeking to scour the Phenomenal World of the Super- barely tolerate the Hylic and ruthlessly eliminate even the most
nal. Magic simply exists, permeating and exhibiting reality, but it is minor of threats.
losing to the malicious campaign of pancryptia. To what end this
entity aspires, no Pancryptiate knows, but all acknowledge that
the Dissonance of Hylics damages even the most potent magics.
Perfection is the Surest Recourse
They also hold time itself as twisting human understanding into Pancryptiates believe that by removing Fallen concerns from
scattered fragments of distorted knowledge. Even among Hylics, their magical selves they better resonate with the Mysteries,
a minor error between synoptic accounts becomes disputed doc- scouring themselves of sympathetic ties, creating lacunae to mask
trine centuries later — a casus belli heralding trauma that destroys the time before their Awakening, and monitoring how their
further sources of knowledge with fire and salt. The Order sees Nimbus affects Sleepers. They also pursue magics of prolonging
itself as the only one to recognize this tendency as the true ene- their life to stave off Pancryptia by preserving knowledge within
my of the Pneumatics, though they find allies, sympathies, and themselves. The Order relishes self-sacrifice and scrutiny of the
symbolism shared by Guardians and Tremere alike. soul, such that all may see their Wisdom.

Magic Flees the Unworthy Caucus

In the presence of the weak, magic flees, and the Abyss grows Pancryptiate Caucuses tend to be looser in hierarchal structure
stronger. Worse, a Hylic encountering the Supernal is doubly and more communal than many other Orders. This is at least
damaged by the encounter — the impact to their mind and soul is partially because the Order’s symbolism and studies have created a
measurable, but their forgetting protects the Lie. Those others in window into communal experiences, allowing them to retain and
the night lay claim to fell sorceries, sources of power so far from share knowledge after an individual mage’s death or departure.
the Supernal they can hardly be scrutinized as such. As those lies To the extent that rank matters, the Pancryptiate’s initiation into
perpetuate, true magic vanishes from this world. Pancryptiates the egregore reflects the deference given to community members.
must protect sites of magic and Supernal knowledge from the Novice Pancryptiates are called Credentes, and still have attach-
simple presence of those who might damage it. Magic flees the ments to Sleepers; Perfecti are Pancryptiates who have cut them-
unworthy, but the corollary holds that magic may gather around selves off from Sleeper pollution. They’re not higher-ranking — not
the worthy; thus, Pancryptiates encourage the hoarding of knowl- truly — but Perfecti are seen as more virtuous and laudable. The
edge and the associations of the Diamond with one another. Order also created the modern roles used by Mysterium Caucuses.
Acquisitors seek Mysteries and treasures to bring them back to
The World is a Prison the Order’s safekeeping. Censors act as self-appointed guardians
The Pancryptiate preference for referring to the world as of dangerous magics, as the assessors and contractors of magics
Phenomenal rather than Fallen reveals both their respect for the besides the Supernal, and as the Order’s foremost aethernauts
material realm and related ecologies of Death and Spirit and into other realms of existence. Savants preserve the egregore and
those Lower Realms, and their harsher view of it as a mere shad- act as living bulwarks against Pancryptia by holding knowledge
ow of the realm of pure truth expressed in barely understood not within crumbling tomes or long-dead minds, but within the
phenomena. The Abyss degrades the relationships between truth community of the Awakened; they often hold the similarly titled
and phenomenon, moving the Supernal further out of a mage’s Savants of the Keepers in disdain.
grasp. Pancryptiates venture into stranger realms without the
threat of Dissonance: the Astral, certainly, but also the Shadow, Mysteries
the Underworld, the Hedge, and the Lower Realms. By scrutiniz-
Pancryptiates look for Mysteries that enable them to under-
ing the Mysteries of these realms, Pancryptiates map the extent
stand how the Supernal translates into the Phenomenal and
of separation from Supernal truth. This frees them to pursue
might let them escape the Fallen World — whether this means
an escape — ideally, the Supernal itself, through the process of
scrutinizing an Artifact’s origin, examining Verges, or venturing
Imperium and archmastery.
into other realms. They also aggressively focus on Mysteries threat-
ened by Sleeper actions or Dissonance; better Sleepers perish or
Hylics are both Jailed and Jailors banished than Pancryptia destroying magical secrets forever. Once
The Order barely stifles its hatred of Sleepers — why add an- they acquire a secret, the next step is propagating knowledge in
other restraint when so many chains persist? Many are still taught the egregore and preserving it against the Abyss.

Pancryptiates 45
Magical Symbolism: mind, pausing only to ensure my defenses are intact and
the knowledge I safeguard remains orderly and contained.
Transcending the Mundane Then, I step into the mind and soul of all humanity, and
begin my long walk to the world beyond. This journey, I
The Phenomenal World is only fleeting symbols, easily make pilgrimage to the Aeons of my Path’s Arcana. Per-
misinterpreted and deliberately misleading when infected by haps by discourse with them, I can conceive of that which
Pancryptia. But the Lies cannot touch the Supernal, and so the they cannot, and their myopia will enlighten the way to
Pancryptiates emphasize the Supernal and the Gnosis necessary break free of the constraints of the Watchtower bearing
to understand it. They prize mastery of the Arcana and the hid- my name.
den signs of archmasters, who have achieved the Golden Road
to escape the Phenomenal, walking beyond Paths and dwelling • Iconoclast: My voice thunders loudly to the Hylic au-
within the Supernal. To turn away from the Fallen World means dience. Servants of the Lie, yes, but perhaps possible to
to embrace everything else, the mission pursued with holy zeal. use against their vile master. I speak of the veneration of
Their tools favor purified items or those aid in purification: holy statues, of gorgeous art created at great cost while people
water, ritual basins, and the like. starve, of the offense to Heaven caused by those who lead.
In formal Atlantean symbolism, the Pancryptiates are the I tell them the image is not the thing — a truth cunningly
Thesaurus Draconis; the hoard of the dragon, the perfect vault disguised to sneak past the somnolent idiots. The divine is
enclosing the greatest treasures of the Awakened City from all held in the heart, I cry, not in the deceiving eye! I see nods
who would plunder and divide them among invaders. and hear a chorus of agreement. I see the future of this
city align, and once it has been cleansed by fire, perhaps
Hubris something new can grow.
The great irony of Pancryptiate hubris will not become apparent
until the Pentacle Yuga — for all their focus on individual Gnosis Stereotypes
and the Supernal, the bitter refusal to associate with the Fallen
Arrow: Half-Hylic, for they know existence is a struggle, but
World and tendency to keep relationships confined to other
fail to see the real war.
mages embroils them in arcane politics far more than is healthy
for any Wise mage. Pancryptiates are hardly popular among the Guardians: Our fellows in purity and single-mindedness. Enlist
Diamond; other Orders often see them as the Platonic ideal of them as knights errant against Pancryptia.
Awakened avarice, selfishly hoarding secrets and salting the earth Keepers: Rather than separate wheat and chaff, you would
where they’re grown. store it all together? That will only hasten the rot.
Silver Ladder: You can’t make someone climb above themselves
Concepts if they don’t want to.
Tremere: Their boldness in approaching those beyond hu-
• Astral Explorer: With the focusing of my will, I breach manity rivals ours; their ability to wrest secrets from those others
the barrier in my mind — the dwelling place of those is unrivaled.
touched by the lords of fae, I know — and open myself to
the cosmos. I walk briskly through the rooms of my own Tyrannic Cults: Address them as individuals, not as a unity,
no matter how loud they protest.

46 chapter One: A History of Magic

Game Systems
•• Supernal Specialty: Add three dice to nonmagical rolls
involving the specialty rather than one.
••• Exoteric Rote: When casting a rote using the Skill your
The following rules allow players to use the three lost Orders Arete is in as a mudra, you may treat it as an Order Rote
in historical games. Skill if it isn’t. If it is an Order Rote Skill already, add two
dice instead of one.
Order Tools Perfecti (• to •••••)
Page 122 of Mage 2e describes the Order tools of the modern
Orders. The lost Orders have their own equivalents. Keepers of Prerequisite: Pancryptiate Status •••+, no social Merits repre-
the Word use chanted, sung, or spoken language. They don’t senting Sleepers
use books directly as tools as their descendants in the Mysterium Effect: By cutting all mortal ties and keeping themselves “pure”
do, though reading a text aloud is valid. Tremere use symbols of Sleeper attachment, your character is free from the damage
that reveal the subtle beneath the gross; bones and preserved Hylics inflict upon the Fallen World.
internal organs (especially of supernatural creatures) or musical • Clear Sighted: Waive the Mana cost to include a Common
instruments. Pancryptiates use symbolically purified items or or Inferior Arcanum when using Mage Sight.
those that provide the means of purification — e.g., holy water,
••• Delayed Reaction: If a Sleeper witnesses the Perfecti’s spell,
baptismal fonts, tsukubai.
instead of rolling at the end of the current scene to see if
Dissonance effects the spell, roll the Sleeper’s Integrity at
the end of the following scene.
Order Rote Skills of the Lost Orders ••••• At the highest level, the Perfecti gains the ability to stave off
Keepers of the Word Academics, Expression, Occult Dissonance in external magics. Sleepers who witness their
spells still suffer from Quiescence, but don’t roll to inflict
Tremere Empathy, Occult, Subterfuge Dissonance.
Pancryptiates Investigation, Occult, Survival
Tremere Order
Status in the Tremere Order confers fluency with High Speech
and the other benefits of Order rote skills, tools, and Yantras as
New Merits normal. The Order is known for their talent in High Speech, and
young Tremere often purchase Merits accordingly (see Signs of
Exoteric Arete (•• to •••) Sorcery, p. 26). Tremere may not progress beyond two dots of
Order Status without joining a House. The Order encourages
Prerequisite: Keepers of the Word Status •• +, one Skill at ambitious mages deemed unsuitable for Hollowing to experiment
••••+ with a specialty. further with High Speech or subtly manipulates them into pur-
Effect: A Keeper of the Word in training must declare a field suing the power of the Sixth Watchtower.
of study to focus on alongside their magic. Your character has Hollow Tremere, who have sacrificed their souls to the Seventh
kept that focus after becoming a Philologos, until your practice Dragon, are invariably Status 3+ and may take Houses as normal.
of it becomes Supernally honed. The effects of this Merit apply The major fallout from their Order’s banishment means the
to a single specialty on one Skill. You may purchase the Merit Hollow Tremere stop having an ablative Order of the ignorant
multiple times. around them and go to ground for several centuries. For more
on the Hollowed Tremere, see Nameless and Accursed.

Game Systems 47
 Zirnitra climbed the steep slope, hands and feet scrambling for tree roots and stones in the dark, wet soil. The canopy
wasn’t as thick here. She still couldn’t see the sun, but at least she could tell it was there. Birds, monkeys, and insects
filled the air with their sounds.
Ahead, her guide reached the summit of the rise. Molimo wasn’t even one and a half meters tall — one of the Mbuti,
the short-statured people who had called the Congolese rainforest home for millennia. Incongruously given their overland
travel through the wilderness, he wore enough jewelry to give Catherine the Great pause — rings, necklaces, bracelets,
and a torque. The ruby ring on the first finger of Molimo’s hand was familiar to Zirnitra, as it had been the guide’s price
for bringing her here — a minor Artifact that summoned fire, which made it useful as a torch or for lighting a campfire,
but no better for that purpose than a good quality lighter.
When Zirnitra reached the top, Molimo held out a hand and lifted her to her feet. From up here, the hilltop looked like
the cone of a small volcano. Three meters from the top of the slope, the ground gave way to steep walls that descended
at least 10 meters, terminating in a pool of water. The walls were pockmarked with hundreds of tiny caves, most barely
a hands-width wide. Based on the white streaks of bird dung, almost every cave served as a nesting place. Small gray
birds with white wings wheeled in a tight circle, catching insects on the wing like swallows.
“White-winged pratincole,” Molimo explained. “Note the coloration is reversed from the gray pratincole,
which are much more common but lacking in the unique properties that brought you here.” He gave
a toothy grin.
Had Zirnitra been an ornithologist, she might have found this more interesting, but she
hadn’t traveled halfway around the world to birdwatch. To her second senses, however,
there was more to this place than a rare bird.
“Not yet,” Molimo warned, holding out a hand. “We must ask permission.”
The Mbuti held a hand to his mouth and gave a soft series of whistles.
To Zirnitra’s surprise, a bird flew out from its nest and perched on a
nearby tree branch, watching them with curious eyes.
Molimo made more whistles, and the bird chirped in re-
sponse. They went back and forth several times before
her guide returned his attention to her.
“You have permission to make your observations,
but do no harm to them. We are not the only
Awakened here.”
Zirnitra looked at her guide, first — as a
baseline — and saw the burning soul within
him. What she saw when she turned to look
at the wheeling birds below, however, left
her mouth agape.
“How is that possible?”
Molimo shrugged. “There are many theo-
ries, to which you might add your own. Howev-
er, extensive examination of the white-winged
pratincoles will come at an additional price.
I’m sure you understand.”
Zirnitra barely even heard him. She drew
forth her Mana and looked even deeper.
 “It’s really useful to travel, if you want to see new things.”
— Jules Verne, Around the World in Eighty Days

The Pentacle is a global organization, and no such organization — this isn’t a melting pot — more of a gumbo, where every flavor
especially one composed of members as individualistic as mages — is and texture is recognizable and distinct, but the Pentacle itself is
monolithic in its culture and practices. To some degree, mage society the overall effect of that admixture.
is geographic. Most Awakened of England share a common identity
from being born and growing up as Sleepers in England, with its
football, its pubs, its rituals, and its religions. Its mages likewise follow
many of the same occult practices, rooted in that place and time.
Global Overview
To a lesser (but no less important) extent, it’s cultural. Awak- There are many ways to subdivide Pentacle society to illustrate
ened emigrate to far-off lands and bring their practices with them. its mages’ diversity — none of them perfect. When organizing
Where large groups from one place settle in another, Awakened Convocations, the Silver Ladder often cites the following model,
diasporas form, observing their own rites and joining their own which breaks the world into 14 regions. However, the number of
Legacies separate from the mages of the surrounding community. regions and their boundaries are a topic of debate as old as the
When a wave of Somali immigrants arrived in Minneapolis-Saint Diamond itself. This model highlights significant differences in
Paul in the 1980s and 1990s, the mages among them carried along broad strokes but it has significant limitations, which mages keep
their traditions; their approach to pursuing Mysteries more closely in mind when discussing an area.
resembled that of their East African predecessors than that of First, it ignores the microcosm in favor of the macrocosm. Small
mages with long pedigrees in the United States. populations and geographically diffuse groups tend to disappear
Finally, the Wise continually reinvent themselves. A new Praxis in such a model. The mages of traditional Ket people in Siberia
adopted by a single willworker might spread to her cabal, and from have arcane practices stretching back thousands of years, complete
there to the Consilium, to an entire region, or to the whole Pen- with unique Legacies and a fascinating array of specialized magical
tacle. Most such occult innovations take centuries to spread, but tools. But they’re neither numerous nor influential enough on a
some explode outward in a matter of a few years. Most are minor, global scale to rate more than a few words here.
adding mere nuance to Awakened understanding or pursuits, but Second, it draws boundaries that are wholly artificial, when in
some are revolutionary and potentially disruptive. These are more truth the regions have a lot of overlap. Germany is now unques-
common among the Free Council, which is generally more open tionably a part of the same region as France and Spain, but it
to new ideas, if less likely to adopt them en masse; but even the shares significant history with Hungary and Austria. The occult
Silver Ladder usually knows better than to stand in the path of practices of those regions echo even in modern times.
an idea whose time has come. This leads to islands of new mores Third, the model’s assumptions only apply to mages who
popping up all over the world, mostly confined to a handful of belong to one of the modern Pentacle Orders. The Seers of the
Consilia or to a single Caucus within a region. Throne have their own variations and regional distinctions.
The Awakened are, by natural inclination, a syncretic lot. Ex- Also, although the majority of Awakened claim membership in
cept for the most insular and isolated, most mages who join the either the Pentacle or the Seers of the Throne, many Nameless
Pentacle eventually adopt practices from other mages with whom Orders and small Legacies retain their independence and have
they share a common place, heritage, or mystical worldview. But no interest in joining either.

50 Chapter Two: The Pentacle Worldwide

 None of the 14 regions is a fractal, where every Consilium,
Caucus, and cabal within is part of an endlessly repeating pattern. Aquarian Satellites
Rather, each mage is a pixel, and the general trends or practices
described here are patterns that emerge when looking at the occult United States, Canada, Australia, Argentina
practices within them from space. The Aquarian Satellites are an offshoot of Europa (below).
It’s in these regions that the Nameless War blazed hottest, where
Andes Diamond theft of Mysteries from Nameless mages coincided with
the genocide of indigenous peoples by Sleepers of European an-
Western South America cestry. Although plenty of Native mages initially joined Diamond
Orders, many left them in protest during the late 19th century,
The Pentacle first contacted the mages of the Andes by way
ultimately joining what would become the Free Council.
of Easter Island. Most became members fully a century before
the rise of the Incan Empire. The Seers of the Throne, normally Following World War II, the Silver Ladder in the region wel-
known for seizing and hoarding Mysteries for themselves, have comed into their ranks former Nazis fleeing justice in Europe,
spent the last several centuries destroying huacas, for these appear while the Libertines allowed the few Pantechnicon Seers who
to contain fragments of Truth the Tyrants cannot harness. Their recanted their poor decision in the Great Refusal to join the Free
existence threatens the Lie on which the Exarchs’ power depends. Council. In rare cases, the Orders extended these distasteful am-
The region’s Mysterium is especially militant, often allying with nesties based on personal connections to the mages the Pentacle
the Adamantine Arrow. would have condemned, but more often they granted question-
able pardons in exchange for valuable resources — whether lore,
Practices: The pursuit of Mysteries in the Andes traditionally
Artifacts, or the whereabouts of secret Mysteries. Both Orders
revolves around huacas — places of ancient mystical power. Mages’
lied about it but ultimately failed to hide it from one another;
understanding of these is complex, rooted in an often-contradic-
that anger echoes in Awakened society to this day.
tory cosmology and constantly shifting history. These places range
from a single standing stone or lone Iris to abandoned cities and Not that anyone ever discusses it — the topic is taboo among
entire labyrinths that wind between multiple realms. Consilia théarchs and Libertines alike. Mages of the other three Pentacle
spring up not just to study huacas but to protect them from attack. Orders didn’t have the full story, but they suspected the truth.
None dared broach the topic, fearing the worldwide Pentacle
Amazonia would sanction the region’s mages if it came to light. This is
history that the Orders’ elders don’t pass on to their apprentices,
Eastern South America leaving three generations of mages with a sense that the Silver
Ladder and the Free Council have never trusted each other and
Pentacle mages of Europa (via colonization) found recogniz-
never will — even though no one seems to know why.
able Consilia among the indigenous sorcerers of Brazil when
the first European explorers reached the continent — likely Practices: Mages of the Aquarian Satellites (often referred to
the mystic successors of their Andean predecessors. The Jeliya collectively as “Aquarians”) are prone to tribalism and often leap
(via the slave trade) are the third occult culture to settle the to the defense of friends, cabalmates, and Awakened of their own
region in large numbers. Through centuries of syncretism, Consilium or Assembly against any perceived outsider — even
the Pentacle practices here have crystalized around several when it isn’t at all clear that this places them on the right side
complex mystery cults that resemble the Candomblé religion of a conflict. They band together readily with like-minded or
among Sleepers. The Amazon rainforest, although not nearly localized peers in mutual protection cliques that span multiple
as remote a wilderness as it once was, still hides many Mysteries cabals or allied Consilia. Where conflicts between alliances would
for mages to explore. arise (and in Sleeper societies, escalate), mages here encourage
resolution through the Duel Arcane — with each side choosing
Practices: The Awakened of Amazonia don’t acknowledge
a single champion to represent them all. This has the net effect
the existence of the Supernal Realms. Instead, they attribute
of favoring large and influential alliances that have dedicated
magic to various forces of nature known as orishas. Every mage
duelists, leading to a slow but inexorable consolidation of power
has a special connection to an orisha, each of which has its own
and resources throughout the Satellites.
associated set of Path tools.
Orishas are physically indistinguishable from humans but have
strong personalities, likes, and dislikes that resemble ephemeral Austronesia
entities’ bans and banes. They also have appetites for favorite
Southeast Asia, Madagascar, New Zealand, Pacific Islands
foods, music, and other indulgences, which their loyal Awak-
The Austronesian Expansion scattered humanity throughout
ened incorporate into their oblations. Appealing to the desires
the Indian and Pacific Oceans over the course of 4,000 years,
of another mage’s orisha is a cornerstone of diplomacy between
beginning at least as early as 3000 BCE. Diamond Belt mages
the region’s Awakened. Convocations are decadent events with a
made contact with many islands in later centuries, but the re-
wide variety of food, drink, and other earthly pleasures available
gion’s willworkers didn’t fully integrate into the Pentacle until
to attendees; even informal gatherings revolve around meals and
the 20th century, when Sleeper ocean-faring vessels allowed them
sensory experiences meant to please the orishas.
to overcome the ocean’s mystical limitations.

Global Overview 51
 Practices: Mana is a vital resource in the Pacific, for a mage leaders in their communities — although it’s much more com-
at sea bleeds a point of Mana each day. At zero Mana, the mage mon here than elsewhere. But a Christian Obrimos’ Path Tool is
suffers a point of resistant bashing damage per day and doesn’t likely to be a golden crucifix, for example, rather than a coin or
heal damage naturally on any day she has been so starved. The weapon; their mantras are more likely to take the form of prayers
otherworldly reflections of the Pacific Ocean are especially hostile or passages from Sleeper sacred texts spoken in High Speech.
to travelers, and Acamoth stalk its Astral Realms like hungry Practices: Diamond Belt mages don’t believe in the destruc-
sharks. The ocean’s depths are as mysterious to the Wise as tibility of the soul. Rather, they teach that any use of the soul as
they are to Sleeper scientists, although legends speak of ancient a Yantra, or one “devoured” by a Reaper merely harnesses the
underwater ruins far beneath the surface. energy released in the Fallen World by the soul’s passage into its
Not every island has a large enough population of mages to ultimate reward or next life. They permit — and even encourage
support a full Consilium, but those that do are difficult to gen- — mages who are present at a deathbed to catch the soul and har-
eralize; each is unique, and even those in the same archipelago ness its power as part of the traditional funerary ritual. Such use
often have significant differences. Many tiny islands are home to must never be for selfish ends (Reapers are universally reviled) but
a single cabal — or even a single mage. Some are Pentacle mages always to bless the community or ease the pain of the decedent’s
whose pursuit of the Mysteries have sent them far afield or deep loved ones. Sometimes, a dying person will make a final request
beneath the sea, but most are solitaries or members of Nameless of the Awakened as to where and how his soul should be released,
Orders with little use for either Pentacle or Seers. or offer it up freely as a final show of repentance.

Diamond Belt Europa

North Africa, Arabia, Asia Minor, Persia, India Western Europe, Britain, Ireland
This region is the cradle of Diamond civilization, and Mage: Awakened history in Western Europe is layered with massive
The Awakening outlines its history (p. 37-48). Many of the upheavals and revolutions — whether military or intellectual. The
Diamond Orders’ occult practices originally arose from Sleeper Diamond arrived en masse with the Roman Empire, its practices
religious practices, and despite the globalization of the Pentacle quickly replacing those of the druids, only to evolve countless
in the millennia since, Diamond Belt mages are much more likely times through the empire’s fall, the Dark Age that followed, the
to mix faith and magic. This doesn’t mean mages here are faith Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and all the rest of its colorful

52 Chapter Two: The Pentacle Worldwide

history. The region’s Awakened are at once proud of their long lese rainforest; and Enkai in the Great Rift Valley. Although they
pedigree and eager to embrace new practices. exchanged lore centuries before the Common Era, they never ar-
Since the Renaissance, Europa has been characterized by an rived at a unified cosmology. Most nominally joined the Pentacle
interest in applying scientific principles to occult practices. Its in the centuries since, but local Awakened distrust outsiders — in
Awakened are methodical in their approach to the Mysteries. part because their troves of Artifacts, imbued items, and fetishes
However, this can lead them into hubris when they encounter inspire envy. All mages own one or more such treasures, passed
something that doesn’t neatly match their models. The region’s down from master to apprentice for generations. Most willworkers
Wise have an ugly history of assuming that all other magical receive a minor relic from their Order as an initiation present,
practices and cosmological theories are incomplete reflections of and trade them extensively as favors to other Green Girdle mages.
their own. Coupled with their participation in European explo- The sale, trade, or gifting of Awakened treasures to outsiders is
ration and colonization, this made its mages many enemies. Any strictly forbidden. Some Legacies or Consilia demand such relics
magical tradition they couldn’t make fit into their Diamond they remain exclusively in their members’ care. Those who violate
called Nameless, refusing these Awakened full participation in this rule must either retrieve the lost relic or replace it with one
their society. Integrating the Free Council into the Pentacle has agreeable to their Order, Legacy, or Consilium leadership. On the
greatly moderated, but not eliminated, these excesses. other hand, acquiring treasures from outside the Girdle by any
Europa’s Silver Ladder and Free Council fought side-by-side means — or creating them — is a path to status among its mages.
against the Seers of the Throne in the wake of the Great Refusal, Practices: The source of the Green Girdle’s wealth of relics is
and the two Orders remain close allies more than a century later. a closely held secret. Outsider mages surmise that tracts of un-
Théarchs prefer hierarchy to the Libertines’ democracy and view explored wilderness have protected many ancient Artifacts from
the Sleepers as wards to guard rather than as a source of mystical Quiescence, granting them considerable longevity. Others suggest
inspiration, but mages of the two Orders generally regard these the Awakened of the Green Girdle were unusually successful in
differences as complementary rather than contradictory. preventing foreign mages from carrying off their treasures — or
Practices: Europa’s Awakened set much stock in value of travel that they’ve been acquisitive over the last several centuries, buying
as a source of enlightenment. Apprentices often spend weeks or or stealing the relics of other lands. The local emphasis on the
months in neighboring Consilia studying under specialized men- value of these physical manifestations of Awakened power also
tors — even in cases where an equally competent instructor could makes mages more likely to study the arts of artifice. These are
be sourced locally. Experienced mages take regular sabbaticals to partially true but don’t tell the whole story, which is a secret to
study Mysteries teach abroad. They also encourage mages from all but a handful of Awakened — not all of them entirely human.
other regions to visit, and attracting a celebrated willworker from
a distant place is a badge of honor. Jeliya
Free Islands West Africa
Mages in the region along what would become West Africa’s
Caribbean Slave Coast maintained their own occult practices informed by
The Taíno, Caribs, and Ciboney lived on the islands of the Dogon, Yoruba, Bono, and Abwoi for millennia. With the dis-
Caribbean before the arrival of European explorers, which was integration of the Mali Empire, Diamond mages traveled to the
followed by an influx of West African slaves. While individual region, fleeing the witch-hunters and relic thieves who followed in
mages sometimes visited the islands and never left, the Diamond their wake. Many of the local mages banded together with these
Orders struggled to bring Caribbean Awakened into the fold, and new arrivals for mutual protection, sharing lore and ultimately
the political fallout of the Age of Piracy all but ended their hope joining the Diamond Orders. The Portuguese slave trade simul-
of doing so. Nameless Orders, however, flourished, and most taneously put enormous pressure on the populationand opened
joined the Free Council following the Great Refusal. avenues by which the Awakened could carry their practices across
the Atlantic Ocean, where they established enclaves.
Practices: Magic in the region (and especially at sea) is less re-
liable in several respects — particularly regarding scrying. Because Practices: Because of the continued prevalence of witch-hunt-
of this, many mages maintain floating, secret Sancta on boats or ers and relic thieves, the Guardians of the Veil among the Jeliya
yachts. This practice has necessitated a host of laws surrounding hold greater sway and levy harsher-than-usual punishments for
Awakened respect for the autonomy of seagoing vessels. Most revealing Awakened secrets to the uninitiated. This can include
mages avoid even seemingly ordinary fishing boats on the open death by impalement (the traditional punishment for such viola-
water for fear they will inadvertently violate another willworker’s tions among the Abwoi) for the most serious offenses.
Sanctum.
Kurultai
Green Girdle Central Asia, Siberia
Central & East Africa Awakened nomads roamed the Eurasian Steppe since at least
Three main Awakened cultures grew out of Central and East the 3rd century BCE, traveling with their peoples as shamans
Africa: Mekuyo in the Congo River Basin; Minkisi in the Congo- and trading with mages along the Steppe route, which was a

Global Overview 53
predecessor of the Silk Road. Ghengis Khan’s rise in the 13th one side gains the upper hand, while a few are considered no-go
century facilitated the spread of the Diamond’s influence from zones for one side or the other (Moscow by the Pentacle and
both west (via the Diamond Belt) and east (through the Zajia). Oslo by the Seers).
The Trans-Siberian Railway’s completion brought greater pressure
from the Seers of the Throne, as the Tyrants used the transpor-
tation corridor to direct Sleeper assets to where they could be
Svikiro
most effective; many Pentacle mages fled north into the relative Southern Africa
wilderness of Siberia’s taigas. Roads are nonexistent in most of The Svikiro grew out of Shona occult societies dating to the
the north, and the bitter winters dissuade visitors. The primordial Kingdom of Mutapa and the surrounding veldts. The syncretism
forests hide fragments of the Time Before and other Mysteries, of indigenous cosmology with Diamond metaphysics remains elu-
some untouched by humanity. sive. In rural areas, traditional practices remain unchanged. Even
Practices: Bad actors among the Wise often use the Trans-Si- in populous areas, nominally Pentacle mages have perspectives
berian Railway to carry out short cons or burglaries against mages on the Supernal that Awakened from other regions find baffling.
who live in the cities near it — most of which lack a formal Consil- These metaphysical oddities aside, the Awakened of Svikiro have
ium or Assembly to dissuade them. Awakened in the cold reaches been loyal and insightful allies to their Pentacle counterparts, so
of the north can go years without seeing another mage in the most overlook their unorthodoxies. Usually, a single evening of
flesh, but the Polar Convocation that occurs in mid-winter every fruitless argument over the nature of the Paths is enough to dis-
five years brings many a hoary frostmonger out of her isolation. courage outsiders from seeking further discussion of the subject.
Practices: The Svikiro perspective of the Paths doesn’t acknowl-
Maya edge the existence of the Supernal Realms, instead speaking of a
mystical lineage. They also employ Yantras that use the symbolism
Mesoamerica of water appropriate to their Paths. Mysteries and places of power
The land bridge between North America and South America under the protection of a cabal are known as kraals, referring
has a deep pedigree among the Awakened — beginning with the to traditional cattle pens at the center of villages protected by
Olmecs and Toltecs, achieving a unified occult society during stockades. Mages among the Svikiro are encouraged to form
the Mayan Empire, and flourishing during the Aztec Empire. multi-Order cabals wherever possible.
Their social structure resembled the Diamond Orders’ closely
enough that syncretism with Europe’s mages proved remarkably
swift, especially considering the conflicts between Sleepers of
Zajia
the two cultures. East Asia, Japan
Practices: The Awakened observe a 52-year calendar, with spe- China’s mages codified many of their occult practices during
cial meaning and occult significance assigned to each day within the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods alongside
it. Each day can act as a Yantra for relevant spells, and each has the Hundred Schools of Thought. They sought to produce a
taboos and prescribed behavior associated with it that approach cosmology and mystical culture through the syncretism of Con-
the level of Silver Laws among local Consilia. Mayan cosmologists fucianism, Taoism, Mohism, and Legalism, together with their
are notoriously tight-lipped but claim to have the most complete own arcane observations. Awakened society was highly developed
picture of the universe’s otherworlds. in the region by the time they made contact with the Pentacle in
the 1st century. Had the Warring States period ended a century
New Orthodoxy sooner, the Pentacle might have used Chinese names for all their
metaphysical concepts instead of Greek, which remains a source
Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Caucasus of bitterness among some mages in the region.
Slavic mages first encountered the rapidly expanding Diamond Practices: The Diamond Orders among the Zajia carry flavors
in the 9th century through Awakened adherents of the Eastern of Chinese philosophies — Confucianism (Silver Ladder), Legal-
Orthodox Church. Shortly before the Great Refusal, the Seers of ism (Guardians of the Veil), Mohism (Mysterium), and Taoism
the Throne subverted the Russian Orthodox Church and used its (Adamantine Arrow). Libertines in the region focus more on
Awakened elements to advance the Exarchs’ agenda during the cooperation and civic engagement and are less individualistic than
Russian Civil War. Afterward, Pentacle mages firmly disassociated in other parts of the world. Regional Consilia have a long history
themselves from the region’s Sleeper politics and religions. of precedents to draw upon when reaching judgments and nearly
Practices: The war between the Pentacle and the Seers of the all include a member with deep knowledge of the Lex Magica,
Throne still blazes hot, with no end to the hostilities in sight. As making the Silver Ladder more influential in this region than in
a consequence, the Adamantine Arrow has outsized influence virtually any other. The Zajia have the most extensive collection
here. Some cities are active war zones where each day could be of lore about the Astral Realms in the Awakened world, courtesy
any mage’s last. Others are in full control of one side or the of the Hong Fu-Sang and similarly inclined Legacies.
other — most (like Warsaw and Kyiv) changing hands often as

54 Chapter Two: The Pentacle Worldwide

Cities of the Awakened Sorcery Around the World
The mages of the Pentacle gather wherever culture, Mysteries, For more details about many of the magical phe-
nomena mentioned in this chapter — and even
and their Awakenings bring them together. Today, the Orders’
more not mentioned here — please refer to Signs
reach is global, with recognizable practices and structures in every of Sorcery, a Mage: The Awakening
corner of the world — but those synthesized practices sit atop cen- sourcebook that goes in-depth into Supernal
turies if not millennia of history. Consilia are diverse and practice Mysteries.
unique customs, even if their Order demographics are identical.
The examples in this section highlight how conditions around
the world shape Awakened society, presents myriad Mysteries for
mages to unravel, and offers ways for enterprising Pentacle mages themselves in Alexandria’s tourism and industrial sectors, while
to insert themselves into political intrigue. the Silver Ladder focuses on international trade, and the Guard-
ians meddle in its religious institutions.
Accra, Ghana The Twilight Library’s presence heightens the emphasis on
books and knowledge for the Consilium. Mages solidify alle-
The Accra Consilium has a reputation for welcoming outside
giances by exchanging tomes from private libraries, while new-
mages that reflects the Ghanaian saying a stranger can make no
ly-Awakened mages impress mentors with hand-copied Qur’ans.
mistakes. Respect and reputation form important ties between
Traditionally, mages cannot hold office within the Consilium
mages as they do among Sleepers, with formal greetings in the
until they contribute a Grimoire to the Twilight Library’s stacks.
proper languages to show deference. While many Ghanaian mages
The Free Council and its allies push back against this custom,
joined the Diamond Orders out of necessity during the colonial
arguing it privileges mages who study Prime and disenfranchises
period, the more egalitarian Free Council appeals to the younger
those lacking the resources or formal education to create one from
generation, which, like the Sleeper population, represents more
scratch. The other Orders suggest recovering lost manuscripts or
than half the Consilium. With the shift in balance, talk in the city
protecting Egypt’s material culture as acceptable alternatives, but
is that the Assembly may replace the Consilium as the primary
resentment still brews and approaches the boiling point.
organizing body for the Awakened in Accra. Rather than the
tension this might create in a place where the Libertines oppose Systems: Any book or scroll destroyed within Alexandria leaves
the Diamond, in Accra, the potential change is a topic for gossip a ghostly copy, which is quickly grabbed to be shelved by one of
and open speculation. the Twilight Library’s ghost servants. These books have an Opac-
ity of 2, and may be used by anyone capable of interacting with
Accra’s name derives from the Akan word “nkran,” meaning
ghostly Twilight. The Twilight Library itself has an Opacity of 7.
“ants.” The soldier ants common in the area around Accra have
influence greater than having lent the city its name: their colo-
nies are living Grimoires. Each bivouac represents a different Baghdad, Iraq
rote. The trouble for Awakened is that the ants only stay in any Finding Goetia outside the Astral Realms is unusual without
bivouac for up to three months at most, and when the bivouac a mage’s interference, but Baghdad’s Twilight teems with them.
is disassembled, the Grimoire is gone. It’s a difficult Mystery to These entities reflect the city’s history as one of Southwest Asia’s
study because of that constant migration, and because the ants grandest capitals. Worse, Goetia-possessed Sleepers also stalk the
are as fierce as their name suggests. Something that they perceive city. Disturbingly, contact with ephemera warps the Sleepers’
as attacking them or otherwise getting in their way will be met bodies, and they exhibit superhuman abilities that allow the
with millions of powerful jaws. Goetia to express their Numina and Influences outside of the
Systems: The living Grimoires have an Opacity of 3. Astral Realms.
The 2003 American invasion shattered every Order’s strong-
Alexandria, Egypt holds. Two decades later, the damage still hasn’t been undone. This
hit the Mysterium, based in the Iraqi Museum, particularly hard.
The ghost of the Great Library looms over Alexandria’s Twi-
Opportunistic cabals pillaged the Mystagogues’ sancta in the chaos
light. The spectral building draws lesser shades inexorably toward
and today one in three Artifacts remain missing. Gilgamesh’s Lions,
its maw, forcing them into bondage as curators in its halls. These
a Thyrsus Legacy operating out of Baghdad Zoo, find themselves in
ghosts help mages locate books within the library, but over time
a similar predicament. They’ve rebuilt their Sanctum as best they
they calcify into ephemeral statues. Local Mystagogues house their
can, but their Proximus allies, Enkidu’s Children, disappeared
Athenaeum near the Twilight Library’s entrance, but even after
during the war. While most assume they died during the Zoo’s
centuries of exploration, the structure remains mostly unmapped.
bombing, the théarch Utnapishtim, the Legacy’s senior mage, fears
Its often shifting halls and constant expansion does little to help.
Seers abudcted them and seeks allies to mount a rescue mission.
The Adamantine Arrow has ruled the city ever since Alexan-
Systems: The Goetia-possessed Sleepers are a Mystery with an
der the Great founded it on his way to conquer the world. The
Opacity of 3. Enkidu’s Children are a Proximus Dynasty with
Council of Dragons (p. XX) is the most prominent Arrow faction,
Death, Life, and Spirit Blessings.
counting Hierarch Utba as a member. Libertines often embroil

Cities of the Awakened 55

Banff, Canada or have lost power under the weight of Quiescence, enterprising
mages occasionally find Supernal treasures hidden in the diverse
Sitting at the heart of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, Banff collections. Ruins from the Time Before linger beneath the city
has long been a destination for Life, Matter, and Spirit mages and in some of Berlin’s vast forests, but the Awakened have only
seeking to immerse themselves in the surrounding National Park’s recently explored them after decades of political difficulty. The
natural splendor. Due to their influence, the Consilium’s Council city’s reconstruction and rising water table makes new expeditions
has two additional seats reserved not for mages but for spirits. into what lies beneath more challenging, and the West and East
The spirit acting as the Earth Councilor represents the mountain, Consilia are currently attempting to draft agreements that will
water, and snow spirits; while the Forest Councilor represents allow both Consilia’s cabals equal access to the ruins.
the trees and the animal spirits. Currently, Hierarch Avalanche Systems: The ruins around Berlin have an Opacity of 4.
favors the Earth, but the Acanthus and Mastigos Councilors have
allied with Forest and are quietly looking to stage a revolution. Bloemfontein, South Africa
Fleshy infections fill caves and abandoned mines around
Bloem’s mages know an Ascension occurred in their city. Mana
Banff, turning stone into teeth and hanging organs. Willworkers
sometimes infuses the city’s roses, regardless of whether they
determined the flesh doesn’t trigger Quiescence in Sleepers, but
grow near Hallows. Furthermore, some roses take on a crystalline
otherwise its origins and purpose are opaque. The Hierarch dis-
appearance when observed under Mage Sight. Learned mages
courages mages from investigating the mines, lest they spread the
recognize these crystals as Sariras, physical fragments left behind
infection, but not everyone is so cautious. The Railway Bears cabal
after an Ascension, but who left them and why they reappear is
regularly flouts the Council’s commands, hoping to Perfect the
a Mystery.
strange living matter. In doing so, they have unwittingly exposed
themselves to corrupted spirits dwelling within the cave; now the Bloem’s mages are deeply divided as to where the roses come
entire cabal is either urged or possessed. from and what they mean. The Mystagogues theorize the roses
originate from a larger, undiscovered Sarira hidden underneath
The Consilium’s Iron Laws declare mages are to leave no
Bloemfontein. The Invisible Path (p. XX) believe it’s the prod-
trace while within the National Park. Needlessly experimenting
uct of a Chantry linked to Bloem, a gift from an archmage or
on wildlife or altering the landscape is a sure way to bring down
Ascended master seeking to assist the Pentacle. The Free State
Interfectors on the cabal’s head, but so is contaminating or
Council, a Libertine column, insists the roses are a trap laid by
destroying Mysteries. Under Mysterium influence, the Council
the Seers with the help of Ochemata.
considers magic part of the living heritage all mages may observe.
Few cabals bother arguing with this commandment, but as a Bloemfontein’s Consilium enshrines the principles of justice
consequence, dangerous cryptids and ephemeral entities roam and fair trials, its Bronze Laws forbidding mages from killing
around Banff that other Consilia wouldn’t tolerate. except in self-defense. The Guardians of the Veil oppose the ban
on summary judgment, insisting the Seers and Tremere won’t
Systems: The infection in the mines is a Mystery with an
afford the Pentacle the same kindness. Eager to sway cabals to his
Opacity of 3.
ideology, the Guardians’ Moros Epopt, Marthinus, offers favors

Berlin, Germany to mages displeased with the current regime. In response, the
Hierarch — a Mysterium Obrimos named Lengau — has declared
Residents say Berlin is the biggest small town in Germany. the Guardians untrustworthy and replaced the Guardian Sentinel
Unlike many old European capitals, the Pentacle in Berlin doesn’t with an Arrow. For now, Lengau’s appeals to democracy and
have a network of old cabals and sancta, but rather recreated stability — along with liberal bribes of Hallows and Imbued Items
itself as something new in the latter half of the 20th century. In — have maintained the Silver Ladder and Free Council’s support.
the aftermath of World War II, occupation made it difficult for Systems: The roses have an Opacity of 4, and function as Sarira
mages to move about, and many left the city searching for a place fragments (Signs of Sorcery p. 103) containing Life or Prime spells
that might be easier to call home. The power vacuum and dearth and emanating growth resonance. Harvesting these roses is an Act
of veteran mages allowed the newly Awakened to reestablish the of Hubris against Enlightened or Understanding Wisdom, but it
Consilium following a new model. East and West Berlin each saw doesn’t seem to negatively impact any future crystal roses’ growth.
themselves pulled between their traditional Awakened ways of
life and, respectively, New Orthodox and Aquarian mores. Pen-
tacle life fractured as willworkers came to look out for their own
Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
interests, and controversially, several cabals on either side of the The Republic of the Congo is one of Africa’s most urbanized
Berlin Wall quietly agreed with the Panopticon not to interfere countries: about 70 percent of its population lives in urban areas,
in the other’s activities. When the Wall came down and the truth with more than one-third of Congolese living in the capital of
came out, each side blamed the other for their weakness, leaving Brazzaville alone. Despite being just across the Congo River from
bad blood between the split Consilia that persists decades later. the much larger city of Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, the mages of Brazzaville maintain a sep-
Look past the squabbling, and Berlin is full of Mysteries. The
arate Consilium. After all, even for mages, the crowded ferry and
many museums, particularly those on Museum Island, are full of
border crossing across the river can be an inconvenient barrier.
relics looted from around the world. While most are mundane
Now, with reports emerging from Kinshasa about a supernatural

56 Chapter Two: The Pentacle Worldwide

hemorrhagic fever (The Contagion Chronicle, p. 204), the Con- Adamantine Arrow united their strength and led the other Orders
silium Hierarch urges caution to any Awakened traveling into the to defeat the Tyrants: not just in Buenos Aires, but across all of
neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. Argentina over the next several decades.
In contrast to urban Brazzaville, the Congo Basin is home to Beyond the struggle to retain control of Argentina and prevent
Africa’s largest rainforest. That rainforest has historically been a incursions by the Seers, the Consilia of the greater Buenos Aires
refuge to massive cryptids that some Awakened theorize survive area present a mix of Orders and practices that reflects the diver-
from the Time Before, but deforestation now threatens their sity of the city itself. In the centuries since the city’s founding,
survival. While the bones, blood, and bodies of these beasts may the Awakened have noted bottomless chasms growing in Buenos
serve as powerful magical tools, many Pentacle mages advocate Aires’ Temenos reflection. Expeditions into the chasms reveal
for their preservation. Part of that stems from a sense of the outposts from the Time Before, Verge-like pocket realms, strange
cryptids’ value, but it also comes from an ethical dilemma: these Goetia, and Abyssal infestation embedded in the dream canyon
cryptids have human-like souls. Willworkers are still puzzling out walls. Awakened who discover such chasms have limited time to
what that means, but focus on guarding these creatures against explore before the chasms disappear. Theorists argue whether
Reapers who would otherwise have to prey on humans. Several the chasms represent an additional layer of the Temenos, Abyssal
cabals rotate guardianship of the northern interior rainforest infection, or something stranger, but over the centuries, records
region against poachers. show patterns and the appearance of what was once a sporadic
Systems: The cryptids near Brazzaville have an Opacity of 2. rift continues to accelerate.
Systems: The chasms are an Opacity 3 Mystery.
Budapest, Hungary
Budapest is the center of an ideological battle between the
Burlington, VT, USA
Pentacle and the Seers of the Throne for the souls of Hungarian As a college town and refugee resettlement area, the Queen
Magyars. Ethnic Hungarians take pride in their heritage, and City is home to Vermont’s subculture scene, a bustling shopping
both factions try to bend that pride to serve their ends. The district, numerous art venues, and the largest Carnegie library in
Hegemony leads the Seers to steer Hungarian national pride to the state. True to Burlington’s forward-looking and independent
exclusionary and bellicose extremes. The Silver Ladder and Free character, its Nameless Orders technically dwarf the local Consil-
Council direct the Pentacle’s response to the Seers with the aid of ium, which includes the broader Champlain Valley region. This
the city’s Arrows, who lead the frontline fight. While the conflict is a source of immense frustration to the Pentacle, because these
is one of influence, subterfuge, and the occasional assassination, Nameless Orders tend to be secretive with their Mysteries. Ever
both factions are wary; an all-out escalation would leave them since a blowout fight between Pentacle mages and a Nameless
vulnerable to a counterattack that could tip the balance of power. Order over the “monster” in Lake Champlain — actually the
The last time the conflict went hot, an alliance of Pentacle cabals lake’s lesser Incarna, which rules the dominant spirit court — life
confronted and destroyed a powerful Specter summoned by the in Burlington has felt like the eastern version of the California
Iron Pyramid during the climactic battle on Gellért Hill in 1997. Gold Rush. Students who Awaken during their time at university
City planners redesigned and rebuilt much of Budapest in the are part of the prize, too: convince them to join an Order and
late 19th century to repair damage from repeated floods and to stay in town after graduation, and the Pentacle can build itself
commemorate a millennia since the Magyars settled the region. up properly.
A happy accident of the new design was that the urban planning Vermont is proud of its refugee resettlement programs, with
placed broad avenues along the existing ley lines, amplifying the good reason, and the local willworkers also pride themselves on
resonance and forming new Nodes and Hallows throughout the smoothly integrating the Diamond Belt diaspora established in
city. The interplay of competing ideologies and passions fueled Burlington. Even with the tension between Nameless Orders
by that resonance readily feeds the spirits dwelling beyond the and the Pentacle, when mages can be brought together, they’ve
Gauntlet, letting them grow mighty. Their incursions across the created a vibrant diaspora culture and achieved insights into local
Gauntlet draw Awakened attention and that of the city’s other Mysteries they wouldn’t have been able to without other points of
supernatural inhabitants. view. It’s this love of syncretism that has enabled Nameless Orders
Systems: The city’s ley lines and spirit activity present an to flourish, and some older Pentacle mages grumble that maybe
Opacity 2 Mystery. it’s time to take a stronger hand with the new crowd.
Systems: The creature in Lake Champlain has an Opacity of 3.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
When Sleepers and Seers associated with the Third Reich fled
Cap-Haitien, Haiti
Germany after World War II, then-President Juan Perón held The Paris of the Antilles is the center of Awakened activities in
out his arms for an embrace, and turned his country into a safe Haiti. Once the capital of the revolutionary Kingdom of Haiti,
haven for Nazis. The Seers arrived quietly and turned the Order Cap-Haitien is now the central point for the UN mission to Haiti.
mages against each other, taking advantage of Pentacle squabbling The influx of more mages along with foreign aid pushed the once
while they built up their power in the shadows. When they finally loosely-organized Free Council Assembly to close ranks to protect
saw how they’d been played by the Seers, the Free Council and their sancta and claims to local Mysteries. During the Haitian

Cities of the Awakened 57

 Revolution, local mages of the Nameless Orders rallied their
Diamond counterparts to aid the revolutionary forces against
The Celestial Flange slave owners and the French military, using the opportunity to
Indestructible, Size 1, Gnosis 4, Mana 24, establish their influence and drive out Seer influence. Later, some
Opacity 8 independent willworkers readily joined the Free Council upon its
formation, although many Nameless mages remain independent
The Flange is a fragment of mysterious prove- of the Pentacle. Some Haitian Libertines see a parallel between
nance that offers a path to the Supernal. What are the new arrival of foreign mages and the looting of Mysteries
believed to be the earliest records referring to the during colonial times.
Flange are held in the Athenaeum in Chicago: a Like much of the Caribbean, Haitian mages blend indigenous
Bosporan inscription interpreted as describing the practice, West African customs, and 21st-century technology
Artifact’s use in cementing peace between war- emerging from a globalized world. Many Awakened adopt
ring factions of the pre-Diamond Awakened. The the trappings and practices of Haitian Vodou, which follows
Flange was a symbol of power to the Hierarchs a similar syncretic path. Cap-Haitien Consilium custom dic-
of Constantinople until the Fourth Crusade, when tates mages share knowledge recovered from the Underworld.
the city was sacked and it fell into the hands of a Regular expeditions reach the River City of Sans-Souci in the
Scelesti cult. Underworld’s Upper Reaches, where the Consilium has estab-
Artifact Traits: The Flange allows its user lished a safe house. The ghost of King Henri I, a general of the
to cast “Strings of Fate” (Fate ••••), Haitian Revolution turned autocratic king, rules the River City,
“Correspondence” (Space •), “Cut Threads” favoring those who served him loyally during the Revolution
(Space ••••), and “Create Sympathy” and their descendants. The Consilium urges mages who travel
(Space •••••). Additionally, when cast, to his domain to pay homage to the king, lest he revoke their
these spells have the signature nimbus of the right to safe refuge.
Celestial Flange rather than the mage wielding Systems: Mysteries touching upon Sans-Souci have an Opacity
the Artifact. of 3.
Nimbus: The Flange’s Immediate Nimbus is a
tangle of spidery High Speech runes. With the Chicago, IL, USA
Abyssal corruption, every fourth rune is cracked Chicago is a hub of travel, trade, and culture. Its population
or twisted, obscuring coherent meaning. Its reflects the diversity of its turbulent history. All the major Orders
Signature Nimbus feels like the memory of a per- established a presence as the city grew. After the tumult of the
sonal connection long forgotten. Its Long-Term Great Chicago Fire, the Seers seized control of the newly found-
Nimbus ensures hints of its presence fall into the ed public library and its special collection of over 8,000 books
hands of the Awakened. donated from private collections in England, including a trove
Sublime Power: The Flange joins the energies of Grimoires and other occult texts. The central library remains
of the Fallen World to the Supernal. The Flange a Seer stronghold, though an organized effort to drive them out
can open a Thura (a gate to an Emanation that is growing in strength after years of squabbling and distraction.
represents an aspect of a Verge’s Supernal Chicago’s history as a slaughter yard center leaves a stain across
Realm), or the Abyss from any Supernal Verge. the Gauntlet, where bloody spirits of fear and butchery dominate
In Verges that already have a Thura, the Flange the Shadow.
bypasses the requirement to discover or use the Decades ago, a fierce conflict to claim the legendary Celestial
Key. In Verges without an Iris to an Emanation, the Flange devastated Chicago’s mages, especially the Mysterium, as
Flange opens the way nonetheless and always the city’s cabals and Pylons competed to recover the rumored
connects the Verge to an Emanation containing Artifact. The Consilium that survived is dedicated to keeping
ruins from the Time Before. the Pentacle united to retake the library. They established Bronze
Abyssal Corruption: The Scelesti corrupted Laws requiring representation of all five Pentacle Orders among
the Flange by using its power to open Verges the Hierarch and Councilors and their representatives, as well as
to the Abyss. The corruption draws the Artifact’s strict rules of decorum for Consilium proceedings. With hints
powers toward the uncontained Paradox of mag- of the Flange’s influence resurging, competitive cabals ignore
es seeking it. When a mage does not contain a Consilium rules in their search, and crack the foundation of co-
Paradox, the Storyteller may use one of the spells operation upon which the Consilium is built. Even some recent
the Flange has access to against the mage or a Duels Arcane have ignored the Bronze Laws requiring cabals to
nearby individual with a sympathetic connection submit duels for arbitration before moving forward. Meanwhile,
to the mage with additional free Reaches equal to the veterans of the first conflict prepare for a repeat of the chaos
the Paradox Reach.
that once engulfed the city.

58 Chapter Two: The Pentacle Worldwide

Cotonou, Benin Dwarka, India
While nearby Porto-Novo is Benin’s actual capital, Cotonou Sitting on Gujarat State’s west coast, Sleeper tradition holds
is the seat of government and center of Beninese culture. Benin Dwarka as the birthplace of Krishna, one of Vishnu’s nine avatars.
is home to dozens of ethnic groups and languages, and a high As one of the great South Asian Consilia, Dwarka is a sacred
proportion of the populace practice traditional African religions. location. The Adamantine Arrow has deep ties to the region;
Of particular note to the Awakened, the Fon people are the orig- legends say mages among Porus’ veterans founded the Consilium
inators of Vodun, a practice still widespread in the region. It’s after defeating Alexander the Great. The Silver Ladder debates
common for local mages to use Vodun rituals as Yantra. Alongside this timeline, claiming their ancestors created the Consilium in
Sleeper practitioners, mages have identified Proximi who don’t the earlier Vedic period. Either way, Dwarka’s history runs deep.
follow the normal pattern of familial descent. Some of these Dwarka’s most infamous resident isn’t a mage but a living spell,
Proximi have demonstrated the ability to use Supernal magic to set into motion by an unknown archmage. Known as Rukmani,
commune with both ghosts and spirits, leading to speculation the spell nudges Fate to assist mages who dramatically expose
about whether they could be connected to two Paths. the Lie to Sleepers. She dwells in the sunken ruins of the Time
The Pentacle Orders have a strong presence in Benin, led by the Before off Dwarka’s coast. The Consilium has determined the
Cotonou Consilium. The Adamantine Arrow works to support Temple maintains her Imago even when it wouldn’t usually be
the growing stability and belief in democracy among the Sleeper active, yet no one has uncovered how or why, not even Rukmani
population that has improved since the adoption of the new herself. She’s unable to go further than the city’s limits by any
constitution in 1990. The local Guardians of the Veil maintain means, instantly reappearing in the Temple if she strays too far.
Labyrinth cults to attract foreign enthusiasts drawn to the allure Rukmani draws Acanthus, radical théarchs, and Scelesti to her
of the “birthplace of Voodoo” (more accurately, Vodun.) A Free like moths to a flame. The prospect of studying Fate and Time
Council cabal of women takes inspiration from the Mino, a magic from the Imperial Practices enthralls the Witches, while
group of woman soldiers from the region who Europeans called the théarchs hope their Cryptopolies will catch her attention, and
the Amazons of Dahomey. In addition to battling the ghosts the Scelesti hope to corrupt her into an Abyssal vessel. Most leave
and spirits common in the region, they support women’s rights either disappointed or in a body bag. The currents surrounding
across the country. Dwarka’s Temple are supernaturally treacherous, to say nothing
Systems: Cotonou’s Proximi are an Opacity 3 Mystery. of the Temple Guardians still inhabiting the complex. Still, the
Consilium humors mages who wish to try, so long as they support
Dili, Timor-Leste Gujarati culture as a show of good faith. Depending on the level
and duration of access required, this ranges from helping local
Isolated by the brutal Indonesian occupation and ensuing civil mages to throw a festival for Lord Krishna to liberating a stolen
war, Pentacle mages in Dili have long relied on each other in a Grimoire from the British Museum.
way that makes their Order divisions seem meaningless. Because
Systems: Rukmani is a Mystery with an Opacity of 7. She is
the daily struggle for survival pulled mages away from pursuing
a living spell called an Ananke (Signs of Sorcery p. 116); treat
Mysteries, the Consilium established open sharing of Supernal
her as a Rank 4 Supernal entity with dots in Fate and Time who
knowledge between the cabals. Rotes and magical practices the
may give or take dots of the Destiny Merit. Unlike other Ananke,
Orders usually kept secret spread widely, since every mage knew
mages can encounter Rukmani at any time, not only when the
they could rely on their fellows to share in return. While the
trigger conditions for her spell are met. If Rukmani is defeated
Orders beyond Timor-Leste discourage the practice, local cabals
or runs out of Mana, she disappears, reappearing at dawn in the
continue to exchange knowledge to cement bonds among them.
Temple with a full Mana pool.
The attitude extends beyond the Awakened to the Sleepers who
live and struggle alongside them. Many mages find subtle ways
to turn Supernal magic to quietly help their fellows, especially Florence, Italy
throughout the rest of their country, where less than half the The Florence Consilium hosts the Italian Convocation that
population has access to electricity and other basic infrastructure. settles disputes between the fractious Consilia of Central Italy.
Timor-Leste’s mountainous terrain limits access to much of the During the medieval and early modern periods, the Awakened
country’s interior, preserving naturally occurring Mysteries from of Italy’s warring city-states competed viciously for control of
passing contact with Quiescence. Traditional Timorese mythology arcane resources and Mysteries while the Seers consolidated
survives in the countryside alongside the Roman Catholicism power. Finally, when Florence rose to prominence in the 12th
brought by Portuguese colonizers. Sacred caves and mountains century, the Arrow-led Consilium proposed a new solution to
hold some reflection in the Supernal, whether as Hallows, Aedes, the endemic conflict that kept the Order mages divided and
or Verges. Spirits and Supernal Entities conform to common allowed the Seers to dominate. Instead of battling directly, com-
sacred forms like dogs, eels, and crocodiles. peting cabals gathered in Florence; champions dueled under the
Systems: The Opacity of Mysteries within Timor-Leste vary, Florentine Hierarch’s watch and protection. Under this practice,
but when a local mage aids a character in unraveling one, add a the Consilium formalized the core traditions of the Duel Arcane.
1-die bonus to rolls to Reveal or Scrutinize. Rival cabals in Italy still travel to Florence to conduct their duels.

Cities of the Awakened 59

 From within Florence, the Awakened can enter the Painted Bahá’í faith and try to keep the peace between unaligned sects.
World, an interconnected realm of living art where the city’s paint- The Guardians of the Veil have a particularly strong presence
ings are reflected in the Supernal. Mages travel into the Painted in Haifa, preserving the Mysteries of Mount Carmel. Canaanite
World to consult the reflections of the old masters and derive religious practices, Greek oracles, and the contemplative Catholic
Supernal insights from the Mysteries embedded therein. Travelers order of Carmelites found their home on Mount Carmel’s slopes.
within the paintings can see the realm is incomplete — literally, The Bahá’í Shrine of the Báb, a holy tomb, overlooks Haifa from
they cannot see a complete version of the realm. Path and Order the mountain’s slopes, and the ancient Jewish prophet Elijah is
intersect to offer a frustratingly unique view of the Painted World, said to have lived in a cave hidden somewhere within the moun-
forcing mages to work together to study its Mysteries. They’re well tain’s many openings.
worth studying, too: stories handed down from mage to mage over As with many such places where Sleepers reach for higher
hundreds of years suggest that a complete view of the realm would meaning, the Aether shines bright, offering enlightenment to
offer mages a key weapon in the war against the Lie. those who would touch it. In mountain caves, Supernal energies
System: Entering and traveling through the Painted World uses pool and create strange effects: spirals of gravity carrying stones on
the same systems as the Astral Realms (Mage: The Awakening, impossible floating orbits, pools of crackling electricity echoing
p. 248) with the following differences. Access does not require localized radio broadcasts, and brilliant glowing light. Quiescence
a place of power; instead, the sorcerer meditates in the presence destroys these Mysteries, but the Sleepers who find them remem-
of a painting created in Florence. Like traveling through the ber profound insight. For the Awakened, these Mysteries offer
Temenos, moving between regions requires moving through a connection to the Aether, Truth shining into the darkness of
associated styles, eras, and symbols. Inhabitants of the Painted the Lie for as long as they last.
World follow the rules for Goetia, though they cannot leave their Systems: The Mysteries of Haifa’s caves have an Opacity of 2.
domain. Mysteries within the Painted World begin at Opacity 3.

Haifa, Israel Harbin, China

Harbin has served as Russia’s gateway to China for over a
At the foot of Mount Carmel, Haifa holds holy sites for many century. After the Russian Empire chose Harbin as its base of
religions. Many Silver Ladder mages take inspiration from the operations for the Chinese Eastern Railway, and immigrants from

60 Chapter Two: The Pentacle Worldwide

the empire flooded the city, New Orthodox, Kurultai and Zajia manipulate sectarian violence and police crackdowns to target
mages began an ongoing battle for influence. Then history swept Pentacle strongholds and sancta. Fortunately, conflict between
their conflict aside. When Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 and the Panopticon and Paternoster divides the Tetrarchy, leaving the
established the puppet state of Manchukuo, Unit 731, a covert Consilium a little breathing room.
biological and chemical warfare research division of the Imperial Karachi rests at the intersection of cultures that make up the
Army, conducted horrific human experiments on prisoners of Diamond Belt, including the obvious modern influences from
war and the captive population in Harbin. In the years after the the Islamic World and Indian subcontinent, but also Persia and
People’s Liberation Army retook control in 1946, the European Central Asia. The region also marks the edge of Alexander the
population emigrated or faced deportation. Most of Harbin’s Great’s eastward campaign — some of the city’s Awakened claim
mages departed with their Sleeper relatives and neighbors, leaving to trace their occult lineage back to his court wizard. Others bear
arcane secrets and resources behind. The city quickly drew a new the influence of Genghis Khan’s followers, while various refugee
generation of Chinese mages who founded the current Consili- groups’ willworkers introduce new mudras into the Consilium’s
um and hunted for the resources their predecessors left behind. practices. The territory of the modern city incorporates places
The city’s sobriquet of the Ice City echoes in the Supernal. where Awakened across these cultures kept their sancta and hid
Even before Harbin grew into a city, mages came to the region their secrets, allowing contemporary mages to recover generations
searching for the city of frozen light. Since the 1985 founding of of lost knowledge.
the annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, Beyond Karachi itself, the area offers a wealth of Mysteries.
pathways of light through the frozen city have appeared amid the Mages exploring through the Avernian gates at the Chaukhandi
frozen art. The Pentacle has gathered evidence that these lights are tombs and Makli Necropolis uncovered ruins from the Time
predictive, but they’re not yet sure of what. Do they lead to new Before and report hostile shades guarding Stygian Verges in the
Awakenings, or indicate future Archmasters? Do they correspond Underworld. One faction within the local Mysterium Caucus
to the art at all? Time practitioners note their volatile nature, and wants more evidence to back up their theory that the austere
theorize that they may record events in certain uchronia. Harappan civilization were rivals to the Awakened City from
Systems: The Harbin lights are a Mystery with Opacity 5. the Time Before.
Systems: Ruins of the Time Before around Karachi begin at
Hilo, HI, USA Opacity 4.
On the windward side of the island of Hawai‘i, Hilo offers a
tropical paradise amid the rainforests growing on the eastern slopes Krakow, Poland
of the island’s volcanoes. Contrary to the popular images of sandy Kraków is the cultural and academic heart of Poland. Some-
Hawaiian beaches, volcanic rock dominates the rugged coastline. thing in the sacred geometry of Kraków allows true alchemy in the
Seafaring mages throughout the centuries meditated at Hilo’s Hal- Fallen World without Awakened magic. Powerful transformative
lows to regain Mana or collect tass for the next legs of their journeys. resonance courses in Nodes where the right formula at the right
The Consilium centered in Hilo serves all of Big Island. Of time with the right intention can turn lead into gold. The energies
foremost import to mages on the island are the High Speech runes also supercharge Awakened alchemy in crafting perfected metals
that appear among the tens of thousands of petroglyphs carved (mundane metals cleansed and elevated to their Supernal forms)
into the island’s hardened lava flows. Subtle shifts over time go and other materials. The Awakened discovered Kraków’s alchemi-
unnoticed by Sleepers, but the Awakened recognize the patterns cal energies during Poland’s Golden Age when Sleeper alchemists
hiding Supernal secrets. Alongside the stone glyphs,, active lava flocked to the city under the patronage of King Sigismund II.
flows also trace High Speech runes across the landscape. The end The Kraków Consilium still bears the scars of 20th century
of Kilauea’s eruption in 2018 left the Orders scouring the new history. Jews represented around a quarter of the population, and
volcanic rock to interpret every swirl and imperfection. perhaps more Pentacle Order mages than the Paternoster. Their
Now, the Consilium remains watchful for renewed activity losses throughout the Holocaust marked the Fallen World and
from the island’s three active volcanoes. A massive well of power Supernal. Within the Stygian Supernal World, The Empty Shul
simmers beneath Mauna Kea; mages wonder what secrets an marks the place where Nazis murdered a group of Jewish profes-
eruption from that dormant volcano might reveal. The Consilium sors and students during a purge of the Jagiellonian University.
has thwarted several attempts to coax the volcano back to life, Toward the end of World War 2, Pentacle and Paternoster
fearing the destructive potential of tapping that well of power. clashed in their own brief hot war. Though its formal end coin-
Bronze Law forbids delving into the mountain and requires mages cided with the Sleeper militaries’ cessation of hostilities, smaller
to oppose any who might try to do so. conflicts continued to flare up for decades. Today, the city’s long
Systems: Hilo’s High Speech runes are an Opacity 2 Mystery. established cabals and Pylons maintain a tacit truce, since nei-
ther side wishes to risk losing access to the powerful alchemical
Karachi, Pakistan resonance permeating the old city.
System: The alchemically charged Nodes in Kraków are Opacity
Once called the “City of Lights” for its dazzling nightlife,
1 Mysteries. They allow mages to more easily work perfected met-
rapid growth and diversity define modern Karachi. The Seers
als. Any spells that create or manipulate perfected metals gain 2

Cities of the Awakened 61

free Reach. Additionally, the number of passes between Twilight resulting Paradox to twist the spell in ways that make getting into
and the material world required to refine perfected materials is Baikonur more difficult.
reduced by half. See Signs of Sorcery, p. 60.
Lucknow, India
Kunming, China In Lucknow, residents walk past the monuments of a Golden
Kunming feels more relaxed than China’s coastal metropolises. Age and millennia of history with hardly a second thought.
With more than 20 ethnic groups represented and strong ties to Like the city itself, the Consilium stretches back to the rise of
Southeast Asia, the city is a melting pot of diverse and unique the Diamond Orders in the Indian subcontinent. Each Order
traditions. The Consilium in the City of Eternal Spring, so called maintains ancient Demesnes and preserves Legacies whose secrets
for the long months of perfect weather, presents a united front of exist nowhere else in the Fallen World.
cooperation more common among the syncretic Diamond Orders Willworkers frequent embroiderers’ shops, seeking the famed
among the Zajia. While the Silver Ladder traditionally leads the chikan of Lucknow, with its distinctive white-on-white stitching.
Consilium, the Hierarch ensures the Councilors represent the Sleepers who master the traditional 32 stitches of chikankari occa-
other Diamond Orders as well as the Paths. sionally pull the Supernal into their work spontaneously, creating
The Kunming Consilium assigns special importance to keep- new Grimoires and new Rotes. Mages continuously peruse the
ing the natural and supernatural elements of the Fallen World chikan on sale in the crowded Lucknow Chowk markets using
ordered to ensure the favor of the Supernal. The Bronze Laws of subtle magic to compete for the coveted pieces. While Consilium
the Consilium require members to tend to ghosts, spirits, ley lines, law divides the Chowk between the Mystagogues and Guardians,
resonance, and other phenomena with the potential to interact the lure of freshly stitched Grimoires draws agents from most of
with Sleepers. A recent earthquake — its epicenter on the exact the city’s cabals and outside poachers.
same spot as the 1833 quake that devastated Kunming — has set Prized as these Grimoires may be, willworkers claim to have
mages in the city scrambling not only to repair damaged ley lines, glimpsed yet another, with stitches made from lunargent thread
but also to deal with the sudden influx of ghosts pouring into and pages that never burn. What’s written within — and who
the city. Every time a willworker claims to have closed the Iris composed it — depends on who’s telling the tale. The last person
through which they’re streaming, another opens up. who beheld it claims it’s filled with mandalas drawn by the city’s
Systems: The aftereffects of the recent earthquake are a Mystery first Hierarch. Guardians believe it’s actually the Sarira of an
with Opacity 2. Ascended willworker, and that the stitches aren’t silver thread
but her own gray hair. The Mystagogues insist they’ve held it in
Kyzylorda Oblysy, Kazakhstan Lucknow’s Athenaeum several times, but it never stays in the
collection for long.
Centered on the city of Kyzylorda, increased investment and
System: The Grimoire is a Mystery with Opacity 3. Reading
international access after the fall of the Soviet Union has brought
from the book grants the Informed Condition. The book disap-
rapid development to this arid region of Kazakhstan. While Cen-
pears at the end of that chapter.
tral Asia’s mages have long exchanged ideas with the Diamond
Orders, local Nameless Orders maintained their own traditions
for millennia. Local cabals still maintain ancient customs, though Male, Maldives
most have joined the Pentacle or succumbed to the Seers, hoping When different Orders come into conflict over the Indian
to gain protection against the influx of Banishers that came with Ocean’s Mysteries, the Malé Convocation resolves them. Repre-
the Russian Empire’s expansion. sentatives from the cities and Consilia that ring the Indian Ocean
Access to the Baikonur Cosmodrome, the world’s largest travel periodically to the Maldives where a panel of Awakened
spaceport, requires special permission from Russian authorities. Councilors adjudicates disputes. Each delegation has a formal
Most mages know someone who knows someone who claims to relationship of trading favor and resolution with the others going
have smugged items into space — or back from it — through the back centuries. Part of the Convocation agreement is that any
Cosmodrome, though those missions are all unsanctioned. The discoveries claimed from the floor of the Indian Ocean must be
Consilium has identified it as the central point for the frequent presented before the other Orders in Malé. The practice has given
spatial and temporal anomalies in the region, calling attention the Consilium an unmatched trove of knowledge on the topic.
to clockwise rotation of phenomena around the restricted zone. Exploration of the seamounts and plateaus continues to reveal
Whatever power drives the Mystery opposes attempts using Su- ruins from the Time Before. Awakened lore among the Tamil
pernal magic to get closer, infecting spells with Paradox. Banishers traces many of their Artifacts and Legacies back to legends of
oppose Pentacle mage and Seer alike, often staying one step ahead Kumari Kandam, which scholars have recently theorized existed
of anyone seeking access to the spaceport. in the Indian Ocean. Mages seek the Drowned Academies — islets
System: The anomalies within the Cosmodrome are a Mystery within these sunken ruins where ancient scholars’ teachings still
with Opacity 4. Using a spell with the intention to gain access to echo. Travelers resurface reciting forgotten mystical poetry. Some
the spaceport suffers an automatic Paradox die. This extends to claim to have spent hundreds of years debating with the Wise of
spells targeting any Sleeper who has been within the restricted lost civilizations, even though only hours have passed.
area within the last seven days. The Storyteller should use any

62 Chapter Two: The Pentacle Worldwide

 Systems: The Drowned Academies and other undersea ruins began, change did come — to an otherwise stable region of the
are Mysteries with Opacity 5. Temenos where the sixth sun’s appearance is always imminent.
The Goetia and stories in this realm depict those of Mesoamer-
Maracaibo, Venezuela ican cosmology. Traditionally, it was a place where willworkers
could go to seek ancient wisdom. Now, fierce obsidian-feathered
Maracaibo, is Venezuela’s second-largest city and a wealthy cen- birds guard its pathways, preventing most visitors from venturing
ter of oil production. The Seers, who held the dominant position too deep within. In the distance, spires of a new city rise above
in the city since its colonial founding, have declared “victory” and the trees, and the sounds of construction ring throughout the
decamped. Seers left behind — disillusioned by their higher-ups’ realm. Théarchs who’ve caught glimpses of it have nicknamed
actions — claim the Exarchs told the Prelate to abandon the city it Hieraconis, and why not? The Order speaks of the dream of
without further explanation. Pentacle mages still watch warily for their Awakened Nation; where better for it to start than in the
their return in case it’s a ruse, but thus far it seems true. place where humanity’s dreams come together?
Many senior Order mages, including the Hierarch and several Systems: This Temenos realm is a Mystery with Opacity 5.
Councilors, also departed, leaving the remaining Awakened to
reform their community. The new Consilium acts as more of a
mutual aid society for the mages of Maracaibo. In a controver-
Millard and Sevier County, UT
sial three-to-two decision, the Councilors granted provisional In the sparsely populated American Southwest, the Mysteri-
membership to low-ranking Seers the Iron Pyramid abandoned. um jealously guards an ancient repository of arcane knowledge
The Orders hope to win over the former Seers, who they treat stored in the myriad dreams of perhaps the oldest living thing
as Nameless rather than former enemies. But not all Consilium on Earth: Pando. This colonial aspen spreads across over 100
members are interested in reconciliation, blaming the Seers in acres and consists of more than 40,000 individual trees sprung
part for Venezuela’s ongoing crisis. from the same cloned root system. Each tree anchors a dream in
The storm serpent spirits who thrive on the energies of the an interconnected web of Temenos realms. While fewer than a
Catatumbo lightning lend credence to the theory that the region’s thousand have been fully explored and cataloged, Mystagogues
name comes from the native word “Maara-iwo” meaning “place believe mages dating to before the Fall used the tree-dreams like an
where serpents abound.” Maracaibo’s more recent moniker as Athenaeum, preserving knowledge within. The Consilium, which
the Beloved Land of the Sun also shows through in the Shadow claims jurisdiction over the wider Millard and Sevier Counties,
with powerful sun spirts holding prominent positions in the spirit strictly controls access to the tree-dreams but assesses proposals
courts. Beyond the Shadow, Lake Maracaibo and the surround- for further exploration.
ing area channel occult energies. When viewed from above, the Pando is dying, and no one is sure why. Some among its
duckweed choking the lake follows swirling patters that shift over Guardians believe careless questing with the tree-dreams causes
time. Tracing the changing patterns reveals High Speech runes Pando’s decline, and petition for all exploration to cease. Others
that indicate the dominant Supernal tide. fear the collapse of Pando’s dreams entirely and push to accelerate
System: The Supernal tides near Maracaibo a Mystery with exploration to preserve its Mysteries. In recent years, some of the
an Opacity of 3. The tides are subtle and diffuse, meaning even tree-dreams show signs of Abyssal encroachment, with individual
mages can sense them only by watching macro scale effects. dreams corrupted by Paradox.
When a mage has discerned the tides within the last day, they Pando’s dream memories exist in the Temenos. The easiest way
may align their Imago for a spell that matches the dominant tide to enter would be to meditate in one of the many Hallows within
to gain a +1 Yantra bonus that does not count against the total the forest and ascend from the Oneiros directly into Pando’s
number of Yantras. dream. While it’s technically possible to reach the forest from
other Temenos regions, powerful Goetia patrol its boundaries
Merida, Mexico to protect against intruders.
System: Pando is a Mystery with Opacity 4. Abyss tainted
The Convocation held in Mérida on the Yucatan Peninsula is
dreams increase the risk of Paradox, granting the 9-again quality
the center of the Obsidian Seat, a cross-Order faction composed of
to Paradox rolls. Uncontained Paradox in any of Pando’s dreams
indigenous mages throughout Central America. While founded
risks contaminating the stored knowledge, which counts as an Act
from the ranks of the Silver Ladder, the Obsidian Seat is open
of Hubris against Falling Wisdom. Once inside Pando’s domain,
to any mages who seek to increase the number of indigenous
a traveler can uncover arcane secrets and lost knowledge by facing
willworkers in positions of prominence. Their mission appeals
allegorical trials then Scrutinizing the revealed Mystery.
to the many Libertines in the region, but also to Mystagogues
and Guardians intent on recording and preserving the region’s
Mysteries before they’re lost. Local Arrow mages practice indig- Mogadishu, Somalia
enous combat styles, especially with the atlatl and macuahuitl. After a generation gathering power and fomenting division,
The tight-knit Mérida Consilium coordinates efforts to explore the Seers of the Throne seized opportunities in the Somali Civil
Mesoamerican Mysteries. War to destroy Consilia across Mogadishu and the surrounding
As the thirteenth b’ak’tun of the Mayan Long ended in 2012, region. Despite initial success, the Seers played out their hand
mages welcomed the beginning of a new era. As the fourteenth quickly. Now they find themselves on the back foot against a new

Cities of the Awakened 63

generation of Diamond mages. The Mogadishu Consilium, led by
the Silver Ladder, aids in the nation’s rebuilding but much of their Monteverde, Costa Rica
attention is taken up by reestablishing the Diamond’s guiding To find the Mysteries hidden among the Costa Rican cloud
hand for Somalia’s Awakened community. The long tradition forests, the Awakened cannot rely on their own navigation, but
of syncretism between local practice and the Diamond Orders must instead follow the birdlike cryptids that inhabit the region.
has meant Somali mages view the Free Council as Westernizers To Sleeper eyes, these cryptids are exceptionally perfect specimens
rather than aligning with local custom. of the iconic birds that draw ecotourists to the region. With Mage
The Diamond Orders have deep roots in East Africa, establish- Sight, the Awakened identify the spark of the Supernal, which
ing their presence through the strong connections of the India Sea they can follow to the small hidden Verges shrouded in clouds
trade routes during antiquity. Even before the advent of modern in the verdant montane forest. Curiously, no successful expedi-
archaeology, mages recognized that Somalia had been home to tion has discovered a new Verge without first following one of
sophisticated prehistoric people. The Keepers of the Word sought the birds. Over the last few decades, as local policy and practice
outposts from the Time Before, and cataloged their findings. Re- added to the protected land and restored lost forest, the number
cently, Scelesti looted the Athenaeum. Order mages scramble to of sightings and Verges increased.
recover the records they’d lost, or set out to rediscover the many The Consilium in Monteverde works together to continue this
secrets scattered across the country. The ruins’ locations aren’t upward trend. The Mysterium organizes expeditions and catalogs
fixed — they often sink into Verges where haughty ifrit princes sightings, while Guardians of the Veil misdirect tourists away from
hold court or hungry ghuls wait to consume the unwary. active Verges. The Silver Ladder organizes the Consilium overall
Systems: The umoored ruins are a Mystery with Opacity 4. and the Free Council ensures fair representation for all Order
mages and cooperation with Sleeper groups. The birds have prov-
Monaco, Monaco en useful in detecting Verges in other places, bringing poachers
to the area eager to traffic them. While the Arrow coordinates
The austere Adamantine Arrow-led Consilium is a stark contrast efforts to catch them and stop them, enough slip through that
to the modern glitz and glamour of Monaco’s Sleeper society. The the Sentinel has quietly investigated whether the bad actors are
Consilium is one of the Mediterranean’s most ancient; its purpose coming from within the local Orders’ ranks.
has even slipped into Sleeper myth about Monaco’s origins. Sto-
System: Cryptid birds in this region are a Mystery with Opac-
ries say that Monaco’s name came from a temple to Heracles that
ity 2. The birds are associated with each Path: Quetzals with
commemorated the mythic hero’s battle against gods and monsters
Acanthus; hawk-eagles with the Mastigos; macaws with Moros;
of the region. The Arrow mages continue to stand vigil against the
black-faced Solitaires with the Obrimos; and hummingbirds with
dread entities that inspired those stories. Its warriors guard the
the Thyrsus.
temple fortress — itself hidden in a fold in space — containing an
Iris to a corrupted Emanation, named the Oubliette of the Unseen.
The Axis Power’s occupation of Monaco during WWII gave a Narok County, Kenya
group of Scelesti — led by the Autarch Pasithea — the opportunity Despite its low population density, one of East Africa’s most
to raid the Arrow stronghold. While they were ultimately unsuc- crucial Consilia spans across southern Kenya and Northern
cessful in capturing or destroying the sanctum, they killed the Tanzania. Mages meditating into their Oneiroi in this region
master Sentinel and stole tomes with detailed information about find a swirling golden whirlpool awaits them, serving as a portal
activity from the Verge. While the Arrows retook the stronghold, to the Consilium’s headquarters, a long-lost archmage’s Chan-
losing the records has meant they can no longer predict when try (Mage p. 250). Its buildings are in ruins, but what remains
the Iris will disgorge new threats. The last Gulmoth emergence reflects a variety of East African styles, ranging from pre-colonial
caught the Arrow unprepared, and the disruption to the region’s to modern times, along with some the Mysterium assumes are
spirits attracted the attention of several werewolf packs. After an from the future. Time passes irregularly for the Chantry’s visitors,
initial clash with the Arrow mages, the shapeshifters joined forces so mages exiting the realm within moments of each other return
with the Awakened to hunt down and destroy the Gulmoth. The to the Sleeper world hours apart. The Acanthus Councilor Le-
werewolf lore-keepers noted a similarity to dread spirits they call mayian, a théarch, believes the Chantry is a temporal anomaly,
the Moon-banished. sent backward in time by an archmage who has yet to Awaken.
Systems: The Oubliette of the Unseen is a Mystery with Opacity The rest of the Silver Ladder, let alone the Consilium, don’t
5. Arrow mages guard the Thura that grants passage to the Oubli- subscribe to this radical theory, but it gains ground as Lemayian
ette and send well-prepared expeditions in the Emanation to gain keeps turning up new supporting evidence.
advance warning of emerging threats. The geomantic pathways Much of the Consilium’s effort goes into protecting Maasai
in the Shadow near Monaco lure lesser spirts into entering the Mara National Reserve and the Serengeti across the Tanzanian
realm, but the Abyssal corruption drains away resonance that border. The Reserve’s small Sleeper population allows for spaces
flows there, and the spirts prey on each other to survive. The where cryptids, ruins of the Time Before, and Supernal phenome-
remaining spirits are strange amalgamations of devoured concepts na can exist, safe from the corrosive influence of the Abyss. Most
that persist until the Abyss transforms them into Gulmoth and cabals focus on Tremere poachers hunting Artifacts and cryptids
they escape back into the Fallen World. alike, but foreign Pentacle mages committing similar crimes is

64 Chapter Two: The Pentacle Worldwide

a pernicious and ongoing problem. The théarchs and Arrow against a low sprawl of cheap modern construction dotted with fast
propose they work with outsiders, allowing them to investigate food chains and strip malls. Dreariness pervades during the working
Mysteries as long as the Consilium receives an equal payment in week, but Ndola comes alive for the weekend. Ndola means “to be
Artifacts or services. The Mystagogues and Libertines argue pro- together,” a sentiment reflected in its Consilium. Many local Sleepers
tecting Narok’s Mysteries is essential to the Consilium’s survival. believe in witchcraft, particularly curses and weather magic.
In their eyes, anyone allowing mages to plunder the region’s riches Ndola sits at the nexus of a tangle of ley lines that charge puis-
may as well throw their lot in with the Exarchs. sant Nodes. The Resonance feeds powerful spirits who claim to
Systems: Within the Chantry, spells using the Time Arcanum remember a time when mortal ritual fed them freely. The spirits
to gaze into the future or the past gain a free Reach. The Chantry’s deal with the Awakened, but many have repeat Sleeper clients too:
anomalies are an Opacity 4 Mystery. weather spirits who promise a rain-free weekend; money spirits
that can guarantee a little extra pocket change; spirits who’ll help
Nassau, The Bahamas out with that curse, for the right price. All expect payment in kind
for any services or information rendered.
Renowned for lawlessness during the Golden Age of Piracy,
Local legend ascribe the disappearances of children near Lake
Nassau draws tourists to its famous resorts, idyllic beaches, casi-
Chilengwa Na Lesa to the donafish, a mer-cryptid who lives in
nos, and nightlife. The glamour hides the grittier impoverished
the sunken lake. No two mages who’ve spotted it describe it the
parts of the city and the shantytowns of Haitian refugees. Local
same way. Mage Sight shows a living being, with a mind that’s a
mages still resent the Silver Ladder for allying with the Seers to
confusing and compelling tangle of familiar thoughts and alien
destroy the Company of the Codex. But Nassau today is not the
concepts. Though it moves normally within the Fallen World,
pirate paradise of the past. Since the fall of the local Tetrarch
the donafish’s Pattern suggests it doesn’t always obey the laws of
shortly before Bahamian independence, the Pentacle’s gained
Time and Space as Sleepers know them. Changelings around
the upper hand. Recently, however, the Seers have renewed their
Ndola have cautioned their Wise acquaintances to stay far away
push to seize the city.
from it, which only encourages the city’s mages.
Awakened lore refers to a ghost-infested drowned city that
Systems: The donafish is a Mystery with Opacity 2.
appeared on the sea floor following an earthquake. Since then,
mages have scoured the Caribbean for other signs of undersea
ruins. The search occasionally leaks into Sleeper consciousness, Okinawa, Japan
with attention-grabbing headlines about civilizations discovered Okinawa is a land twice occupied, first by Japan, then by the
beneath the waves. Public interest turns the exploration of these US military. Nevertheless, the Ryukyuan mages maintain ties to
Mysteries into a race — who else will be looking and what can their unique blend of practices and traditions. Notably, Ryukyu-
the Wise recover before it disappears beneath the weight of an religious practices place women in the position of spiritual
Quiescence? primacy. Several official positions in the Consilium, especially
Southeast of Nassau, powerful ephemeral entities guard a those related to spirits, are open only to mages who identify as
set of ruins which displays strange styles and alien architecture. women. As Okinawans revere their ancestors, mages revere those
Some Awakened theorists suspect the ruins are cast back from predecessors who founded lasting Legacies. They carefully safe-
the future or bled across from an alien timeline. Others consider guard the daimonomika those luminaries left behind.
it evidence of a metamorphic Awakening, positing that a mage During the reforging of the Adamantine Arrow after WWII, the
marked the Supernal in a way that changed the Fallen World’s Order selected Okinawa as an ideal meeting place for the regional
reality. Normally only that mage knows what’s changed between Caucus, drawing together its Japanese, Taiwanese, Ryukyuan,
the world she left and the one to which she returned. However, and American branches. The Ryukyan mages appreciate the
these ruins persist for other Wise to explore. Mystagogue car- protection the Arrow’s presence affords, though some Areteans’
tographers debate whether the ruin’s boundaries — physical or (p. XX) duels with seniors in the Caucus have caused friction.
metaphysical — have changed. The Arrow prefers to treat matters internally, rankling Councilors
System: The ruins are a Mystery with Opacity 4. When the from other Orders left out of their judgments.
mage would gain a Paradox Condition, her player may instead Ryukyuan practice also teaches the importance of preserving
decide she suffers the Aponoia Condition (Signs of Sorcery, p. one’s mabui: the essence of a person’s unique self, which is tied
141) for its duration instead. During this time, the Fallen World to both her soul and her Resonance. Unlike a soul, it’s not as
has changed in a way only she knows, and her assumptions about firmly connected to the body, leading to it being transferred to
the world cause her trouble. The Condition resolves when this objects, or simply lost. Normally, recovering lost mabui involves
divergence prevents her from fulfilling an Aspiration or Obses- simple rituals and performing habitual tasks. However, those
sion, or after the specified time for Paradox to lapse (Mage, p. practices are no longer reliable, and a group calling themselves
116). Gain an Arcane Beat when this Condition lapses. the Salvagers has offered their services to distraught Sleepers
to help them regain their lost mabui... for a steep price. Mages
Ndola, Zambia have also found mabui-imbued items listed for sale on dark web
occult sites and through other less-than-savory outlets, but the
The capital of Zambia’s Copperbelt Province, Ndola is a commu-
faces behind the Salvagers remain a Mystery.
nity recovering from industrial decay. Decrepit buildings butt up

Cities of the Awakened 65

 System: The lost mabui are a Mystery with Opacity 3. The
mage may imprint her Signature Nimbus on an object, place, or
person without paying the Mana cost to do so.

Paramaribo, Suriname
Mages in Paramaribo see deep into the Supernal, perceiving
Supernal entities with their Inferior Arcana in addition to those
of their Paths — Apeirons for Mastigos, Seraphim for Acanthus,
Specters for Obrimos, Totems for Moros, and Wraiths for
Thyrsus. Surinamese mages argue this reveals the limitations
of the Supernal Realms model and the strengths of the Amazo-
nian worldview. They regard these “Inferior” entities as orishas
who embody their flaws and limitations, helping willworkers
overcome their weaknesses. Consilium activities invariably re-
volve around their orishas, and the mages consider themselves
blessed to live in an area where the entities so often appear of
their own accord.
The Free Council, whose ranks have swelled through the
admission of local Nameless Orders, outnumbers the Diamond
here. Fortunately, the Pentacle works well together, reserving
most animosity for the Seers of the Throne. The Seers have had
difficulties establishing a firm foothold in Paramaribo thanks to
this strong alliance, but the frequent manifestations of Supernal
entities ensure their attempted incursions continue. Pentacle
mages from outside Amazonia are welcome visitors as long as
they’re respectful, though the local Consilium often fails to con-
ceal their pity about the outsiders’ lost connection to the orishas.
Systems: When using Active Mage Sight in Paramaribo, mages
see and can Scrutinize the Supernal entities described above. The
Opacity of these entities is 1 higher if the mage possesses at least
one dot in their Inferior Arcana, otherwise it is 2 higher. Mages
can also summon these entities, although doing so requires addi-
tional successes equal to (10 – the Mage’s Inferior Arcana dots).
Supernal beings in Paramaribo lose Corpus more slowly, having
an entire day without damage from their initial manifestation.
Each point of Mana provided during the summoning process
grants an additional 12 hours, and the damage intervals are
quadrupled once the entity suffers Corpus loss.

Prague, Czechia
Visitors to the City of a Hundred Spires see the contrast
of modern and medieval in the sleek futurist glass and brutal
Communist-era concrete imposed on one of Europe’s grand
historical capitals. Residents see past the contrast, to the slow
change of a city evolving over 1000 years, if they think about it at
all. Throughout the city’s history, disparate cults have sponsored
or built unusual architecture that creates strange occult effects.
Unsettling statues and buildings with nonsensical edifices pow-
er hundreds of workings; though they’re not obviously linked
together, mages wonder if some coordinating intelligence hides
behind them.
Hapsburg Emperor Rudolf II oversaw patronage of the oc-
cult sciences in the era when the Jewish mystic Rabbi Leow,
the astrologer-spy John Dee, and the alchemist Sendivogious
resided in Prague. Since then, the mystical has become iconic,

66 Chapter Two: The Pentacle Worldwide

and some mages argue the effect is a weak Manteion — an area Several volcanoes loom near Quito, including the active
which is also a Supernal symbol, due to the power of a story that Pichincha on its western side. Travelers who climb to one of its
occurred there — spread across the entire city. Orloj, Prague’s two highest peaks often return with stories of strange and harrow-
fifteenth century astronomical clock, focuses the effect and ing detours they took on their way back down. Sleepers’ claims
produces Mana as a powerful Hallow, but only when the clock of walking among ancient cities and speaking with the ghosts
is running. Every two and a half years when Saturn moves into a of those who lived there are often dismissed as hallucinations
new zodiac constellation, the Consilium awards stewardship of brought on by exhaustion or oxygen deprivation.
the Orloj Hallow to one cabal that best reenacts one of Prague’s Quito’s mages, however, have spent centuries excavating the
legendary stories through their workings. entrances to ancient lava tubes and mapping their meanderings.
System: Prague’s Mystery has an Opacity of 3. The mage reen- Where a traveler comes out depends heavily on the steps she takes
acts a legend from Prague’s mystic past as she casts her spell. Doing once she’s inside: the tunnels have many branches, and often
so makes her Environmental and Action Yantras available, and loop back on themselves. Which fork she takes and whether she
awards a point of Mana she may retain or use to strengthen the turns around and tries another route might mean the difference
spell. Apply a –1 penalty to any Paradox dice rolls. While Orloj between emerging in a Supernal Verge or Pompeii just before
is running, increase the penalty to –2 in the immediate vicinity Vesuvius’ eruption.
of Old Town Square, including most of the old Jewish quarter. Thaumaturges seek a Thura rumored to lead to an Emanation
Realm of Forces, though its location is elusive; some suggest this
Qazvin, Iran Iris — and the Verge it lives within — flows through the tubes like
lava. Members of the Tephra Legacy summon the Realm’s fires
Medieval ruins dot the mountains of Qazvin province, home
to heat their forges, allowing them to craft superior weapons
to the Subtle Ones, a Guardian Legacy tracing their heritage
and Tools.
to the Nizari Ismailis. While Qazvin’s population is sparse, the
Guardians maintain their hold on the region by basing its Con- System: The tunnels are a Mystery with Opacity 3. Thurae most
silium inside a naturally occurring Emanation Realm (Mage: The commonly appear at the heart of a Verge, but they can appear
Awakening, p. 250). Known as the Eagle’s Nest, this space is tied anywhere. Keys for this Iris might take the form of hand-forged
to Mind and represents contemplation and inspiration. Mages weapons, flowing liquids, or obsidian. Within the Emanation,
who ascend one of its many mountain peaks see their mind’s Forces spells gain a +2 Yantra bonus and don’t risk Paradox. If
labyrinth laid out in the valleys below. the spell evokes the Realm’s core symbols, add +1 to the spell’s
Potency after a successful casting.
Irises leading into the Nest exist at Alamut Castle and in Qaz-
vin City, but rumors persist of secret passages known only to the
Subtle Ones. Guardians constantly monitor the known entrances, Reykjavik, Iceland
as the Irises implant strange impulses in the minds of Sleepers Swept into power by the symbolic might of the 1975 Kven-
who linger near them. In medieval times, this led to rumors of nafrídagurinn women’s march for equal pay, the Free Council’s
Subtle Ones implanting Wraiths in Ismaili warriors’ minds. While democratic ideals rule Reykjavík’s Consilium. Iceland’s Wise
discredited in the modern day, the Legacy’s reputation has yet to practice the wergild tradition, settling disputes through payments
recover from the damage this hearsay inflicted. of blood money. Frequently, this means tithing Mana, but loaning
The Nest welcomes all Orders, but only Guardians can rise soul stones, exchanging Grimoires, and Artifacts donations are
to positions of power within the Consilium. The Bronze Laws also accepted depending on the situation. Ironically, this allows
reserve both the Hierarch and the Mastigos Councilor positions Seers and Scelesti to operate more openly in Iceland; as long as
for Subtle Ones. While most Guardians assume the Faceless (p. they strictly adhere to the wergild, the Assembly’s laws shield
XX) dominate the Subtle Ones (and there are certainly many), them from further punishment.
it is the Inheritors (p. XX) who control the Nest. Mages visiting Reykjavík served as a meeting ground for mages from Europa,
the Nest will find their Wisdom tested at every turn to deter- the New Orthodoxy, and the Aquarian Satellites since the 12th
mine whether they command the Supernal arts with prudence century. In the mid-20th century, the Consilium expanded
and restraint. While these tasks are trying, mages endure them its role to match the globalizing Sleeper world. Now it acts as
nonetheless hoping to curry favor with the Guardians. neutral ground for international Lesser Assemblies. While the
Systems: The Eagle’s Nest is a Mystery with Opacity 4. Con- Silver Ladder takes its usual lead in these affairs, the other Orders
templating their mind’s labyrinth grants the mage the rote quality consider successful Assemblies to be a point of pride, and lend an
on attempts to enter or navigate their Oneiros made within the unusual amount of aid. In particular, Free Council Emissaries and
next day. Minutemen assist their théarch allies to reaffirm the close bond
between the Orders. Consilium tradition considers participation
Quito, Ecuador in Assemblies to be a crucial part of a newly-Awakened mage’s
integration into magical society: Mentors often loan their charges
Quito is the center of the Andean Convocation and the center to the Silver Ladder’s Archdeacon to prepare for the event.
of leadership for the Diamond Caucuses and the regional Free
Iceland’s mages puzzle over the enigmatic Lokabok. This Gri-
Council Assembly. With so much Pentacle leadership in the city,
moire is different for every mage who reads from it, containing
the local Consilium is more social than political.

Cities of the Awakened 67

both unique rotes as well as mundane facts about the Consilium. Mysteries over time, recognizing the rate of strange manifestations
The rotes within are unpredictable, sometimes carrying Abyssal in São Paulo is unusually high. Awakened scholars want to create
taint or an infamous Seer’s Nimbus. Mages can copy individual a predictive model if they can identify any reliable pattern, but
rotes into other Grimoires, but copying all of the rotes into a the biggest impediment to their effort is the missing data from
single volume creates a new copy of the Lokabok. Copies taken Mysteries exploited by the Seers.
out of Iceland are instantly wiped clean. At watercoolers throughout the city’s skyscrapers, workers dis-
Systems: The Lokabok is a Mystery with Opacity 2. Status cuss episodes of an ongoing series never aired on any network. The
dots in the Reykjavík Consilium also count as status in another characters and their arcs are vivid in plenty of Sleepers’ minds,
Consilium at one half their regular rating, rounded up. and fans have mourned their deaths, celebrated their long-awaited
weddings, and gasped at stunning betrayals... but no one ever
San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA remembers the name of the show, or which actors star in it. The
story lives in the Temenos, though when it started or who’s call-
As one of the oldest colonial cities in the Americas, San Juan ing the shots in its Realm now remains a Mystery. Some mages
has long hosted Puerto Rico’s Consilium. The Free Council has in São Paulo actively discourage their peers from seeking it out,
a stronger central presence in Ponce, but the San Juan Consilium though they’re almost always fans themselves, afraid of spoilers.
settles disputes for all of Puerto Rico’s Pentacle mages. Arriving
System: The show is a Mystery with Opacity 3. “Episodes”
with the Spanish in the sixteenth century, European mages
release on a roughly weekly basis, though there’s no specific air
plundered the Mysteries of the Taíno in a misguided effort
date or time. Most people simply wake up certain they’ve watched,
to preserve them without consulting those who’d been their
whether they work a 9-5 job or the night shift.
caretakers for centuries. The rush to seize knowledge pitted the
Diamond against local mages. Ultimately, the Diamond prevailed
and mostly destroyed the native Orders, but not before the Taíno Seattle, USA
mages sealed away many of the island’s Mysteries. Seattle’s Pentacle mages present a strong, united Consilium in
Their magic remains, bound in petroglyphs and guarded by a city where they recognize they aren’t the strongest supernatural
ghosts, spirits, and stranger entities. The Libertines — some of players. The Awakened contend with the influence of paranoid
whom are Taíno descendants — champion local cultural recovery vampires, combative shapechangers, and strange biomechanical
efforts. While the Diamond Orders’ resources can be of immense entities embroiled in internal conflicts. Seattle’s Mystagogues
help in unlocking their predecessors’ secrets, Libertines still tread have, by necessity, become specialists on these strange beings,
carefully with how much they’re willing to share about their own which are neither spirits, nor purely machines.
discoveries. This can cause friction with the other Orders, but Several years ago, a young mage guided by apocalyptic visions
history casts a long shadow. It was the Guardians who forced lead to the discovery of alternate timelines embedded in Seattle.
Taíno mages in Nassau to join their Order or die. While the Consilium had long recognized the high incidence of
System: The Opacity of San Juan’s Mysteries vary; the precau- twists of Time and Fate in the city, their cause remained a Mystery.
tions the Taíno mages took to hide them add 1 to the Opacity The alternate timelines are scattered across the city and represent
when an outsider attempts to Reveal or Scrutinize them without key moments in Seattle’s history. The most unusual appears to
the Libertines’ permission. Mages who find appropriate Taíno advance 41 years from the 1889 Great Seattle Fire, which never
petroglyphs may use them as an environment Yantra that provides occurred in that timeline. Strangely, technology, fashion, and
a 2-die bonus. culture within have remained static. Biomechanical entities
inhabit all the timelines and often guard the crossing points,
Sao Paulo, Brazil forcing mages to be cautious in their exploration.
Seattle mages use these splinters to test out various hypotheses
São Paulo is one of the most populous cities on Earth, collecting
and chase their Obsessions. While some visit intent on following
superlatives the way some Arrow mages collect weapons. It’s an
the Mystery to its source, others take the opportunity to see how
economic powerhouse, a center of culture, and a major melting
certain historical changes might have played out, or go there to
pot. This gives it a major population of both mages and other
test a dangerous spell or summon powerful spirits. Debate rages
supernatural residents, leading to some ambiguity in determining
about whether doing so is unwise — does it count, if any harm
which group holds sway. Is the querent looking at the Greater São
done is wiped clean afterward? When do those actions cross the
Paulo area, or specific neighborhoods? Do they mean in terms
line into Left-Handed?
of economic impact, media control, or government influence?
Who’s to say whether a new religious movement started at the System: The splinters are a Mystery with Opacity 7. Other
hands of the Paternoster or grew out of a théarch cryptopoly? than the 1889 timeline, each splinter highlights a brief period in
Seattle’s history. Those who explore it may alter the events that
Most Orders maintain networks of Sleeper informants to iden-
happened: at the end of the period, everything “resets,” and the
tify unusual occurrences even if the observers cannot understand
changes are undone. Rifts scattered across the city grant access
what they see. Among the Wise, rights to first investigation of a
to the splinters.
Mystery goes to whichever network first identified its presence
rather than placing claims based on physical territory — the city’s For more information about the splintered timeline, see De-
too massive for that. The Assembly keeps a shared map of the mon: the Descent and Splintered City Seattle.

68 Chapter Two: The Pentacle Worldwide

Singapore, Singapore
Led by the Panopticon, Seer influence helped shape the highly Playing the Exception
regulated Singapore of today. The Tyrants popularize the “Five If players want their characters to be the first mag-
es to Awaken in St. John in a generation, they
Great Fears” said to unite all Singaporeans: fear of missing out
can! Such characters become an intimate part of
(Panopticon), fear of death (Praetorian), fear of having nothing the Consilium’s Mystery. Other mages attempting
(Mammon), fear of government (Hegemony), and fear of one’s wife to unravel the Awakening’s secrets bedevil them
(Paternoster). While most Singaporeans agree the Fears are tongue- and pry into their secrets. Storytellers should work
in-cheek, consensus does nothing to stop the gnawing concerns. with players to determine how this unique position
The Free Council leads the Pentacle as an Assembly, with influences their characters and the chronicle.
Councilors organizing the gathered mages and the Hierarch
elected each session to direct the proceedings. The same strict
laws that bind the Sleeper population give the Pentacle Orders
space to operate carefully as long as they remain within the law. and aim to control the effect blanketing St. John, not remove
Seers issue permits allowing them to practice; often its agents it entirely. Fearful the Silver Ladder will destroy the Mystery
attempt to recruit Pentacle mages as spies, dangling the possibil- before the Guardians replicate it, they compromise their allies’
ity of more magical autonomy as a reward. Mages step carefully, research and withhold critical pieces of information. They must
knowing they’re constantly being surveilled. Willworkers who’ve tread carefully, for if the rest of the Consilium — or the Guardian
stepped too far out of line have been taken into custody by the Caucus — discovers their true intentions, they will be labeled as
Iron Pyramid, and not heard from again. Left-Handed heretics.
The national symbol of Singapore, the merlion appears in Systems: The Opacity of any Mystery related to someone’s
statuary and souvenir shops throughout the city. Over the years, Awakening increases by 1 within city limits.
the Awakened have discovered spirits, Goetia, and cryptids all
sharing the merlion’s form. The urban development of Singapore Tamunging, Guam
reshaped the most of the city’s islands but government planning
Guam today is an outpost of the United States in the western
has ensured the city remains the Garden City. Between the is-
Pacific. Tumon Bay, part of the Tumunging village, draws millions
land’s preserves, vertical greenery, and hypermodern Gardens by
of tourists with nightlife, entertainment, and shopping. High-rise
the Bay, Singapore is one of the greenest densely populated areas
hotels and resorts line the sandy beach overlooking the sparkling
in the world. Mages who travel beyond the Gauntlet watch the
waters of the protected bay. Off-duty US military personnel
Shadow change with shocking speed throughout the city. More
from the island’s many bases rub elbows with tourists and locals.
and more Verges appear, the Life within them running rampant
Chamoru mages surprised the first Arrow mage who arrived in
with the Primal Wild’s proximity.
the Mariana Islands, greeting her by name and insisting her Order
System: The accelerated growth is a Mystery with Opacity 4. aid them in their sacred charge: guard the Pacific Ocean from
the Abyssal entities emerging from the depths. Guam has been
St. John, New Brunswick, Canada an Adamantine Arrow stronghold ever since, as they added their
might to that of the Chamoru.
No one Awakens in St. John. Supernal magic is still possible
and other supernatural creatures still lurk in the shadows, but The Chamoru received their charge from one of the Taotao
every single mage within the city encountered their Watchtower Mo’na, the people before history, who appeared across the ages on
elsewhere. While the majority of these Awakened immigrated Guam to warn them about the Abyssal spirits that would devour
to study this famous Mystery, a few precious mages are St. John the island. Three times since the Arrow arrived, the entity has
natives who Awakened while on business trips, family vacations, appeared with warnings and instructions for the islands’ defense.
or away for college. The Wise identify it as an Ananke: a living spell of Time and Fate
created by an archmaster.
St. John ostensibly has a traditional Consilium structure, but in
reality it is the Acadian Knights, an Alethian (p. XX) cabal, who The Guam Consilium observes the Mariana Trench, believed
pull the strings. Even those Wise who aren’t officially Alethians to contain an Abyssal Verge. Cabals battle the Abyssal entities
focus their studies on how St. John suppresses the Awakening that occasionally emerge from the depths. The cabals form a
and regularly consult the Knights. The cabal is an allegiance of network dedicated to searching the Pacific for lost ruins sunken
Guardians of the Veil and Silver Ladder mages hoping to Awak- to the seafloor. Even for the Awakened, the depths of the Pacific
en St. John once more. Neither Order wishes to see Awakening remain mysterious and out of reach to easy exploration. While
suppressed, so they merged their Labyrinths and Cryptopolies several cabals maintain permanent residence on Guam, other
together, creating dozens of secret societies throughout the city mages rotate through temporarily as part of assignments to the
who simultaneously test and enlighten Sleepers, preparing them US military bases.
for the day Awakenings return. Systems: The activity from the Mariana Trench is a Mystery
Unknown to the théarchs, a rogue faction of Guardians believe with Opacity 5.
the power to suppress Awakenings will revolutionize the Labyrinth

Cities of the Awakened 69

Toowoomba, Australia from hidden caves to the birthplace of the Great Khan. Hunters
of the Golden Wing, an Arrow Legacy that claims descent from
Despite Sleepers’ beliefs, ghosts aren’t actually the souls of Genghis’ personal guard, patrol the region to keep these places
the dead. They’re echoes of people changed by traumatic events, safe from Sleeper Quiescence and Seer grasp — and to prevent
which in the Garden City includes Awakening. Every new mage anyone from finding the Great Khan’s tomb. His army went to
in the Consilium is haunted by the ghost of their Sleeper self, great lengths to hide its whereabouts, riding 1000 horses over
which also acts as a familiar. These apparitions beg, cajole, and his grave to obliterate every hint to its location. The sentiment
threaten them to maintain the patterns and routines of their old extends to modern-day Mongolians, who prefer its location to
lives. Sleepers, too, are haunted by the people they once were, remain a secret, as he wished. A massive herd of spirit horses end-
spawning echoes of their past selves in response to severe trauma. lessly travels the plains, their dust and their hoofbeats stymying
While such events occur elsewhere in the world, these hauntings mages’ efforts and occasionally those of Sleeper archaeologists.
occur with alarming frequency in Toowoomba, drawing paranor- The Aether is particularly close to the Fallen World in the Land
mal investigators, mediums, and ghost hunters to investigate. of the Eternal Blue Sky. Obrimos who have scoured the region
Toowoomba’s Consilium no longer operates on the traditional with Mage Sight report several powerful Aedes and debate which
Path structure. Instead, the Orders dominate Toowoomba’s Coun- marks the birthplace of the Great Khan.
cil, with the foremost Moros from each serving as Councilors. Systems: The Mysteries in Khan Khentii begin at Opacity 2.
While the Guardians of the Veil comprise the largest Order here, Those directly related to Genghis Khan’s burial place begin at
they’re frazzled trying to deflect attention from mages’ ghostly Opacity 4.
familiars, a constant source of interest among unAwakened
mediums. An alliance between the Silver Ladder and the Free
Council undermines their efforts, both seeing an opportunity
Ushuaia, Argentina
to shake Sleepers from their slumber through ghostly activities. Antarctica calls out to mages, a siren’s lure beckoning them
The Adamantine Arrow spends their time stopping dangerous to explore the snowy wasteland at the Earth’s end. No place is
ghosts and diffusing rivalries threatening to turn violent, while the more remote from civilization, nowhere is more removed from
Mysterium scours the area in search of the source of the problem. Sleepers and the Abyssal shards hiding in their souls. Five Con-
Local Nameless Orders maintain strained relationships with the silia — Christchurch, Cape Town, Hobart, Punta Arenas, and
Pentacle, but largely prefer them over the Seers. Ushuaia — coordinate as gateways to Antarctica, with Ushuaia
being first among equals. As the southernmost permanent Con-
Systems: Toowoomba’s ghosts are a Mystery with Opacity 4.
silium and the closest major settlement to the Shetland Islands, it
Every mage Awakening within Toowoomba gains the two-dot
sees the bulk of pilgrims heading south, mage and Sleeper alike.
Familiar Merit for free, representing their ghostly selves. Ghosts
Thus, it acts as the nerve center for the Antarctic Convocation,
arise more easily from other sources of trauma in Toowoomba,
coordinating mages across four continents.
too, causing many Sleepers to be haunted by themselves after
traumatic events. A mage killed within Toowoomba always re- In Antarctica, Mysteries abound. A magical barrier of unknown
sults in a ghost mage, wielding their Arcana in service to their origin prevents mages from using Space magic to move to and
Obsessions until stopped. from Antarctica, much to the annoyance of mages accustomed to
mystical travel. Teleportation works as long as the mage remains
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on the continent, but anyone wishing to travel between Antarctica
and the gateway Consilia must do so by mundane means. Once
Mongolia’s Consilia trace their history back to the era after the an expedition reaches the icy desert, direct communication with
Mongol conquests brought the Diamond’s philosophies to the the rest of the world is mostly limited to Sleeper technology, al-
northern steppe. The ideologies of the Adamantine Arrow and though creative uses of Scrying show potential. Less than a dozen
Guardians of the Veil appealed to the loosely organized Nameless willworkers inhabit Antarctica, though Mystagogues in Ushuaia
Orders that originated on the steppe. As the largest Consilium in discuss the possibility of larger expeditions.
Mongolia in modern times, Ulaanbaatar reflects that preference, Being ideologically and physically closer to the mages in the
though the other Orders have grown as globalism brings new per- Andes than the Aquarians, Ushuaia’s Consilium regards Twilight
spective to the traditional Awakened. Still, contemporary mages and the Shadow as huacas. Unfortunately, the extreme seasonal
maintain practices and beliefs that stem from the older traditions day-night cycle leads to frequent conflict between the spirit courts
of Tengri and Mongolian Shamanism. Of particular note, the of light and darkness. The Consilium’s Obrimos Herald, San
old Mongol aversion to acknowledging death casts suspicion on Jorge of the Free Council, works with the Silver Ladder’s Clav-
Moros mages, especially those who emphasize their nature as Nec- igers as mediators in these conflicts to ensure mages have safe
romancers. The Seers of the Throne arrived with trade from the access to the Shadow. The Logothetes Ministry works to inflame
Russian Empire and further established their influence during the the conflict, hoping violence in the Shadow will destabilize the
Communist era. While their influence has waned, well-established Consilium and win back their Exarch’s favor.
Pylons retain a position of wealth and power in the capital. Systems: Any attempts to use Space magic to reach Antarctica,
Northeast of the city, the sacred mountain Bogd Khan and even simple alterations to shrink distance, causes those affected
the protected region of Khan Khentii hold a trove of Mysteries by the spell to appear randomly somewhere in Ushuaia, regardless

70 Chapter Two: The Pentacle Worldwide

of where the spell originated. Trying to use Space magic to leave with friends more than high politics, though formal gatherings
Antarctica teleports the hapless mage to a random place on the require traditional Sakha garb. None of the Orders has enough
frozen continent. This is a Mystery with Opacity 6. members locally for complex hierarchy, leaving the handful of
mixed cabals as the primary axes of organization.
Vimy, France As annual temperatures rise, the local permafrost recedes,
releasing ancient Mysteries. Searching the dramatic rugged
The Canadian advance on Vimy Ridge wasn’t the only crucial
landscape, lucky mages discover ruined outposts from the Time
offensive in the darkness of April 1917. Disregarding national
Before, ancient spirits released, and cryptids forced to wander
loyalty and using the offensive as a cover, the newly formed Free
seeking refuge in a changing environment. Of particular concern
Council fought beside the Black Tower (p. XX) to eliminate every
to practitioners of the Spirit Arcanum, as the frozen remains of
Seer in Vimy, but their success wrought unexpected consequences.
mammoths emerge from the ice, their carcasses attract starving
The Seers maintained the prison of Isengrim the Wolf, one of the
mammoth spirits across the Gauntlet. Without mammoth
Bound (Mage p. 244). With his jailers dead, Isengrim promptly
resonance, most turn to devouring whatever lesser spirits they
escaped, but he is reluctant to leave Vimy or overtly interfere in
can subdue, becoming crazed and twisted horrors. These spirits
Sleeper affairs.
are drawn into Yakutsk itself by the Mammoth Museum and
Isengrim is the Mystery defining Vimy to this day. Vimy’s the wisps of familiar resonance that hint at vast herds vanished
Consilium formed from the Orders’ desire to study a Bound who thousands of years ago.
wasn’t hostile to mages. Isengrim indulges a cabal’s curiosity in
Systems: The Mysteries beneath the permafrost begin at
return for favors and Mana. The Guardians of the Veil tend to
Opacity 2.
his needs, ensuring he remains complacent. Isengrim radiates
nobility resonance, and his known powers manipulate wealth
and social standing, although few mages are foolish enough to Zanzibar, Tanzania
assume these are the extent of his capabilities. While his agenda Sitting at the heart of the Indian Ocean slave trade, Zanzibar
remains unclear, Isengrim is vocal about his desire to locate and was once a stronghold for the Seers of the Throne. While their
free Reynard the Fox, another Bound. Depending on who you power declined when the slave markets shut down, allowing the
ask, Reynard is Isengrim’s brother, friend, rival, and/or lover. Pentacle to take over, their mark on the island remains: mages
In the intervening century, the Praetorian Ministry returned uncover their hidden libraries and laboratories to this day. The
to Vimy, albeit in a vastly inferior position. Driven by Exarchal Mysterium actively hunts down these caches, hoping to recover
commands to rebind Isengrim at any cost, they petitioned the Grimoires, Daimonomika, and knowledge about the Seers’ oper-
Hierarch, offering the local Pentacle Artifacts, Hallows, and ations, but the island’s greatest prize still eludes understanding.
protection from other Ministries. Now the Praetorians are sub- Tucked away in a Supernal Verge is an occult contraption Seer
ject to the Consilium’s authority, effectively becoming a magical notes refer to as the Soul Gyre. This strange device rearranges a
underclass. None of their attempts to imprison the Wolf have subject’s Onerioi, simulating whatever the Gyre’s user stipulates.
succeeded, driving a divide between the Pylons. While most Seers Mages can use this Artifact to project their conscious through
wish to stay the course, an increasingly vocal minority clamor time. When the Guardian of the Veil first discovered it, they also
that they won’t succeed as long as the Consilium stands. The found a collection of soul stones and jars within the same facility,
Silver Ladder hopes to exploit this dissent to tempt some Pylons amidst piles of ash that were a library before flames consumed
into renouncing the Seers, while the Adamantine Arrow, Free it. The Soul Gyre’s purpose remains a Mystery, but most assume
Council, and Mysterium would instead wipe them out again and Seer Reapers created it to enslave the entire populace. Some of
steal their research. the Wise posit that the Seers abandoned the Gyre not because of
Systems: Isengrim is a Mystery with Opacity 5. He may grant the Pentacle’s encroachment but to avoid the Tremere’s attention.
or remove dots of Resources or Status at the cost of 1 Mana each, Zanzibar’s Cryptopolies push Sleepers to see the the systems
though he never does this without something to gain for himself. both mundane and magical that hold them back from reaching
their goals. The Adamantine Arrow supports these endeavors
Yakutsk, Russia and Chains Broken, the Hierarch and an Arrow herself, actively
encourages other Orders to do the same. Everyone knows Chains’
In the modern globally connected world, Yakutsk remains
philosophy emphasizes the struggle against past injustices, but
isolated. Even the spur of the Trans-Siberian Railway reaching
few realize her Awakening flung her forward through time — or
toward Yakutsk, operating for just over a decade, terminates
that she lived through the slave trade’s dying days as a Sleeper.
on the opposite side of the unbridged Lena River. The small
Consilium works through informal relationships, trading favors Systems: The Soul Gyre is a Mystery with Opacity 4.

Cities of the Awakened 71

The Order Realms
them. The great fortress lending its name to the realm serves
as one of the few places of relative safety. A composite of many
locations important to the Adamantine Arrow’s history, the
The Temenos hosts realms for every concept, and the Orders Bastion is the first location welcoming most visitors to the realm.
are no exception. These realms are scattered throughout the Within its walls, sparring rooms and meeting halls are plentiful, so
Temenos yet still within close proximity to each other, tied as Arrows and visiting members of other Orders can carry out their
much to the Orders’ own concepts as to magic itself. Pentacle tasks efficiently, unless their goals lie beyond the Bastion’s walls.
mages whisper of the unknown terrors to be found deep within The Perilous Lands hold echoes of every earthly environment,
the Seers’ realms, but even the smallest Nameless Orders have allowing mages to hone their skills and endurance to prepare for
Astral reflections. The Orders find themselves most comfortable physical challenges. While the Arrow keeps rotes for its members’
in their own realms, where the terrain and challenges conform use like any other Order, many take the forms of Goetia willing
to their philosophy. Unspoken outside of their own Order, each to train the worthy in their use rather than books or scrolls.
realm also hosts Mysteries of its own. These Rote Masters require students pass their trials, which may
require success at an ordeal or simply defeating them in combat.
The Diamond Citadel The Arrows often hold games and contests in the many arenas
found throughout the realm, with favors owed or useful items
Separated from the Temenos realms of other real and fictional in the physical world as prizes. For mages honing their mental
magical societies by a great wall of diamond and siderite, the or social capabilities, challenges await in chambers resembling
Diamond Citadel serves as a shared realm for the Diamond Or- everything from laboratories to courtrooms. Willworkers come
ders. Each Order has its own tower, which adjusts its interior to to the Bastion to perfect both body and mind in preparation for
the comfort of any gathered mages. Each tower also includes an battles in the Fallen World. They often put themselves at a disad-
entryway to the Order’s individual realm, which is often guarded vantage to better learn how to prevail, whether by participating in
by Astral protectors to prevent incursions. A central hall provides a series of unfair fights, or wearing chains whose links are made
shared meeting spaces for any mages in the realm, which adapts from their own shortcomings and fears.
to those present like the towers. The Silver Ladder has discussed
using this space for a Grand Convocation in the Temenos, but For all their courage, the Arrow recommends against traveling
such an event has yet to materialize. alone through the Perilous Lands. They claim there must be
witnesses to their trials and victories, and outsiders assume the
Outside the towers, a great courtyard bustles with Goetic rep- Arrow doesn’t trust outsiders alone in their realm. Arrows in
resentations of mages, their tenets, and the Lex Magica. Those good standing learn the truth — something stalks travelers in
depicting mages usually take the form of stereotypes of Paths the Perilous Lands, striking at their most vulnerable moments.
and Orders held by the others, to the frustration of the mages Called the Manticore, few have survived encounters, and none
so represented. Goetia that take the form of Laws frequently fill have determined just what the entity truly is. The injuries it inflicts
the courtyards, arguing among themselves — especially when they affect the physical bodies of its prey, the mangled flesh the only
represent conflicting precepts. evidence remaining from its attacks. Some Arrows gain a new
Astral Mysteries await in the towers and other architecture of Obsession following the loss of a comrade to the Manticore, but
the Citadel. Most notably, ruins of fallen towers, hinting at lost their efforts to hunt it have yet to garner even a clear description.
Orders, have drawn generations of mages to investigate the Myster- Systems: By meditating within the Luminous Bastion, an
ies, though the Orders have little to show for centuries of inquiry. Arrow can force their dream form to assume the abilities and
Since the Great Refusal, one wall of the Diamond Citadel limitations of their physical body, allowing them to use their
weakened and crumbled. Its shattered edges slowly grow outward, Physical Attributes for the challenges they face. This also impos-
expanding the Citadel. Traces of the Free Council and the Name- es any Conditions or Tilts affecting their body. While combat
less Orders who joined the Pentacle creep into the city, letting against Goetia in the Luminous Bastion functions normally,
mages come and go easily from the Gardens of Triumph beyond. injuries inflicted by the Manticore also affect physical Health.
The Diamond’s mages argue over what should be done about it. The Manticore is a Mystery with Opacity 4.
The most insular suggest the Free Council is to blame, and putting
further distance between them and the Diamond will mend the
breach. The most idealistic insist the Citadel is adapting to the
The Bloodstone Labyrinth
Pentacle alliance, and may be the first step toward a true nation Buried deep in the Temenos realms of deception and secrets,
for all Awakened, if only in the Astral. the Bloodstone Labyrinth is difficult to find, and even the Guard-
ians of the Veil spend little time here. The endless labyrinth
The Luminous Bastion doesn’t lend itself to large gatherings, for which the Guardians
generally prefer their tower in the Diamond Citadel. The winding
The journey to the Adamantine Arrow’s realm is long and paths join in larger chambers suitable for clandestine meetings
dangerous, leading Astral travelers through the Temenos realms with small groups, however, which suit the Guardians just fine.
associated with war and conflict. Awakened eyes perceive the Secrets can easily be preserved here, and Astral representations
gleaming mountaintop fortress looming over the myriad battle- of hoarded enigmas fill concealed rooms and hidden alcoves. A
fields, promising respite from the endless clashes surrounding

72 Chapter Two: The Pentacle Worldwide

trove of knowledge awaits those willing to brave the traps and Astral reflections of the Fallen World’s magical items. Order
protectors of the great maze. The walls of marbled siderite and degrades as one travels downward. The bones end up as piles
bloodstone can’t be marked, and the chambers adorned with on the floor; smooth walls give way to rough stone. Uncovering
masks and symbols of earthly mystery cults provide the only Artifacts involves searching the bones or digging directly into the
landmarks for navigation. walls. Further down, lichens and mosses cover the stones, without
The great Astral manifestation of the Diamond Wheel occu- further signs of humanity’s presence. Beyond this point, the walls
pies the heart of the Bloodstone Labyrinth. Few Guardians have themselves are flesh and bone, as likely to have blood in their
reached the center and been privileged to gaze upon it, and none veins as ore. The Mysterium considers these areas to be the Astral
have determined how to turn it, though it occasionally turns manifestation of the egregore. Digging here sometimes yields
of its own accord with no recognizable effect. Theories among living relics, magical items composed of the Ossuary’s organic
the Guardians of what will occur once they manage to turn it materials. These living relics can even be brought into physical
themselves range from gaining control of Awakening, to receiving existence. Mystagogues heatedly debate over whether this is a
visions of the Hieromagus, to nothing at all. good or terrible idea, but allow mages to keep recovered relics for
now, provided they also offer something to the Order in return.
While many have tried to breach the Labyrinth’s inner sanc-
tums, few make it far. The masked entities patrolling the halls, One faction of the Mysterium, a group of Astral treasure-hunt-
which the Guardians call Wardens, confront anyone venturing ers who believe the Temenos holds clues to Supernal activity in
too far in, and few mages of other Orders bypass the powerful the physical world, has taken a great interest in the Ossuary. The
beings without a Guardian as guide. Each Warden is a unique Prospectors spend as much time in the Astral as possible, delving
entity, but all resist magic, reflexively redirecting spells targeting ever further into the Ossuary’s depths. The members of this fac-
them onto the nearest valid target. When properly appeased, tion are the best guides through the Ossuary, but they demand
they assist with spells, information, or even favors echoing in the payment for their services in favors or Artifacts.
physical world. Mages from other Orders recognize they’re not Systems: The Living Ossuary is a Mystery with Opacity 7.
Goetia, but have yet to determine their true nature or how the By investing a point of Mana into a living relic from the Living
Guardians put them in place. When asked, the Guardians smile Ossuary, the mage writes it into their Pattern, gaining it as an
enigmatically, refusing to answer. Though they’ll never admit Artifact, Enhanced Item, or Imbued Item (as per the Merits) in the
it to outsiders, this isn’t the Order’s usual secrecy at work. The physical world. This item grows painfully from the mage’s body,
Guardians don’t know what the Wardens are, either, and they inflicting one point of resistant lethal damage for each dot of the
didn’t put them in the Labyrinth. While they keep lists of known Merit. The Prospectors gain Empathy as a Rote Skill, and treat
Wardens, they’ve yet to solve the Mystery. mining equipment such as lanterns or pickaxes as a tool Yantra.
Systems: The Masque Merit takes on physical form within
the Bloodstone Labyrinth, and once donned, it’s difficult to
remove. This provides the wearer with a dice bonus equal to its
The Hieraconian Spires
Stretching inconceivably high into the Astral skies, the Silver
rating for navigating the Labyrinth and dealing with its perils.
Ladder’s great tower bristles with smaller ones forged from
Spells utilizing the Knowing and Unveiling Practices always risk
Perfected metals and stone as Sanctums for individual mages or
Paradox, but spells of the Veiling Practice gain one free Reach.
cabals. While many have tried, no mage has yet reached the top
The Wardens are a Mystery with Opacity 6. of the tower, which remains hidden within the prismatic clouds.
Gazing out the adamant windows provides glimpses of dragons
The Sublime Athenaeum nesting among the spires. These Goetia make popular Familiars
for those able to forge a bond.
Mystagogues boast that their Astral library contains copies of
every manuscript and Grimoire held in any Athenaeum anywhere Gigantic orichalcum plaques enshrining the Gold Laws adorn
in the Fallen World. The truth of these claims remains unverified, the walls in the Hall of Laws, Numerous alcoves contain scrolls
but their vast collection lends them credence. The hoard of tomes with Silver and Bronze Laws for visitors to peruse. Pentacle mag-
and magical objects may be borrowed within the realm, but the es use this large chamber for reaching agreements, as powerful
librarians demand a price from members of other Orders to spells prevent falsehoods from being told within. Ironically, the
utilize them. Outside the library, the rolling hills and towering chamber is a deception in its own right, as the True Hall of Laws
forests provide plenty of spaces for discussions of magical theory, remains hidden behind secret doors. The vast library contains
spell practice, and lessons. The Goetia here are largely peaceful, countless tablets recording every agreement among mages, from
though some of the more dangerous ones are kept bound to the greatest Gold Law to the lowest Iron Law, each inscribed upon
certain locations for training purposes. its namesake metal. The Silver Ladder goes to great lengths to
prevent entry, as alterations to the tablets echo into the physical
Hidden from visitors and inexperienced Mystagogues alike, a
world. The furthest reaches of the True Hall of Laws contain
sprawling network of caverns descends beneath the Athenaeum’s
agreements mages have forged with Abyssal entities, and anyone
lowest levels, patrolled by monstrous Goetia guarding the treasures
near these tablets can sense its corrupting influence.
within. The highest levels of this Living Ossuary seem orderly,
with bones stored neatly in chests, caskets, and urns in rooms of Goetic guardians shaped like bejeweled statuary prevent mages
marble brick. Some containers prove to be reliquaries, storing without proper clearance from climbing too high in the tower.

The Order Realms 73

 Determined trespassers face daunting foes. This is as
much for visitors’ protection as the Silver Ladder’s, as the
heights of the central tower become increasingly tainted
by the Abyss. These perilous halls experience frequent
manifestations of Abyssal Verges and Aberrances, and
the Silver Ladder keeps Goetic guardians and rotating
teams of théarchs patrolling to suppress Acamoth incur-
sions. Some théarchs believe the Abyssal influence is a
necessary evil, and that the levels above it must reach into
the Supernal itself, while others fear alteration of a major
tablet in the True Hall of Laws caused the manifestation.
All agree the other Orders must never know.
Systems: A mage may spend a point of Willpower to
alter the text upon a tablet using an appropriate symbolic
tool. Upon completing the change, the memories of all
affected shift to remember the law in its altered form,
though those aware of the law but unbound by it retain
their knowledge. Altering a law provokes a Paradox
incapable of being mitigated or contained, striking the
immediate vicinity of those affected, as well as near the
altered tablet and somewhere within the Abyssal reaches
of the Hieraconian Spires. This usually results in Abyssal
taint of the areas or summoning Abyssal entities, but
mages casting spells in affected areas may find their
magic warping instead. The Paradox pool depends on
the severity of the altered law, ranging from Iron Laws
imposing 2 dice at minimum to Gold Laws imposing 5,
which may be increased by other factors. The Abyssal
incursions are a Mystery with Opacity 7.

The Gardens of Triumph

This utopian Astral city, accessible from any realm
glorifying human victories, bustles with activity. Mages
and Goetia alike stroll down its streets, which are a jum-
ble of different aesthetics and designs, as varied as the
Nameless Orders that comprise the Free Council itself.
Regions of this city are reflect the individual Nameless
Orders, with the Council itself dominating the city’s
center. Anyone requiring a location to discuss matters,
whether it’s a secret meeting or a public rally, can easily
find a space to accommodate their needs. The Astral
laboratories and art studios are open for anyone’s use.
The Free Council welcomes mages of other Orders to
visit their realm, though any with a history of opposing
the Libertines find themselves watched closely. Only the
Astral Lorehouse, compiling the information collected
in their physical Lorehouses, is off-limits to outsiders.
Scrying telescopes point out into the Temenos from
this realm, allowing viewers to see the most popular
and forward-looking of humanity’s dreams. Beautiful
gardens in the city center surround monuments to great
moments in human progress, from moments of inno-
vation, to triumphant battles, to landmark court trials.
Touching these monuments brings one into a pocket
realm reflecting this triumph, allowing individuals to
witness or even participate in these events.

74 Chapter Two: The Pentacle Worldwide

 Debate halls within the city uphold the Libertine belief that and some find themselves carrying a rote with them. The Free
every voice should be heard. Observers find that every seat has a Council consider these Sleepers proof of their philosophy; mages
clear view of the speaker, and their words carry clearly to all who study them hoping to understand the phenomena. They don’t
listen. Anyone who wishes to express an opinion may; Goetia trust other Orders with this information, fearing the lengths
representing the concepts of democracy and equality moderate they’d go to contain or control these dream travelers.
the conversations, and see to it that everyone gets their turn to Systems: Sleepers who find their way into the Gardens of
address the room. Triumph gain the Inspired Condition and, at the Storyteller’s
The greatest secret the Libertines keep is the sheer number of discretion, a rote. They may cast the rote once, subconsciously
Sleepers who wander the Gardens in their dreams. Easily over- Scouring their Pattern to cover any Mana costs, after which Qui-
looked in the crowds of Goetia, they enter monuments or utilize escence sets in normally. While casting the rote, they effectively
the Libertines’ resources to work out the problems haunting their have Gnosis 1 and the minimum Arcana ratings necessary to cast
waking hours. These mortals awaken from their slumber inspired, it. Sleepers cannot contain Paradox.

The Order Realms 75

 I beat a tattooed tomb into the muddy dirt outside the plaza, making a furrow the size and shape of my
boot. Lightning lanced out of pitch-black clouds far above my downcast head, illuminating hidden cumulo-
nimbus mountains. The soft rain turned every street lamp into a hunched angel, complete with halo. The
road was slick but empty, even at this time of night in the San Fernando Valley. We needed the rain — not
just for the Valley’s perpetual drought, but for what we’d planned tonight. We’d left nothing to chance, so
some weather-witch from Appalachia was f lying back to her home state right this moment with half a
year’s tass in the shape of mulberries crammed into her luggage.
Not long now. The burner phone crushed beneath my bootprint had chirped its last ten minutes ago,
having served its purpose with an innocuous text message. Bird away. My cabalmate loved his clay shooting
— this meant that our target had f led after the invocation of Nemesis had been delivered.
Kestrel had seen the invocation coming, and for the past few weeks his future and location had been
unreadable after tonight — all sense of Kestrel vanished, which meant his friends had scoured his future
and sympathetic connections the moment he provoked our cabal. We’d asked him nicely to shift his Sleeper
concerns on our irrigation projects in a way that wouldn’t completely fuck over our tass supply, and he’d
refused to acquiesce with a deeply smarmy reply. He didn’t expect us to go to war over that, and he certainly
didn’t expect us to put death on the line, but this was far from the first time he’d pulled this shit in
the Valley, and we had people coming out of the woodwork to do the dirty job they wouldn’t.
My cabalmates were surprised I would do it; the unspoken are you sure you want to
fight an Obrimos head on? was in every question about my preparations. But I was
the only one who could take him on, given he was something of an exemplar
of his Path.
His friends had hidden his future. But they hadn’t hidden his past well
enough to stop me. It took a month of my life, but I’d watched him
drive down this road every time he needed to get out of town,
far from the 101. Then I dug further, before he Awakened.
He’d shielded his sympathetic name from direct scrutiny
long ago, but I didn’t need to visit his childhood; I
just needed to know that he got his car when his
absent father died.
“Devin Thompson,” I whispered, as head-
lights appeared in the rainstorm. “Doom
approaches. Your father’s life will be your
death. You boasted no force of nature could
touch you without your leave.” His black
1967 Datsun Roadster whipped past me
on the highway, making a crunching
noise as it drove over the gentle symbol
made hours ago with powdered copper.
The world went white and loud and hot,
and his car f lipped end over end, tires
smoking from the lightning strike. “But
it can touch your father, and you never
wear your seatbelt.”
Kestrel lay on the pavement, shards of
windshield all around him. Remarkably,
he was still alive, trying to knit himself
back together with magic. But he was
fated to die here — I’d made sure of that.
 “You don’t have to do anything. This is what you don’t understand! You don’t know any
older magicians except our professors. It’s a wasteland out there. Out here. You can do
nothing or anything or everything, and none of it matters. You have to find something to
really care about to keep from running totally off the rails. A lot of magicians never find it.”
– Lev Grossman, The Magicians

The Pentacle is not a unified entity. Not even the Diamond is increasing importance and application. The Great Rights, Gold
without flaw, despite millennia of shared alliance and doctrines Laws common to the entire Diamond, supersede these. The Free
slowly coming to resemble one another. Orders themselves con- Council honors them as part of the Pentacle alliance’s terms.
tain many disparate groups and mystery cults vying for power and These Rights generally organize mage society with the Wise in
prestige. The influence of the Silver Ladder on the Pentacle, and command and confirm the sanctity of both cabal and Consilium,
the natural scholarly and argumentative nature of mages, have led while allowing free association of Caucuses regardless of territory. The
magical societies to place a great deal of weight upon legal maneu- Seers of the Throne have claimed their Rights occasionally, though
vers codified in the Lex Magica to settle their many differences. usually only when it benefits them and duly disadvantages the Pentacle.
Beyond the levels of cabal, Caucus, and Consilium, mage so-
ciety proceeds according to a set of rules and traditions only the
foolish and the dangerous ignore. Even the Throne sometimes
The Great Rights
deigns to acknowledge the rules and traditions that bind Awak- In the Lex Magica, the Great Rights are Gold Laws that fall
ened society with respect and obligation. under the body of tradition stemming from the Precept of Protec-
torate (save for the Right of Nemesis, whose precedents fall into

Supernal and Phenomenal the Precept of War). Lex Magica lawyers consider them universal
among the Diamond Orders. Mages cannot exist in Awakened
society without encountering at least one of the Rights. Even-
Many of the Gold Laws of the Lex Magica are determined by tually, most Wise feel the hubristic temptation to break at least
scholarly interpretation of the Directed Protocols, a series of formal one of them. It depends on the situation, and it depends on the
rights and traditions codified by the Silver Ladder and the Mysteri- consequences of scoffing at the Laws.
um’s predecessor Orders, who traveled widely and dealt primarily Recognized in various forms by ancient mages, the Rights
with internal mage politics. Mages don’t hold the Protocols as predate the Orders, which is at least partly why the Seers of the
ancient Atlantean law, laid down in the Time Before — though Throne sometimes recognize and honor them. Diamond mages
a few dispute that, with some scant evidence involving temporal point to similar traditions and laws in nearly every culture as clear
shenanigans — but instead consider them a natural outgrowth of evidence of their Supernal weight, while the Free Council believes
cultural dialogues and trade between mages across centuries. The it to be human nature and civilization blooming into Awakened
Protocols also consist of Consilium-specific rules and traditions symbolism. The Thone, for its part, recognizes when it’s beneficial
falling under Laws deemed Iron, Bronze, and Silver in order of to entrap the enemy with their own laws and precepts.

78 Chapter Three: The Points of The Pentacle

 Violation of a Right — or the accusation of such — often leads Position and rank are esteemed within the Diamond Orders,
to a Duel Arcane to settle the matter, unless one party backs and between Consilia. Broadly, the concepts are simple: Respect
down. Doing so is a tacit acknowledgment that they were in your elders, respect those Wiser than you, and respect those given
breach of the Right, however, so many cabals prefer to save face positions of status in the Consilium. In practice, youth is always
by disputing the matter. brash, Wiser depends on the viewpoint, and the respect given
to Consilium officers depends on how much the other mage
Right of Crossing cares about authority. The basic principles of the Right apply
across Consilia, however, and an officer of a Consilium will be
Let no borders stop an Awakened with a clear heart.
accorded respect even in a different Consilium within the same
Mages travel for the same reasons Sleepers do: Business and Convocation.
pleasure. A mage might need to venture from her stronghold to Emeritus keeps the master-apprentice chains bound tightly,
alter a flawed ley line resonance in a far-away upstream Node, or while encouraging other mages to be recognized by their levels
she might have to peruse a library way outside her territory in of mastery in the Arcana. It also keeps Consilia intact with a
pursuit of her Mystery. When Pentacle mages travel, the tradition chain of offices, complete with punishments to be levied for
called the Right of Crossing or the Traveler’s Right protects them. interfering with an officer’s duties. The Iron Pyramid isn’t im-
The Traveler’s Right allows mages to cross another’s territory mune to the symbolism of this Right, though their definitions
without being checked or accosted by authorities, though tra- of respect and deference vary wildly from those of the Pentacle.
dition states they must refrain from using hostile or offensive Most Free Council mages also openly acknowledge and defer to a
magics while doing so to remain under the Right’s protection. colleague’s expertise in an Arcanum or familiarity with a Mystery,
This doesn’t give travelers free rein to snoop and search a cabal’s though they’re less than sanguine about recognizing Consilium
territory, as most cabals establish several predetermined routes offices with any pomp and ceremony greater than perfunctory
through their territory, marking them with the High Speech rune acknowledgment.
for Space. These routes also frequently feature meeting points
where visiting mages may directly announce themselves to the Right of Hospitality
cabal. Well-organized Consilia maintain periodically updated
Those who request hospitality must be granted it.
maps of these routes and negotiate between cabals to link them,
providing a complete traversal network across the Consilium. If Many cultures have particular rules around hospitality, a relic
they’re not there to spy, poach another’s Mystery, or grasp some of a time when travel was more dangerous. The Hellenic roots
arcane treasure rightfully accorded to a cabal, a mage may go of the modern Diamond ensured that this Right was enshrined
where they please. in their Laws, based on the ancient Greek practice of xenia, or
Popular refrain holds that nobody considers a traveling mage “guest-friendship.” Though that practice has fallen out of vogue,
walking down a busy street among a bunch of Sleepers as violating mages share the Fallen World with a host of monsters and strang-
the Right — but such harassment can and does happen in urban er things, and more than one mage has been forced to flee her
Consilia, which leads to arguments during Convocations and home by enemies of a different sect. Things are dangerous out
the occasional Duel to settle the matter of whether offense was there, and the Awakened are one nation. Protection is always a
proper and warranted. Arrow and Mysterium cabals often cast part of Hospitality.
spells designed to detect travelers, allowing a mage to intercept The Seers of the Throne also have roots in the post-Alexander
them and offer trade or aid, while Free Council territories only Hellenic world, and they’ve carried this custom ever since. Seers
treat deliberate damage to the cabal’s holdings as a violation of sometimes invoke this Right when they’re in desperate straits and
the Right. Seers of the Throne rarely respect this Right, in either estranged from their own Pylons, but Diamond mages only rarely
direction. grant it without an act of good faith from the Seers, and always
under stiff preconditions. Rarer still is the Diamond mage who
Right of Emeritus requests Hospitality of a Pylon, an act of extreme desperation or
prearranged truce. The last time this occurred was 2017 in Orlan-
Those who have earned respect must be treated with respect.
do, Florida, when a Guardian requested Hospitality for himself
Great philosophers all agree: Those who want respect, give and his Sleeper family visiting Disney World. The request was
respect. Societies cannot function without hierarchy, albeit per- granted with no small amount of bemusement. No self-respecting
haps a fluid and changing one according to the situation. Even Free Council mage ever acknowledges a Seer as a valid guest, and
the Free Council holds to the tenet of experto crede — “Trust the only a self-loathing one would beg Hospitality from the Throne.
expert,” a requirement of pragmatic deference to mages with ex- Most Consilia have extensive Bronze Laws carefully delineating
perience in a particular area. Some debate the Right of Emeritus how long this Right applies and the obligations by which a host
as the Exarchs’ iron grasp on Awakened society and institutions, must abide, with a host of Iron Law addenda specifying exceptions
insidious and malignant within the Diamond Orders — but other and different circumstances involving individual cabals. So long
Libertines hold that while hierarchy fosters the Lie, they aren’t as the requesting mage asks hospitality in good faith — and not to
necessarily synonymous. Most mages acknowledge that one must circumvent the Right of Crossing to take hostile action — Pentacle
lead sometimes, follow other times, and respect those above and cabals are bound to provide shelter, defense, limited aid, food and
below in either situation. drink, and medical care. Safe escort out of the host’s territory is

Supernal and Phenomenal 79

 Guanxi
Guanxi is a Chinese cultural term that refers to sociodynamic valuation, or the cultivation and value of per-
sonal, utilitarian connections between individuals. In mage society, it refers to the social capital held between
individuals representing different stations within Mysterium Caucuses. One of the Mysterium’s parent Orders,
the Keepers of the Word, adopted the practice in the 14th century after successfully integrating with their
counterparts in the Yuan Dynasty. The Mysterium continues to espouse both the classic Confucian concept and
Awakened-specific traditions in Caucuses worldwide; the wider Western cultural world has also adopted a
more specific meaning of the term in the phrase “saving face.” Mystagogues refer to the social currency of a
visitor with descriptive language, while acknowledging a debt by saying, “It’s part of my guanxi.”
In legal terms, guanxi occupies a curious place between the Rights of Emeritus and Hospitality — it describes a
never-ending cycle of favors between individuals based on the concept of reciprocity that must be maintained,
but also describes social networks and the ability to leverage social capital into real results. An apprentice
owes much to her master, and is expected to pay him back; fellow apprentices also share reciprocal relation-
ships, which grow and change with cultivation. Guanxi is based on trust synonymous with obligation: Trust that
someone will pay you back when they ask for a favor, trust that they’re telling you the truth, and trust that they
hold your personal and professional relationship to be valuable — and that there is no real difference between
the two.
Rigorously scrutinized by Mysterium Caucuses, matters relating to guanxi are expected to take precedence
over Ruling Councils — up to and including direct defiance of a Hierarch if the guanxi is potent enough, and
with the compelled support of other Mysterium members. Outside the Order, it’s considered at best to be a net-
work of contacts with a tendency to engage in rank cronyism, and at worst another symbol of the Mysterium’s
hubristic sense of superiority over the Pentacle.

also part of the Right. Some reciprocal form of respect is always uniquely capable of defenses against the dangerous energies of
required, whether basic politeness or a future task required of the Divine Fire and the beings called qashmallim.
the guest. It’s considered good form to present these obligations Internal squabbles are exempt from this Right — if cabal mem-
upfront — the Right is immediately granted when it’s asked for, bers disagree with one another, make poor leadership decisions,
but if the traveler doesn’t like the terms and leaves before succor or feud over internal use of resources, the Right doesn’t apply.
is given, that’s on them. At worst, Iron Laws may come into effect to address a long-stand-
ing dispute. The Right is invoked when a mage’s negligence or
Right of Sanctuary disordered action invites external threats to the cabal. Every
Protect your home, and let no action cause it harm. Order theoretically holds this Right to supersede those internal
demands of their organizations, ensuring that Guardians can be
A person’s home is their castle, and the blood of that covenant accorded a degree of trust within their cabals, or for a théarch to
is thicker than the water of the womb. Many cultures require relax their relentless politicking among colleagues. Exceptions
someone to put the obligations and safety of their family — chosen exist, especially for Mystagogues with complex guanxi.
or born — above their own. In Awakened society, this encompasses
the Right of Sanctuary, which holds that individual mages should
do nothing to betray their cabal or harm their sanctum. This
Right of Nemesis
extends to external threats to the cabal, which are to be met as When vengeance is declared, let none stand in its way.
a unified front, and also applies to those extended the Right of Common Adamantine Arrow doctrine holds that fights are
Hospitality. deeply personal matters, even the ones that are “just business.”
Common Silver Laws claiming jurisprudence from the Right When those with passion clash, bystanders suffer for it. Meddling
determine that certain mages may be declared sacrosanct if with the affairs of wizards is foolish; as the saying goes, they’re subtle
they’re somehow vital to the Consilium’s safety. Bronze and and quick to anger. The Right of Nemesis covers overt violence
Iron variants for specific individuals also exist, but the common between mages, but in practice boils down to “stay the hell out
theme holds that mages who aren’t just actively involved in, but of the way of mages who quarrel.” The Right, and the extensive
are lynchpins of, a defensive strategy critical to everyone’s safety Laws that descend from it, declares that vendetta between mages is
simply shouldn’t be messed with. Rarely, this may even supersede between them and their respective cabals, and only them —meaning
other Great Rights; in the Velvet Revolution of 1989, the Prague that none in the Consilium can intervene unless it’s under the
Assembly intervened thrice to stop the invocation of Nemesis auspices of one of the parties in the feud. The issuer and recipient
against a passionate and offensive Communist mage who was of Nemesis are bound to work always toward satisfaction through
nevertheless well-known to the city’s Promethean population and conflict, and only their cabals may aid or hinder them in this effort.

80 Chapter Three: The Points of The Pentacle

 Nemesis can be and has been invoked for nearly any reason — drawing the mage deeper and deeper into Awakened politicking
though no mage has to justify their use of the Right to an external and duties that deal with reinforcing Supernal symbolism rather
authority for validation, hotheaded Diamond mages suffer social than completing study of a Mystery.
repercussions and punishment by their Orders for issuing Nem- Solitary mages have a much more difficult time trading for
esis without just cause. Conversely, poor behavior that invokes Mysteries and information, at least during the early phase of their
Nemesis is also met with indirect reprisal. The Council of Free careers. Without a cabal to apply social pressure, other mages can’t
Assemblies applies Nemesis among itself sparingly — nobody be certain that the mage will uphold his end of the deal without
wants the Order’s constituent Legacies and cultural enclaves’ the social ties to a Consilium represented by a cabal and the
unity to break, even in the face of long-simmering Sleeper feuds — social ties to an Order represented by membership in the Caucus.
but they take a looser hand regarding Nemesis invocations within
the Pentacle. Libertines rarely declare Nemesis against Seer of the
Throne Pylons, if only because they assume the Seers won’t honor
Maps, Not Territories
it. The two Orders exist within a constant state of low-grade war, The existence of the Space Arcanum (and an entire Path’s
ironically mediated through the Diamond. predilection toward it) renders many logistical concerns around
Mages targeted by Nemesis may appeal to their Hierarch or physical distance less relevant than it is to Sleepers — though
some other point of authority, as can mages whose death would never quite irrelevant. With talent, dedication, and clever use of
violate the Right of Sanctuary. Nemesis must be formally invoked sympathy, mages may open portals and teleport all over the world.
before officers of the Consilium, consisting of a specific detailing
of the offense given and suggested restitution with a specific goal Planes, Trains, and Teleportation
in mind, such as ownership of a territory, access to a Mystery, or The Traveler’s Right (see p. XX) governs the explicit privilege
the offending mage’s death. If it isn’t formally declared, Nemesis to go where one mage wills it, but as with the other rights, a host
doesn’t apply, which more legalistic or less confrontational cabals of ambiguous and sometimes contradictory lesser Laws vary be-
use to buy time to reach a peaceful solution. Consilia usually tween Consilia. Mage territories are generally contiguous areas,
encourage participants to settle their differences in a Duel Ar- effectively marked by how much territory a mage can reasonably
cane, which forbids the vendetta to extend beyond the Duel’s claim and control; while an entire forest or wooded area might
results. Despite prohibitions, threatening innocent bystanders be a territory, another may only encompass a city block consisting
or Sleepers will result in Consilium intervention, as will sudden of several inhabited buildings, businesses, and offices. Hallows
preemptive strikes without informing the other side of Nemesis’ and sancta are sacrosanct under the body of law surrounding
invocation. The Hierarch typically forces the feuding mages into Traveler’s Right, but opinions and Laws vary on whether areas
a Duel Arcane, coerces oaths, or politically invokes an execution open to Sleepers are also available for the free traversal of mages.
under Sanctuary rather than permit attacks that threaten all Most Consilia are lenient on mages traveling in open areas, and
mage society. harsher on the jerkass who claims a busy shopping district as
their sacrosanct and personal sanctum.

Life in the Consilium Commercial airports and transportation centers (like bus or
train stations) are almost always neutral territory. If they’re not,
an offending mage can make the case that they probably should
The orienting principle of mage society is Mystery. Mages thrive
be. Opening a portal without knowing the landing location’s
on knowledge, which is a passion and commodity alike. Despite
exact status is frowned upon and potentially illegal, especially if
the stereotype of the mage in the tower, one rarely finds the keys
Sleepers could witness it, so Heralds between Consilia inform
to solving grand Mysteries with obsessive, solitary studies. More
and regularly update zones of safe and accepted transport. This
often, they’re found across the world, or even merely across town.
has the secondary effect of monitoring mage traffic into and out
Mages create new knowledge and refinements at every turn — Leg-
of the Consilium — so the average mage may treat unannounced
acies, rotes, Grimoires — minting new currency for the economy
appearances as potential invasions. Air space and waterway re-
of secrets. Trades may include an enemy’s sympathetic name or
strictions also apply across Consilia; nobody cares about a flyover
a newly forged rote or an Artifact of Supernal power, provided
in a jet, but hanging a scrying portal above someone’s sanctum
someone has a secret more enticing on hand.
for several hours without their permission arouses suspicion.
Most mages embrace the cabal structure, if only because it’s
the smallest possible unit of mutual aid within most Consilia.
Having a guard over your antique birdbath full of tass or asking a Diplomacy
trusted friend to scrutinize an event with a Mage Sight you lack is Diplomacy between Consilia typically occurs in the form of
simply too invaluable for most mages to pass up. Within close-knit the office of Herald, or at the Caucus level between individual
groups, a mage could spend a lifetime orbiting their Mystery until Orders, especially when that involves théarch coordination or a
they reach the fulfillment of knowledge, and many do. Mystagogue’s guanxi. Lesser Convocations (p. XX) also handle
Few mages merit inclusion in a cabal, or can contribute the lion’s share of diplomatic relations.
meaningfully to the group, without the training and structure The degree to which mages approve of spying upon another
the Orders provide. Caucuses have their own kind of gravity, Consilium are debatable, but often tacitly negotiated. There’s the

Life in the Consilium 81

 unspoken understanding that Guardian Caucuses watch over
constituent Consilia, Heralds are going to take notes about what
they see when they visit a neighboring Hierarch as a matter of
practicality, and so on. Mages uncover secrets as part of their
nature — and the nature of political and social bodies is to main-
tain power and scrutinize rival polities. As much as the Pentacle
respects the Lex Magica as a concept, individual Consilia and
factions tend to look the other way on certain things they’ve
mutually agreed on — even without formal Laws on the matter.
Most Consilia have some degree of Silver Laws regulating
hostage exchanges and extradition treaties, and over time, the
Diamond has broadly stabilized mage Laws within regions. A
mage committing an offense anywhere within the Boston-Wash-
ington corridor can expect to be tried under roughly the same
Laws. If they flee anywhere in that corridor, they’ll be deposited
right back in the other Consilium’s jurisdiction. Things get more
complex when the mage flees to Los Angeles. When a suspected
Scelestus who escaped justice turns up in a neighboring Con-
silium, most delegate both their Herald and their Sentinel to
venture to the receiving Consilium and petition — with varying
degrees of politeness — for permission to apprehend their quarry.
When this permission is denied, Consilia might do anything
from appealing to their Guardian Caucus to sending a covert In-
terfector to mete out justice to openly declaring war, depending
on the offense. Or they might accept that their quarry has fled
elsewhere — but assure themselves they’ll remember whenever
the tables have turned.
The favors and obligation system in Chapter Four (p. XX)
covers several intra-Consilium diplomatic situations.

War in Heaven
When mages go to war, the future suffers. Not only are
talented mages extinguished before their time, but conflict con-
sumes Mana and arcane resources better dedicated to Mystery.
Yet struggle and conflict are also Supernal truths, evinced by
the Adamantine Arrow, that can sharpen and purify the soul.
Mages don’t go to total war lightly. The Right of Nemesis often
ends in the Duel Arcane or a negotiated settlement. Yet some-
times your opponents don’t respect Nemesis — when the cold
war with the Seers threatens to turn hot, or when a vampiric
sorcerer poisons your Hallow’s Resonance with blood magic, a
cabal turns to conflict.
Magic doesn’t lend itself easily or ably to raw displays of power
unleashed against one’s enemies, satisfying as that may be. The
victorious mage scrutinizes their opponent as they would a
Mystery: Uncovering underlying causes, discerning weaknesses,
carefully planning their approach, and diligently executing it.
Consequently, mages favor distance, subtlety, and strategy when
dealing with their enemies.
Mage wars can be one-sided affairs if one side isn’t truly
expecting conflict — an unprepared, undefended mage is easy
prey to a frontline assault or power channeled through a ritual.
Done properly, even Sleepers won’t notice anything amiss if a
lightning strike kills someone during a large storm. They might
wonder how explosives trashed most of a sealed and locked ware-

82 Chapter Three: The Points of The Pentacle

house, but even diligent Sleeper investigators won’t immediately
suspect teleportation portals. Most mages know when they’re in
trouble, however — even the most carefree Acanthus instinctively Patterns of Life
scrutinizes the future and spots conflict on the horizon. Mages are human, and humans are creatures of
routine. Pattern of life analysis refers to the intel-
The Affairs of Mages ligence discipline of building out information on
a person’s routines, behaviors, and movements
A Consilium warring against another Consilium handles over a period. Analysts and operatives use this
things differently than one embroiled in a Seer or Bound con- data for other surveillance purposes, mapping of
flict. Respected rights and negotiations rule a conflict between a social network, or strike targeting. Fate, Time,
Consilia, even if Nemesis is invoked against multiple cabals and and Space are the best Arcana for this purpose,
across Caucuses. Officially, Orders have protocols to segregate and but they’re also the easiest to defend against —
separate officers within a Caucus when a party invokes Nemesis, any counterintelligence mage worth their salt can
and mages on opposing sides are excused from their duties for
get a Shield of Chronos up on themselves at a
moment’s notice. The question for the cabal at war
the duration of the war — but this strains even the large size of becomes: Do you spend resources trying to break
many Caucuses, necessitating occasional teeth-clenched teamwork past the enemy’s defenses in those three Arcana,
with the enemy when tending to Order duties. or focus on acquiring vital intelligence assets in
Against Seers, many rules go out the window. A Consilium that other ways?
fights dirty in a mage war can expect years of hostile treatment
from other Consilia and persistent, righteous grudges. Seers
don’t give a damn about long-term hits to their popularity in
the Diamond — they’ll deploy ruthless countermeasures, Sleeper Caveat Magus
abuse, and scorched-earth magical tactics so long as it leaves their Espionage favors passive observation, followed by subtle activity to
future objectives intact. Wars against the Throne are bloody force an opponent into committing to the arena of your choice. Six
affairs, but they’re also honest in a way that intra-Pentacle con- Arcana stand above the others when it comes to holistic espionage:
flicts aren’t — there aren’t any ancient protocols dictating affairs Time, Fate, Space, Mind, Death, and Spirit. The former two allow
and Order politics don’t come into play. It’s a nasty, dirty fight scrutiny of an opponent’s history, historical and future patterns of
against the enemy. life, and scrying on them from afar, while the latter two allow for
unique necromantic or spiritual strategies. Mind allows a direct read-
Against the Others ing of an enemy’s thoughts or the capability of breaking into Oneiroi
Similarly, Consilia warring against non-mage factions aren’t for inception purposes. Fate provides a full pattern of life and social
bound by Pentacle traditions, but they differ in their approach de- network for a target, and reigns supreme for indirect surveillance
pending on the opponent, and they may be bound by long-stand- and counterintelligence by probability manipulation — no amount
ing pacts and agreements with the weight of Iron Law. After all, of preparation can stop a mage from just happening to be in the same
they must share the night with their fellows. train car as the werewolf with the distinct ring tone on their phone, or
every hostile servitor running into red lights and roadwork on their
In 1998, the Columbia Consilium was forced into a war on two surveillance commute. Prudent mages on a war footing actively scour
fronts against the Arisen of the District nome and the vampiric sympathetic connections, scrutinize any Sleeper acquaintances, and
covenants of Northern Virginia over sites of ritual power and renew their protections against scrying or temporal scrutiny regularly,
political influence, leading to unexplained fires, Sleeper accounts denying their opponents situational awareness.
of sunlight at night, and a freak meteor shower. The vampires were
wiped out or driven into torpor, but the Awakened were forced Mages without these Arcana still have a wealth of options available
to surrender several sites and potent Artifacts to the stronger to them. Life can compel Sleepers into becoming informants and
mummies at the war’s end. human intelligence assets, while Forces allows total scrutiny of an en-
emy’s digital footprint, eavesdropping at a distance, taking command
Similarly, the 2014 war in the Miami-Dade Consilium against of cameras, or recording things without physical evidence. Matter can
the Gateway Freehold arose from conflicts between mortals of likewise render objects invisible to personal or electronic scrutiny,
concern to the changelings and the local Labyrinth. This led to while ensuring that nothing physical bars the mage’s agents from
several rash duels to settle matters, which rapidly devolved into their targets. Finally, Prime allows unsurpassed observation of the
a mess of geasa and elemental fury, leading to freakish storms totality of an opponent’s magical defenses and counterintelligence
plaguing Biscayne Bay before both sides could make peace. The capabilities. The common theme in these Arcana is that they rely
ensuing treaty, negotiated among the belligerents rather than more heavily on open-sourced and asset-based intelligence, or they
between representatives of the Consilium and Freehold itself, led attack the enemy’s reliance on and use of magic itself.
to long-term benefits for both involved. The academic exchange
with the changelings’ oneiromancers led to fascinating insights
about the relationship between the Hedge and the Astral, while Sleeper Concerns
freelance mages proved stunningly effective at binding the Hunts- Sleepers follow — according to the Silver Ladder, at least.
men pursuing their quarries within the Freehold. Becoming a mage doesn’t make one less human; many Pentacle

Life in the Consilium 83

mages, and many Seers too, would argue that mages are more hu- In Western mage society (and by association much of the
man when freed from the Lie. The degree to which the implied Middle East and South Asia), the formal principle of Convoca-
corollary argument — that Sleepers are less human — applies tion as sacrosanct meeting ground dates to the 12th century’s
depends on how powerful the bigotry against Sleepers is within Secret Charter, a signatory agreement across much of medieval
Consilium and Caucus. Yet Consilia are meant to address mage- Europe, Africa, and Asia where Convocations were to be held
to-mage affairs, and only touch upon Sleepers to regulate conduct under terms applicable “until the Ende of Tyme.” The Silver
against them. No mage Awakens without friends, family, and some Ladder considers Convocations to be the temporal predecessor
imprint on Sleeper life. Volunteer organizations, careers, hobbies for the councils of the Awakened Nation to come, and lead the
— none of these things vanishes upon Awakening. Initiates often charge of organizing the gatherings, but all Orders participate
find it desperately difficult to keep a foot in both worlds; the in Convocations — even, occasionally, Nameless and Seers. The
practice of taking Shadow Names is partially meant to insulate Iron Pyramid exists independently of Consilium structures, and
the Sleepers the mage cares about. Seer Tetrarchies cover far more ground than any Consilium, but
In terms of the Lex Magica, the Precepts of Secrecy and Hubris local Seer Pylons are typically informed of a Convocation out of
prevent mages from mucking about with another mage’s Sleeper a matter of icy courtesy, usually with a barely hidden challenge
ties. Elements of the Right of Sanctuary — magic against another from Pentacle to Panopticon to dare to breach the proceedings.
mage’s Sleeper associates is tantamount to indirect attack — rule Deacons and archdeacons (Mage, p. 70) oversee Silver Ladder
the jurisprudence around every other edge case. Pentacle Consilia Caucuses. Consilia deacons receive invitations to the Magisteri-
never condone Sleeper associates as valid targets for Nemesis — and um, the supreme Council of the Convocation, by their respective
it’s considered poor form by all to use a mage’s sympathetic name archdeacon when they call a Convocation. Magisters choose other
to do the Sleepers in their life harm. As in all things, though, delegates to serve in various capacities, set the agenda, mete out
some mages don’t play by the rules. justice, oversee Duels, and declare policies that — in theory — affect
Nearly every Diamond Consilium has a Silver Law instituting a all participating Consilia. Before the turn of the 19th century,
moratorium on members taking Sleeper office, and the ones that Convocations lasted for months to account for long journeys.
don’t levy social pressure against the practice. The prohibition Modern mages in an era of mass travel call Convocations scant
mainly applies to higher offices; state senator might push it, but few weeks earlier and the events rarely last more than six ritualized
Consilia balk at mages becoming mayors of small suburban towns. days full of pomp and ceremony.
Mostly, Consilia only intervene in Sleeper affairs when it has the
potential to affect the Awakened polity. If a famine strikes the city,
a given Consilium might remain withdrawn, only caring for their
Protocol
The Secret Charter recognizes two types of Convocation by
own and their closest friends and family. Another Consilium might
schedule: Ordinary, taking place on a regular schedule during
permit members to prevent starvation voluntarily or organize mem-
a specified year on an equinox of the Magisterium’s choice; and
bers to help alleviate Sleeper suffering as long as it doesn’t endanger
Extraordinary, formed in response to a specific need. The Charter
the Veil, based on the assumption that unmitigated suffering makes
also names four types by size: Least, Lesser, Great, and Grand.
Sleepers more vulnerable to the Lie of the Throne. It depends, as
always, on how much Sleeper actions affect the Consilium itself. • Least Convocations unite delegates from at least two
If the city council approves demolishing a structure that hides a Consilia, usually geographic neighbors, such as the New
Mystery, the Hierarch acts — whether by tasking mages via favors York and Newark Consilia, or Consilia with a history of
to change a few hearts with Mind spells, or to subtly twist Fate to cooperation, such as between London and Hong Kong.
intervene in the Consilium’s favor. Most Least Convocations occur annually, and have an air
In the long-term, the problem takes care of itself. Less prone of familiarity about them bred from constant contact and
to physical maladies such as aging, the concerns of nimbus and communication.
sympathy weigh more heavily on Sleeper associates as a mage
• Lesser Convocations gather delegates from at least three
evinces greater Gnosis. Most Awakened quietly cut their Sleeper
Consilia, usually from among geographic neighbors —
ties over long decades and retreat fully into mage society as they
multiple states with small populations, or a single state
grow older.
with a large population. In North America, California,
Texas, and Florida have two Lesser Ordinary Convocations
Convocations apiece. New York would have two, but the eponymous city
is firmly under Seer control. Most Lesser Convocations
affirm long-standing diplomatic ties or establish a broad
The concept of Convocation — a forum for mages of any Order
goal for all mages in the region, such as hunting Banishers
to freely share their opinions — came from the Hellenistic era,
or training more apprentices.
where mages of different polities came together under peaceful
terms and debated great issues of the day. Then, as now, the • Great Convocations are expected to meet every five years
théarchs of the Silver Ladder and their predecessor organizations to unite mages from Consilia across a continent, but in
led the gatherings, maintaining them as an idealized vehicle for practice, this never happens. A true Great Convocation
spreading knowledge. has not been called since the European Magisterium called

84 Chapter Three: The Points of The Pentacle

 one in 1900 — and only then because the Council of Free
Assemblies was forming and actively warring against the
Seers of the Throne after the Great Refusal. The year 2000 Convocations Extraordinaire
was the last time a Great Convocation was seriously con- While Ordinary Convocations are scheduled
sidered in North America, with talks ending when Seers regularly, Extraordinary Convocations arise
assassinated the archdeacon of Los Angeles and devolved when a Consilium or region reaches a crisis point
the California Magisteriums onto a war footing. Talk of or when a Mystery’s revelation grows too press-
Great Convocations in 2010 for Paris, Hong Kong, and ing and urgent to safely study.
Seattle never bore fruit.
• In 1967, construction in anticipation of the
• A Grand Convocation is supposed to happen every seven following year’s Olympics disturbed the
years, uniting mages from all over the world in a singular prison-tomb of an ancient Bound mon-
purpose. When proposed, it was an ambitious goal; cen- ster in Mexico City. The Consilia of the
turies have not proven it to be an achievable one. Today, Federal District Magisterium called a Lesser
dreams of a Grand Convocation are a folly of the young Extraordinary Convocation to address the
and the hubristic alike. In practice, smaller Convocations proper way of battling and binding the mon-
typically follow great meetings of hemispheric powers and ster. After three days of deliberation, lead-
the G7 to address matters of global import, but these ership divined a formal battle structure with
meetings are more conspiratorial than grandiose. It’s a Arrow and Guardian mages taking point. The
popular belief among Guardians that the Hieromagus will Convocation officially lasted 15 days, the
be the first to convene the Grand Convocation, while some time required to defeat the Bound and re-seal
théarchs believe the Oracles will bring the Awakened world it at enormous cost of blood and Mana.
together in dreams to finally reveal the Lie to humanity. • In 1984, the London and Hong Kong Consilia
— long bound by tradition and Space ritu-
Convocation Days al exchanges — convened to discuss the
Sino-British Joint Declaration transferring
Ideally, Convocations fall across six days — the first to arrive
Hong Kong’s sovereignty from the United
and mingle, and then a day devoted to the business of each of
Kingdom to China. Uniquely, the Beijing
the Diamond Orders, with the final being devoted to the settling
Consilium was also invited to negotiate terms
of grievances — and, more recently, Convocation business of the
of exchange and the implications for mage
Free Council. In practice, Convocations rarely last the full six, but
society. Negotiations were a success for all
the practice remains to call them “Days” even if each Order only
sides; the Hong Kong Consilium was now
takes a few hours to hold the attention of the gathered Consilia
encouraged to join mainland Convocations
or if the proceedings stretch longer than 24 hours.
and considered under sway of the Greater
While each Order is nominally in charge of the Day’s agenda, Chinese Magisterium, but London’s mages
other Orders participate and occasionally take charge of the were permitted to maintain a presence within
proceedings depending on the individual makeup of the hosting the city.
Consilium — Guardians are nearly as likely to marshal the pro-
ceedings on a Day of Swords as the Arrow, for example, while the • In 2018, the revelation of the Apocalypse Vault
Mysterium is a frequent leader on the Day of Sleep. Despite the
to the Seattle Consilium and the subsequent
formation of a new timeline splinter housed
schedule, parties, scholarly exchanges, Duels that don’t require within the Vault’s array of looping crisis time-
adjudication by Monomachia (p. XX), friendly meals, romantic lines (Demon: The Descent, p. XX) result-
affairs, and secret politicking occur every day and night. After all, ed in an Extraordinary Convocation of the
this is a time for the most promising mages in the region to gather. Cascades Magisterium, uniquely summoning
• The Day of Silver concerns Silver Ladder delegates, where
Time-versed mages across North America
to help analyze the Mystery. Many mag-
théarchs lead discussions on political issues involving es permanently relocated to scrutinize the
the attending Consilia. This is one of two days when it’s Vault long-term, and Seattle now has more
acceptable to allow Seers of the Throne to attend Con- adepts and disciples of Time than any other
vocations as observers and non-voting representatives, Arcanum.
but Seers rarely attend unless the local Ladder has a lot
of clout; few mages want the enemy to witness political
issues of disagreement in the Consilia.
capabilities into an elaborate bestiary or a pattern of
• The Adamantine Arrow holds sway over the Day of
behavior, calls to assault Seer columns or purge Scelesti
Swords, whereupon the Magisterium interviews Arrow
cults are a frequent occurrence, and most Convocations
delegates to learn about potential threats to the gathered
make a habit of formally recognizing Arrow mages upon
Consilia. While most Days involve entering an enemy’s
a meritorious defense of a Consilium.

Convocations 85
• The Day of Scrolls belongs to the Mysterium, where the
Magisterium informs the gathered Consilia of the progress The Code Duello
of the Mysteries among the gathered mages. Particularly The Fallen World is finite, and resources are limited. Access to
startling discoveries and grandiose claims fill the day, yet Mysteries is hardly universal even among allied mages, territories
mages must be prepared to defend their arcane theses from must be occupied, and competing ideas of magic clash against one
skeptics. This day also formally recognizes mages who have another. The accepted body of law in the Lex Magica regarding
attained a new rank in their mastery of the Arcana, and dueling custom is officially called the Monomachia Rite, or the
mages who have taken on a Legacy or an apprentice. Code Duello unofficially.
• The Guardians hold court on the Day of Sleep, where Not every Duel Arcane goes “by the Code” — many mages just
the Magisterium concentrates on Sleepers as a practical square the circle, agree to honor the proceedings, and fight it
and political threat, and then separately as a metaphysical out with no enforcement other than their own honor — but the
incursion of the Abyss. If the gathered mages aren’t aware laws remain an effective measure if someone wants to delay the
of temporal Sleeper developments that might concern proceedings or fall back on tradition. Enforced by oath, Duels by
them, the Guardians disabuse them of their ignorance; if the Code are binding; mages must do as the result of the Duel
the Magisterium didn’t call for Scelesti cults to be purged compels them. Duelists also aren’t obligated to tell anyone — other
on the earlier Day, or even if they did, the call is taken up than their seconds — what they’re dueling about, but it often isn’t
on this Day too. hard to figure out from the sworn oaths resulting from the Duel.
Reprisals from Duels are not tolerated; this is a long-standing
• The Free Council claims the Day of Justice, which tends tenet of Dueling law. No mage may invoke the Right of Nemesis
to be the longest Day. Mages with formal grievances may (p. XX) from any event resulting from a properly sworn and wit-
air them before the Magisterium, who will scrutinize the nessed Duel. The simmering tensions rarely resolve at a Duel’s
proceedings according to the Lex Magica. This Day is end, though, and they sometimes fuel vendettas that endure across
the only acceptable time for a Monomachia Rite (p. XX). chains of master-student relationships and Legacies. This protec-
This is also the only other Day when Seers may join a tion also doesn’t apply to Duels not by the Code, giving a powerful
Convocation, either to fight in a Duel or to initiate a rare incentive to air one’s grievances to the proper authorities.
moment of inter-sect hostile diplomacy.

86 Chapter Three: The Points of The Pentacle

The Challenge Duels Among the Orders
Challenges are simple: A mage gives insult or demands some- The Adamantine Arrow is surprisingly divided on the worth
thing, and the other mage takes offense or refuses. While some of the Duel Arcane. Though they recognize it as an acceptable
mages encourage alternative means of conflict resolution, this means of conflict resolution among mages, opinions vary on
isn’t supported by the Lex Magica and isn’t a part of the Code whether it’s a fine test of creativity and will or a contrived mock
Duello. In théarch parlance, Duels Vulgar are ones where the battle devoid of true spirit. Still, dress it up however you like — the
combatants directly or indirectly attack one another with magic Duel Arcane is a method by which the strong may effect their
without ceremony. Duels Vulgar usually run afoul of any num- will against public opinion or complaint, and sometimes, that’s
ber of Iron, Bronze, or Silver Laws prohibiting conflict among just what an Arrow needs.
co-belligerents. By contrast, Duels Mundane are slang and don’t
Guardians of the Veil see the Duel Arcane as a political tool,
exist — it’s a sarcastic term applied to any contest between mages
one of many in their arsenal — but a well-maintained one, for it’s
that doesn’t involve magic, such as riddles and puzzles, races,
their symbolism to be hated and feared. Guardians often defend
wrestling matches, or any other form of competition. Either
their cabals and their honor, but they also use Duel challenges
may decide matters of import among mages, but the former risks
strategically to assess an adversarial mage’s capabilities, and con-
death or collateral damage, and the latter isn’t a test of knowledge
sider a tactical loss in a Duel acceptable if it serves a strategic or
and Gnosis but mundane skill, so the Silver Ladder officially
espionage goal. The Guardians boast more seasoned defensive
discourages them as a means of arbitration.
duelists than any other Order.
The specific time of a Duel is agreed upon by participants or left up
Théarchs of the Silver Ladder created the Code Duello to
to local custom; many Consilia designate a “dueling hour” and send
resolve mage disputes, so they continue to maintain it as the
Sentinels to oversee local Duels Arcane when informed by partici-
prime method of conflict resolution recognized by the Lex Mag-
pants. Many Consilia have Bronze Laws rendering a Duel criminal if
ica. Many théarchs serve as seconds in this capacity, especially to
a Sentinel or other official isn’t on hand to witness. The participants
Seers or Libertines — the Awakened are One Nation, after all.
negotiate the stakes (which may involve impossible tasks; this is an
Curiously, the Order boasts few dedicated duelists, preferring
honorable, if frustrating and obvious, way for participants to neither
instead to encourage the practice while leading mage society by
Duel nor concede defeat). Once agreed, the Duel commences.
unchallenged example. Théarchs place a higher value on skills
that avoid the need for Duels.
Law of the Sword: The Mysterium often eschews dueling with outsiders, prefer-
ring rhetorical arguments and other methods of conflict resolu-

Duels Arcane tion. Within Mystagogue society, however, the Duel flourishes
to prove one’s magic as more vigorously alive than another’s.
The rank of Mysteriorum Barathrum (Mage, p. 101) requires a
The Lex Magica recognizes the Duel Arcane as a legitimate successful Duel as a prerequisite for the mage to Ascend, and
way to resolve disputes and establish magical supremacy. Both careful Mystagogues pursue courses of study that reinforce the
the Free Council and Seers participate in the practice — though Arms of Invocation and Banishing (p. XX).
the latter only rarely. Belligerents often choose seconds to convey
Libertines of the Free Council are the exception to the
messages to each side accurately, act as honest witnesses, and at-
Mysterium’s preference to eschew Duels; the two Orders show
tempt to negotiate an honorable resolution, especially in matters
up to the Day of Justice with great frequency, often disputing
of Nemesis (see p. XX).
the finer points of dispensation of arcane secrets. The Order
At a minimum, Duels Arcane require a Disciple of Prime to is possessed of as many duelists as any other, honed by long
“square the circle” or create the dueling ring where magic becomes experience of Nameless Orders and Legacies interacting with
visible to observers. The full Monomachia Rite involving bindings Diamond mages. This history has led many Libertine Assem-
oaths for consequences can only be performed on a Day of Justice, blies to view the Duel as a political tool as well — using the
and additionally requires a Disciple of Fate on hand capable of Diamond’s own practices against them to argue a finer point
enforcing any oaths or negotiations sworn before and during of magic.
the Duel. In smaller or more specialized Consilia, not having
The Seers of the Throne participate in Duels with the Pentacle
two independent mages with these capabilities is grounds for
only when they must acquire some arcane matter or resource with
declining a Duel without loss of dignity or concession of honor.
a minimum of fuss, and resort to cheating in Duels much more
Duels Arcane are startling, wondrous affairs —onlookers’ Mage often — after all, they’re not going to suffer social consequences.
Sight pulses until it cannot be ignored, and Arcana used in the Consequently, Pentacle mages only Duel Seers with the more
Duel are made visible to all mages through the lens of their Path. formal Monomachia Rite to seal their oaths, and thus Seers only
These often involve displays of mighty creatures battling and el- Duel Pentacle mages when they’re certain they’ll win. Within
emental forces scouring an opponent, but every mage interprets the Order, Seer Duels are infrequent; most Seers acquiesce to a
them individually and uniquely; if they possess the relevant Mage superior’s demands until they’re prepared enough to engage in
Sight to the Arcanum used in a particular phase of the Duel, this a Duel Vulgar.
reveals a further layer of subtlety to the proceedings.

Law of the Sword: Duels Arcane 87

Optional Rules:
Arms of Invocation and Banishing New Merit:
Seasoned Duelist (•••)
Certain combinations of Arcana have a specific arcane meaning Prerequisites: At least three Triumphant
in Atlantean symbolism, progressing one to the other in a sequence Conditions resolved
known as the invocation, or creation cycle, associated with creative
Your character is intimately familiar with the Codes
and nurturing magic. The opposite sequence is the banishing cycle,
Duello of several Consilia and is a master of the
associated with harming living things and removing them from Duel Arcane. She benefits from the Fame (•) Merit
existence. Some mages attack their opponents in the Duel with among duelists and receives the 8-again quality
abandon, hoping to power through, but clever mages know that on Academics or Politics rolls involving Duels. If
an effective block makes a counterstrike much more powerful. using the Arms of Invocation and Banishing op-
When the Defend action is taken, the players secretly decide tional rules, your character achieves an excep-
which Arcana they are using before they roll, revealing the choices tional success on three successes instead of five.
simultaneously. If a mage’s sword is one step above the enemy’s
shield — his defensive roll — on the banishing cycle, her attack roll
gains a +2 bonus to its dice pool, as the momentum of arcane power
Often the high-level description of that organization is overly
cleaves through all weakness. If the defender’s Arcanum is one step
broad: Mysterium mages chase Mysteries and hoard knowledge;
above his rival’s on the invocation cycle, he gains a +2 to his roll.
the Adamantine Arrow are soldiers in an eternal war; Guardians
An attacking character with at least two Arcana that are one of the Veil are spies who value secrecy; the Silver Ladder are leaders
step removed on the banishing cycle (such as Forces and Matter) and policy-makers; mages of the Free Council believe humanity
can sacrifice one of them — disallowing that Arcanum from is magical, and chase innovation and upheaval to shatter the Lie.
attacking later — to add their Arcanum rating to a single attack Within these philosophies, there’s room for nuanced beliefs and
roll as bonus dice. Similarly, a defending character with at least discrete approaches to wielding magic, combating the Lie, protect-
two Arcana with an invoking relationship one step removed (such ing Sleepers and guiding them toward Awakening, counteracting
as Fate and Prime) can sacrifice one of them to close one of his the machinations of enemy mages, and so on.
Doors if the contested defensive roll succeeds.
Factions form when mages gravitate toward other like-minded
Regardless of Arms invoked or banished, an exceptional success Awakened — people they can work with to solve problems and
on the attack roll removes two Doors instead of one. Emotions chase Mysteries, whose methodologies and priorities most closely
and power are heightened as a Duel sinks deeper and deeper into mirror their own. Sometimes a faction includes mages who focus
Supernal imagery; if the Duel lasts longer than three exchanges, more intensely on one of their Order’s commonly-held values,
add the 9-again quality to each duelist’s rolls. If the Duel goes on such as the Adamantine Arrow’s Crucible, who fight with ex-
longer than six exchanges, add the 8-again quality. cellence. Within the Guardians of the Veil, the Faceless police
mages who are a danger to the Veil, removing them efficiently
and without fuss; meanwhile, the Inheritors take a strong hand
Invocation Banishing
with Sleepers, steering the unworthy away from Awakening, thus
Prime Death preventing them from harming themselves or others.
Forces Time
Fate Spirit
Time Forces Additional Door Modifiers
Mind Mind Duel by the Code: Both characters receive +2
Doors.
Space Matter
Spirit Fate White and Black: The character cedes their
right to go first at the start of the Duel; +1 Door
Life Life and do not roll Initiative.
Death Prime
Fast Duel: Both characters agree to rapid ad-
Matter Space journment; +1 Door, but extra successes on an
Prime Death attack roll add to the character’s next attack roll
as dice.

Factions Defeated: The character has received the

Defeated Condition from an earlier Duel Arcane
against their opponent; −2 Doors.
A mage joins the Order that best aligns with her own approach-
es toward and outlooks on magic, but no Order is a monolith.

88 Chapter Three: The Points of The Pentacle

 Some factions span the Orders, bringing together mages whose they may be people whose goals and philosophies are politically
methodologies differ widely, but whose priorities are the same. inconvenient for the current Hierarch. Heretics are still part of
The Bellerophon Group, a cross-Order faction dedicated to their Orders, allowed to rely on Order resources and learn rotes,
studying the Rapt, has the blessing of the Orders. Others, like the though their superiors tend to sideline them when it comes to
Heretical Fellstone Society, employ dangerous and often deadly important missions or publicly-facing tasks. Individual Heretics
tactics, causing problems the Hierarchs must clean up. rarely mentor Awakened outside of their faction — authorities
A faction may be an official operation, with members known to in the Order would rather their views not be passed along to the
one another throughout their Caucus. Such an organization has next generation of mages.
specific goals, an internal hierarchy or steering committee, and Most Heretical factions operate on their Order’s fringes,
possibly some authority within the local Consilium or Assembly. bending what it means to be part of that Order, but not breaking
Other factions are more nebulous, composed of like-minded mag- with them completely. Members of the Adamantine Arrow who
es who share resources and discoveries, but don’t often organize refuse to take up arms still fight to protect Sleepers and defend
on a local level. One of the Silver Ladder’s Ascended doesn’t other Awakened, but they choose the internet or the courtroom
need other Awakened to become an Archmage herself, though as their battlefield.
if she finds herself in a Caucus where several others study those A handful of Heretical factions resort to extreme measures,
legendary mages, she finds doors opening up for her. such as endangering Sleepers’ lives or putting the Veil at risk. The
While factions can intersect with and overlap other ways more extreme their actions, the more they risk being thrown out
mages organize themselves, they also fill their own niche in of their Orders if they become an embarrassment to the Order,
Awakened society. Cabals often operate on a smaller, more per- or flagrantly violate the Lex Magica. Often, these groups attempt
sonal scale, their membership consisting of people with similar to hide their activities from their colleagues within the Order,
goals and plans, and who may even pursue the same Mysteries. lest they be driven out for their crimes.
Though some boast mages who act as mentors toward newer
members, most of the time members are peers on similar rungs
of the ladder. Consilia, Assemblies, and Caucuses are far larger,
Internal Relations
focused on the pressing needs and issues in their regions. As an Factions that actively recruit new members begin the process
organization, they look at things on a broader scale. In larger early. Groups like the Powerbrokers and the Archivists, which
metropolitan areas, it’s easy for an individual mage to feel a dominate their Orders, can vet a person’s suitability for the
little lost, or even dismissed. faction at the same time they’re being courted for the Order.
The opposite is also true — whether a person first caught their
Factions sit somewhere, providing members with an organiza-
sponsor’s interest for the faction or the Order is often academic.
tion that backs them up — within their Order, their Consilium,
If the mage’s philosophies are closer to one of the other groups’,
and beyond. Factions also differ from Legacies: a Legacy is deeply
the recruiter might make introductions or tip off a member of
internal, affecting the mage’s very soul; a faction is external,
the faction they think is the best match.
reflecting her philosophies and convictions. Joining a faction
opens up its resources, whether that’s borrowing an Artifact from Recruiters keep a close eye on the new mage’s activities, both
the faction’s stores, or simply crashing on a colleague’s couch their interactions with others in the Order and in their day-to-day
when visiting an unfamiliar city. If her faction concentrates on a pursuits. Representatives from the faction invite the mage to gath-
particular area of knowledge, the willworker gains access to the erings to see how well they mix with local members. Higher-ups
research done by those who came before her; in return, she’s send the mage on assignments with other faction members, or
expected to build upon it. set her to work on relevant tasks, to see whether her methods
align with the faction’s. This doesn’t always have to mean putting
Like the Orders, factions exist across the globe, though their
one’s body on the line — a panel of Proctors may grill candidates
goals and methods differ from one Consilium to another, influ-
in long sessions, challenging their positions and making them
enced by the state of Awakened society in their region. A faction
defend their stances.
that usually operates quietly in the background may take a more
direct hand in local mage politics when another Order’s efforts It’s not only a matter of making sure the mage is the right fit for
fall short. Mysteries, Sleepers’ needs, and Seer plots may pull a the faction; factions also try to prove they’re the right fit for the
particular faction to the fore. mage. They show off the perks of membership: access to equip-
ment, Artifacts, and stores of knowledge. An established member
Heretical Factions might take the new mage under her wing, offering mentorship.
She gets invites to all the coolest parties, where she glimpses the
A few factions diverge from what their Order’s leadership sets doors that will open for her if she joins.
forth, either pursuing parallel goals using slightly contrarian Competition grows fierce when multiple factions take an
methods, or even working in ways counter to their Order’s interest. The one-upmanship may be subtle or overt. Messianics
aims. This latter type risks being declared Heretical, making it offer their peers quiet counsel, while members of the Areteans
harder for those mages to deal with colleagues outside of their have provoked their rivals into big, public brawls to woo potential
faction, even if they ostensibly share an Order. These mages’ recruits. Other factions, like the Reclaimants, refuse to chase
practices aren’t necessarily sinister or malicious — for example, new members. Membership is its own reward, after all; if a mage

Factions 89
is going to be lured in by extras, the other factions are welcome forces an ultimatum. Some mages let their Obsessions guide their
to them. actions, working with whichever group moves them that much
Not all mages join factions right away. Enlightenment is a closer to the Mystery they care about most. Savvy mages resolve
process, and it can take years for one of the Awakened to figure the conflict, arguing that working toward the cabal’s goal now
out how she fits into mage society, what direction she wants her nets the faction something essential later, or that completing
studies to take, or what Mysteries inflame her passions. Many the faction’s task will give her leverage later on when the cabal
mages approach factions on their own, having worked with needs to borrow a particular Artifact from the faction’s stores.
members or seen the power a faction wields within their Caucus. Even the most diplomatic mages eventually must pick between
For those factions that tend to be secretive and covert, a mage two bad options; sometimes the only question left is, Who’s more
discovering their existence proves her skills and determination. likely to forgive me this time?
Single-Order factions operate within their Orders, but not
Parting Ways always in parallel to them. When their methods differ, the mage
has to take a hard look at her own ambitions. Her Order guides
Membership in a faction isn’t necessarily a lifetime commit-
her, but her peers within the faction are often more like her
ment. Mages may come and go if their priorities and the faction’s
than other Awakened. Are camaraderie and mutually pursuing
diverge, though some factions fight harder to retain good mem-
knowledge enough, or are her ambitions higher than the faction
bers than others. Leaving some factions is easier than others.
can lift her? If the mage has her sights set on advancement within
A mage withdrawing from the Dam Breakers can go with little
the Order, it’s imprudent to run too far afoul of its principles.
fuss — the organization doesn’t think much of keeping secrets.
Leaving the Bellerophon Group, the mage takes with her any Members of cross-Order factions might be pulled in yet an-
secret knowledge she’s acquired over her time in the faction. The other direction, if their Orders are at odds on a specific matter.
faction may change a few passwords, locks, or wards, but she leaves Conversely, they might also be instrumental in settling disputes
knowing their methods and protocols, unless her colleagues take within their Consilium, or leading cross-Order operations.
measures to prevent it. At the highest level, a faction’s aims can differ from those of
Faction leadership can also remove mages from their ranks if the Consilium it belongs to. Such conflicts are often much bigger
need be. Such an overt ouster is usually for Left-Handed mages, than those at the cabal or Order level, requiring the members to
or those who otherwise seriously violate the Lex Magica. For go against the Hierarch and the Council, potentially prompting
smaller offenses — personality clashes, a mage who disrespects the a visit from Sentinels. Factions must determine how they can
faction’s tenets, or someone whose infractions against the Lex work within the bounds of the Lex Magica, and when to smash
Magica stain the faction’s reputation — local faction mages sever free of them.
the relationship. They might spread the word to the faction’s other
branches, should the troublemaker relocate to another Caucus. New Merit:
When the mage’s crimes are particularly reprehensible — violating
Gold and Silver Laws, betraying their colleagues, or (in the case
of Heretical factions) exposing their secrets — the faction metes
Faction Member (• to •••)
out their own punishment before handing the perpetrator off Prerequisite: Order Status ••
to the higher-ups in the Order or the Consilium to deal with. Effect: One dot in this Merit grants your character a +1 bonus
to her Status when dealing with other members of her faction
Conflicting Loyalties within her Caucus. When dealing with other members of her
faction outside of her Caucus, the character’s dots in this Merit
A faction’s demands don’t always line up with those of the other count as Status dots with them, even if they’re not members of
groups a willworker is part of. This can range from the minor, such the same Order (for cross-Order factions.)
as her cabal and her faction needing her in two different places; A second dot grants your character an additional Order tool
to the major, like her faction’s plan working directly against the Yantra specific to her faction.
Hierarch’s decree.
A third dot grants your character a fourth Rote Skill specific
Clashes between the cabal’s goals and those of the mage’s to her faction.
faction often feel the most personal. She risks disappointing
the people who’ve had her back repeatedly, or even outright If your character has joined a Heretical faction, she receives a
betraying them. Her peers will likely forgive her for a one-time +2 Status bonus when dealing with other members of her faction
conflict, but if she’s constantly choosing faction over cabal (or within her Caucus, but suffers a –2 penalty to her Status when
cabal over faction), the group that keeps getting left in the cold dealing with non-faction members in her Order. This can raise
her Status over 5.

90 Chapter Three: The Points of The Pentacle

Example Factions
even truck, to win the day. All Ashen make and fix things, and
while it lacks the glory of direct battle, nobody would win a damn
thing without reliable tools, vehicles, and arms.
Following are some of the most prominent factions within Naturally, Ashen who can make imbued and other magical
and across the Pentacle Orders. The Faction Member Merit items enjoy some prestige, but it’s the nature of the Arrow to glo-
requires Order Status •• in the Order the faction belongs to; rify the warrior over the sword, so to speak. The Order’s soldiers
cross-Order factions specify the prerequisites for their Merits in often visit the Ashen before setting out and leave them behind
their individual sections. when it’s time to claim the glory. The Ashen needle other Arrows
over this by adopting gruff, rude attitudes and unkempt appear-
Adamantine Arrow ances, so they’re as unpleasant as possible to visit — though they
must be visited when a Crucible Talon or other self-consciously
The Arrow’s factions revolve around members’ approach to conflict, heroic Arrow wants a magic sword or a Hilux with a machine gun
as a metaphysical constant, necessary duty, or test of bravery. in the back. (The Ashen believe the Crucible’s name is hilarious,
and “We should trade” is a tired joke between them.) The Divine
Areteans (Heretical) Spear, who understand the importance of technology in warfare,
treat the Ashen better than other factions.
Tool Yantra: Mechanical traps; placed (instead of thrown or
fired) explosives
The Black Tower
Rote Skill: Subterfuge
Tool Yantra: Fortified buildings and rooms; enclosed armored
Areteans range from irritating blowhards to voracious preda-
vehicles
tors, but no matter their approach, the purpose remains the same:
to demonstrate their superiority. Standard Aretean practice is to Rote Skill: Survival
insult and otherwise provoke mages to the point of a conflict, The Black Tower takes its name from the mythic warrior’s for-
whether it be a back-alley punch-up or the pomp and circumstance tress of Atlantis. Like most pre-Fall myths, that of the Black Tower
of a well-attended Duel Arcane. While “lesser” minds would takes many forms, with the only constant elements describing a
think this obligates Areteans to prove themselves by fighting fair, citadel its soldiers were bound by oath to defend — and that it
well, Existence is War, and the mark should be prepared for any fell due to the hubris of other Awakened, while the oathbound
eventuality, from sand in the eyes to somebody blowing up their drowned at their posts. To modern members of the faction, the
house. Open Aretean affiliation is harshly punished, but several Black Tower represents the unbreakable promise of Arrows to do
play rhetorical games; they pretend they’re not real Areteans, but their duties until relieved by death.
that mages should be able to argue for the virtues of their beliefs Magically sealed oaths, and the significance of such promises,
freely, and if anyone disagrees they must be weak and unwilling remain the Black Tower’s primary focus, but two tendencies express
to withstand debate. it. Itinerants travel between Awakened communities, fulfilling such
A cult of Reapers within the Areteans calling itself “the Hunt” promises they make, to serve as living examples of faithful service.
doesn’t even bother with the social games. They stalk and kill Arrow Sentinels often belong to the sect; they fortify a location and
other mages to assert their superiority. If the target isn’t prepared defend it with the steadfastness of the original Black Tower, so it
for such an eventuality, they’re weak. If they put up a good fight may serve as a haven for their liege-mages. Members are expected
before defeat? Well, the Hunter may “honor” them by taking to master both roles, regardless of their personal preferences. The
their soul or eating them. The anthropophagic Devourers of faction promotes austere oath keeping. Fine food, clothing, and
the Flesh Legacy are known to be embedded within the Hunt, even trivial hobbies are distractions from service.
though they prefer to eat the “weak” from non-Pentacle orders.
Some members of this faction have so much contempt for mages Council of Dragons
outside their cult they are, in effect, Banishers.
Tool Yantra: Texts on philosophy and strategy
Ashen Rote Skill: Academics
Philosopher-strategists, the Council of Dragons believe that
Tool Yantra: Metalworking tools
while warriors must achieve physical skill to serve the Arrow and
Rote Skill: Crafts be well-rounded humans, the deepest well of martial skill is found
The Ashen take their name from the byproducts of forges, in the mind. Councilors devote themselves to the metaphysics of
along with ancient legends of beings variously conceived of as conflict, and the eternal patterns of strategy, manifested through
“dwarves” or “dark elves,” said to have a corpse-like pallor—and to numerous battlefields and technologies. The depth of such studies
manufacture the weapons of gods. The Ashen fill this mythic role is such that no Arrow can master them all. Thus, the Council
for the Arrow, whose “heroes and gods” wield the weapons they encourages specialization despite the Order’s broader bias against
make. This is not to say that Ashen devote themselves exclusively such things. In any emergency, the senior Councilor is the one
to imbued and other magical weapons, or even to weapons in the with the greatest applicable knowledge: something bound to
crudest sense of machines and tools that inflict death, but they change when the nucleus of conflict moves from chemical warfare
all know a warrior relies on their panoply, their sword, gun, or to enchanted Bronze Age swords.

Example Factions 91
 One goal of the faction is to find the “Second Wisdom,” which
is the ability to understand the unbiased truth about a situation,
The Divine Spear
and find a path between what is absolutely moral, versus what is Tool Yantra: Vehicles
tactically optimal. The search produces a broad spread of opin- Rote Skill: Drive (or equivalent for other vehicles)
ions, leading to reputations ranging from bloodthirst to excessive
Existence is war, but there’s nothing personal about it. This is the
idealism on the part of individual Councilors.
way of the Divine Spear, who note that as humanity has advanced,
they’ve put increasing distance between warriors and their targets
The Crucible — and that this is a good thing. An arrow becomes cannon shot,
Tool Yantra: Body armor then a missile, then a drone. The general of the Titanomachy was
Rote Skill: Brawl Zeus, hurler of thunder; the Norse god of war is Odin, the far-see-
ing one. While the disciples of the Spear don’t neglect hand to
Once more into the breach? The Crucible dares enemy walls and
hand combat, they consider engaging in it something of a tactical
storms trenches as often as it can. This is a faction of heroes in the
failure. A soldier keeps their distance, resisting the temptation of
Classical sense, swinging between laudable bravery and terrifying
close-quarters glory for the sake of greater objectives.
bloodthirst. The faction believes that the human self-image is as
Fallen as the rest of the world, even in the Awakened. We were, all Consequently, the Divine Spear promotes the use of drones and
of us, meant to be heroes. The age of the Celestial Ladder, of the mechanized tactics, and promotes the ideal of the anonymous sol-
various myths of the Time Before, were not peaceful times, but eras dier, who is as satisfied with pushing a button as swinging a sword,
where every person could become a hero, demonstrating excellence provided the former produces victory. The deeper philosophy of
against the enemy or dying well, depending on one’s skill and destiny. the faction declares that the warrior’s identity is fundamentally
without essence; an Arrow is simply a person with a series of mis-
Nowadays, monsters are weaker — or at least, subtler — but the
sions, who follows the flow of conflict without becoming attached
potential for heroism exists in every Awakened soul. Therefore,
to any one achievement. As the Spear’s membership increases,
it’s an Arrow’s duty to not just “achieve strategic objectives” but
it finds itself at odds with the Crucible and other Arrows who
to fight with excellence and bravery against any enemy. Members
exalt heroism, but that isn’t quite enough to declare it a heresy.
of the Crucible loathe retreat and believe defensive warfare strays
from the true path of divine-souled aggression. Finally, as existence
is war, if no conflict exists, it’s the Crucible’s job to find one
Free Companies (Heretical)
and win it. Crucible members make excellent shock troops, and Tool Yantra: Money
within the Arrow, their close combat skills are second to none. Rote Skill: Larceny

92 Chapter Three: The Points of The Pentacle

 The heretics of the Free Companies don’t believe they’re ren-
egades, but that they’ve simply eliminated the irrelevant parts of
Eumenides
the Adamant Way. Existence may be war, but as a practice, war Tool Yantra: Live vermin
is the art of gaining an advantage through force. Moral consider- Rote Skill: Intimidation
ations only matter as far as the individual’s beliefs, which victory
Named for a euphemism for the Greek Furies as the “Kindly
can impose upon the world. Therefore, instead of worshiping
Ones,” the Eumenides are one of the more social factions of the
oaths and ideals, the true Arrow increases the force they can
Order — and despised for it. Eumenides take it upon themselves
deliver, and the advantage they gain by using it. Naturally, this
to publicly punish mages for hubris, especially if they hold
means fighting for profit, as this has a double effect. It achieves
positions of power. Where the Faceless quietly remove a threat,
immediate military goals while enriching the warrior, creating a
Eumenides harrow the guilty in spectacular fashion as a warning
virtuous cycle of increased wealth and strength, which the victor
to anyone else considering the path of hubris. The punishment
can use for whatever purpose they see fit.
generally fits the crime in an eye for an eye fashion, barely evading
The Free Companies were once a single Free Company of Mil- legal sanction. For lesser offenses, Kindly Ones unleash vermin,
anese mercenaries, but war has splintered and reorganized them commit acts of vandalism, or when resources are scarce, deliver
several times since the 18th century. The 52 Brothers syndicate enthusiastic beatings. Capital crimes merit gory, terrifying deaths.
represents the faction in American prisons. The Garduna are
Needless to say, Consilia usually hate these end-runs around
the bane of Mysterium mages, since they target Grimoires and
their own justice systems. But Awakened law typically affords
Artifacts in bloody, well-organized robberies. The Saikashu snip-
aggrieved mages the power to inflict proportional punishment
er-monks act as soldiers for Asian fascist movements and support
themselves, so there’s not much they can do about it, provided
themselves with the major industries of organized crime. Theo-
the Eumenides explain themselves. Sometimes, they seek the
retically, one could form a Free Company dedicated to virtuous
permission of anyone wronged by these Guardians’ targets.
goals but somehow, fighting for money seems to discourage it.
Eumenides follow up with a public declaration and a dossier of
evidence justifying the horrors they unleashed.
Vidanti (Heretical)
Prerequisites: A Vidanti must have once possessed Adaman- Faceless
tine Arrow status, then lost it all, or they lose it upon joining
Tool Yantra: Objects stripped of their “identity” such as labels
the faction.
and serial numbers
Tool Yantra: Symbols of pacifist belief
Rote Skill: Larceny
Rote Skill: Socialize
To the Faceless, humility requires anonymity, and anonymity
The Vidanti are unique among Arrow heresies in that they is a spiritual practice, though not one that separates them from
are, to a certain extent, part of the Order’s formal organization, the world. Collectively infamous as assassins and saboteurs, the
as something equivalent to an “other than honorable discharge” Faceless take no credit for their actions. When a sorcerer dies in
in Sleeper military services. When an Arrow decides they can a locked room and the local Guardians decline to express regret,
no longer fight, they declare their intention to retire to the local many infer that the Faceless were responsible. Some of the Faceless
Adamant Sage. The Sage interviews the subject to make sure they admit their affiliation, but many do not, and sometimes pretend
mean it and aren’t just unable to do their duty in some limited to be members of other factions, and even other Orders if they
arena. Disability or reluctance alone cannot qualify one to be a can get away with it.
Vidantus; the prospect must be firm in their desire to embrace
While Faceless are rumored to be behind many catastrophes,
pacifism from that point forward.
the average member isn’t committing murder all the time. They
If the Arrow is truly finished with violence, the Adamant Sage punish hubris proportionally or remove sources of temptation.
and two other Arrows ritually insult them. They say the new Sometimes it just takes a missing set of keys, or a chance meeting,
Vidantus is a stranger — the original Arrow is declared dead. to achieve such objectives. Theirs is a pragmatic faction, devoted
Vidanti are despised for turning their backs on the Order, but to one spiritual practice in their anonymity, and given one task.
practically speaking, Arrows understand that accumulated trauma There’s no need for them to add superfluous symbolism or ritual.
can claim any of them, and while there are magical methods of They wait for the Heiromagus quietly, needing no rite other than
bypassing the effects, magically erasing normal feelings of guilt their messiah’s understanding.
and shame is like doing it mundanely — it’s the behavior of a
psychopath. Many Vidanti are also skilled sorcerers, and the Order
tolerates consulting them.
Inheritors
Tool Yantra: Physical puzzles solved without help or magic
Guardians of the Veil Rote Skill: Occult
When the unworthy stumble toward Awakening, it’s an Inher-
The Guardians’ factions keep secrets within the greater Veil, to
itor’s job to delay their progress, divert them toward safe Sleep or
prepare for the Heiromagus and to compartmentalize the Order’s
greater wisdom, or eliminate them by safe and expedient means.
dangerous knowledge.
Sleepers who wander toward Awakened secrets must also be

Example Factions 93
turned aside. The Inheritors use the Labyrinth — the Guardians’ faith that resists adversity, and sometimes even contrary evidence.
custom of obscuring occult truths with lies and initiation rites What is evidence in the fluid realm of the Lie, anyway?
— to do it, but when that doesn’t work, they take an active hand Messianics understand the Order needs stable management,
influencing their subjects, saving violence for when all else fails. so they avoid sins against Wisdom to maintain acceptable, em-
While Inheritors defend magic from profane souls, they also pathetic appearances for other Orders and to help them guide
encourage promising seekers of wisdom to find Awakening if they their own. Messianics counsel Guardians from the other factions,
can, or a role helping the Guardians if they can’t. Inheritors also moderating the judgments of souls frayed by more extreme ap-
deal with paranormal investigators, turning evidence to hoaxes, proaches to magic, and provide the sort of ceremonial leadership
or following it up with blackmail, disappearances or lies that the rest of the Pentacle understands, even if, internally, it’s just
point to Seers and other undesirable cults. Beyond managing the another mask. Messianics’ concerns suit them to Sleeper religious
Labyrinth, faction members are adept investigators, who build hierarchies. They keep an eye on faith groups connected to the
detailed profiles of their subjects to better manipulate them. Labyrinth.

Legion of the Lost (Heretical) Ordeal Keepers

Prerequisites: The Masque Merit Tool Yantra: Blood, nails, hair, other elements of own body,
Tool Yantra: Identification cards or papers belonging to others severed or extracted for use
Rote Skill: Empathy Rote Skill: Survival
The psychic disease called Legion affects Guardians who im- Ultimately, only the Heiromagus can make the Awakened truly
merse themselves in multiple identities and degrade their Wisdom worthy of magic, but there are degrees of unworthiness — sedi-
to the point where their original identities erode. The Rapt who mentary layers of egotism separating a mage from the Supernal
become Legion are most often Faceless, and while most continue as much as the greater Lie. Ordeal Keepers scrape these layers
to follow Guardian ethics and objectives, they do so by instinct, off. It’s painful, but some say pain is of the Lie, so it must be
bereft of subtle judgments or outside guidance, because no “self” endured and transcended. An Ordeal Keeper embraces hardship,
exists to contemplate these matters. The Legion-Raptured are, choosing the most grueling tasks, or testing themselves against
however, a minority of their own faction, the Legion of the Lost. the pain of the Lie with rituals of torment and ecstasy. This too,
The Rapt are the Legion’s holy figures; members who maintain can be a trap, however, as a Guardian can become as fixated on
their identities help these blessed few and blame themselves asceticism as other mages are on the robes and other trappings
for “selfishly” identifying with their own names and memories. Ordeal Keepers reject. Magic comes from the pure Awakened self,
To them, the Legion’s Rapt are no deviation, but something to defined by the mind, body, and soul, so no other tools should
aspire to. The ones who leave Wisdom behind are the purest be necessary.
Guardians, unburdened by doubt and guilt even before the Ordeal Keepers stand out from other mages due to their
Heiromagus has come. ascetic lifestyles, manifested in scars, unkempt appearances and
The Lost (a name growing more popular, as “Legion” has several plain dress. Faction members clean up when the task demands
other connotations among the Awakened) come in three varieties: it and may even use the ostentatious methods of other mages
Mimics, Clusters, and Helpers. Mimics adopt others’ lives, usually when they provide the greatest advantage, but they’ll return to
killing and replacing the original at some point. Clusters share original simplicity.
real or fake identities, or their components, among each other.
Some Clusters all adopt the same identity, while others trade a set Prophets
cast of selves. Helpers are members who believe in the Legion’s Tool Yantra: Ledgers and diaries
ethos but aren’t ready to give up their personal identities. They
Rote Skill: Socialize
perform all the tasks that require a fixed identity and look out for
members who have trouble taking care of themselves. The Prophets act as the Order’s connection to the Pentacle in
everyday operations. From the outside, they seem like the most
Messianics reasonable Guardians to deal with. Prophets are exceptionally
sociable for Awakened, much less Guardians of the Veil, as they
Tool Yantra: Physical symbols of political or religious authority methodically make friends, trade favors — and commit all their
(crowns, scepters, etc.) interactions to well-honed memories or thorough documentation,
Rote Skill: Occult carefully protected. The Prophets exist to extend the influence of
The Heiromagus is coming, and the Messianics prepare the way, their Order beyond its members by doing what they colloquially
looking for omens and other evidence of their savior’s arrival, while call “Webwork:” finding the paths of information and influence
growing the Guardians’ occult and temporal power so the Order between people.
is a worthy tool for whomever sits upon the sacred throne. The Webwork is important to the Order because social connections
Messianics represent the Guardians of the Veil as a religion, not just can either extend or bypass the Labyrinth, depending on how
an esoteric practice, and that requires more than an appreciation they’re used. While Prophets share their networks with the Order
of symbols and Supernal metaphysics. They must have the kind of to strengthen the Labyrinth, faction members draw accurate intel-

94 Chapter Three: The Points of The Pentacle

ligence from them, and trade information with other mages when Not all Archaeomancers sift through ancient ruins; some are
it would benefit the Order. Prophets can’t win favors without urban explorers, seeking knowledge bulldozed under to make
trading worthwhile information, so they rarely lie about it, and way for new growth, or heading into places abandoned due to
approach the Pentacle as reliable, honest partners. This makes environmental catastrophes or economic shifts.
them much more popular than Guardians from other factions.
Archivists
Redeemers (Heretical) Tool Yantra: Books
Tool Yantra: Artifacts at least 1,000 years old, or believed to Rote Skill: Politics
predate the Schism (see below)
Frequently the most politically powerful faction among the
Rote Skill: Occult Mystagogues, Archivists don’t seek new knowledge; they protect
Most Awakened treat the Lie as trivially accurate, since the what’s been found. Though versions of the Archive existed in
Fallen World compels people to live by its rules, but Redeemers private collections and isolated vaults for millennia, it wasn’t until
believe the Lie is more profound than even other mages believe. plague swept the world in the 14th century that the faction formal-
Specifically, they believe that at least a thousand years ago, the ly organized. Awakened and Sleepers with mystic knowledge died
cosmic underwent the Schism: an event where the Heiromagus in alarming numbers, and many Artifacts burned in fires meant
arrived, and saved the world, but left a false reality to test the to eradicate disease. Swearing they’d never allow such a loss again,
Awakened. True time has stopped; all history since the Schism the Archivists joined in common cause to safeguard and protect
is a continuing Lie, a fog over a renewed Awakened nation. The knowledge in all its forms, especially that of the Supernal world.
Redeemers must purify what remains, and since all the other Archivist roles significantly overlap with the Mysterium’s.
Orders were wrong, they need to be laid low to save the rest. Curators are the Archive’s public face, dealing with those mages
Redeemers believe that except for those destined for Awaken- who come to an Athenaeum for research, or to borrow an item
ing, Sleepers are puppets, as unreal as the false world they live of Supernal power. Collectors focus on knowledge beyond books,
in. Their lives are of no consequence, though some believe they cataloging Artifacts and other ensorcelled items, and recording
represent a moral test, and should still be treated with care. The their history and significance. Savants dedicate themselves to
Schism is a prison for the Awakened alone, where they’ve been memorizing specific arcane knowledge to prevent its loss, while
sequestered until the Guardians of the Veil can purify them by members known as the Vault are a more physical loss-prevention
eliminating the false beliefs of the other Orders. The Guardians unit within the Archive.
must be purged as well, since the majority don’t believe in the
Schism, but the Redeemers apply themselves to that task more Bricoleurs
gently than they do to eradicating non-Guardians.
Tool Yantra: Mundane items rendered obsolete (or nearly so)

Mysterium by modern technology: slide rules, tinderboxes, fountain pens, etc.

Rote Skill: Crafts
Outsiders often equate Mystagogue factions with their functions, Bricoleurs think outside the box. They take an Artifact generally
but members join because of their deeply personal connections, to both used for one purpose, and discover qualities previously believed
the Mysterium and their roles within it. beyond its scope. Known elements — their components reliable,
their workings understood — become something entirely new in
Archaeomancers a Bricoleur’s hands. They refuse to accept reality as it’s handed
to them, driven to question and test every Truth. Never content
Tool Yantra: Archaeological tools, such as trowels and brushes
to use a rote simply because that’s how it’s been done and taught
Rote Skill: Academics for centuries, they break down spells into their component parts
Devoted to uncovering lost Mysteries, Archaeomancers study and see what happens when they put them back together in a
the past, seeking to catalog and restore knowledge long believed different way.
to be destroyed. Whether they’re motivated by a desire for power, Bricoleurs want to get into the why of things. “This is how it’s
or the need to prove their theories, the thrill of discovery drives always been done” is unacceptable. When advances in technology
them. Archaeomancers travel to remote places and risk their lives render spells or Artifacts obsolete, they look for new uses their prede-
to save what once was lost. Publicly, they’re unearthing the Truth cessors overlooked. Unafraid to blend technology with magic, some
to fight the Lie. Privately — and within the Mysterium itself — the of their undertakings make the more traditional Mystagogues uneasy.
Diggers know that knowledge is power.
Bricoleurs are a faction in the loosest sense of the term. They
Archaeomancers often piggyback onto Sleeper archaeological have no formal organization or hierarchy, but whenever several
expeditions to seek information or items of an Awakened nature, are together, they eagerly share insights and discoveries.
ensuring those things make it safely back to Mysterium hands.
Their travels frequently take them to heavily guarded ruins, full
of spells and traps and the potential for Paradox. Rather than put
Egregori
their Sleeping colleagues in danger, some Archaeomancers form Tool Yantra: Items commonly used in religious or spiritual
small Awakened teams to venture into the most perilous locations. rituals, such as chalices, tarot cards, drums, or incense

Example Factions 95
 Rote Skill: Empathy not with protecting the person wearing their diamonds, but the
Not every Truth can be written down. Words can’t capture all diamonds themselves. Members of the Praetorians share a similar
aspects of the divine, no matter how beautiful the prose. Some role, ensuring all assets that leave the Archive return safely to it.
things simply need to be experienced, and the Egregori seek to Mystagogues occasionally have to move an Artifact from one
lead others to understanding. Egregori are individuals, employ- highly-guarded Archive to another. Sometimes a Curator allows
ing disparate and highly personal methods, though many share a mage from another Order to borrow a precious Grimoire, on
common practices in guiding their adherents to discovery. They’re the condition it’s always surrounded by security. The Praetorians
teachers and wise people, priestesses and ritualists. Through initi- stand ready.
ation rites, sacred food and drink, altered states of consciousness, The weak spots in any detail are all the places in-between,
sex, and ecstasy, they rekindle sacred practices largely abandoned whether that’s via Sleeper routes or magical means of travel.
or rendered profane, sinful, or illegal in service to the Lie. Members of the Praetorians prepare for all eventualities, not
Throughout the world, Egregori cults seek to preserve sacred only consulting Fate and Time, but also studying mundane tricks
knowledge. Some study ancient religious practices, striving to like social engineering and common pickpocketing techniques.
discover a particular culture’s secrets and Mysteries. Others look Within the Mysterium, they work with Reclaimants to learn how
for universal truths at the root of all ancient societies. Egregori they’d carry out a heist, even setting up mock targets to defend
cults frequently welcome Sleepers into their ranks, a practice more from their colleagues’ strike.
conservative Mystagogues worry might lead to breaching the Veil.
Reclaimants
Jnanamukti (Heretical) Tool Yantra: Lockpicks
Tool Yantra: Items used to destroy or deface, such as matches Rote Skill: Larceny
or chisels When Sleepers beat the Mysterium to magical objects, it’s the
Rote Skill: Persuasion Reclaimants’ duty to retrieve them. Powerful items like Artifacts
Once, the Jnanamukti, whose name means “Fist of Wisdom,” and sacred tomes threaten the Veil, or could bring harm to
believed elements of Atlantean teachings were hidden through- Sleepers who wield them without understanding their inherent
out the Fallen World’s philosophies and religions. Now, they power. The thought of letting a magical item go to waste in Sleeper
work toward the downfall of Quiescent society. Members blame hands is a personal affront to some Reclaimants. Others are less
Sleeper culture for diluting the Truth, claiming their legends upset at a Sleeper possessing a powerful object than they are at
aren’t a pale shadow of Supernal wisdom, but are instead crude the thought of it being used in the wrong way.
regurgitations. Their guiding text, a manuscript called The Three Reclaimants are the polar opposite of stereotypical Mystagogue:
Enemies, argues mages should destroy Sleepers’ achievements and they’re not above a little breaking and entering, and roughing
place the Quiescent under Awakened rule. These enemies are someone up’s a hazard of the job. Nicknamed Acquisitionists
Sleeper civilization, Sleeper technology, and supernatural beings and Thieves, they also retrieve things that aren’t physical objects:
and phenomena of the Fallen World. memories, rituals, information, and the like. These missions
The Jnanamukti go to extreme lengths to achieve their goals, require intense preparation and precision, lest the information
backing terrorist organizations and movements that seek to de- be lost. The Reclaimant’s priority in this case is on preserving
stroy other cultures. By tearing it all down, they intend to turn the information; if the Sleeper carrying it in her head is lost in the
Sleepers toward worshiping the Supernal Realms, with mages as process, that’s less of a concern.
their priests. They destroy factories and universities, believing Thieves don’t only steal from Sleepers. The Mysterium also
mundane technology reinforces the Lie, and Sleepers should have tasks them with recovering items in other mages’ possession.
nothing more sophisticated than simple tools. Finally, they seek While those jobs are tougher, they’re a thrilling challenge.
to destroy other supernatural denizens of the Fallen World, to
prevent them from competing for ideological control. Special Collections
Mages of the Jnanamukti believe change begins within. They Tool Yantra: Items that aid in seeing fine details: magnifying
reject anything in their lives based around Sleeper mores, includ- glasses, jewelers’ loupes, sensitive recording devices, etc.
ing religion and cultural habits. Some suggest that mages should
Rote Skill: Academics
even supplant Sleeper languages with a new one derived from the
High Speech, to let Atlantean ideals return. These Mystagogues spend their careers seeking information,
Artifacts, and information on one specific, extremely niche Su-
Praetorians pernal topic. Other Mysterium mages call their acute focus an
obsession for the already-obsessed, and while they say it sneeringly,
Prerequisites: Trained Observer Merit no one in Special Collections would say they’re wrong.
Tool Yantra: Security and surveillance equipment These mages are experts on their particular sphere of knowl-
Rote Skill: Intimidation edge. This may be the workings of a particular Artifact, the details
Large sums of money or military assets get security details; of one Archmage’s life, the history of a Gold Law, or even a single
companies like Tiffany and Cartier hire private guards tasked day in Pentacle history. Other mages express concern that this

96 Chapter Three: The Points of The Pentacle

faction’s members miss out on the bigger picture, though they’re the goal, but nearly every mage dreams of what she’d do if she did.
quick to come seeking a member when they need to know what Most would seek to bridge the Abyss, or facilitate others’ Awak-
they might have overlooked. Members not only know how to dive enings. A few would use the power archmastery confers to exert
deep on a topic, they’re also skilled in peeling back history’s layers. control over Sleeper society, or rule in their own Shadow Realm.
They’re a faction held together more by their intense methods The Ascended push toward their sixth dot in an Arcanum,
and focuses than by any particular agenda. even when it means doing so at great risk or cost to those around
Some walk the line between orthodoxy and heresy by hoarding them. Magical experimentation leads to greater enlightenment,
information or items that ought to go to the Mysterium’s Archives. making it worth the risk. Most accede to requests by Guardians
Generally, their reasoning is pure: they’re afraid to let such things of the Veil to practice in a Demesne, far from Sleeper witnesses,
out of their sight lest they be lost again, or get parceled out to though they’re doing so less to protect the Sleepers and more to
the wrong person. ensure the Guardians won’t interfere.

Silver Ladder Conservators

Factions within the Silver Ladder take different approaches toward Tool Yantra: Mundane tools, such as hammers, awls, and
achieving the Order’s goals, advising other mages and coaxing Sleepers wrenches, or items associated with mending, like needle and
toward Awakening. One faction’s successes benefit théarchs everywhere. thread
Rote Skill: Crafts
Ad Astra (Heretical) Conservators focus their energies on repairing, rebuilding, and
making stronger the things that were damaged. Members of this
Tool Yantra: Hand tools
faction see themselves as the Silver Ladder at its most pure and
Rote Skill: Crafts idealistic, those mages who believe it’s their duty — and the duty
The priest-viziers of Atlantis had a hand in building the Ce- of all mages — to continually strive for better. The world is never
lestial Ladder, which the Exarchs climbed to seize their thrones as dark as it was in those first days, and the Conservators vow
in the Supernal World. These predecessors of the Silver Ladder they’ll never let it get that way again. Knock a Conservator down,
bear part of the blame for the Golden City’s fall. The fault lay she’ll regain her feet and rebuild whatever got broken, whether
not with the Celestial Ladder, members of the faction maintain, it’s Towers or people.
but with those who ascended it. Building a new one is, therefore, They seek those places that might have existed in the Time
not a sin but an imperative. Before, salvaging what they can from among the ruins, either
While the théarchs aren’t opposed to rebuilding the Celestial performing repairs on-site or transporting debris wholesale to a
Ladder when the time is right, the modern day Order believes place the Ladder controls. Occasionally, they find themselves in
the Lie still holds too much sway. Mages who join Ad Astra insist a race with the Archaeomancers, attempting to beat the Myste-
there’s no time like the present; its members chase Mysteries of rium’s teams to a site before they can squirrel its secrets away in
that first Ladder’s construction, and piece together components the Order’s Archive.
guided by that knowledge. Other members prepare not only for
the climb, but for the battle with the Exarchs that will certainly The Next Rung
ensue at the top. To that end, they ally with some of the Arrow’s
Prerequisites: Sleepwalker Merit
Free Companies to plan their inevitable Supernal assault.
Tool Yantra: N/A
Ascended Rote Skill: Socialize (for Proximi)
Tool Yantra: Tools used by archmages Members of the Next Rung aren’t mages at all, but Sleepwalkers
and Proximi initiated into the Silver Ladder. While their power
Rote Skill: Occult
within the Order is limited to Sleeper concerns, they wield that
The Ascended strive for archmastery, and beyond that, Ascen- authority as strongly as any Powerbroker. Their influence over
sion. Mages who join this faction dedicate their lives to achieving Cryptopolies — and for Proximi, within their own families — grants
magical excellence: the more Pentacle mages Ascend, the closer them a measure of control over other Sleepers and gives them a
to the Supernal they can bring the world — and pose more direct taste of what’s to come should they Awaken.
opposition to the Exarchs. Driven by ambition and perfectionism,
Members accompany théarchs to Consilium gatherings, acting
they study previous archmages’ focuses and methods to glean
as pages and scribes as they gain an education in Awakened
what wisdom they can.
politics. It’s ill-advised to treat one of the Next Rung as an un-
Since no one path leads to mastery, the Ascended study every- derling; they’re valued colleagues, often as informed about their
thing, including their predecessors’ more eccentric and esoteric mentors’ schedules, concerns, and projects as the mage herself.
practices. They seek access to Grimoires archmages left behind The freedom from Obsession also grants them a clarity their
and the Artifacts they wielded. They retrace the steps of those who Awakened counterparts lack. They can spot the signs of hubris
Ascended, meditating in the places they spent time, adhering to far earlier than the théarchs they’re shadowing, and warn peers
their lifestyles, and adopting their Yantras. Few ever actually reach before someone gets hurt.

Example Factions 97
Powerbrokers Theurges consider themselves heirs to the priest-kings of
Atlantis. Viewing magic as a source of spiritual enlightenment,
Tool Yantra: Pens, wax seals and rings, stamps of authority they seek a deeper understanding of spirituality to spread to
Rote Skill: Politics the Sleepers. They’re preachers, writers, and social media
sages, transmitting their messages via viral posts and dedicated
Powerbrokers view themselves as the Sleepers’ rightful rulers.
online followings. Other Theurges, preferring not to be the
Within the Orders, they seek to control and direct mages’ busi-
face of a movement, influence Sleeper preachers’ sermons.
ness, not (or not usually) due to an authoritarian streak, but
By guiding Sleepers to the Truth, they aim to increase the
because their involvement ensures it gets done right. Powerbrokers
number of Sleepwalkers in the world. To Theurges, Mysteries
are more interested in gaining mortal wealth and power than
are a path to power.
ultimate control over all the Pentacle Orders, but their influence
within Awakened society and the contacts they maintain provide The Astral Realms also hold a deep fascination for Theurges.
them with significant clout wherever they take an interest. Their travels and actions within bring both personal understand-
ing and the potential to control the Temenos and Anima Mundi.
Most Powerbrokers want to pull the strings rather than be in
Others spend time in Shadow Realms and the Underworld to
publicly-known positions of authority. Rather than becoming
uncover truths. The most dedicated delve into the Anima Mundi
CEOs, they seek positions as advisors and consultants in Sleeper
in search of a transcendent experience, even if it risks their sanity.
corporations. It’s harder to wield power subtly within mage so-
ciety, since most outsiders view the Powerbrokers and the Silver It’s the Theurges’ duty to assist mortals on their own spiritual
Ladder as synonymous. However, a few fly beneath the radar journeys. To that end, they both foster Sleepers’ relationships with
and insert themselves quietly into positions of great power and the supernatural and protect them from it. Some Theurges guide
influence, advising Hierarchs and Councilors, or calling Arrow mortals in their understanding of the Supernal, to the extent an
leaders’ attention to burgeoning threats. individual can handle such things.
Those who seek power overtly are often charismatic leaders. In
the public eye, they strive to be worthy of employees’, consumers’,
The Unbroken (Heretical)
or constituents’ respect. Even these mages generally eschew im- Tool Yantra: Needles and thread; patches; other tools of
mense fame or high-profile corporate jobs. Instead, they gravitate mending
toward more modest positions where their actions can make a Rote Skill: Empathy
difference: mayor of a small city, VP of finance, etc.
The Precept of the Diamond states that the Awakened are one
Proctors nation. It doesn’t distinguish between Order or Seer. It doesn’t
say “... except for the Banishers.” To bring about the Awakened
Tool Yantra: Items used in measurement, such as weights City, the Unbroken believe they must bring all mages together.
and rulers. To that end, they’re willing to ally with Seers for mutual gain.
Rote Skill: Politics Faction members seek Scelesti they believe they can redeem,
Proctors trade a favorite apocryphal story about the Time and follow rumors of the Rapt creating havoc the way their
Before, in which several mages removed themselves from consid- peers chase other Obsessions. Achieving the Awakened City
eration for leadership, volunteering instead to be the ones who is the ultimate Mystery to them, and often the only one worth
determined which of their peers were fit to lead. They tested pursuing. Ladder mages might downplay the Unbroken’s place
aspirants’ strength, wit, wisdom, and will, ensuring that by the in the Order, but they’ve never voted to disavow the faction. To
time the Proctors chose, all the mages gathered had seen the do so would be hypocritical. However, faction members have
candidates’ fitness. Today, the Silver Ladder’s Proctors perform a reputation for skirting right up to the line of too far when
a similar duty, vetting mages and Sleepers alike to judge which dealing with enemy willworkers — and frequently stepping over
jobs are suitable for them within the Ladder. it — leaving their colleagues with a mess to clean up afterward.
While this is still a position of power — a Proctor expressing Order leaders steer known Unbroken away from power within
approval or displeasure can make or break a mage in some Con- the Consilium; members generally aren’t good diplomats, espe-
silia — most Proctors don’t consider their job in that light. While cially when they’re likely to assert controversial beliefs such as
some Proctors press their personal agendas (and everything is throwing the Tremere out of the Diamond was the wrong call, or
political, in the end), they also view it as their duty to make sure encouraging the Sentinel to hear a captured Reaper out.
each person they put through the wringer isn’t padding their
resume, or making claims above their skill level. If a mage says
she can do something, she ought to prove it so her peers can be
Free Council
While some Free Council mages insist their open-minded philos-
certain of her abilities.
ophies negate the need for factions, in truth they exist throughout
Theurges the Order. Most act as freeform groups and committees, aimed at
achieving a particular goal. Others are more extreme, chafing against
Tool Yantra: Writing instruments Libertine philosophies.
Rote Skill: Empathy

98 Chapter Three: The Points of The Pentacle

The Cutting Edge Seer Pylons or preventing Logophages from destroying secrets.

Tool Yantra: Technological devices Freedom Fighters

Rote Skill: Expression Tool Yantra: Weapons
The Cutting Edge brings humanity closer to the Truth by using Rote Skill: Brawl
technology and innovation to expose the Lie and break down
Destroying the Lie can’t always be done in laboratories, court-
oppressive systems. Their efforts dovetail with and piggyback
rooms, or boardrooms. A faction of righteous rebels, Freedom
off of Sleeper movements that use new apps, devices, and social
Fighters know that sometimes, opposing the Exarchs means
media outlets to communicate vital information, stymie surveil-
putting their bodies on the line. It was members of this faction
lance efforts, or topple authoritarian regimes. When Panopticon
who spurred and carried out some of the more brutal responses
infiltrates one online space, members of the Cutting Edge are busy
to the Seers as part of the Great Refusal, purging the Nameless
scouting out and fortifying the next one, ensuring that a place for
Orders of those who would have taken the Iron Pyramid up on
Sleepers to organize and speak truth to power is always available,
its offer. In addition to carrying out their own operations against
even if it takes time for word to get out about the move. Mages
Pylons, Freedom Fighters act as bodyguards for mages who find
inject Veiling spells into lines of code, obscuring users’ locations,
themselves targeted by Seers.
faces, voices, and other identifying information.
In addition to actual frontline combatants, Freedom Fighters
Faction members believe technology is for everyone, making
also recruit tacticians, spies, medics, and scouts. Members of a
it easier for older generations to adopt and younger generations
smaller division, called Qs, look for ways to enhance mundane
to rely upon — and to nudge the fight for democracy along more
weapons with Supernal magic and create new combat rotes.
swiftly. Cutting Edge apps connect users not only to one another,
but also to the Temenos, tapping into humanity’s dreams for a bet- Freedom Fighters occasionally involve themselves in Sleeper
ter world (the connection curated, of course, by faction members.) conflicts, offering aid (money, arms, and supplies) and physical
assistance to those fighting against oppressive regimes.
Dam Breakers Intentionalists
Tool Yantra: Lockpick tools and keys
Tool Yantra: Sigils, corporate logos
Rote Skill: Computer
Rote Skill: Socialize
Human society has a habit of putting information behind
firewalls, tying it up in legal knots, or restricting access to it unless In the Fallen World, there’s no such thing as Truth, at least
knowledge-seekers can pay a high (usually monetary) price. Pat- not one that everyone can agree on. Trying to find some uni-
ents, proprietary information, even education, are often off-limits versal absolute is folly. Intentionalists believe a mage’s tools are
to anyone who can’t afford it. Restricting access in this way not just that — tools — and have no great revelations to offer about
only mirrors, but often reinforces, the Lie. The Dam Breakers the Supernal world. It’s what you do that matters. Don’t think,
believe information should be free. act. Members of this faction perform rituals that are highly
experimental, incorporating elements from various magical and
Debate among the movement centers on how much informa-
spiritual traditions.
tion on the supernatural world is acceptable to give to Sleepers.
While some argue that all information — even that of the Supernal Intentionalists believe human desire and intention is a power
— should be free to anyone, others recognize that for Sleepers, all its own, able to change the world when properly focused. They
knowing too much all at once can be detrimental. Most members embrace the tenets of chaos magic in the Fallen World to help
believe in the responsible dissemination of knowledge, both on reveal the Supernal, which is by definition True. One of the first
the Awakened and mundane levels. and hardest things to learn is that it’s okay to be wrong: there’s
no single “correct” approach to magic or truth, and often break-
Though it sounds like a lofty ideal, the philosophy makes them
throughs require letting go of deeply ingrained beliefs. Try new
thorns in the Mysterium’s side, and the Guardians’ worst night-
things. Screw up. Fall down. Try something different next time.
mare. The Orders can’t ignore the possibility that Dam Breakers
might share Pentacle secrets with their enemies. If knowledge is A few Intentionalists set themselves up as charismatic preachers
free to everyone, who’s going to clean up the mess when people and spiritual leaders, guiding Sleepers’ intentions toward the
— most likely Sleepers — get hurt? mages’ goals, while also encouraging their followers to concentrate
on their own mundane desires. Intentionalists also accomplish
Members employ and debate differing strategies: some are hack-
this through branding, creating corporate logos, popular adver-
ers, breaking into mundane systems and leaking whatever they
tisements, and viral commercials that invoke a particular desire
can find. Others pursue legal avenues, filing FOIA requests and
in observers.
lawsuits. Though it risks branches of the faction being declared
Heretical, some Dam Breakers float the idea of gaining access to
Mystagogue Athenaea or other Orders’ storehouses in the name of
Revivalists
making Supernal knowledge accessible to all willworkers. Syndics Tool Yantra: Religious symbols
who get wind of this often attempt to direct these Dam Breakers’ Rote Skill: Expression
efforts toward more palatable aims, such as reclaiming items from

Example Factions 99
 The Revivalists are Libertines who seek symbols and messages financial wizards have had to reevaluate their tactics and priorities.
of the Supernal in human worship, ritual, and religious art. Fac- Collectively, they decided to speed things up.
tion mages encourage a revival of art throughout all religions and While they still fund STEM and STEAM programs and push
denominations, relying on mass media to help spread the word. for Sleeper democracies to prevail, mages in this faction also
They support online and pop-up churches, promote albums put quietly allocate funds toward efforts to openly oppose the Seers
out by religious bands, and open up galleries showcasing paintings of the Throne. Sometimes Silver Ladder mages and causes get
and sculptures from faiths around the world. The Revivalists caught in the operations, which some Trust members consider
nurture and sponsor such artists, and pore over their creations a feature, not a bug. Hierarchs have warned that the Trust is
to look for new Supernal symbols within. drifting towards heresy in these cases, but whether the warning
A small subsect takes those works and subtly inserts the High comes as a sternly-worded letter first may depend on how much
Speech into things they reproduce, whether that’s tracts and holy money TELM funnels into the local Consilium.
books, songs, or postcards and prints. Sleepers guide the creation,
but these Revivalists enhance the finished products with even Wrights (Heretical)
larger pieces of Truth as they extend the artists’ reach. The more
people the Revivalists’ efforts reach, the more Sleepers they move Tool Yantra: Items used for creativity and theorizing: sketch-
toward Awakening. books, scratch pads, sheet music, pens and pencils, chalk, etc.
Rote Skill: Empathy
The TELM Trust (Heretical) To Wrights, human creativity is the key to Awakening. Un-
fortunately, most Sleeper creations are derivative, reinforcing
Tool Yantra: Currency
the Lie instead of smashing through it. In order for painters,
Rote Skill: Politics composers, and scientists to create something new and inspired,
Originally founded with the goal of changing the world through Wrights believe, they must leave their comfort zones. Revelation,
the almighty dollar, the TELM Trust has undergone several spectac- insight, and creativity come from extreme experiences, whether
ular and disappointing failures over the last decade. The billionaire that takes the form of physical torment or emotional strife. Since
families and mega-corporations they sought to quietly topple are most people don’t intentionally put themselves through ordeals,
still alive and kicking and richer than ever, while Sleepers who exist Wrights volunteer for the job.
on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder still struggle to scrape Wrights fall into two categories. Observers place themselves in
by. Even with the knowledge that change comes slowly, TELM’s positions where they can watch for the spark of danger that leads

100 Chapter Three: The Points of The Pentacle

to human insight. They’re tour guides for exhilarating wilderness often as possible. This isn’t a heretical position, most of the time,
adventures, firefighters, or even counselors and therapists. It’s but many mages find it irritating. Some Adversaries lie, cheat, and
not exact, watching for that one-in-a-thousand chance that trib- draw their companions into moral dilemmas because they think
ulation will lead to epiphany, but it yields results. Interventionists they’re helping, while others do it for their own development,
orchestrate these circumstances, keeping a measure of control over or just because they find it amusing.
events. That isn’t to say their subjects are never really in danger — While anyone can become an Adversary, few stick with the
accidents can happen even with the closest oversight — and the faction because of widespread belief it’s a quick path to Rapture
pain and suffering subjects experience is very real. or becoming a Scelestus and because it’s legitimately difficult to
Interventionists’ methods have made that side of the faction devote one’s life to ignoring common wisdom and finding value
Heretical in the Order’s eyes. Assemblies often pressure mages in whatever remains. Fortunately, Adversaries zealously punish
to stick to the Observationists’ “safer” approach, though the line followers of the Abyss, considering it a weakness to bind oneself
between Observer and Interventionist isn’t always cut and dried. to it. Rapture remains a danger, but Adversaries who succeed
If a clear opportunity arises for an Observer to manipuate a situa- generally do so by discovering an “original Wisdom” they claim
tion, the mage might take it. Sometimes, this causes inter-faction exists outside social pressures and the Lie.
friction, as Interventionists take the heat for their counterparts’
actions. In other Assemblies, they encourage it: if it leads to Alethians
Sleeper breakthroughs, it’s worth the infamy.
Tool Yantra: Representations of enlightenment in visual art
Yesterday’s Tomorrows and text
Rote Skill: Investigation or Occult
Tool Yantra: Books and maps
Awakening is the central Mystery of a sorcerer’s life, so Alethi-
Rote Skill: Academics ans make it their chief concern, studying the phenomenon, as
Yesterday’s Tomorrows believe the past should inform the well as the conditions of their own Awakenings. The first sign
future. What’s new isn’t necessarily better; what’s old isn’t inher- one is dealing with an Alethian is their penchant for asking highly
ently worse. Faction members cast a critical eye on the choices personal questions about one’s Awakening and other mystical
humans made throughout history: What practices are worth experiences. This is considered obnoxious, as Mystery Plays and
keeping? What’s worth casting aside as obsolete or outdated other Watchtower experiences are often considered as personal as
modes of thought? Nicknamed the Historians, these Libertines family secrets and sex lives, if not more so. But without Alethian
have a wide range of areas of expertise. Some look at a broad inquisitiveness, the Pentacle would be very different, as it relies
swath of human events; others concentrate on a few years or on what they’ve learned for some of its basic traditions. As magic
even months. Still others focus on a particular culture, dynasty, can’t detect Awakenings, mages must look for mundane patterns
or movement. They scrutinize the details, tracing the ripples their to find someone likely to Awaken. The Alethians discovered them,
areas of study set off. Many are obvious: Because X happened, hidden in lore of the Pentacle and other Orders.
Y followed. Others are more speculative: had Person A been in The most common Alethians are Mystagogues, who treat it
this place instead, Event B might have happened, or they make a as a special field of study, and Guardians of the Veil, who rely
good case for correlation as causation. on Alethian scholarship to make the Labyrinth a fitting tool to
Historians urge the Awakened to learn from humanity’s mis- manipulate occultists and identify those most likely to Awaken.
takes. They offer sound advice, applying lessons from the past All Orders contribute to Alethian works, however, and the faction
to current events. Councilors value their input — Historians are enjoys broad support from the Pentacle as a whole.
well-versed in contingencies and unlikely coincidences.
Bellerophon Group
Cross-Order Factions Tool Yantra: Handmade artistic depictions of relevant indi-
Some factions represent tendencies across multiple Orders, viduals, such as paintings or sculptures
to a mixed reception from elders and leaders. Some believe they Rote Skill: Empathy or Investigation
bind the Pentacle for the collective benefit of all, but they, too, The Bellerophon Group is a global society of mages dominated
possess heresies. by the Adamantine Arrow, who study the Rapt as threats and
sources of insight. Since their foundation in 1945, Bellerophon
Adversaries has kept dossiers on all known Rapt, including legendary figures.
Tool Yantra: Talons, teeth, and horns The most valued records are biographical, because they can discov-
er how mages fall to Rapture. The Group’s policy regarding Rapt
Rote Skill: Occult or Subterfuge
they know of is to study them, clean up after their excesses where
Among the Awakened, heretical mysticism, which emphasizes possible, and imprison or kill them if they become active threats.
breaking cultural taboos and occasionally, common morality, is Unfortunately, jailing a sorcerer is a risky proposition, and few
considered one of many traditions that can structure magical facilities exist capable of holding one for any length of time, so
practice and personal development. To Adversaries, it’s the only Rapt that attract Bellerophon’s attention tend to have short lives.
worthwhile path to greater Awakening, and should be shared as

Example Factions 101

 The Group consists of Readers, who perform basic research and
follow leads to the Rapt, but don’t risk direct contact; Record-
ers, who keep Rapt under direct surveillance; and Responders, Seer Factions
who intervene when the Rapt threaten the Veil, the Awakened, Countless factions and subsects — called
and, sometimes, Sleepers. Responders get the glory, but as far as Methodologies — exist within Seer Ministries. The
the Pentacle is concerned, Readers and Recorders do the truly following is a selection, but not a comprehensive
valuable work, and may make it possible to understand Rapture list.
the way Alethians have helped mages understand Awakening:
The Condecoi
less than anyone prefers, but well enough to benefit allied mages.
Tool Yantra: Locks
Destroyers Rote Skill: Streetwise
Tool Yantra: Guns
The Law of Hostels designates certain locations
Rote Skill: Firearms or Stealth as safe havens, forbidding Seers in attendance
Monsters exist. Why not kill them? As far as the Destroyers are from attempting to harm one another. Hostelers
concerned, there’s no answer other than agreement, because any- maintain secure venues to facilitate such meet-
thing else leaves people to be preyed upon. The only obstacles are ings. Other Condecoi transform Sleeper Thralls
technical. Destroyers need to leave no trace of their interventions, into their proxies, using them as puppets to meet
to avoid conflicts with the world’s better-organized predators, and other mages’ representatives — should the proxy
they need to win, every time. The Destroyers reject the temptation come under attack, the Condecoi consider their
of a fair fight and screen members for glory-seeking tendencies. loss mere collateral damage.
Targets should be slain from afar, and their deaths should appear
The Oikumene
utterly mundane or absolutely mysterious.
The current faction is the latest in a series of monster-slaying Tool Yantra: Items that conceal other things,
groups. The current Destroyers were founded in 1890 when such as veils, dustcovers, cloaks, and pockets
members of their predecessors in the Sword of Wisdom were Rote Skill: Intimidation
massacred by a mummy, who tracked them through the archaic
melee weapons they favored. Destroyers avoid that sort of thing Humanity’s jailer-protectors, they keep the Fallen
now. They shoot monsters — though the definition of “monster” World and the Supernal strictly divided. They re-
varies from member to member. The consensus is that anything inforce the Lie, keeping things like magical instru-
that isn’t human (including formerly human creatures, like the ments and the High Speech well away from dull
undead) who harms a human is a valid target. But some believe and dirty Sleeper hands. They protect humanity
that any creature likely to cause harm should be preemptively by keeping it Quiescent, not necessarily because
excised from the Lie. they care about the Sleepers (they don’t), but be-
cause it keeps the Seers of the Throne in power.
Fellstone Society (Heretical) Skopoi
Tool Yantra: Stone carvings Tool Yantra: Sigils
Rote Skill: Crafts or Science
Rote Skill: Occult
Where Iconoclasts believe Sleeper society tempts Sleeper and
Awakened alike away from Supernal knowledge, the Fellstone Rather than rely on their higher-ups in the Iron
Society argues there are just too many Sleepers, period. Their souls Pyramid to disseminate the Exarchs’ will, mem-
strengthen the Abyss, whether they’re guided by the Awakened bers of this Methodology seek their lords’ mes-
or not. Therefore, sorcerers should cut the population down to sages directly. They rely upon the imagery and
a level that can support and, upon Awakening, replace sorcerers occult rituals of the Fallen World to do so, divin-
who die or Ascend. The trick is to engineer a disaster capable ing the Exarchs’ decrees from dreams, divination,
of killing most Sleepers but leaving most of the Awakened un- and Sleeper occult rituals.
touched. Consequently, the Fellstone Society’s name has two
connotations: the disaster itself (Society members have long
investigated an asteroid or cometary strike as a possible candidate)
and the durable monuments the faction plans to build to help apocalypse. Redeemers, Jnanamukti, and other extremists with
survivors gather and start over under their direction. little sympathy for Sleepers often aid the Fellstone Society so its
Society members are suspected of causing plagues, earthquakes, plans remain an option if other efforts fail.
and various industrial disasters as trial runs for the near-extinction
event to come. Pentacle mages have had more success finding Iconoclasts (Heretical)
Fellstone members when they get involved in building shelters, Tool Yantra: Deliberately smashed or burned remains of
seed banks, and other infrastructure ahead of their planned religious relics

102 Chapter Three: The Points of The Pentacle

 Rote Skill: Academics or Subterfuge the Shadow, Underworld, and other destinations call Pathwalkers
Where the Fellstone Society is named and opposed, Icono- based on their Paths and personal inclinations.
clasts aren’t — possibly because many Awakened feel at least a Members organize by the realms they explore, giving authority
little sympathy for their cause. Sleepers preserve the Lie, and to Pathwalkers with the most experience exploring the realm
that includes their cultural works, from their false religions to at hand. However, the Realms Invisible have ways of claiming
their deceptive sciences, and instead of rejecting their influence voyagers who overstay their welcome, so many Pathwalkers can
individually, Iconoclasts believe it’s time to “correct” Sleepers, be found as ghosts, Goetic remnants, and various other echoes,
along with mages who “pollute” magic with Sleepers’ ideas. The mutations, or shards of their former selves. Sometimes they re-
faction accepts members who also belong to other anti-Sleeper main loyal to the Pathwalker cause and protect their own from
cults, such as the Mysterium’s Jnanamukti. These “doubly com- the hazards of a realm. Pathwalkers honor them as elders of the
mitted” members must perform more extreme actions, such as faction, but don’t trust them, since the goal isn’t just to explore,
bombing Free Council meetings or eliminating the most “pol- but to expand humanity’s possibilities — and for that, you need
luted” Consilium leaders. to stay human.
Iconoclasts gather at innocuous social functions whose descrip-
tions tell those in the know what they are. “Social Dialectics” and The Vault
“Sleeper-Critical Discourse” are currently popular. The faction’s Tool Yantra: Locks
diversity applies to their proposed plans, which range from back-
Rote Skill: Crafts or Larceny
ing competing cultural movements to destroying Sleepers’ sacred
sites and cultural centers. A few Iconoclasts genuinely care for Anyone who believes information wants to be free is an enemy,
Sleepers and believe they need better “stewardship,” but many as far as the Vault is concerned. This joint group of Guardian
more pretend to care about them, and would accept significant Inheritors and Mysterium censors have put greater disagreements
casualties on the road to correcting the current civilization. about how knowledge should be shared aside to put dangerous
Iconoclasts truly willing to burn it all down sometimes drift to Artifacts and lore behind thick, locked doors, assuming the sub-
the Fellstone Society, but to maintain the possibility Iconoclasm ject or object either can’t be destroyed, or has a slim chance of
will become acceptable, most adherents reject the most extreme being useful in trusted hands. If something is dangerous and can
positions. neither be learned from nor put to use, and can be eliminated,
Vault members do so, though Mysterium elements are reluctant
Invisible Path on this point and try to document as much about what they will
eradicate as possible. The Vault’s name doesn’t stand for any one
Tool Yantra: Compasses, sextants, and other non-electronic facility, though members often talk as if it does in a mix of slang
navigation aids and deliberate misdirection.
Rote Skill: Occult or Survival Any Diamond mage can join the Vault, but only after rigorous
Vast worlds exist within the Lie. The Invisible Path believes mundane and magical examinations to prove the candidate is
sorcerers should study, explore, and even colonize them, though trustworthy. After that, the Vault sorcerer is either tasked with
the last objective is unlikely, since mages can’t survive beyond guarding a secure facility or given leads about several objects the
the material realm for long — at least, not as mages. Pathwalkers faction wishes to secure. Guard duty isn’t always a static affair
begin by exploring the Astral Realms, to which the Awakened either, as it includes eradicating evidence the facility is of interest
have been bound since before the Fall. After these initial journeys, and tracking down people of significance capable of betraying its
they specialize in one of the Realms Invisible, such as the Shadow location. Vault elders secure assignments with magically binding
or Underworld. Many continue to explore the Astral beyond the oaths whenever possible.
layers of civilization, nature, and fear, to the dreams of stars, but

Example Factions 103

 Altius unrolled a large map of downtown Chicago onto the sanctum’s dining room table. It still showed creases
where it had once been a fold-out tourist map, but then Altius always liked for everyday things to look a bit less
ordinary.
He often mistakes drama for gravitas, Fortius thought as he watched his cabalmate place red glass beads at five
equidistant points on the map.
“By examining the wind currents from these five points, I believe I can pinpoint the anomaly’s current location
with nearly perfect accuracy,” Altius explained. “From there, it’s just a matter of studying the anomaly itself.”
The anomaly in question was a block-wide spot in Chicago where weather didn’t work right. It could be pour-
ing rain everywhere else in the city, but the anomaly was dry. The rest of Chicago might be experiencing a clear
winter day, but the anomaly was engulfed in a blizzard. The trouble was, it didn’t stay in one place, so Altius’
studies demanded he locate the anomaly anew every few weeks as it roved.
Altius pointed to each place in turn. “Our sanctum is the first point — easy enough. These two here aren’t
claimed by any other cabal. One is awfully close to a mall, but I can just perform my examination after closing.
The fourth one is within the limits of the Many Waters Cabal’s protectorate. I’ve already gotten permission from
Deeply to hang out there for a few hours as long as I don’t do anything stupid. But this one…”
“Lake of Memories,” Fortius observed with a frown. “That’s right next to the East Chapel Cabal’s
sanctum and definitely part of their protectorate.”
East Chapel weren’t exactly enemies, but they had bumped heads with Olympic Motto
over more than one Mystery in the last few years. Fortius glanced across the table at
the third member of their cabal. Citius looked unhappy with where this was going.
“Yes,” Altius admitted. “Nothing I’m doing involves spellcasting or any
of their resources other than it being within their protectorate, so they
don’t have a reason to refuse me.”
“But they still will,” Citius said, agreeing with the unspoken
point. “And if you ask, you worry they’ll be watching to see
if you violate their protectorate.”
Altius nodded. “If you two can lure them away
from their sanctum for an hour or so, I can make
my observations and leave them none the wiser.”
“But if you’re caught…” Citius began.
“I have a better idea,” Fortius announced.
“The Council owes me a few favors. I’ll
cash in one to request a few hours of access
to Lake of Memories on your behalf. East
Chapel doesn’t trust us enough to accept a
favor from us in return, but they trust the
Council to make it worth their while. Like
you said, you’re not doing anything danger-
ous or shady, so they really have no reason
to refuse. It costs them nothing, and it gives
them more leverage in the Consilium.”
Altius grinned. “That’s perfect, yes. I owe
you one, Fortius.”
Fortius smiled. “Yes, you do.”
 “When shall we three meet again, in Thunder, Lightning, or in Rain?
When the Hurley-burley’s done, when the Battle’s lost and won, that will be e’er set of
Sun, where the place? Upon the heath, there we go to meet Macbeth.”
– Macbeth, William Shakespeare

Awakened Society
Chronicles that focus on the Consilium and other Awakened
political entities benefit from specialized tools for handling these
stories. A Storyteller can build an entire city — one mage and cabal
at a time — and define the connections and conflicts between Awakened society is politics. It’s academia. It’s social outlet,
them. Creating a vast, citywide political sandbox can be satisfying metaphysical symbolism, a vehicle for ideologies, and even orga-
and lead to interesting stories, but it can become a monumental nized religions. Human interactions are all about context. Who
undertaking, even if most characters are no more than a name are the players? What are the stakes? What is the history? Nor are
and few descriptive sentences. all politics obviously political.
This chapter provides practical advice and mechanical frame- Although throwing a cabal into a complex political environ-
works for running political stories of different scales — from ment without warning can be interesting if the intent is to make
intra-cabal cooperation and friction, to Consilium and Order the players feel as lost in this new world as their characters do,
favors, to Grand and not-so-grand Convocations. It also offers it’s usually a better idea to start small.
hundreds of different character elements that Storytellers can
use to build Awakened characters quickly — whether to satisfy
an immediate need in the current scene or to use as creative Cabal Friction
prompts when peopling an entire Consilium with mages for the A cabal is more than just a social contract shared by a
characters to meet. handful of mages with disparate needs and desires. It has real
Always remember that any chronicle requires buy-in from and tangible metaphysical weight. If all politics are local, then
your players. These tools will make it easier to run engaging intra-cabal politics are as local as they get. Mages support (and
political stories, but they cannot make players want that occasionally enable) their cabalmates, building camaraderie
kind of story. Some troupes revel in chronicles that focus on and trust through shared labors and compromise, ensuring
mage politics. Many will enjoy the occasional politics-focused that everyone’s needs are met. Cabalmates sometimes come
story in a mix with other kinds of stories. Some will never be into conflict — often over how to husband shared resources
interested in Consilium, Order, or Pentacle politics — and and which Mysteries to pursue, but sometimes over conflicting
that’s okay. The Order notes are still good background for loyalties or outside ambitions. This can even lead to outright
non-political stories, and the character generator can just betrayals, especially when Obsessions come into play, with all
as easily aid a Storyteller in designing a potential ally, rival, the social fallout that accompanies such perfidy.
or plot hook character as it can in populating an entire Intra-cabal friction does not require intra-troupe friction. Where
Convocation. conflict occurs between cabalmates, a good-faith approach to han-
dling it can help deliver drama and excitement for the players while

106 Chapter Four: Running the Pentacle

 • At the end of each chapter, each player moves 1 point clos-
er to 0 social currency, gaining or losing 1 social currency
Agonism and (or staying the same, if already at 0).
the Contagion Chronicles
The social conflict system here derives from the ag- • Characters use social currency to negotiate with their
onism rules in the Contagion Chronicle, which cabalmates (see below).
focuses on characters from different Chronicles
• Each member of a cabal with the Cabal Theme Merit
of Darkness games coming together in the face
(Mage, p. 100) gains 1 social currency at the beginning of
of a greater threat — and the frictions that may
each chapter. However, they lose the benefit of the Merit
arise between them as they do so.
while any member has less than 1 social currency.
See the Contagion Chronicle, p. 134, for a
version of these rules that is not specific to Mage: Negotiation
The Awakening.
Whenever two or more player characters come into conflict
and the players wish to resolve it using cabal friction, they enter
a negotiation. The character with the most social currency at the
also keeping the strife inside the chronicle’s narrative. The following
moment goes first; in case of a tie, go with the character with the
optional system for adjudicating in-character conflict encourages both
higher Composure. The first character bids a number of social
teamwork and interpersonal drama in a way meant to enrich the story.
currency points he’s willing to part with to assert his will (but
Social Currency no more than he currently has). Then, each character in order
of current social currency total (or Composure where necessary)
Cabal friction relies on the exchange of social currency. Charac- has a chance to outbid the previous offer. Go around the circle as
ters accumulate points of social currency through acts of support many times as it takes before the highest bid stands unchallenged.
and trust and expend it by imposing on the cabal’s good will. With each bid, the player must offer a new argument, a bribe, a
threat, or something else to bring his opponents around, sweeten
• Once per scene, a character can earn one point by putting
the pot, or break down convictions.
herself at risk or giving up something to meaningfully aid
a cabalmate. Whoever’s bid is the last one standing wins the negotiation;
everyone else takes back their bid points, and then the winner
• Once per scene, each character who participated in a suc- (or winners, in case of a partial compromise, below) distributes
cessful teamwork action with other cabalmates gains one the social currency he bid evenly among all the losing characters.
point. If a character has at least 1 point of social currency, Any leftover points simply vanish.
whenever she’s a secondary actor in such a teamwork ac- Only one character per side of a conflict may participate in
tion, she always adds at least one die to the primary actor’s a negotiation. If several characters agree on a course of action,
roll even if her roll fails; if she dramatically fails, reduce the they choose one among them to negotiate for their position.
penalty she imposes on the primary actor’s roll to –3. A character who wants to put forward a new position halfway
through can jump in at any time.
• Whenever a character resolves the Trusting Condition, it
generates 1 point of social currency (see below). Capitulation: Any character may, on his turn, voluntarily
capitulate; if so, he withdraws from the negotiation, keeping all
• Whenever a character earns an Arcane Beat from pursuing his social currency and taking a Beat. If he had the Guilty and/or
an Obsession, her player must give 1 social currency to a Shaken Condition due to negative social currency, he may resolve
cabalmate who aided, abetted, enabled, or was harmed by one of these Conditions instead of taking the Beat as normal
her doing so. This can result in negative social currency. (although resolving the Condition still earns a Beat).
Compromise: On his turn, a player may offer a compromise
• At the end of every chapter, each player may give 1 social
instead of a new bid. If all participants accept the compromise,
currency from their pool to a cabalmate for a service ren-
the negotiation ends. Everyone keeps all their bid currency, each
dered during the chapter, even if the character providing
participant gains a point of social currency, and a character chosen
the favor risked and sacrificed nothing to do so. This is
by the group takes a Beat (usually the one who gets the proverbial
not allowed if it would result in negative social currency;
short straw in the compromise). A cabal cannot earn more than
your vote of confidence in a cabalmate carries little weight
one Beat per chapter by means of negotiated compromises.
if your cabal has no confidence in you.
Partial Compromise: If only some accept a compromise, the
• A cabalmate with negative social currency immediately negotiation continues, but now all characters who accepted the
suffers the Guilty or Shaken Condition upon dropping compromise may pool their social currency to outbid the remain-
below 0, and suffers one of these Conditions of the player’s der, drawing points evenly from each character’s total.
choice at the beginning of any chapter in which she starts Trusting: A character with the Trusting Condition (see below)
with negative social currency. may not spend his last point of social currency to outbid a char-

Awakened Society 107

 Established Cabals New Condition:
A cabal that begins play with 0 social currency Trusting (Persistent)
between them reflects one that has only recently Through shared projects and trials faced together,
formed or whose members don’t trust each oth- another member of your cabal has won your trust.
er very much. For cabals that formed before the
chronicle began, Storytellers should give each Gain bonus dice equal to the number of invested
character 1-5 social currency. Characters can social currency points to any teamwork action
you take with that character, whether as primary
keep these points or invest some or all of them or secondary actor. Gain the same to rolls you
to impose the Trusting Condition on one or more make to help him overcome emotional trials or
cabalmates. negative mental influence, including spellcasting
Although a higher starting social currency re- rolls.
flects greater group cohesion, keep the number That character’s player gains the same bonus on
of players in mind when deciding how much all Social rolls he makes against yours, if you al-
starting social currency to grant. Starting social low such rolls. In a negotiation, you must capitu-
currency allows players to establish pre-existing late to the trusted character if you would spend
bonds between cabalmates, such that some trust your last social currency point to outbid him.
one another more than they do others. A troupe
of three players with enough social currency to Possible Sources: A cabalmate investing so-
invest in everyone with plenty to spare will seem cial currency in your character.
flat, while a troupe of six players with a single Resolution: The trusted character affirms the
point of social currency each may struggle to trust by making a significant personal sacrifice
establish a dynamic web of pre-existing relation- on your character’s behalf, gaining one bonus
ships within the cabal. success on the sacrificial action and a Willpower
point, and regaining all of their invested social
currency. Your character gains one social curren-
acter he trusts. If it comes down to that, he must capitulate, but cy point.
he still takes a Beat for doing so. Alternatively, the trusted character meaningfully
Zero Currency: Cabalmates with zero or negative social curren- betrays the trust or performs an action that costs
cy have no leverage in negotiations; they must either capitulate your character something significant, gaining
or offer a compromise to those who have social currency. If no
one bonus success on the betraying action and a
Willpower point. You gain a point of social cur-
member of the cabal has at least one point of social currency, rency, and the trusted character’s invested social
the cabal does not have a strong enough bond of trust to use this currency simply vanishes.
system for negotiations.
The Condition also ends without resolving if your
As Storyteller, you’re within your rights to deny the players use
character or the character she trusts leaves the
of this system if they’re trying to abuse it by negotiating and then cabal permanently.
deliberately “compromising” or “capitulating” to do what the
whole group wanted to do in the first place. The point of cabal Beat: A significant action or event proves the
friction is to settle real conflicts between characters and reward trust was well-placed.
those who take one for the team.
Don’t force the use of this system in situations where the
players are content to just hash things out in-character through This represents the mage trading on the goodwill he has built
roleplay. As the Storyteller, you can suggest a negotiation, but up within his cabal to win over one of its members. Usually, this
everyone involved must agree before moving forward with it in allows the two to work together more closely and strengthens
any given scene. their bonds of trust, but it also allows the trusted cabalmate to
ensure the success of any betrayal of that trust.
Investment
A player may invest between one and three points of social
currency into a cabalmate (but never more social currency than
Consilium Politics
he has). The cabalmate doesn’t gain this social currency but Consilia and Assemblies primarily function to prevent conflicts
gains the Trusting Condition (p. XX) with respect to the char- between mages in a city or in a larger, more rural area. They hear pe-
acter who invested the social currency. A character can have the titions and adjudicate disputes over desired resources and Mysteries.
Trusting Condition multiple times to represent trust in multiple The Storyteller’s challenge is not in explaining this but in illustrating
cabalmates. it in a way that encourages player investment in local Awakened
politics. Here are some potential methods of accomplishing this.

108 Chapter Four: Running the Pentacle

 Mentorship: Master/apprentice relationships are hugely the cabal to stumble into a situation where they can perform a
important among the Awakened. Consilia leaders often match service for a key member of the Consilium (or for the city) to earn
apprentices with established mages as mentors, repaying these the favor of the local officials, have a representative — usually a
tutors in Consilium favor. Mages who seek specialized instruction Herald — come to the cabal with a request. This should play to
in a specific Arcanum or with a member of a particular Legacy or the characters’ strengths, whether or not these are represented by
faction they hope to join may likewise expend Consilium favor dots on a character sheet. If they oblige, the cabal earns a favor
to secure such tutelage. In other circumstances, more powerful from the Consilium they can cash in later for a favor of similar
mages court promising newcomers with promises of mentorship, magnitude. This service might even be something that costs them
hoping to recruit them for their Order or faction. These stories little, such as lending another mage a relic or putting up a visiting
provide opportunities to involve characters in the bigger picture mage in their sanctum for a few days.
while keeping story hooks personal and character-driven. Rights and Responsibilities: The Status Merit reflects both the
Neighbor’s Complaint: Consilia mediate disputes between rights and responsibilities of a character’s rank within an organization
Awakened in their territory. A mage who feels (or actually was) — whether it is an Order Caucus, a Consilium, or at a Convocation.
wronged by the cabal — or who wishes to challenge their access Mages with high Status ratings almost always hold positions that de-
to a local resource or Mystery — brings her complaint to the fine their role in the organization, but even mages who lack a formal
Consilium for arbitration. If the cabal refuses to represent their title can have this Merit and enjoy other benefits such as access to
interests, the Consilium rules in favor of their accuser. If they Order-specific Merits like Egregore and mentors. Granting a free dot
defend their position, the Consilium may rule in either party’s of Status to each character during character creation can encourage
favor, but they will more than likely offer a compromise. The interaction with the organization to which it applies and gives the
cabal may lose access to a resource but receive promises of future cabal a reason to receive requests for services from it.
favors provided by the Consilium, or they may retain access at the Transgressions: The Consilium polices violation of the Pre-
price of a future obligation to the Consilium. In a similar vein, cepts and other laws within its purview. Unlike in Sleeper society,
the cabal might find itself wronged by another cabal and go to most crimes among the Wise don’t carry prison sentences (much
the Consilium to seek judgment. less death sentences), and trials are usually quickly arranged and
Such mediation can be handled using social maneuvering swiftly concluded. When a member of the cabal violates one of
(Mage, p. 215), with the first party to remove all the judge’s these strictures — or when a rival or enemy he’s made frames
Doors receiving the more favorable ruling. Whether the situation him for having done so — introduce him (and by extension, his
unfolds a single, short hearing or a lengthy, multi-day proceeding, cabalmates) to Consilium judgment. Although truly heinous
ignore the usual time frames for opening Doors and instead add breaches of the Veil carry more serious punishments such as
or remove Doors based on the relationship between the parties banishment, for most offenses the punishment meted out is some
in dispute and the judge. A corrupt Councilor (or one unfriendly form of favor done for the Consilium or the temporary loss of
to the players’ characters) can make a cabal’s life difficult, while a cabal resource. For example, the Consilium may temporarily
a fair-minded one (or one allied with them) can offer greater confiscate an Artifact, grant the victim use of his Hallow, or
freedom to pursue the Mysteries free of rival mages’ interference. forbid his mentor or other allies from offering him aid. After a
If a jury or multiple arbitrators sit in judgment over a dispute, few chapters, the offending mage has repaid his debt to Awak-
the first side to remove the Doors of the majority wins. Remove ened society, and the Consilium restores these privileges. Many
an additional Door if a party offers a significant concession that Consilia will loan out confiscated resources to mages to whom
does not favor them (or accepts an offer of less than what they they owe favors, expecting they will be returned before the period
were asking). Social rolls to identify the judges most likely to be of punishment ends. The Consilium may request access to this
sympathetic to the characters’ situation or which arguments are resource on a future occasion and in exchange for a favor.
likely to sway whom can also add dynamism to these scenes.
Precept of Protectorate: Under this Precept, a cabal’s sanctum
is its castle. However, individual Consilia have varying ideas about
Vive la Difference
Mages are a diverse lot. They’re fiercely individualistic, each
what a sanctum includes. In some places, it’s confined to the
pursuing their Obsessions with single-minded determination. Yet
physical building (or a single unit within a larger building), while
the Wise also join or form social units as readily as Sleepers do.
others expand it to encompass the surrounding city blocks, a siz-
In part, this is because they still crave human contact, but they
able part of a neighborhood, or (in rural areas) several square miles
can’t deny that although they’d love to poke their noses into Mys-
of territory. Such a protectorate may include valuable resources
teries without needing anyone’s permission — established rules
for the Awakened, such as a Hallow, Iris, or local Mystery — but
of engagement with other Awakened help prevent unnecessary
even neighborhood perks like a quiet café can be nice when other
conflicts. After all, mages are far better at meting out harm than
mages are forbidden from spying on the cabal there. Expanding
they are at enduring it.
the cabal’s sanctum territory increases their investment in this
home turf, as well as incentivizing an interest in any Consilium The cabal is the smallest of these social units, with Consilia
decrees that could expand, curtail, or redraw its boundaries. being one step larger in scope. But there are ever-widening circles
into which mages organize themselves — Orders and factions
Proactive Favors: Consilium leadership often calls upon the
within those Orders — to say nothing of the variations between
aid of mages living within their territory. Rather than waiting for
Awakened across the whole world.

Awakened Society 109

Consilia in Conflict Fugitives: A mage or cabal flees one Consilium to seek refuge
in another, and their old Consilium wants them back. Perhaps
No Consilium is an island unto itself, whatever its Council they’ve been accused of a crime for which they have not yet stood
may preach. Members of one Consilium have friends in others. trial. Maybe they witnessed something they weren’t meant to see
Neighboring Consilia trade favors, albeit not as frequently as they — such as the corrupt behavior of Consilium leaders or proof that
facilitate trade between Awakened within their own territories. the Hierarch is a Scelestus — and they didn’t feel safe taking it to
Although the Pentacle doesn’t like to talk about it to outsiders, the Consilium. The laws can be a little fuzzy over which Consilium
Consilia sometimes come into conflict with one another. Note has authority over the fugitive mage; his actions occurred within
that all these could as easily apply to Assemblies or other Penta- the boundaries of the old Consilium, but he’s currently part of
cle-dominated local organizations. the new one. The players’ characters might be responsible for
Border Disputes: A Consilium only has authority within its finding and capturing the fugitive, or for hiding her from the
territory, but sometimes disputes arise between neighboring other Consilium — or they may harbor such a fugitive to protect
Consilia over who has supremacy along their shared border. them from their own Hierarch’s judgment.
This might arise because of a Mystery or resource that lies Travel: No Gold Law (and few Silver Laws) forbids mages of
between the two Consilia; after all, control over such assets one Consilium from visiting the territory of another, as long as
gives a Consilium pull with its constituent mages, who often they behave. Mages often do so for personal reasons — such as
seek access to them in exchange for favors. It could occur to do a favor for a mage in another city, to study a Mystery on a
because a cabal on one side of the invisible line wants to join temporary basis (perhaps as a stepping stone to a larger Mystery
the Consilium on the other, so some exchange of territory elsewhere), or to take in the sights for a few days like a regular
seems in order to effect that. Sleeper tourist might. At other times, they travel upon the request
False Flags: Enemies of the Pentacle want nothing more than of their Consilium to act as envoys, fact-finders, or spies on the
a divided Pentacle, and framing one Consilium for crimes com- Council’s behalf. Some Consilia sponsor exchange programs
mitted against another is an old tactic. When it works, it can where a mage or cabal lives in another Consilium’s territory for
force both Consilia to waste their limited resources, giving their a few weeks or months — whether to foster bonds between their
enemies more freedom to operate in their territory. cities or to discourage a Consilium war by holding these mages
hostage under false pretenses.

110 Chapter Four: Running the Pentacle

 Introduced Factions: A Storyteller can instead introduce one
or more factions during the chronicle. This can add new com-
Consilium Warfare plications to the social dynamics of a chronicle that has focused
Consilia would prefer not to go to war over these on a single Order, giving members additional reasons to disagree
conflicts. Hierarchs and Councilors prefer to talk with each other. It can also allow mages of one faction blame the
things over and reach a compromise — or resort to Order’s shortcomings on a rival faction. Factions could offer char-
covert action if diplomacy is likely to fail. And yet acters an opportunity for advancement within the Order — either
wars between Consilia do happen — with or with- as a reward for or in exchange for allegiance to the faction. On
out a formal declaration of hostilities. Consilium the other hand, the characters might encounter (or be) members
warfare is costly. It wastes resources local mag- of the Order whose prospects have been thwarted by their refusal
es would much rather use in their pursuit of the to join any of the Order’s factions.
Mysteries. Awakened die in war. Moreover, such Faction Conflict: Factions can serve as antagonists in a story
conflict distracts the Consilia from other threats or chronicle. They represent only a fraction of an Order’s mem-
— such as the Seers of the Throne, Scelesti, and bership, so opposing them doesn’t carry the risks that picking a
Tremere — and invites opportunists to exploit the fight with an entire Order does. Heretical factions make excellent
chaos. opponents, especially if the cabal is tasked with enforcing Order
Each side in a war wants something out of the con- orthodoxy. They can also provide unique opportunities for stories
flict — its casus belli. This can range from seizure in which the players’ characters are tempted to join a heretical
of territory or another asset, to capture or death of faction. Currently existing or long-standing conflict between
an offending mage, to the full annexation of the factions can also serve as an additional layer of a Consilium’s
competitor’s holdings, to merely preventing the en- local political backdrop, or set up situation where an Order’s
emy from achieving their objective. In theory, the activities are hindered by its factions as conflicts of interest arise.
war ends once one side has achieved its goal and Orders and factions, like Consilia, can provide additional
prevented the enemy from reversing it. In practice, motivation in the form of favors. The favors Orders grant or
Consilium wars can drag out long after decisive demand are likely to be different from those of a Consilium.
victory is impossible or can escalate beyond its Consilia mostly concern themselves with maintaining order in a
original parameters. city or other small region. The favors they’re in a position to offer
Consilium warfare makes an interesting backdrop tend to be broader but not as deep (virtually any common rote,
for a chronicle or story. The cabal could be active but not a rare one, for example), and they can’t source resources
participants in the conflict, peacemakers attempt- unique to an Order (such as access to an Athenaeum). Orders,
ing to end it, or bystanders trying not to become on the other hand, have deep access to resources that suit them
collateral damage. Sometimes, they might even (weapons for the Adamantine Arrow, for example, or books of lore
be the ones who started it. for the Mysterium) but the overall range of what they can offer
is narrower than that of a Consilium. The requisition rules in
Signs of Sorcery (p. 95) provide additional systems for expressing
these differences.
Factions Mages Abroad
Mages join Orders for a number of practical reasons, but they
Just as mages find reasons to visit nearby Consilia, Awakened
also seek an Order that meshes well with their magical practices
often find themselves traveling to far-off places in pursuit of the
and philosophical leanings. Even within each Order, however,
Mysteries or in the service of personal, professional, or diplomatic
there are factions that subscribe to the Order but have different
goals. When a cabal visits another Consilium — particularly one
ideas about how to apply its beliefs. Factions open up another
in a different region — the location itself becomes its own kind of
avenue by which to introduce or drive stories in a chronicle —
Mystery, albeit one that cannot be easily probed for revelations by
whether the players’ characters belong to them at the start or
Mage Sight. Yet the Pentacle is also a global organization, so even
encounter them along the way. Chapter 3 provides many examples
a Consilium on the other side of the world still bears points of
of factions — including some that span multiple Orders.
familiarity. Consider the following thought experiment:
Starting Factions: A character who begins play as an established
You can travel the streets of Moscow. The signs are all in
member of a faction can help add nuance, giving them a more
Cyrillic. The architecture reflects the influence of the Russian
specific place and reputation within their Order (or within the
Orthodox Church. The cars, restaurants, hotels, cafés, and other
Awakened world in general, in the case of multi-Order factions).
businesses are recognizable as such, but they are also different in
In a chronicle in which several or all the players’ characters belong
appearance and norms from the ones in New York or Chicago.
to the same Order, placing them in differing factions can help to
Winter nights are bitterly cold. Although some people understand
distinguish them from their cabalmates. A cabal whose members
English just fine, they all speak Russian unless given a reason not
all begin as members of the same multi-Order faction has a natural
to. You are a stranger in this place.
source of group cohesion and an easy way to introduce plot hooks.

Awakened Society 111

 But then you spot something familiar along a street of houses and exhales plumes of steam, and even indoors there’s always a
that reflect Muscovite sensibilities: the golden arches of a McDon- draft or a heater that can’t quite keep pace. This need not reflect
ald’s. Depending on how overcome you are by culture shock at the reality of the real-world place (although it shouldn’t be en-
that moment, it either sticks out like a sore thumb — red and raw tirely out of season or contrary to the local climate without good
and painfully out of place — or as a welcome beacon of familiarity reason). Rather, it’s a shorthand way of referring to the place as
in a strange land. But even McDonald’s isn’t exactly what you’re its own character and setting the scene for the events that will
used to. Perhaps they sell alcoholic beverages, or the menu has unfold during the cabal’s stay. Consider supernatural senses, as
unfamiliar offerings, or the burger and Coke taste weird. But it well. How does the place look to Mage Sight or under Knowing
is all still undeniably a McDonald’s. and Unveiling spells? What notable events color its history to
Traveling abroad among the Awakened is not so different Postcognition, and which spirits and ghosts people the area (and
from doing so as a Sleeper. The Pentacle’s reach extends virtually what is their mood)?
everywhere in the world, and even if it didn’t, the Awakened fall Mysteries: Sketch out some of the area’s Mysteries and magical
into certain patterns with more predictability than any of them resources. You don’t need a lot of details — just enough to toss
is likely to admit. But there are a million little differences, and it them into conversations with local mages as rumors or potential
falls to the Storyteller to convey these. plot hooks. The idea is to make the place feel like a hallway with
While a 15-minute exchange of information during an airport a hundred doors, each leading to another wing of the house —
layover doesn’t demand an engaging local atmosphere beyond a even if you haven’t yet explored them yourself.
minor detail or two, if the cabal is expected to stay in a foreign Mundane Details: Although there’s no need to turn the chron-
place for a chapter or more, it is often very satisfying to make icle into a detailed travelogue about the new place, sprinkle local
the experience a memorable one. The internet makes it easy to color into your descriptions. What are they eating and drinking?
find pictures of a city’s skyline and points of interest, street maps, How do people get from place to place — car, train, bus, bicycle,
and local businesses. rickshaw, foot? What do they wear? What sports are they watching
Language: One of the most immediate signs that one is no lon- or playing? What’s the weather like?
ger at home is the language (or languages) that everyone is speak- Players: Sketch out the key players and factions in the area. As
ing. Does one tongue dominate, or is there a mix of languages in with local Mysteries, you don’t need to create a complete write-up
the air? Does anyone in the cabal understand the local language, of any of them — just a name and a few details to spare you the
or will they need an interpreter, sorcery, or a phrasebook to navi- embarrassment of naming the Congolese Provost “Charles Mc-
gate conversations? How likely is the average passerby to speak the Charles.” If any characters are likely to play an important role in
cabal’s preferred language? A Disciple of Mind can easily bridge the events of the story, flesh them out, first. Having at least one
language barriers, but it comes at the cost of maintaining a spell exposition character is crucial in this kind of story, but resist the
to do so, which can both attract unwanted attention and stretch urge to make that the character’s only role. Awakened far from
out the willworker’s limited resources. Heralds in cosmopolitan home are likely to seek (or at least readily engage with) members of
Consilia may carry imbued items to facilitate communication, their own Order, faction, or Legacy, and this makes them natural
while especially isolated and xenophobic mages may frown upon choices for mages to introduce visiting characters to a setting (and
(or even outright forbid) visitors relying on magic to comprehend its plot hooks). The character generator later in this chapter can
the local language in formal proceedings. help fill out a local cast of characters as-needed in play (p. XX).
Lexicon: Pentacle mages all subscribe to certain Order tenets
the world over, but they’re not a monolith. They often have local
lexical differences, and in some cases occult concepts that the
Fellow Travelers
The Pentacle draws considerable power from the sheer number
Pentacle hasn’t adopted. What local vocabulary do they use for
of Awakened it counts as members. Not only does this poten-
mage concepts? Are there any concepts that simply don’t appear
tially put the resources of every member at the disposal of any
in their understanding of the Awakened, or ones specific to their
member — giving Orders and Consilia the capacity to reward
region or Consilium? Although the culture of the Wise isn’t an
service and punish transgression — it gives it a physical presence
exact match to any regional mythology, religion, or occult prac-
throughout the world, enabling it to recruit unaligned (or even
tice, these often influence mages and so can be a good starting
previously antagonistic) willworkers to its Orders. Although
point for Storytellers looking for ideas to build into new magical
some mages specialize in evangelizing to other Awakened, any
practices. Libertines are especially likely to immerse themselves in
Pentacle member may find himself called upon to proselytize on
local culture and to blend it with their mystical practices — and to
the alliance’s behalf.
offer visiting mages aid in acclimating to the local color.
Mood: Consider bringing together the entire place under a
single mood that matches the story unfolding in it. Convey this
Newly Awakened
mood with setting details. A city might be cold or hot, ordered Recently Awakened mages make obvious targets for recruit-
or labyrinthine, calm or violent, cheerful or gloomy, gleaming or ment. With eyes newly opened to the Supernal World, they all
crumbling. Choose just one or two traits and then touch them have questions about a world they now realize they lived in their
repeatedly in your descriptions. If the place is cold, for example, whole lives but never understood. They’re also the least likely
it’s always snowing or spitting sleet, everyone wears heavy coats to take reasonable precautions to conceal their abilities from

112 Chapter Four: Running the Pentacle

Sleepers (or anyone else, for that matter) or to prevent Paradox. The characters can play a role in any of these scenarios. They
Although a mage’s Awakening doesn’t ring a great gong to alert might be specialists designated to contact a recently Awakened
other willworkers, most attract attention to themselves soon after, mage or gauge her potential for their Order. They may need to
and virtually none escapes notice her whole life. tiptoe around a new mage until the Consilium is ready to recruit
Apprentices are a resource — the only means by which an Order her, manage the secrets she should and shouldn’t learn, or sab-
can perpetuate itself from one generation to the next. Because otage the Seers’ attempts to get to her first.
they have no preconceptions about the world of the Wise, they’re
the easiest to assimilate into the Orders and the least likely to be Nameless
enemy spies. Even so, each Order recognizes that it won’t appeal The Pentacle has a global reach, but it isn’t omnipresent.
to every potential recruit and will cheerfully steer incompatible Mages in some remote areas carry out the centuries-old magical
candidates to more appropriate Pentacle Orders. practices of Nameless Orders that have had little or no contact
In some Consilia, Heralds initiate first contact with new mag- with the larger mage factions — or are simply Nameless mages who
es, providing a crash course in the most important Silver and belong to no specific Order. Encounters with these Awakened
Bronze Laws and inviting them to an audience where they can afford both a tremendous opportunity and a significant risk for
learn more about the Supernal World. Interviews usually involve the Pentacle. Handled well, they can build trust that may lead to
a Provost (or in rare cases, a Councilor) and representatives from informal alliances with — or even membership in — the Pentacle
each Order — either sitting in on them openly or observing from Orders. Handled poorly, they can alienate Awakened who might
hiding — and serve two functions: First, they intend to establish otherwise have become allies, or drive them into the arms of the
the Consilium as the primary authority on using magic within Pentacle’s enemies.
its territory — both in the sense of having legal jurisdiction and Any Pentacle mage may be called upon to serve as an envoy
in the sense of possessing answers to the postulant’s numerous to a Nameless mage or Order. This is less an act of evangelism
questions. Second, they attempt to feel out which Order is most than one of dialogue and a spirit of respect and cooperation.
appropriate to the subject’s temperament. Although some Nameless mages have had no contact with the
Both of the above approaches to recruitment aim for the Pentacle, that’s a rare situation. Nearly always, Nameless mages
shortest possible gap between Awakening and assimilation into and the Nameless Orders to which many belong simply haven’t
the Pentacle. They are most common in jurisdictions where the seen a compelling reason to join the Pentacle. Offering needed
Seers of the Throne (and/or other rivals) are equally aggressive aid at a critical moment can forge bonds of friendship that a
in seeking candidates. However, they risk spooking candidates transparent sales pitch regarding the benefits of Pentacle mem-
or misjudging their talents, which can hinder retention over the bership cannot. Even friendly conversations about shared topics
long-term, or even provoke betrayal. As first contact strategies of interest, possibly coupled with conspicuous displays of Pentacle
go, abducting a person at gunpoint right after she’s had her eyes assets (such as rotes, relics, and the other resources provided by
opened to the Lie and hauling her in front of several so-called connection to a global network of willworkers), can also draw
sorcerers who demand she immediately join one of their clubs fresh blood into the sect.
doesn’t engender deep loyalty. The Guardians of the Veil are The process by which Nameless Orders join the Pentacle can
particularly opposed to hard sell tactics, as they’re antithetical take generations (assuming it ever occurs), as familiarity becomes
to their Order’s recruitment practices. alliance becomes close association, becomes membership. A
In Consilia where competition with the Seers of the Throne is portion of this process involves identifying parallels between the
less intense (or where enemies have masqueraded as newly Awak- target Order’s occult beliefs and magical practices and those of
ened mages to infiltrate the Pentacle), Pentacle mages are more one or more of the Pentacle Orders. This is never a perfect fit.
likely to take a wait-and-see approach. Other Awakened avoid Even within the Pentacle Orders, regions and individuals may
making first contact, only intervening if the postulant’s actions not subscribe to the entire doctrine of the Order. Certainly, some
put him or others in imminent danger or if enemy mages move to interpretations are considered heretical, but the Pentacle doesn’t
recruit him. Eventually, they reason, he’ll discover the limitations administer an orthodoxy purity test to its members.
of what he can figure out on his own and will seek someone who
can provide answers. The Pentacle, meanwhile, gains a greater Defectors
understanding of the mage’s temperament and interests and so
Occasionally, a Nameless mage or even a Seer leaves his old
is better-able to recruit him into the most appropriate Order and
Order to join the Pentacle. These can offer significant benefits.
introduce him to a compatible mentor.
Experienced Nameless defectors have a direct understanding
In areas with a weak Consilium, first contact (and possibly of their old Order that could make it easier for the Pentacle to
mentorship) often falls to whichever mage or cabal first identifies recruit more of its members, especially if the defector wielded
the newly Awakened mage. Although a hit-and-miss approach, significant influence within it. Turncoat Seers promise important
this might be the only option in a sparsely populated region. This intelligence about enemy capabilities and plans, to say nothing of
can also occur when one of the Wise intercedes in a dramatic stolen resources such as Artifacts, Grimoires, and rotes.
fashion, rescuing the postulant from catastrophe but forging an
These come with dangers, however. The Seers of the Throne
inherent bond of trust she cannot easily hand off to another,
go to great lengths to silence a traitor, and some Nameless Orders
more suitable mentor.

Awakened Society 113

are only slightly less protective of their secrets. Often, these mages
leave because they have powerful enemies among their old Orders,
and those enemies don’t simply vanish when the defector joins Convocation Logistics
the Pentacle. Nameless mages who claim to be converts may, in As with any event with many attendees,
fact, have been banished from their Orders with good cause, and Convocations require planning and resources.
they may persist in their bad behavior as Pentacle mages. Most have too many moving parts for a single
Finally, many walk-in defectors (as opposed to ones the Pentacle person — or even a single committee — to man-
actively turned) — and especially former Seers — are actually enemy age alone. Common considerations that might be
spies. They might share any information they learn about the local assigned committee or subcommittee include:
Consilium or Pentacle activity in the area with their old associates. Convocation Committee: When and where
It’s possible that the intelligence they offer is carefully crafted will the event take place? Who will make and pay
enemy disinformation meant to distract from the truth or lead for the arrangements and ensure that Sleepers
Pentacle mages into a trap. In rare cases, a turncoat’s true mission won’t wander into the Convocation? Who will
is assassination of an important Consilium or Order member. be responsible for the setup, decoration, and
Anyone encountering a Tyrant or Nameless mage who claims to teardown of the physical site of the event? Who
have turned against his old Order is advised to stay on their guard. will purchase and ensure the delivery of food
In rare cases, the agent might not be aware of their true motives, and refreshments for attendees? Who determines
masking these from themselves through spells like Memory Hole who receives a special invitation (and makes
or concealing them with Masques or certain Prelacies. sure those go out), who is permitted to attend,
and who will be refused at the door if they try to
Apostates join in? Will the Convocation organizers arrange
Not every mage in a Consilium’s territory seeks membership in transportation to and from the event? How about
it, but nor do they necessarily belong to the Seers of the Throne sleeping accommodations and spaces for small
or similar sect opposed to the Pentacle. They may consider them- groups to have semi-private (or actually private)
selves apolitical, perhaps they distrust all forms of authority, or conversations?
maybe they had an experience that soured them on the Pentacle Programming: Who’s in charge of what hap-
(or Awakened in general). Whatever their reasons, they’re neither pens when during the Convocation? The six-day
enemies nor allies but continue to operate in Consilium territory. structure discussed in Chapter 3 (p. XX) serves
Many try to live quietly. They enjoy no special protection from as a guideline, but most Convocations have a
other mages, and although Consilia rarely tolerate unprovoked full slate of optional events for mages to attend
murder of other Awakened (even apostates), nor are they likely to between the “mainstage” ones. What forms of
stand in the way of the revenge a cabal takes against an unaligned entertainment (whether mundane or magical) are
mage who has violated one of the Precepts in a spectacular fashion. available? Which of these events are broadcast
A minority are refuseniks who don’t acknowledge the Consili- and/or recorded for posterity or for the benefit
um’s authority. If they only commit minor infractions, they might of mages who couldn’t attend, and how? Some
even get away with this. The Sentinels probably have bigger con- Convocations are small enough to allow anyone
cerns than the Acanthus who insists on making a modest living who wants to give a presentation to do so, while
cheating at scratch-off lottery tickets. Those who push their luck larger ones generally must rotate slots or limit pre-
will quickly discover that although they don’t acknowledge the sentations to those explicitly invited to make them.
authority of the Consilium to judge them, the Consilium believes Operations: Who recruits and manages the
otherwise and can back up their belief with force, if necessary. volunteers and/or paid workers who keep things
Convincing an apostate to join an Order is a special challenge. running? Who serves refreshments, provides en-
In cases where the apostate left an Order because of a real or tertainment, and ensures security from mundane
perceived wrong, an envoy might accomplish this by securing an and magical threats? Who cleans up — picks up
apology or other appropriate restitution. Apolitical or fiercely abandoned cups, wipes down the tables, empties
independent apostates, meanwhile, might be won over if the the trash, and mops up spills? Serving drinks to
Pentacle helps them out of a difficult situation — even if it’s one VIPs at a Convocation isn’t glamorous, but some
secretly manufactured by Pentacle members, although this tactic powerful mages have a habit of striking up con-
can create serious problems if the truth ever comes out. versations with anyone they meet and in ways
that can advance a less experienced willworker’s
Convocations interests — especially if looking for a mentor or a
brief lecture on a pet topic.
As large gatherings of Awakened, Convocations often serve as a
backdrop to other chronicle events. Storytellers looking to involve
the players’ characters in the inner workings of these events will
need to engage the characters.

114 Chapter Four: Running the Pentacle

Volunteer Hooks If the characters are aware of a credible threat to a Convocation
or its attendees, for example, volunteering as security can ensure
The Consilia hosting a Convocation need people to plan, orga- they’re equipped to deal with it when it appears. Similarly, char-
nize, and run the event. Although attending committee meetings acters with the authority to eject troublemakers from the event
to discuss venue, entertainment, and security arrangements is can use this power to prevent the cabal’s enemies from meeting.
probably not the average mage’s idea of a good time, volunteering Voluntold: Someone nominally in charge of organizing the
can carry important perks: Convocation (or perhaps the Council itself) puts the characters
Favors and Obligations: If the cabal volunteers to assist with in charge of some aspect of organizing or running it. Regardless
the logistics of the Convocation, they will earn favors from one of the specifics, they aren’t in a good position to refuse (although
or all Consilia involved. Similarly, if the characters are in the they should still earn favors, assuming they do a decent enough
Consilium’s debt, they might volunteer their services to repay job). Sometimes this arises when a key organizer must bow out
the favors they owe. unexpectedly. In other cases, someone wants the cabal out of the
Social Connections: Someone the characters want to get close way for a while. Perhaps a Guardian of the Veil is trying to investi-
to is actively involved in planning or running the Convocation. gate the cabal, and this ensures that he knows where to find them.
It might be a suspected spy or traitor, a potential mentor, an im- Possibly the characters have a resource the Pentacle wants to use.
portant figure they want to protect, or simply a romantic interest. World-Shaking Event: Greater Convocations are vanishingly
Regardless, volunteering to help with the Convocation is a good rare in most regions, and not even the Nameless War attracted
way to ensure they spend time with their target. enough attention from the Pentacle worldwide to assemble a Grand
Special Access: Convocations are largely open to all members of the Convocation. A sufficiently momentous regional or global event
involved Consilia, but most include private events or restricted areas. could inspire the characters to organize a major event — an enor-
It could be a VIP the characters want to consult (or investigate), or a mous undertaking and one likely to be a highlight of the chronicle.
relic or other Mystery that only a handful of attendees may examine.
As volunteers, however, the characters will have access to areas and Attendee Hooks
people at the Convocation that would normally be off-limits to them. Once the Convocation is underway — and whether or not they
Special Authority: Convocations tend to be check-your-weap- volunteered to help it run smoothly — the players’ characters have
ons-at-the-door kinds of events, unless you’re working security. many opportunities to engage with its events.

Awakened Society 115

 Contests: Convocations often host friendly contests between Special Mystery: When necessary, Consilia control access to
mages. Duel Arcane tournaments organized by Arrows are com- the Mysteries within their territory. Often, they restrict access to
mon, but these events can take other forms — from riddle and major Mysteries to only local mages — or more rarely, to mages
poetry contests, to marksmanship and gymnastics competitions, born locally or who belong to Legacies particular to the area. Con-
to martial arts and boxing matches. Competitors may win prizes vocations are an opportunity for Consilia to show off, however,
ranging from bragging rights and a trophy to a favor from a and some do so by opening up exclusive Mysteries to some or all
powerful mage or a year’s access to a specialized relic, resource, attendees. Some Mysteries and threats are so important or large-
or Mystery. scale that all the attending Consilia want or warrant inclusion
High Weirdness: One mage is a veritable magnet for arcane in discussions of what to do about it.
events and occult anomalies. Dozens or hundreds of Awakened Specialized Service: Mages with specialized skills or areas of
gathered in one place for a Convocation is an almost irresistible expertise can’t always find an interested buyer within their local
lure for the strange and unexpected. Regular Convocation Consilium — or at least not enough of them. Convocations pro-
attendees tell hair-raising stories of otherworldly visitors, spa- vide opportunities to identify new clients for specialized services
tial-temporal rifts, and that Paleolithic mage who showed up at a (or goods).
Greater Convocation and is now a Provost at the Consilium three
cities over. All those unexpected events exclude the ill-considered
experiments and exhibits-gone-wrong of the attendees themselves,
who so often use such occasions to show off to their fellow Awak-
Cast of Characters
ened — occasionally after drinking to excess or indulging in other One significant challenge all Storytellers face is in coming up
chemicals to a decidedly unwise (and sometimes unWise) degree. with interesting characters for the players to interact with — often
Illicit Exchange: Most mages within a Consilium know one on a moment’s notice. This section is an aid for Storytellers to
another at least by reputation or mutual association, which can do just that, whether it’s a single-use character to add color to
make it hard to move ill-gotten goods without attracting unwanted the current scene or the seed of a character who will show up
attention. Similarly, some Consilia forbid certain activities or ser- throughout the chronicle. Often, the former will turn into the
vices permitted (or at least less strictly enforced) by a neighboring latter, as players find a particular character interesting enough
Consilium. Convocations make convenient exchange points for to seek out in the future.
illicit goods and services — whether or not their extralegal nature This section is divided into three parts. The first offers several
is disclosed to the buyer. basic ideas for characters one might meet in Awakened society
Inter-Consilium Favor: Even a small Consilium can grant — described in a few sentences meant to tie them immediately
access to resources no single cabal possesses, but not every favor into the current scene or story. The second presents Aspirations
is within its reach (or even that of a larger Consilium). A relic suitable for the Wise and their allies. The third provides examples
or tome that the local Consilium cannot source might be avail- of Obsessions mages might have.
able from a neighboring Consilium. Neighbors exchange favors
between themselves at Convocations often enough that favors
earned from one can usually purchase favors from the other —
Character Elements
Below are 100 potential elements to help flesh out characters
often without a mark-up or premium (but only for the duration
a mage might meet in Awakened society. They’re Path- and Or-
of the Convocation).
der-neutral, meant to allow a Storyteller to introduce them to
Inter-Consilium Judgments: When a mage of one Consilium any chronicle (together with Arcana and a Merit or two). Some
commits an offense in the territory of another, it sometimes sets of them are character traits, while others describe the character’s
up a jurisdictional dispute. Convocations often serve as places circumstances, motives, or outlook. For a character that only
to hammer out compromises — sometimes specific to the current makes a brief appearance, a single element usually suffices, but
circumstances, which establishes precedent under Bronze Laws. it’s easy to select two to five elements and combine them into
The cabal may have members who hold Order of Consilium a more concrete character concept. Some Storytellers may find
positions that require their involvement (such as Factotum or it useful to randomly generate these choices, using either two
Herald) — whether as advocates, functionaries, or witnesses. The 10-sided dice or another method to randomize numbers from
characters might have an interest in the result of one of these one to 100.
tribunals, such as if they have a connection to (or are) its subject
— such as a Seer of the Throne in attendance with whom they 1. Animal Companion: He’s in the company of an animal
have had one or more encounters (for good or ill). (or several) — whether a familiar, sapient beast, or pet.
It might be obedient and useful, or it might get into
Mentor Shopping: Mages seeking a potential mentor often
constant trouble.
benefit from attending Convocations, where a larger pool of mag-
es means a greater potential number of mentors. This is true of 2. Apostate Guardian: She doesn’t remember exactly why
those seeking Arcanum knowledge, esoteric lore, or Order secrets, she left the Guardians of the Veil, but she left herself so
but it is especially important when seeking a Legacy mentor, for many unmistakable signs of her dissatisfaction that she’s
the number of existing Legacies greatly exceeds the number of confident it was the right move.
mages in even the largest Consilia — likely by orders of magnitude.

116 Chapter Four: Running the Pentacle

3. Awakened Vigilante: He pursues justice on his own 16. Disapproving Master: He routinely lectures less experi-
terms, using magic to mete out poetic punishments to enced mages on the hubris of using magic in whatever
Awakened and Sleeper alike. way a player’s character used it, and now he’s got a rant
for them. Maybe he believes magic should only be used
4. Blackmail Victim: She’s a model Pentacle leader with a for specific purposes where no mundane solution exists.
dark personal secret, which someone is using to extort
her into betraying her fellow Awakened. 17. Disgraced Authority: He once held an important po-
sition, but his rank was stripped from him due to an
5. Blue-Collar Worker: They come from a working class unforgivable transgression. Maybe he committed a crime
background and that experience colors both their per- or proved woefully incompetent at a critical moment, or
sonality and their perspective on the Supernal World. maybe his dark secret came to light — or maybe he was
framed. Does he seek redemption or revenge?
6. Blood Brother: Someone close to her turned against the
Pentacle and has joined a sworn enemy. She knows he’s 18. Dismissed Visionary: She has a pet theory (or a whole
her enemy but believes redemption is possible. host of them) that absolutely no one in Awakened society
takes seriously. Perhaps her work contains an overlooked
7. Bullying Mentor: Whether a competent teacher or not,
germ of truth. Is she content to labor in obscurity, or
she is a bully who enjoys the power that comes with
does she rage at the short-sightedness of her peers?
having knowledge that others want.
19. Distractible Assistant: They’re easily distracted and never
8. Career Specialist: Among the Awakened she’s bet-
seem to listen when it’s really important. They forget
ter-known for a specialized skill set from her Sleeper life
important parts of the plan, fall asleep while on watch,
— such as a doctor, lawyer, accountant, or scientist — than
or fall for obvious distractions.
for her magical abilities.
20. Doppelganger: She’s easily mistaken for someone the
9. Cryptic Mentor: He’s a teacher, but he never makes the
characters (or other members of the Pentacle) know
lessons easy — speaking in riddles or sending his students
well — perhaps even down to her Nimbus. It could be a
on seemingly unrelated errands in search of enlighten-
case of mistaken identity, an impostor, an evil twin, or a
ment.
clone.
10. Curious Sucker: They aren’t naive, although they often
21. Double Agent: He convinced the Seers of the Throne
pretend to be. But they play along with those trying to
that they turned a powerful member of the Pentacle.
take advantage of them to see where it will go.
Maintaining this cover requires him to occasionally
11. Cult Leader: She leads a group of religious zealots de- perform significant favors for the Seers.
voted to her and the faith she preaches (which she feels
22. Eerie Visitor: He’s a visitor from another time, or perhaps
no compulsion to practice).
a parallel dimension almost exactly like our own — and
12. Curse Victim: He labors under a curse that greatly although there are signs, they’re not immediately obvious.
increases the likelihood that Sleepers will be present (or How did he get here, and what does he want?
inconveniently arrive) when anyone uses Awakened magic
23. Family Man: He has a Sleeper family who has no idea
near him.
of the power he wields — or that his enemies are using
13. Dedicated Diplomat: He serves as an envoy between them as leverage to force him to be betray one or more
his Order/Consilium/faction/region and another (or Awakened he cares about.
several). He could be competent and experienced or
24. Favor Accountant: She maintains records of cabal assets
fumble-footed and naive.
for the Consilium — favors owed, assets loaned, and of-
14. Devil’s Advocate: Whatever conclusion someone else ficial maps of cabal protectorates. She’s willing to share
reaches, she interrogates it as though it’s the wrong one. or modify her ledger if the price is right.
She questions orders, picks apart proposals, finds fault in
25. Frivolous Hedonist: He loves being a mage and mostly
everyone else’s plans, and suggests completely different
uses magic to make his life easy and fun. His pranks are
courses of action. Is she simply a contrarian, or is she
the stuff of legends in his Consilium.
honestly trying to make sure her companions consider
every possible angle? 26. Fugitive Amnesiac: She has forgotten a secret that is a
threat (or prize) if she regains her memory of it.
15. Devoted Caretaker: He’s constantly at a companion’s
side — bringing food, administering medicine, checking 27. Fugitive Courier: He carries a message or a relic (or
vital signs, or whispering advice — all hoping to further perhaps knows or saw something important), and is
one of his Obsessions. now fleeing for his life from those who want it or who

Cast of Characters 117

 don’t want him to deliver it to its intended recipient. By 38. Mage Politics Enthusiast: He has a firm grasp on Con-
chance or intent, he comes to the characters and reveals silium, Order, and/or regional Pentacle politics, which
(or gives) them the secret he carries. he shares freely with anyone who will listen.

28. Generous Toy-Giver: They carry dolls or other children’s 39. Mentor’s Enemy: She had a serious disagreement with
toys, which they give to anyone they think needs them one of the characters’ mentors and will use the character
while whispering a few relevant words of comfort or to get revenge.
advice.
40. Missing Stair: They’re a constant presence in an area of
29. Hedge Witch: She has a reputation among Sleepers for Awakened society — such as the local Consilium, a regional
her mystical abilities, and they come to her for help. Does Caucus, or a global faction — but also exhibit abusive
she charge nothing, enough to make a living, or a dear behavior, engage in unsavory magical practices, or pursue
price? dangerous Obsessions that their colleagues tolerate or
manage because no one wants to exclude them.
30. Illicit Vendor: He sells illicit goods or services only of
interest to other Awakened — whether ones of dubious 41. Mundane Socialite: She has a vast personal network of
provenance or inherently questionable legality. Sleepers who live within Consilium territory, who she
regards as friends and close acquaintances. Not only can
31. Impostor: An impostor has infiltrated the local Awak- she tell you where to find the best curry in town, she
ened. It isn’t a mage. It isn’t even human, but its disguise can tell you that the hostess’ son is getting married next
and cover story are virtually flawless. Is it a spy, a saboteur, month.
a creature as curious as a mage, or a guardian angel quietly
protecting one of the Wise? 42. Mystic Jailer: His job is to prevent someone or something
from getting out — either for a set period or indefinitely.
32. Kindly Mentor: He’s a teacher who is fond of his appren- It might be a prisoner, a dangerous creature, or someone
tices. He may be an effective, knowledgeable mentor or needing protective custody.
one who barely understands his material better than his
students do. 43. New Arrival: He’s new in town and has expressed his
intention to settle here, but the problems he’s fleeing
33. Living Mystery: There’s something very strange about followed him.
this Sleepwalker. Maybe he generates a Nimbus despite
not being a mage, or he wields a limited magical gift 44. New Orphan: He recently lost his parents (or perhaps a
like a Proximus but doesn’t belong to any known line child or partner). It could have been an accident, illness,
of Proximi. Maybe he isn’t a Sleepwalker at all, but his or a mysterious disappearance — but he’s convinced there
presence has an outsized influence on the Paradox nearby was foul play and that a character is somehow connected
mages generate. to their deaths.

34. Local Guide: She knows the place the characters need 45. Non-Traditional Apprentice: She Awakened in her 40s
to go (and its dangers) well and will take them there for (or later) and doesn’t yet know what to make of Pentacle
a price. Is she verbose or close-mouthed? Is she sobering, traditions.
grouchy, matter-of-fact, or endlessly cheerful?
46. Not-So-Secret Admirer: He’s romantically attracted to
35. Lost Traveler: He wandered far from the predetermined one of the characters and attempts to win their interest
path through the local cabal’s protectorate and is apol- with kind words, thoughtful magical favors, and exotic
ogetic about it, asking the characters for directions to a gifts.
distant location. It isn’t clear whether he is legitimately
lost or whether he’s covering for the fact that he was 47. Object Lesson: Bad things happen to her, she believes,
caught spying. so others can take a lesson from it. That’s how it’s always
been. Is it coincidence or is it Fate?
36. Loud Traditionalist: Whatever change to the old ways of
doing things is in the air, she doesn’t like it and argues 48. Overburdened Librarian: She’s carrying a stack of books,
against it. an armload of scrolls, or some other unruly collection of
potentially valuable items. One of them falls (noticed or
37. Love-Seeker: A Sleeper or Sleepwalker has attracted her unnoticed), and it contains a clue or hints at something
romantic interest, but she worries that associating with important to the characters.
her could put her paramour in danger, so she takes
outrageous steps to conceal the courtship from other 49. Overeager Sleepwalker: Whether they’re a Proximus
Awakened, who have wondered whether she is a spy or or some other Sleepwalker, they find everything about
traitor. the Awakened fascinating and exciting. Their curiosity
constantly places them in peril.

118 Chapter Four: Running the Pentacle

50. Pandora’s Daughter: In the pursuit of an Obsession, she 62. Reclusive Hermit: He hasn’t been around other mages
created or accessed something horribly dangerous. She’s in years and has forgotten a lot of the social niceties (and
contained the danger, for now, but it’s only a matter of Laws) that Pentacle mages take as read.
time before it is unleashed on the unsuspecting world.
63. Reformed Ex-Con: He grew up on the streets, enmeshed
51. Paranoid Spook: She sees enemy action everywhere, in the local criminal underworld. While Awakening has
worming its way into positions of power within the allowed him to leave that life behind, it still exerts a pull
Pentacle. Maybe long years in counterintelligence has on him in the form of old friends and associates who
turned the whole landscape into a wilderness of mirrors. come running to him for help or to settle old scores.
Or maybe she has no special knowledge but lives in fear
of spies, saboteurs, and traitors in the ranks. 64. Relic-Monger: She curates an extensive collection of
relics and curios with special properties — and a rival
52. Party Stalwart: Most mages are occasional advocates of mage (or the characters) wants one, some, or all of them.
their Order, faction, and Legacy, but she’s a true believer.
Not only does she try to recruit new and Nameless mages 65. Religious Laity: Awakening only strengthened his devo-
into her group, she takes as an insult any criticism levied tion to the deep and abiding faith he had as a Sleeper,
against the organization and has challenged offenders to and it shapes his entire mystical outlook, which he often
the Duel Arcane. shares with other mages.

53. Pentacle Blogger: They interview mages and publish the 66. Religious Leader: He’s a religious leader with a deep
content on their regular Pentacle-only blog. Are their sense of responsibility for his flock’s spiritual growth
interviews softball, tough-but-fair, or hatchet jobs — or and personal well-being. He makes an earnest effort to
does it depend on the subject? live up to the highest ideals of his faith.

54. Persistent Watcher: She always seems to be there, watch- 67. Reluctant Avatar: She’s the recipient of a unique blessing
ing the character (or cabal) wherever they might go. she regards as a curse or burden. Perhaps small children
find her irresistibly fascinating, or she receives visions
55. Petty Overlord: They lay claim to a small or large area each night of crimes committed in her city the previous
and expect anyone who lives there or uses its resources day.
to pay them handsomely for the privilege.
68. Reserved Fratricide: He killed a mentor, apprentice,
56. Petty Thief: She uses magic to pick pockets, shoplift, or cabalmate, or other close friend or family member in a
otherwise secure illicit access to goods. Are they acts of public way, but no one is sure why, and he won’t talk
survival, or does she enjoy the thrill? about it.

57. Philanthropic Willworker: She cares passionately about 69. Respected Scholar: He’s a highly respected scholar in his
a pet cause — such as volunteering at hospitals or raising field, with a reputation to match. He might be down-to-
money for the arts — and does what she can to support earth or even humble, or he might bully everyone into
it, including subtle uses of magic. doing his bidding by trading on his reputation.

58. Phony Reputation: He has an impeccable reputation as 70. Sanctum Decorator: Their sanctum is tastefully deco-
an altruist, brilliant scholar, Pentacle stalwart, or other rated and has all the amenities any mage could want. Its
beneficent moniker, but it’s all a lie. In private or secretly, protectorate bustles by day and has a vibrant nightlife
he’s exactly the opposite — or else has so many glaring that makes it the envy of many other mages. They know
personal flaws that his good attributes in no way balance and enjoy talking about all the best security measures
them out. and decor tips with other mages — and they provide
consulting services to many of their peers throughout
59. Police Detective: They work for local law enforcement the Consilium.
or the FBI, investigating serious mundane crimes and
the occasional supernatural one. 71. Scrupulous Merchant: She sells magical goods and
services at reasonable prices and never tries to cheat her
60. Proud Transplant: They moved here from a region customers. If she doesn’t have it, she can probably source
of the world that has markedly different practices and it, and if she can’t, she’ll let you know up-front.
traditions, which they’re proud of.
72. Serial Killer: He’s a murderer with a particular “type” and
61. Proximi Offspring: She belonged to a Proximi line prior uses magic to plan, carry out, and cover up his crimes,
to her Awakening, so she has both an academic familiarity such that his unWise hobby hasn’t yet come to light.
with Pentacle society and a real understanding of mages’
strengths and vulnerabilities.

Cast of Characters 119

73. Shady Seller: She sells miracles to Sleepwalkers that never 84. Terrorist: He considers himself a vigilante, but his meth-
live up to the hype. Maybe they all come with unadver- ods often hurt innocent bystanders. What ideology or
tised side-effects, or maybe they do nothing at all. personal motive drives him? Does he favor mundane or
arcane means of getting to his victims?
74. Single-Issue Voter: She has an ongoing concern about
something oddly specific in Consilium or regional pol- 85. Time’s Running Out: They don’t expect to live much
itics, which she attempts to inject into every discussion longer — whether due to advanced age or a terminal
and act on whenever possible. illness magic can’t cure. They might be at peace, they
might be trying to tie up loose ends, or they might refuse
75. Sleeper Politics Enthusiast: They have a prominent to go gently into that good night.
role on the staff of a local politician. They don’t use
their position to advance their Obsessions and don’t 86. True Innovator: They’re on the cusp of an incredible
use magic to influence decisions — although they aren’t discovery — a revolutionary idea or a potentially disruptive
above countering the arcane influence of others. spell or magical device. It might be dangerous if it falls
into the wrong hands, or an Order or faction might seek
76. Sole Survivor: They’re the sole survivor of a tragedy, to suppress all knowledge of it.
battle, curse, or other misfortune that claimed their entire
cabal or team. They might feel (or actually be) responsible 87. Unexpected Return: Everyone knows she was dead or
for their companions’ death, capture, or disappearance. imprisoned, or else she disappeared months, years, or
centuries ago. But now she’s back — or at least appears
77. Solitary No More: She’s never been great at making to be.
friends, and for a long time that was how she liked it.
Now she’s ready to try again, and she’s set her sights set 88. Unhappy Proximus: He doesn’t see his gifts as a bless-
on the characters’ cabal. ing, but as a curse that binds him to serve Awakened he
detests and who treat him like a tool to be used at will.
78. Spell Mule: They’re ensorcelled in some way that makes
them conspicuous to Mage Sight but are seemingly 89. Unintended Consequences: He had the best of in-
unaware that they are enchanted — much less the exact tentions, but befriending a mage who wants to see all
nature of the spell, which has been obscured by a pow- Awakened dead and providing her with information
erful Veiling spell or similar effect. about other willworkers in the Consilium turns out to
have created an embarrassing problem for him, which is
79. Spymaster: He recruits long-term agents from the Penta- about to become the characters’ problem.
cle for its enemies using time-honored methods to turn
them — exploiting Obsessions, mundane lust for power, 90. Unrepentant Assassin: They’re a killer. Maybe they do it
personal grudges, and hunger for Artifacts and other for money, or maybe they do it at the behest of a person
objects valuable to the Wise. or organization to whom they are loyal. Do they have a
preferred or exclusive category of targets?
80. Storytelling Adventurer: He loves traveling to faraway
places and bringing back stories about the oddities of 91. Unrepentant Scammer: He’s never going to give you
Awakened in other parts of the world, and his search your money’s worth. He’ll inflate prices, do a half-assed
for adventure has led him to the characters’ Consilium. job, provide inferior products, or make constant excuses
for why he can’t yet deliver on all the promises he made.
81. Suburban Solitary: She Awakened but is still trying to
live a normal, mundane life, complete with a job and a 92. Unserious Occultist: Although nominally a member of
Sleeper social life, but after a recent incident she can’t a Pentacle Order, they feel no loyalty to it, instead paying
stay isolated from other mages any longer. the bare minimum of lip service to its practices necessary
to ensure they continue to receive mystical training and
82. Sworn Protector: She’s a devoted guardian and never resources.
leaves her charge for long. Maybe she’s a bodyguard,
or maybe she protects a place or object of power. Is she 93. Unwelcome Guest: He invites himself to other mages’
driven by loyalty, obedience, enforced servitude, or a parties and private gatherings and gets nasty if challenged
belief that her charge will one day become important? or kicked out.

83. Tempting Bait: He knows a great deal about a Mystery or 94. Valuable Defector: He recently defected from the Seers of
place that interests the characters and will serve as their the Throne, offering intelligence on his former Ministry
guide for a nominal price. In fact, he’s the apprentice in exchange for leniency and protection. Is he sincere, or
of a Scelestus or the servant of some other enemy of the is it a ploy to feed misinformation to the Pentacle?
characters or their sect and is using the Mystery to lead
them into a trap. 95. Veteran: She is or was a soldier and suffered trauma she
still refuses to acknowledge.

120 Chapter Four: Running the Pentacle

 96. VIP: He’s clearly a big deal. His fame attracts a veritable to create rumors that cast their subject in a flattering (or
court of hangers-on. Maybe he enjoys the attention, or unflattering) light.
maybe he’d rather avoid the spotlight.
7. Collect a Debt: Someone owes her something — money,
97. Visiting Stranger: They’re not from around here, and it Mana, a borrowed Artifact, etc. — and she just needs to
shows. Everything about them is out of place, and they collect it. Unfortunately, something is likely to make the
clearly don’t know how to navigate the area physically process less straightforward than that. Maybe they try to
or socially. renege or double-cross her, or perhaps someone else gets
to them first and she must fight to get it back.
98. Walking Stereotype: All the things they say about mem-
bers of a Path, Order, and/or faction — good and bad? 8. Command Obedience: He wants someone to obey his
He fits them to a T, but it isn’t the one he belongs to. orders — whether it is someone specific or anyone at all,
and whether they do so out of loyalty or fear.
99. Warring Collector: She collects something mundane
but exotic and has her eye on a specific piece that a rival 9. Death Watch: Someone she cares about is dying, and she
mage has or will also do anything to acquire. committed to comforting him in his final days, granting
his dying wish, and/or making his final arrangements.
100. Wizard Unleashed: She’s run all out of temper, and just
about anything could be the last straw, provoking her to 10. Defend Sanctum: She wants to improve the security
issue challenges or resort to immediate violence in some protecting her sanctum. Maybe it was recently vandalized
form. or burglarized, or maybe she thinks it will be.

Aspirations 11. Do a Favor: Someone needs him to do them a favor.

Maybe they’re family or an old friend, or maybe they’re
Below are 50 examples of Aspirations a mage might have. Some cashing in a favor he already owed them. It could be
are likely to take multiple chapters to resolve, but even those that something minor and mundane like picking them up at
seem easy enough (finding something to eat) can take longer to the airport, but it might also be something dangerous
achieve if there are complications (such as being in a desert). and supernatural like acting as monster bait.
When selecting Aspirations for a Storyteller character, consider
12. Do My Job: She has job responsibilities that demand
ways in which the players’ characters can serve as an obstacle or
her attention, or else she won’t have that job for much
a means of achieving it.
longer. This might be a mundane, Order, or Consilium
1. Acquire Money: She needs or wants money. Maybe she’s job.
just trying to make rent, maybe she owes a large sum to
a supernatural mobster, or maybe she wants money for 13. Engineering Project: He has a brilliant idea for some-
itself. thing he can build that will solve one of his problems.
Now he just has to find the time to devote to building
2. Ambush a Target: Whether to capture, kill, or drive it.
away the target, they need to catch him by surprise and
achieve their objective before he can put up a fight or 14. Escape: He’s a prisoner or hostage and wants to get out
call for reinforcements. of this situation.

3. Befriend Someone: She wants to deepen her relationship 15. Fake It: He isn’t as knowledgeable, skilled, or talented
with someone she already knows — possibly for its own as he’s pretending to be, but he’s hoping to convince
sake but possibly as a prelude to asking for a favor or a someone to the contrary by sheer bluster and feigned
date. confidence.

4. Break the Curse: Someone put a spell on them (or 16. Find a Lost Object: He is searching for something that
someone they care about) that they can’t break. This was lost — whether he lost it or whether it was lost by
curse could be any level of danger, from annoying to someone else. It could be an object of Supernal signifi-
potentially life-threatening. cance, or simply an heirloom.

5. Buy a Car: He needs a new set of wheels or wings. Either 17. Find a Mentor: She’s looking for a new mentor. Maybe
his previous vehicle got trashed during a recent misad- her current one is abusive or distant, or maybe he’s
venture, or he wants an upgrade. missing or dead. Perhaps he even refuses to teach her
any more due to a falling out or betrayal.
6. Catch up on Gossip: He wants to know all the most
embarrassing news about local mages — especially if it 18. Find a Missing Person: Someone he cares about is
seems to contradict their reputation. Or maybe he has missing — whether they were abducted or vanished on a
gossip he wants to share (whether true or false) — possibly journey — and he means to find them.

Cast of Characters 121

19. Find a Seller: She’s looking to purchase something 32. Pick a Fight: He’s spoiling for an argument, hand-to-hand
specific and difficult to find. combat, or the Duel Arcane, and either one-on-one or
with the help of three or four buddies.
20. Frame an Enemy: They need to manufacture proof of
someone’s misdeeds, whether by planting evidence or 33. Provide Care: He needs to leave to provide care to
creating a situation where he takes the fall for someone someone — his children, an aging relative, a sick friend,
else’s crime. or someone else.

21. Get Medical Attention: He’s suffered an injury and 34. Receive a Mission: They want someone to give them
urgently needs medical attention (or supernatural heal- something to do — preferably something challenging and
ing), but he isn’t easily able to get it because enemies are important.
looking for him or because ambulances can’t get to him.
35. Receive Flattery: He wants someone to flatter him and
22. Hide the Evidence: Something bad happened, and he will show off or withhold a requested favor until he
doesn’t want anyone else to discover it. Hiding the ev- receives the desired flattery.
idence could involve clearing away blood, fingerprints,
and a dead body, but it could also involve hiding his 36. Recruit Someone: He wants to recruit someone to join
Nimbus or obscuring the area from Time scrying. his Order, Legacy, bowling league, or other organization.

23. Impress Someone: He wants to impress a peer, mentor, 37. Research Topic: She needs to perform research on a
or superior — whether with a mundane or magical display specific topic or person relevant to one of her goals,
of skill, cunning, or power. whether it means a trip to the library or long hours
reviewing documents online.
24. Infiltrate a Target: Her investigation has led her to a
secure facility, and now she must figure out how to get 38. Return Home: He’s having trouble finding his way
her hands on the credentials she’ll need to get inside. home — whether because he’s lost or stranded, or perhaps
because someone is trying to keep him from returning.
25. Interrogate a Target: Someone has information he needs Home might be nearby, far away, or accessible only by
and will not part with it willingly. He must pry her secrets arcane means.
loose with trickery, intimidation, or force.
39. Scare Someone: She wants to frighten someone so they
26. Meet a Physical Need: She’s hungry, thirsty, hot, cold, scream like a little kid or run away in terror.
exhausted, or in desperate need of a shower.
40. Secure Permission: They need permission to do some-
27. Meet Someone New: She wants to make a stranger’s thing. Maybe it’s temporary access to a local Mystery or a
acquaintance. This could be anyone, but it might instead mundane location, or maybe they intend to do something
be a specific person or class of people (such as a fellow dangerous or that skirts local laws or customs.
mage).
41. Seek Advice: They’re looking for advice or information
28. Mundane Pleasure: He wants to get drunk, get high, get about a topic that happens to be one of the characters’
laid, or engage in some other ordinary form of pleasure. Obsessions.

29. Mundane Solution: Someone has challenged her to solve 42. Seek Forgiveness: He wronged someone, and he regrets
a significant problem without resorting to magic, so she’s it, but reconciliation will involve a whole lot more than
going to do just that. an apology.

30. Order/Consilium Position: They want to fill a vacancy 43. Set up Business: She has a good or service she wishes to
in their Consilium or Order. Maybe they’re qualified, or provide to others, for a price. It might be illicit, or she
maybe they have a false sense of their own importance. might need help covering start-up costs.
Maybe they want to increase their status, or perhaps they
think they can do the job better than anyone else — or 44. Study: They’re a student or apprentice and need to
maybe no one else wants it because of what happened prepare for an exam or draft a research paper due soon.
to the previous occupant. This can also include non-academic forms of preparation,
such as training for an athletic event or practicing a rote.
31. Organize an Expedition: She wants to engage in a ma-
jor expedition or other undertaking too big for her to 45. Take Revenge: Someone wronged her, and she intends
complete on her own, so she’s recruiting people to join to get revenge. A simple eye-for-an-eye might do, or maybe
her. she has many victims lined up, with poetic justice to mete
out to each one.

122 Chapter Four: Running the Pentacle

 46. Take up a Hobby: She’s looking for a nice, mundane Obsession, earning Arcane Beats whenever they make a significant
way to while away a little of her spare time. new observation regarding it.
When crafting an unlimited Obsession for a Storyteller char-
47. Talk about a Passion: She’s excited about an Obsession
acter, choose one that reflects something fundamental about her
or something else and wants to talk to someone about
Awakening or that reflects her personality or role in Pentacle
it.
society. Note also that while Obsessions don’t grant a mage any
48. Teach a Lesson: They think someone has made (or is special knowledge in themselves, most Storyteller characters have
about to make) a terrible mistake, and they want to show Skills, Specialties, and Merits (to say nothing of Arcana) that
her the error of her ways. It could be a mage, Sleepwalker, reflect their unlimited Obsessions. A mage is also much more
or even a Sleeper. likely to master Praxes and encode rotes within their purview.

49. Undertake a Stakeout: Her investigation requires that Sample Obsessions

she spend a long time in one place watching or waiting
Below are 50 examples of Obsessions. Most are limited Ob-
for her target.
sessions that include ways to make them unlimited (in italics).
50. Win a Bet: They want to place a wager on something Exclusively unlimited Obsessions are marked with an *.
and win it by legitimate means. 1. Anomalous Person: He found a person with unusual
properties or abilities he wishes to understand. If unlim-
Obsessions ited, he either studies anomalous people generally or has a par-
ticular type of anomaly (psychic powers or physical mutations,
Obsessions come in two broad types — limited and unlimited. for example) that intrigues him.

Limited Obsessions 2. Archmastery: She identified an archmage’s handiwork

or learned that they’re active in some specific way, and
Limited Obsessions concern something specific and knowable,
she strives to learn what this powerful Awakened seeks
such as catching a particular supernatural creature or unraveling
to accomplish in the Fallen World. If unlimited, she makes
the secrets of a single relic. Exploring such an Obsession resolves
a routine study of known and suspected feats of archmastery or
it as if it were a long-term Aspiration, typically requiring several
seeks the path to becoming an Exemplar herself.
chapters of effort. Sometimes, resolving a limited Obsession leads
to an unlimited Obsession, such as the examination of a single 3. Awakening*: They study one or more aspects of the
vampire turning into a long-term fascination with vampires or Awakening — such as its causes, source, implications,
with all undead creatures. and obstacles (the Lie and the Abyss).
A limited Obsession is defined by the obstacles that stand
between it and the mage pursuing it. It’s not enough to pick up 4. Cabal: She seeks to make a careful study of a cabal
a curio off a shelf and scrutinize it with Focused Mage Sight for other than her own. She wishes to chart its internal and
a few minutes. An Obsession should require the mage to do a lot external relationships, the effects of any cabal name or
of legwork or set him on a collision course with fellow Awakened theme, and its history and symbolism. If unlimited, she
or other supernatural beings or powers. studies cabals as a concept, picking out a succession of cabals
for close examination.
When crafting a limited Obsession for a Storyteller character,
choose one that will draw the players’ characters into the story 5. Conflict: To better understand a Mystery, she seeks a
— whether because he wants them to get involved or because his confrontation with a particular person or under pre-
pursuit of his Obsession puts him in conflict with them. determined circumstances — whether a physical fight, a
battle of wits, or a duel in the political sphere. If unlimited,
Unlimited Obsessions she seeks a succession of conflicts that will help her achieve
Unlimited Obsessions reflect a potentially lifelong pursuit enlightenment.
— either because perfect knowledge of it is beyond the scope of
6. Cosmology: He seeks specialized knowledge associated
most chronicles (such as the nature of Awakening) or because
with an otherworld — such as the Shadow or Underworld.
there is no obvious point at which the mage achieves complete
Perhaps he’s convinced that something is missing from
understanding (such as an Obsession with hunting monsters).
or incorrect about the current cosmological model as the
Many unlimited Obsessions touch on aspects that are the purview
Awakened understand it, or perhaps he is seeking lore
of Awakened magic. However, they also apply to the abilities of
lost to the Awakened. If unlimited, he is a student of one or
other supernatural creatures that echo those aspects.
more otherworlds, accumulating knowledge of them.
Despite its open-ended nature, willworkers can sometimes sat-
isfy their curiosity about the subject of an unlimited Obsession, 7. Craft Relic: He wishes to create a unique object with
fulfilling it and replacing it with a new Obsession. However, magical qualities. This can be a Grimoire or imbued item,
some Awakened spend a lifetime pursuing the same unlimited but it must require a considerable investment of time and

Cast of Characters 123

 resources, whether because he makes it of rare magical 11. Dreams*: Dreams are his specialty. He wishes to under-
materials he must gather or expends considerable energy stand the language of dreams so he can identify symbols
beautifying it with mundane artistry. If unlimited, he seeks in those others relate to him.
to be a real-life Hephaestus, forging wonders of Awakened power.
12. Duel Arcane: They study another mage’s capabilities and
8. Cryptid Hunter: She’s on the hunt for a strange and rare weaknesses in the Duel Arcane. They might seek to use
mythical creature. This could be an exotic but otherwise this knowledge to best a rival or to ensure the victory of
mundane animal, a creature with supernatural properties an ally over an unfamiliar foe. Resolution of this Obses-
or abilities, or a sapient non-human species. If unlimited, sion usually occurs when the mage (or their ally) bests its
he hunts cryptids of one, some, or all species regularly. subject in the Duel Arcane or when a friendly subject uses
the knowledge the mage gathered to win a Duel Arcane.
9. Deny the Abyss: In a moment of weakness, she dabbled If unlimited, they study the Duel Arcane’s history, techniques,
in antinomian sorcery. She became addicted to the Abyss, and noteworthy practitioners.
but after a scare or a friendly intervention, she now wants
to go clean. If unlimited, she seeks to help other mages escape 13. Entity Hunter: She seeks to destroy a specific ephemeral
their addiction to Abyssal magic. entity or otherworldly being — such as a spirit, god, Goe-
tia, or Gulmoth. If unlimited, she hunts these beings routinely,
10. Destiny: He makes an examination of someone whose either a wide assortment of ephemeral “species” (ghosts, for
destiny has been mapped out for them by Fate — whether example) or a single one (such as disease spirits).
to ensure they fulfill or escape their prophesied destiny or
to discover what happens without interfering. This can 14. Esoterica*: She has fixated on something seemingly un-
be a mage with the Destiny Merit, but some Sleepwalkers knowable — or at least unprovable — as a High Mystery
and supernatural creatures find themselves entangled in not limited to a set time or place in the Fallen World.
Fate’s webs. If unlimited, he studies those with destinies more Perhaps she believes spirits of humanity exist in the Shad-
generally. ow but that they’re not readily detectable by Awakened

124 Chapter Four: Running the Pentacle

 magic or other supernatural abilities, which is why they’ve 22. Interpret Vision: She (or someone else) had a mysterious
been overlooked for so long, for example, or that there vision filled with deep symbolism or warnings about the
are Hallows and other Mysteries to be explored beyond future, and she wishes to contextualize and understand
Earth’s atmosphere — on other planets, moons, and it. If unlimited, she pursues those who experience visions so she
among the asteroids. Whatever the specifics, examination may study them.
of such High Mysteries is only possible through indirect
observation. 23. Invent a Spell: They wish to design a new application for
the magic they wield, consciously undertaking a process
15. Exception: She found something that doesn’t fit into of identifying a need and developing a spell that meets
commonly held understanding of how magic works and it. Most mages with this Obsession resolve it once they
wishes to explain it or be a part of the team of Awakened have mastered the new spell as a Praxis or encoded it as
who reconciles the discrepancy — whether by discovering a rote. If unlimited, they make a lifelong pursuit of inventing
that it actually does fit or expanding the occult theory new spells.
so it encompasses the exception. If unlimited, she actively
seeks apparent exceptions to disprove or incorporate them. 24. Legacy: He seeks to learn as much as he can about a
specific Legacy, whether to join it or oppose its members.
16. Exotic Ephemera: He studies an ephemeral entity that This might instead reflect his desire to found a new Leg-
does not neatly fit within the purview of a single Arcanum acy. If unlimited, he studies many Legacies or the soul-shaping
— such as Gulmoth, clockwork angels, or the beings that phenomena they share.
inhabit the Lower Depths. If unlimited, his field of study
encompasses many or all such beings. 25. Lift a Curse: A curse hangs over a person, place, or thing.
He seeks to understand the curse’s cause and effects and
17. Explore a Place: She found or heard rumors about a place to ultimately lift or break it. If unlimited, he seeks curses to
she’d like to explore — whether it’s a ruin of the Time break.
Before, a cave system, a faraway city, a pocket dimension,
or something else. She wants to know every inch of it. If 26. Local Mystery: She’s interested in studying a relatively
unlimited, she is an inveterate explorer. minor Mystery confined to a nearby location — such as
a haunted house, the Clarketech hidden in the tunnels
18. Hidden Truth: She studies a Supernal manifestation in beneath a small town, or the radio station broadcasting
a seemingly everyday object or activity — such as a Sleeper news from the past. If unlimited, the mage either pursues
ritual that generates Mana, a work of art that contains a single High Mystery limited to a location or else seeks and
High Speech, or a movement pattern in traffic that researches a succession of smaller Mysteries.
hints at an arcane physics that undergirds the universe.
If unlimited, she seeks the Supernal in many manifestations of 27. Lost Civilization: She studies a cultural aspect, Artifact,
the same object or activity. or temporal echo of an Awakened civilization that no
longer exists (or one that never did). If unlimited, she studies
19. High Speech: He found a single unusual example of High all aspects of a single defunct civilization or a single aspect (such
Speech in the Fallen World, and he wishes to determine as geomancy or Awakened literature) of many lost civilizations.
how it came to be there — whether it reflects a mage’s (or
archmage’s) handiwork or a “natural” manifestation of 28. Momentous Event: He wishes to study, bring about, or
the Supernal in the Fallen World. If unlimited, he studies prevent a momentous (possibly once-in-a-lifetime) event
High Speech in its runic form, spoken form, or both, including at a certain place and time. It could be a prophesied ca-
examples of it in geography, architecture, and works of art. tastrophe, a Verge, or a large Convocation. If unlimited, he
addresses a succession of these, whether it means “resetting” the
20. History: He is fascinated by a specific historic event or time-looped prison preventing one of the Bound from returning
uchronia. Not only does he wish to view the occasion to the world or examining Convocations around the world,
magically, he collects relevant Artifacts and contempora- documenting their similarities and differences to unravel their
neous accounts in search of connections to the Supernal. connections to the Supernal.
If unlimited, his interest broadens to include the whole history
of a place or an entire field of history (such as military or 29. Monster Hunter: A supernatural creature (or a small
agricultural history). group of them) has been preying on local Sleepers, and
he intends to put a stop to it. If unlimited, he hunts creatures
21. Immortality: She seeks to bestow immortality (and of this type (or possibly several types) routinely.
possibly also eternal youth) on herself, someone else, or
a group of those who have earned her favor or enmity. 30. Mudras*: She regularly examines the interplay between
Alternatively, she seeks to strip an immortal being of mudras and the rotes encoded in them. She is most fa-
its gift or curse. If unlimited, she studies these topics more miliar with the mudras taught by her own Order but has
generally, possibly to compare methods. an awareness of those used by other Orders, including
some Nameless Orders. Her knowledge is never complete,

Cast of Characters 125

 however, and encountering a novel mudra never fails to 39. Perform a Medical Miracle: Someone suffers from a
attract her full attention. mysterious or supernatural illness or injury they wish to
study, diagnose, and cure. If unlimited, they seek to achieve
31. Name: She seeks the name of a specific person — likely such medical miracles regularly.
a sympathetic name that will give her power (or at least
leverage) over the subject, but possibly the whole panoply 40. Portal: She wishes to study, locate, open, and pass
of Shadow Names, nicknames, and terms of endearment through an Iris or other magic portal determined when
to which the subject answers. If unlimited, the functioning of she adopts this Obsession — likely one that is Keyed. If
names intrigues her — the interplay between sympathetic names unlimited, she studies portals more widely, cataloging their
and Shadow Names, the connection to cabal themes, and the similarities and differences.
mystical weight possessed by all the names the Wise have given
to objects, creatures, and concepts in the Supernal World. 41. Relationship Web: She studies a Mystery encoded in the
pattern of strands of sympathy between a single signifi-
32. Nemesis: She has declared war on an enemy mage, whom cant person or thing. If unlimited, she turns her attention to
she wishes to drive away, kill, or otherwise destroy to her whole tapestries of human connections and is always working
satisfaction. If unlimited, she seeks to destroy an entire category to forge, modify, and sever these bonds to achieve specific results
of mages — such as Scelesti, Tremere, a Left-Handed Legacy, or through her arcane means.
members of an entire faction within an Order.
42. Restore a Treasure: He seeks to restore something
33. Nimbus: They’re on the trail of a subject based solely on ancient or timeless to its former glory — whether it is a
their Nimbus (or other form of supernatural signature). damaged relic, a ruin, or a neglected piece of antique fur-
Perhaps the subject committed a crime or has been niture. If unlimited, he restores a succession of such treasures.
abducted. If unlimited, they find Nimbuses (and possibly the
auras of other supernatural creatures) endlessly fascinating 43. Sanctum*: He finds sancta as a concept endlessly fasci-
and can never resist an opportunity to study an unfamiliar or nating and examines all the many symbolic associations
unusual one. the mage’s tower has with the Watchtowers and the power
the Awakened draw down from them.
34. Oaths: They are making a deep study of an oath or vow
that someone has taken, examining its subtle flavors 44. Sapience*: He seeks to understand the nature of human
and the interaction between the Fallen and the Supernal sapience, potentially including the role the soul plays in
within the oath-taker. If unlimited, they seek to understand it. Possibly his goal is to grant sapience to an animal or
many examples of sworn obligations — whether of the same or machine and make it capable of holding a human soul.
different types, including ones unrelated to Awakened magic.
45. Solve a Crime: He wants to solve a specific mundane
35. Order Secret: He seeks to understand a Mystery specific mystery, such as a murder, burglary, or heist. If unlimited,
to an Order (his own or another Order), including special he uses his Awakened abilities to solve many crimes.
techniques like Egregore or the Lex Magica. If unlimited,
46. Study a Relic: They wish to study a specific Artifact or
he’s unrelenting in his study of all the Order’s Mysteries (or
other remarkable occult object and learn everything they
multiple Orders’ Mysteries).
can about its history and properties. More than likely,
36. Paradox: They seek knowledge of a single manifestation the relic is lost, stolen, or otherwise inaccessible, and
of Paradox, such as a havoc or anomaly — whether to simply recovering it will them on a long, winding, and
understand, eliminate, or reproduce it. If unlimited, they perilous journey. If unlimited, they’re a collector and scholar
study Paradox effects routinely. of Artifacts or other mystic objects.

37. Path Lore: They seek knowledge of a specific aspect of a 47. Study a Sleeper: Every person contains many secrets.
Path, such as the attributes of its Realm, the associations He wants to learn everything he can about a specific
of its tools, or the perspective of its Mage Sight. If unlim- person — from their history, to their routines, to their
ited, they study a specific aspect of all Paths or else pursue a personal and professional relationships. He may go even
deep understanding of all aspects of a single Path. deeper than that, splaying out all their unique Mysteries
on a proverbial (or not-so-proverbial) operating table and
38. Perfection of the Self*: She seeks to attain a personal examining them with his occult abilities. If unlimited, he
state of perfection, although what that entails depends regularly selects a new Sleeper for examination or makes a study
on the mage. It could be physical, mental, spiritual, or of an entire culture (or subculture) to record their practices,
any combination thereof. traditions, and daily rituals.

126 Chapter Four: Running the Pentacle

48. Study a Soul: They wish to acquire and carefully examine long with Focused Mage Sight. If unlimited, he has made
a soul or soulstone. If unlimited, they continually seek souls the study of such phenomena a lifelong pursuit.
to observe closely.
50. Supernal Entity: She wishes to summon, study, and
49. Supernal Blessing: He wishes to witness, receive, or endure the trial of a Supernal being. If unlimited, she has
examine the aftermath of a Supernal entity’s Boon — the extensively studied one or more classes of Supernal being and
manifestation of the Supernal in the Fallen World the is often engaged in one of their trials, which can lead to her
being produces either in acknowledgment of a mage behaving strangely to mollify her subject.
enduring its trial or as punishment for scrutinizing too

Cast of Characters 127

 When I was a kid, I was shit at making friends. You’d think if you’re one in 8 million, you’d
have an easier time getting to know people, but the bigger the city gets the more alone you
feel. And my parents worked late, so when I didn’t want to go home, I’d wander anywhere the
trains would take me. I’d exit the station and walk into any bodega with a cat sleeping in the
doorway, pet it and feed it treats, ask its name like it would ever tell me. The bodega guys did,
but they’d all have different names for the same cat, so I started making up my own names.
I talked to pigeons too, and squirrels in the park, but none of them felt like friends. When a
cat rubs up against your ankles and purrs louder than a 6 pulling into Union Square, though,
that’s how you know you’ve made it.
When I was in high school, I transferred trains at Broadway-Lafayette on my way home. I’d
always see the same guy when I was waiting on the BDFV platform (the days of the V...!). He
had a wild, long beard and played this massive wooden flute, and he started saying hi to me
after I’d showed up often enough. After a few months, he asked me my name. Said he’d seen
me around in the world above when I was younger, when I liked to stop at this one bodega in
Harlem where they had a super friendly calico cat. The cat stopped showing up right before
I started high school. Owners said it ran away; I figured it was dead. The fact that
Flute Guy had noticed this didn’t bother me, which surprised me. I guess it was
nice to be seen.
I told him about the cat. When I said it was probably dead, he shrugged.
“Sometimes they just go away for a while,” he said. “One of those
things. You should keep an eye out for that cat.”
“Okay,” I said, and then my train came. I didn’t see Flute
Guy again after that, even though I looked for him when-
ever I was on the platform. Must have gone peddling
his songs somewhere else. But I thought about the
cat a lot.
Right before I graduated, I went back to
that bodega. Imagine my surprise when
the cat showed up, popping out from
underneath a stand of Entenmann’s.
It ran past me when I tried to pet it. I
was annoyed, but I followed it out of
the store and down the block. It went
faster and faster, and I ran after it.
When it finally stopped, it purred
at me and head-butted my shin. I
gave it a scratch, and then I looked
up for the first time. The city was
empty and overgrown, and dozens
of cats just like my calico were
watching me. In the distance, trains
raced up a structure that looked like
a massive tower.
“You little fucker,” I said, but for
the first time, I felt like I was finally
at home.
 “New York had all the iridescence of the beginning of the world.”
— F. Scott Fitzgerald, “My Lost City”

New York City is the cradle of more than eight million dream- Mages are addicted to Mysteries, and they’re addicted to New
ers. If the city isn’t the center of the universe, it certainly thinks York, too. It’s the sticky-sweet golden hours of summer as much
it is: from the United Nations headquarters to Wall Street, from as it is the long bone-chilling shadows of winter. It’s the hawks
the finest of restaurants to the coziest bodega, every inch thrums in Central Park and the roaches in restaurant kitchens. It’s the
with life and electricity. Neon is brighter and shadows are deeper. shifting geography and the irresistible lure of the chance for a free
Streets stretch on like lazy cats, assigned many names, none of Manhattan. No force is great enough to drive the Awakened away.
which they answer to. Dozens of human languages intermingle In every New Yorker is a powerful survival instinct married with
with pigeons cooing and sparrows chattering. Rats slip back and a deep stubbornness, and mages are no exception. Manhattan
forth below the city’s surface, dark shadows in darker tunnels. The has slipped the Pentacle’s grasp, but the Pentacle still believes
subway runs on and on and on, whether or not anyone is awake that one day soon they will be able to probe its Mysteries again.
to use it. New Yorkers live in eternal REM, and some Awakened It’s not hope or faith, it’s something baser — the perseverance of
say that New York City feeds off their dreams. a gambler who thinks they have nothing at stake, but in reality
The behemoth doesn’t sleep, but it constantly dreams. New still has everything left to lose.
York, and the land it dwells on, has drawn dreamers to it like
moths to an unusually bright and glittering flame for thousands of
years. Highs reach up to heaven and lows fall down to the center
of the Earth. The pain, the hunger, and the loss are all worth it
Magical History
for one shimmering moment when the city finally feels like it’s
yours. That feeling is addictive. Sleepers and Awakened alike long
of New York
for it, cry out for it, steal and kill and break hearts for it. Hustle As the largest city in the United States, it comes as little surprise
mentality is bullshit, but the hope for a better tomorrow flares that New York has had massive influence on American history
brighter than Times Square, a beacon sent up by eight million and culture, let alone globally. Embrace it or resent it, the city’s
individual prayers. power cannot be denied.
New York is often thought of as a melting pot, but that met-
aphor doesn’t do justice to the city’s vibrant population. From
the halal carts that serve chicken and rice on every corner of
Lenapehoking (Prehistory-1664)
Manhattan to the tight-knit ethnic enclaves dotted around the The land that modern-day New York City sits on is estimated
city, New York is characterized by the push and pull of new versus to have been inhabited for around 3,000 years or longer. That
old. It’s been that way for hundreds of years. Through displace- land was part of the larger homeland of the Lenape, called
ment both violent and legislative, through the ongoing march of Lenapehoking. Its bounds included what is now New York City,
gentrification, New Yorkers find themselves at odds with each parts of southern New York State, the entirety of New Jersey, and
other. But everyone is united in one belief: they live in the most eastern Pennsylvania. When Europeans landed on the shores of
compelling city in the world. Lenapehoking in the 16th century, they came across several com-

130 Chapter Five: Caput Mundi

munities with cultural and linguistic ties, with rich and thriving
cultures of their own.
The Awakened were present on both sides of these early stages The Original People
of invasion. European mages were among the earliest champions This brief overview of Lenapehoking’s history
of westward exploration. To them, a whole world was out there, and relation to European settlers is not intend-
where they hoped to find new evidence of Atlantis and perhaps ed to suggest that the Lenape themselves are
even Atlantis itself. They latched onto the myth of Norumbega, a history. Today, most Lenape live in Oklahoma
supposed golden city on the northeastern coast brought back to and Ontario, though many do still live in
Europe by Giovanni da Verrazzano. They couldn’t have known Lenapehoking. Five sovereign nations are feder-
that their counterparts in the New World had their own dreams ally recognized in the United States and Canada.
of the Time Before. Many of the first European mages to sail Lenape culture looks different than it did when
the Atlantic did not believe they would have counterparts at all. Giovanni da Verrazzano sailed into the mouth of
the Hudson, but so does Dutch culture. The im-
Lenape mages, known as Kikehwèchik, initially approached
portant thing is that despite centuries of coloniza-
their European counterparts with excitement. They hoped for a
tion and genocide, the Lenape still survive.
mutually beneficial exchange of information, including getting
the explorers’ perspectives on Mysteries that haunted them.
Though speech came easily thanks to magic, real communication
was harder. Many of the early European arrivals, members of a
accused in small towns upstate. Real mages fled Salem and
Dutch Caucus eager to get ahead of their brethren in exploring
Salem Town as the trials revved up, and some landed in New
everything the “new world” had to offer, were disappointed by
York after deciding Boston wasn’t nearly far away enough to be
the presence of people in Lenapehoking. They looked down on
safe. Even New York wasn’t far enough for some, though. When
the Kikehwèchik, with some attempting to take over the Mysteries
a high-ranking member of the Silver Ladder left for Nassau to
of Lenapehoking. The Kikehwèchik tried to act in good faith and
join the Company of the Codex (Dark Eras 2, p. 311), taking
made several attempts over the decades to ease relations with the
her cabal with her, the Ladder snapped. The Magisters called an
Diamond mages, but ultimately pulled back after the Diamond
emergency Convocation in New York, inviting Caucuses from
refused to interfere with incursions into Indigenous lands and
across the colonies and West Indies to discuss what to do about
settlers’ habitual exploitation of the Lenape in trade. As smallpox
the Company. The Convocation saw a great deal of debate and
and other diseases spread among the Lenape, the Kikehwèchik
very little action, and afterward the frustrated Silver Ladder
became more insular and distrustful of Europeans, and focused
looked outside the Diamond for help. A Tetrarch of the Iron
on their people’s survival. By the time of the American Revolu-
Pyramid offered her aid to the Ladder, and so began the war. By
tion, most surviving Lenape had migrated to Ohio, with most
the end of the century, the Ladder proved victorious, but at the
of the Kikehwèchik.
cost of a deep rift in the Diamond that lingered for much longer
In the early 17th century, the Dutch and their fur trade moved than the war itself lasted.
in on Lenapehoking. At first, the Dutch West India Company
New York played a significant role in the early days of the
settled modern-day Governors Island, bringing 30 families to
American Revolutionary War. When the Sons of Liberty sprang
establish legal rights to the island before they scattered to other
up in response to the Stamp Act of 1765, it drew many young,
colonies in New Netherlands. In 1626, the company introduced
idealistic mages to it. For a few years, it looked as though New York
slavery to New Amsterdam when a ship arrived bearing 11 en-
might become the cradle of American civilization — but the British
slaved Africans.
captured the city in late 1776 and held it until the war ended.
That same year, fearing incursions from other colonial pow- Mages were bitterly divided over the war, though most of today’s
ers, Peter Minuit paid roughly 60 guilders to buy Manhattan. Awakened falsely claim that only the Seers were fool enough to
Accounts of who sold it, what they actually intended to do, and side with the British. Many cabals, across all facets of Awakened
who even had the rights to sell the island differ, but the end society, worked covertly to undermine British governance, and
result is the same: the Dutch West India Company established a more than a few Arrow cabals joined the war effort directly, but
colony on the southern tip and named it New Amsterdam. The many mages benefited from the status quo and sought to damage
settlement became a city in 1651, setting the stage for the explosive revolutionary efforts. Ultimately, it didn’t work. After the war
urban growth to come. ended, the Sons of Liberty purged New York of Loyalists, and
the patriotic arm of the Consilium did the same.
New York (1665-1897) With a new nation founded, the Consilium turned itself
In 1664, the English strong-armed the Dutch into surrendering to the problem of Manhattan’s ever-shifting geography. The
New Amsterdam. They renamed it New York City. Though the Kikehwèchik had long studied the Mystery of why the island’s
city twice again changed hands, by 1674 the name was settled. geography shifted, with a landmark or a home on one part of it
New York was New York, this time for good. moving to another with no obvious reason (p. XX). After Europe-
ans arrived, as construction and settlement proceeded at a rapid
As witch hysteria gained ground in the 1690s, New York pace, it became more inconvenient: entire streets and neighbor-
remained mostly unmoved, though a handful of “witches” were hoods would move unexpectedly. While Sleepers, Sleepwalkers,

Magical History of New York 131

and other supernatural beings didn’t remember that they used Diamond mages were on both sides of the aisle. Though an
to live elsewhere, mages did. overarching authority was nothing new, it was difficult for Brook-
In the early part of the 19th century, the Consilium learned lyn-based willworkers to let go of their pride in their city, which
there were plans to fill in Minetta Creek, a large natural water- at the time was the third-most populous in the United States.
course now to become a casualty of urbanization. After a long Diamond mages from Manhattan and Richmond County spent
debate, they threw their support behind it. If Minetta Creek were a lot of time and effort canvassing, persuading their Brooklyn
filled in, they hypothesized, they could better control the ley lines. compatriots that this was a good idea for the Consilium, and they
Wild magic could be harnessed like wild water. This hypothesis eventually won most of the Brooklyn contingent over. Those that
proved incorrect, but it was too late. Minetta was built over, couldn’t be persuaded left their Orders to form a small Nameless
Collect Pond was filled in to create the Five Points neighbor- Order, called the Great Mistake, and announced that they did
hood, and the city was still hiccupping. There was one positive not recognize the authority of the Consilium over Brooklyn.
change for the Consilium: the occultists they’d backed and built This Nameless Order didn’t last long by itself: within less than a
relationships with kept pushing forward, and the Diamond got decade, the Great Mistake had turned down the Seers’ offer of
to follow along. They still suspected that water was the solution alliance and joined up with the fledgling Free Council. Although
to the problem of the city’s shifting, and used existing bridge the Order itself was absorbed, its influence didn’t disappear; many
construction projects to begin artificially moving and pinning Libertines to this day believe that Brooklyn shouldn’t be ruled
ley lines so they would send Mana to Manhattan. over by a Diamond that doesn’t value its gems (p. XX).
Around the same time as willworkers in the city were working
on plans for their ley lines, upper New York caught on fire, The City of Greater New York
metaphorically speaking. A religious movement that came to
be known as the Second Great Awakening — named for the (1898-2001)
First, which was centered in England — was a response to the
The early years of consolidated New York City were marked by
same American Enlightenment sentiments that had shaped
growth: in population, infrastructure, and democratic ideals. The
the American Revolution. Western and central New York were
Progressive Era was making its mark across the country, building on
not godless country, but they lacked in professional clergy, and
the ideas put forth by the Second Great Awakening. The construction
as Romantic spirit swept across Europe and the United States,
of the separate elements of what’s now the New York City Subway
self-educated New Yorkers latched onto the new religious move-
contributed to rapid development of the outer boroughs — and rein-
ments it spawned with enthusiasm. Downstate Awakened mostly
forced the artificial funneling of Mana to Manhattan. Immigration
learned about these new movements as evangelists came to preach
surged, and came up against economic growth and labor rights when
to them, but more rural mages had direct roles in shaping Sleeper
the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire killed 145 garment workers in
religious movements. A strong element of the Great Awakening
1911, mostly young Italian and Jewish immigrant women.
was openness to the supernatural, and cabals of Guardians and
Ladder mages seized on this as mystery cults spread like wildfire. During World War I, immigration from Europe essentially
This period also engendered widespread Sleeper support for the stopped, but the war heightened the need for industrial labor.
Temperance movement, abolition, and women’s suffrage. The Great Migration of Black Southerners to New York City
gave rise to the Harlem Renaissance, an intellectual, social, and
Tammany Hall’s star rose in the 1850s. Mages of different
artistic movement that turned Harlem into the center of Black
Orders vied for control within the political machine, to varying
life in New York.
effect; not all agreed with the Democratic Party’s pro-South fac-
tion, but everyone could recognize that this was the best way to The early 20th century felt like a time of hope and promise,
get things done. Many mages who had aligned themselves with and as the Third Great Awakening swept over the United States
pro-South Peace Democrats quietly defected in the early days of in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, mages got caught up
the Civil War, no longer comfortable with appeasing the Con- once again in the fires of religion. This time, they vowed, this
federacy. Some mages went south to fight for either side. Most of really would be an Awakening for the country. Some fixated on
the Confederate-aligned mages that survived the deadliest war in this concept more than others, and no one more so than the
American history never came back to New York, and their peers Enraptured mage Charybdis.
bid them good riddance. Charybdis was raised by an intensely religious Protestant family,
On January 1, 1898, New York, Kings, Queens, and Richmond and when he Awakened, he delved further into religion. Awak-
Counties finally unified as the City of New York. This had been a ened scholars argue about whether he was Rapt from the start,
few decades in the making, and bitterly contested by Brooklynites, but the fact remains that he was a charismatic figure who believed
many of whom resented their city being under Tammany Hall’s himself to be uniquely enlightened. Over the 1920s, Charybdis
influence and having their largely homogeneous and Protestant gathered dozens of followers, mostly apostates but also a handful
population arm-in-arm with immigrants. Andrew Haswell Green of heretical Mystagogues. He told them he alone could commune
and his pursuit of unification prevailed. In 1894, despite the with the Supernal Realms, and to find grace they must chain their
political battles and best efforts of the opposition, voters across souls to his. He told them the Orders were poison, that they were
Brooklyn, New York, Queens County, and Richmond County keeping mages from finding true greatness and rediscovering
voted to consolidate. Atlantis. As his messages grew more extreme, the Consilium

132 Chapter Five: Caput Mundi

knew it had to act, and on October 23, 1929, a Guardian cabal In 1944, as the Allies worked on the plan to create the United
was sent to assassinate the great teacher. When Charybdis died, Nations, the Silver Ladder’s share of the New York Consilium
so did his dozens of followers. The strain of Paradox on the ley exploded as théarchs battled for a share in the Fallen World’s
lines magnified a growing crisis: hours after Charybdis and his future. The youngest and most idealistic among the théarchs
followers died, the stock market crashed. hoped this might spur an Awakened equivalent to the UN, but
Internal migration continued apace during the Great Depres- negative public response and the beginning of the Cold War put
sion. Some mages left the city in hopes of finding their fortune a stop to that. Still, New York City was on top of the world as
elsewhere, but were immediately replaced by mages leaving those one of the few major global cities not in rubble, and the Ladder
very places. A handful of willworkers who felt the Pentacle didn’t threw their weight behind the urban renewal and public housing
sufficiently appreciate their contributions defected to join the projects that came to change the face of the city.
Seers, lured by promises of a life without struggle. City planners The 1960s saw the city turn into what seemed like one large
like Robert Moses attempted to steer the city toward a car-based protest, as Black New Yorkers advocated for civil rights, pacifists
future, and subway expansion became one of the first battles for protested the Vietnam War, and the feminist movement gained
the fledgling Free Council, who believed the subway was far more steam. The labor movement grew stronger, with strikes held by
egalitarian than cars could ever hope to be. transit workers, sanitation workers, and teachers. Finally, the
Jewish refugees fled to New York ahead of World War II, Stonewall riots of 1969 kicked off a defined movement for gay
escaping the rising Nazi Germany, many joining distant cousins rights and liberation, led by Black and brown queer and trans-
and siblings in the city. Existential anxiety and fear for those gender people.
who had stayed behind gave rise to the superhero archetype and It’s impossible to talk about the following decades in New
the Golden Age of comics. Several Jewish mages in this period York City without talking about the city’s reputation as a decay-
named themselves after the heroes their Sleeper kin were using ing hub of crime and poverty. It’s undeniable that crime rates,
to express their own fears. One was Kal-El, an Arrow mage who particularly violent crime, rose. No one seems able to agree on
was one of the military personnel based at the Brooklyn Navy what caused this, but the effects were undeniable: authorities
Yard. Kal-El was frustrated by his Order’s refusal to take a side in painted Black and brown New Yorkers as the faces of a crime
the war, and used his links to organized crime to recruit gangsters wave that was exacerbated by the fiscal crisis of the mid-70s and
like Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano to keep an eye out for the clashes between municipal unions and the city government.
German submarines along the New York and New Jersey coasts. Police officers stationed themselves at airports and handed out
More quietly, Kal-El threw his cabal’s support behind Lansky’s pamphlets to tourists that welcomed them to “Fear City.” The
work to break up Bund rallies, and later helped lead the Arrow’s city felt like it was falling apart. It got stitched back together,
reorganization in 1945. but at cost. Even the methods that mayors used to make New

Magical History of New York 133

York cleaner, safer and more attractive left scars on the city. The Hurricane Sandy took a crowbar to the system, flooding several
NYPD leaned heavily on broken windows policing in the ’90s, tunnels and spawning rehabilitation projects, many of which
which disproportionately targeted people of color, the poor, and are still ongoing years down the line. Train delays reported as
unhoused people. It’s not clear that broken windows actually “overcrowding” and “unknown” mask the truth: the ley lines
reduced crime rates: it coincided with an economic boom and are sick. The chronic shortage of Mana in the outer boroughs
lower unemployment. makes magic a high-risk endeavor, and hiccups of Paradox have
Regardless of the cause, New Yorkers were optimistic about worsened the subway situation. The Consilium is in triage mode,
their city as crime rates improved and more jobs were created in forced to devote more resources to temporarily stabilizing the ley
the city. By the beginning of the new millennium, New York had lines than to what they really want: Manhattan back.
regained the global favor it enjoyed after World War II, and was The Folly has finally forced the Diamond to reckon with the
looking ahead to a shining horizon. For a little while, anyway. consequences of progress for progress’ sake. If they hadn’t artifi-
cially pinned the ley lines, they might never have lost Manhattan.
Turifex’s Folly (2001) The Orders differ broadly in how they respond to this, but before
2001, no Diamond mage would have ever admitted that what
When two planes crashed into the towers of the World Trade they did to the ley lines might have been a mistake. Now they
Center, it changed everything for New York City, Sleepers and acknowledge this truth, and so the work begins.
Awakened alike. New Yorkers found themselves at the center of a
collective trauma, a massive loss, gaping open in grief, mourning
and desperate for answers. The repercussions of 9/11 reverberated
globally. The aftershocks were felt long after it happened.
New York Today
9/11 shattered the heart of Awakened society in New York, too. New York is famed for its ability to bounce back from just
As the city doubled over, bleeding Paradox, the ley lines seized about anything — but that doesn’t mean it remains unchanged. In
and sputtered, struggling against their artificial bonds like an the wake of the Folly, life changed for the city’s mages, Pentacle,
animal caught in a trap. The cracks in the Lie tore open. It was a Nameless or Seer.
catastrophe of such proportion that the Hierarch, Turifex, called
a cease-fire in the Pentacle’s ongoing cold war with the Seers of
the Throne in an attempt to patch the already unstable ley lines.
Manhattan
The Seers accepted. Teams of mages worked around the clock to Since the Seers took control of Manhattan in the aftermath of
contain the crisis by controlling Hallows and ley lines. It worked. the Folly, development and gentrification have sped up. Rents
Mostly for the Seers. rise, and buildings seem to as well, nearly overnight. The Seers
moved quickly to establish Manhattan as theirs, erecting new
To this day, no one quite understands what happened. To
additions to the skyline in the process: the Oculus, Hudson
everyone but Turifex himself, it felt as if Awakened society had
Yards, and the Freedom Tower at 1 World Trade Center all serve
suffered one of Manhattan’s infamous shifts: one day the Pentacle
as monuments to the Hegemonic Ministry. Modernist and inter-
had access to Manhattan, and the next they woke up exiled to
national super-tall skyscrapers replace Beaux Arts and art deco;
the outer boroughs without an understanding of what had hap-
luxury towers move in on public housing. Decades-old corner
pened in between. Turifex was outmaneuvered: the Seers used
stores and cafés are forced out of business by rising rents, and the
the cease-fire and the Pentacle’s good faith to seize Manhattan,
storefronts sit empty for years. New Yorkers lament the changes,
take control of its Mystery, and turn an island into a panopticon.
but it seems like nothing can turn back the tide of “progress,”
The Pentacle lost resources, and in some cases, willworkers and
just how the Seers like it.
Sleepwalkers who weren’t able to get out of Manhattan before
the metaphorical storm arrived. The Financial District, Chelsea, and the Upper East Side are
unquestionably Seer playgrounds. Few Pentacle mages dare to
Ever since what’s now known as Turifex’s Folly, or simply
go on missions to these areas; no one has successfully raided
“The Folly” to later arrivals, the Pentacle cannot gain ground in
them since the aughts. The further north, the easier it is to pull
Manhattan. It’s almost impossible to establish a sanctum there,
off raids, but it’s still difficult. Pentacle mages who grew up in
and most don’t even try anymore. Any entry into the borough
Manhattan have found it difficult to adjust to the new normal.
must be subtle, because when the Seers sense an incursion, they
Some, fearing that the Seers will target their Sleeper loved ones
rearrange the city. And the Seers are good at sensing incursions.
even if they estrange themselves, convince parents and siblings
This has blocked Pentacle access to the massive amounts of Mana
to move to the outer boroughs. Others accept the danger so they
that the ley lines they themselves designed bring into the city’s
can try to have distant relationships with friends and family. Still
heart. Pentacle mages can still visit the Hallows that that their
others cut themselves off entirely.
forebears built some of the city’s greatest attractions around, and
some even hold jobs in the city, but the barest breath of Pentacle In the East River sits a two-mile-by-800-foot island that plays
magic risks attracting the Seers’ attention. host to just over 10,000 of New York City’s residents. Sleepy, green
Roosevelt Island is connected to both Manhattan and Queens:
As the Seers have consolidated their control over Manhattan,
the Roosevelt Island Tramway ferries souls across the East River,
they siphon resources from infrastructure to business. The MTA
the Roosevelt Island Bridge allows for foot and vehicular traffic
has been hemorrhaging money for years, and the subway is aging.
between the island and Queens, and the F train bridges the island

134 Chapter Five: Caput Mundi

 lar technomancers of the Dominoes are all Williamsburg-based
Libertines, but the difference in the two blocks between their
The Haunted Idyll respective sancta may as well be the difference between Earth
Roosevelt Island has a darker history than one and the moon. When the Serpents work to better their Sleeper
would expect: it’s played host to multiple hos- community, they’re fighting against gentrification and the rising
pitals, a prison, a workhouse, and a women’s cost of housing. The Dominoes’ work is no less valid, but it looks
psychiatric hospital that Nellie Bly exposed in different: supporting the arts, finding new uses for abandoned
the 19th century for brutal, inhumane conditions. industrial structures, and protecting independent small businesses
While a smallpox hospital still stands at the south against the rising tide of chains. Conflict is inevitable, but it need
end of the island, protected by wire fences and not prevent cabals from working together.
overgrowth, the asylum was converted into an The Seers’ takeover of Manhattan in 2001 coincided with the
apartment building called the Octagon. The is- rise of gentrification in river-bordered neighborhoods like Wil-
land only became a residential neighborhood in liamsburg, and many Diamond mages, no longer welcome in their
the second half of the 20th century, and though home borough, moved to Brooklyn. The Free Council has chafed
government housing dominated the early de- against the Diamond over disagreements about how to handle
velopment, gentrification’s slow creep arrived the artificial ley lines (p. XX), and native Brooklynites clash with
around the turn of the century. The Octagon, the transplants who came in and tried to change the way things
which is the furthest north of the residential build- were done without even asking. There have been a lot of growing
ings, is a symbol of this; the Roosevelt Island bus pains, and it’s one reason the Diamond are so desperate to retake
has a special express route for its residents during Manhattan. Seshat (p. XX) doesn’t begrudge the Brooklyn mages
rush hour, skipping over the rest of the stops on their frustrations, but she spends a lot of time trying to smooth
the way to the train and tram. over conflict within the Consilium and the Silver Ladder, and
the Brooklyn-Queens Caucus starts a lot of fights.
One neighborhood where natives and transplants have mostly
been able to get along is Gowanus, probably because Gowanus
to both boroughs. The island’s proximity to the United Nations
has always been one of Brooklyn’s least populous neighborhoods.
headquarters attracts diplomats, its pedestrian-first design attracts
The Gowanus Canal is famous for being one of the most polluted
families, and its escape from the consequences of Turifex’s Folly
bodies of water in America, and while there was commercial devel-
attracts the Awakened.
opment in the industrial zone around it in the late 20th century
Legally, Roosevelt Island is part of Manhattan. Magically? It’s thanks to low rents for massive lots, residential construction
thornier. When Turifex’s Folly saw the Pentacle expelled from didn’t start in earnest until much more recently. A collective of
Manhattan, they realized that they retained access to the island mages came together after the Folly to make the Batcave, a historic
— and the Seers realized they had overlooked it. The island, former power station, into a cross-denominational workspace.
stabilized by a Hallow at its southernmost end, has become a Any cabal represented in the Consilium can rent space there and
battleground for the Awakened. A couple of Pentacle mages lived host community events, and many mages with artistic inclinations
on the island before the Folly. They won’t leave unless they’re have studios nearby. Sleepers view the space as a historical relic
physically forced out, and as much as the Seers would love to do that sometimes opens its doors for events, but mostly ignore it,
so, the island mages have the backing of the Pentacle. No one’s which is how the Batcave Collective likes it. There’s little there
ready for all-out war just yet. that’s especially valuable to the Orders, but the mages who care
about it would do anything to protect it. Libertines dominate the
Brooklyn Batcave Collective, hoping that as the space thrives, it will prove
that the Pentacle doesn’t need Manhattan and the outer boroughs
Brooklyn fought unification fiercely in defense of its own
can become the central hub for Awakened life in New York City.
independent identity. If unification were to be undone today,
Brooklyn would be the third largest city in the United States,
with more than 2.5 million inhabitants who have different rea- Queens
sons to love their home borough but have equal shares in their Queens is characterized by its diversity: it’s the most linguisti-
unparalleled passion. cally diverse place on Earth, and it features an incredible swath
The anti-unificationist sentiment never quite went away, and of ethnic and cultural diversity, from the massive Chinatown in
Brooklyn’s Awakened still have a strong independent streak. Flushing to the Little India, Little Pakistan, Little Bangladesh,
Cabals and factions are divided among ethnic enclaves, and as and Little Colombia all present in Jackson Heights. In Queens,
gentrification has made its way across the borough, this has led to more so than any other borough, residents get granular with their
a lot of conflict and bitterness in the Pentacle. A mage who grew pride — ask someone where they’re from and they’re more likely
up in pre-gentrification Bed-Stuy while it was still majority-Black to name their neighborhood than their borough.
has a very different experience of the neighborhood than one The sprawl of Queens gives lie to the concept of New York
who moved there in 2015 to take advantage of cheap rent. The as developed urban metropolis: there are developments along
Orthodox Jewish Kabbalists of the Serpent’s Path and the secu- the riverside, but Queens is also home to wooded areas like the

New York Today 135

Gateway National Recreation Area, which includes the Jamaica
Bay Wildlife Refuge, and the decommissioned Ridgewood Res-
ervoir on the Brooklyn-Queens border. Vast cemeteries make The Price of Progress
for massive green spaces that cut through the borough’s middle. New York’s modernization and evolution have
Sometimes driving through Queens, especially the further it gets always come at human cost. Central Park was
from Brooklyn or the East River, feels like driving through a series built on the destruction of Seneca Village, the
of town centers. The Awakened treat it that way, subdividing city’s first community of free Black Americans.
themselves based on geography. This isn’t a fixed rule — the Paused Robert Moses displaced over 250,000 New
Clock, an Adamantine Arrow cabal, has members from Queens Yorkers in his quest to modernize New York
Village, Ozone Park, and Corona Heights — but it makes it a lot City’s infrastructure, redirected highway traffic
easier to establish territory and sancta. Silver Ladder cabals also into Black neighborhoods, and infamously built
appreciate Queens as a solid launching point for missions into the Southern State Parkway’s overpasses too low
Manhattan and departure point for trips to Convocations, given to allow buses through — specifically, city buses
the presence of two airports on either end of the borough. The that were poor New Yorkers’ primary way of get-
airports function as neutral ground for all Awakened, against ting to the beach. Most urban development in the
the Pentacle’s will. city is rooted in racism and classism. New York is
Queens is home to several resettled Pentacle mages and their a vibrant and resilient city, but more people get
loved ones, particularly those who grew up in ethnic enclaves left behind every year.
and wanted to live in places that felt familiar. It’s not the same
— Chinatown can’t be replaced with Flushing, or Washington
Heights with Corona. But it makes it a little easier to survive in In the northeast Bronx is Co-op City, the world’s largest hous-
the aftermath of the Folly. ing cooperative. Over 43,000 people live in a miniature city built
Queens is also the home of the disgraced Hierarch Turifex. on less than 1 square mile of former marshland, which is also
Turifex lives out in Far Rockaway, as far as he can get from home to six schools, three shopping centers, and 15 houses of
Manhattan without leaving the city entirely — he’s fallen far, but worship. Five sections stand in for what would be regular neigh-
he’s still too proud to entirely turn tail. Turifex’s house is small borhoods anywhere else, and a private civilian police department
and nondescript, but sharp-eyed neighbors have noticed he gets patrols the city. Someone could live their whole life never leaving
an awful lot of guests for someone who’s so closed off to them. Co-op City — though the Freedomland cabal does with frequency.
Turifex lives by the motto “good fences make good neighbors,” Named for the amusement park that once occupied the area, Free-
especially when it comes to his Sleeper neighbors, but he still domland skews senior, with no dominant Paths among the Silver
makes himself available for any willworkers who want to talk to Ladder-led group. The cabal has never been especially interested
him. He mostly keeps himself from giving long speeches about in Manhattan; it’s made up of Bronx diehards who want to see
the Folly, knowing nobody is open to hearing it. their borough thrive without falling prey to gentrification. The
cabal members see themselves as compatriots to the 1520, a Free
The Bronx Council cabal based out of the South Bronx, and the two groups
regularly work together on Sleeper-related projects.
The Bronx’s official motto is “Yield Not to Evil.” The Yankees
Though Freedomland is associated with the Consilium, they
aside, the borough is home to some of the city’s most vibrant
quietly agree with the Free Council’s push to stop centering
culture. People from the Bronx really love the Bronx, probably
Pentacle life in Manhattan, dismantle the artificial ley lines, and
more so than any other borough residents, even Brooklynites.
return Mana and power to the outer boroughs immediately — not
And who can blame them? The Bronx gave birth to hip-hop and
after yet another failed attempt to retake Manhattan. Part of this
breakdance in the 1970s, it’s home to museums and performance
is Bronx pride, but part of it is practical. Nearly every member
venues that pay special heed to Black and Latin American culture,
of the cabal is over 60, and no subways or commuter rail serve
and it hosts the beloved Bronx Zoo. The borough is also the most
Co-op City. In general, it’s difficult to get directly from the Bronx
ethnically diverse place in the country. Residents do have a lot
to any borough other than Manhattan without a car, which cuts
to be proud of.
Freedomland and their compatriots off from most of the rest of
Historically, the Bronx was rural and home mostly to small the Pentacle. Freedomland (and other Bronx Awakened) could
farms; it’s still about one-quarter parkland, and New York’s only do their work much more efficiently if the Bronx had real sources
freshwater river flows through the borough. Starting in the early of Mana again. The 1520 have tried to persuade them to be more
20th century, rapid development turned the Bronx into an urban open about this viewpoint, and there’s a real chance Freedomland
borough of immigrants and the working class. Poverty rose in the will eventually defect from the Diamond.
early 30s, and middle- and upper-income white residents left for
the suburbs in the ensuing years. In the middle of the century, the
borough became a casualty of Robert Moses’ quest to build the Staten Island
Cross Bronx Expressway. The Expressway lowered property values Staten Island is often called “the forgotten borough.” The in-
in the neighborhoods around it, and they haven’t recovered. habitants of New York City’s other four boroughs look down on
it, the city government scarcely considers it when drafting policy,

136 Chapter Five: Caput Mundi

and by rights both topological and geological it should be part of can be difficult, since Pentacle mages mostly must avoid Man-
New Jersey. The borough tried to secede in the 1990s, and nearly hattan, but they’ve developed workarounds.
two-thirds of its residents voted in favor. Life on Staten Island
simply looks different than it does in the rest of the city. It’s the The Hudson River Valley
only majority-white borough, the most politically conservative
New York City sits on the mouth of the Hudson River, down-
borough, and the most isolated. Staten Island has its own railway,
river from the lower Hudson River Valley. The Valley attracts
but no connections to the subway system. A ferry runs between
dreaming and industrious types; Washington Irving’s work gave
the island and downtown Manhattan, and express buses travel
the area a reputation for gothicism, and the Hudson River School
between Staten Island and Manhattan. If someone is leaving the
of Romantic painters spent their days replicating the golden, lush
island, they’re likely doing it by car: four bridges connect Staten
views of the river and the lands around it. Agriculture has always
Island to New Jersey, and the Verrazzano links it to Brooklyn.
been the primary industry of the Valley, and since the late 20th
Despite its isolation from the rest of New York, Staten Island century the area has been a leader in sustainable agriculture as
isn’t lacking in interest. The Wu-Tang Clan was founded here, and well as the farm-to-table and local food movements. There’s a
the island is home to significant Russian, Sri Lankan, Liberian, long-standing winemaking industry, and vineyards play host to
and Indigenous Mexican communities. There are thousands of wine festivals in every season of the year. The Valley is also home
acres of parkland, home to incredible biodiversity. Staten Island to art museums, like the massive exhibition space of Dia Beacon
also used to be home to the world’s largest landfill, but Fresh and the open-air sculpture park of Storm King Art Center.
Kills is becoming a massive park. There’s a great deal to explore,
The Awakened of the Valley lean Free Council, and many are
if one only remembers that the borough exists.
former Brooklynites who left the city to pursue their interests
Staten Island has always experienced far fewer geomantic shifts in food justice. The Moros Legacy of Kitchen Alchemists (Dark
than the rest of the city, even before the ley lines were rerouted (p. Eras 2, p. 372), who believe the Mystery of alchemy lives in the
XX). The mages who live there have a different perspective on the transformation of raw materials into nourishing food but also
geomantic shifts and their cause, centering their research on what happiness, energy, and community, originated out in the West;
makes Staten Island different rather than why the phenomenon now several of its modern members live in the Hudson River
is happening in the first place. The Borough of Richmond cabal Valley. The Ecstatic Demeter and her cabal run a cooperative
was the first to notice that geomantic shifts on the island only farm where interested mages in the city can get weekly boxes
seem to happen when the Staten Island ferry docks on its return filled with vegetables, fruits, and cheese. The mages who don’t
trips from Manhattan, though it’s undetermined whether this is a are missing out: Demeter’s farm is located atop a Hallow, and
coincidence or a sign of something stranger. The shifts have grown the food in her boxes is all tass. She’ll let anyone in the Pentacle
more frequent since Hurricane Sandy, which battered the island. join her farm share, but the price is steep.
Given that Staten Island is the least populous borough, it’s also
last priority for the Consilium when triaging and repairing the
networks — which is frustrating given these shifts primarily affect
The Hamptons
St. George, the neighborhood where the ferry docks. All the way out on the eastern edge of Long Island, stretching
from Westhampton to Montauk, is the infamous summer week-
Staten Island cabals are mostly Diamond-affiliated, and almost
end playground of New York’s wealthy. The Hamptons look
always associate themselves with New Jersey-based Caucuses when
different in the summer than they do the other nine months of
it’s an option. Like their Sleeper counterparts, Awakened Staten
the year. Year-round populations have risen over the past decades,
Islanders view the other four boroughs with some distrust; they’re
but summer still brings more than double the population to
not convinced that the rest of the city has their best interests in
their second, third and rental homes. Near Southampton is the
mind, and they might be right. The Awakened even helped drive
Shinnecock Reservation, one of the oldest in the United States.
the secession movement, though they’re interested less in whether
Half of the reservation’s population lives below the poverty line,
Staten Island ever actually secedes and more in making it clear
a stark contrast to their neighbors in Southampton, where the
to the rest of the city that they can’t be ignored.
median income nears triple digits.

The Tri-State Area In the off-season between Labor Day and Memorial Day, the
Hamptons are quieter, cheaper, and home to a flurry of Awak-
New York’s influence doesn’t end at the borders of the five ened activity. Dominicus, the Deacon of the Silver Ladder’s
boroughs. The Metropolitan area is considered to include Long Long Island Caucus (p. XX), has worked hard to shore up the
Island, parts of the Hudson River Valley, five cities in New Jersey, Ladder’s influence in this region, but given that his Caucus also
and six cities in Connecticut. Altogether, the metro area is home covers the Bronx, some théarchs mutter that he’s neglecting a
to more than 20 million people. valuable part of his constituency. They may not be wrong — the
The New York Consilium doesn’t quite overlap with the Caucus’ law library is all the way out in Amagansett, one of the
defined bounds of the Tri-State Area. Its territory stretches di- easternmost hamlets on Long Island, and it’s rare that the mages
agonally from Mercer County, New Jersey, to the furthest tip of of Freedomland, for example, ever make it out to the library.
Long Island, and a ways up north in the Hudson River Valley. The Hamptons has one thing going for it, Supernally speaking:
Connecticut is covered by its own Yale-based Consilium. Travel an abundance of Hallows and ley lines that have no links to the

New York Today 137

artificial ones. The Long Island Ladder might be a joke to their
comrades in New Jersey, Brooklyn, and Queens, as with their Adamantine Arrow:
Sleeper counterparts, but they control vast swaths of territory rich
in Mana that they protect jealously. Seshat has tried to negotiate
with Dominicus to figure out ways that these stores of Mana can
The Wise Guys
The Adamantine Arrow’s figurative stock has never been higher
benefit the rest of the Consilium, but the terms are always unfair
than in the years after the Folly. Paranoid about losing valuable
and always rejected.
and finite resources, mages of all Orders hire Arrows to guard their
things, and one would be hard-pressed to find a cabal without
New Jersey an Arrow in it. The Arrow actually have more resources than any
New Jersey can be divided roughly into North, Central and other Order, though Yúcahu, the Caucus’ Adamant Sage, works
South Jersey, although these are cultural colloquialisms, not hard to keep that a secret. The Arrow make a good show of being
administrative divisions. New Jersey has a wealth of ethnic and in roughly the same place as the rest of the Pentacle, but get into
religious diversity, rivaling New York City itself. Although many their armories and they look more like the Park Avenue Armory
people think Jersey Shore and Atlantic City when they think of in its heyday (p. XX) than an underground boxing gym. Even so,
New Jersey, the state’s economy is far more than reality TV and several Arrow armories are hidden inside storefronts that look
casinos. Jersey is home to thriving pharmaceutical and biotech- like permanently closed gyms, giving rise to the nickname “Wise
nology industries, plus the shipping income that the Port of New Guys” from other Pentacle mages trying to be clever.
York and New Jersey brings in. Back in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Arrow had a mage in
North and Central Jersey are firmly part of the New York Con- every regiment and militia, but these days Arrows are more likely
silium, which is great for them; Manhattan might be lost, but New to be fierce activists and public defenders. New York City’s story
Jersey is the second-wealthiest state, and has more millionaires per might be a tale of two cities, but the Arrow aren’t willing to live
capita than any other state. North Jersey, Seshat’s primary base of in the despair of winter. They’re doing well, given the circum-
power, is home to Ladder civil servants and technocratic Seers. stances, and maybe it’s the guilt of being so secretive about their
Central Jersey edges right up against the Philadelphia Consilium, newfound wealth that drives Arrows to work to make life better
but the Delaware River creates a firm territorial divide so the for Sleepers. Not just living ones, either; the Black Dogs, a cabal
mages don’t have to. Central Jersey is dominated by Mystagogues of Arrows and Mystagogues, spend their days putting down the
based out of the Ivy, a Mysterium Caucus from Princeton that restless dead at cemeteries around New York. The Black Dogs
predates the American Revolution (p. XX). work closely with Yúcahu’s cabal, the Paused Clock. The Arrow
And then there’s South Jersey. Most of South Jersey is split has come together even more closely since the Folly. They’re
between the New York and Philadelphia Consilia, in that every- not on the same page about everything, but Yúcahu has united
one who lives south of the Delaware River does what they want everyone behind his banner. He’s well aware that if the Arrow’s
since neither Consilium is close enough to stop them. Atlantic star falls, his Caucus might fall apart too, which is more motiva-
City used to be a Seer stronghold, but the 2008 recession did tion to make sure everyone in the New York Consilium’s sphere
permanent damage to the casino industry, and the Ministry of of influence knows exactly how valuable an Arrow is in a cabal.
Mammon decided its resources would be better spent focusing Normally, the Arrow finds itself in alliance with the Silver
on Manhattan. The Pentacle would not make the same mistake. Ladder. But since there’s an Arrow in most cabals these days,
The Awakened who work out of Atlantic City these days are ones the Order has become the de facto ambassadors of the Pentacle,
who don’t want to see Atlantic City stay reliant on a crumbling much to the Ladder’s chagrin. It’s not a role that the Arrows are
in-person casino business, many born and raised along the shore. especially comfortable with, either. Playing ambassador means
Some frustrated with Seshat’s weak leadership want to create a less time for the duties they care about, and conflict with the
New Jersey Consilium, and they aren’t very subtle about it. The Ladder takes their eyes off the shared prize of Manhattan. And
Warlock théarch Temperance is one of the most aggressive thorns the Arrow really wants to win back Manhattan.
in Seshat’s side. The Philly Consilium is mostly glad she bothered The Arrow’s secret strategy is also their greatest secret from the
the Archdeacon instead of them. rest of the Pentacle: Yúcahu is only the Adamant Sage in name,
in a bit of trickery that could have come out of the Guardian

Five Points playbook. The real Adamant Sage is Atabai, a Thyrsus in her 70s
who has been in seclusion in the deep Shadow since the Folly.
The Seers and Diamond alike believe her dead, and she only
Change is inevitable in New York City: the intersection that communicates with Thunderbolt Guardians as she meditates
once gave rise to the neighborhood of Five Points is gone, and the on a battle plan that could finally allow the Diamond to retake
five Orders of the Pentacle have been transformed by the events Manhattan. The average Talon has no idea that Atabai is still
of Turifex’s Folly. One thing hasn’t changed, though: intra- and alive; her secret is revealed only to First Talons who have proven
inter-Order power struggles continue to hinder the Pentacle from themselves worthy of the knowledge.
using its full might to take back Manhattan.

138 Chapter Five: Caput Mundi

Guardians of the Veil:
The Ivy League
The Node Rangers The Northeast United States is home to eight pri-
vate universities grouped under the moniker ‘Ivy
New York’s Guardians have never felt particularly at ease in the
League’: Brown University, Columbia University,
city, but it’s been worse since the Folly. Their Order is supposed to
Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard
hold back the Throne; that’s down the shitter. They’re supposed
University, the University of Pennsylvania,
to attract newly-Awakened mages; they lost an entire borough and
Princeton University, and Yale University. All
its 1.6 million residents. That the Seers might have won this front
but Cornell were founded during the colonial
in their war infuriates the Guardians, and none more so than
period. The term Ivy League technically refers to
their Epopt, 722. Paradox is a permanent and high-risk factor in
their shared athletic conference, but also serves
Awakened life these days, especially in the wake of Sandy, and
as shorthand for the schools’ reputations as aca-
the ley lines are more sensitive to it than ever before. The Free
demically prestigious colleges. Selective admis-
Council keeps trying to manipulate cults in the Labyrinth as part
sions policies, small student bodies dominated
of their quest to free the ley lines, and as much as the Guardians
by upper and upper middle-class students, and
try to politely stop them from creating so much unnecessary risk,
massive financial endowments have led to the Ivy
this struggle has been ongoing ever since the Folly. 722 desper-
League’s perception as a socially and academi-
ately wants to let loose and force the Free Council to stop by any
cally elitist group.
means necessary, but nothing egregious enough has happened to
convince the Hierarch to end the Diamond-Libertine alliance,
no matter how many times the Acanthus Councilor Tiresias and
the Interfector Outis complain to Seshat.
The Order also struggles with its Messianic faction. The Mysterium: The Stone and the Ivy
Messianics are nothing new for the Guardians — they’ve had The New York Consilium has enough Mystagogues to warrant
prominent placement in the local Order since the Second Great two Caucuses: the Stone, formerly based in Manhattan, and the
Awakening — but since the Folly, the handful of Messianics have Ivy, comfortable in Princeton. The Stone and the Ivy both predate
become increasingly convinced that the New York Guardians are the American Revolution, though the Ivy is older: Princeton
failing their Order. The members of this faction actually split even University was founded in 1746, and Columbia University was
further into two core beliefs: one group, led by the Enchanter founded in 1754. The Stone have been playing catch-up to the
Tryon, believes that the Hieromagus will not come until Man- Ivy ever since, like a resentful younger sibling. The Ivy have done
hattan once again belongs to the Pentacle, and the other group, little to encourage this sibling rivalry, although they haven’t done
led by the Thaumaturge d’Arc, believes that the Hieromagus will much to discourage it, either. Both sides are paying the price today.
lead them in the retaking of Manhattan. The split is somewhat
In 1938, the Stone moved their chief Athenaeum below the
recent, and the divide grows deeper every year, to the extent that
Cloisters from its original spot on Columbia University’s campus.
722 is hoping the whole faction will just sort of self-destruct. This
The Cloisters were partly built with stone from one of the oldest
is probably wishful thinking on the Epopt’s part, and some of
Athenaea, the Abbey of Sant Miquel de Cuixà, and it would
the other Guardians are worried that the Messianics will convert
not be incorrect to assume that part of why the Stone relocated
more Guardians and 722 won’t do anything until it’s too late.
was to show off their pedigree. After the Folly, the Stone found
The Guardians control most of the outer boroughs’ most themselves with nothing: they lost most of their Library and
powerful Hallows and Nodes thanks to Pontis et Cuniculum, a storehouses, most of their egregori, and their self-reliance. They’re
joint Mysterium-Guardian cabal; this has given rise to the Or- deeply conscious of their new dependency on the Ivy. The Ivy’s
der’s “Node Rangers” nickname, though it’s mostly used by the Hierophant, Ashbel, allows the Stone’s Mystagogues to use his
Mysterium members of that cabal. This cabal mostly comprises Athenaeum and egregori, but the Stone rarely take him up on
geomancy specialists who work on mapping out ley lines, and this. Imuthes, the Stone’s Hierophant, mistrusts Ashbel and fears
they’re close to the Culper Ring, a Guardian cabal primarily fo- that Ashbel might take advantage of guānxi to ask something of
cused on surveilling and spying on the Seers. The Culper Ring is the Stone it can’t give — or, worse, that the Stone will be absorbed
believed to be 722’s cabal, since 722 was the code of the original into the Ivy completely. Ashbel is aware that Imuthes neither likes
organization’s leader, but it’s anyone’s guess as to whether this is him nor trusts his motives for helping the Stone.
true or the cabal allows this impression for prestige.
Compounding the problem is that the Ivy feel like they’re being
Members of the Guardians have access to a vast network of punished for the Stone’s losses. There hasn’t been a Mystagogue
intelligence files held on a secure, encrypted cloud network — with Councilor since the Folly, and their Order is the weakest it’s ever
more than a few false files. They also have access to the servers been politically despite their rising numbers. The Ivy have always
that host these files by way of a physical location in the basement been in a tough position when it comes to the Consilium, since
of a member’s Queens house. they’re out at the far end of the territory. They’re ambassadors to
the Philadelphia Consilium thanks to their proximity to the city
and links to the University of Pennsylvania, so they field a lot of

Five Points 139

requests for help. They’ve even brought a Philly-based cabal or and everything else is a village. The Caucus nickname started as
two into New York’s fold, and feel one member of the Ivy should a joke, and its members rankle whenever they’re reminded that
be rewarded with a Council position. It’s the one thing Imuthes the Brooklyn-Queens and New Jersey Caucuses got the grandiose
and Ashbel can agree on, although both differ on who, and from nicknames and they were stuck with…this. In grand Long Island
which Caucus, should receive a Council seat. tradition, they’ve made the pejorative their own, uniting against
Today, the Stone have holed up at one of their lesser Athenaea the big city assholes who judge them.
in the Queens Museum. The Acanthus Hypatia, the former Each Caucus maintains its own law library. The Brook-
Curator at the Cloisters, directs the collection at the Queens lyn-Queens Caucus built theirs in Maspeth, Queens; New Jer-
Museum and directs Acquisitor raids into Manhattan with her sey’s is in Hoboken; and Long Island’s is all the way out in the
cabal. The Metropolitan Library have had success in recovering Hamptons, in a seemingly-decaying mansion in Amagansett. The
their lost treasures, and it’s rumored that if any Mystagogues are Amagansett location is the source of some strife within the Caucus
offered a Council position, it’ll be Hypatia. Imuthes isn’t thrilled (p. XX), given the difficulty of traveling between the Bronx and
by this either — he doesn’t like Hypatia, and he’s in Seshat’s cabal. the far reaches of Long Island.
Shouldn’t he get more of a say?
Free Council: The Great Mistake
Silver Ladder: Kings, The Assembly has made its home in Brooklyn since the Great

Queens, Princes, and Villages Refusal. The Refusal coincided with the era of unification, and
the Libertines take this as a point of pride, naming their Assembly
The Silver Ladder lost a great deal of political capital in the after a phrase that popped up in anti-unification literature. “Great
years after the Folly. Turifex was a théarch, and his Order has mistake” covers a lot of Libertine opinions, actually: they’ve been
engaged in a great deal of overcompensation for his wrongdoing. warning that the artificial ley lines were a mistake since bridge- and
The Ladder had been based out of Manhattan, but in the wake of tunnel-building began in earnest; they’ve been warning that the
the Folly, it splintered into three Caucuses: one covering Brooklyn Consilium should take the outer boroughs more seriously ever
and Queens, another covering Long Island and the Bronx, and since unification, too. Only since the Folly has the Consilium
a third for New Jersey and Staten Island. At a Convocation held even given either idea any weight. It helps that the Assembly elect-
in 2003, Magisters voted to elevate Deacon Seshat of the New ed Ginger, a clever and charismatic young activist, as its Strategos.
Jersey Caucus to the position of Archdeacon. Shortly thereafter, In the years since she was elected, she’s made a point of actively
the Council selected Seshat as the new Hierarch. Seshat hasn’t and quietly seducing mages away from the Consilium — and it
lived up to the trust placed in her, though it’s not her fault; she’s often works, much to the Consilium’s chagrin.
stretched too thin to be effective, and her attempts to keep her Another thing that angers the Consilium is the Assembly’s
Order and Consilium together eat up her time and render her refusal to limit its activities to Brooklyn. The Consilium claims
ineffective as a leader. Seshat is aware also that her fellow Deacons, control over anything to do with Manhattan…and Queens, and
Epona of the Brooklyn-Queens Caucus and Dominicus of the Staten Island, and the Bronx, and everywhere else, despite Free
Long Island Caucus, watch her with more scrutiny than anyone. Council members living in every borough. They cite the Assem-
She’s made concessions to them that she shouldn’t in an effort to bly’s historic base in Brooklyn as a reason for this, framing it as
keep them from attempting a coup. Dominicus in particular has a natural division of influence, but the Assembly resents this
a habit of pushing his luck with Seshat, and Epona can usually limitation and pushes back. The Ecstatic Fisher was sent to the
be relied upon to side with him in any conflict. Consilium to act as an emissary to the Diamond, but this has
Despite their Deacons’ squabbling, the Ladder Caucuses made him especially unpopular: Libertines see him as a sellout;
remain united in pursuit of a common goal: Manhattan. They the Consilium believes him to be a double agent. Ginger thinks
haven’t given up on the dream of a reclaimed island, preferably he’s utterly useless, but sending him into the lion’s den was her
as the result of their own leadership. They probably never will. predecessor’s idea, not hers.
Thanks to Turifex, they have far too much to prove. The other In the tradition of most formal organizations, the youngest and
Orders are less than impressed, viewing the Silver Ladder’s des- most junior members of the Assembly care a lot less about realpo-
peration to singlehandedly win back Manhattan as nothing less litik than their elders. There are a lot of mixed-Order cabals, and
than a suicide mission, but the théarchs know that they can’t fix mages who might not share a cabal with someone of a different
the ley lines or truly improve life for the people of New York until sect but are still friends. This is a key point in Ginger’s growth
the Seers have been forced out of Manhattan. strategy, though some of her peers think the possibility of reverse
The three Ladder Caucuses don’t have official names, but poaching makes it way too risky. It’s not like the Libertines have
the members have given themselves nicknames anyway. The never dealt with reverse poaching before: Some of the earliest
members of the Brooklyn-Queens Caucus are called Kings members of the groups that eventually became the Ministry of
and Queens, after the counties, and the members of the Jersey Pantechnicon were Nameless mages lured during the aftermath
Caucus are the Princes. The Long Island Caucus is often called of the Great Refusal. It’s an open secret within the Great Mis-
the Village, given Long Island’s geography: between Nassau and take that some of its own earliest members defected — and were
Suffolk Counties, Long Island has just 13 towns and two cities, protected from violent Diamond reprisal by their former friends.

140 Chapter Five: Caput Mundi

 Brooklyn’s Assembly has moved its Lorehouse twice since its New York’s Seers are part of a Tetrarchy that covers the whole
inception, but right now it’s above a secondhand bookstore in of the Eastern Seaboard, from the tip of Maine to the bottom of
DUMBO that only accepts cash. The store isn’t precisely cross-de- Florida, and those Tetrarchs operate out of Manhattan. Mages
nominational, although the technomancers of the Circus cabal whisper that a Minister is based out of Manhattan too, though
work the cash register regularly. Since the Folly, the Assembly which Minister depends on who’s been asked.
allows supervised Diamond use of the Lorehouse with the un- Some assume that the Lesser Ministries would work together
derstanding that the favor will be returned regardless of whether in their efforts to topple the Great Ministries, but they’re wrong.
the Consilium ever retakes Manhattan. None of the Ministries, whether Greater or Lesser, work together
— and there are a lot more Lesser Ministries cropping up since
The Arrangement the Seers established Manhattan as their playground. It’s really
a miracle that the Seers united long enough to grab Manhattan;
It’s harder than it used to be to disappear in New York, but
the squabbles, backstabbing and outright assassinations rival a
it’s still easy. Mages who find both the Pentacle and the Throne
true corporate boardroom.
distasteful can avoid them — especially once they team up with the
other mages of the small Order nicknamed “the Arrangement” Through trial and error, the Pentacle has figured out a handful
by its members and “the Nameless Order” by Pentacle detractors. of sanctum locations held by the Seers. But make no mistake: No
Ministry, from the lowliest member of its neophyte Pylons to a
New York’s Nameless Order was created in the 1970s when
Minister herself, is fool enough to establish only one sanctum.
six apostates came together in mutual protection. Clara Engle,
There are, without question, many more, and they aren’t only
Max de Santos, Hanna Schwartz, and Kevin Anthony refused to
in Manhattan.
join the Orders or even take Shadow Names, citing their love for
Sleeper friends and family. Prometheus was exiled by the Silver
Ladder after he tried to show his Sleeper friends the Lie one
Great Ministries
too many times. Jeanne renounced her membership in the Free Lesser Ministries have risen in Manhattan since Turifex’s Fol-
Council after she was censured for using her magic to interfere ly, thanks in part to the Great Ministries’ habit of looking out
in a mugging. The Consilium’s lack of protection meant a target exclusively for themselves.
on the backs of the friends and family that the six loved so deeply,
and their secretive arrangement mitigated this. By doing these
Hegemony
favors for each other, they could confuse any Pentacle or Seer Reports of the Hegemonic Ministry’s death have been greatly
spies trying to unravel their activities. exaggerated, at least according to them. Mammon might be gain-
ing ground, but New York culture hasn’t evolved enough since
Today, the Order comprises around 15 unaligned mages. It’s
the Know Nothings to lose its undercurrents of nativism — just
hard to get an exact count, because the Nameless never meet in
look at the way Muslims and Arab Americans were treated after
person; they use a website hidden within the depths of the dark
9/11. The Hegemon’s star faded in the latter half of the 20th
web to contact each other and request assistance with acts they
century, but 9/11 gave them a renewed opportunity to seize on
don’t want to be tied to. Many wear multiple identities. Because
Islamophobic and anti-immigrant sentiment. They spread the idea
being part of the Order means never asking questions, it’s been
of a “true New Yorker,” all the while insinuating that immigrants
corrupted over the intervening decades. Not every member is
could never be part of that identity, despite the city’s pride in Ellis
Left-Handed, but at least one is a Scelestus who uses the good faith
Island and its history as a landing place for immigrants. Under
of their fellow apostates to tempt them into invoking the Abyss.
the Hegemon, fear of the other reigns over New York: other races,
other religions, even other cities.
Mystery Cult Initiation: The Hegemonic Ministry also pushed the construction of the
The Arrangement (• to •••••) Freedom Tower on the ashes of Ground Zero. The tower was
intended by Sleepers to prove the resilience of New York City,
In Plain Sight (•): Gain a Camouflage Skill Specialty in Stealth. but simultaneously reinforced the constant, low-level fear that
Whisper on the Wind (••): Gain the Occultation Merit at has hummed through the city since 9/11. The tower sits on a
one dot. concrete base designed to block ground-level attacks; hundreds of
Digital Footprints (•••): Gain Computer, Stealth, and Subter- CCTV cameras feed their streams to the NYPD and software that
fuge as Rote Skills. identifies potential threats or terrorists. To look at the Freedom
Tower is to remember one of the city’s darkest days. To look at
Mistaken Identity (••••): Gain three dots to put toward the
it is to remember the dark days that came later, when “us versus
Alternate Identity Merit, which can be purchased multiple times.
them” took over political discourse. Every inch of the tower, from
Dark Markets (•••••): Gain five dots to put toward the Artifact the address at One World Trade Center to the “One” branding
Merit, which can be purchased multiple times. of its businesses, is a tribute not to the unity of New Yorkers, but
simply to the Unity.
The Seers of the Throne Panopticon
The Pentacle don’t know half as much about the Seers as they’d New York City is watched over by an enormous security appa-
like, but they’ve cobbled together some knowledge since the Folly.

Five Points 141

ratus that rests on the back of the Domain Awareness System,
the world’s largest digital surveillance system, run by the NYPD’s
counterterrorism bureau — with help from Panopticon, of course. New Prelacy
The DAS’s reach is incredibly wide. It includes around 9,000 Crown Attainment
CCTV cameras that feed to a citywide stream that lives for 30 days The Crown Attainments for Prelates of the Eye,
and can be searched by officers at any time. A machine learning General, Unity, and Father are on p. 103 of
algorithm identifies potential suspects in unsolved crimes. Auto- Mage: The Awakening.
mated license plate readers record every license plate they “see”
on a watch list that stores them for at least 5 years, and can alert The Chancellor (Mammon and Pantechnicon)
NYPD officers to repeated visits or routes. The DAS horrifies grants the Crown of Scarcity. The player may
the Pentacle. The DAS is Panopticon’s favorite toy. substitute the Availability of equipment or services
The DAS is part of a larger security initiative housed in the for any dice or damage bonus she would nor-
Lower Manhattan Security Coordination Center, and the Pen- mally receive from that source. Also, by spending
tacle believes the LMSCC to contain one of the Panopticon’s a willpower when regaining Mana, the mage
primary sancta. Based on information-gathering missions, the renders that individual source of Mana inert, pre-
Pentacle believe that at least two servants of the Eye are present venting anyone else from gaining Mana from it
at the center at all times. Panopticon’s paranoia is justified — if for her Matter dots in days.
the Pentacle could access the DAS, they could change the game The Prophet (Kyrian and Horologian) grants the
in Manhattan. Crown of Agency. When she or another char-
Paternoster acter uses Temporal Sympathy on a spell with her
as the subject, the character counts as having a
New York City’s reputation as a godless wasteland is deeply
Strong Temporal Sympathy to any point in her
unearned: outside of the Bible Belt, more people self-identify as
own past. If a supernatural effect (including Time
religious than anywhere else in the country, and the state was
spells) alters history such that the character’s past
home to the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century.
is changed, she does not change immediately but
Christianity is the most common religion by a landslide, but New
only after her Time dots in turns, allowing her the
York is also home to the world’s largest diasporic Jewish popula-
opportunity to do something about it.
tion. Islam is the third largest religion, and the city holds one of
the United States’ oldest mosques. The Ministry of Paternoster The Ruin (Kyrian and Peirasmon) grants the
doesn’t actually care about this religious diversity: They specialize Crown of Inevitability. Whenever another
in seeking zealots, not moderate believers. Diversity only matters character spends Mana or Willpower to tar-
insofar as it can create discord among Sleepers. get the character or her magic with a spell, an
In the tradition of the Sleepers’ religious Great Awakenings, the Attainment, Scrutiny, or another supernatural
Ministry focuses on missionary work and evangelism. Paternoster effect, that effect costs one additional point of
Pylons spend a great deal of time doing outreach to the outer the relevant resource and the Seer gains that ad-
boroughs, targeting Nameless mages, apostates, and even some ditional point, to a maximum of (her usual pool
loose Pentacle affiliates, particularly ones who are still attached maximum + 1); all points beyond her usual maxi-
to Sleeper religions. Within Manhattan, they peddle alternative mums vanish at the end of the scene. The instigator
spiritualities to soul-crushed Sleepers looking for something, cannot deliberately abort the effect once they’ve
anything, to fill the void of modern life. They do this work in begun, but if the increased Mana or Willpower
tandem with the Panopticon and its cults of celebrity. cost renders them unable to pay for it in full, it
fails; the original cost remains spent and the Seer
Paternoster has devoted particular attention to the Cathedral
gains nothing. If the opponent spends both Mana
of St. John the Divine in Morningside Heights, one of the world’s
and Willpower on the same effect, this Attainment
largest churches. The cathedral was never actually finished, and
works on both at the same time as separate costs.
progress was delayed even further when a fire damaged the
building in 2001 as the Guardian Columbia attempted to evade
Athena, a Seer. Accounts differ as to which of them started the
fire, if it even was one of the two mages: no one knows, since
they both vanished in the smoke and haven’t been seen since. heavily on its links to the NYPD, organized crime, and the prod-
Regardless, Paternoster saw an opportunity in the cathedral’s ucts of their collusion. While the Domain Awareness System was
sheer physical size and prominence as a space for community Panopticon’s brainchild, the Praetorian use it regularly to figure
events, and has poured money into the cathedral since it began out who to pressure and what leverage to use, or to stoke the fires
renovations. of violence in a city that has grown much more peaceful in the last
several decades. Praetorian also works hard to create and perpetuate
Praetorian distrust between the NYPD and elected city officials, like the mayor.
From the Five Points gangs of the early 19th century to broken When New Yorkers focus on petty political squabbles, it’s easier
windows policing, the Praetorian Ministry’s work has always leaned to build sympathy for militarized police and other tough-on-crime

142 Chapter Five: Caput Mundi

policies with an outsized effect on marginalized populations — Trump International Hotel and Tower. They used to be active in
which only further fuels the fires of conflict. Atlantic City, but pulled out permanently as the casino industry
The Praetorian has had a presence at the Park Avenue Armory collapsed during the Great Recession. They’re not done with the
since it was built for the Seventh Regiment of the National Guard industry as a whole, though, and are keeping an eye on plans
in the late 19th century. The Seventh was known as the Silk for a casino on the Shinnecock Reservation in the Hamptons.
Stocking or Blue-Blood Regiment, thanks to the disproportionate Pantechnicon
presence in its ranks of the city’s aristocrats. The building was
The Seers of Pantechnicon serve the Chancellor as if she were
decadently designed, with a Gothic Revival exterior and interior
a prophet, in much the same way Sleepers follow technoprophets
elements that ranged from Romantic to militaristic and pulled
like Steve Jobs and Elizabeth Holmes. The future is written in
from half a dozen different cultures. Until the Seventh’s disso-
binary code and on motherboards; if someone is trying to get
lution in 1947, there were always at least one or two Praetorian
off the grid, they’ll inevitably be swept away. Pantechnic Seers
members. Now the whole building is one of their sancta, under
have helped propel New York City’s development as a second
the guise of an arts conservancy.
Silicon Valley, luring Big Tech to Manhattan campuses with
promises of tax cuts and kickbacks. Roosevelt Island’s recent
Lesser Ministries transformation of a hospital into a Cornell tech campus? Thank
As the song goes, if a Lesser Ministry can make it here, they can the Pantechnic Seers.
make it anywhere. Several Seers who belong to Lesser Ministries The Ministry of Pantechnicon was founded out in the Bay Area
have tested that idea, taking advantage of the Great Ministries’ and spread to Seattle. In 1995, the Ministry watched with interest
squabbling to build up their own prospects. as New York’s Flatiron District became an incubator for the tech
Kyrian industry. The dot-com bust only set the industry back a few years,
and when a tech-friendly mayor was elected, Pantechnicon moved
In the grand scheme of the world, the servants of the Ruin and
in. Literally: after the former Port Authority building at 111 Eighth
the Prophet, Exarchs of Fate and Time, are members of a minor
Avenue became a tech campus, Pantechnicon leased offices there.
Ministry. In New York, their influence is outsized. New York
Pantechnicon also has influence over the Tech Valley of eastern
City is one of the most stratified cities in the United States. The
New York, which stretches from Albany to Westchester County.
city contains both the wealthiest and the poorest congressional
districts in the country, a fact that has underpinned more than Phemian
one political race. More billionaires have addresses in New York Everything worth seeing starts in New York: arts, culture,
than anywhere else on the planet, but tens of thousands of New people. Movies might be made in Hollywood, but fame still lives
Yorkers are unhoused as new luxury buildings sit empty. Income or dies by the iron hand of the city. Andy Warhol promised
inequality worsened dramatically in the 2010s. With the Kyrian everyone 15 minutes of fame, and the Phemian is here to give
Ministry entrenched in city government, it’s fair to fear that this it to them... if they’ll just do this one thing first. Phemian has its
trend won’t slow down anytime soon. hooks in tabloids, high-brow weekly magazines, Fashion Week,
Kyrian is instrumental to the ongoing entrenchment of the Broadway, television, local news, the recording industry — any-
Seers in Manhattan, so the other Ministries tread carefully. They thing that makes stars or breaks scandals.
keep a sanctum near Times Square, one of the clearest symbols More important, Phemian has its fist around the socialite city’s
of New York’s dualities. crown jewel: the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The annual Met
Mammon Gala is one of the world’s most prominent social events and a true
feather in Phemian’s hat, followed by drooling photographers,
The Hegemony’s days are numbered. So say the Mammonites
high-brow critics, and average people alike. Red carpet walks are
who serve the Chancellor, Exarch of Matter. They could be right:
picked apart on social media without the celebrities involved
the Unity will never fall, but the Hegemony might. Put enough
even knowing — since 2015, social media and selfies have been
money into it, and anything can topple.
banned inside the Gala. Someone’s star could rise or fall, and
If the Mammonites overtake the Hegemony anywhere, it’ll they wouldn’t know for hours.
happen in New York first. These Pylons reign over Wall Street,
playing with the stock exchange like it’s Monopoly money.
Whether the markets are rising or falling, Mammon is soaring.
It isn’t just the Financial District; anywhere that money talks,
Minor Mysteries
Mammon has its fingers in the pie. The neon signs of payday loan Some say there’s at least one Mystery for every one of the nearly
sharks point the way to the Chancellor as much as the flashing nine million people who live in New York, and willworkers look-
of a stock ticker does. ing for a Mystery to solve find they need not look far.
Pentacle mages have heard rumors that Mammon is restricted
to activity north of Wall Street, a Hegemon bid to retain its in-
fluence over south Manhattan. Mammon’s only known sanctum
Cats of New York
is in the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle, conveniently Bodega cats are everywhere in New York City. Despite the name,
located above a shopping mall and across the street from the they don’t limit themselves to just bodegas: they wind through hard-

Minor Mysteries 143

ware stores, coffee shops, and bookstores, taking pride of place in denotes a new level of trust, and removes one degree of Gauntlet
window displays and sustaining themselves on rats in the basement. Strength for any Spirit spells while the cat is nearby. At five dots,
Technically, any cat-watched establishment that sells or serves food is the cat generates a temporary Shadowed Door, as with the Spirit
violating health codes. It hasn’t gotten the bodega cats out, though. ••• spell Reaching (Mage: The Awakening, page 182). Only the
The few times health officials have tried, the cats disappear. They mage with this Merit can cross through the Iris; her cabal cannot
don’t evade capture by running into a basement or down the street: join her, nor can her enemies follow her.
they vanish into the Shadow, and come back when they please.
If a mage can win the loyalty of a bodega cat, the cat becomes
a useful ally. Thyrsus mages often keep pet cats as Path tools, but
Ghost Trains
New York City’s public transit is a key lynchpin of the artifi-
bodega cats defy this categorization. Any mage who cultivates
cial ley lines, but the Awakened are sure they can’t blame the
friendship with a bodega cat can use the cat as a messenger,
ley lines for this Mystery: ghost trains that rumble through the
including into the Shadow. More significantly, these cats can
tunnels and over the bridges, bringing passengers to abandoned,
sometimes bring mages into the Shadow with them. This is rare,
demolished, and unreal stations. Sleepers don’t seem to see the
reserved only for those who have truly earned a cat’s trust.
ghost trains, but mages do, which has led to more than one mage
Seers rarely ally with bodega cats; cultivating their friendship stepping onto a train populated by quiet ghosts. The trains are
requires a soft touch, and the cats have come to expect offerings always decommissioned lines — typically the 8, 9, the H, K, or V,
from the Pentacle rather than the Seers. The cats have aided in though mages have reported seeing the old double-letter lines as
several of the Pentacle’s artifact recovery trips into Manhattan, well — giving rise to the nickname “decom.” Where the decoms
and the Seers’ response has mainly been to enforce legislation that take them, and why, is anyone’s guess. The City Hall Loop at the
penalizes stores with cats, which disproportionately targets Latin Manhattan end of the 6 is a common one, as is the old South
American communities — and that suits the Hegemony just fine. Ferry station.

New Merit: Feline Friend (• to •••••) Losing Manhattan has made this phenomenon difficult to
study. Outer borough Pentacle mages are more cautious than ever
Prerequisite: Awakened, Animal Ken • when getting onto any train in case it’s a decom that will take
Effect: You have befriended one of the city’s most beloved them to Manhattan. A few think it’s worth the risk, including
denizens and given it a Shadow Name. Each dot in this Merit the IRT Cabal, named for the city’s first underground subway

144 Chapter Five: Caput Mundi

line. Back in 2001, the IRT believed themselves to be close to Ebbets went over his work again and again. He couldn’t figure
figuring out what creates the decoms when one of their members, it out. From 1977 to the mid-80s, the Mets had spent a lot of
Myrtle, vanished on a ride around City Hall. The group of five time in last place, but then again they’d traded Tom Seaver. It
was riding a 9, and the lights blinked out as they passed the old couldn’t be the stadium’s fault. It couldn’t be his fault. Could it?
City Hall platform. When they came back on again, Myrtle was In the ’90s, after yet another string of bumpy seasons, Ebbets
gone. The IRT were figuring out a rescue mission when the Seers went to the Consilium and begged them to help him. In his
took Manhattan, and there’s a growing feeling among them that dreams he had seen a new stadium, one with a perfected design.
lack of Pentacle action cost them their best window of time to At first, the Pentacle agreed to help Ebbets out. The mayor prom-
find Myrtle. ised to put taxpayer money toward the new stadium. But then
To the Pentacle’s knowledge, Myrtle is the only mage to have Turifex’s Folly got the Pentacle kicked out of Manhattan, and the
actually disappeared on a ghost train. Normally, they get out. Seers got their technocratic mayor elected, and he pulled out of
They might end up at a station with no exit and have to figure the deal. It took until 2006 to break ground on a new stadium,
out their way back, but they do get out. In the years since Myrtle by which time Ebbets had died. No other mages had ever taken
disappeared, no mage has found her, no matter how many trains him seriously, since his design for Shea was clearly flawed, but
they ride or stations they visit. Not all the stations are real, and as the new millennium wore on it became increasingly obvious
there’s never any guarantee that a fake station will reappear, which to the Awakened that it wasn’t just that his Shea design hadn’t
only adds to the IRT’s fear that she might be gone for good. worked — it was that there was something actively interfering with
it. And it was interfering with Citi Field now, too.
The Miracle Mets Today, the Pentacle doesn’t investigate the Mystery of the New
York Mets only because they care about baseball, or a winning
In spring, summer and early fall, the New York Mets play ball
team, or even Ebbets’ legacy. But a mage can’t resist a good Mys-
at Citi Field in Corona. Baseball is a great American pastime,
tery, and this one keeps asses in the seats of Citi Field, taking
though attendance has fallen over the last couple of decades.
photos, doing calculations, and trying to figure out what the hell
This didn’t stop the Mets from bulldozing their old ballpark,
is going on in this bizarre ballpark.
Shea Stadium, and building Citi Field in what was once Shea’s
parking lot. The Mets are perennial losers, a cosmic joke of a team
even when they’re winning, but there’s still a magic to watching East Egg, West Egg
them play. Literally. Sleepers have never thought of Long Island as a particularly
Though it’s long been debunked, people used to claim Abner magical place. The kind of bewitchment that money can buy,
Doubleday invented baseball. He was a celebrated general who certainly — Long Island has that in droves, but otherwise Long
fought for the Union in the Civil War, and he was also a member Island seems crushingly mundane. Residents have found some
of the Theosophical Society (Dark Eras Companion, page 262, magic in their island’s ability to inspire great works: Great Neck
and Magical Traditions, page 95), a new religious movement and Port Washington served as the inspiration for The Great
founded in the late 19th century that draws on South Asian Gatsby’s East Egg and West Egg. To willworkers’ knowledge,
religions, Kabbalah, and Western occultism and was built upon Fitzgerald didn’t see the most interesting thing about the inlet
racist and antisemitic foundations. Doubleday’s fellow Theoso- that became two Eggs: the mirror. When someone looks across
phist A.G. Spalding headed a commission to discover baseball’s Manhasset Bay, they will see themself reflected back from the
origins — specifically, to ensure that baseball was American in other side, no matter which side of the inlet they stand on. It
origin. When Spalding received a letter saying that Doubleday appears in the mind’s eye as an overlay across what’s really there,
was the inventor, the matter was decided. Though Theosophists and even mages who have long since mastered their many ways
didn’t invent the game, baseball has ties to the Supernal even of seeing struggle to see past it.
beyond them. The first organized games were played at Elysian It’s a difficult Mystery to study — the Bay is used for commercial
Fields, a long-standing Hallow in Hoboken. League presidents boating, and both sides of the inlet are residential, populated
and general managers alike have quietly fixed games for one occult by wealthy individuals who won’t hesitate to call the police on
purpose or another, though that’s fallen off with the advent of outsiders they perceive to be creeping around. There are ways to
better technology. But the Supernal just can’t seem to leave the get around it, of course, but it’s delayed the Pentacle’s study of
Mets alone. the mirror phenomenon. The last real breakthrough was when
Shea Stadium was designed by Danny Feder, better known as the Greenwitch Cabal noted that looking into a handheld mirror
Ebbets, an Enchanter and baseball superfan. Ebbets was a Queens breaks the overlay effect. That was a few years ago. Little progress
native, proud of the borough’s new team, and he wanted to bring has been made since, though the Mystery remains the subject of
them luck. He designed Shea based on some visions he’d had, the Greenwitches’ collective Obsession.
but something went awry. For a while, everything seemed fine;
it wasn’t unusual for a new team to take some time adjusting,
and in 1969 the Mets won the World Series. Ebbets bragged all
The Diner of the Time Before
over town. They won again in 1986, and that was when things Out in the Delaware Water Gap, near a nondescript rest
took a turn for the worse. stop, is the Atlantis Diner. Or so the mages of New Jersey have
nicknamed it, anyway. The diner is a slim thing of chrome and

Minor Mysteries 145

neon, glass and terrazzo. The diner is open 24 hours, 7 days a The Seers have seized the levers of this urban Mystery, and
week, and hasn’t served a single customer since it was built. The they’re not afraid to wield it against their Pentacle Order foes.
diner is a tomb inside which the remnants of a fallen and false Securing a foothold on the island of Manhattan seems nigh im-
age lie buried. The diner is remembered fondly by the residents possible, as the city rearranges itself around Awakened invaders
of the Gap when they reminisce on their childhoods and happiest while opening paths for Pyramid agents and servants. The Man-
memories. Yes, even the Sleepers. hattan Hallows flood with Mana bubbling through overloaded
It’s the false memory that draws mages to the Atlantis, but also ley lines, fueling the Seers’ efforts even further.
what it looks like. Atlantean temples are broadly understood to The power is too much. The fabric of the island threatens
look like history — whatever comes across as classical or ancient to to break its stitches and come apart, abused by the Seers to the
an area’s locals. And the diner is certainly a sort of ruin, a farewell point of unraveling.
to a bygone age, but it’s still a diner. One that has never been in And sometimes, rather than moving, parts of the city disappear.
operation, so why can people who live in the Gap describe the
interior as if they’ve been there?
It does follow several rules of the ruins of Atlantis — it’s close to
Urban Shift
the Quartz Cave, a Primal Verge hidden along the Gap. Cell phones A Pentacle willworker who wants to get her boots on the
don’t work here, and it’s impossible to drive into the parking lot; ground in Manhattan needs to maintain a low profile. A battalion
any visitors must park further up the road. Entering requires the of Pyramid mages spend their time in constant and paranoid
shedding of blood while humming a long-lost wordless hymn that surveillance of the island-turned-temple, wielding the magics of
may never have existed at all. Inside the diner, Time goes funny: Space, Time, and Fate to scry for and divine any trace of intrud-
no matter when a visitor enters, the diner is shrouded in eternal ers, while ephemeral minions employed through Death, Mind,
night, an abyss of Timelessness. Even if someone goes in for a and Spirit prowl through Twilight as eldritch guard dogs. If she
single minute at midday, when they leave again, it’s pitch-black. gives herself away, a mage faces swift retaliation from Seers of the
Throne and city alike.

The Mystery The Mystery’s urban realignment is the first and preferred tool
for dissuading unwanted Awakened guests, as it risks neither Seer
mages in direct conflict nor the unpredictable consequences of

of Manhattan Paradox. Normally, an urban shift targets a small, localized area

— a street or city block — and its Seer controllers can bring it to
bear in just a few minutes. Should a detected mage remain in
The ever-shifting city. The patchwork island. The jigsaw heart one location for more than a scene, the Seers can pinpoint and
of New York. Manhattan is a bastion of Pyramid power, and it is refine the shift even further, carving out as little as a single house,
founded upon the Mystery that sculpts its streets and neighbor- apartment, or even room and moving it elsewhere. Moving a
hoods with frightening ease. larger area, like a whole neighborhood, likewise takes more time.
At its heart, the Mystery is simple: portions of the city shift Sometimes the phenomenon occurs of its own accord, with no ap-
unpredictably, transposing around or under each other to settle parent guiding sentience at the helm. Legacy members of the House
in their new rearrangements with scarcely a sign of their pass- of Ariadne (p. XX) believe there is a force behind it, something akin
ing. Here, the phenomenon might catch a single apartment, to the city’s soul; and some Seers suggest it’s the will of the Exarchs
even a single room, delivering an impoverished resident to their made manifest. Such unplanned realignments are more likely to
new domicile in prime real-estate; there, it snares most of a occur in close temporal proximity to Seer-initiated shifts, though,
neighborhood, driving it to shuffle dourly to its new place and lending credence to theories that it’s simply a result of the fabric of
taking hundreds or thousands of people with it. The change is reality buckling under such stress. Occasionally, these “wild” shifts
near-complete, unnoticed by Sleepers, Sleepwalkers, and most even take hold beyond Manhattan’s shores, shunting around neigh-
other supernatural beings alike. As far as a victim of a nomad borhoods near to the island with the careless disregard of a child.
street is concerned, she’s always lived in this new location. Only
For the mage caught in an urban shift, the experience is strik-
Awakened see the unvarnished truth, and remember things as
ing, often disorienting, and likely terrifying. This isn’t a smooth,
they truly were.
clean adjustment as might be done via deft use of the Space
It’s not entirely seamless, though. Most evidence shifts to match Arcanum; the street isn’t here one second and there the other.
the new location, even in people’s memories. Sometimes, the Rather, over the course of 10 to 20 seconds, the flesh of the city
movement doesn’t quite fit right, and a handful of folks suffer visibly reconfigures itself in a cascading tumble of bricks, glass
intense déjà vu whenever they pass the block’s new location, or panes, and thundering concrete — a mad puzzle box clattering
argue stubbornly with their friends that the bodega definitely through impossible patterns as buildings adjust themselves to fit
used to be down the other end of the road. One map among their new place better, streets writhe and dance to match a new
hundreds still shows an old location, creating a new “trap street” course, and the sky cracks and breaks with rising lines of towers
to catch mapmakers out. The Shadow doesn’t change to match the and blocks around it. For a witness with Mage Sight within the
new location. Spirits’ memories are altered to the new paradigm, area of a shift, it’s not just her immediate surroundings being
though, driving them into confused migration. remade — it’s the entire city beyond, too.

146 Chapter Five: Caput Mundi

 People and beings other than Awakened don’t notice the For a mage caught in the urban shift, Scrutiny of the Mystery
mayhem unfolding around them, striding through it without may be a relatively minor concern compared to the immediate
flinching. Realignment largely fits itself around them, but some- consequences of the change. With mere seconds of warning via
times something goes awry and a hapless victim is caught in the Mage Sight before the shockwave of realignment hits, a character
grinding enormity of the urban surgery taking place, usually with has little time to escape the change, and once it begins, the folding
lethal effect. Once the shift settles, such a grim fate is preserved of Space that takes place plays havoc with attempts to break free.
in the new fabric of the cityscape; a victim might be imprisoned Using that Arcanum to evade the urban shift suffers a −5 penalty
behind a wall to slowly starve to death, or bifurcated remains to spellcasting dice pools. Any resulting failures on the dice roll
deposited right across the city in random locations. The lack of are automatically degraded into dramatic failures. Simultaneously,
reasoning behind these deaths perplexes Sleeper investigators the mutability of the immediate urban landscape makes any uses
who stumble upon them. of the Space Arcanum while within the shift easier, other than
System: For a mage wandering the streets of Manhattan, the for trying to leave the affected area, and grant spellcasting dice
Mystery has no immediate presence for Passive Mage Sight to pools for such the 9-again quality.
notice. However, an urban shift is presaged by a surge of occult
power that can be scrutinized with Focused Mage Sight, usually
under a minute before the realignment begins. The Mystery
Mental Breakdown
A shifted district cements firmly into its new place in the wider
is obviously evident to Active and Focused Sights during the
human consciousness. The relevant shards of the Temenos adjust
shift itself, and it lingers in the aftermath of a moved locale for
themselves to reflect the new reality, even down to forging fresh
a chapter, effervescing from the newly modified pattern of the
community rivalries and shared commonalities among the new
immediate cityscape. During this brief time, the places and peo-
neighbors that everyone knows in their bones to have always been
ple involved both retain the connections of their old Temporal
the case. However, problems arise where the shape of a street or
Sympathy and gain the threads of the Sympathies created by the
block must be adjusted to fit into the jigsaw puzzle of Manhattan’s
shift in the world. Once it has passed, the old threads of Temporal
layout — a room cut away here, a building conveniently vanished
Sympathy unravel as if they had never been, except for any rogue
there. Most such cast-offs have no meaningful representation in
Goetia (see below).
the Temenos but, occasionally, a location with weightier presence
The immediate Mystery has an Opacity of 5, making it chal- gets the chop. A community building that’s played an important
lenging to unravel — especially when one is also under attack by role in the neighborhood’s history vanishes; an alley that everyone
Seer agents or their eldritch minions. However, repeated exposure knows is a bad, bad place slams shut as the buildings on either
to urban realignments allows for continued, albeit staggered, side now stand flank to flank.
scrutiny. The surface information of the Mystery reveals that it
The Temenos representations of these concepts no longer
is not the direct work of Awakened magic, and that each shift
have a place in the Astral Realm — after all, they suddenly never
resonates with the echo of the events of 2001; the phenomenon
existed. Rather than fading away, though, the distortion of the
of this mutable city occurred before Turifex’s Folly, but it was a
Mystery’s effects snags the Astral denizens of those concepts and
different beast then, and much weaker.
yanks them into the Sleeping world, leaving them as little splinters
The Mystery’s deep information gives a more complete picture, of Mind and Time that no longer correspond with the world
albeit opening up as many new questions as it answers. The phe- around them. Disoriented and lost in the mental frequency of
nomenon may not be Awakened magic, but the method the Seers Twilight, the goetic entities swiftly wither away to nothing — un-
use to control it is, worked through the Hallows at the nexus of less they stumble across a curious Awakened, or locate someone
all those ley lines. The mages responsible use some combination or something strongly associated with their Astral concept from
of Prime and Space magic to work their will, and it leaves their before the urban shift occurred. If a bodega vanishes but the cats
Nimbus on the resulting urban shifts — usually so faint and diffuse escape the shift, the goetic entity of that place might cling to one
amid the enormous tide of power as to be undetectable without of the errant felines.
a Revelation of this kind.
Achieving this serves as an all-consuming obsession for the
The Mystery works on more than just New York’s physical goetic entity. Marooned in a reality that no longer has a place
fabric; it carves into the very concept of the city, seizing the meta- for them, they hunt desperately. The goetic representation of the
physical clay of the idea in the Temenos and remaking it. It’s not killer in that dark alley, accumulated from the community’s fears,
clear which comes first — the shifting of the locale or the change seeks a man who did once murder someone there; neither world
in the Astral concept of New York that now dictates the street nor man remembers, but the broken Goetia does, and longs to
has always been in its new place — but it’s a key part of why so remake what was lost. The kindly but determined old woman
few people are able to recognize the change. It also marks a slow, born from memories of the community center homes in on the
gradual weakening in the Temenos realms reflecting the various flesh-and-blood lady who is, as of just now, long-term unemployed.
other places the ley lines are drawing power in from. On a very, If the Goetia find these anchors for themselves, they can cling
very slow timescale, these other communities are being subsumed to existence for a while. If the human changes and moves away
by the shadow of Manhattan’s cultural presence, strangled both from what the Goetia represents, though, it’s effectively a death
magically and symbolically to fuel the Seers’ dominion over the sentence for the Astral entity; the Goetia needs the man to be-
island. come a murderer anew, or the lady to find a job at a community

The Mystery of Manhattan 147

center, always trying to recreate the forgotten concepts as closely terium scholars detailing similar nightmare realms elsewhere — a
as possible. Desperation combines with the few slivers of occult hellish reflection of Glasgow, a twisted version of Philadelphia.
power the Goetia possess to create a dangerous mixture, goading Active Mage Sight reveals the other city’s hollowness when it
the entity into meddling with their human tethers. comes to Fate. The people and places here have been severed from
Some Goetia of missing places suffer a stranger fate yet. They who and where they should be, their destinies denied. The Mystery
plunge straight past the stable strata of the Fallen World’s com- of the city has an Opacity of 8; scrutiny with Focused Mage Sight
mon reality, caught instead in the orbit of the lost locales they may offer the surface information that the Mystery has existed
reflect, and land in the other city. for some two centuries, while deep information reveals the ways
System: Normally Goetia must be summoned into reality by the city’s nature might offer a route out. The fiends themselves
magic, and possess no inherent Manifestations of their own. are tyrannical spirit-things that hunger for the potential of Fate,
However, the Goetia associated with places snipped away by the draining it out of the populace of the other city and condemning
Mystery — places that now no un-Awakened recall — are pulled them to forever remain forgotten here.
by its power into the old location of what they represent. These For mages unlucky enough to end up here, it’s a phantasmagorical
Goetia still bleed Essence at a rate of one point per hour, but if and frightening experience, but easy to escape via conventional uses
they enter the presence of a human who was strongly associated of the Space Arcanum. Awakened characters in the other city retain
with their former concept, they don’t bleed Essence as long as they their existing sympathetic connections via Space to the real world;
remain in the same scene as the anchoring person. Furthermore, recently-excised pieces of city sometimes have sympathetic connec-
as long as that person continues to be perceived by others as acting tions to the places they once butted against or opened onto, but those
in a manner appropriate to the Goetia’s concept, they can glean fray away and vanish over the course of a story. Those lacking such
a single point of Essence from that person per day. After a story magic must wait for the occasional moments when the vile fabric of
spent in the presence of the human, the Goetia gains a single the other city abrades against the skin of the real one enough to let
Manifestation of their own, and continues to gain an additional them escape via briefly-forming Iris. Getting back to the other city,
Manifestation each story until they have Manifestations equal to however, is difficult; Fate can’t predict the moments these Irises into
their Rank. If at any point they leave their anchor’s presence, the such a Fateless place form. It is possible for the Space Arcanum to
Goetia continues to bleed Essence as normal and loses access to keep an Iris open, but this intrusion seems to drive the Mystery of
any Manifestations they have gained from the association. Manhattan into greater spasms of change; each scene the Iris remains
open, the mystery initiates a new and convulsive shift in the urban
The Other City landscape around the Iris, until it closes.

The Mystery of Manhattan cuts away pieces of New York’s

flesh. It mostly stitches them back in again, but sometimes nips
Command and Control
and tucks here and there to make the new placement fit just Pentacle attempts to pin down and counter the magic the Seers
right — and it tosses those unneeded scraps away. Sometimes, are using to control the Mystery have thus far failed, and for good
too, it excises an entire block and doesn’t put it anywhere. This reason. The cadre of mages tasked with maintaining this occult
isn’t something the Seers have control over, likely caused by defense is continually using it on themselves. They operate out
the overflowing power of the concentrated ley lines, but it’s of a heavily reinforced temple layered with potent wards, and
thankfully rare. constantly shuffle it around the central Hallows that anchor the
Those discarded places go somewhere. They become parts of heart of the ley line web in Manhattan. They cannot move the
a new place. Hallows themselves, but the bunker-like emplacement worms
through the fabric of the city like a mobile tumor: one moment
Most Awakened know about the spirit world of the Shadow, but
the 13th floor of a corporate skyrise HQ, the next a tangle of
there’s a third Manhattan lurking beneath the surface — a crueler,
rooms interwoven with the basement of an old residential block.
stranger place yet than either of the others. A monstrous inversion
of the known Manhattan, this other city is a jumble of reality’s The Seers draw the power for their work from the ley lines and
refuse — forgotten places, lost objects, the people who have slipped Hallows. Rearranging or choking off the ley line network that
through the cracks. Goetia attached to the locations the Mystery feeds into Manhattan would slowly drain the Mystery of energy
excises descend screaming into the oppressive urban landscape of and eventually stop the control temple’s movement, allowing for
the other city like falling angels. Humans and Awakened unable a direct attack. Theoretically, severing or destroying a Hallow at
to escape such a quarantined fragment of reality likewise find the precise moment the temple is manifested at it would also stop
themselves here. They appear among neighborhoods of mutilat- it moving on and leave it vulnerable, but the central Hallows are
ed and mutated people who vaguely remember the original city themselves all observed closely by the Pyramid — and the Mystery’s
themselves, but are now in service to shrieking fiends that writhe meddling with the flow of Space makes successful divinations
through the smog-blighted skies overhead. difficult, although Fate might provide an answer.
Awakened who have researched this other city suggest it is a Even if the Pentacle can pin the temple-bunker down, the Seers
Lower Depth, a concentration of the awful weight of humanity’s won’t go quietly. The mages tasked with defending Manhattan
urban presence denied the community and fellowship that such are themselves dedicated and capable, and they’re guarded by
gatherings should be built upon. They point to the work of Mys- spirits, ghosts, and the stranger servitors of the Exarchs. Given the

148 Chapter Five: Caput Mundi

critical nature of the Pyramid’s hold on Manhattan, it would
undoubtedly become the center of a brutal arcane battle — one
that would draw in the attention of loyal or opportunistic Seers
from across the United States, and probably the whole globe.
The immediate consequences of such a conflict would likely
be catastrophic, with rampant Paradox and power backlashing
through the network of ley lines; if the Seers conclude defeat
to be inevitable, they will likely salt the earth by sabotaging the
Hallows of Manhattan and poisoning Mana across the region.
Worse, the effects of such magical war on the Mystery are likely
to be drastic; the fabric of the city, already so close to bursting,
may rupture into a mess of splintering sub-realities. Calming
such an urban and Astral breakdown would require geomantic
and social magical workings of incredible finesse and power.

The Shadow
of New York
A breath away across the Gauntlet, New York’s Shadow is a
turbulent shambles. As with so much else in the city, the epicen-
ter of this tumult is Manhattan, where the shifting geometries
of the urban landscape have a devastating impact on the old
courts and broods that make the island home. A dark tide of
dislodged and desperate spiritual beings washes out through
the crooked streets and towers of the city’s distorted reflection,
or seek refuge and opportunities in the material world.
Even before Turifex’s Folly, the Shadow here presents a
particular problem for the Awakened of New York. Reflecting
the city’s energy and immediacy, its sheer concentration of rich
sources of resonance as millions of humans live and love and
die and create and destroy, the Shadow sees a constant flood of
eldritch resonance and new spirits. The denizens of this spiritual
New York are, like their fleshly mirror, opportunistic and swift;
hierarchies shift without warning and the powerful rise and
fall quickly, lurching to heady heights of near-godly power one
day, falling to the hungry, waiting masses of their inferiors the
next. Some spirits carve out relative stability from the chaos,
traditionally via twisting a building or block in the Shadow into
a warped and deadly fortress, but the cost of this territoriality
can be high when the city’s resonance shifts underfoot — both
metaphorically, as the fabric of New York and its communities
changes over the years, and now literally, as the buckling ley
lines simply force a realignment of its landscape.
Mages trying to influence the Shadow struggle to enact lasting
changes. Magic might let an Awakened change a powerful spirit
to be more compliant, or outright twist a brood of Shadow
denizens into more convenient forms and natures — but the
rest of the Shadow doesn’t wait long before pouncing on the
opportunity. Changing a spirit’s nature like this destabilizes
what little order does exist; soon enough, a canny up-and-coming
contender makes a move to replace it, or lesser spirits scent
weakness and tear it down. Magical brute force is thus somewhat
like building sand castles on the beach; the tide soon comes in
and wash such efforts away.

The Shadow of New York 149

 That’s not to say it’s impossible to influence the spiritual deni- conduct their work within and recruit spirits from. To the hungry
zens of New York. As reflections of the material, many spirits hew masses of Manhattan’s Shadow, the Seers seem like a wondrous
tightly — even improbably so — to the identities of their physical charity — mages offering them plenty of Essence in return for
sources. Even as they dominate or prey on each other, they spout mere service. With the old power structures broken down, the
claims of allegiance to the same neighborhoods, cultures, and Seers have stepped into the gap. Any Pentacle Awakened trying to
philosophies of the humans and streets on the other side of the breach into Manhattan on the other side of the Gauntlet won’t
Gauntlet. A canny Thyrsus learns to exploit these loyalties and just face the warring spirits and the warped terrain; they’ll find
rivalries and lead the spirits toward the conclusion she desires, many spirit informers, eager to warn the Seers of intruders in
stirring the Shadow with a deft touch and accepting that while return for a splash of Essence.
long-term goals will be difficult to see through, in the short term Inevitably, many of the weaker spirits on Manhattan try to
the mirror of New York may have much to offer. flee the island, risking the meat-grinder of the hungry bridge
spirits or the maddened river spirits. Plenty make it, and their
The Nomad Courts of Manhattan numbers are renewed every day as new motes spring into life in
their place. It’s an unending conveyor belt of refugees crashing
Once, Manhattan was a grandiose and terrible Shadow do-
into the nearest neighborhoods, struggling with their spiritual
main, a cancerous mass of palatial structures wherein near-gods
denizens for space and resonance, and then pushing out a new
bickered. Reflecting the sheer concentrations of wealth, dreams,
wave in turn. It hones the usual cut-throat opportunism of New
hopes, despairs, and the very symbolism of the idea of the city,
York’s Shadow to an even sharper edge. There are always new
New York’s spirit-monarchs dwelled here in all their awful majesty.
spirits, always new prey — but also new predators.
Now the island’s Shadow is a war zone, a blasted desolation
pierced by the alien towers of the Seers of the Throne, bastions
from which the Pyramid exerts power. Some of the spirit-gods
Constancies and Curiosities
are still there, but they are leaner now, hungrier, and more Amid the shifting madness of New York’s Shadow, a few spirit
dangerous. They prowl the dark streets with their courts in tow, broods cling to something approaching order, and several Mys-
carving out new territories that may hold for months, even years, teries draw the attention of the Awakened.
but are inevitably temporary. Gibbering spiritual hybrids, their
symbolic nature mutilated by desperately consuming Essence of Ariadne’s Fraying Threads
the wrong resonance, of any resonance, are a common threat.
The House of Ariadne (p. XX) sees particular symbolic power
Newborn spirits bubble into existence steadily, but they are culled
in the trampled urban landscape of migratory pathways that
at a brutal rate in Manhattan’s cruel embrace.
the Manhattan spirits leave in their wake, and the tangled net
The problem is the Mystery of the city, realigning its streets and of journeys that the migrating denizens weave across the city’s
neighborhoods. The effects in the real world are obvious enough other side. On the one hand it’s a source of arcane insight; on
to a mage, but the impact on the Shadow has been devastating. the other hand, the city’s Shadow is clearly in distress from the
Every time a neighborhood moves, the Shadow does not imme- aftermath of Turifex’s Folly.
diately shift in turn; it remains as it was, suddenly deprived of its
Any member of the Legacy who successfully Scrutinizes the Mys-
physical reflection and therefore the source of food for many of
tery of a spiritual migratory path in Manhattan’s Shadow (which
the local spirits. They, in turn, must move elsewhere, hunting for
has a base Opacity of 6) can use her Legacy Attainments that would
either their original home (wherever it may now be) or dislodging
normally require a scene of wandering the city’s streets as an instant
other spirits from suitable reflections. The Shadow itself convulses
action instead, as long as she is on that migratory path or on the
in unpredictable ways, only slowly adjusting to match the real
streets in the real Manhattan that it follows; the latter can prove
world’s new layout and still overlaid with the old.
hard or even impossible if a path moves through areas of Shadow
The result, now, is a Manhattan Shadow filled with wrinkles that no longer match the real city. This capability lingers until the
and distortions that no longer have a physical representation, or end of the story or until the mage leaves Manhattan, whichever
that strain and rupture where a newly-moved locale appears on comes first. However, every time the Metropolitan uses this benefit,
the other side and almost splits the Gauntlet apart. Although she suffers the Guilty Condition; treading the raw, broken symbol-
individual realignments are rare enough, after more than 20 ism of the city in this way is empowering but spiritually corrosive.
years of this most of the old spiritual domains have irretrievably
broken down. Instead, the Shadow sees constantly migrating
tides of spirits, each wave driving the next, scouring the dismal
Bodega Cats
realm of sources of Essence like locusts and fighting over suitable Mages investigating the strange abilities of the bodega cats (p.
resonance. Amid the chaos, the spirit courts and their mighty XX) face a confusing conundrum. The cats are not, themselves,
rulers travel in search of their next meal. They briefly fortify in spirits, and most spirits hesitate to tangle with them. Close
old haunts for as long as the city remains stable, or at least until questioning can glean that this reticence stems from spirits’
their equally dangerous, hungry rivals come to dislodge them. compulsive adherence to old pacts and agreements; as far as the
Shadow denizens are concerned, the cats made a deal with the city
This mayhem suits the Seers of the Throne just fine. Their Thyr-
spirit of New York itself for safe passage, one that encompasses
sus have raised up bastions in the Shadow, hidden fortresses to
the entire Metropolitan area.

150 Chapter Five: Caput Mundi

 The problem is that New York doesn’t have a singular city spirit, anyone who trespasses on their tracks. The steel beasts can even
as far as anyone can tell. The spirits themselves remain unable to sense if one of their own has been suborned by outside forces
explain this apparent contradiction, but few are willing — or even like Awakened magic, endlessly pursuing such traitors—which
able — to breach the agreement they feel deep in their Essence. has made it hard for the Seers of the Throne to bring the Iron
Roads to heel.
The Court of the Thicket These monomaniacal spirits intrude into Manhattan, where
Manhattan’s oldest spiritual court endures. Indeed, the spirits they are swamped by desperate spirits offering meager tithes of
of the Thicket are not just surviving; somehow, they’re thriving Essence for a route off the island. Journeying inside the steel
amid the chaos. An improbable resurgence of this old court of carapace and leathery guts of an Iron Roads courier can shield a
nature is growing out of Central Park, turning the park’s Shadow mage from detection or interference, offering an avenue into the
into a thorny fastness and choking the nomad legions out of the besieged island. It comes with the risk of being caught up in the
surrounding streets. subway spirits’ own wars down in the dark, though, where things
that even Awakened struggle to give name creep out of the depths
The Court of the Thicket dates to when the island was still
and clash with the steel behemoths for rule of the buried tunnels.
unscarred by colonial structures, but they’ve been in retreat ever
since the seizure of the area from the Lenape and had — as far as
the Awakened knew — withered away almost entirely by the end
Spirit Crowds
of the 20th century, but for a last few stubborn holdouts. Their It’s a known phenomenon in Shadow cities across the globe,
renewed ranks are energized and brutal, destroying the urban but here in New York it’s unusually common — the spirit crowd, a
spirits who resist them and co-opting beings of more elemental fleeting but intense manifestation of the hurried city’s nature onto
symbolism as they go. Exactly where the tide of nature spirits is spirits in the immediate vicinity. During a spirit crowd, spirits
coming from remains a Mystery, and one that’s hard to unpick of all kinds are driven to briefly act like crowds of humans do;
while the Pentacle is denied easy access to Manhattan, but they throng into the streets, all seeming to go somewhere, pushing
Mystagogue investigators report word from elsewhere that the past each other but otherwise paying absolutely no heed to their
last spirit lord of the Thicket has forged some agreement with fellows. The usual predatory violence is nowhere to be seen, and
others of its kind elsewhere in the world. The Court might be Rank plays no part as the least little spirits scurry past the shadow
potent allies against the Seers and their spirit minions, albeit the of some groaning behemoth shambling about its own business.
cost of supporting the Thicket’s desire to tear down Manhattan’s After a few minutes, the crowds disperse as quickly as they
buildings may prove a high one. came, and the spirits return to their usual behavior. For a mage,
spirit crowds present an opportunity to move fairly swiftly without
Iron Steeds and Steel Spiders drawing attention; the symbolism of the crowd’s mass movement
The safest way around the city’s Shadow is via the Court of masks the presence of a single human, inflicting the highest Rank
Iron Roads, a coalition of train and subway spirits who endlessly among the involved spirits as a penalty on mundane and super-
thunder along their predestined paths. Even the weakest of the natural dice pools to detect the mage, and denying any sympathy
Iron Road spirits is a mighty being the size of a train car, all toward the mage that doesn’t also apply to every spirit involved
thundering legs and pistons and lamplight eyes. Some are equine in the crowd. For those Awakened who take the time to plumb
amalgamations of machine and flesh; others skitter on churning the Mystery and seek the Revelation past its Opacity of 2, each
legs with arachnid grace. They are all unflinchingly trustworthy, spirit crowd reveals a single secret about the city’s fleshly denizens
inasmuch as that they deliver a traveler who pays their toll in Es- through the hurried movements of their spiritual reflections; a
sence or blood without harm, and they nurse undying hatred of triggering moment in material reality that has stirred the crowd
into life.

The Shadow of New York 151

 He feels the shape of the city against the soles of his feet as The New York House has long had an unusual make-up, attract-
he walks; he tastes its bitter flavor of fumes and damp fog in his ing a greater number of both Libertines and Théarchs over the
sinuses; he sees its passions and its personality in the cut of the years, but it has now fully sided with the Pentacle and ejected all
people who throng in the streets. The city is a web, tightly woven Seers from its ranks. The breakdown of the city as both concept
together, and with each stride he senses its secrets all a-quiver, and physical place is an affront to the Legacy’s philosophy, and
waiting for him in a knot of revelation. the complicity of Pyramid Metropolitans in the exploitation of
the Mystery of Manhattan slowly fanned tensions within the
Walking the Threads House until it snapped. The “renegade” House of Seers is now
a privileged elite within the local Iron Pyramid and, conversely,
To the urbanphiliac Metropolitans of the House of Ariadne, Pentacle Metropolitans are valuable to those mages seeking to
cities hold a sacred power. The crossing point of so many des- challenge Seer power on Manhattan.
tinies, so many timelines, spins a tapestry far greater than the
Both House and Seer counterpart have exploited this value to
sum of its parts, a concept called
their own ends, in terms of respect, favor, and recruitment. The
the Knot. The urban landscape
Libertines have bulked out the House’s ranks significantly,
isn’t just a gathering point for the
while Silver Ladder Metropolitans work hard to reinforce
magical, it is magic — an expression
the Legacy’s growing influence in the Pentacle. As the crisis of
of the Supernal written across every street,
the Mystery grows ever closer to conflict or catastrophe, howev-
every structure, every soul. The city does
er, some of the Metropolitans yearn for the old, lofty neutrality
not forget; it wears its history in the scars
that once let them be a bridge between both
and creases of its fabric. It always has
sects. They agitate for a healing of
more secrets to tell.
the divide, and the pooling of both
The House claims as its origin halves’ expertise and lore so that there
the Ariadne of myth, although it might yet be a chance to study and sub-
reframes her as one of the Awakened. due the Mystery before it risks ripping
After Theseus’ betrayal, the mage built the city asunder. Yet it may be that the
herself a new city in mimicry of the Lab- twin parts of the sundered House have
yrinth she had helped her former lover grown too greatly in prestige and influ-
escape, weaving a place of wondrous ence, and the rifts between colleagues
power from intersecting ley lines and gone too deep, to back down from the
urban structures. The long-buried brink now.
ruins of Ariadne’s city still attract
House mages on pilgrimages to Naxos. Origins
Ariadne’s disciples spread worldwide, following the pull of the
Parentage: Acanthus, Guardians of the Veil, Seers of the
Threads — the mystic impressions of the cities’ magic — to study
Throne
new settlements, and sometimes even build them. As keepers of
urban lore, spending their time steeped in the emergent occult Background: Most Metropolitans are lifelong city-dwellers,
mysteries of architecture, culture, and community, the House although a small number who hear the city’s call come from
of Ariadne established themselves as sources of knowledge for the countryside to find the missing part of their identity in the
other mages, as intermediaries to Sleeper institutions, and even hustle and bustle of the urban sprawl. All Metropolitans have
as trackers within the dizzying complexity of the urban landscape. an instinctive feel for the fabric and pace of city life, sensing the
pull of Ariadne’s Thread before they ever join the legacy itself.
In New York, the House of Ariadne rallies to war. Though the
Legacy is not militant by nature, it has seen its fair share of sieges Appearance: Metropolitans come from a broad cross section
from either side of the lines. It now brings this knowledge to bear of city lifestyles, but usually reflect the specific character of the
against the Seers’ control over Manhattan, who would deny the community in which they dwell; one flaunts the latest designs
House access to such sacred urban ground. To the Metropolitans, from the city’s fashion houses, while another shares the ragtag
New York is the modern incarnation of the very concept of the garb of the local homeless population. Clothes and signifiers of
city, and it cannot be left in enemy hands. city allegiance are common — sports team merchandise, gang
tattoos, and regionally-produced materials.

152 Chapter Five: Caput Mundi

Doctrine
Prerequisites: Time 2, Fate 1, Streetwise 2
Initiation: Attune to the destiny of the city by walking
its streets and following one’s instincts for at least a week,
sleeping where one finds shelter and eating as the city
provides.
Organization: All legacy members in a single city form
one House, cooperating closely to discover the city’s secrets
and plan its future.
Theory: The House of Ariadne believes cities are power-
ful nodes of entangled destinies and fateful connections, creating
emergent new forces from the greater web. From this stems Ari-
adne’s Thread, a legacy member’s sense of the city’s destiny that
can lead the urban pilgrim to needed resources or incredible secrets.

Magic
Ruling Arcanum: Time
Yantras: casting in a crowded place (+1); success-
fully using Contacts, Allies, or Streetwise to gain
information related to the spell (+1, or +2 if rolled); a
famous landmark associated with the city (+1); walking
Ariadne’s Thread (+1 per hour walked, maximum +3).
Oblations: discovering or exploring something in the city
you’ve never seen before; watching a sunrise/sunset from a place that
overlooks the city; visiting a tourist attraction; attending a private or
elite event.

Attainments
First: Attune
Prerequisites: Initiation
The mage spends the ritual preparation of this Attainment walking
through a city at random, tracing the maze of its streets for at least a
few hours. Metropolitans call this process “walking Ariadne’s Thread.”
Once complete, this Attainment emulates the Time 1 spell “Post-
cognition” (Mage, p. 187) regarding the history of the city, something
or someone within it, or the mage himself, regarding a valid subject he
chooses. The mage may seek a particular kind of moment to view, such
as “the last time someone died in this alley” or “the day this building first
opened its doors,” but the Storyteller decides the precise moment he sees,
as the city’s Fate calls his attention to the most relevant one for his (and
its) needs. This Attainment is Withstood by Temporal Sympathy,
and assigns its fixed Reach to sensory range.
Once per scene, as long as the mage has previously Attuned
to the city he’s currently in, the Storyteller may offer the player
an Arcane Beat for the character to receive this Attainment’s ben-
efits without walking the thread or deliberately activating it, as the
city reaches out to make a request or express a need through vague
omens and symbols. If the player accepts, he must follow up on the
vision within that scene to gain the Arcane Beat.
Subsequent Attainments require the mage to have previously Attuned
at least once to the city where he uses them; he may Attune to any city. This

The House of Ariadne 153

Legacy’s Attainments only function in urban environs, though to guide them through. After spending a scene walking the city’s
a small city is as urban as a sprawling metropolis for these pur- streets or exploring the surroundings of a structure, barrier, or
poses; the legal definition of a place as a “city” or “town” is less obstacle, this Attainment emulates the “Break Boundary” spell
important than the way the inhabitants think of the place. The with Potency equal to the mage’s Space dots, and with Reach
mage enjoys a +1 equipment bonus to Social rolls in a city to assigned to fitting through pathways through which they could
which he’s previously Attuned (+0 in the suburbs), but suffers a not otherwise pass.
−1 to the same in rural environments or wilderness.
Optional: Space 1 Fourth: Geomantic Peregrination
When the Metropolitan views the past with this Attainment, Prerequisite: Time 4, Streetwise 4
he also learns one of the subject’s sympathetic connections per The Metropolitan contemplates a question, and spends a scene
level of the Attainment’s Potency, as the Space 1 spell “Corre- walking the city’s streets. The Attainment will lead the mage to
spondence” (Mage, p. 172), as long as that connection was within an answer, if one exists; it presents itself through symbolism that
the city at the viewed time or is now. draws the Metropolitan’s attention. This duplicates the effects of
the “Prophecy” spell, with Potency equal to the Metropolitan’s
Second: Follow the Thread Time dots and with Reach assigned to reducing subjects’ Doors.
Prerequisites: Time 2 Optional: Fate 4
The Metropolitan gains a deeper sense of the city’s ebb and The Metropolitan can take the victim of a curse on a journey
flow, learning the rhythm with which its mechanisms interlock. with her through the city’s streets, seeking answers amid the
To other city-dwellers, beset by the trials and tribulations of cobblestones and alleyways. This duplicates the effects of the
urban life, it seems like the mage has a charmed existence. This “Atonement” spell against a curse with Potency equal to or less
Attainment emulates the effects of the “Green Light/Red Light” than the mage’s Fate dots, with the journey itself being the neces-
spell relating to the timings of mundane events or factors while sary task to overcome the curse. Fate ensures this journey through
in a city to which he has Attuned, and is permanently in effect. the city’s underbelly will reveal whatever means are necessary to
Optional: Fate 2 break the curse, and that the journey will itself be appropriately
grueling and difficult for the magnitude of the task.
The Metropolitan can trust in the pull of Ariadne’s Thread to
deliver her to the right place at the right time. After exploring the
city for a scene, the mage arrives at wherever or whomever can
Fifth: Ariadne’s Blessing
provide what she needs. This duplicates the effects of the “Shifting Prerequisite: Time 5, Streetwise 4, at least three Contacts
the Odds” spell, with Potency equal to the Metropolitan’s Fate Merits relating to people or groups in the city, and at least two
dots, and leads the mage to the desired kind of person or object dots in a Status Merit relating to a Sleeper institute or organiza-
immediately after the scene of exploration. tion in the city.
The line blurs between Metropolitan and city, the tapestries
Third: Walk the Web of the two weaving together. As the city is enduring, ceaseless,
Prerequisite: Time 3, Streetwise 3, and at least two Contacts eternal, so is the mage. After the mage enters a city and spends
Merits relating to people or groups in the city. at least a scene walking its streets, this Attainment duplicates
the effects of the “Veil of Moments” spell, with Reach assigned
The mage focuses their mind on a specific item or person,
to allowing the mage to heal naturally, regain Willpower, and
following the thread of the city’s tapestry to divine the precise
regain Mana. The Attainment remains in effect until the mage
spot it will be when the mage arrives in the future. By walking
leaves the city limits.
with no particular destination in mind, obeying the gentle pull
of Ariadne’s Thread upon their instincts, the mage will proceed Optional: Fate 5
unerringly to the location of the target if it is in the same city By plucking the threads of the city’s Knot through a scene of
as the Metropolitan. The mage needs no sympathetic Yantra or walking the city and making small interactions with its people that
connection to find the target, but the spell also does not magically cascade on to far-reaching effects, the Metropolitan weaves the
hasten their progress. city’s tapestry with a design of their own making. This duplicates
Optional: Space 3 the effects of the “Strings of Fate” spell, with steps of Duration
equal to their Fate dots and with Reach assigned to using the
The Metropolitan can find a way through the urban landscape
extended Duration chart and to presenting opportunities toward
by reading the weave of the city’s flesh and trusting in the threads
the specified event once per day.

154 Chapter Five: Caput Mundi

Citizens That
desire to invest herself in any part of the Fallen World she feels
irrelevant to her Awakened development.
Amuse is a thief, but not for the thrill of it. She provides plan-

Never Sleep ning and guidance for the Second Knock and for her, each job
is an intellectual problem: a chess game where the prize is lost
magic, fragments of the history of enlightenment, now liberated
New York is an even more dynamic, chaotic city for the Awak- by the Free Council. A taste, a momentary interest with a definite
ened than it is for Sleepers. Beyond the strange streets that reveal end, is more than enough for her. Far from making her callous,
themselves to sorcerers, its vast occult and mundane wealth has she believes this makes her friendships sacred, built to last where
driven constant conflict and chaotic, divided politics. New York’s associations based on weak motives like political ambitions and
Awakened population is massive. The New York Consilium’s eight carnal interests fail.
Caucuses represent dozens of Pentacle mages, though many care
Amuse’s keen analytical mind and deep knowledge of the
little for any overarching authority. While this is hardly unique to
history of religious and spiritual movements make her critical
New York City, local Awakened who chafe at Consilium rule are
when it comes to finding and planning the recovery of Artifacts
much more direct about it. This isn’t just the New York attitude,
from the city’s lost Athenaea. Her desire to control her mark on
but the fallout from Turifex’s Folly. The jewel in the crown of the
history makes her sympathetic to the Arrangement, and she can
Five Boroughs belongs to the Seers now, and in the aftermath,
make introductions, but she chose the Free Council long ago.
even local Silver Ladder mages may put cabal and neighborhood
Despite its occasionally strained relationship with the rest of
before the regime.
the Pentacle she considers it integral to her Awakened identity.
Along with the city’s size and significant Awakened population, Humanity’s true potential lies locked within its past, in a million
this situation makes the common top-down approach to profil- ancient yearnings for enlightenment, and with the Council,
ing its mages unsuitable. Therefore, instead of an encyclopedic Amuse means to unchain and exalt that heritage.
treatment, this section sticks to a few of the mages characters are
Description: Anne Steinberg is 28, and dresses like a professor
likely to encounter as they pursue local and personal mysteries.
about 20 years older, in dark pantsuits and flats that project the
image of someone who doesn’t want to get to know you better.
Amuse, the Objective One She has a wiry build, brown eyes, and the skin tone of a white
Sure, truth is fluid. Like any fluid, it can be measured, tracked, and woman who gets just enough sun to avoid comment on what
analyzed for its composition. Every legend behind that relic exists for would otherwise be a pale complexion. Her brown bob cut
specific reasons. Find the reasons, know its powers. Know its powers, belongs to three expensive, identical wigs. Amuse has natural,
and we’ll know why they’ve guarded it that way — and how to bypass crew-cut hair, dyed silver to match premature gray spots along
their measures. the temples. Amuse wears patterned tights, SWAT boots and
tech-wear jackets selected for their waterproof storage capabilities.
Background: Amuse (“like the French word, technically, but At any given time, at least two of her pockets contain battered
say it how you must”) is the Shadow Name of Anne Steinberg, a notebooks, filled with research about the Second Knock’s most
historian and teaching assistant at Columbia University. To the recent targets.
irritation of fellow members of the Second Knock cabal, Amuse
Amuse’s Long-Term Nimbus manifests in lists and descriptions
has strict rules about the separation between her Awakened and
of historical facts that appear around her in things like conversa-
mundane persona. “For all intents and purposes, when I go to
tions and TVs set to specialty channels and trivia. Her Immediate
work, I’m not a sorcerer, willworker, or whatever.”
Nimbus appears as loose sheets and notes containing the same
She has several such rules and keeps them strictly based on information (though often pointedly relevant to the situation
the theory that history is the primary force in human lives; it is at hand), whirling in the wind, and remnants of these form her
a procession of objective fact that we view through a subjective Signature Nimbus.
lens, and a wise person participates in it consciously and delib-
Storytelling Hints: It would be easy to identify Amuse’s
erately. Anne Steinberg is a middle-tier academic who will never
self-control as her fatal flaw, but she’s comfortable and basically
rise higher or attract notice. She attracts middling reviews from
happy living this way. What breaks her routine? Her friends in
students, goes on entertaining though ultimately unsuccessful
the Second Knock, and her commitments to them and friends
dinner dates with strangers of various genders, donates 10 percent
in the Arrangement. For her, friendship is a deep spiritual com-
of her income to the New York Historical Society, and enjoys a
mitment that, if pressed, she’ll do anything to preserve. Amuse
carefully curated selection of middlebrow media. She never “casts
suffers from a certain degree of naïveté, believing that her friends
spells,” because she exercises the power of invisibility through
treat their connection to her almost as seriously as she does.
her choices. Steinberg is, however, a real identity, not a pose:
She’s wrong but has yet to be betrayed to the point of breaking
part of who she is.
her false impressions.
Amuse, on the other hand, is an asexual aesthete with a scat-
Amuse can provide introductions to the Second Knock and
tershot mastery of a dozen historical periods, focusing on art and
the Arrangement, and she knows a great deal about the disposi-
cultural artifacts representing the triumph of the transcendental
tion of historical Artifacts and locations in Manhattan. Most of
over the carnal. Her Shadow Name represents the limits of her
her knowledge comes from ordinary research, carried out with

Citizens That Never Sleep 155

professional skill and dedication. She’s also adept at inferring the
security arrangements in place at various museums, galleries, and The Bagman, a Cop
private collections, though in any team of thieves, Amuse prefers Respect the uniform.
a remote looking and coordination role.
Background: Mark Anthony Knox, the Bagman, commutes
between Westchester, where he lives, and Manhattan, where
Path: Obrimos he works. He’s never been anywhere else for longer than a long
Order: Free Council weekend, and never wants to go anywhere else. The rest of the
Legacy: None world comes to Manhattan. That’s how the Throne simplifies and
levels the world. It’s his job to keep things level. Manhattan needs
Virtue: Restrained
to be managed, or else all the have-nots, malcontents, and surplus
Vice: Friendly citizens would kick it all over. The Bagman’s a cop, on the side
Aspirations: Leave no footprint on history beyond her of civilization, including the bad parts. Especially the bad parts.
control; finding lost Awakened treasures in Manhattan; Some parts of the System (he thinks about it in the uppercase)
getting one of her friends to demonstrate the deep bond she are supposed to be dirty. He knows his place.
knows they must feel with her.
A fifth-generation police officer, Knox grew up suspecting his
Obsessions: Rediscover lost magic; Artifacts from Man- family’s role maintaining racism and managing gentrification.
hattan’s history In 2002, the System Awakened him on the beat by confronting
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 4, Wits 2, Resolve 4 him with the true nature of his work — and he accepted it. He
Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 2 joined the Seers immediately after, following clues from his
Awakening right to NYPD HQ. They accepted him but put him
Social Attributes: Presence 2, Manipulation 2, Compo- in his place with a beating. Nevertheless, the Bagman knew these
sure 4
well-manicured assholes were weak, because they’d promoted
Mental Skills: Academics (Religious History) 4, Comput- themselves to the clean part of the System, out of the action.
er 1, Investigation 2, Occult (Art Objects) 4 The newly-christened Bagman stayed down and dirty, never even
Physical Skills: Crafts 3 (Forgery), Larceny (Building taking a promotion, and sure enough, almost every self-inflated
Security) 3, Stealth 1 Seer below the Tetrarch eventually murdered each other, especially
Social Skills: Empathy 2, Subterfuge 2 in the aftermath of the Manhattan takeover.
Merits: Contacts (University), High Speech, Library The Bagman took their place but stayed in uniform. To the
(History) 3, Occultation 2, Order Status (Free Council) 2, Praetorian Ministry, he’s their main muscle on the street, leader
Shadow Name 2, Techné (Historical Magical Artifacts) of a gang stronger than any other because of their badges. To the
Willpower: 8 average NYPD member, he’s a patrol officer with unspecified
pull who can swing you plenty of overtime, if you do whatever
Wisdom: 6 he says and keep your mouth shut. And half the dirty cops in the
Initiative: 6 city — that’s a lot of them — know you always donate some of the
Defense: 2 take to the Bagman. Despite an official rank of police officer, he
can exert any authority he pleases through the obscure Special
Armor: 0
Assignment Response Group. Beyond being his Pylon, the SARG
Speed: 9 is empowered by the NYPD to grant him virtually any form of
Health: 7 assignment-based authority.
Gnosis: 3 The Bagman lives in a big, fortified house in Westchester with
Mana/per Turn: 12/3 his wife, Alice, and his son, Mark Anthony Junior. Junior takes
after his father exactly, because he’s the Bagman’s sorcerous clone,
Nimbus Tilt: +1 and 8 again to Academics and Subter-
who he hopes to raise into his replacement. If that doesn’t work
fuge rolls.
out? Well, Alice has a spotty memory due to various magical
Dedicated Magical Tool: Her notebook. interventions, and doesn’t even remember the last Mark Junior,
Arcana: Forces 1, Prime 2, Space 2, Time 2 who the Bagman eliminated due to some faulty sentimentality.
Attainments: Counterspell (Forces, Prime, Space, Time); It’s not about right or wrong. It’s about what the System needs.
Mage Armor (Time); Sympathetic Range; Universal Coun- Description: At 6’ 3”, Bagman has the build and demeanor
terspell of a 50-year-old drill sergeant wrapped in tanned-orange skin,
Praxes: Postcognition (Time 1); Crying (Space 2); Super- and topped with an emaciated looking, white-haired face with a
nal Veil (Time 2) broken hawkish nose. His patrol uniform is immaculate, except
Rotes: Choose the Thread (Time 2, Intelligence + In- for the odd spot of blood on a sleeve or bootlace. His eyes are
vestigation); Dispel Magic (Occult); Influence Electricity black-brown, and he doesn’t blink much.
(Crafts); Invisible Runes (Academics); Secret Door (Larceny) Pipes, engines, and machine parts are central to his Nimbus,
Rote Skills: Crafts, Persuasion, Science and represent the System, a machine that generates civilization

156 Chapter Five: Caput Mundi

and ensures its necessary dominance over physical weakness and Armor: 1/3
sentiment. The Bagman’s Long-Term Nimbus ensures these objects Speed: 13
are always nearby, even in unlikely places. When his Immediate
Health: 9
Nimbus manifests, engines and pipes rumble, and mechanical
components display a bloody sheen, the remnants of which can be Gnosis: 5
witnessed when he leaves behind his Signature Nimbus. Mana/per Turn: 14/5
Storytelling Hints: The Bagman violently enforces Seer dominion Nimbus Tilt: +2 to Presence rolls, and +1 to Manipulation
over the city, recruiting police and related city authorities as necessary rolls.
to help him. He leads from the front, but his time is valuable, so he Dedicated Magical Tool: His badge.
only directly intervenes when non-Seers rack up multiple violations
Arcana: Forces 3, Life 5, Prime 1, Space 4, Spirit 3
of the Throne’s agenda in Manhattan. He takes special pleasure in
laying low “elites” and “out-of-touch” individuals, which often is a dog Attainments: Body Autonomy; Counterspell (Forces,
whistle for members of marginalized groups he believes the System Life, Prime, Space, Spirit); Everywhere; Mage Armor (Life);
requires to be degraded. He especially despises other Thyrsus, as he Precise Force; Spirit Eyes; Sympathetic Range; Targeted
Summoning (Forces, Life, Space, Spirit); Create Rote (Life)
has an antagonist relationship with his Path — nature is fuel for the
System, no matter what those degenerates say. The Bagman benefits Praxes: Create Life (Life 5); Ground Eater (Space 1);
from a vast network of informants from his street contacts (he patrols Honing the Form (Life 3); Turn Momentum (Forces 3); Zoom
whenever he can) and officers who believe he’s a “cop’s cop” and a In (Forces 2)
power broker in the NYPD. He does, however, resent Panopticon’s Rotes: Command Spirit (Athletics), Control Instinct (Intim-
hegemony over New York’s Praetorians, and will occasionally work idation); Create Life (Survival); Ground Eater (Athletics),
with “elites” to weaken their position, though he’ll never put the Lying Maps (Intimidation), Spirit Summons (Occult), Tele-
Seers’ rule at significant risk. portation (Larceny)
Rote Skills: Athletics, Larceny, Intimidation
Path: Thyrsus Weapons/Attacks:
Ministry: Praetorian Weapon/Attack Dice Pool Damage
Legacy: Engineers of the System Baton 6 1
Virtue: Disciplined Pistol, Heavy 9 2
Vice: Falsely Humble Brawling Strike 8 0B
Obsessions: The System; Undermining Panopticon’s
authority Notes: Bagman’s Professional Training Merit covers
Firearms, Intimidation, and Investigation. He also belongs
Aspirations: Attain paramount influence over the NYPD; to a Legacy supposedly called the Engineers of the System,
Create an identical successor; Increase Praetorian power in though how he discovered it is unknown, and no other
New York. members are known to exist.
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 4, Resolve 3
Physical Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 4, Stamina 4 Engineers of the System
Social Attributes: Presence 3, Manipulation 2, Compo- Associated Path: Thyrsus
sure 3
Associated Order: Praetorian Ministry
Mental Skills: Investigation (Crime Scene) 4, Medicine
2, Occult 3, Politics (Police) 3 Legacy Primary Arcanum: Space
Physical Skills: Athletics 3, Brawl 4, Drive (Pursuit) 3, Society is a machine manipulated by patterns of force, where
Firearms (Semiautomatic Pistols) 4, Larceny 3, Stealth 2, physical and social reality meet. Engineers of the System sense
Weaponry 2 and manipulate the joints and gears of this machine for their
own ends. This may seem like an odd spiritual convolution of
Social Skills: Intimidation (Authority) 5, Streetwise 3,
Subterfuge 3, Survival 3 the Thyrsus Path, but in this vision, life itself is mechanical,
following merciless physical principles, and through natural
Merits: Contacts, High Speech, Order Status (Praetorian entropy, the System is constantly hungry to corrode and break
Ministry) 4, Prelacy (Praetorian) 4, Professional Training
everyone and everything — or perhaps to uphold the System like
(see below) 5, Shadow Name 2, Status (Police) 4, Trained
Observer Bagman, a twisted, mechanical perspective is necessary, so set
aside the screams of a soul craving a more organic perspective
Willpower: 6 on existence.
Wisdom: 2 Yantras: Drawing an abstract schematic of chart connecting
Initiative: 7 physical and social factors over the course of an hour (+2); fol-
Defense: 7 lowing a trail or observing a visual pattern left by the footfall or
direct physical actions of a living being (+1)

Citizens That Never Sleep 157

 Oblations: Scrawling social and political schematics on one’s kept nagging him to play with patterns. If he went back to his
own body; eating the flesh of something hunted “socially,” by, old habits, his parents, who were disappointed but supportive,
for example, impersonating an exterminator or intimidating would see his failures were self-inflicted.
someone into providing a pet or fresh kill. He spent his last year in high school concentrating on athletics,
taking up and abandoning successively more complex sports to
First Attainment: See the Bones and Gears occupy his mind without revealing his talents. That led him to
Prerequisites: Initiation (Space 2, Investigation 2, Intimidation kung fu, and kung fu led him into becoming Diagram. Three
or Survival 2) years into his training, he became entangled in a complex scheme
involving his teacher’s debts, two gangs, and a floating poker
This Attainment duplicates the Space spell “Correspondence,”
game. He emerged from this Mystery Play bloody, wealthy, and
cast with a Potency equal to the mage’s Space dots. Any Reach
discovered by the Adamantine Arrow.
may be used on the options listed in the spell description in
Mage, pp. 172-173. Now, at age 25, he owns the kung fu school he trains at, and
it has a new name: The Genius Boxing Academy. Staten Island
Optional: Life 1
has plenty of martial arts schools, but Genius Boxing stands out
The mage can also duplicate the Life spell “Web of Life” with because the student fees are calculated using a complex formula
a Potency equal to their Life dots, at an activation cost of a point that makes it all but free for members of low-income families,
of Mana. Reach applies to Scale. but much, much more expensive for the wealthy. Naturally, the
Academy is also a common meeting place for Adamantine Arrow
Second Attainment: Rebuild the Living mages. Banner Warden Yúcahu listens to Diagram because despite
the younger sorcerer’s inexperience, he’s smart. His intelligence
Machine tackles strategic problems as swiftly as they did chess and calculus.
Prerequisites: Space 2, Investigation 3 Yúcahu has taken it upon himself to become Diagram’s pri-
This Attainment duplicates the Space spell “Borrow Threads,” mary teacher because this potential is dangerous, and he hopes
cast with a Potency equal to the mage’s Space dots, at an activation his student will eventually relearn what he knew as a teenager
cost of a point of Mana. Reach applies to Scale. but has since forgotten: raw intelligence has its limits. For now,
Diagram serves as an itinerant advisor and problem-solver for his
Optional: Life 2
mentor, and in the process has become one of the best-known
The mage also adds +1 Potency to Life spells cast on a target Arrows in New York.
with which they have a sympathetic connection.
Description: Diagram is a ripped, slender 5’10”, with scarred
Third Attainment: Become the Ecosystem knuckles and callused hands. He’s a Black man with a shaved
head, deep brown skin, and striking hazel eyes. Diagram neither
Prerequisites: Space 3, Investigation 4 looks away nor into people’s eyes — he looks through them,
This duplicates the Space spell “Co-Location,” cast with a focusing on the general situation instead of particular people,
Potency equal to the mage’s Space dots, at an activation cost of unless someone interests him much more than usual. He wears
1 point of Mana. Reach applies to Scale. hip-hop fashions he can move in.
Optional: Life 3 Diagram’s Nimbus takes the form of geometric patterns of light,
liquid, and dust that seem to map the ways he and other nearby
One location in which the mage inhabits can also benefit
living beings can move. In Long-Term form, these manifest out
from “Mutable Mask” cast with +2 Reach and a Potency equal
of nearby materials, from dust in the air to spilled ketchup. In
to the lower of the mage’s Life or Space dots, allowing the mage
Immediate form, it manifests more assertively, in lines and whorls
to impersonate a specific individual at a distance.
barely possible to write off as coincidences. His Signature Nimbus

Diagram, Master of Genius Boxing consists of remnants of these more obvious patterns, left after he
uses his Awakened Arts.
Your movements are pure mathematics, producing an inevitable Storytelling Hints: Diagram’s keen analytical mind and fight-
result: defeat. ing skills make him something between Yúcahu’s natural succes-
sor and a possible threat to the Adamantine Arrow, should he
Background: Charles Nwaike loved and hated being a child
stray from the Banner Warden’s directives, and Diagram is both
prodigy. He attended an elite private school on a scholarship,
aware of that and unsure of what he wants to do. He’s spent his
because by the age of 10, he was comfortable with calculus and
life up to now defying anyone who wants to control his talents
his rating as a chess player had broken 1400. That’s when he
but in the Arrow the fruits of knowledge are far more palpable,
loved his talents. Four years later, after the sixth meeting with
his would-be superiors can often demonstrate they’re further
representatives of a college eager to take him in, he gave it up.
along on the same path to mastery, and the skills they develop
He realized he had no friends, and if he left, he’d never make
have a practical purpose. There’s nothing more real than bloody
any among older students. He declined their offers and spent the
knuckles and world-twisting spells. He wants to strike a balance
next three years carefully, gradually failing. By 17, he was going
between serving his Order and maintaining his freedom.
to school at home, in Staten Island. He was happy, but his mind

158 Chapter Five: Caput Mundi

 Diagram often encounters characters while working on Rotes: Heightened Senses (Empathy); One Mind, Two
Yúcahu’s behalf, relaying messages or providing support, but if Thoughts (Academics), The Outward and Inward Eye (Em-
something threatens the Genius Boxing Academy, his family, or pathy), Warp (Brawl)
his friends, he’s often inclined to look outside his own circle, so Rote Skills: Athletics, Intimidation, Medicine
he can assert his independence and make connections entirely Weapons/Attacks:
his own, especially when his strategic mind identifies someone
who’d be a valuable friend down the line. He’s suspicious of Weapon/Attack Dice Pool Damage
Diamante, who he’s worked with occasionally; he’s sensed her Staff 6 2
growing instability.
Brawling Strike 10 0

Path: Mastigos
Order: Adamantine Arrow
Perfected Adepts:
Legacy: Perfected Adept The Genius Version
Virtue: Methodical Associated Path: Obrimos
Vice: Arrogant Associated Order: Adamantine Arrow
Obsessions: The intersection of mathematics and magic; Legacy Primary Arcanum: Life
Perfecting both body and soul
Perfected Adepts master the flow of qi (internal energy as con-
Aspirations: Develop Genius Boxing into a martial art ceived of by Awakened variations of traditional Chinese medicine
with a thriving community that can seek Awakening through and metaphysics) within themselves and are a well-known Legacy
it. of ancient provenance. Diagram explores alternate Attainments,
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 5, Wits 4, Resolve 4 based on the geometric focus of his personal fighting and magical
Physical Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 4, Stamina 2 styles. He is seeking a novel Attainment in the Legacy and has
not taken its conventional third Attainment.
Social Attributes: Presence 2, Manipulation 2, Compo-
sure 3 Yantras: Weapons associated with the practitioner’s martial
Mental Skills: Academics (Chess, Mathematics) 4, Com- arts training (+1); performing yoga, qigong, or fighting routines
puter 2, Investigation 2, Occult 1 for at least an hour (+2)
Physical Skills: Athletics 3, Brawl (Striking) 5, Stealth 2, Oblations: Spending an hour in training and meditation;
Weaponry 2 scrawling a mandala or other spiritual map or diagram.
Social Skills: Empathy (Predict Behavior) 3, Subterfuge 2
Merits: Adamant Hand (Brawl), Defensive Combat, High
First Attainment: Sense the Living Hexagram
Speech, Mentor 3, Order Status (Adamantine Arrow) 1, Prerequisites: Initiation (Athletics 2, Life 2 and Medicine or
Resources 3 Occult 2)
Willpower: 7 This Attainment constantly provides benefits equivalent to the
Wisdom: 6 spell “Web of Life” at a Potency equal to the mage’s Life dots,
but solely to detect humans, as the mage conceives of the living
Initiative: 7 world as geometric configurations of their living energy. Reach
Defense: 7 applies to Scale.
Armor: 0 Optional: Forces 1
Speed: 13 If the mage also possesses Forces 1, they also constantly ben-
Health: 7 efit from the equivalent of “Kinetic Efficiency” with a Potency
equal to the lower of their Forces of Life dots when it comes to
Gnosis: 4 improving the distance covered by physical actions (Mage, p. 141)
Mana/per Turn: 13/4 but not to resist fatigue.
Nimbus Tilt: +1 and 8 again to Athletics and Brawl rolls.
Dedicated Magical Tool: A collapsible staff Second Attainment: Body Temple
Arcana: Life 2, Mind 2, Space 3, Time 1 Prerequisites: Life 2, Medicine or Occult 3
Attainments: Counterspell (Life, Mind, Space, Time); Im- Mastering the meridian patterns within them, mage constantly
proved Pattern Restoration; Mage Armor (Space); Mind’s benefits from the equivalent of the “Body Control” spell cast with
Eye; Precise Force; Targeted Summoning (Space) a Potency equal to their Life dots. Reach applies to the benefits
Praxes: Break Boundary (Space 2), Perfect Recall (Mind listed in the spell description in Mage pp. 148-149.
1), Perfect Timing (Time 1), Warp (Space 3) Optional: Forces 2

Citizens That Never Sleep 159

 If the mage also has Forces 2, they may also alter their effective weaknesses, and where it’s sensitive to pain, would impress the
mass for the purposes of moving, being moved or disturbing more brutal contingent of the Adamantine Arrow. She’s con-
the environment around them (such as by leaving footprints or vinced herself that the city’s shifting streets, and all the magical
walking across a fragile surface without breaking it). This cannot dangers wrought by Turifex’s Folly, can be blamed on an as-yet
be used to influence the strength of blows in combat. The mage unknown conspiracy she mentally calls “the Agents.” The Agents
increases or decreases their mass by up to a multiplier or divisor are responsible, and Diamante will find and punish them. If her
of the lower of their Life or Forces dots. work doesn’t make sense, and her documents go unfiled, and if,
sometimes, she cuts too deep with her knife, it’s all part of her
Diamante, the Cracked Sentinel mission against the Agents.
Description: Diamante is a 5’8” athletic Latina woman with
Duties before rules. Or rather, duties make the rules.
short, curly black hair and green eyes. She looks young for 42
Background: Nobody knows Diamante’s sympathetic name, because she takes good care of herself. She blinks more slowly,
though they know it isn’t Mia Rivera, which she was born with. and less frequently, than most people, which can be disconcert-
Nobody knows much about Diamante’s mundane side at all, ex- ing. Her default style is slightly dated motorbike chic: reinforced
cept for a few close associates: teachers, lovers, and a few members riding jeans, steel toed boots, and a leather jacket. If her Sentinel
of her family she never visits, up in the Bronx. Anyone asking work calls for it, she might top it off with an armored vest and
them would get treated to several vague, affectionate anecdotes a 9 mm pistol, but her Blood-Drinking Knife is never far from
about her childhood, followed by a strict refusal to say anything her in any situation.
more, and, perhaps, an insincere smile hiding extreme discomfort Diamante’s Nimbus follows her Shadow Name. It’s a hard,
because Rivera both despises and financially supports them. They reflective sheen that covers her and the things she touches, which
kicked her out at 16 when they caught her with her first girlfriend. in Signature and Long-Term form, might be written off as a trick
After she Awakened and used her newfound insight to amass a of the light. In Immediate form, Diamante and her magic look
moderate fortune (this was back when this was less of a bad idea like colored crystal sculptures, though when she’s upset, witnesses
than it is now, with the Seers in command of Manhattan, though might notice faint spiderweb cracks. This aspect of her Nimbus
it was still a bad idea), she bought the family the apartment build- has become more common and obvious as her beliefs in the
ing she grew up in, assigning them equal shares in a convoluted “Agents” have strengthened.
corporate structure that quickly set them against each other, but
Storytelling Hints: Diamante appears in “The Door,” the
also guaranteed them a comfortable life.
framing story of Mage: The Awakening Second Edition and is
They had only to sign a document declaring they’d wronged the main character of “The Intruder” in The Fallen World An-
Diamante. In blood. thology. If she didn’t deeply care for other mages, she wouldn’t be
As for Diamante, she sometimes alludes to knowing what experiencing such a profound personal crisis. She always treated
only Manhattan’s homeless know, about secret places and power being Sentinel as being something like the kind of parent who
struggles in the city’s streets and tunnels. She knows all about might yell at you when you come home with a bloody nose but
being a police detective, too, though Seers who’ve scoured NYPD would thereupon even the score with whatever adult they thought
records can find no record of her employment, or even existence. might be responsible. Her current obsession with the “Agents”
This was a side-effect of her Mystery Play, for which she’s thank- is an attempt to hold someone to account for the death of her
ful. It forced her to choose between the Awakened street, grimy apprentice’s lover, but it isn’t a full-blown delusion, yet. She has
and dangerous, and the sterile, Fallen, system of laws and rules. extensive notes, and even a classic pin and string board, which
Thus, Seer control of the city doesn’t just offend her on political might be folly and false connections, or might uncover some
grounds but wounds her spiritually. Not that she would ever greater design in the Folly, New York’s twisting streets — all of it.
show it. She saves all her anger for her job, acting as one of the As a Storyteller, it’s your job to decide how much of it is true, but
New York Consilium’s Sentinels. Diamante takes her Shadow Diamante’s a skilled investigator, so even if her theory is wrong,
Name seriously, and adopts a hard, unrelenting, unemotional the facts remain. She knows about many dangers and mysteries
persona — or used to. she may need help with.
Gee is never far from her mind. Gee was Diamante’s appren-
tice. Diamante let her fall into a trap: an Iris in their sanctum, Path: Moros
the Squat, which amplified obsessions. As a result, Gee’s lover
Order: Silver Ladder
Lucretia died. Even though Gee survived the subsequent examina-
tion by Outis, Diamante blamed herself for failing to thoroughly Legacy: Eleventh Question
inspect the Squat, failing to mind her apprentice, and destroying Virtue: Committed
the love Diamante once changed her whole life to save. And Vice: Emotionally Distant
consequently, Diamante is slowly, coldly cracking.
Obsessions: The Agents; Irises in New York City.
Diamante was never a gentle Sentinel, but now she’s downright
brutal, especially when cases involve Manhattan or when the Aspirations: Form a chosen family; Find the people (or
other entities) she believes intentionally engineered New
Awakened try to draw on New York’s occult oddities in various
York’s dangerous Mysteries; mete out justice to those
experiments. Diamante’s understanding of the human body’s who’ve wronged her and those she cares about.

160 Chapter Five: Caput Mundi

Mental Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 4, Resolve 4 Arcana: Death 3, Life 2, Matter 3, Prime 2, Time 3
Physical Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3 Attainments: Counterspell (Death, Life, Matter, Prime,
Social Attributes: Presence 3, Manipulation 2, Compo- Time); Improved Pattern Restoration; Mage Armor (Death);
sure 3 Permanence; Targeted Summoning (Death, Matter, Time),
Temporal Sympathy; Universal Counterspell
Mental Skills: Investigation (Fortean Evidence) 4, Medi-
cine 2, Occult 3, Politics (Police) 3 Praxes: Forensic Gaze (Death 1), Hidden Hoard (Matter
2), Touch of the Grave (Death 2), Ghost Summons (Death 3)
Physical Skills: Athletics 3, Brawl 2, Crafts 3, Drive
(Motorbike) 3, Firearms 2, Larceny 2, Stealth 2, Weaponry Rotes: Acceleration (Drive), Corpse Mask (Subterfuge),
(Knives) 4 Find the Balance (Persuasion), Machine Invisibility (Subter-
fuge), Without a Trace (Subterfuge)
Social Skills: Empathy 2, Intimidation 3, Streetwise (Man-
hattan) 4, Subterfuge 3 Rote Skills: Expression, Persuasion, Subterfuge
Merits: Artifact 4, High Speech, Order Status (Silver Lad- Weapons/Attacks:
der) 2, Shadow Name 3, Status (Consilium) 3 Weapon/Attack Dice Pool Damage
Willpower: 7
Blood-Drinking Knife 8 2
Wisdom: 5
Pistol, Heavy 6 2
Initiative: 7
Notes: Diamante is a member of the Eleventh Question
Defense: 7 (Mage, pp. 200-201) with access to its first, second, and
Armor: 1/3 third Attainments. She also possesses the Blood-Drinking
Speed: 12 Knife, an artifact detailed below.
Health: 8
Gnosis: 4
Blood-Drinking Knife (Artifact ••••)
Diamante found the Blood-Drinking Knife during her Mystery
Mana/per Turn: 13/4
Play. Its copper blade is as hard as steel, and true to its name, sucks
Nimbus Tilt: +2 to Wits rolls blood out of the wounds it inflicts, delivering 2 lethal damage
Dedicated Magical Tool: Her Blood-Drinking Knife instead of the usual rating for such a weapon. In addition, it can

Citizens That Never Sleep 161

return the blood to those it has injured and knit the wounds it Landlord’s Nimbus manifests as long, threatening shadows, and per-
has inflicted by “uncutting” or “unstabbing” the same location, ceptual distortions that make spaces look strange: sometimes cavernous,
if the wound was inflicted by the knife within the same scene. sometimes cramped, and sometimes labyrinthine, with unexpected
The wielder makes an “attack roll” using Wits + Medicine, and hallways and doors. This is almost unnoticeable in The Building itself,
any lethal damage inflicted is actually healed, up to the damage because in Awakening there, Landlord is in some sense a reflection of it.
the weapon originally inflicted on the subject. Storytelling Hints: Nothing is ever Landlord’s fault, even when
he unleashes horrors on visitors and tenants in The Building. As a
Landlord twisted Mastigos, he simply finds something in the minds and sym-
pathetic bonds of his victims he believes justifies whatever he wants
This building is a community. Communities have customs. Secrets.
to do to them. Landlord believes his position makes him the god of
Background: Landlord isn’t the first New York Scelestus to The Building, and he dreams of expanding its dominion beyond the
bear the name, and the Void knows he’s not the wealthiest — at thousand or so tenants it possesses, especially since only about a tenth
least, not since the Folly forced him out of Bed-Stuy around 20 of them live in the core and are inured to life in a Scelesti temple.
years ago — but he may be the most successful of them all. In Beyond his inability to recognize his own flaws, and his
New York City, even the Abyss’ servants have a unique culture. profound immorality, Landlord’s primary weakness is a lack of
As the city grew ever denser, and an ever more important nexus curiosity unusual in any willworker. None of the Landlords ever
of finance and culture, enemies from the Pentacle and Throne really knew what The Building was; the first of them didn’t create
kept ever more careful watch. That made it hard for Scelesti to it so much as rouse it out of whatever not-quite-real state it existed
settle for any length of time. In 1970, the first Landlord formu- in. Sometimes Landlord dreams he’s connected to it by a wet,
lated a solution: a network of safe spaces shielded from scrying shining, pulsating tendril, like the glowing lure of a deep-sea fish,
and connected, creating The Building: a residential space that but he doesn’t think about what it means much.
benefits from the magically unstable nature of the city’s geography,
connecting halls and apartments in numerous complexes across
mundane and mysterious streets. Such a prize drew the envy of Path: Mastigos
other Abyss-tainted sorcerers, none of whom were surprised that Order: None; Scelestus
the first Landlord’s tenure lasted only six years, after which he Legacy: Intendants of The Building
was killed and replaced.
Virtue: Attentive to Detail
Palmer Anderson is the seventh Landlord. He alone under-
Vice: Prideful
stands the hyperdimensional spiderweb of The Building, which
he’s controlled since 1998. He keeps other Scelesti ignorant of Obsessions: The Building; New York’s geomantic Myster-
its full extent to a greater degree than his predecessors, which has ies; other dimensions
left him with the longest reign of all the Landlords. Sometimes Aspirations: Enslave more tenants; reclaim property in
the enemy finds part of The Building, but he amputates those Manhattan for himself and The Building.
sections, leaving The Building’s core safe. In the core, long-term Mental Attributes: Intelligence 4, Wits 2, Resolve 3
Sleeper tenants, souls reshaped through Landlord’s influence
Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 2
and The Building’s strange aura, worship him as a god. The out-
er branches are merely strange places to live. People encounter Social Attributes: Presence 3, Manipulation 4, Compo-
corridors they’ve never seen before. Massive bloodstains may sure 3
appear, then vanish over the space of a few hours. Most tenants Mental Skills: Investigation (Inspecting Homes) 3, Occult
instinctively know to keep their mouths shut. The ones that (Geomancy) 4, Politics 3
don’t, disappear. Physical Skills: Athletics 2, Firearms 2, Larceny (Lock-
Anderson himself is a lifelong New Yorker who keeps a mansion picking) 4, Stealth 3
in Staten Island in walking distance from the nearest tendril of Social Skills: Empathy 1, Intimidation (Economic Threats)
The Building. His family got him an internship at a brokerage 2, Persuasion 2, Subterfuge 4
firm but refused to believe his subsequent failure had to do with Merits: Allies (Tenants of The Building) 4, Contacts, Desti-
incompetence. It was always somebody else’s fault. That made it ny 3, High Speech, Hallow (The Building) 4, Occultation 2,
easy for the previous Landlord to recruit him when he Awakened Resources 5, Safe Place 5, Sanctum 5
while lost in The Building itself. The old Landlord mistook his
Willpower: 6
incompetence in one arena for a general lack of insight, and never
saw the assassination coming. Wisdom: 2
Description: Landlord is a small, wiry man, 5’6” with pale skin, Initiative: 5
watery blue-gray eyes, and gray-shot black hair, cut in whatever Defense: 4
style various websites tell him is fashionable. At 50, he dresses Armor: 0
in white and maroon sport jackets and slacks, as if he’s 20 years
Speed: 9
younger and about to barricade himself behind a velvet rope at
an expensive club. Health: 7

162 Chapter Five: Caput Mundi

 Gnosis: 5 equivalent of the spell “Supernal Vision” with a Potency equal
Mana/per Turn: 15/5 to their Prime dots. This has no cost to activate or dismiss. The
mage also gains +1 Reach with Space spells while indoors. Reach
Nimbus Tilt: +2 and 8 again to Stealth and Subterfuge
rolls. for the “Supernal Vision” equivalent effect applies to Scale.
Dedicated Magical Tool: An enormous ring of keys Optional: Mind 1
If they possess Mind 1, add the benefits of “Know Nature” tar-
Arcana: Life 2, Mind 4, Prime 3, Space 4
geting an individual in perceptual range, in the same building as
Attainments: Counterspell (Life, Mind, Prime, Space); the mage, as if cast with a Potency equal to the mage’s Mind dots.
Everywhere; Improved Pattern Restoration; Intuitive Leap;
Mage Armor (Mind); Sympathetic Range; Targeted Sum-
moning (Mind, Prime, Space); Universal Counterspell
Second Attainment: Bones of the Citadel
Praxes: Cloak Nimbus (Prime 2); Mental Scan (Mind Prerequisites: Prime 2, the Geomancy Occult specialization
1); Sacred Geometry (Prime 1), Secret Room (Space 4); While indoors, the mage benefits from the equivalent of
Terrorize (Mind 4) “Wards and Signs” with a Potency equal to their Prime dots. This
Rotes: Ban (Intimidation); Collapse (Occult); Memory may be invoked once per turn as a reflexive action, for 1 point of
Hole (); Mutable Mask (), Platonic Form (Occult), Psychic Mana. Reach applies to Duration.
Domination (Intimidation) Optional: Space 2
Weapons/Attacks: If the mage also possesses Space 2, they may spend 1 point of
Weapon/Attack Dice Pool Damage Mana and invoke the equivalent of “Secret Door” by touching or
passing through the door or object affected. This has a Potency
Pistol, Heavy 4 2 equal to the mage’s Space dots.
Notes: The Building predates the current Landlord, and
even he doesn’t know its true nature. Is it an Abyssal Verge? Third Attainment:
Remnants of a powerful Rapt Scelestus? An infection in
New York’s strange geomancy? This is left for the Storyteller Shake Blood in the Mortar
to determine. Whatever made the Building, or whatever it Prerequisites: Prime 3, Occult (Geomancy) 3 or Larceny 3
is, influenced Landlord’s Awakening, and may guide him to
additional Artifacts, allies, and even new, unnatural abilities While indoors, the mage may invoke the equivalent of the
to be of better service. spell “Geomancy” with a Potency equal to their Prime dots by
spending 1 point of Mana as a reflexive action, once per turn.
Intendants of the Building Reach applies to Duration.
Optional: Space 3
Associated Path: Mastigos
If the mage has Space 3, they may also spend 1 point of Mana
Associated Order: None to distort an indoor area or building with a Scale equal to their
Legacy Primary Arcanum: Prime Mind dots; anyone passing through suffers from the effects of
The Building subtly guides its Awakened servants to adopt its “Lying Maps,” as if cast with a Potency equal to the mage’s Space
Legacy. Intendants benefit from regularly visiting The Building as if dots, which misleads them to a location determined by the mage
it were a diamonomikon for the Legacy. Most learn it this way, and when they use the Attainment.
not from an Awakened mentor. All past Landlords belonged to the
Legacy, and a few willworkers who’ve spent extended periods of time
in The Building have adopted it as well. These are usually Scelesti
Lucasta Brumel: The Trend is
who grow fascinated with the phenomenon. Landlord considers
them rivals, and if he can do it safely and discreetly, kills them.
Domination; the Fashion is Chaos
You think this isn’t about you, don’t you?
Yantras: Brandishing a fixture or fragment from the Building
while casting a spell (+1); inscribing an occult diagram with your path Background: Lucasta Brumel, editor emeritus of the fashion
through the halls and rooms of building, while under a roof (+2). magazine Moment, may be the most influential person in the
Oblations: Wandering the halls of The Building for an hour; world. She is, secretly, one of the wealthiest; the $1 trillion mostly
collecting rent from a tenant. isn’t in her name, but it would attract unwanted attention if the
self-identified Sleeper masters of the world, boys playing at space
First Attainment: colonization while the Lie rots beneath them, were to feel inferior.
This situation also helps her position in the Throne. Her
Gloam Through the Cracks ambitions have supposedly been constrained, as the Panopticon
exerts its hegemony over her own Phemian Ministry and New
Prerequisites: Initiation (Prime 2, Larceny 2, Occult 2)
York, but she thinks of it as being prompted to hone her area of
Buildings constrain and shape magical power which the mage concern into the sharpest of cultural blades—and now, everything
can sense and harness. While indoors, the mage can activate the is about culture. Everything in the Fallen World is held up to an

Citizens That Never Sleep 163

imperfect magnifying glass, distorting and parodying it. Millions
react in awe or outrage to the spectacles. They demand action:
social justice, personal justice, a chance to “own the Libs,” or Subtle Power
whatever else enters their social media feeds—well, her social me- Lucasta is an antagonist the Storyteller can cus-
dia feeds. While other Seers waste their time on tech magnates, tomize for their own ends. She is at the very least
Brumel prefers to influence what people actually say and do on a second-degree Moros Master of the Phemian
the platforms they own. This turned out to be easy, but she’s Ministry with access to unlimited wealth and in-
used to people thinking they control her. describable social influence—she is, after all,
The daughter of an English aristocrat and an American media the most influential Seer of the Throne in a city at
magnate who, despite being Sleepers, were close to the Throne the beating heart of American and world culture.
by dint of their privileges, Brumel grew up knowing that nothing Assume she’s smart enough to have various allies
happens in the world without the influence of invisible inter- and strategies that would make it difficult to take
ests. However, social status was constrained by rampant sexism her down by force even before the question of
and the family’s certain knowledge that even wealthy Sleepers her personal power comes up.
were pampered pets of the true elite. Older men in particular On the other hand, even though she could, for ex-
readily stole her ideas while she interned for several media and ample, spend a billion dollars to organize, arm,
investment firms. Her parents were unsympathetic and viewed and motivate various fascists and conspiracy ad-
her problems as a test — she would either find opportunities dicts to get out there and shoot whoever she pleas-
within these circles or be given some ornamental pastime by an es, or, say, overthrow the American government,
appropriate husband. She cultivated her own ambitions secretly, this would compromise the core function of “Lucy:”
imagining herself as a woman named Lucy, free to explore her personal power designed to preserve Brumel’s
own interests. freedom from any threat. The more she flexes her
She Awakened in the Moros Path during a car accident that true power, the more she risks being exposed,
killed five of those well-connected men, leaving her uninjured. which could lead to anything from assassination
Interrogating their ghosts for insider trading advice helped plant to “promotion” to the Eye’s direct, soul-searing
the seeds of an independent fortune, which only increased when gaze. She is exceptionally cautious about being
her parents were fatally poisoned in a freak wine-tasting accident. implicated even in things that would raise her sta-
Her Ministry noted these and other incidents, and to control tus among other Seers of the Throne. Where she is
her, assigned her to the low-status work of light media manip- right now is exactly where she wants to be.
ulation. Instead of pushing at her constraints, she added to
them, specializing in fashion and, over time, becoming Moment’s
editor in chief. She married the first in a series of uninteresting,
distant, wealthy, and thoroughly Asleep husbands thereafter. they? As far as her cover running Moment, she’s now powerful
But the funny thing about fashion is that it’s connected to ev- enough to have “retired” from specific duties while retaining a
erything: must-attend parties where indiscretions abound, facto- vaguely defined set of positions that let her do whatever she wants,
ries from London to Bangladesh who produce clothing based on whenever she wants. She commands subordinates with an air of
the styles she deems fashionable. Thus, Lucasta Brumel turned serious enthusiasm and casual menace.
the world on the slenderest of levers. In addition to gaining an Brumel’s actions have sent a shockwave through the capital-
entry point in global industry and shipping, she ensured that ist-occult elite, but thanks to her subtlety, eschewing magic when
Montrose, the media conglomerate that owns Moment, along electronic and analog social networks will do, she’s not especially
with numerous publishing brands, acquired content-aggregating recognized as a player, even among Seers. This is more than a
titan Klikkit. Brumel paired this with a blackmail operation that strategy to mislead rivals. She’s seen the strange speech and rolling
brought various, imageboards, vaguely connected hacker groups eyes of the Phemian Minister and knows that, as she has much
and other identified “roots” of large-scale trends to heel. She more power than the local Tetrarch, they’d probably lift her to
killed anyone who refused and got their passwords and other being next in line to be elevated, possessed, and depersonalized
information from their ghosts—she was trying to be nice by just before the Eye. But the Lucy of her youth, who always wanted free-
threatening to expose their various tawdry secrets instead of dom, isn’t having that. If they look at her with those intentions,
resorting to straight-up murder. maybe she’ll start a war. The vast, dumb Sleeper Leviathan wants
In the decade and a half since then, she’s further consolidated it, and she could probably get it done in less than 280 characters.
and experimented with this influence, priding herself on how Description: Brumel’s signature look includes a pair of huge
little magic it takes to, for instance, influence the stock market sunglasses and silver hair styled into a bob with bangs that look
with “meme stocks,” or head off the threat of Sleeper unification like you could cut yourself on them. Stringent fitness, skincare
and peace (thought to be a precondition for mass Awakening and surgical interventions maintain a slender appearance with
and therefore, dangerous) by helping fascist politicians and their an age impossible to determine by sight, though she’s currently
associated violent gangs attain power. The little people need 72. Her personal style is understated, though she has a fondness
guiding deceptions; if they didn’t, they’d Awaken, wouldn’t for A-line dresses in desaturated colors.

164 Chapter Five: Caput Mundi

 Her Nimbus manifests in patterns of golden thread, ranging had their own limitations and weaknesses. But when he returned
from linear glints of light in her Long-Term and Signature Nim- in 1991, having Awakened a league at a time to the Acanthus, he
bus, to grand almost art deco patterns that weave themselves discovered that according to the world at large, three generations
through the air and the targets of her spells when her Immediate of his family had died in a fire when he was a child. His foster
Nimbus manifests. family was overjoyed at his return; he didn’t recognize them.
Storytelling Hints: Brumel is a famous public figure, but her He moved to New York, got a job at the docks, and found the
legal name isn’t her sympathetic name, Lucy — which unfortu- Guardians of the Veil a proper affiliation. There was a secret in
nately is close enough to her legal name for people to attempt magic, and a sin, preventing a better world’s birth.
a contraction. Lucasta Brumel is essentially her Shadow Name. Outis still considers his Awakened life a slow, haphazard
Consequently, no mention of her by the name Lucy ever makes journey which will either end in his death, or a return to his
it online or to print. family — perhaps both. He is feared not only for his privileges,
While her story suggests a cynical climb to power, the truth but the unaffected way he does his job, which leads New York’s
is Brumel genuinely loves the grand ecosystem of culture, while Awakened to believe he doesn’t think the lives he can end are
possessing absolute contempt for the Sleepers in thrall to it, who especially worthwhile. He became Interfector not because of
pass on messages of the moment as if they were nothing more any enthusiasm for justice, but simple suitability. This was not
than fireflies, blazing a mindless message to meet their instinc- his world anymore, and while he wanted to prevent suffering,
tual needs. She elevates their crude interactions into something the deaths he inflicted were, to him, passage to better possible
purposeful. She believes the final result, where billions wear, eat, worlds for his charges. And if the world is fake, why bother with
drink, say and think what she wishes them to, is a grand work of the ritual psychodrama of the job?
art, even as it maintains the Throne’s goal of keeping humanity Description: Now 60, Outis still dresses for the docks. A
too desperate and ignorant to throw off the Lie. They must be im- tight knitted cap only lets free a few strands of his tightly curled,
prisoned, but she wants the prison to be beautiful—filled with art, black-gray hair. His eyes and weather-beaten skin are the same
high drama, and sustainable rhythms of vulgarity and high ideals. mid-brown color. A thick coat conceals a broad, powerful build
Thus, Brumel is secretly sympathetic to the Free Council, which honed by decades of labor. At sea, Outis grew a beard, but now
defends Sleeper culture (an abstract object she now considers to goes clean shaven, revealing a surprisingly narrow face for some-
be equivalent to her personal property), and she’s drawn up rough one of his build.
plans for her successor to compromise the Order. Sometimes Water and sea life characterize his Nimbus, especially when
her agents leave clues for Libertines when she thinks other Seers they combine to form trails and routes. These represent his
might destroy a beautiful object, person, or idea. maritime journey through the Thorns, so they usually end in a
deep shadow. For Outis, this may be the way home, but he knows
Outis, the Interfector it’s not time yet.
Storytelling Hints: Outis appears in “The Door,” the intersti-
I will punish the guilty. But I need to know who exactly is guilty of
tial fiction from the Mage: The Awakening core. A pragmatic,
what.
iconoclastic Interfector, he first believed disposing of the mask
Background: Outis is the kind of person who does everything and many of the traditional taboos would make New York’s
with a weary reluctance that New York’s Awakened typically as- Awakened more comfortable, but most mages believe anything
cribe to the heavy burdens of an Interfector, but it’s always been truly valuable requires symbolism. To ignore that demonstrates
this way, ever since he Awakened. In a city that accords a certain an indifference to death — and besides, a jeans-wearing regular
respect to the native-born, Outis’ accent doesn’t quite conceal a guy who can kill you without consequence just creeps them out.
certain Californian huskiness. That’s because Outis was born as When prompted, Outis will exercise the exact amount of ruth-
George Oikonomou, to parents of Black, Greek, and Chinese lessness required for his job without hesitation (though without
descent, linking multiple working-class families who worked in the overreach), which only makes it worse.
docks and garment industries of San Francisco for generations. Outis has, however, always been a hands-on kind of person.
Getting a TWIC card, which qualified him to work as a longshore He rarely acts as Interfector based on someone else’s testimony
worker, was an expected rite of passage. alone, much less pressure from other Consilium officers. He
The future Outis didn’t want to load and unload ships but insists on as thorough a direct understanding of the situation as
serve aboard them. His family treated leaving San Francisco as a possible and resents impulsiveness and deception as impediments
betrayal, but his skills were transferable to work as an able seaman, to that goal. He is wary of the increasingly unstable Diamante,
and he left at 20 on an ambiguous adventure that constitutes who he believes is falling to the consequences of snap decisions
one of the longest known Mystery Plays. Over the next decade, and self-serving lies.
between earning licenses up to that of Master Mariner, he par- In valuing a slow, well-considered, direct approach, Outis
ticipated in increasingly strange voyages. Yet he found something enters any situation with a plan and strong preparations. This
comforting about the unnatural creatures he encountered in the makes him an oddity among Acanthus, who tend to have a more
cargo hold, and cruel passengers who could barely conceal their improvisational approach.
inhumanity. It showed him the gods and monsters of the world

Citizens That Never Sleep 165

Path: Acanthus
Order: Guardians of the Veil Seshat, Hierarch of
Legacy: None
Virtue: Compassionate
the Outer Boroughs
These secret ways are tombs for the dead, or mazes for the living.
Vice: Iconoclastic
The only difference is whether we lie down or press on.
Obsessions: Returning to his original timeline; Cryptids;
Mystery Plays Background: When Farah Ahmad was younger and inclined
to tell self-effacing jokes in public, she referred to herself as the
Aspirations: Perform duties without egotism or pretense;
product of “star-crossed lovers,” which is to say her father Farouk
Correct Diamante’s path; Feel worthy of his estranged
family. was from New Jersey and her mother Fatima was from Manhattan,
by way of Kuwait. Her father was an engineer, and her mother
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 4, Resolve 4 was an executive in a company they shared. Farah saw little of the
Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3 United States, since shortly after she was born, they adopted an
Social Attributes: Presence 3, Manipulation 2, Compo- itinerant lifestyle, supervising factory-building projects in Egypt,
sure 5 Kuwait, and the UAE.
Mental Skills: Crafts (Marine) 4, Investigation (Conspira- Farah was a gifted child, but her parents were too occupied by
cies) 4, Medicine 3, Occult 3 their business to devote much attention to her formal education.
Physical Skills: Brawl 2, Firearms 3, Larceny 3, Stealth Her informal education, on the other hand, was prodigious, and
3, Weaponry 3 though she lacked the qualifications she became a skilled me-
chanical engineer by her twenties. The family’s business success
Social Skills: Intimidation (Authority) 5, Streetwise 3,
attracted the interest of organized crime in Egypt. The Cairo mob
Subterfuge 3, Survival 4 (Marine)
abducted them during a recreational trip to the desert, and as
Merits: Contacts, High Speech, Order Status (Guardians their convoy sped into the wilderness, Farah imagined how their
of the Veil) 3, Prelacy (Praetorian) 4, Professional Training vehicles would fail — and they did. The same thing happened to
(Mariner; Crafts and Survival) 4, Shadow Name 1, Status
the criminals’ guns. Then their water turned poisonous, even
(Consilium) 3, Trained Observer
after Farah and her parents drank it safely.
Willpower: 9
Veiled by a convenient sandstorm, Farah instinctively led her
Wisdom: 5 parents to a forgotten tomb, and reading the inscriptions within
Initiative: 7 (despite having no prior knowledge of hieroglyphics), Farah Ah-
Defense: 7 mad knew she was, in some sense, the goddess Seshat, and that
this was a tomb for her mortal self, which she would find again
Armor: 0 in death. Thus, she Awakened to the Leaden Coin
Speed: 10 Seshat convinced her parents to retire and moved with them
Health: 8 to New Jersey as she contemplated her Awakening. The Silver
Gnosis: 5 Ladder was a natural fit, and her magical ability and the wealth
of the Ahmad Corporation quickly gave her Turifex’s ear. But
Mana/per Turn: 14/5
decades later, she kept her own counsel about his plans to deal
Nimbus Tilt: +3 to Wits rolls. with the Seers. She thought it would damage the Ladder’s unity,
Dedicated Magical Tool: A multi-tool and the success of the venture, to openly oppose it. Instead, she
Arcana: Fate 4, Life 4, Prime 1, Space 3, Spirit 1 quietly invested in properties that would serve as safe houses
should the plan fail — which, as the Folly, it did.
Attainments: Counterspell (Fate, Life, Prime, Space,
Spirit), Conditional Duration (Fate), Mage Armor (Fate, Life, Consequently, many of Turifex’s supporters consider Seshat a
Space), Improved Pattern Restoration (Life), Sympathetic political opportunist, even a traitor, and she attempted to address
Range (Space), Targeted Summoning (Fate, Life, Space), these concerns by accepting the title of Archdeacon: a move she
Unbound Fate (Fate), Body Autonomy (Life) believed would discourage the New York Consilium from consid-
Praxes: Chaos Mastery (Fate 4), Oaths Fulfilled (Fate 1), ering her for the position of Hierarch in the interests of avoiding
Scrying (Space 2), Shapechanging (Life 4), Shared Fate a concentration of power. It didn’t work, and she ended up with
(Fate 3) both titles; her Ladder cohorts let her know they’d ostracize her
Rotes: Ban (Stealth), Fools Rush In (Subterfuge), Height- if she refused to be “drafted.”
ened Senses (Investigation), Pierce Deception (Investiga- Seshat is a planner, not a politician, and has little patience for
tion), Sworn Oaths (Investigation) the meetings, consensus-building, and other social tasks expected
Rote Skills: Investigation, Stealth, Subterfuge of her. Turifex supports her, and at first didn’t believe she’d set
him up to fail, but in exile, he’s grown bitter. Seshat knows of
this growing problem but doesn’t have time for it while the Seers
tighten their grip on Manhattan, and she becomes increasingly

166 Chapter Five: Caput Mundi

interested in the possibility that New York’s strange geomancy
might reverse the Consilium’s fortunes.
Description: Seshat’s a solidly built 50-year-old woman with Seshat’s Power
straight black hair she keeps in a tight bun, brown eyes that Seshat is at the very least a Moros Silver Ladder
often have a reddish glow, and an olive complexion. She has the second-degree Master, but her full game statistics
build of a retired wrestler, acquired from decades of tinkering have been left for the Storyteller to devise based
with heavy machinery, and maintained with regular exercise. on the needs of their chronicle. After all, she’s
She dresses in tailored women’s business wear, accented with likely to become one or more characters’ greatest
a silk scarf, which serves as a hijab whenever she feels like it. mentor or most dangerous enemies. Seshat has a
somewhat more dynamic personality than many
Seshat’s Nimbus combines industrial and ancient Egyptian
mages who settle into the Hierarch’s seat, and she
imagery. Influenced by her Long-Term Nimbus, a pile of ma-
believes this isn’t her last stop in life or Awakening.
chine parts may cast hieroglyphic shadows. Her Immediate
Indeed, she hopes to learn from exploring New
Nimbus conjures visions of moving industrial sculptures por-
York’s geomancy. She has just begun to investi-
traying ghosts, gods, and demons. Her Signature Nimbus might
gate the possibility of Archmastery, and a story
manifest as an oil stain that resembles Anubis.
involving manipulating New York’s geomancy for
Storytelling Hints: Seshat hates being Hierarch. As far as the benefit of the Pentacle might also hand her the
most mages under her know, she simply detests the sentimental, keys to crossing the threshold—in fact, she might
deceptive side of politics; in fact, she has long wanted to take a organize such a mission to find a successor too,
sabbatical from Awakened business to reconnect with her son, for the day when she abandons the crown and
Farouk Junior. That she effectively chose the Hierarch’s seat over the world for grander, unspeakable secrets.
telling the truth to her son is slowly fraying her emotions; that
this was probably safer for him because it hides their connection On the other hand, she misses her son.
isn’t comforting enough.
“Junior” gets his name from the fact that he believes Seshat is
his older sister, and that he’s an orphan Seshat’s father Farouk Few people know the extent of Seshat’s living family, except
adopted. Seshat gave birth to Junior in 1999. She hid this from for Tiresias. The Acanthus stumbled into the truth in the mid-
everyone, feeling that a child would provide easy leverage for 2000s and immediately confessed it to Seshat. He also noted that
Seers and other enemies. She planned to claim him in 2001, a mutual interest in real estate and geomancy, backed with their
when she believed she’d be better established. Subsequent combined wealth, could lead to a decisive victory over the Seers,
events, from the 9/11 attacks to Turifex’s Folly, and now, her albeit after spending significant money and time to research the
position as Hierarch, have continually pushed the day back. geomantic structure of the Outer Boroughs, before shaping it
Junior is well cared for and, now in his 20s, is gradually taking into an engine for the Pentacle. For her part, Seshat has evidence
over his “adopted” (grand)father’s business responsibilities as that the Seers’ control of Manhattan’s occult geography has set
head of the Ahmad Corporation. Ahmad is now primarily a real patterns and limits, governed by its place in a greater geomantic
estate holding company that keeps family members, including web — one whose strands pass through every other borough.
herself, Junior, and her still-living parents, living comfortably. Therefore, the Consilium holds the balance of power, but must
Seshat is majority shareholder but doesn’t run the company, discover how to use it.
leaving it to her father, Junior, and several cousins.

Citizens That Never Sleep 167

 No one can do it all alone.
Anyone who tells you they have
all the answers is Lying.
Throughout the millennia,
the mages of the Pentacle Orders have
gathered — to share knowledge,
to protect one another, to seek Mysteries,
and to push back against
the servants of the Lie.
But it didn’t happen all at once,
or without struggle.
Nothing good ever does.

Tome of the Pentacle includes:

• A timeline of the Pentacle Orders from

prehistory to modern day.
• An examination of the modern Pentacle
orders worldwide and cities across the globe
with story hooks and Mysteries you can use
in your game.
• A look at how Consilia and Caucuses
interact on a larger scale and factions
within the Orders
• A full-fledged New York City setting for a
Mage chronicle.