Blank Badges
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Blank Badges
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|Source=Free Council Sourcebook | |Source=Free Council Sourcebook | ||
|Pages=94 | |Pages=94 | ||
- | }} | + | }}{{quote| Nothing is true, everything is permitted, and the Revolution is now. Wake up! |#337799}} |
- | {{quote| Nothing is true, everything is permitted, and the Revolution is now. Wake up! |#337799}} | + | |
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The Free Council is widely thought of as “revolutionary,” despite being an established order for generations (“recent history” having a somewhat different connotation for mages whose history extends back to the days of Atlantis). Many Free Councilors are dedicated to revolutionary ideals, but few as much as the Blank Badges, who craft their very souls toward the overthrow of the Lie and all who support it, who give up their own identities in a quest for a greater identity, and a greater destiny, for all. | The Free Council is widely thought of as “revolutionary,” despite being an established order for generations (“recent history” having a somewhat different connotation for mages whose history extends back to the days of Atlantis). Many Free Councilors are dedicated to revolutionary ideals, but few as much as the Blank Badges, who craft their very souls toward the overthrow of the Lie and all who support it, who give up their own identities in a quest for a greater identity, and a greater destiny, for all. | ||
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This Legacy is descended from one of the first cabals of the Free Council, formed during the Nameless War. These outcast mages took their Nameless status as a badge of honor, wearing white or blank badges as a sign of their allegiances, or some other white token, from a flower to a handkerchief. They said the white was for purity, but it also represented limitless potential, a clearing away of all the detritus of centuries of mystical tradition that bound the so-called Atlantean orders in chains of expectations and limitations. To be a mage, according to the Blank Badges, was to cast off such things and to embrace limitless potential and possibilities. | This Legacy is descended from one of the first cabals of the Free Council, formed during the Nameless War. These outcast mages took their Nameless status as a badge of honor, wearing white or blank badges as a sign of their allegiances, or some other white token, from a flower to a handkerchief. They said the white was for purity, but it also represented limitless potential, a clearing away of all the detritus of centuries of mystical tradition that bound the so-called Atlantean orders in chains of expectations and limitations. To be a mage, according to the Blank Badges, was to cast off such things and to embrace limitless potential and possibilities. | ||
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The Blanks therefore exist on the outer edges of Awak- ened society, acknowledged as members of the Free Council and afforded the protection of Awakened tradition and protocol, even if they don’t respect it themselves. They work with other mages when circumstances require it, but the Blanks don’t trust anyone, often not even members of their own Legacy, because they know the Lie extends its influence everywhere, and is not so easily thrown off as other willworkers might like to believe. | The Blanks therefore exist on the outer edges of Awak- ened society, acknowledged as members of the Free Council and afforded the protection of Awakened tradition and protocol, even if they don’t respect it themselves. They work with other mages when circumstances require it, but the Blanks don’t trust anyone, often not even members of their own Legacy, because they know the Lie extends its influence everywhere, and is not so easily thrown off as other willworkers might like to believe. | ||
- | + | ==Attainments== | |
- | + | ===Not a Number=== | |
- | + | '''Prerequisites:''' Gnosis 3, Occultation 1 | |
- | + | ||
+ | While most live lives of quiet desperation, | ||
+ | Blank Badges draw strength from their | ||
+ | anonymity. Not officially existing, they | ||
+ | dare all. They are mysterious strangers | ||
+ | who command respect. | ||
+ | |||
+ | A Rebel at this level of Attainment | ||
+ | treats [[Occultation]] dots as | ||
+ | [[Status]] when entering a mundane | ||
+ | social situation, regardless of what | ||
+ | it is. So they’re just as likely to | ||
+ | get a respectful response in a | ||
+ | boardroom, hospital, police station | ||
+ | or politician’s office, so long | ||
+ | as they take any effort at all to | ||
+ | fit in there. Even the flimsiest | ||
+ | explanation seems to carry | ||
+ | great weight, and people avoid | ||
+ | questioning who the Blank | ||
+ | Badge is, fearing to appear | ||
+ | ignorant. The Blank Badge | ||
+ | gets all the benefits of Status, and then people forget just | ||
+ | as quickly, leaving little or not trace. | ||
+ | |||
+ | '''Optional Arcanum: [[Mind]] 2''' | ||
+ | Blank Badges skilled in the Arcane lore of the Mind are | ||
+ | able to better avoid the pitfalls and subtle traps of Mind | ||
+ | magic. They subtract one die per dot of Occultation from | ||
+ | spells or supernatural powers that attempt to mentally | ||
+ | control, detect or influence them, as the “Mental Shield” | ||
+ | spell, except it operates at all times and is based on Occultation | ||
+ | rating. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ===The Quiet One=== | ||
+ | '''Prerequisites:''' Gnosis 5, Occultation 2 | ||
+ | |||
+ | When the Blank Badge invokes Paradox, the player may | ||
+ | roll the character’s Occultation: each success subtracts one | ||
+ | success from the Paradox roll for determining the severity of | ||
+ | the Paradox only, with a minimum of one Paradox success. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The total Paradox successes are still used for any other purpose. | ||
+ | So, for example, a result of two Occultation successes | ||
+ | against four Paradox successes lessens the severity of the | ||
+ | Paradox from a Branding to Bedlam. It’s still considered | ||
+ | four Paradox successes for all other purposes. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Blank Badges are far more given to Havoc and (particularly) | ||
+ | Bedlam than the other outcomes of Paradox. Other | ||
+ | mages say this Attainment is one reason why members of | ||
+ | the Legacy are so often “eccentric” (to say the least). | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ===Nothing is True, Anything is Permitted=== | ||
+ | '''Prerequisites:''' Gnosis 7, Occultation 3, Persuasion 1 | ||
+ | |||
+ | Some younger Badges call this Attainment “mind-freaking.” | ||
+ | It’s the dangerous and difficult practice of at least | ||
+ | partially Awakening Sleepers, convincing them something | ||
+ | fantastic is not only possible, but real, and giving them a | ||
+ | moment of clarity free from the Sleeping Curse. It breaks | ||
+ | expectations and can (rarely) even lead to true Awakenings, | ||
+ | but most often the effects are temporary. | ||
+ | |||
+ | A Bank Badge at this level of Attainment can take | ||
+ | an instant action before casting a vulgar spell to make a | ||
+ | Manipulation + Persuasion + Occultation roll. The player | ||
+ | must roleplay some suitable explanation to any Sleeper | ||
+ | onlookers, ranging from telling them it’s a magic show to | ||
+ | actually giving them the truth: that they are witnessing a | ||
+ | real act of magic. Each success subtracts one die from the | ||
+ | mage’s Paradox dice pool. An exceptional success allows | ||
+ | the mage to treat all onlookers as Sleepwalkers: a single | ||
+ | act of vulgar magic performed in their presence does not | ||
+ | provoke the Sleeping Curse or invoke a Paradox. | ||
+ | |||
+ | In addition, an exceptional success with this Attainment | ||
+ | may cause a Sleeper who experiences an act of true | ||
+ | magic to become a Sleepwalker permanently or even lead | ||
+ | to a spontaneous Awakening as a mage. This cannot be | ||
+ | predicted, however, and is entirely at the Storyteller’s | ||
+ | discretion, as best suits the story. It’s also quite rare, so | ||
+ | Storytellers should be sparing with it. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ==Current== | ||
+ | {{#ask: [[Concept:Active Mages]] [[Legacy::Blank Badges]] | link=none | format=template | template=Askpc/Format | }} | ||
+ | |||
{{Mage|Legacy}}{{Parent|Acanthus}} | {{Mage|Legacy}}{{Parent|Acanthus}} |
Latest revision as of 14:46, 26 June 2015
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