File: mage quest resource document.pdf (4.31 MB, PDF)

4.31 MB PDF

Confident in your research the past few days, you grant Jemma and Elizabeth vision of the beast and create a large, temporary portal from the Material World into the Shadow World, for you and Jemma to enter into. And with the combined attacks of Tali, her ally, Jemma, and you, the Familair is soundly defeated. You begin to celebrate the victory, but the Acamoth - the type of spirit possessing Sarah - approaches you via a telepathic link, as all around you time appears frozen.

The spirit - in the guise of Sarah - begins to try and lure you into accepting it's embrace, her attempts to lure you increasing in the size of her breasts and butt. You resist the temptations and the sweet talk language it was employing, promising to banish the creature back to whence it came. It breaks the connection, but not before revealing its true, demonic visage to you.

After informing the allies of the spirit's attempts to tempt you to its side, Tali and her ally produce a map of the city, marks showing recent crimes of violence and corruption in the Shadow World. Noticing a pattern, you begin connecting the lines together. Elizabeth steals the markers you were using and completes the line connecting, realizing that the spirit is forming a Heptagram (a 7-sided star), a symbol used by an Acamoth to try and open a portal to the Abyss, where it originates from. And if a portal this size successfully opens (probably during the Winter Soltace), it would mean the end of the Material World.

> And now, back to the action!

The 5 of you sit there for a moment, letting the weight of this sink in. The whole world's at risk, and you 5 are the only one's aware of the impending doom. After an air of silence that goes on far longer than it should, Tali speaks up.

"I'll go talk to Tobi with this information. This should get his grumpy old ass into high gear and get more of our pack to help us."

Elizabeth looks up, shaking the stupor out of her eyes. "We'll get into contact with the other Orders, try and figure out why they haven't noticed anything about this."

Almost as if on queue, the door into the Library bursts open, a cadre of different sized people walking in. All are bundled up for the cold winds outside of the mortal library in the city, as flecks of snow drip down off their coats and onto the warm tile floor. Seven people total enter, all carrying some large duffle bags.

"What is this," Elizabeth says, approaching the people. "I demand to know what-"

One of them brings up a raised finger, it glowing a sharp violet color. Elizabeth immediately falls silent, as her eyes finally gaze upon the lead person's face. They point it at Elizabeth for a moment, then move the finger along to the next person. When the finger reaches Jemma, it shifts color to a harsh red, and the people begin to grab onto her.

"Hey, what're you doing!?" Jemma begins to get up, struggling to get the people's hands off her.

"Mage Gemini," the front person says, taking down their hood. It is an older male with mostly white hair, wrinkles around his eyes. "You have been found guilty of summoning a Manifestation Paradox. Do you deny the charges levied against you?"

"Wha... No, but-"

The aged man pulls a long knife out of his coat, quickly approaching her. "Then you know what the sentence is. Any last words?"

> Stop him
> Let him go
> Other

>>36623901
> Stop him
> Other
"I have some for you, "She's needed to stop that same Manifestation Paradox""

>>36623901
>>36623948
This

>>36624086
>>36623948
But she isn't.

File: arcana mastery.png (75 KB, 842x520)

75 KB PNG

The resource document I have in this post: >>36623882 reflects our current stats. We have 0 exp left, after spending 25 points to buy Gnosis 3. The main benefit of it is it lets you get the 5th dot in one Arcana, which people were wanting to be Spirit once we get the exp. for it.

The picture in this post shows what more dots in Gnosis lets us do.

You immediately step in-between him and Jemma, arms outstretched. "Well I have some for you: we need her alive to help us stop that same Manifestation Paradox."

"You know it has to be done," one of the people holding Jemma says. "It is the only way to end this Acamoth's attempt to open the portal."

"Then you knew about it and did nothing," Elizabeth snaps out, motioning for Tali and her ally to step back. "Why didn't you tell us!? We've already been trying to deal with the Acamoth!"

"Because it has been using it's possessed's Magic to Obfuscate its workings," a third person says, his voice sort of stuffled, as though he has a cold. "We only just recently found out about it's existance, and have been working non-stop to track down who was keeping it Anchored to the Fallen World."

"So you're gonna kill Jemma to send it back!? Even after we have a plan in place to exorcise the spirit, save the person it's possessing, and return it to the Abyss!?" You don't know what's going on, but these people - all Mages of some kind is your best bet - are dead set on killing Jemma.

"Your plan has flaws; you don't know where it's located, all of the strong Spirit Mages in the city have been killed, and the Solstace is days away. We don't have time to be arguing about this. And as much as we loathe the fact that we have to kill one of our own, it must be done for the greater good." The older man steps closer to you, still brandishing the knife.

> 'Greater Good'? Screw that, do the right thing!
> If you want to kill her, you have to kill me first
> I'm a fucking Spirit Mage you jackasses! (7d10, Spirit + Gnosis, demonstrate your Spirit magic prowess)
> Let him kill Jemma
> Other

Also, no matter what option you choose, I need you to roll a 6d10, Spirit + Wits.

Rolled 3, 10, 4, 8, 9, 2 = 36 (6d10)

>>36624196
> Other
"I understand."
"But I'm not going to let you do it yet, I'm a spirit mage. Let me try, if I fail then kill her."

Rolled 9, 7, 8, 6, 7, 10, 8 = 55 (7d10)

>>36624196
>I'm a fucking Spirit Mage you jackasses! (7d10, Spirit + Gnosis, demonstrate your Spirit magic prowess)

Rolled 7, 10, 7, 4, 5, 5, 4 = 42 (7d10)

>>36624276
That's a good roll anon.

>>36624255
Seconding that.

Rolled 4, 3, 8, 9, 9, 8, 6 = 47 (7d10)

>>36624196
> I'm a fucking Spirit Mage you jackasses!

"Listen, I understand why you think you need to do this..." You begin summoning up your magical energy in a show of Spirit force. "But you're wrong about one thing!"

"Oh, and what's that?"

"There's still a Spirit Mage left in this town!" You extend your will around all 12 people in the room, forcibly drawing all of us into the Shadow World. "<Now are you jackasses going to let me exorcise this spirit or not!? It's already tried to kill Gemini twice, and the rest of us at least 3 times already!>"

The older man cocks his head to the side, the information you just revealed processing in his head. "<Wait... It's already tried to kill her twice?>"

"<Yeah...>" You re-think about what you just said, realizing just what that means. "<But it has to know that Gemini is what's keeping it bound to the Fallen World...>"

"<That means it's found a way to keep itself bound here even if the Anchor is severed.>" The old man sheathes the knife, and motions for the others to let Jemma go. They barely let go of her before she's shoving you out of her way, and gets into the old man's face.

"<You fucking piece of shit,>" she says, slapping him hard across the face. "<You fucking Guardians always barge in here and throw your 'for the Greater Good' bullshit around whenever you kill one of Us.>" She slaps him again, and the man barely flinches at the pain. "<How about the next time you ride in like you're big shit, you actually TALK to us little shits first!? As much as you hate your own, we're not all complete power-hungry idiots!>"

"<Are you done,>" he asks, looking past Jemma and at you. "<You, Mage. What is your name?>"

> Raguel, the Angel of Justice
> Raguel
> You first
> Other

Rolled 3, 8, 8, 1, 9, 6, 1 = 36 (7d10)

>>36624636
>Raguel

>>36624636

> Raguel

>>36624636
> You first
>Other
"She has a point you know, if you didn't realize she had been attacked you would have killed her without purpose, stopping to investigate for a moment shouldn't always be a problem."

>>36624636
> Raguel

"<Raguel,>" you say, throwing open a portal back into the Material World. "<And you guys are...?>"

"<They're members of the Guardian of the Veil,>" Elizabeth says, trying hard to pull Jemma away from the older man, as his allies begin walking back through your portal into the Material World. "<If the Adamantine Arrows are the 'military Mages' then the Guardians are the 'Mage assassins,' the people who do the dirty jobs that most Mages don't want to admit have to be done.>"

"<It's not as simple as that, but when is anything that simple?>" He sticks his hand out for you to shake it. "<Gibson.>"

> Shake his hand
> Give an acknowledging nod
> Other

Rolled 4, 7, 2, 7, 1, 2, 4 = 27 (7d10)

>>36625020
>Shake his hand

Rolled 10, 4, 10, 6, 6, 1, 8 = 45 (7d10)

>>36625020
>Shake his hand

>>36625020
>Just leave him hanging.

>>36625020
> Shake his hand
catch more flies with honey than vinegar. we should at least try to be friendly here.

A few things of note:
- gemma was willing to commit suicide to banish it. we convinced her not to based on the fact it has been trying to kill her
- the acamoth has control over its host's magic and has disappeared multiple spirit mages, maybe they aren't dead but in stasis and the acamoth can return into their bodies once banished?

>>36625077
- We found its heptagram, its huge. disrupting the heptagram itself could be an avenue of attack, just in case it did setup a way to come back... or arranged for other paradox manifestations to be summoned into any of the missing spirit mages.

>>36625077
I'm thinking more like it has their souls and will use them to power her ritual during the solstice. It's easy to get it back into the original body if it's still around, but they're probably all gonna have some major derangements.

Being without your soul is really bad for your psychological health.

>>36625125
If that's the case we're well and truly fucked unless we get, like, every other splat to help us. Acamoths are serious shit.

>>36625197
>If that's the case we're well and truly fucked unless we get, like, every other splat to help us. Acamoths are serious shit.
Well, maybe they would get unsummoned if jemma's sister is killed?

but no wait, it took it YEARS to gain mastery over the magic of the woman it possesses. Any fresh acamoth being summoned into an adult experienced mage? nah, not likely for it to have control over them right away.

>>36625020
>hesitantly shake his hand

Rolled 6, 1, 6, 8, 3, 7, 3 = 34 (7d10)

>>36623882
>begins to try and lure you into accepting it's embrace, her attempts to lure you increasing in the size of her breasts and butt.
silly spirit, our wife is a life mage, her boobs and butt can be as big as she wants them to.

> [1/2]

"<Next time, maybe give us a little bit of a heads up?"> You shake his hand, noticing his grip is rather firm. You give a similar firm shake, trying to be more decisive.

"<So, why don't you get us caught up to speed, on what the Acamoth has done, and your plan of action?>"

----------------------------

"So, you're whole plan hinges on you banishing the spirit and trying to save the possessed Mage before it can try and re-possess her or anyone else?" The stuffed nose man says, clicking away at a laptop.

"I admit it's not the best option, but I saw her soul, and it's in pain and wants us to kill her."

"Then why don't we grant her wish?" She rubs her hands together, trying to warm them up, an accent of some kind in her voice. You can't really tell where it's from, or if it's just an act. Elizabeth did call these people assassins, so maybe holding things a bit closer to the vest isn't a bad idea?

"Because it's a person who's been trapped in their own body for almost 20 years, seeing all these horrors and not being able to stop them. I'm sure if given a chance she'd want to right all the wrongs the Acamoth did." Elizabeth pours several cups of coffee for the Guardians to drink, all save Gibson rather cold. It's pretty obvious how most aren't used to the cold weather, as three have some rather well-defined tans, and another two look rather pale. The only one not appearing to be affected by the weather is Gibson.

"And you went to this Tobi person, to get aid from him?" This man has his feet kicked up onto the edge of the table, snow dripping off the soles of his boots and onto the floor. Elizabeth scowls at him, and he drops them to the ground. "Sorry."

"Listen, I don't know what sort of pissing match you guys are gonna get into," Tali says, leaning forward more onto the table. "But you're fucking crazy if you think we won't help you stop this spirit."

"No, it's ok, we're welcome to have your aid." Gibson gives a polite nod as Elizabeth pours a cup of coffee for him. "Are there ANY other Thyrsus Mages left in the city that you are aware of?"

> Well, there's Garen...
> Elizabeth? She might know more...
> Nope
> Other

Rolled 9, 10, 3, 9, 2, 8, 3 = 44 (7d10)

>>36625608
>Well, there's Garen...

>>36625608
>Defer to Elizabeth

For all we know Garen is on the run from these guys.

>>36625608
this>>36625816

>>36625608
Let our wife handle this, we still ignorant about mage politics.

>>36625608
>Elizabeth? She might know more...

Writing.

"Mystic, do you know of any?"

"There's maybe two other Thyrsus Mage in the city, but I know for a fact that one of these Mages never uses Spirit magic. They tend to focus more on the... pleasurable benefits of Life magic. The other one is a Mage we've worked with before, but I don't think he has worked on his Spirit magic in some time. At most, he could maybe provide some defensive measures against the Acamoth's spiritual attacks."

"Well, call them both up and have them join us, we need to figure out what other resources we have available to us," Gibson asks, sipping the coffee. Elizabeth gives him a rather defined frown, not used to being given orders, especially in her personal Library. After a moment of tension she walks away, pulling a phone out of her pocket.

"So, Raguel," the stuffed nose man says, looking at you. "You must be a pretty experienced Mage, with how physically well you look and your prowess in Spirit magic."

> Huh? This is all natural
> The wonders of magic, you know?
> Other

>>36626107
>> Other
why are you trying to get information from me

>>36626107
>Other
Fishing for information? Why don't you just ask what you want to know?

>>36626107
>Huh? This is all natural.
We got buff the hard way, we lift.

>>36626107
Been awakened for about 2? months. I wouldn't call myself experienced

>>36626107
are any of them attractive women?
This may or may not influence my answer.

>>36626233
i dont think we should tell him this he is looking for information on us

>>36626242
One is Garen.

The other is a Mage who just loves sex, and literally shapeshifts to experience new things.

They think we're Thyrsus, which is Spirit/Life. Let's not give the spies any reason to distrust us or intel for future assassinations.

>>36626107
>other
brush off his comment and get back to planning and theorizing.

>>36626242
But if you mean the Guardians there, only two of them are women, the other five are men.

>>36626107
> Huh? This is all natural
He is obviously trying to figure out how valid our plan is by judging how strong we are.

I should note that actually, having someone as a backup in case we fail might be a good idea.
that is, if we fail to banish her via true name and she counter attacks, then someone else should try to kill her via true name

>>36626107
>>36626207
Seconded

>>36626378
Let's not spread around the truename thing. If we succeed, Sarah's going to be in danger from a lot of people because of it. If we fail, both Jemma and Elizabeth can pass it on.

I'm more worried that no one has discussed as to WHY the Acamoth has been killing the local Spirit mages. Secrecy is one thing, but apparently the Guardians of the Veil knew for a while, so maybe she's worried that someone with enough Spirit mojo would be able to fix some of the corrupted locations and ruin her lynchpin.

>>36626463
>Let's not spread around the truename thing. If we succeed, Sarah's going to be in danger from a lot of people because of it. If we fail, both Jemma and Elizabeth can pass it on.
we don't have to spread it around. rather, we just say that if we fail to banish it, then they should move in for the kill.

>>36626463
>I'm more worried that no one has discussed as to WHY the Acamoth has been killing the local Spirit mages. Secrecy is one thing, but apparently the Guardians of the Veil knew for a while, so maybe she's worried that someone with enough Spirit mojo would be able to fix some of the corrupted locations and ruin her lynchpin.
Well yes. Spirit mages can
1. banish it
2. disrupt its spell circle
3. detect what it is doing
4. disrupt its spell circle via purifying the shadow world at one of the spots and breaking the heptagram

>>36626519
by that i mean, we don't tell them the true name thing ahead of time. Instead we have an agreement that if/when we fail, then mystic will tell them the true name at that point. or heck, we can just tell that at that point they move in to the kill... and then surprise them with the true name at that point.

Wring, sorry.

>>36626549
Assuming those are even the anchor, once our preparations are complete we'll disrupt the heptagram by purifying locations. If you're correct then that's a very good way to get it to come running.

>>36626549
oh oops, 2 and 4 are duplicate of each other

>>36626722
oh yea, tons of work for us to do once/if we beat it.

"Let's just focus on the plan. After we beat the Acamoth then we can kick back and chit-chat." They're obviously fishing for information, and the less they know the better. Especially when your Path is from an unknown Tower. "Why is the Acamoth killing all the other Spirit Mages? Like it can't just be out of fear of one of us successfully killing it."

"Our best guess is that it is using the souls of the Spirit Mages to power the ritual. We tried to find the souls themselves at each of the corrupted areas, but couldn't locate them. Either there's a strong level of Obfuscation magic at those points, or she's using the souls for something else," the stuffed nose man says, clicking away still at his laptop. "It's still a little over a week away from the Solstace proper, so we can continue to look for their souls, but if we don't find it's lair soon it might not be enough."

"Our plan was to try and purify one of the corrupted areas," Mr. Rude Manners says, pulling a rather cumbersome machine out of his duffle bag. "This baby here's able to remove those levels of corruption given enough time at the site. We were going to activate it and when the Acamoth came to see what was going on, give it an old knock in the jaw and blow it to pieces!"

Jemma frowns slightly, trying to keep her emotions in check. They've yet to pick up on Sarah being Jemma's twin, and the less they know about that the better. "So, which of you here are Thyrsus then?"

At that, all 7 sort of frown and give an accusing glare at Jemma.

"... You mean NONE of you are proficient at Spirit magic? What the hell people, it's not a bad Arcanum," you yell out. "I'm guessing you coerced some other Mage to make that device for you too!"

"Hey, that's my handiwork," one of them says, the voice sounding very familiar. This person is the only one to NOT remove their hood, trying very hard to hide themselves from your gazes

> Roll 5d10 (Wits + Investigation) to figure out who it is
> Other

Rolled 10, 3, 2, 7, 2 = 24 (5d10)

>>36627061
>> Roll 5d10 (Wits + Investigation) to figure out who it is
Harvey or friends boyfriend

Rolled 6, 2, 8, 5, 4 = 25 (5d10)

>>36627061
>Roll 5d10 (Wits + Investigation) to figure out who it is
it's the girl that made all our stuff

Rolled 1, 7, 2, 8, 4 = 22 (5d10)

>>36627061
Diane. I think that was her name anyway.

>>36627061
>other
Walk up and remove their hood. "Really?"

Rolled 5, 9, 7, 8, 6 = 35 (5d10)

>>36627061
>Roll 5d10 (Wits + Investigation) to figure out who it is
Are they that starved for members they couldn't spare ANY spirit mages?

>>36627219
All the spirit mages are dead.

Rolled 10, 5, 5, 7, 6 = 33 (5d10)

>>36627265
all the spirit mages in the city.
I assumed those were from somewhere else since they're not used to the weather and have tans.

>>36627061
They should be informed that the acamoth is fond of surprise assassination.
It sneaks up on people in the shadow world, then blasts them with a black hole spell from the shadoworld. Without spirit sight, they would be sitting ducks for such an attack.... actually, we should go ahead and make some of those spirit glasses we mentioned before, both for our allies, and for at least one of their group so they can keep watch for such an attack.

>>36627061
is it dianna?
... no wait, is it chrom?

>>36627402
My guess is that the spirit Guardians that were investigating this in the first place got ganked with the locals.

The Guardians of the Veil are basically the CIA, their reach goes pretty far and with Space they could import a spirit mage from anywhere in the world. Either theirs are busy with something else, they don't have anyone powerful enough to tango with an Acamoth or simply no one willing to.

>>36627552
Item Enhancement requires more Prime than we have.

>>36627591
>Item Enhancement requires more Prime than we have.
Which is why we will be asking dianna for help. QM confirmed last thread when I suggested it that combining our effort and working together with her we CAN create such an item. and she will do it if we ask her.

You cock an eyebrow, looking at the hooded person. Compared to everyone else here, they are rather diminuative in size. In an instant you reach over and yank the hood down. The blonde bundle of Diana's hair tumbles out of it, a shocked look on her face. "HEY!"

"Diana, seriously?" You aren't surprised, as Diana's the only person you told about the Acamoth problem, and if they've been on this problem for about 2 weeks, the timeline makes sense.

"What, I'm not just a money-grabbing cunt, I have SOME morals." She folds her arms in disgust, sticking her bottom lip out at you in a pout. "And I'm still working on the anti-black hole device, this is just a side job to help pay the bills."

"So what, blacksmith by day, James Bond by night?"

She shrugs, still pouting at you. "Something like that."

"Anyway," Gibson says, clearing his throat. "Not many people focus on Spirit magic. Life shows more immediate benefits, and spirts are rather fickle beings to try and have be allies. Plus, all of the Spirit Mages in the Guardians are focused on other, more important things."

"What's more important than stopping an apocolyptic event," Jemma says, drinking her cup of coffee.

"Defending the borders of reality from Abyssal incursions during the month of December. The last time they were laxidazical in their defense, the the holiday of Halloween was created to cover up all the things that happened way back when." Gibson sips his coffee, eyeing the pot of coffee left on the table.

You aren't sure if he's serious or not.

"So, I got ahold of the pleasure Mage," Elizabeth says, hanging up her phone. "They've agreed to come in. I can't get ahold of Garen though..."

> We should go check in on him
> Do you think the Acamoth went after him?
> Other

File: winry-rockbell-1546461.jpg (62 KB, 495x640)

62 KB JPG

Oh, and for those unaware, pic related is what Diana looks like.

Rolled 2, 2, 5, 5, 4 = 18 (5d10)

>>36627668
>We should go check in on him

>>36627668
> Do you think the Acamoth went after him?

>>36627703
<3 <3 <3

question. Diana is her mage name, right?
Also, when we say jemma, we actually are saying Jemini right?

Anyways, I think we should at least setup a thing where, if we fail to banish it and it kills us in retaliation, that they move in for the kill.

>>36627668
>"What, I'm not just a money-grabbing cunt, I have SOME morals."
Hey, we didn't think she was like that.
She has been helping us put things right once she found out what her creation was being misused to do.

>>36627668

> We should go check in on him

>>36627739
Diana's her mage name.

When Michael is around the Guardian's he is saying Gemini. he will only call her Jemma when surrounded by people he trusts.

Rolled 2, 8, 1, 5, 5 = 21 (5d10)

>>36627668
>Do you think the Acamoth went after him?

Diana is cute

>>36627668
>> Other
send one of the guardians to get garen the Acmoth is not after any of them

>>36627703
What does Liz look like?

>>36627627
Or we could get imaginative with Create Fetish.

>>36627061
>They've yet to pick up on Sarah being Jemma's twin, and the less they know about that the better
Are they identical twins? or at least similar enough to be mistaken for each other?
Because if that is so then they SHOULD be informed of that only to prevent misunderstanding like "Gemini turned on us! She murdered Redshirt#1, lets kill her"

>>36627885
what is create fetish? and do we actually know how to do it?

Rolled 2, 4, 5, 4, 9 = 24 (5d10)

>>36627941
put a spirit into an item to use some of the magic of the spirit.
For example put a fire spirit in a wand to make a wand that shots firebolts (without risk of Paradox or paying any mana)
The problem is you need to find a spirit that can do what you want the item to do.

File: Smt4_burroughs.jpg (49 KB, 250x451)

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>>36627831
Pic related, only she has diamond blue eyes.

>>36627969
that is a pretty awesome thing
it is also a pretty serious problem
especially against the enemy we are facing which oozes corruption which destroys all spirits in an area leaving it barren.

>>36627914
They are fraternal twins; born at the same time, but look different.

Also, rolling. 1 for going after him, 2 for asking if the Acamoth went after him.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>36628060
I suppose it'd help if I actually rolled...

"We should go check in on him, make sure he's ok." You begin to grab your coat and slip your shoes on, before Gibson walks up and stops you.

"You have to stay here."

"Why?"

"Because you're the linchpin to this whole plan. If you die then we're pretty screwed."

> Hell no, I'm not hiding from the Acamoth
> ... You're right, I guess I'll stay
> Other

Note: eating dinner, back in 20-30 minutes.

>>36628212
> Other
"Pray tell me, what exactly do you think the Acamoth is thinking?"
"Exactly that."
"And what exactly do you think the Acamoth is going to be doing? Sitting around on it's curvy ass twiddling it's fingers?"

File: 1417998059946.jpg (239 KB, 1000x1804)

239 KB JPG

>>36627997
>Diamond blue eyes
I choose to take this literally because magic

Rolled 4, 5, 5, 1, 4 = 19 (5d10)

>>36628212
>... You're right, I guess I'll stay
>send one of the new guys

>>36628260
I am not sure what kind of argument you are even making here.

>>36628212
"If I stay, anyone that goes is going to get blindsided without Spirit sight, and we're not hanging Garen out to dry. If you have an alternative, I'm all ears, but otherwise I'm going."

>>36628328
Basically that the Acamoth is going to be hunting us, so hiding is basically impossible.

>>36628212
> Other
There are several issues here. First, without a working blackhole protection and a spirit mage to provide you with sight into the shadow world, anyone sent out there to get garen is extremely vulnerable
For another, the acamoth knows about this location...
I also owe garen.

>>36628212
Send someone else, but be sure to cast spirit sight on them. If you spend a mana point on it it you can make it lasts 24 hours instead of just one scene. That should ensure they don't get totally blindsided.

>>36628212
>>36628338
Seconded

How long has it actually been since the acamoth sent us that astral projection?

>>36628563
Maybe 90 minutes, after you caught everyone up to speed on what it did, then the Guardians coming in and catching them up to speed.

>>36628705
in that case, say
>90 minutes ago the acamoth's familiar found this place, and the acamoth sent forth an astral projection to negotiate. I told it go fuck itself and it swore I would die.
>What I am getting at, is that this is place is no longer safe. Being on the move with some allies to watch my back actually might be safer

"There's three flaws in your plan. First, if it does show up, it loves to enter via the Shadow World and make a grand entrance by throwing a black hole at the most dangerous target it sees. Second, the Acamoth already knows where I'm hiding because we were just attacked by it's Familiar maybe 2 hours ago."

"And third?"

"I owe Garen a Favor," you say, annunciating the importance of this last point.

"... Alright. Grab your gear," Gibson yells, pointing fingers at three of the people he came in with. "You three, protect Raguel, the rest of you help the Mystic get this Garen out of whatever trouble he's in."

Note: taking a break for an hour or so, real life problems just popped up.

>>36628924
no prob, thanks for letting us know.

>>36628924
I do try to let people know, it's just difficult sometimes to get updates out like that on time.

We are all forgeting that mechanical voice in the phone back when we saved Elizabeth. This person may have known about world-ending thing.

>>36630141
We have no idea who it was or how to contact them again. All we know is that we amuse them, and will probably get another call if we somehow pull this off.

The group pulls up in the van Diana designed for you guys to use several months ago, and somehow she kept it the same size and added even more room on the inside ("It's Magic," she said when you asked about it). The dozen of you pile out of it and onto the shoveled sidewalk outside Garen's townhouse. The sun's beginning to set while you move towards the door, Gibson's team leading the way. After knocking on the door several times to get his attention, no one comes to answer it. With a silent nod Gibson approves the two in the front to break in. A quick lockpick later and they move inside, everyone's eyes glowing various shades of colors, looking for any counterspells or wards to impede a break-in by others.

"Clear," one of them yells, motioning for your group to enter. Together, you 5 enter, looking around.

"Do you know where else he could be," Gibson asks, turning to you all.

> He mentioned a lab once... Maybe it's hidden on the premesis?
> I dunno
> Turn on Spirit Sight to see things
> Other

>>36630794

> He mentioned a lab once... Maybe it's hidden on the premesis?

Rolled 2, 4, 8, 8, 3 = 25 (5d10)

>>36630794
>He mentioned a lab once... Maybe it's hidden on the premesis?
> Turn on Spirit Sight to see things

>>36630794
Why isn't spirit sight on already and why haven't we given it to everyone on the way? Going in here without it on everyone leaves everyone vulnerable to sudden death by black hole.

>>36630978
Because you (as Michael) don't think that far ahead.

>>36630994
Then this must be rectified ASAP, I don't want to lose anyone before the big fight, gonna need all the help we can get.

>>36631057
>Implying that redshirt mages and werewolves whose names we don't know aren't going to die horribly

>>36631169
They're gonna die probably, but going into the final battle I want as many warm bodies between us and the acamoth as possible figuratively speaking.

If they die now they can't take a bullet for us later.

You click on your Spirit Sight, noting that the area is devoid of spirit activity of any kind. "He mentioned a lab once... Maybe it's hidden on the premise?" You also motion for Elizabeth and Jemma to get the same Sight. "Anyone else want to have Spirit vision," you ask, finger glowing.

The 7 all shake their heads in polite denial, preferring to stick to their own visions of choice. They all begin to search the premise, looking for any place that could have a hiding spot or a hidden door into the basement or an attic.

> Aid in their search (5d10, Wits + Investigation)
> Ask Elizabeth if she knows where the lab is
> Get opinions from Jemma on the Guardians, Garen, etc.
> Other

Rolled 10, 6, 2, 4, 6 = 28 (5d10)

>>36631349
>noting that the area is devoid of spirit activity of any kind.
Acamoth was here, this thing is unnatural. We should expect some kind of guards or traps. Most likely Garen is already dead or soul-siphoned.

>Aid in their search
>Tell everyone to be on their toes (as if they're not already)

Rolled 10, 7, 2, 4, 1 = 24 (5d10)

>>36631349
> Aid in their search

Rolled 2, 10, 4, 9, 4 = 29 (5d10)

>>36631349
> Aid in their search (5d10, Wits + Investigation)

"Hey, there's no spiritual activity here," you say aloud. "Be careful, the Acamoth might be trying something, or it was just here." You aid the others in the search. The townhouse itself is a decent size, the first floor possessing a living room, a small study, a bathroom and kitchen. The second floor has two bedrooms, one being the master bedroom, and the master bathroom connecting to it. You aid the others in the search, but nothing seems amiss. Finally, all 12 of you meet up in the living room.

"He's not here," the stuffled nose man says, a slight dribble of snot creeping down from his nose. "You guys know where else he could be?"

"He could be out on a job," Elizabeth says. "But because of the privacy his clientelle ask for, he wouldn't risk revealing himself or any Magic-related things to them."

"There's no smell in this house," Tali says, cracking her fingers. "Normally people have a scent that they leave behind in a residence they call home, but this place is devoid of such smells."

> Maybe he ran away once he realized the Acamoth was looking for him?
> Do you know any of his clientelle Mystic?
> Do we want to risk scrying for him specifically?
> Other

>>36631938

> Do you know any of his clientelle Mystic?

>>36631938
>Do you know any of his clientele mystic?
>Do we want to risk scrying for him specifically?
If the first question's a dead end we ask the second question as after that we're out of options if we want to find him before the acamoth does.

>>36631938
Leave him a letter in his home
Leave him a voicemail on his phone
And then scry

"Do you know any of his clientelle, Mystic?" It's a long shot, but maybe Elizabeth knows one or two of them.

She shakes her head in denial, sadly. "No, that's something he keeps pretty tight to the vest."

"Then there's no other thing we can attempt to do other than scry for his location," Gibson says, motioning for some of the other Guardians to do something. Immediately two of them pull out several rolls of duct tape, tossing one to Elizabeth. "We'll give you guys the time you need to get this set up and find him," he says, motioning for the others to follow him outside. "In the meantime, let's make sure nothing inerrupts them."

"Hey, Raguel," Tali says, pulling you aside. "It's starting to get late, and we still have yet to inform Tobi about the heptagram. Is it OK if Eric and I go leave and do so," she says, nodding over to her ally.

> Yeah, be careful
> Can you wait until after the scrying?
> No, I'd prefer if you guys waited here
> Other

>>36632508
Doesn't Tobi have a cell phone? Can't they just call the man up?

>>36632508
>> Yeah, be careful

>>36632706
The only phone he had was in the bar, and well... It's mostly just a pile of rubble now.

>>36632768
Does anyone close to him have a phone? It ain't a sin against harmony to have a cell phone.

>>36632810
I'm trying to cut down on the number of people in the scene, writing for 5 is hard enough as is, writing for 12 is near impossible. Gimme a break here.

>>36632508
>yeah

"Yeah, just be careful out there." You give Tali a quick handshake, and in almost two seconds, they're out of the house and running down the sidewalk, flagging down a nearby taxi.

"Freaking werewolves," Mr. Rude Manners says, helping set up the duct tape on the floor. "They always creep me out."

"Yeah, I'm sure we creep them out too, Nova," Gibson says, smacking him on the back of the head.

It takes nearly 5 minutes for them to set up the ritual circle, and another 30 minutes for Elizabeth to complete the ritual. But finally, she smiles, opening her eyes as the slight glow from the circle dissipates. "He's ok, he was just helping out one of his clients." She's helped up off the ground by Gibson.

"Where is he?"

"Gold Coast Hotel," she says. "He'll be there for a little while, so we should have plenty of time to drive down there and pick him up." The Gold Coast Hotel is one of the larger, more expensive hotels in the city. Located near the shopping district of the city, it affords it's clients a fantasitc view of the lakefront, easy access to both private and public forms of transportation, and a high degree of privacy.

> Well, what're we waiting for?
> Lets be careful and not spook his clients
> No magic, the place is full of Sleepers
> Other

>>36633101
> Well, what're we waiting for?
We're the lest experienced mage here so everyone else should already know not to throw their magic around in public.

>>36633101
>Lets be careful and not spook his clients

>>36633228
Yeah, lets not piss off the clients. We're repaying a favor, it won't work if his work goes to shit.

>>36633101
> Lets be careful and not spook his clients

Writing, having a bit of difficulty with it though, will have it up when I can.

>>36633101
is it possible to sent him a message via magic?

>>36633434
That's what Elizabeth did once she scried his location; basically said, "we're on our way to pick you up, just stay safe and in the public."

"Hey, I know we are about ready to go check on him, but can we please not spook his clients? This is his livelihood after all."

Gibson nods, motioning for everyone to head out out. "Agreed. Lets go in nice and quiet, no magic going, the last thing we need is to scare a bunch of blue blooded sleepers and invoke a billion Paradoxes on us."

---------------------------------------

The drive down to the hotel is rather tedious, as the afternoon rush hour is picking up, as a large snow storm begins to move into the city. Local radio is predicting a large snowfall over the night, so anyone and everyone that's not living in the city proper is trying to get home before the storm itself hits. The 10 of you pull up to the hotel shortly before 7 PM, unloading out onto the sidewalk just as the first snowflakes begin to fall.

"Ok, Garen said he was going to be either at the bar, or finishing up with his client on the 16th floor, room 1613," Elizabeth says, pulling on a pair of gloves from her coat. "With any luck, we can just pick him up and go back to the Library."

"Ok, let's split up," Gibson says. "Nova, Glee, you stay with Raguel, Mystic and Gemini. We'll check the bar out, the rest of us are going up to the room to make sure he's safe. If the Acamoth shows up, the first thing is to make sure Garen and Raguel are safe, and then we make a tactical retreat to the van."

Everyone nods, and they enter the hotel. It's a rather nice atmosphere inside, as you guys skip past the front desk, Gibson's group heading to the elevator, you guys heading to the bar.

> Look around the bar, see if Garen's there (5d10, Wits + Investigation)
> Order a drink for you all
> Other

Rolled 5, 4, 9, 4, 3 = 25 (5d10)

>>36633696
> Look around the bar, see if Garen's there

Rolled 10, 10, 2, 10, 7 = 39 (5d10)

>>36633696
Look around, see if we can get him and go.

Rolled 3, 10, 1, 7, 10 = 31 (5d10)

>>36633696
>Look around the bar, see if Garen's there (5d10, Wits + Investigation)

>>36633830
>7/5 successes
holy shit.

>>36633878
What can I say, for some reason the dice gods loved me right there.

>>36633830
Holy shit!

>>36633832
this is also impressive btw. 5/5 success thanks to 2 crits.

>>36633830
The five of you quickly begin to survey the bar, and within a few minutes you realize he isn't here. You turn towards Nova and Glee, who both shrug. Glee puts her hand to her right ear, a small bluetooth device hooked up to it.

"Gibson just got up to the room; it's been gutted. The client he was working on is dead, their guts strewn about the room. He's not their either."

"Shit," Elizabeth says, looking at you. "It must be the Acamoth, she's hunting Garen now."

Your eyes, however, are not looking at her. Instead, they're focused on Sarah, walking through the lobby of the hotel, looking about her to see if anyone is following her. Trailing behind her is a bellhop with a dolly, a rather large suitcase placed upon it.

And she hasn't seen you yet.

> Point her out and stealthily follow her
> Actively pursue/run after her while she's still in the hotel
> Other

>>36634193
>Point her out and stealthily follow her
last minute rescue?

... actually, if we can get the chance, we could blow our load on a banishment spell that does not use the true name, just by virtue of proximity

>>36634316
>Doing that in the middle of a place full of sleepers
You want a second acamoth to come running in here?

>>36634193
> Point her out and stealthily follow her

Damn. Where are all the regulars?

You gently turn Elizabeth's gaze around to Sarah, Jemma also following where your gaze is focused on. The three of you silently motion to Nova and Glee, who follow you towards the corner of the bar, away from the straight shot where Sarah could see you, and towards the windows facing outside.

"That's the Acamoth," you whisper, pointing to Sarah as she walks outside, the bellhop following her to a limosine pulled up outside. He struggles to lift the suitcase into the limo's trunk, but finally he gets it in, closing the trunk. You see Sarah murmur something to the bellhop, slipping him a $20 bill and a quick kiss on the cheek, her fancy fur coat and blood red lips making the bellhop blush rather madly. "Do you think we can try to follow the limo?"

"We'd have to get moving now, and leave Gibson and the others behind," Nova says, motioning for Glee to radio up to the others. "With the weather worsening, I doubt we could let her get a head start on us, as the van isn't the most conspicuous thing to tail someone to begin with."

> Lets do it (sneak to the van and tail Sarah's limo)
> Can we put a tracking spell of some kind on the van?
> No, we have to wait
> Other

Note: There's about a half dozen different Sleepers in the bar proper. Three are watching the hockey game on the bar's television, another two are flirting in a corner of the bar, and the barkeep is giving you all the stink eye.

>>36634667
>tracking spell?

>>36634363
>>Followe her then banish
>Doing it here
1. I said follow her not do it here
2. Isn't banishment covert?

>>36634667
1. First, any tailing should/would be done with a taxi rather than the van. van is too inconspicuous
2. Look at the license plate. With gemeni's connection we can run it later, find out the limo company, and find out from them where that limo went.

... wait a tic
>He struggles to lift the suitcase into the limo's trunk
how big a case is it? big enough to contain an unconscious garen?

>>36634667
>Tracking spell

>>36634899
>how big a case is it? big enough to contain an unconscious garen?
yes
>>36634667
>> Lets do it (sneak to the van and tail Sarah's limo)
>> Can we put a tracking spell of some kind on the van?

>>36634955
>>how big a case is it? big enough to contain an unconscious garen?
>yes
How do you know? you aren't QM.

>>36634973
plot, it makes sense for him to b in the case

>>36634667
... is it suicide to use liz' time dilation to poke her with one of garen's syringes that cause hours of KO?
because that would be such a nice, simple, and easy win here.

Sorry for the delay, but real life happened. Also, it's late and I am not feeling well, so I am calling the quest for now.

4 exp. gained.

Best guess is that Garen is in the suitcase, as it's large enough to stuff one inside.

>>36635905
Thanks for running.

>>36635905
Awww fuck. I guess the plan then is to follow the acamoth, distract her, evac Garren, then run like hell. We don't want to fight her in her main base.

>>36635905
Ohh well. Ok, next thread, we follow her and grab the case. Or maybe we can try the excorcism right there and then

>>36636541
not THE exorcism, as that would be using/abusing the fact we know her true name and will fuck us totally if we fail.
but AN exorcism. (have to bypass her defenses and power depends on distance to target, but failure does not mean game over)

I TOLD YOU WE SHOULD'VE CALLED GAREN FIRST, BRO. WHY DIDN'T YOU LISTEN?

As for what should we do:

>Exorcism ( Mage: The Awakening -- Page 248 )
>Arcana: Spirit 3
>Practice: Weaving
>Action: Extended (target number = spirit's Willpower) and contested; target rolls Power + Resistance reflexively
>Duration: Lasting
>Aspect: Covert
>Cost: None

We could use exorcism right now like >>36637063 said, we shouldn't cause paradox with it. Although it might be better to follow the car and find the place where other spirit mages are stored (as we suspect anyway). After that:

>Restore Lost Soul ( Mage: The Awakening -- Page 250 )
>Arcana: Spirit 3
>Practice: Weaving
>Action: Extended (target number = weeks the soul has been lost)
>Duration: Lasting
>Aspect: Covert
>Cost: None

We shouldn't have any problems with restoring their souls if they are stolen. Also, maybe we should burn a point of willpower to emulate an awesome Spirit 5 effect at the final confrontation, we are unlikely to reach S 5 with the exp we currently have any time soon.

Also, should burn a willpower point for exorcism, we have plenty.

You know what? I just read Time Arcana section and now I see that we can't possibly fail.

>Temporal Lifeline
>Arcana: Time 5
>Effect: The mage forges a temporal connection with the moment of the spell's casting and can later choose to return there with knowledge of what "happened" in the future. The mage "fixes" a moment in time when the spell is completed. Thereafter, an invisible, ethereal "lifeline" connects the caster to that moment as it moves into the past. At any time thereafter, the mage can choose to return to that moment as an instant action, simply by willing it. This ends the spell as the temporal lifeline "snaps back" into the past and disappears. The Mana cost of the temporal lifeline cannot be regained so long as the lifeline exists. The mage returns to the chosen moment and all the intervening "time" essentially never happened, although the mage remembers it as though it did. It can be considered a "possible" future in that the mage can take actions to change the outcome of events. So, for example, a mage who casts this spell before going into a dangerous ruin, then encounters a deadly trap, can activate the lifeline, returning to the moment before she entered the ruin, and make a different choice (assuming the trap wasn't so sudden and deadly that the mage died instantly before she was able to use the lifeline). Once Temporal Lifeline is cast, a mage can even use spells such as Temporal Pocket and Temporal Stutter to move forward faster in time in order to reach a particular future point, then "snap back" to the past using the lifeline. It is impossible for the same caster to fix the "end point" at two temporal lifelines closer than 24 hours together or to have more than one temporal lifeline active at a time. Thus, after activating the lifeline and returning to the past, the mage cannot cast this spell again until at least 24 hours later.

>>36638755
You can always dispel an effect, especially if you're good with prime. See the pattern of the spell, unravel it, *then* kill them. Shit like that is why prime is the go to "anti-mage" arcana.

That spell doesn't make you invincible, and she'd only get a limited number of "tries" out of it due to the waiting restriction. World ends during the solstice, that's not too far away.

I have a system question about rotes.

Should rotes have a highly specialised description (like "spirit punch") or could they be a little more generalised? For example, could we take Forces 3 and create a rote "manipulate gravity" that could create a barrier that stops bullets, telekinetically move objects and allow us to fly? Also, can we upgrade a rote (like upping "influence electricity" to "create and influence electricity")?

>>36638984
Rotes are essentially a specific spell, optimized to a mnemonic. Some have linear power increases (ex: Soul Bolt at Spirit 4 does Lethal to Spirits, while Soul Bolt at Spirit 5 does Aggravated. you don't spend extra exp, you just have the option once attaining Spirit 5), while others are part of a family that are different spells with similar effects.

Rotes are fixed to the goal of the spell rather than the exact aspects of reality being warped. Your example of "manipulate gravity" is far too versatile and would be a number of separate rotes: Turn projectile for bullets, telekinesis for moving objects and levitation for flight.
The first two would both be Weaving effects, but their goals are utterly different despite accomplishing them with similar applications of force onto objects.

Rotes cannot be upgraded in 1e. They can be stretched (as with Spirit Bolt) for more power once you have more mastery in an Arcanum but without the expenditure of more exp because they're still the same practice.

With all this in mind, that's just how the rules are written, not how they're implemented. We might be able to swap out old rotes for new ones along the same line, but then we wouldn't have the old rotes available. It's up to MageQM to decide on the mechanics of that.

Your example of "influence electricity" => "create and influence electricity" wouldn't work because it's trying to cram more practices into the same rote. If we were to "upgrade"/swap these rotes, the new one would simply create electricity, but lose the ability to manipulate existing electricity. This might be fine if the intent of "influence electricity" was always in a proactive way (using ambient electricity to accomplish other tasks) as the new rote would not be tied down to preexisting electricity in the area. If the intent was to control the natural flow of electricity, the new rote would be stepping away from that.

>tl;dr
>highly specialized
>no
>no (might be able to swap out old rotes)

>>36638907
Prime is also pretty much required to protect yourself against mage detection or dispellation. Spell Cloaks only require Prime 2 and force Unseen Senses into a Wits+Occult roll (normally automatic), while any active scrutiny is penalized by the spell's Potency. If they can't pin down your spell, they can't dispel it.

>commanding readboi

A question for the next thread: when using "Spirit Sight" is Raguel using Spirit Tongue to see into the Twilight or Peer Across the Gauntlet to see into the Shadow?

All the Mage Sight spells do is let you see resonance and analyse that. Each individual Arcanum's version does something extra or does one type of analysis better (Second Sight lets you determine the Strength of the local Gauntlet and gets +1 to perceive and scrutinize spirit/werewolf stuff), but none of them let you see into Twilight or Shadow.

File: behind you.jpg (201 KB, 643x1000)

201 KB JPG

I was thinking something more like this. Less animu

>>36643414
For whom? Sarah?