Sam: At the end of last session, the cabal had just limped back to Serenity Hospital and, in a rare moment of fraternity,
shared their histories with the rest of the group they met this morning.
John (pained, ooc): Paradox...high. Quintessence...low.
Draw: "Now that we have decided the Nephandi are not our friends, what are we to do now? Is there any way we can track
them from the carnival?"
John: "It is essential that I find and kill William. I think there is little doubt why Fate has slated him for death.
If only I had found him sooner..."
Mary: "Draw is correct, Homer. I haven't built any tracking devices, yet, and I don't have my library or laboratory here
with me. Besides which, the trail would probably be cold by the time I can whip up a prototype."
Nate: "I don't think we have much choice but to let the trail cool a little. Homer and I sustained injuries tonight.
It will take us time to heal them."
Fanny (ooc): Couldn't I heal you? I have Life 3?
Nate (ooc): Walter's injuries are aggravated.
Fanny (ooc): Did one of the Nephandi rub salt into them or something? That doesn't mean Christabel can't heal them,
right?
This leads into an explanation of the difference between bashing, lethal, and aggravated damage.
Fanny (ooc): I have two points of Quintessence. How wounded is Walter?
Nate (ooc): Four health levels of damage, and I'm out of Quintessence.
Fanny (ooc): That will help you, though. How do you get Quintessence back?
Mary (ooc): You have to meditate on a Node. It helps if you have Prime.
John (ooc): I don't imagine anyone thought to buy a Node?
Nate (ooc): Walter has access to a little one.
Fanny (ooc): Can we use it to get more Quintessence?
Nate: "For now, I am out of Quintessence. Give me time to pray in the chapel in the basement, and perhaps I will be able
to heal myself in a few hours. You are all welcome to join me for quiet meditation if you choose. Please keep in mind,
however, this is a holy place."
John: "I will meditate in this chapel, as well. Perhaps Mel will be able to guide us to Sir William."
Nate (ooc): How much can a one-point Node recharge?
Sam: Five Quintessence per week.
John (ooc): We're both recharging Quintessence. Prime 1. Dif 3?
Sam: Yep.
John and Nate roll.
John (ooc): Yuck. One success.
Nate (ooc): Three successes.
Sam: Gain Quintessence equal to successes. You are welcome to compete for the last point in the reserve.
John (ooc): Walter can have it. He'll need it to heal.
Nate (ooc): Trying to draw more Quintessence. (rolls) Three successes.
Sam: You get the last point of Quintessence.
Nate (ooc): Good. I'm going to heal myself with it.
Sam: Vulgar. Dif 6.
Nate rolls.
Nate (ooc): Two successes.
Sam: You can spend up to four points to completely heal yourself.
Nate (ooc): Okay. Then I'm going to heal the rest of the cabal, if they need it, covering part of the actions with my
medical skills. Coincidental?
Sam: Okay. Dif 6. Who needs healed?
Bill (ooc): I just have a little bruising. Has it been an hour since we left the carnival?
Sam: Yes.
Bill (ooc): Then Draw is healed completely.
John (ooc): Homer needs some help. He's down two health levels.
Fanny (ooc): I'll heal him. (rolls) Two successes.
Sam: Are you doing anything to make it coincidental?
Fanny (ooc): How can I make it coincidental?
Sam: He's not severely wounded. You can roll Intelligence + Medicine to make it look like the drugs and bandages do the
work, not magic.
Fanny (ooc): I don't have Medicine. Can I use Academics?
Sam: No. It's a straight Intelligence roll, then. Dif 6.
Fanny (ooc): Okay. (rolls) One success.
Sam: You can make it look like first aid. How are you rationalizing this with your paradigm?
Fanny (ooc): It's magic. I'm a witch. I can heal people.
Sam: No. I mean, what are you doing to heal him?
Fanny (ooc): I'm using magic to heal him, but pretending to use first aid.
Sam: No. That's what you're doing to make your magic coincidental. What are you doing to cause the magic to work?
Fanny (ooc): I roll my Arete, right? Dif 6?
Sam: Yes, that's what you are doing. But what is your character doing to heal Homer?
Fanny (ooc): What do you mean?
Bill (ooc): He's asking what your character is using as a focus.
Fanny (ooc): Can't I just use the bandages?
Mary (ooc): That doesn't really fit your character's paradigm. Do you know what a paradigm is?
Fanny (ooc): Of course. It is an archetype.
John (ooc): Yes. But in Mage, it's also the way a character understands the way the world and magic work.
Fanny (ooc): Why doesn't first aid fit my character's paradigm? It's my character. I should be able to decide what she
believes myself.
Sam: Yes, but Christabel is a Verbena.
Fanny (ooc): I know that. She's a witch. She worships nature and its spirits and does magic.
Bill (ooc): Do witches use bandages to heal people in the stories?
Fanny (ooc): I don't see why not. Anyone can use bandages. Witches don't need them, except to pretend not to be casting
a spell, I suppose.
Bill (ooc): In the stories, do witches just touch people to heal them?
Fanny (ooc): No.
Bill (ooc): How do they heal them, then?
Fanny (ooc): With magic, of course.
John (ooc): Herbs, plants, cauldrons, and magic words, right? Boil, boil, toil and trouble and all that, remember?
Fanny (ooc): I think I've read enough stories to know a witch uses herbs and magic words, John. I wish you wouldn't
treat me like I'm stupid.
Bill (ooc): It's okay, Fanny. Paradigm is one of the hardest ideas for new players to understand.
Nate (ooc): It took John hours to explain it to me. Allan is a Hermetic Mage, which means he uses mystical symbols and
wands and crystals to make his magic work. Walter believes his magic comes from God, so he prays and uses religious symbols
to use it. Homer is a Euthanatos, which means... How do Euthanatoses do magic, John?
John (ooc): Please don't ask me to explain the Euthanatos paradigm. The Hermetics, Verbena, Akashics, Choristers,
Technomancers, Dreamspeakers, and even Cultists get their power from tools or divine power. Euthanatoi believe that Fate and
luck guide them, but they usually use tools like a Hermetic. I think it's the most confusing of all the Tradition paradigms.
Bill (ooc): It's not that difficult to understand. The Euthanatoi simply represent a culture with which most Westerners
are not familiar. Their tools are linked to luck and Fate. They control probability and facilitate the turning of the
Wheel.
John (ooc): Did someone buy himself a copy of the Euthanatos Tradition Book?
Bill (ooc): I found about a dozen different Mage books at a used book store a few days ago. The guide to the Euthanatos
was one of them.
Nate (ooc): Nice. Used book stores rule. Why didn't you buy a copy for your character, John?
John (ooc): I don't usually buy Tradition books. They cost so much for not a lot of pay back, I think. What else did
you pick up, Bill?
Bill (ooc): Euthanatos, Celestial Chorus, Cult of Ecstasy, Dreamspeaker, Sorcerer, Book of Madness, and the Bygone
Bestiary.
Sam (ooc): Yes. He left me Blood Treachery, Guide to the Technocracy, Werewolf, and Masters of the Art.
John (ooc): You're joking, right?
Sam (ooc): Nope. Now, if we could get back to the game. I want to get through this down time so I can hit you all on
the heads with the Plot Hammer some more.
John (ooc): If it makes you feel any better, I picked up The Munchkin's Guide to Power Gaming.
Sam (ooc): No, it doesn't. The game?
Nate (ooc): Sure. Who else needs healed besides Homer?
Sam: Fanny still hasn't told me what her focus for this healing is...
Fanny (ooc): A witch would use herbs and a short prayer, right? That's what I'm using, then.
Sam: Okay. So you're rubbing herbs into the bandages and casting a simple spell of healing.
Fanny (ooc): Okay? If it was as easy as stating the obvious, why did you make such a big deal about explaining the
meaning of paradigm to me?
Sam: Roll for it. Difficulty 5, if you're using your specialty focus.
Fanny (ooc): Specialty focus? What's that?
Sam: It should be on your character sheet somewhere. You have a specialty focus for each Sphere. If you use it when you
create an Effect with that Sphere, the difficulty decreases by one.
Fanny (ooc): I don't see it on here anywhere.
John (ooc): Sorry, Fanny. I forgot to put that on your character sheet. Here, I'll write down a few for you.
Fanny (ooc): It's just witch magic stuff, right?
Sam: Yes. One specialty focus for each Sphere.
John (ooc): Here. Hand me your character sheet.
Fanny (ooc): That's okay, John. I think I can do this myself. I'll use mirrors for Correspondence, herbs for Life, and
Gaelic chants for Mind. Is that how it works?
Sam: Pretty much. Difficulty 5, then.
Nate (loudly, ooc): Is there anyone else around for Walter to heal?
Bill (ooc): I think Allan took some bashing damage, didn't you, Ed?
Ed snores.
Sam (ooc): Bill, could you wake up Ed, please.
Bill (prods Ed, ooc): Hey Ed. Wake up.
Ed (ooc): I hit him with a bolt of lightning.
Sam (ooc): We're not in combat, Ed.
Ed (ooc): Are we still in Serenity Hospital?
Sam: Yes.
Ed (ooc): Did I miss anything important?
Mary (looking up from reading a sourcebook, ooc): Not really.
Nate (ooc): Is Allan still hurt?
Ed (ooc): Yeah. Three health levels of bashing.
Nate (ooc): Walter is going to find Allan and use Medicine and Life 3 on him. Patch him up, say a prayer, and lay on
hands.
Sam: Okay. Roll for it, dif 5.
Fanny rolls.
Fanny (ooc): Two successes. That will heal him, right?
John (ooc): Yes.
Nate rolls.
Nate (ooc): One success. Accumulating successes. (rolls) And three successes should take care of him.
Ed (ooc): Yes.
Fanny: "I don't think I thanked you properly for rescuing me, Mr. Psyche. Who knows what those Nephandi would have done
with me otherwise."
John: "Thank the Fate that brought us into the labyrinth on the night of your capture, Miss Alphea."
Fanny: "Is it really true what you said about being destined to kill people until it is your turn to die?"
John: "Yes, Christabel. You would be wisest to avoid me. Many comrades of the slain will seek revenge upon me, and it
would be a shame to endanger someone of your beauty."
Fanny: "You flatter me, sir, but if Fate brought you to me, perhaps Fate brought me to you, as well."
John: "Perhaps, though I do not know what purpose placing you in harm's way might serve the Wheel."
Fanny: "It is a dangerous world."
John: "My world is more dangerous than most."
Fanny: "I cannot believe any woman has anything to fear in your company, Homer, provided, of course, she is not one of
your marked victims. I am not marked, am I, Homer?"
John (ooc): Entropy 1. Is she?
Sam: No.
John: "You have nothing to fear from me. Fate has not marked you for death at my hand."
Fanny: "For that I am thankful. I believe I shall accompany you on your quest."
John: "Why? Mine is a quest of slaughter with my own death at its end."
Fanny: "I have been told before that I always fall for the wrong kinds of men. If I cannot counter your fate, perhaps I
can bring you comfort on your path of troubles."
John: "You would join my fatal quest?"
Fanny: "You are perhaps the saddest creature I have ever seen, Homer. You are like a character in a tragic play - like
tortured Hamlet or unhappy Romeo condemned to outlive your beloved. I, too, have lost my love. Nature has given us the
power as man and woman to comfort one another. You cull the herds of the living like a ferocious predator. I will renew
your faith in the force of rebirth."
John: "In time, I am certain you will weary of me like a summer tree, laden with ripe fruit, as it passes into winter,
but I will welcome your company for as long as you can endure the dark path I follow."
Mary: Clara is going to look for Allan.
Ed: He's just heading to bed, but she can catch him before he goes to sleep.
Mary: "Mr. Masters, you say you are a vampire hunter, correct?"
Ed: "Yes I am."
Mary: "That sounds like a profession that requires a great deal of courage and substantial knowledge of investigation."
Ed: "A vampire hunter must be clever to find his prey, and must not fear danger if he expects to overcome his quarry."
Mary: "You sound like the kind of person I need."
Ed: "How do you mean?"
Mary: "My mother was killed by Sir William. I do not have the skills necessary to find him, but I will certainly avenge
my mother's death if given the opportunity."
Ed: "I do not think I can help you, Clara. I am already on a case. Besides, my specialty is vampires, not Nephandi."
Mary: "I am prepared to pay you for your troubles, Mr. Masters."
Ed: "My clients pay me well, too."
Mary: "I promise you I can offer you more. After Sir William is dead, I will be happy to help you find this leech you
pursue. I expect no share in your reward. This task is too difficult and dangerous for me to pursue alone."
Ed: "What sum did you have in mind?"
Mary: "I can give you a hundred thousand Pounds Sterling now, and another two hundred thousand Pounds when Sir William is dead."
Ed: "You say it will be dangerous? You will want none other by your side but Allan Masters, vampire hunter. I will
accept your offer, Miss Byron. I must say, you loved your mother very much."
Mary: "Yes, I did. Since her murder, I have been able to think of nothing else but revenge."
Ed: "Fear not, Clara. You shall have your revenge."
Bill: Draw is going to see if Walter is busy.
Nate: He's not busy, at the moment.
Bill: "Evening, Walter. I'm heading out for a couple hours. Would you like to come with me?"
Nate: "Where are you going?"
Bill: Draw grins. "That's a secret, Walter. You don't find out unless you come with me. I should be back by dawn,
unless the Nephandi kidnap me before then."
Nate: "Edinburgh is dangerous at this time of night, Draw. Maybe you should stay here. You can go wherever you want in
the morning."
Bill: "I can take care of myself, Walter. I'll see you in the morning."
Nate: "Wait! I'll come with you. Someone has to keep you out of trouble."
Bill: "There isn't a man living or dead that can do that, Walter, but I'd be glad for your company."
Nate: "Where are we going, exactly?"
Bill: "A little place I know of just down the street. It's open late."
Nate: "It isn't a tavern, is it?"
Bill: "What kind of Scotsman do you think I am, anyway? It's not a tavern. It's an honest pub, and open all night to
those who know the secret knock."
Nate: "I don't know if this is such a good idea, Draw. I don't usually drink."
Bill: "No one's making you partake. You can drink orange juice until dawn if it makes you happy."
Nate: "Okay, then."
Bill: Walter and Draw arrive at a late night pub called "The Highlander's Knickers".
Nate: "I didn't know Highlanders wore underpants under their kilts."
Bill: "They don't. Come on. I'll introduce you to a few of the locals."
Sam: Draw taps out a complex rhythm on the door with his fist. After a moment, a tiny viewing door opens in the door.
"What do you want?"
Bill: "Dionysis is thirsty."
Sam: The face disappears behind the slot. After a moment, the door opens. "Good evening, Draw. Who is that with you?"
Nate: "Brother Walter Smollett."
Sam: He cocks his head. "Brother?"
Bill: "He works at the hospital a few blocks down the street."
Sam: "You always kept strange company, Draw. Come in. What can I get for you?"
Bill: "Glenlivet on the rocks for me. Orange juice for my friend, here?"
Sam: "Orange juice? Does he want vodka in that?"
Bill: "No vodka. Just orange juice. He's here to help keep me company. And to deal with any of the constabulary who
might bust me for drunk and disorderly in a few hours."
Sam: He seems a little confused by this. It is clear that most of the people who come here come because they aren't
drunk enough by last call. "Okay. A Glenlivet rocks and an ... orange juice..."
Nate: "You can put a little vodka in it, if it makes you feel any better."
Sam: He perks up. "An orange juice with a little vodka it is." He wanders over to the bar for the drinks.
Bill: Draw is going to get reasonably trashed before returning to the hospital to puke and sleep it off.
Nate: Walter is going to drink enough to be polite, getting just a bit tipsy before returning to the hospital.
Sam (ooc): Excellent. I think everyone has earned back a point of Willpower. We'll pick it up next weekend when all your
characters wake up in the morning. Unless anyone else had something they wanted to do tonight?
There is a general shrugging of shoulders.
Sam (ooc): Okay. I'll see you next week, then.
ST (Sam) - Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Clara (Mary) - Mary Shelley
Christabel (Fanny) - Fanny Brawne
Draw (Bill) - William Blake
Homer (John) - John Keats
Walter (Nate) - Nathaniel Hawthorne
Allan (Ed) - Edgar Allan Poe