Last updated: 2014-06-04, Highlighted text shows changes since previous version.

ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

Order of the Sable Gallows, MTA2014005001
Part of the Domain of Twilight Alliance, AUS-002

VST & VC Names and membership numbers

VST: Karl Brannon, AU2012070001 (vst.awakening@brisbane.beyondthesunset.org.au)
VC: Nate Bickerton, AU2005102705 (nat_bickerton@hotmail.com)

Game Location, Time and Fees

Our games are currently played the Sunday after Requiem before Changeling: The Lost. Fees and Location are at the discretion of the VC, and are announced prior to the game.

Mailing lists, websites and other online resources used

Twilight Alliance does not have a dedicated website, but does have a Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/Twilight.Alliance and keeps records about characters, locations, and events on the wiki found at http://wiki.beyondthesunset.org.au/brisbane. Players should subscribe to ooc.brisbane@lists.beyondthesunset.org.au for organisational information.

GAME INFORMATION

Genre

Mage: The Awakening

Setting

In 2013 the city of Brisbane as we know it has continued to expand to resemble a decadent, hedonistic metropolis of vice and crime. The sprawling cityscape of Brisbane has burst its borders with non-stop urban hubs that flow into the Gold Coast to the South, the Sunshine Coast to the North and Ipswich to the West. The sunshine, the surf and the glitz and glamour of Brisbane nightlife present a ritzy lifestyle to outsiders, but the promise of a good time is only skin deep. Beneath the surface is a world of corruption and decay that clings to the city's foundations. Everything and anything can be acquired for the right price. The city isn’t in any kind of chaos or disarray, it churns onward at a steady pace, but progress is always limited by the money that fuels the fires and the hottest fires are those of industry and crime.

The Awakened of Brisbane find themselves in an interesting situation. The Consilium is strong, backed by a long and nearly unbroken history that goes back over a century. However, it finds itself small in its current state and it is forced to co-exist with the political power of an Assembly that controls or contests several prominent parts of the city; which is to say nothing of the other powers, mundane and supernatural, that would claim Brisbane themselves. There is much opportunity to be had here for the ambitious and capable, but danger lurks everywhere and those who do not look carefully to their defences are not likely to survive.

Themes

Power

Everything is about power. Political power, arcane power, temporal power; all are the means to ends. But everyone wants power. Some want it for altruistic goals, others for themselves. Some people want to share power, others want to hoard it. Wherever you stand, whatever you believe, nothing survives or succeeds for want of power. But even still, one who seeks power must be wary, for it is said that power inevitably corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely...

Deception

The Lie, the Veil; call it what you like but the effect is the same. In the fallen world, magic is hidden and the supernatural remains a secret; which is to say nothing of more mundane subterfuge. Knowledge is power but only when it is secret, and in a world built on knowledge secrets are worth more than gold. But those who crave knowledge and dig up secrets should look before they leap, because there may yet be things that men weren't meant to know and knowing too much can get you killed...

Consequences

Action and reaction; cause and effect. What you do has an effect on the world around you, and when you can change the world with a thought the effects can be staggering. Change a mind, heal a wound, alter a destiny; the world can change course entirely for good or ill with even the smallest of actions. But sometimes the world doesn't want to change, and when the world fights back it fights back hard...

Amorality

"There are no moral phenomena" says Nietzsche, "only moral interpretations of phenomena". Truth is an often invoked but ill-defined idea, especially where ideas of "right" and "wrong" are concerned. What one Order sees as necessary another sees as heresy, and within Orders there is no consensus on how goals should be pursued. Then there are others, Seers and Banishers and worse, who all see things differently. But they are all wrong, right...?

Moods

Mystery

Atlantis, the mythic city from which all mage society is said to descend; The Temenos, where all of humanity’s shared thoughts have been gathering since the species was born; The Shadow, a mirror realm where spirits dwell. The world you knew before awakening was full of questions about unknown worlds and uncertain history, and now that your eyes have been opened there are even more worlds and even longer histories to question. Some of those questions may never really be answered, but that has never stopped humanity from searching and yet fails to diminish the lustre of the questions in and of themselves. Who knows what wonders may be there, just waiting to be discovered.

Fear

The world is out to get you, and in the fallen world there are plenty of threats that the careless and the naïve will never see coming. Banishers wield all the same powers as you, and they want you dead. But the Seers present a worse threat; they are well organized, more numerous, and not so single-minded as to think you can’t be converted. Other threats lurk out there, from hostile spirits to astral and abyssal monsters and even rogue mages who wield powers you’ve never heard of before. And those are just the threats you know about; far worse may yet stalk the world and simply not have left any survivors to tell of its existence. It’s only paranoia if things are not really out to get you.

Realism

The Awakening is a test of will and creativity and that you’ve passed through it successfully shows you are an exceptional human, but you are still just that: human. You still feel emotions for better or worse, you still get sick and experience pain, and you still have flaws and weaknesses. Magic can only achieve so much, and the one thing magic has never achieved is the removal of the human condition. It might one day, but until the day that humanity ascends to the Supernal even the Wise must deal with the fact that they live in the Fallen World; a place where some failures are inevitable and success never comes without both effort and luck. The big damn heroes of books and movies are a fiction; their tales can be inspiring but are rarely more than a palliative from the Exarchs designed to keep the masses of humanity suppressed and dependent upon others. The Awakening has given you a chance to do something greater than that with your life, but it is far from a guarantee that you’ll ever be anything more than a footnote or a statistic. Never forget that you are not a fictional protagonist; you are vulnerable and can be hurt, you are fallible and can fail, and at the end of it all you are mortal and can still die.

Introspection

The choices you will make in life arise from the things you believe, and despite the many claims to the contrary there is no clear indication of whether any metaphysical truth actually exists. Because your choices will have consequences, you have to consider them carefully and think about why you are doing the things you are doing. Do you choose to ruin a man’s life because it will harm the Seers of the Throne? Or do you choose not to harm him, because he is only a bystander in a conflict he can’t possibly know about? Do you feel you have a right to make decisions because you are Awakened, or do you respect the at least nominally free will of the Sleepers around you? To not think about how you make your decisions may make sleeping at night easier, but it is an almost certain road to Hubris and the erosion of your Wisdom. But to think about what you’re doing often entails considering the possibility that what you’re doing isn’t the best choice, and the result of that may be more far reaching than you realize.

Preferred Character Types and Restrictions

In keeping with the themes and moods of the game, character concepts are expected to be serious in practice and genre reinforcing. In keeping with the material presented in Mage: The Awakening and supplementary books, characters will be expected to fit with both their Path and their Order. This does not mean following a stereotype, but it does mean that radical deviations from archetypal personality traits or ideals won't be approved. For example, any mage Awakened to the Thyrsus path is expected to have a personal connection to the natural world and all Obrimos are expected to have strong convictions in a higher power or ideal. Similarly, any mage wishing to join the Silver Ladder must at least acknowledge the Elemental Precepts and any Adamantine Arrow must be able to integrate the embrace of war and conflict into their own values. The aforementioned requirement of genre reinforcement will also include the particular requirement that both of a mage's path ruling arcana be amongst their highest three arcana at all times, in keeping with the flavour material presented in Mage: The Awakening and its many supplementary books. Further to this, as Brisbane has a long and defined in-game history new characters may be asked to integrate with that history if they intend to have been in Brisbane and Awakened for more than six months to a year.

Venue History Information

The in-character history of this venue can be obtained in hardcopy from the VST, or on either the Camarilla Australia website, or Venue website, as listed above.

Transport In/Out Information

Brisbane is a huge metropolitan area surrounded by the many smaller suburban areas of South-East Queensland. It is accessible by plane (flights scheduled for morning, noon and night), train and road. There are no known threats to the Awakened inherent in any form of access, although non-locals entering or leaving the city unannounced to the Concilium or the Assembly may be considered provocative.

EXTERNAL FACTORS INFORMATION

Experience Awards

Creation

All primary characters receive their MC × 10 + 30 in experience points at creation and before entering play as per the universal addenda. In addition characters may also receive experience points for the following at the discretion of the VST:

8XP for completion and submission of the relevant Character Development Document. This is considered un-typed XP and does not count against the Incremental Maximum or as Over-Cap XP as per the Universal Addendum section IV.C.1.

Up to 5XP for Character ties (1 point per Character Tie) – Players are required to communicate with VST regarding the nature and suitability, and this is considered Over-Cap XP.

If the above documentation is suitably provided before the character enters play (i.e. along with the character sheet for initial approval). A Character Development Document may be provided after character creation and the 8XP awarded at that time. PCs created under previous versions of the VSS who have been awarded experience points at character creation for options no longer listed above will have these awards grandfathered.

Ongoing

Game (Maximum 5XP/Game)

Game Attendance 1xp
Roleplaying - Path 1xp
Roleplaying - Order 1xp
Roleplaying - Cabal 1xp
Roleplaying - Legacy 1xp
Roleplaying - Concept 1xp
Roleplaying - Wisdom 1xp

Non-Game (Maximum 5XP/Month)

Downtime Submission 1xp
High Quality Bonus 1xp
ST-Run Scene Bonus 1xp

Post-Game Report 1xp
High Quality Bonus 1xp

Experience for Roleplaying may be awarded at the discretion of the VST, or it may be claimed by submitting a brief written claim (No more than one paragraph or three sentences) with a justification for each. Path can be claimed or awarded for an IC interaction that reinforced the concept of the PC’s Path, such as portraying the Path’s theme or mood effectively. Order can be claimed or awarded for an IC interaction that reinforced some key aspect of the PC’s Order, such as its theme or mood or else its core beliefs and rituals. Cabal can be claimed or awarded for an IC interaction that reinforced the bonds shared by the PC with their cabal, such as undertaking some activity together or acting on the terms of the Cabal’s Protocols. Legacy can be claimed or awarded for an IC interaction that reinforced the concept of a PC’s Legacy if they have one, such as reinforcing one of the Legacy’s concepts or core beliefs. Concept can be claimed or awarded for an IC interaction that reinforced the character’s Concept, typically by literally acting in-line with the Concept on their character sheet. Wisdom can be claimed or awarded for an IC interaction that reinforced the PC’s current Wisdom level, which could be reprimanding an act of Hubris below the PC’s Wisdom or supporting one above it. The experience awarded for Roleplaying, whether at VST discretion or for a successful claim, cannot result in being awarded more than the maximum 5xp per game. The High Quality Bonus may be awarded at the VST’s discretion based upon the level of detail in the Downtime Actions and Post-Game Report, and will typically be awarded where both are submitted with at least one full paragraph (a minimum of three sentences) for descriptions. The ST-Run Scene Bonus may be awarded if at least one action undertaken in a Downtime involves two or more players and the VST or a designated aVST running a Hard Roleplaying scene outside of game, and is awarded to all PCs involved in the scene. In addition the VST is awarded a flat rate of 5XP per month. Additional XP for non-game in-character activities may be awarded by the DST or GST. AVST’s are awarded 2XP for assisting the VST if unable to play their character.

Experience Point Spending Limitations

In order to maintain a balanced and enjoyable game that reflects the canon material for Mage: the Awakening, the VST reserves the right to deny experience point spending on the basis of excessively uneven expenditure on a character sheet. This will typically mean spending more than half to two thirds of the character’s earned experience in a single area, such as Arcana or Attributes, without suitable justification. Players are expected to portray characters that support the genre as detailed in Preferred Character Types and Restrictions above.

Custom and House Rules

Obscure Powers

Mage: the Awakening has a huge repository of pre-defined spells and abilities, some of which may be obscure or unknown. In the event that a player wishes to use a power not listed in the Core book and which has not been discussed with the VST outside of game to the VSTs satisfaction then the player must provide a legible and verifiable copy of the power write-up from the relevant sourcebook. If such a contentious power or ability, which is defined at the discretion of the VST, is attempted without a write-up available then the power or ability may not work at the VST’s discretion.

Exceptional Successes and Dramatic Failures

With regards to dramatic successes and failures, it is the VST’s discretion to decide the effects of any such situation. This may include disallowing normal written rules if they are deemed to be unbalanced or otherwise game breaking and to instead levy bonuses or penalties. These bonuses or penalties may be more generous in situations where players are dealing with their environment and NPCs, and less generous in situations where players are dealing with other players.

Downtime Mana Gathering

Mages have several options available to them for gathering Mana between games. Although narrative and story elements should be based upon the materials presented in the books for storytelling purposes, the nature of the LARP means that a simple and abstract system needs to be in place for the easy management of essential procedures. As such, the following options are available by default for determining mana at the start of each chapter:

Option 1: Legacy Oblations

Willpower + Gnosis

Any mage who has been inducted into a Legacy may perform oblations relevant to their Legacy and without the need for a Hallow. To represent the ease with which mages on legacies can perform their oblations, they begin each chapter with an amount of mana equal to their Willpower plus their Gnosis. For example: William is an Imagineer with Willpower 6 and Gnosis 3, so he begins each chapter with 9 mana is his pool.

Option 2: Hallow Oblations

(Greater of Willpower or Gnosis) + Hallow

Any mage with access to a Hallow may perform oblations at the Hallow to regain mana. To represent the consistency and greater abundance of a regular supply of mana, mages performing oblations at a Hallow begin each chapter with an amount of mana equal to the greater of their Willpower or Gnosis plus the value of the Hallow. For example: Before he was an Imagineer William had access to Hallow 2, so with his Willpower 6 he was beginning each chapter with 8 mana.

Option 3: Pattern Scouring

Greater of Willpower or Gnosis

Any mage can perform pattern scouring, ritual self-mortification often similar to oblations, to regain mana in the absence of any other source. To represent this less consistent source of mana and that involves causing oneself noticeable physical damage, a mage utilizing pattern scouring for their regular supply begins a chapter with an amount equal to the greater of their Willpower or Gnosis. For example: Before he had access to a Hallow William had to scour his pattern for mana, so with his Willpower 6 he began each chapter with 6 mana.

Option 4: Blood Sacrifice

Determined Case by Case

A gruesome and hubristic form of gathering mana, it is never-the-less a possible source for a mage desperate or deranged enough to rely on it. A mage will never be assumed to rely on this unless otherwise specified, and if specified the details will be determined at the VST's discretion.

Note 1: Tass Production

Equal to two per dot at the beginning of each downtime period (1 month), divided at player discretion.

A Hallow will be considered to produce a useable amount of tass each month equal to twice its value in dots. This system will be in place to handle a process that would otherwise require an excessive amount of micromanagement. The exact form that the harvested tass can take is up to storyteller discretion, and how it is divided in the case of shared hallows is up to the players. Note that if the form of tass is edible, it will degrade quite quickly. Any edible tass harvested is available for a single downtime period and the following chapter, then it will expire. Non-edible tass does not perish, but will require Prime magic to access.

Note 2: Multiple Sources

Use the greatest source for determining start of chapter mana.

It is easily possible for a mage to access two or more of these sources of mana during a month. In this case the amount available at the beginning of each chapter will be determined based upon the source that would provide the most mana. This is to ensure balance and prevent the game from being simply a case of "everyone begins on full mana!", as well as to accommodate for the assumed expenditures of mana during downtimes. A mage may, however, perform certain actions during the course of a chapter to recover mana though the results and requirements are at the VST's discretion.

Note 3: Mana and Downtime Actions

Same as chapter by default, actions can be used to supplement.

During downtime periods it is assumed that a mage is spending mana regularly, for example on their daily Shielding spells or on generic magical research, and gathering mana consistently via their chosen method. It is also possible that a mage will want to perform Downtime Actions that will require the expenditure of mana for specific purposes, such as employing sympathetic magic to scry on people or for utilizing Perfecting spells during other activities. For this purpose, each character is considered to have a Downtime Mana Pool with a base amount equal to the amount they received at the beginning of the preceding chapter. This may then be supplemented by using downtime actions to gather from additional sources (the mechanics being decided at VST discretion) or by using up any Tass that the mage has available.

Downtime Handling Procedure

Players who wish to undertake activity beyond soft roleplaying between PCs during the time between games, time which is hereafter defined as the downtime period or just downtime, must submit a Downtime Report. Each Downtime Report covers one downtime period, spanning approximately four weeks between monthly games. To be accepted a Downtime Report must be emailed to the VST by the evening (17:00 / 5pm) of the fifteenth (15th) of the month. Late submissions will not be accepted without very good reason at VST discretion, due to time-related needs in co-ordinating with other Domain VSTs and providing responses. The VST is required to respond to downtime reports in writing prior to the start of the following game. A Downtime Report includes a number of Downtime Actions detailing the activities which the character intends to undertake during the downtime period. Either of these may be omitted at the player’s choice and a player is not required to submit a Downtime Report. Downtime Actions are broken down into two categories: Character Actions and Support Actions. Rules for these are as follows:

Character Actions

A character may undertake up to two character actions during a downtime period for each dot of their unmodified Resolve trait. Each action may be allocated a time during the downtime period in which it is to occur. If a task is not given a specific time and a situation may require the actions of multiple characters to interact, then the relative timing will be decided by the VST. Some interactions may also only be possible at certain times, as defined by the VST, and players may ask about this if they are in doubt. Note also that some tasks may take more than a single action to complete, or may be undertaken with greater intensity by utilizing more actions in a single month. If doing this, a note should be made in the downtime indicating that a given task is using more than one action.

Character actions may be used for:

Commitments. This entails performing specific tasks for Allies or similar NPCs if the character regularly makes use of their services. Failure to maintain such commitments may have long term consequences, such as losing a relationship and subsequently any merits that depended upon the supporting roleplaying.

Training. Actions can be used to raise a trait by spending the requisite XP and describing an appropriate action to support the expenditure. Some traits may be more difficult to raise than others, requiring more investment to attain.

Resource Collection. Actions may be undertaken to gather additional starting mana for the next game, additional downtime mana for use during the current downtime, or additional tass. The specific rules for these processes are as per the descriptions given elsewhere in the VSS where rules for resource gathering are defined. NOTE: This is not required for basic resource gathering, which is assumed to occur regardless of downtime actions.

Performing Rituals. The extended casting of spells is a demanding task, and requires at least one action to perform. Multiple rituals or a single ritual with other tasks may be combined into one character action if they are short and/or similar in nature, whilst particularly large or complex rituals may require more than one action at VST discretion.

Other actions that involve hard roleplaying or challenges that may require rolls, with the VST deciding how much can fit in one action. Some instances of soft roleplaying with NPCs will fall into this category if it involves significant time or intensity to achieve, also decided at VST discretion. If in doubt, check with the VST.

An action is *not* required for the following: Pre-cast spells utilizing the normal pre-game Spellcasting rules, performing basic activities to collect the default amount of mana or tass as defined elsewhere in the VSS, short and/or mundane day to day activities, and soft roleplaying with other PCs.

If the character has the Contacts merit, they may take a free character action in addition to their normal character actions to interact with their contacts. This action permits the character to request information from as many or as few of their contact areas as they wish.

Support Actions

In addition; for each instance of the Retainer merit (including derivative merits such as Sleepwalker Retainer and Illuminated Retainer) or Allies merit which the character possesses, the character may request the relevant NPC(s) to take a single action during the downtime period in accordance with the nature of each merit. These are defined as support actions and may also be allocated a specific time during the downtime period in which they are requested to occur. As with character actions, if there is any question of relative timing of actions where no timing was specified then timing will be decided at the discretion of the VST. Note that in the same way that some tasks may require multiple character actions to complete successfully, the same will be true of support actions. If this is the case, the NPC will typically begin the task and continue with one action each downtime whilst reporting their progress until either the task is complete or they are given an alternative request.

Support Actions may be used for:

Favours. An ally or retainer can potentially perform activities within their sphere(s) of influence on the character’s behalf. Allies in city hall can stall or fast-track bureaucracy whilst a retainer with criminal connections can procure contraband. The level of favour performed, and the possible requests asked in return, will vary with the value and nature of the relevant trait.

Support. An ally or retainer can provide backup to a character during one of the character’s actions if it is within their power and sensibilities to do so. A bodyguard retainer can accompany a character during a risky trip across town whilst allies in big business can accompany a character when they go to make a business deal with a rival company. As with favours, the willingness and level of support provided will vary with the value and nature of the relevant traits.

Availability of Firearms

Due to the nature of the Mage: the Awakening genre and the ease with which many genre-appropriate characters can acquire and maintain firearms, this venue is enacting the clause in the Universal Addendum section IX.B.1.a which allows a VSS to downgrade the default approval for firearms listed in the World of Darkness: Armory supplement to Low approval instead of Mid approval. It is expected that players will be able to provide a justification for the possession of such items, with Merits such as Armory being encouraged for this purpose.

Pre-Cast Spells

For the sake of play balance, when allocating successes to spells as per the Mage: the Awakening Addendum section V.F.1 each pre-cast spell can be allocated a maximum number of successes equal to the highest Arcana trait being used in the spell plus the PC’s Gnosis. The allocation of these successes follows the rules for Ritual Cast spells, with the stipulation that no spell factor may have more successes allocated to it than the highest Arcana trait being used in the spell. In addition, if a pre-cast spell has costs in mana these must be subtracted from the PC’s mana pool at the beginning of game. Finally, if a pre-cast spell’s Aspect is Vulgar then a roll for Paradox must be made as though the pre-cast spell had been Ritual Cast, the effects of which will be applied prior to entering game at the discretion of the VST. If multiple Vulgar spells are being pre-cast, then they will stack for the purposes of Paradox rolls with each being cast in turn.

Crossover limitations and expectations

Crossover is permitted as per the addenda. There is an expectation that any cross-venue activity is undertaken responsibly, and irresponsible behaviour may result in both in-character consequences and out-of-character black listing for future cross-venue approval submissions.

Other Optional Rules

Other optional rules may be used as sanctioned by the GST Awakening with the approval of the VST.

NEW/INTERSTATE PLAYERS

Information for New Folks (Beyond the Sunset)

New Players are encouraged to contact the relevant Story Teller at least three days before game. Failure to do so may result in being unable to play a desired PC at the game.
For contact information please see Section 4: Administrative information.
Information relating to our specific games and White-Wolf’s World of Darkness can be found on the Beyond the Sunset Wiki - http://wiki.beyondthesunset.org.au

Information for External Folks (from other Domains)

Character Sheets for character outside of Brisbane should be sent though the relevant Storyteller channels at least three days before a game. Character sheets for a character outside Australia should be sent through the relevant Storyteller channels at least one week before game in case any conversions need to occur between Storytellers. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in sheets not being available for a game, and the possibility of being unable to play the desired character.

Brisbane Awakening VSS