Category:Archived-Silver Ladder
The Vox Draconis, the Voice of the Dragon: the advisors of Awakened society, wishing to rebuild a unified community of mages under their leadership.
Someone needs to guide and lead those who cannot lead themselves, and the Silver Ladder rises to the occasion. Basing themselves in the various groups of Atlantean priests and viziers collectively known as the Vox Draconis (the "Voice of the Dragon"), the Silver Ladder does not lead as kings but as the enlightened among the masses. They follow the Elemental Precepts which states that the Awakened must be united and that magic is the right of all humans who live.
Silver Ladder across Australia
Also see the category pages at the bottom of this page, as all characters should be tagged with this category.
Deceased, Departed or Missing
The following members have deceased, departed, missing or otherwise not in play.
| Character | Path | Legacy | Group | Domain | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Character | Path | Legacy | Group | Domain | Reason not in play |
| Character | Path | Legacy | Group | Domain | Reason not in play |
| Character | Path | Legacy | Group | Domain | Reason not in play |
Cabals and Groups
The following Cabals and other groups exist within the Order.
Archons
Cabal of the Hierarch of Brisbane, mostly Silver Ladder and Guardians of the Veil.
Arlington Family
A biological Awakened family of Impeccable breeding, who moved to Perth in it's early days of settlement, becoming a powerhouse in the mining and construction industries.
McNamara Family
Jonah McNamara, better known by his shadow name Lyre, was the first recorded mage to arrive in the Brisbane area, in 1860. Upon arrival in Brisbane Jonah purchased a large estate in the area that would become the modern suburb of Toowong, having discovered a rich hallow at the site.
Gaslight Mansion, as it was named, still stands today, currently owned by McNamara’s great great granddaughter and will likely pass on to her son eventually, and was until recently the sanctum of the Lighthouse cabal. Six or seven members of the McNamara family lived at the mansion, working for the Lighthouse.
Another sleepwalker, who married into the family, Luca McNamara, works as security at Gotham Tower, sanctum of the Archons.
Terata
The Silver Ladder, p. 126, states "Vampiric assets are constantly monitored and dutifully recorded, all with the intent of eventually compiling a comprehensive map of the leeches’ activities."
Traditional Initiation Colours
| Path | Nickname | Robe | Trim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obrimos | theurgists | white | silver |
| Acanthus | enchanters | black | blue |
| Mastigos | warlocks | red | gold |
| Thyrsus | shamans | green | auburn |
| Moros | necromancers | violet | brown |
Order benefits
Cryptopoly
An important asset to achieve this is the Cryptopoly a network of affiliated occult organisations with influence throughout all spheres of sleeper life. The conspiracies that make up this network each have a different name, but all are headed by an Illuminate who reports to a Silver Ladder caucus. A Silver Ladder is not limited to their own Allies, Contacts, Resources or Status, but can access any of the resources available in the Cryptopoly -- provided they share their assets in turn.
Relevant Addenda
- I. ERATTA AND ADDITIONAL BOOKS
- X. Silver Ladder (WW40105)
- 2. All Cryptopoly cults require Approval from the lowest-level ST whose authority extends over the cult's entire scope of influence. Social merits for these cults require the same level of approval as Merits belonging to PCs.
- IV. MERITS
- A. Merits Affected by the Addendum
- 5. Cryptopoly [Silver Ladder]: A Silver Ladder PC – Awakened or not - may consider any or all of his Social merits as part of his Cryptopoly. Other Silver Ladder PCs may barter for use of these merits, and he may barter for use of their Cryptopoly merits. Regularly denying such requests unless they are unbalanced or significantly disadvantageous is considered a Sin within the Order. Basic information about the kinds of merits that are within a character's cryptopoly is normally freely shared by and with all Thearchs in good standing.
- 14. Illuminate Retainer [Silver Ladder]
- a. Created as a ●●●●● Retainer using the alternative creation template on p. 63 of Silver Ladder. They do not gain any additional XP by virtue of being a ●●●●● Retainer. (Please note that PC Illuminated Proximi are generated as a normal character.) However, the merit becomes a simple cost, rather than graduated cost merit.
- i. The PC can ask the retainer to take an action to use one of its social merits on their behalf per downtime.
- ii. All merits held by the Illuminate Retainer are held as part of a Cryptopoly, so can also be accessed by other PCs as noted above
High Legalese
Relevant Addenda
- I. ERATTA AND ADDITIONAL BOOKS
- X. Silver Ladder (WW40105)
- 3. High Legalese may only be invoked by Silver Ladder PCs who possess Academics or Occult 4, and a specialization in Lex Magica, Awakened Law, or a similar subject.
Proximi
Mortal characters may have the Proximus merit (Mage: the Awakening, p.334), and be part of a biological families of Sleepwalkers.
Relevant Addenda
- III. ORGANISATIONS
- D. Proximi [Silver Ladder]
- 1. The Proximi Merit (p. 334, Mage: the Awakening) is sanctioned for use.
- 2. In order to gain the benefits of a Dynasty listed in Silver Ladder, the character must be a part of a Dynasty as well as having the Proximi Merit.
- 3. The creation of a new Dynasty is beyond the capability of PCs.
- 4. Proximi families may not access powers from Second Sight.
- 5. The Merovingian family is an Antagonist group and is Top Approval
Legacies
The following Silver Ladder Legacies are known to have members in Australia.
- Sisterhood of the Blessed - This Legacy is an up-until-recently exclusive to high-class women group whose networking and attainments are focused on helping members avoid the social prejudice levied against them. They are skilled in subtle Fate and Mind magics to assist their endeavours and keep themselves from accruing too much unwanted attention stemming from their power. (The Silver Ladder, p. 164)
Order status
Status is indicated within the Silver Ladder through formal ranks, each recognised with a public ceremony. Note that progression through the ranks of the Silver Ladder tends to be very slow, requiring both strong mystical skills and potent political and social acumen, before granting starting characters more than a single dot in Order Status.
- Neophyte (status -- or •): Characters usually start with status •; those who have not yet completed initiation are status --. (Known to be a member locally, Low Approval/VST)
- Famulus (status ••): Adept level in one arcanum or disciple in two and has taken up a prominent position in either a cabal or Consilium politics. Tend to be cabal leaders, Provosts and judges. Teachers and mentors to neophytes and those outside the order. (Known to be a local city leader/figure of import, Low Approval/VST)
- Famulus superior (status •••): Tend to be Councilor or Hierarch. (Known to be a statewide and/or figure of import for multiple cities, Mid Approval/DST)
- Magister (status ••••): Almost always a second degree master and former Hierarch of Councilor. Only one Magister exists in any given Consilium. (Known to be an authority on matters across the country, High Approval/GST)
- Greater Magister and Grand Magister (status •••••): To get around the rule of only one Magister. (The most prominent of global Order leaders, Top Approval/NST)
Order positions
A position implies a certain Status level but doesn’t guarantee it. If a mage has less Status than her position, she’s considered an interim functionary and she should relinquish her station to a more qualified théarch as soon as the opportunity presents itself. Correspondingly théarchs who have lower positions than their Status implies still command respect.
City caucus positions:
- Acolyte (usual status •)
- Claviger (usual status •••): "party whips".
- Deacon (usual status ••••): Leader(s) of the city caucus, often a master of at least one arcanum. If there is a théarch Hierarch they are usually made Deacon. Multiple Deacons are usually avoided, otherwise the highest status Deacon overrules the others.
Special positions:
- Factotum (usual status ••): Any mage that passes the factotum exam (requiring Academics 3 (Specialty: Lex Magica), Investigation 1, Occult 2, Politics 2 and Persuasion 2) is immediately elevated to status 2.
- Lictor (usual status ••): A travelling investigator and judge. May not participate in order politics and can't have a permanent home or apprentices, except their direct replacement. Must retire when their apprentice graduates.
- Magister to a Convocation (usual status ••••): Consilium representative at Convocation, usually the Deacon.
Pages in category "Archived-Silver Ladder"
The following 7 pages are in this category, out of 7 total.