It's also interesting as the last OCI portal "set up" we'll be doing. Now that we have all five worlds established, we'll be able to return to them for 1-2 session episodes and adventures. When I first presented each setting, we spent at least six sessions playing in it. That gave us enough time to get the tone and dynamics. Each worlds feels different to me (and I hope the players). I'm looking forward to drawing more connections between them and seeing what paths the players trailblaze.
9. Hiding Your Magick:
Casting in a city, can be challenging. You must rely on Coincidental
magick. That means when you create an effect, you hide it or make it look like something
reasonable. Coincidental magick reduces backlash. The opposite of this is Vulgar magick: big, showy and clearly alien
effects. That creates greater backlash. Forces from both sides can use the instruments
and signifiers of the other as cover, though with less efficacy. So a Dreamspeaker
in a city might use a clockwork to cast, but it isn’t as tuned to their magick.
Casting in front of other mages doesn’t create paradox, but casting in front of
mundanes does. Supernatural beings themselves don’t generate paradox, but their
magick can be hampered in areas dedicated to Reason. Using foci and hiding your effects
through coincidence can reduce backlash and paradox.
10. Familiars: Those
with magickal talent manifest a “familiar” when their powers first appear. Most
often this takes the form of an animal: bird, rodent, snake, cat or the like. In
more unusual cases it can be an insect, a spirit, or even an elemental. As the Order
of Reason has grown, their familiars have changed. They appear more mechanical.
Such creatures might be made of an unusual substance, possess metal eyes, or even
be entirely clockwork. Familiars act as a companion; they’re more than an inner
voice and possess an independent personality. Familiars can act and travel away,
but not for long. Attacking or kidnapping a familiar’s considered a grave offense
and harm to one will immediately register with the owner. Some mages develop deeper
connections with their familiars, granting them distinct powers. To the mundane,
familiars appear as common animals and are often overlooked. All mages
have familiars.
11. Europa Europa: Europa
is not Europe, both historically and physically. First, the Black Sea runs all the
way up to the Baltic, turning mainland Europa into an island. Second the greater
gap around Gibraltar makes controlling sea passage through there more difficult.
Third, the Suez passage serves as a short-cut to the Far East, fought over by the
Algerian Caliphate and the Turkish Sultanate. Fourth, the rich way point islands
leading to the New World lie closer to Europa. That means greater piracy and sea
conflict within striking distance of the mainland. The map of the world of Europa looks
quite different.
12. Getting There:
Travel remains a great challenge of the age. Some magicians travel via the nightroads,
paths through other realms, often guarded by dangerous creatures. Some travel via
vehicles through aether or other substances. The Order of Reason in particular loves
novel machinery or simply strangely fine and speedy vehicles. You don’t have to
worry about that, as you rely on the powers of the Invisible City. Travel’s
easy for you, harder for others.
13. Destroy History: This
is an anachronistic world. Ages, peoples, and histories which did not exist together
have been merged and rewritten. Di Vinci and Michelangelo operate in Italy under
the watchful eyes of the Borgias, Pirates ply the waters around all of Europa, Elizabeth
rules in England, Louis’ Musketeers walk the streets of Paris, Spain exists under
the rules of Phillip II and his mad heir Don Carlos. If it feels sort of
like it fits in this setting, then it does. It obeys no historical reality.
This
is a crazy, mixed up fictional setting which tosses historical reality overboard.
15. Empires of Sorcery:
In other places, magick holds sway, perhaps nowhere more strongly than in Ursus, the Russian Steep Empire. High Warlock
Ivan IV has made bargains with the old powers of the land. Giants, monsters from
folklore, and supernatural refugees from elsewhere have joined him there. His army
of massive, intelligent warbears holds the line of defense. No one’s certain of
Ivan’s intentions and he’s spurned any alliance with the Covenants. Likewise, the
Turkish Sultanate employs magicians from
outside the Covenants, drawn from exiles and broken factions. They rely on ancient
powers of the desert and mountains. Both the Turkish and Russian Empires would be
more dangerous were they not facing the rising Golden Horde from the East. Still
the Covenants have some places of power, particularly old bastions hidden away in
France and the Balkans. They also have a foothold in the northern Union of Kalmar, where they have support
of two of the three crowns. In places where magick holds sway, you can find more
official soothsayers, astrologers, and court sorcerers. In these places magick has
power and effectiveness within cities, supported by native beliefs. Magick
holds sway in some places, making it harder for the Order of Reason to work magick
there.
16. Common Lands: Outside
of those places, Magick and Reason continue to do battle. Generally Reason holds
the edge in urban centers. But magick holds sway in the countryside and at the boundaries.
Too much vulgar magick or technology will summon paradox in either place. Science
has the edge in the city, sorcery has the edge in the country.
17. Oddities: Several
neutral areas bear mentioning. Spain
remains a strong and traditionalist kingdom, strongly supportive of the Church and
holding one of the three Popes. The Inquisition has become a hungry institution,
constantly on the lookout for new targets. Spain still basks in a kind of medieval
chivalry and its nobles battle against the Algerian
Caliphate, a rival to the Turkish Sultanate. The Caliphate holds lands in Europa
itself, and focuses on trade and sustaining itself against Spanish crusades. The
Kingdom of Poland tries to maintain a
balance with its neighbors- fending off Russian incursions and German assaults.
The principles of religious toleration there have made it few friends. But they
hold great power over the Black Sea. Likewise England holds sway over many other sea lanes. Queen Elizabeth’s rule
has seen the growth and a consolidation of her hold over Scotland and Ireland. That
has been supported by her secret policy of enslavement for magickal creatures and
peoples. The English have shackled the Fey and other supernaturals in their realm
to their will. How remains uncertain. Many other smaller kingdom, baronies, and
city-states lie scattered across Europa: the united Netherlands, German Princes,
Balkan Dominions, the Swiss, and more. Some places are crazy.
18. The Third Crown of Kalmar: Two of the three crowns
of Kalmar support the Covenants. The bearer of the third crown, Annalis Fredricksson
left her country in secret. She travelled to Poland where she fell in love with
the prince, Aleksy Sokolowski. She brought with her great powers of sorcery,
drawn from old powers and an inner circle of wizards from lost houses. She has
been using this in secret to help Poland keep its hold over the Black Sea, repelling
Russian and German assaults. She knows revelation of these efforts could turn
everything against her. A double serves in her stead in Kalmar, keeping up a pretense
of dislike for the Covenants. A Queen of Kalmar secretly defends Poland
with magick.
19. Outside World: Major
powers and forces lie outside of Europa: African Empires, the Golden Horde, Imperial
China, New World Colonies, the Shogun’s Japan, Native American nations, fragments
of the Aztec and other South American nations. In general we won’t be dealing with
those areas for this portal. Feel free to draw on them for background if you wish.
This
game will focus on Europa.
20. Magick Dust: Bits of magickal dust falls on the world
when anyone casts magic. The bigger the magic, the more the dust. It's also left
behind as residue when a powerful mage or scientific creation dies or is destroyed.
For some the dust offers proof that both science and magick are real and exist.
Some suggest it represents these forces eating away at the world. Still others
that it contains a paradox not fully released. Hedge Wizards often use dust to
create common “alchemy” and folk workings. Still it remains relatively hard to
come by, as it can evaporate or absorb into the air in which it falls. Magick
can create a kind of physical fallout.
22. The Prophecy: A French apothecary and a reputed seer
Nostradamus has foreseen the destruction of England at the hands of the Kraken
- a great aquatic monster, and legendary protector of Atlantis. The order has
worked hard to discredit soothsayers like Nostradamus. Yet he’s managed to
elude their grasp and deliver other dangerous prophecies. For its part, the
English have placed a bounty on his head even as they quietly look to shore up
their sea-defenses. The Spanish, at the same time, have taken up the idea as a
harbinger of a successful naval campaign against the English. Nostradamus
has foreseen destruction for England.
23. A Gathering of Witches: Salina Highmoore, a queen
of witches, has gathered a small remnant of her former forces in the Black Woods
of Russia. Salina escaped the destruction of the Hermetic House of Diedne.
Eventually she joined the Verbena but rejected the treaty and fled. Eventually
she managed to gather support among those of the magick who rejected the
control of Ursus’ Imperial House. The bonded fey of Ireland managed to contact Highmoore
and beg for her assistance. She seeks no to liberate them and perhaps establish
a new regime there. Salina Highmoore seeks to free the fey of England.
23 Things about Assassins of the Golden Age (Part One)
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23 Things about Assassins of the Golden Age (Part One)
Ocean City Interface: What is It?
Building City of Ocean
Sellsword Company
Neo Shinobi Vendetta
Masks of the Empire
Sky Racers Unlimited
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