[Mage: The Awakening 2nd Ed] New Legacy: Advocates for the Dead

Out of Character (OOC):

Chronicle: Mage 2: The Dethroned Queen

Venue: Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition

Chronicle Storyteller: Jerad Sayler

Assistant Storytellers: Hannah Nyland & Alex Van Belkum

New Legacy:

Advocates for the Dead

"Lone is the way of the Necromancer.  Dark is the path to the secret knowledge" -Merlin

The following is a new legacy for use in our Chronicle: The Dethroned Queen and for immediate use by the character Persephone, played by Keri Sayler. 

Design by: Hannah Nyland and Jerad Sayler

Sources: Draws upon mechanics within the Giest: The Sin-Eaters (1st ed) and Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition.

Campaigners straddle the thin line between life and death more precariously than most. Every one of these mages has a harrowing and morbid tale to tell of how they became what they are, often involving immense personal sacrifice or even their own deaths. The one constant in these stories is that their transformation always includes the cannibalization of a Geist, earning them powers more typically associated with Sin Eaters, Mist Walkers or Fogmen.

Whether out of altruism, duty, or hope of personal gain, Campaigners dedicate their lives to helping the dead. Different mages of this Legacy have different approaches – providing counseling to ghosts, making their un-lives more pleasant, searching for ways to resolve their Anchors, and helping them get revenge for those who wronged them in life are all likely choices. Whatever their reasons, Campaigners are fueled by an almost supernatural zeal when it comes to their work, not surprising when their very presence invigorates nearby specters – many ghosts report feeling a kind of spark when meeting a member of this Legacy, or the brief sensation of what it feels like to be alive again.

Even the kindest, most benevolent Campaigner has a darker side – their drive is often a boon in their work, but it also makes them ferocious enemies. That, combined with their complete lack of reaction to killing tends to unnerve other mages less inured to death. More often than not, they are pushed to the fringes of the mage community, though a rare few do manage to rise to positions of power.

Sin Eaters tend to have amiable but uncertain relationships with Campaigners. In many ways, they are better equipped to understand their missions and powers than other mages are, and this makes them natural allies. The goals of Campaigners and Fogmen - particularly those of the Advocate and Pilgrim Archetypes - tend to dovetail nicely, and it is not unheard of for a Krewe to include one of these mages among their number. Even in the worst cases, members of the two groups usually still have a grudging respect for the others’ abilities.

Yet there is almost always a lingering tension between Campaigners and Sin Eaters, however close. The destruction of one of their “better halves” is one of the worst sins a Sin Eater can imagine, far worse than even torture, rape or mass murder. All Sin Eaters are well-acquainted with the stains left behind by suffering and death; even without knowing the truth of how a Campaigner came by their powers, they can sense something a little disconcerting about them. If the truth comes out, most Sin Eaters will react with utter revulsion – some even with violence. Sometimes, though, their origins can be forgiven or overlooked, and this tends to be where the strongest Sin Eater and Campaigner friendships are forged.

Orders: 
The Adamantine Arrow and Mysterium are the most likely Orders to accept members of this Legacy – Arrows can appreciate their strong drive and sense of purpose, while the Mysterium treasures the extensive information on ghosts and the Underworld that they bring to the table. The Guardians tend to distrust their strong loyalties to Sin Eaters and ghosts, but may be enticed by their strange abilities which are similar to Death magic, yet are not supernal and inspire no paradox. The Silver Ladder, for the most part, find them unpresentable and uncouth. Their focus on what’s dead, gone, and in the past – all part and parcel with ghosts – does not endear them to Free Councilors either, who prefer to keep their eyes looking to the future.

Parent Path: Moros

Nickname:

Murderers is the derogatory term – it was originally written as περθω – ancient Greek for Persephone, or “to murder”. Campaigners is the more polite term for these mages.

Suggested Oblations: 
Investigating a haunting, providing counseling or advice to the dead, exorcism, meditating with or interacting with an Anchor, helping Sin Eaters

Yantras: 
Teamwork with your Guardian Ghost or Ghost Familiar (+1), recently killed a non-sapient being (+1), recently killed a sapient being (+2), casting in an area with heavy Death resonance (+2), blood or bones (+1), integrating a death-based artifact or cultural symbol in the casting (+1), succeeding on a death or ghost-based Occult roll prior to casting (+2).

Ruling Arcana: Death (special).

Related Skill Specs: 
Occult – Ghosts, Underworld, Death, Kerberoi, Sin Eaters, Geists.

Requirements: 
Gnosis 2, Death 2. Occult 2 and one related skill spec. Merit: Ghost Familiar or Guardian Ghost. Merit: Supernatural Lore - Ghosts/Underworld (at least two dots) OR Merit: Mythologist. Must kill and eat a Geist or make a deal with a Kerberoi.

Attainments:

1. Crossing the Threshold: 

You gain the Advocate Archetype, one Threshold of your choice, and one Key of the Geist you ate. In addition, you get a bonus to all social rolls against Ghosts and Sin Eaters equal to your dots in Death unless they’ve got a compelling reason to have a negative impression of you (in particular, learning how an Advocate for the Dead got their powers will often trigger intense hostility). Even then, the bonus still applies to Intimidation rolls. A Campaigner never makes a Wisdom check for killing.

Requirements: Initiation 

2. Brink of the Lower Mysteries: 

You gain a limited number of free dots in Manifestations equal to your dots in Death, which may be placed among the Manifestations in any combination with the exception of Caul; because the Campaigner does not actually have a Geist of their own to merge with, they are not able to access this power. Upon increasing your dots in Death, you get an equal number of dots to place in Manifestations; however, you cannot buy more Manifestation dots through XP, and they may not be redistributed later. A Campaigner uses mana to power these Manifestations where Plasm would normally be used; the total cost for using a Manifestation and its add-ons in this way is always 1 Mana. In rolling, use the same Attribute + Skill + Manifestation pool that the ability would normally use.

            Requirements: Gnosis 2-3. Death 3. A second relevant specialty from the
            list.

3. Ice Cold Hands: 

At this level, the Campaigner is a powerful conduit for ghosts; they are perpetually surrounded by a writing aura of death resonance. While within 30 feet of the Campaigner, ghosts treat all objects and creatures (save for the Campaigner themselves) as though they were under the effects of the Open Condition. In addition, the Campaigner can now use Deathmasks as though they were a Sin Eater – this includes the ability to use new Keys through them, additional Thresholds, skill bonuses, social bonuses and penalties, Numen, etc. Some Deathmasks also contain Plasm, which cannot be directly used by a Campaigner, but may be useful in trading with ghosts or Sin Eaters. To determine how many you can carry, halve your Gnosis and subtract 1 – that is, you can always carry one fewer Deathmasks than a Sin Eater at the same Psyche.

            Requirements: Gnosis 4-5. Death 3. Occult 3.

4. Spare Me Over: 

You gain a Sin Eater’s Resistance to poison and disease – add your Gnosis to rolls to resist such effects. You are also immune to possession and mind influencing effects used by ghosts and Kerberoi. Finally, you can turn a single item with which you have the Connected sympathetic connection with (including Soul Stones) into a Keystone Memento which you can use with your Sin Eater powers. In all ways, this functions like the Sin Eater ability.

Requirements: Gnosis 6-7. Death 4. Another relevant Occult specialty.

5. O Death, Where Is Your Sting?: 

Unless your body is completely destroyed or mangled beyond all hope of repair upon death, you return to life at the next sunrise, in perfect health. Each time this happens, your maximum Gnosis cap decreases by one. Aside from lowering Gnosis instead of Psyche, this functions in all ways like the similar Sin Eater ability.

            Requirements: Gnosis 8-9. Death 5. Occult 4.

Example Implementation: Persephone

Threshold: The Torn (death by violence)

Key: Stigmata Key

The Stigmata Key uses blood and sacrifice to assert dominance over the spirit world. To Sin-Eaters, blood is more than a bodily fluid — it is the river of life, and it has been used both to propitiate and to bind both ghosts and spirits since time immemorial. Manifestations unlocked by the Stigmata Key allow Persephone to influence or even harm ghosts and spirits, to bind them in place, and to mimic their special properties. 

Unless stated differently under a particular Manifestation’s description, a character unlocking a Manifestation with the Stigmata Key may choose to take a point of lethal damage in lieu of spending a Willpower point, or a point of bashing damage instead of spending Mana to power a Manifestation. The damage must be deliberate and ritualistic in nature. Damage inflicted in combat (whether upon the Advocate or by him) will not satisfy this requirement.

Manifestations (Death 7): Boneyard 4, Oracle 3, 

The Boneyard

Attribute: Wits

When a Advocate calls forth the Boneyard, he allows plasm to flow forth from his body to stain the surrounding area with plasmic residue. In this way, the Advocate may extend his senses across a large area and affect his environment in ways associated with the Key used to unlock the Boneyard. While the Boneyard is unlocked, the Advocate’s body must remain in a trance-like state. The Advocate's body need not rest in the center of the Boneyard, but he must be somewhere within the affected area. If taken by surprise (not an easy thing against the master of a Boneyard), the Advocate typically loses his Defense against attackers. This Manifestation ends instantly if he suffers any damage. If his body is otherwise disturbed, he may attempt to retain control of the Boneyard with a Resolve + Composure roll.

The basic (one-dot) power of the Boneyard allows the Advocate to create a plasm-tainted area within a particular area whose size is governed by his Manifestation rating and his activation successes.  While the Boneyard is unlocked, the Advocate can generally sense any particular person or thing within the affected area which she wishes to locate without a roll, provided that the object of her search is not actively hiding from her (either magically or through mundane means). She can project her senses to any spot within the Boneyard and examine the area as if she were standing there. Many Keys allow the Advocate to use more esoteric senses from any vantage point within the Boneyard.

Once the Boneyard is unlocked, the Advocate can unlock additional Manifestations as desired, and can target their effects against anyone or anything he can perceive within his Boneyard. If an additional  Manifestation is unlocked using the same Key as the one used to unlock the Boneyard, the Advocate may add the Boneyard’s activation successes to the next activation roll. If the Keys are different, however, the Boneyard’s activation successes do not apply.

Boneyard Activation

Cost: 1 Mana

Dice Pool: (For Stigmata Boneyard) Wits + Occult + Boneyard rating

Action: Instant

Roll Results

Dramatic Failure: 

The land is thirsty. The Boneyard fails to manifest, and the character loses two extra points of Mana.

Failure: 

The attempt to manifest the Boneyard fails. 

Success: 

The Advocate creates a Boneyard lasting for one scene. With Boneyard 1, the radius of the Boneyard is equal to (activation successes x 10) yards. With Boneyard 3, this radius increases to  activation successes x 100) yards. With Boneyard 5, this radius increases to (activation successes) in miles. Once its confines are established, the area covered by the Boneyard is fixed and cannot be modified by the Advocate. Once established, the Boneyard cannot be dispelled prematurely, and the Advocate may not create any new Boneyards while a previously unlocked Boneyard still stands. However, an Advocate may attempt to replace an already existing Boneyard (whether one he created or one created by another Sin-Eater) with a new one, either to improve the Boneyard’s qualities or to assert dominance over a Sin-Eater. In the latter case, whichever Boneyard has more activation successes takes precedence over the other one. The Boneyard’s radius is fixed — although it is initially centered on the Advocate it does not move with her. Activation successes modify many higher-level Boneyard powers but only while the mage remains within the Boneyard he created.

Exceptional Success: 

The mage recovers the Mana spent in unlocking the Boneyard. If wounded, the Advocate may still maintain the Boneyard with a successful (Resolve + Composure) roll, but not if he is rendered unconscious or leaves the Boneyard.

The Stigmata Boneyard

Skill: Occult

While this Manifestation is active, the Advocate can perceive ghosts anywhere within the Boneyard’s radius. The mage also automatically senses pathways to the Underworld which exist anywhere within the Boneyard’s radius. The Advocate cannot perceive ghosts outside his immediate presence through a Boneyard unless it has been unlocked with the Stigmata Key.

Stigmata Boneyard ••

The mage can ward a location within the Boneyard against spiritual intrusion,

forbidding all but the most powerful of ghosts to enter her domain. The mage must roll (Presence + Occult + activation successes). The radius of the protected area is generally equal to five yards per Mana spent. However, wards of this nature tend to conform to structural boundaries, so if the radius is approximately equal to the area of the house in which the Advocate stands, usually the ward will be coextensive with the house’s walls instead of forming a true circle. Any ghost will be unable to pass through the ward’s boundaries unless the ghost’s Power exceeds the successes rolled for this power. A ghost who cannot pass through the ward will also be unable to target anyone inside it with Numina. Any ghosts who are already within the confines of the ward when it is erected will be trapped within unless powerful enough to escape.

Stigmata Boneyard •••

The mage may create wards which endure even past the termination of the Boneyard itself. For every extra Mana spent, a ward created with the 2-dot version of Stigmata Boneyard will endure for one hour after the Boneyard is terminated. For every lethal level of damage the mage inflicts on herself, the ward will persist for one full day after the Boneyard falls.

Stigmata Boneyard ••••

Having mastered the art of warding, the Advocate progresses to the more difficult art of binding. With this power, the mage can temporarily bind a spirit or ghost to a location, sticking the entity’s spiritual body to the spot like a butterfly caught in a web. The mage must roll (Wits + Occult + activation successes, resisted by the ghosts’s Power). If the roll is successful, the ghost will be bound to a spot within the Boneyard’s area of the Advocate's choosing for one hour per Mana spent in activating the power.

With an Exceptional Success, double the number of hours the ghost is bound. If the mage  voluntarily suffers two levels of lethal damage, the ghost will instead be bound for one day per plasm spent. While bound, the ghost is incapable of leaving the location to which it is chained and it suffers a dice penalty on all Numina equal to (activation successes + 1 per lethal health level suffered by the mage, which is normally enough to render most ghosts helpless.

The Advocate may choose to negate the Numina penalty as she wishes, and she can also free a bound ghost as a reflexive action. The mage may also compel any ghost she has bound to materialize or dematerialize as she wishes, and she gains a dice bonus equal to the activation successes on all Social rolls to influence or manipulate the ghost.

The Oracle

Skill: Intelligence

Many legends speak of the insight possessed by the dead and of their power to warn the living of future events. Indeed, the term “necromancy” literally refers to the practice of divining the future through communication with the dead. The Oracle Manifestation draws upon this chthonic wisdom, allowing the Advocate to access the special perceptive abilities of her geist. To anyone capable of detecting plasmic energies, a Advocate who has unlocked the Oracle is noticeable for her eyes, which glow with a spectral force. The basic power of the Oracle is simply to augment the mage’s Active Mage Sight. Specific Keys refine this perception in appropriate ways.

Oracle Activation

Cost: 1 Mana

Dice Pool: (for Stigmata Oracle) Intelligence + Occult + Oracle rating

Action: Instant

Roll Results

Dramatic Failure: 

The activation attempt fails, and the Advocate may not attempt to use any Oracle-related power for the rest of the scene.

Failure: 

The attempt to unlock the Oracle fails.

Success: 

A pale mist of plasm steams from the Advocate's  glowing eyes, visible only to ghosts and other supernatural creatures. For the duration of the scene, the mage adds a number of bonus dice equal to the activation successes to all Wits-based rolls to observe and understand phenomena relevant

to the Key used to unlock the Oracle.

Exceptional Success: 

Additional successes are their own reward.

The Stigmata Oracle

Skill: Occult

With this Manifestation, the Advocate gains special insight into ghosts and other Twilight beings. The basic power allows the mage to add her activation successes to all Wits-based rolls to observe or understand anything pertaining to ghostly activity in the area.

Stigmata Oracle ••

The mage may scrutinize a ghost to gain information about it. The player rolls Wits + Occult + (activation successes), resisted by Resistance. If the player rolls more successes than the quarry, for each net success, she may ask the Storyteller one question about the ghost. Possible questions include the following:

• Who was the ghost in life?

• What are the ghost’s Anchors?

• What Numina does the ghost possess?

• What are its Virtue and Vice?

• How did the ghost die?

Stigmata Oracle •••

The  Advocate may detect subtle plasmic residue left behind from previous applications of either ghostly Numina or Sin-Eater Manifestations. The player must roll Wits + Composure + activation successes to notice plasmic residue left behind in the last hour. Each additional hour inflicts a cumulative –1 dice penalty. Once the Advocate locates the plasmic remains, she may choose to clairvoyantly observe what occurred when the plasmic residue was left. This power has no cost to find residue Seeing into the past costs 1 Mana to see into the past, and requires a Wits + Occult + (activation successes) roll. For each success, the player may ask the Storyteller one question about the events that took place