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Mage: The Awakening

VSS

1. ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

1.1. Venue Details

Venue Name: Of Mysteries and Men
Domain Code: SCMtA2.0
Domain Name: Southern Cross
Domain Code: SC

1.2. Venue Personnel

VST: Shaye McCarthy-Atkinson - 2011120002
VC: Roman Hadley-Lund - 2016070016
DST: Nikita Boston - 2015070006
DC: Ali Lawrie - 2001010334

1.3. Game Location, Time and Fees:

Game Location: Game on Discord. Server at https://discord.gg/A3pgjMN
Game Time: Game on Discord. 1 set time live game per month. Times and Dates for 2017 available here
Game Fees: N/A

1.4. Mailing lists, websites and other online resources used:

Southern Cross currently has no dedicated website although most of our information can be found on the wiki at http://wiki.beyondthesunset.org.au/

Information about our games can also be found on our facebook group page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1710440142557058/

The forums can be located at http://spi.freeforums.net/

For out of character mailing lists, please go to ooc.southerncross@lists.beyondthesunset.org.au

The game venue can be found on Discord https://discord.gg/A3pgjMN

The official addenda should be referred to for in-game content at http://wiki.shadowplayinternational.org/index.php/Global_Addenda_and_Settings_Documents, please refer to Chronicles of Darkness (NWoD 2nd Edition), Mage: the Awakening 2e for the appropriate content and their approval levels.

2. GAME INFORMATION

2.1. Genre

Chronicles of Darkness: Mage: the Awakening 2.0

2.2. Setting

Launceston, Tasmania

2.2.1. Introduction:

In this world, you are one of the privileged; one of the Awakened. Here you have been gifted the ability to see and understand the truth of the world around you.
And it is sad.
Everywhere around you, people, the non-magical, must exist in a world of oppression and dullness. They must exist in the Lie. Your goal as Awakened is to have enough power to be a beacon to the Sleepers, the non-magical, to help them awakened. You must decide how you will achieve this.
You must decide what philosophy will you live by as an Awakened.

2.2.2. The City:

The city in roughly 100km2 with a population of approximately 150,000 people as of 2011 (this means the city is approximately twice the size of real life). Established in 1806 by Lt. Col. William Patterson, the city has a wide array of heritage buildings from its conception until the modern day, with most buildings in the CBD being built in the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries. Most architecture of the city ranges from Federation style, Victorian, Georgian, Egyptian Revival, and Art Deco, with a notably low number of modern Brutalist architecture present. City government policy prohibits the construction of buildings above 5 storeys.
An old plaque in the middle of the university grounds remembers the city for its original name "Petersonia", as well as a small territory 40km North-West of the city that bears the name. The population of the city grew rapidly from 1806 until 1830, as the city became a hub for exports and arrays of breweries and hotels began to open around the place. These original buildings served as the early stages of sporting club houses, political rallies, churches, schools, and theatres. Mining began to take off in the area in the 1870's as minerals were discovered in the mountains surrounding the city: tin in Mt Bischoff and gold in Beaconsfield. The town became officially recognised as a city in 1889, the second in Tasmania (after Hobart).
In the main area of the CBD is the club strip (Wellington Street): this is an area that contains the majority of pubs, clubs, and hotels within the city.

2.2.3. The Geography and Climate:

Launceston sits in the Tamar Valley, formed on old volcanic rocks and galcial forces millions of years ago. The outer ridges of the city lead up into steep forests, leading to the surrounding mountains. The inner city lies on old wetlands, making the area periodically prone to flooding or landslides. However the thermal inversion in the area significantly reduces the effects of airbourne pollution, making the air incredibly clean to breathe in.
The Tamar River estuary enters into the the port 40km north of the city centre, allowing easy access to the sea for boats and shipping. The area is frequently used for commercial and recreational shipping and boating. The last major flood to affect the area happened in the 1960's and levees were installed to prevent further serious flooding in the future.
Launceston has a very oceanic and temperate climate, with 4 distinct seasonal changes (Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Spring). Weather patterns in the city can change rapidly due to the topography of the high outskirts and low laying city making a bowl. January and February are the warmest months of the year, with temperatures, on average, not exceeding 25 °C. An average of 4 day per year are spend at over 30 °C. July is, on average, the coolest month of the year with average minimum temperatures reaching below 2 °C. Snowfall is unlikely in the city and requires travel to the southernmost points of the state or travel to the peaks of the mountains to experience snow. Winters are noted for their lack of wind, frequently causing extremely foggy mornings. As a result, Launceston Airport is the most fog bound commercial airport in Australia.

2.2.4. The Economy:

The city relies most heavily on tourism, retail, shipping, and education as its main source of income. Further it is also a major hub for pastoral and agricultural activities. The main exports for the city are apples, wines, and superfine wools.
Launceston serves as the commercial hub for the north of Tasmania, becoming a major tourist centre in recent years. The Cataract Gorge is Launceston's largest tourist attraction and is in close proximity to the city centre. It is home to the longest single span chairlift in the world, stretching 308 metres across the gorge. Launceston has many parks throughout the city including City Park, located next to the city centre. City Park is home to Albert Hall. The park also has a large enclosure for Japanese macaque monkeys, a gift from sister city Ikeda, Japan. The Launceston General Post Office dates back to the 1880s, with a clock tower added in the early twentieth century. The GPO clock chime chimes every quarter-hour. Tasmania Zoo, which is known for its wildlife conservation work, including a breeding program for Tasmanian devils, is located near the city.

2.2.5. The Infrastructure:

Launceston General Hospital is the largest public health facility in the region having 300 beds, and is located just south of the city centre. St Luke's and St Vincent's are the two largest private hospitals in the region. The Royal Flying Doctor's Service works out of Launceston General Hospital and serves the entire Tasmania area.
The most common method of transportation through Launceston is via personal car, despite most of the city being one way streets. Metro Tasmania, the government-owned public transport system, has been in place in the city since 1998. Launceston is the Tasmanian hub of extended bus travels due to its location on 5 major highways. Launceston airport is a small, curfew-free airport that connects directly to Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane airports. All major airlines operate out of this airport.
Trams ceased to be used in Launceston 1952, making way for a dominance of cars and buses instead. The regional passenger train system was closed in July 1978 due to lack of use. Freight rail systems connection Launceston to Hobart, Burnie, and Bell Bay still exist, but not for passenger use. Electricity in the city is predominantly gathered by the use of hydroelectric power stations located on the Travellyn Dam. The city migrated from natural gas in 1952 and the gasworks still exists as a museum and cafe to this day. The city's water comes from the Launceston Water Catchment, sourced from the Saint Patrick's River which flows through the northern end of the city.

2.3. Themes & Mood

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...?

2.4. Preferred character types, and restrictions

Players are encouraged to read the city and venue history document. Any amount of time awakened is acceptable unless where against the global addenda. More experienced players are recommended to play experienced mages, new players to the genre are recommended to play newly awakened and come to understand the system as their characters do. Experienced mages are encouraged to mentor newer mages. Sleepwalkers and Proximii can be played on the caveat that the player has written a reasonable and in depth justification to the character concept.

A balance and wide array of skills is preferred to a character with a high focus in one area alone. That is not to say they will be denied outright, just that a preference will be given to well spread characters. Any character who has been awakened for longer than 6 months should have at least a single dot in Occult to represent what it means to be Awakened and understand their arcane ability, on top of the free dot given for being a member of an order. Players should have dot spreads that accurately represent their character’s abilities.

Characters with an attribute at 1 dot will be considered Mid Approval as minimum human average for any attribute is 2 dots in this VSS.

Player characters under eighteen are not permitted.

2.5. Location of Venue history information

History not included in this VSS, will attach a history and settings document in future

2.6. Transport In/ Out Information

Tasmania can be accessed by land, air, sea, and portal with no impediment. Launceston can be accessed by any method whatsoever. Changes to the control of transport within the city is at the jurisdiction of the Venue Storyteller with approval from the Domain Storyteller.

3. EXTERNAL FACTORS INFORMATION

3.1. Experience Awards

3.1.1. Creation

All primary characters receive 150 + their MC x 5 in beats as per the universal addenda.
All secondary characters receive 50 in beats as per the universal addenda.
In addition, characters may also receive experience points at creation for the following at the discretion of the VST–
• Character Creation Document: 20 beats for the completion of a Character Creation Document (can only be claimed once per character).
• Character Ties: 1 beat per character tie at Character creation (Max 5)
• Wiki Pages: 15 beats for creation of a detailed Wiki page for your character (can only be claimed once per character.)
• Game Materials: 1 beat for creating game materials that benefit the majority of characters: (Creating maps, NPC’s, plots, places of interest, world building items etc.) at discretion of VST.
Note: These XP bonuses are considered creation XP and are not subject to the Incremental Maximum

3.1.2. Monthly Experience

• Game attendance: 3 beats at conclusion of the game.

• Downtime Submission: 6 beats for submission when received on or before cut-off time.

• Downtime Actions: 1 beat when performing actions that are dedicated to resolving aspirations, at discretion of VST.

• RTR’s: 1 beat for participating in with a supervising storyteller present, or when submitting a report to the VST, at discretion of the VST (max 3 per month).

• Online Activity: 1 beat for updating and maintaining online resources (SPI forums, Online Diary, etc) of character, at the discretion of the VST.

• Resolving mundane Conditions: 1 beat at discretion of VST.

• Major progress towards Aspirations: 1 beat when making major strides towards fulfilling long-term Aspirations at discretion of VST.

• Dramatic Mundane Failure: 1 beat when potential for dice roll and you elect to take a dramatic failure to further the narrative. At discretion of VST.

• “I train you” actions: 1 Beat. This is when you use your I train action to train someone else.

• Vice and Virtue: 1 beat when players gain all WP back from indulging their Mask or Dirge completely.

• Game Materials: 1 beat (Upto 5 in a month)

• Circle of Love nomination: 1 beat

• Circle of Love winner: 2 beats

• Arcane Beats:

· Fulfill or make major headway into an Obsession

· Resolve a Condition resulting from spellcasting, Paradox, or a magical effect

· Dramatic Failure on a spellcasting roll in lieu of standard failure

· Risking an Act of Hubris against Wisdom

· Legacy tutorage scene

· Meaningful and new encounter with the supernatural

3.1.3 Circle of Love

At the conclusion of every game, members enter the Circle of Love Nominations channel on the Discord server and tag their favourite player to nominate them for Circle of Love. After a period of 48 hours (2 days from the conclusion of game) the votes are tallied and a winner is announced to venue.

3.2. Custom Rules

Below are the following custom or altered rules for this VSS.

3.2.1. Attribute Approval

Characters with an attribute at 1 dot will be considered Mid Approval as human average for any attribute is 2 dots in this VSS.

3.2.2. Buying Arcana

Ruling: .5 actions x dot being learned, rounded up

• 1 action for 1st and 2nd

• 2 actions for 3rd and 4th

• 3 actions for 5th dot

Common: 1 action x dot being bought

• 1 action for 1st dot

• 2 actions for 2nd dot

• 3 actions for 3rd dot

• 4 actions for 4th dot *

• 5 actions for 5th dot *

Weak: 2 actions x dot being bought

• 2 actions for 1st dot

• 4 actions for 2nd dot *

• 6 actions for 3rd dot *

• 8 actions for 4th dot *

• 10 actions for 5th dot *

*Requires Teacher

3.2.3. Imbued Items

Imbued items are defined as items which have a spell incorporated into the object. Imbued Items can also be Enhanced Items. An Imbued Item requires one point of Mana and the activation manoeuvre in order to activate the spell stored inside. The rolls to activate an Imbued Item is based on your character's Gnosis + the item's Arcana rating (i.e. the rating of the Arcana of the user who creates the item at the time of item creation). If the item is used by someone without Gnosis (or an equivalent Powerstat) the roll is made purely by the Arcana rating of the item. The activation manoeuvre of the item is defined when the item is created, this can be an action, word, phrase, or more.
This merit is not bound by a maximum of 5 dots. The number of dots on the merit is equal to the Arcana required to perform the rote + additional Mana stored inside the object (like a battery). Each additional dot beyond the minimum requirements for the Arcana adds 2 Mana to the object. Restoring the Mana in an Imbued Item requires an hour of casting per dot with Mana equivalent to the Caster's ability to channel Gnosis. An Imbued Item may have 6+ dots if it contains a Master level spell and a Mana Battery.
Imbued Items have a base Paradox pool of 1 dice + the user's Gnosis + any extra Reach effects the users adds. Mages can spend the Mana in the Imbued Item to mitigate Paradox rather than their own, but they are still limited to what they are able to manipulate based on their Gnosis. Paradox from Imbued Items cannot be contained by a Willworker and will automatically be released into the environment.

3.2.4. Artifacts

Understanding how to use an Artifact requires an extended research roll equal to twice the dot rating of the Artifact (e.g. a 5 dot Artifact will require an extended research roll with a target of 10 successes) or may be scrutinised with Prime on an extended roll equal to the dot rating of the Artifact to determine how it works. This merit has a minimum or 3 dots and may exceed 5 dots at creation.
The Artifact can store up to twice the dot rating in Mana as an internal battery to power it. An Artifact cannot naturally perform Reach, it requires the use of a Willworker to add Reach to any effect used by an Artifact. An Artifact will automatically release Paradox unless the Willworker spends his own Mana to contain it.
All Artifacts add a +1 modifier to Yantras (this is a Yantra of 1, not a boost to all Yantras by 1) performed by any willworker whose Path's Ruling Arcana match the highest Arcanum rating of the Artifact. For clarity this means:

Acanthus receive +1 when an Artifact's highest Arcanum is Time or Fate
Mastigos receive +1 when an Artifact's highest Arcanum is Mind or Space
Moros receive +1 when an Artifact's highest Arcanum is Death or Matter
Obrimos receive +1 when an Artifact's highest Arcanum is Forces or Prime
Thyrsus receive +1 when an Artifact's highest Arcanum is Life or Spirit

3.2.5. Hallows

The Hallow must be defined when taking the merit and describe how it releases Mana into the world. A Hallow can only produce one mana per dot in the merit per day. A Hallow can only allow 3 x dot units of Tass to accrue inside it before it becomes unable to continue producing Tass or Mana until the Tass is harvested. A Hallow can become tainted by Supernatural effects, an Arcana, and in extreme cases an emotion. A Hallow influenced by an Arcana will produce Tass that provides a +1 benefit when being used with the appropriate Arcana and a -1 modifier when used without. A Hallow infused with an emotion provides a +1 benefit to all actions that coincide with that emotion, a -1 modifier when used without, and a -2 when used against that emotion.
The Hallow merit can be shared amongst a Cabal. A character may take the Hallow merit multiple times.
The Hallow merit allows extra rerolls for starting game Mana per dot in Hallow. Starting Mana is defined in 3.3. Mana

3.2.6. Willpower

A Mage cannot gain or access more willpower than is available on her sheet as Resolve+Composure, unless they possess specific merits which allow them access to more Willpower than their base pool. Spells that may allow the Mage to effectively gain "infinite willpower" do not work and attempts to perform them will lose a Mage willpower. A Mage may regain willpower by the fulfilment of their Vice or Virtue.

3.2.7. Sleepwalkers

Sleepwalkers may be created via the spell "Stealing Fire". It is possible to convince the Sleepwalker to hold the spell for a Mage in order to not go back to sleep. However the spell may be dispelled by another Mage at any time. Attempts to hang spells on Sleepwalkers requires their full un-coerced consent in order to work. A sleepwalker holding a spell for a Mage has either a medium or strong sympathetic to that mage. It is not possible to create infinite Sleepwalkers using this method.

3.2.8. Permanent Spells

Spells cast with the appropriate Reach added to achieve indefinite duration which affect the caster become marked as a merit on a character's sheet. This cost arcane XP with the XP expenditure equal to the cost of a merit (i.e. 1xp). Any spell is able to be counterspelled or ended. If a permanent duration spell is ended prematurely the character has their arcane XP refunded to them.

3.2.9. Limited Spells

The following spells are either limited or not sanctioned in this venue, with the only exception being reserved for plot.

Shifting Sands (Time •••) - Reach may not be added into this spell for travelling back more than 4 rounds, VST discretion for Mass Combat
Rewrite History (Time ••••) - This spell is reserved for Plot and backstory only
Corridors of Time (Time •••••) - This spell is reserved for plot
Pariah (Fate •••••) - This spell is not sanctioned within this VSS
Swarm of Locusts (Fate •••••) - This spell is reserved for Plot

3.2.10. Firearms

The obtaining of all firearms are subject to Mid Approval. There are 2 main methods of bringing firearms into the city, these are defined as:

Legal - the character obtains a firearms license and awaits the legal channels to obtain a firearm. This is either for personal use or business use. This is not able to be circumvented by admission to the police or armed forces. Obtaining a firearm in this manner allows the character pass on police checks when their firearm is able to be discovered. The character is able to purchase ammunition regularly. The character must regularly attend a firearms club or own a farm in order to maintain their license. The character must make 6 monthly check ins with police services to assess their ability to manage and maintain a firearm.
Illegal - the character obtains firearms through illegal methods and circumvents the law. This is either for personal use or business use. Obtaining a firearm in this manner allows the character access to high calibre and power weapons, but they are limited in supply and ammunition. If the character is caught by police with their weapon they are subject to the will of the law. Illegal methods are not able to circumvent the time constraints on obtaining firearms within the city.

Firearms restrictions exist in Launceston due to the Port Arthur Massacre back in 1996. The city still grieves, even over 20 years later. As such firearms are highly restricted and citizens hearing the sound of gunfire are incredibly jumpy, and thus quick to call authorities.

3.3. Mana

3.3.1. Gaining Mana

Every day mages make a Gnosis+Composure roll to determine their base starting level of Mana for the day. Mages who do not use all of their available Mana in a day carry it over to the next day. This occurs until the Mage has exhausted all the Mana in their pattern. A Mage may elect to never spend Mana until their Pattern is completely full. Noting whether Mana has been saved is to be denoted in downtimes using the template listed section 3.4.
Mages with a Hallow can perform Oblations as per the Mage 2.0 core for extra points of Mana up to their dots in Hallow. Mages with a Hallow can allow their Hallow to convert Mana into Tass and carry it physically but only on the condition they do not perform Oblations. Disciples on Prime may perform the Channel Mana spell (either knowing the rote or fast casting it) to obtain Mana from a Hallow without Oblation.
Supernal revelations (e.g. fulfilling Obsessions) generates one point of Mana. Scouring your pattern will gain extra Mana as per the Mage 2.0 core page 87. Blood Sacrifice can gain Mana as per the Mage 2.0 core page 87.
Spells that can circumvent how much Mana a Mage can obtain per round will automatically fail in this VSS.

3.3.2. Spending Mana

Mages must spend a point of Mana to perform each of the following:

Improvise a spell not from their Ruling Arcana
Remove 1 die from their base Paradox pool. A Mage's base Paradox pool can not be reduced below 1 dice. It is not possible in this VSS to take a Paradox roll to a chance die.
Activating certain attainments

Mages spend varying points of Mana on the following actions:

Legacy Attainments which would otherwise cost multiple Mana only cost 1
Powerful spells that go against the Lie require Mana to activate depending on the spell
Bolstering their pattern in order to heal physical damage requires a point of Mana per unit of Bashing or Lethal. This cannot remove Aggravated damage.
Bolstering their pattern in order to remove mental conditions requires one point of Mana per Condition. This cannot remove mental Tilts but can remove physical ones. This does not allow a player a beat.
Activating an Imbued Item requires one Mana, either from the caster or from the item itself.

A Mage cannot spend more Mana than their Gnosis allows per turn, as stated in section 3.2.11.
A character that attempts to spend more Mana than they are able to per round will require extra rounds to perform their action.
Spells that can circumvent how much Mana a Mage can spend per round will automatically fail in this VSS.

3.4. Downtime Handling Procedure

Downtimes are to be emailed to VST Awakening every week after game and every week beforehand. A full timetable of downtime due dates is available at Beyond the Sunset Southern Cross' facebook page. Downtimes should use the CofD Downtime Template created by the VST and DST.
Downtimes are considered to be mostly safe. Unless your PC is intentionally walking into something dangerous, intentionally performing an action that will attract negative attention, or intends to cast a large number of spells beyond their reach then their downtimes will not result in a dangerous conclusion. PCs may still encounter dangerous things accidentally within their downtimes however they will not come to any harm or ill effects without a full scene being run with that player present. If a player is not present to do a scene before the regularly scheduled game is played then that character is considered currently uncontactable and cannot be found by the PCs during game or until such time as the necessary scene has been completed.
Players who intentionally perform dangerous actions will be given an OOC warning that their actions are dangerous but the scenes will still continue regardless. Those that are considered to be of White Lanyard status will have the option to take back dangerous actions and retain their status or continue the action and lose their status. Warnings will only be given if an action may result in what the VST knows to be potential character death, there will be no danger warnings given to anything less except for White Lanyard players.
PCs intentionally attempting to kill PCs through Downtimes are directed to the Universal Chronicles of Darkness (NWoD 2nd Edition) section 0, part A:

0. THE GOLDEN RULES
- A. LARP is not a “shoot-em-up”. You don't get notches in your belt for killing other PCs. You don't win by making the game miserable for everyone else. This is a storytelling game, and you win by telling a good story with others. If you do insist on making the game miserable for everyone else, the presiding storyteller has every right to tell you, in plain and simple terms, “No. Not here, not today.”

3.4. Crossover limitations

Crossover between genres is considered the same as listed in the Cross Genre Appendix for Chronicles of Darkness (NWoD 2nd Edition) as found at http://wiki.shadowplayinternational.org/index.php/Global_Addenda_and_Settings_Documents Where there is no prelisted crossover limitation by the Appendix, crossover is considered to be Mid Approval.

4. NEW/INTERSTATE PLAYERS

4.1. Information for New Players

New characters should use the standard rules for character creation, extra notes from this VSS, and refer to the Global and Australian Addendas where appropriate. New players are encouraged to email the VST at VST Awakening while considering their concept for assistance in developing their idea.
For the new member guide, please follow this link http://wiki.beyondthesunset.org.au/index.php?title=New_Member_Guide

4.2. Information for Transferring Players

For characters transferring VSS, please forward character sheets, CDD, and any Approvals to the DST and VST for clarification and integration into the local domain and venue. Please also submit the last three months of downtimes and responses from your previous domain where possible to understand more about the character and how they act in their between periods. Also, note that transferring characters may be subject to some alterations to their sheets to account for the change in VSS or to make them more consistent with the new VSS, all alterations will be done after consultations with the player.

4.3. Information for External Players

Proxies are recommended to be sent two weeks prior to the arrival of the character to give the supervising VST an opportunity to discuss with the visiting player anything they need to know. Visiting characters may be subjected to temporary alterations to their sheets (with consultation) if their sheet is deemed inappropriate to the tone of the local game. Character sheets for a character outside Australia should be sent through the relevant story teller channels at least two weeks before the proxy commences in case any conversion need to be made.

Southern Cross Awakening CofD VSS draft