Don't worry about it, you haven't really missed anything other than the new players. You're usually prompt in responding IC though, so I was just a little worried.
I decided there wasn't much point in having a scene where you find out where Benefit is. It's not a secret, although people outside the Awakened community don't know who runs the place.
Int+Politics: Thorn and Prometheus each got one success, so they know that Benefit's cabal sends a very handsome young Apostate named Argos to represent them at Consilium meetings, as rare as those are. Levanna scored no successes, so she only knows the more general information given in previous posts. If Levanna has ever had any contact with them, they probably tried to recruit her--but I'll leave that to BlueLotus to determine.
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Mage: the Awakening - Legacy of the Stone Assembly (IC)(OOC)
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying - Down and Out in Altdorf (IC)(OOC)
OK, I actually got quite a bit done on charater creation so far, which I'll post soon.
Note - i havn't actually played Mage before (I've played and run nWoD and Vampire: the Requiem though) and may not have delved into things as deep as I should. Seems like a great way to actually get to know the system though.
question: how/do magical armours stack with mundane armour? Take Kevlar vest as an example armour 1/2. (I'm going to take Fate 2, Matter 3, Time 1). With matter I could have a 3 armour (that doesn't protect against a grapple but does protect against damage in a grapple) and with Fate I could have 2 armour (that does protect against grapples, but not damage in grapples).
I assume mystical armours don't stack on themeselves, you just take the best bonus for the condition.
I'm sure I'll have other questions later on. Thanks.
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question: how/do magical armours stack with mundane armour? Take Kevlar vest as an example armour 1/2. (I'm going to take Fate 2, Matter 3, Time 1). With matter I could have a 3 armour (that doesn't protect against a grapple but does protect against damage in a grapple) and with Fate I could have 2 armour (that does protect against grapples, but not damage in grapples).
I assume mystical armours don't stack on themeselves, you just take the best bonus for the condition.
I'm sure I'll have other questions later on. Thanks.
I'm always happy to answer questions--my enthusiasm for this system is boundless.
Magical armor bonuses overlap one another, rather than stack, but additional effects are cumulative. If you were to cast Matter's Unseen Aegis, you would gain 3 points of armor (points equal to dots in the arcanum) that works like any mundane armor, but also applies a -2 penaltiy on enemy attempts to inflict damage on you in a grapple (I think of this latter effect as the spell's "rider effect"), but not to starting a grapple or overpowering you once you're in one. If you then cast Fate's Fortune's Protection, you would gain 2 points of armor, and that would apply a -2 penalty to attempts to grapple you, but not to overpower you or damage you in a grapple. With both up, you'd have 3 points of armor, but penalize grapple attempts by 2, and offer no penalty to overpower attempts.
Magical armor bonuses do, however, stack with mundane armor, so Unseen Aegis over Kevlar gives you 4/5, with a -3 to damage attempts in a grapple.
The ease with which mages get access to armor is a major point in their favor versus other supernaturals, so armor is meant to be cheap and powerful. This is mainly due to the relative difficulty mages have healing themselves--1 mana for 3 bashing or 1 lethal is pretty steep compared to vampires.
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Mage: the Awakening - Legacy of the Stone Assembly (IC)(OOC)
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying - Down and Out in Altdorf (IC)(OOC)
Darryl Thomson has had a tough life. Mostly this he has just taken it an moved on, but it has made him rather cynical. His huge size and tattoos are enough to warn most people away. He grew up in Roxbury, which tells you a lot about his childhood. He spent some time in gangs in his youth. His dad found out when he was sixteen, "Son you have cautious about that kind of thing, you can get youself or your family in a heap of trouble, or worse dead." Two weeks later his Dad was found, the cops were never sure what happened, but then the cops are useless. All Darryl knows his that his Dad was found at an old building he was renovating, and they had to I.D. his teeth.
Darryl focused on sports in school, hoping to get a rare out of the slum but his dreams were never realized, big and strong as he was, he just wasn't fast or nimble. At 18 his mom got sick, really sick, and spent most of the next two years in the hospital before she died. He took 4 months of schooling in auto machanics before he had to drop out, to pay the hospital bills and feed him and his little brother Allan. They were forced to sell their tiny house. Took a job as a bouncer, where his size and intimidating manner could be put to good use. He occasionally works at 'cousin' Ronny's garage (a distant relative, 3rd cousin) a shady place that fixes up cars that aren't always legal. When "Uncle" Benjamin has work (his dad's old partner in the renovation business) Darryl often helps out. Between the old hospital debt, and now trying to help Allan through University (probably Boston U) he never has any money.
He'd worn out his welcome with most of his friends and relatives, and was geeting behind on payements, when a dirty cop made him an offer. He accepted the 'test' job but declined the final offer, far too risky. Besides, Darryl was pretty sure he saw some things that just weren't possible that day. . . he hasn't seen the dirty cop since and isn't sure he wants to. He got a kevlar vest out of it that actually fits his huge frame.
Shortly after that, Darryl had a terrible nightmare and . . . Awoke.
Since then life as been a little easier. He eventually found an unaligned (as far as Darryl could tell) mentor named Nacredos. Nacredos took him in taught him for about 5 months before dissappearing. He left his library behind, with a list of suggestions. Darryl studied hard and diligently between jobs, but didn't finish the (short) list before the library simply disappeared, all that remained was a note "Good luck Goliath." The next day the house was for sale. He's been very cautious with his magical abilities to date, but has bumped fate to help his brother get a loan and small scholarship (or maybe Nacredos actually did that, Darryl isn't sure.) He also used his new abilities to get his fathers old F-150 running and in decent condition again.
After considering it for some time Darryl has joined the Free Council. He's currently looking for a place to stay, had a rough time with his most recent batch of housemates. His old boss just opened a new bar in Cambridge.
Possesions pending approval, as is everything of course. . .
Equipement
Darryl possesions are limited to a old-trunk with a few changes of clothes, A tool box his dad gave him for his 14th birthday (and added to at christmas's and birthdays till his death), and the families old and recently fixed 1988 F 150 (Allan sometimes uses it). And a kevlar vest he aquired through a shady deal.
+ his two magical tools.
Right now Darryl has virtually no disposable income, despite working several jobs
Having trouble finding a decent picture. Hard to find large looking people with (short) beards and the yourng but rough life look. Never was any good at finding those things anyway.
description
Goliath is 7-foot 3, and 320 pounds. He sports a short red-beard, tattoos and a close cropped hair. He carries a little to much weigth for his frame. He often wears hoodies, ripped jeans and an old leather jacket.
Do you still want some writing?
Does this work for a fairly easy insert into the game?
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If you cast a vulgar spell with a Gnosis of 1, you have a 1 die chance of invoking a paradox. If you use a rote, or a magical tool, you reduce that by 1 dice. I believe that reduction would leave you with a chance die of a paradox occuring, correct?
Supposing you did both, cast a vulgar spell using a rote and a magical device, (-2 dice). That would that still leave you with a chance die of having a paradox ?
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If you cast a vulgar spell with a Gnosis of 1, you have a 1 die chance of invoking a paradox. If you use a rote, or a magical tool, you reduce that by 1 dice. I believe that reduction would leave you with a chance die of a paradox occuring, correct?
Supposing you did both, cast a vulgar spell using a rote and a magical device, (-2 dice). That would that still leave you with a chance die of having a paradox ?
You've got it. You can also spend mana or take bashing damage to reduce the pool, but you can never get paradox lower than a chance die. The abyss is just too persistent.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thondor
Uh, is Levanna here at all? or did she drop out for the moment. If she is I've probably heard or her anyway seeing as we are both pretty new Free Council.
Chopesh, back in your days as a cop, did you ever work in Roxbury? I'd like Goliath to have run into you during his brief, youthful gang life. That'd be about ten years ago.
Levanna is in the scene, quiet as usual; I'll run her along with you guys for a little bit, but unless BlueLotus is still around, she stands a good chance of being drafted into Gabriel and Jeremiah's thing.
As far as people knowing one another, I'll leave that to you guys to decide. People of the same order are fairly likely to know one another, but it's not guaranteed. As a result of the "Grace Period" policy that keeps newly-Awakened apprentices out of politics, your characters weren't brought along to Order or Consilium meetings. Which is to say that you're all equally justified knowing one another or not, as it suits you.
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Mage: the Awakening - Legacy of the Stone Assembly (IC)(OOC)
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying - Down and Out in Altdorf (IC)(OOC)
Last edited by Hella_Tellah; 13th March 2009 at 08:58 PM..
You've got it. You can also spend mana or take bashing damage to reduce the pool, but you can never get paradox lower than a chance die. The abyss is just too persistent.
You mean you can reduce the successes on a paradox roll by taking bashing damage right? (p.124 Backlash)
Hmm, sounds like Backlash is my new best friend.
I wish I could have got the Iron Stomach merit too for Darryl, but you can only buy so much.
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I don't want to bog down the game waiting for one of the characters to answer, so if Hella wants to move the game forward (to inside) works for me. Walking Dad can always retcon his reply (ie. I said this before we went inside)
maybe I'm being a little to hasty but I think we're getting a good flow and don't want this intial meeting to get dragged out.
As an aside -- I thought that Walking Dad's character wasn't local to Benefit, so that's how I've been having Goliath act. I've been playing it that my character thinks he remembers "Chopesh" from a long time ago before his awakening.
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I don't want to bog down the game waiting for one of the characters to answer, so if Hella wants to move the game forward (to inside) works for me. Walking Dad can always retcon his reply (ie. I said this before we went inside)
Unless someone posts additional actions or dialogue outside, I'll have everyone move inside in my next post. That will be a new scene, by the by, so consider which spells you'll be carrying with you.
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Mage: the Awakening - Legacy of the Stone Assembly (IC)(OOC)
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying - Down and Out in Altdorf (IC)(OOC)
Prometheus will have:
Conjunctional Mind 1/Prime 1 Improved Supernal Vision (That's what he's casting IC, so he won't dispel his current sight until he's done)(note to self: make rote)
Prime 2 Spell Shield? the one that protects from spells by spending mana. I'm pretty sure its spell shield.
Are you actually using the material from Boston Unveiled ? Or is it more just the stuff from the main book?
I'd like to be the Storyteller for a nMage game at some point and I'm wondering if there is any supplement that's really helpful . . . I just find grokkin mage a lot harder then Vampire (but then again I got to play a Vampire quite bit before I tried being a Storyteller).
anyway. Lots of fun so far. Keep it coming.
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I'm using Boston Unveiled for setting, plot hooks, and NPCs, but I've put my own twist on some things of course. Glad to hear you're thinking of STing Mage! I recommend Tome of the Mysteries as the first supplemental book to pick up. It adds rules for alchemy, explains magic in greater detail, and really functions as a second core book. Sigil and Sanctum is a great one for understanding how mages work together as cabals, and STs can get a lot of mileage out of that one. By far the most inspiring book for a storyteller is a newer one, Keys to the Supernal Tarot. It's just full of plot hooks--one for each card in a standard tarot deck, in fact, so you can use an in-character tarot reading to generate story ideas.
Other books are profoundly valuable, too, but more dependent on the type of story you're telling and the inclinations of your players. There's a book for each order, and each of those makes for a great afternoon's reading if you enjoy the setting; if your players involve themselves in mage politics, you'll find them very valuable. Intruders: Encounters With the Abyss is about including Abyssal entities into your game, very dark and horror-oriented with about five pages dedicated to each entity. You'll want Secrets of the Ruined Temple if your group is looking for an "Indiana Jones" feel to the game. And the new Seers of the Throne book casts the one of the major enemies mages face in the game in a very intriguing and thoughtful way.
I would not recommend either of the Legacy books for an ST, though. There is some story potential in them, but they're mostly for players looking for options. If you've played D&D 3.5, I'd compare them to a book entirely of Prestige Classes: players salivate over them, but you'll probably only use one or two of the legacies in there. There's not a lot of bang for your buck.
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Mage: the Awakening - Legacy of the Stone Assembly (IC)(OOC)
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying - Down and Out in Altdorf (IC)(OOC)
Thanks for the info, I'll keep those in mind/maybe try to check out some reviews for some more details.
I'm usually not much of a supplement person but as I said, I feel I need to get some ideas, get a better feel for what a game of Mage is.
Quick anecdote: I went to a informal little convention in Ottawa a few weeks ago and a buddy got me some Vampire: The Requiem dice. Their 10 d10s in a little red bag with a black vampire skull. The successes (8,9,0) are silver while the other numbers are black. Really sweet.
Man they make me want to get in a face to face nWoD gaming!
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I'm sorry to report that I won't be able to keep updating Legacy of the Stone Assembly. I've enjoyed working on it, and have been very lucky to have such creative, character-focused writers as players. Bad news as that is, the reason I'm leaving is pretty good news--I'm devoting the time I would have spent on this and other RPG writing finishing off a collection of short stories I've been writing. So, fingers crossed, look for the name Jeff Moore to conquer the world of genre fiction!
If anyone here has an interest in continuing this game and taking over as ST, you absolutely have my blessing, and I can send along a framework for where I was taking the story if you don't already have your own ideas. If you have any criticisms or tips for me as a writer, please do send them along. I'm only as good as the mistakes I recognize and eliminate.
Thanks for playing, and please know that it's not for anything any player did or didn't do that I give this up now. It's going to take a great deal of discipline for me to buckle down and get serious about my writing, and I want to free up the time and brain-space to do that.
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Mage: the Awakening - Legacy of the Stone Assembly (IC)(OOC)
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying - Down and Out in Altdorf (IC)(OOC)
While disappointing on a selfish personal level, as someone who has tried to earn money writing in the past (if briefly), I can totally relate to what you're saying, and to your goal.
I will be sorry to see the game go though; the plot and narrative style were both excellent, and I was really getting into the mystery of it.
Good luck, and if you find yourself with time and inspiration do come back and play again!
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