Difference between revisions of "Talk:Christopher Westin"

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 +
''This thing all things devours:''<br>
 +
''Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;''<br>
 +
''Gnaws iron, bites steel;''<br>
 +
''Grinds hard stones to meal;''<br>
 +
''Slays king, ruins town''<br>
 +
''And beats high mountain down.''
 +
 +
=[[Westin's Guide To Nonmagical Fighting]]=
 +
 
=Current Identity=
 
=Current Identity=
 
: Robert Nishida, Japanese-American LAPD SWAT.
 
: Robert Nishida, Japanese-American LAPD SWAT.
−
: [[Technocrat Westin]]
+
: [[Technocrat Westin]]: CDC Special Warfare Group. Progenitor Damage Control.
 +
 
 +
=GURPS Hilarity=
 +
I was really bored and found my copy of GURPS Mage: The Ascension. The results are hilarious.
 +
 
 +
'''Base''': ST 16 [60], DX 18 [120], IQ 14 [80], HT 18 [80]
 +
:'''Perception +4''' [20]
 +
:'''Will +5''' [25]
 +
:'''Appearance (Attractive) [4]
 +
 
 +
Basic Subtotal: 389 pts
 +
 
 +
==Advantages==
 +
:'''Animal Empathy''' [5]
 +
:'''Avatar 4''' [60]
 +
:'''Awareness''' [15]
 +
:'''Charisma +1''' [5]
 +
:'''Combat Reflexes''' [15]
 +
:'''Common Sense''' [10]
 +
:'''Intuition''' [15]
 +
:'''Immune to Delirium''' [25]
 +
:'''Patron''' [15]
 +
:'''Spirit Empathy''' [10]
 +
:'''Very Fit''' [15]
 +
 
 +
Subtotal: 190 pts
 +
 
 +
==Magery==
 +
:'''Arete 4''' [65]
 +
:'''Entropy Rank 3''' [45]
 +
:'''Life Rank 3''' [50]
 +
:'''Forces Rank 2''' [30]
 +
:'''Spirit Rank 2''' [30]
 +
 
 +
Subtotal: 220 pts
 +
 
 +
===Magick Skills===
 +
:'''Entropy 14''' [8]
 +
:'''Life 14''' [8]
 +
:'''Forces 14''' [8]
 +
:'''Spirit 14''' [8]
 +
 
 +
Subtotal: 32 pts
 +
 
 +
==Disadvantages==
 +
:'''Duty: Euthanatos, All the Time, Extremely Hazardous''' [-20]
 +
:'''Fanaticism''' [-15]
 +
:'''Nightmares''' [-5]
 +
:'''Secret: Non-Technocracy Mage''' [-30]
 +
 
 +
Subtotal: -70 pts
 +
 
 +
==Languages==
 +
:'''English (Native)''' [0]
 +
:'''Arabic (Native)''' [6]
 +
:'''Chinese (Native)''' [6]
 +
:'''Greek (Native)''' [6]
 +
:'''Japanese (Native)''' [6]
 +
 
 +
Subtotal: 24 pts
 +
 
 +
==Skills==
 +
:'''Acrobatics (18)''' [4]
 +
:'''Acting (16)''' [8]
 +
:'''Area Knowledge: Umbra (14)''' [1]
 +
:'''Boxing (17)''' [1]
 +
:'''Brawling (18)''' [1]
 +
:'''Computer Hacking (16)''' [16]
 +
:'''Computer Operation (16)''' [4]
 +
:'''Computer Programming (16)''' [12]
 +
:'''Climbing (17)''' [1]
 +
:'''Current Affairs (14)''' [1]
 +
:'''Criminology (13)''' [1]
 +
:'''Diagnosis (14)''' [4]
 +
:'''Diplomacy (16)''' [12]
 +
:'''Driving (Car) (17)''' [1]
 +
:'''Enigmas (12)''' [1]
 +
:'''Fast-Talk (16)''' [8]
 +
:'''Firearms:Pistol (18)''' [1]
 +
:'''Firearms:Rifle (18)''' [1]
 +
:'''First Aid (14)''' [1]
 +
:'''Jumping (18)''' [1]
 +
:'''Knife (17)''' [1]
 +
:'''Mechanic/Firearms (13)''' [1]
 +
:'''Meditation (11)''' [1]
 +
:'''Occultism (13)''' [1]
 +
:'''Physician (12)''' [1]
 +
:'''Poetry (13)''' [1]
 +
:'''Psychology (16)''' [12]
 +
:'''Research (13)''' [1]
 +
:'''Surgery (11)''' [1]
 +
:'''Shadowing (16)''' [8]
 +
:'''Shortsword (17)''' [1]
 +
:'''Survival: Umbra (13)''' [1]
 +
:'''Stealth (17)''' [1]
 +
:'''Strategy:Terrorism (14)''' [4]
 +
:'''Streetwise (13)''' [1]
 +
:'''Tactics (14)''' [4]
 +
:'''Teaching (13)''' [1]
 +
:'''Wrestling (17)''' [1]
 +
:'''Writing (13)''' [1]
 +
 
 +
Subtotal: 123 pts
 +
 
 +
==Total==
 +
389 + 190 + 220 + 32 + 24 + 123 - 70 = 908 pts
  
 
=Medium-Term Goals=
 
=Medium-Term Goals=
Line 28: Line 142:
 
==Life==
 
==Life==
 
*Life 2 allows minor adaptations to mundane climate extremes, Life 3 can do it to other people.
 
*Life 2 allows minor adaptations to mundane climate extremes, Life 3 can do it to other people.
 +
 +
=Timeskip XP Things=
 +
:Physical Structure Enhancement: Extra -0 Bruised HL + Soak Lethal/Aggravated w/full Stamina (2 pts/6 XP)
 +
:: +1 permanent paradox
 +
:Backup 3: Mercenaries! (3 pts/9 XP?)
 +
:Allies ???: Operators Operating Operationally Team (variable XP)
 +
:Miscellaneous Wants
 +
:: Ambidextrous: 3 XP
 +
:: Tactics (Knowledge) 2: 4 XP
 +
::: Hunter Book: Defender. Successes rolled on Tactics may be applied to increase initiative (1 success = 1 extra initiative die, take highest) or to shift difficulties on the first turn of action.
 +
:: Athletics 4 (Parkour): 6 XP
  
 
=Chalice XP Costs=
 
=Chalice XP Costs=
 
:5 skills required of: Dodge, Subterfuge, Stealth, Melee, Firearms, Technology, Enigmas, Occult at 4+.
 
:5 skills required of: Dodge, Subterfuge, Stealth, Melee, Firearms, Technology, Enigmas, Occult at 4+.
−
::Firearms 4 (0 XP)
+
::Firearms 4 (0 XP) X
−
::Stealth 4 (0 XP)
+
::Stealth 4 (0 XP) X
−
::Enigmas 4 (1 + 2 + 3 = 6 XP)
+
::Enigmas 4 (2 + 3 = 5 XP)
−
::Occult 4 (3 + 1 + 2 + 3 = 9 XP)
+
::Occult 4 (2 + 3 = 5 XP)
−
::Dodge 4 (0 XP)
+
::Dodge 4 (0 XP) X
−
::Melee 4 (4 + 3 = 7 XP)
+
::Melee 4 (6 XP)
−
::Technology 4 (3 + 2 + 4 + 6 = 15 XP)
+
::Technology 4 (2 + 4 + 6 = 12 XP)
−
::Subterfuge 4 (2 + 4 + 6 = 12 XP)
+
::Subterfuge 4 (0 XP) X
−
:PROGRESS: 3/5
+
:PROGRESS: 4/5
  
 
==Achievement==
 
==Achievement==
Line 78: Line 203:
  
 
=Rotes=
 
=Rotes=
−
: Aspect of Achilles (Life 3/Forces 2)-Anointing oneself with water as a sympathetic link to the River Styx, Life 3 is used to harden the skin against blows while Forces 2 saps their energy. Adds armor soak.
+
: Aspect of Achilles (Life 3/Forces 2)-Anointing oneself with water as a sympathetic link to the River Styx, Life 3 is used to harden the skin against blows while Forces 2 saps their energy. Adds soak to the  
−
 
 
−
: Blessing of Athena (Entropy 1/Forces 1/Life 3)-Life 3 to deaden autonomous responses like shaking hands and unsteady limbs, Entropy 1 to sense and anticipate the currents of destiny (i.e. how to move without getting your face shot off), Forces 1 to precisely sense the movement of objects. Long-duration combat buff.
 
−
 
 
−
: Blade of the Fates (Life 3/Entropy 1)-Life 3 for lethal damage, Entropy 1 for seeking out weak points.
 
−
 
 
−
: Ares's Mercy (Life 2/Entropy 3)-By calling upon the god of war and civil order, Westin damages the order of a predictable social construct, such as a guard patrol, causing delays and weakpoints to open up. Life 2 allows Entropy 3's ability to slay complex machines and dissolve unliving objects to slay the metaphorical machinery of society.
 
  
−
: Ricochet (Entropy 2/Forces 2)-Forces 2 to increase projectile velocity, Entropy 2 in conjunction to control the angle of ricochets. Bullets may penetrate a target, bounce off objects, and hit others or hit the same target multiple times.
+
: Ultima Ratio (Entropy 1/Forces 2)-By zeroing and anointing a ranged weapon to a level of precision that would make the god Apollo proud of his servant, the god provides his favor by blessing a weapon so lovingly cared for beyond its normal ability. Entropy 1 senses weak points, Forces 2 increases kinetic energy, reducing attack/damage difficulties for gunshots. Variants could be used with blades (Ares, god of up close and personal warfare is an alternate aspect)
  
−
: Hephaestus's Disfavor (Entropy 1 or 3/Forces 2)-Forces 2 to deal damage, Entropy 1 to seek weak points, or Entropy 3 to assist in causing systems damage.
+
: Athena's Boon (Entropy 1/Forces 1)-The goddess of warfare and wisdom (and wisdom in warfare) smiles on well-laid plans and those who execute them. The planning and prayers dedicated to this plan focus the mage's will on combat, reducing attack difficulties with a chosen weapon, and dodge difficulties against the same implement. An alternative, calling upon Ares, god of war, is used when well-laid plans fail and sheer unrelenting violence is the sole determinant of victory.
  
−
: Aegis of the Fates (Entropy 1/Forces 1)-Entropy 1 senses currents of probability, Forces 1 allows precise estimation of movement-evade and attack more precisely and efficiently.
+
: Armor of Nyx (Forces 2/Entropy 2)-The mage steps accepts the embrace of the goddess of night, whose shadowy arms envelop him or her, hiding the mage from the world. Shadows around the mage warp to aid his concealment, reducing stealth difficulties and increasing the difficulties of others to spot him.
  
−
: Ultima Ratio (Entropy 1/Forces 1)-Entropy 1 senses weak points, Forces 1 allows precise estimation of lead times and movement, increasing the accuracy and damage of a gunshot.
+
: Of Paths Left Untraveled (Entropy 1)-With the use of a dowsing rod or a meditative trance, the Mage accepts Apollo's gift of prophecy to see what is significant and what is not, or the best answer to a specific question. The dowsing variant is better used to acquire physical objects (like, say, a clue to a crime scene) while the meditative variant is more useful for questions.
  
 
=Maneuvers=
 
=Maneuvers=
Line 99: Line 218:
 
: '''Joint Break''' (Difficulty 8, Dex + Brawl, Damage Str + 2, any unsoaked damage means the joint is shattered and limb is made useless)- C:tD 239
 
: '''Joint Break''' (Difficulty 8, Dex + Brawl, Damage Str + 2, any unsoaked damage means the joint is shattered and limb is made useless)- C:tD 239
 
: '''Tendon Slice''' (Difficulty 9, Requires Melee 4 + Dexterity 2, Dex + Melee, Damage [As Weapon], 2 HLs or more of damage mean a critical tendon is cut and a limb is rendered useless, is considered dishonorable by faerie nobles but who gives a shit about them?)- C:tD 240
 
: '''Tendon Slice''' (Difficulty 9, Requires Melee 4 + Dexterity 2, Dex + Melee, Damage [As Weapon], 2 HLs or more of damage mean a critical tendon is cut and a limb is rendered useless, is considered dishonorable by faerie nobles but who gives a shit about them?)- C:tD 240
 +
 +
=Paradigm=
 +
Magic is the gift of the gods to those who have a major role to play in weaving the world's fate. Mages are ''heroes'' in the ancient sense, men of great power and prowess. Few are heroes in the modern sense, as power almost invariably comes with hubris, though. The blessings of the Greek gods and the blood of Zeus empowers Westin as it did with thousands of other heroes, granting him the strength and ability to accomplish heroic deeds.
  
 
=Philosophy=
 
=Philosophy=
−
'''The Ascension Warrior'''<br>
+
==Service is Magic==
−
To understand the methods of creating change is to understand the world. All things end in time. Empires crumble. Heroes and villains die. The physical is never absolute. What is absolute is history. Dead heroes become legends. Dead villains become bogeymen. Dead empires become ideals. But to lose yourself in these is to suffer from nostalgia. Legends and ideals are not what we should strive for, but what should be exceeded. Stasis and complacency are the enemy-there is no "good enough". Once perfection is reached, once the wheel has turned to that point, then Ascension will come.
+
To use magic, a willworker must have ''will'', and this will is provided by things greater than one man. Service is magic, for without an underlying philosophy more important than life, a mage cannot function. Magic is the gift to heroes and the just by the gods, a gift which should not be abused. To use magic correctly involves understanding that magic is not a right, it is a privilege, and those who are granted it are granted it for their ability to do great deeds. Ours is to tend the Wheel, to ensure that fate gets its due.
 +
 
 +
Great may not always mean good, but one must strive to do good in every task. Many mages choose to serve tasks easier than the tending of the Great Wheel, especially those known as the Fallen, who choose decay without rebirth because it is easier to sow chaos and destruction than to prune carefully. They are the antithesis of us, and all they do is cursed.
  
−
'''Change'''<br>
 
−
Embrace change in all its means. Those who refuse to use the advances of the enemy are denying themselves an asset. Adaptability is strength. But to embrace change does not mean to go with the flow. The Wheel must be tended by the elimination of the corrupt.
 
  
−
'''Death'''<br>
+
==Life is Conflict==
−
Death is a new beginning. Those who die are sent to Acheron, cleansed of their sins in the river. Their virtues are reinforced, their souls ready for another chance at Ascension. Do not hate those who you kill, and remember that by killing the corrupt, you are doing their souls a favor, as well as serving the greater good of the living. Even in the Technocracy's paradigm, they recognize that the world is a cycle. Creatures which die are recycled to greater heights. The Wheel exists in all things.
+
The Great Wheel is a cycle of death and rebirth. Those who are reborn are tested by life, and go on in death to be improved, their flaws removed in Acheron for them to attempt to get ever closer to Ascension. All life is conflict, whether it is the violent conflict of war or the conflict of friendly competition. Conflict is how ideas are refined, the forge from which all triumph and heroism springs.
  
−
'''Casualties of the Righteous'''<br>
+
==Existence is War==
−
Good men can serve bad ends. A soldier who follows orders may fight for the Technocracy, or a corrupt government, because of his honor and virtue demanding nothing less. Those who are virtuous may be fighting on the other side. In this case, kill without hesitation but not without remorse. There will be time to mourn the death of the just later.
+
A Hiercthonoi, therefore, is a warrior. But a warrior's battlefield is not merely the physical. One must be capable and willing to fight on any battlefield-physical, mental, ethical, electronic, spiritual. True warriors understand that any realm may be a battlefield, and as such they must always be ready to fight no matter where the opposition is. To be able to defend one's decisions against the harshest critics is a talent a warrior must be proficient at, just as much as the ability to defend one's ideals with blade or firearm.
  
−
'''Arete'''<br>
+
==Sacrifice is Necessity==
−
The enlightened Ascension Warrior understands the nine spheres, but also understands his human body and mind. "Arete" is not merely mystical knowledge. It is ''excellence''. Strive to be excellent in all your doings. Learning the ways of those who cannot harness their divine heritage is advantageous. Sleepers can change the tide of nations, alter the fates of millions, change history drastically and irrevocably. Those who strive for excellence in even the most mundane will eventually achieve excellence in all areas.
+
Those who live in conflict must be willing to sacrifice for their moral code. A code which one is unwilling to back with one's life is irrelevant. It is not a code, just a lie one sells to himself via self-deception.  
  
−
'''Sacrifice'''<br>
+
==Ethics==
−
Sacrifice is self-sacrifice. If one kills a dozen to accomplish an objective, calling it "collateral damage", it is not a sacrifice, but rather an action undertaken when pragmatism overrules idealism. Pragmatic action may be necessary, but one should look into living to be their ideals. As a soldier on the front lines of the Ascension War, we are prophet, soldier, and diplomat in one. Our example reflects on our ideals. If we throw away the lives of others and refuse to follow our own ideals, we show that our ideals are weak, such that we are unwilling to stand by them. Hold your ideals up without fear, as they are more important than your life.
+
* The world is just-fate intervenes to remove the unjust. As an agent of fate, your task is to remove the unjust. Accepting magic is accepting this task.
  
−
'''Ideals'''<br>
+
* The mage is heroic-all willworkers are granted this power as the agents of greater powers. We are heroes, blessed with the ability to do great deeds and transform the world. As an agent of fate, your deed is to ensure that the world is transformed for the better.
−
The true crucible for contested ideals is the field of warfare. We are fighting a war based on a philosophical question, one which may only be settled by the greatest of conflicts. We define ourselves as what the Technocracy is not. Ideals must not be taken to excess. The Technocracy commits atrocities because it believes it is firmly in the right, and anything is justifiable in its quest to prove its philosophy correct. Those of us who lose ourselves to this become no better. The war will not be won or lost by body counts, it will be won or lost on the battleground of the mind and the media.
 
  
−
'''Magic'''<br>
+
* Hatred is poisonous-to hate is to lose onself in rage, lashing out unthinking. To hate is to justify any atrocity, actions against one's ethical code, because of hate. The Hiercthonoi cannot hate those he kills, for to hate your target makes killing them into pleasure. Death should always be something to regret,
−
Man is a creature with the blood of gods, diluted in his veins from a million dalliances across untold centuries. These blessings are the source of magical power. Each harnesses them in their own ways.
 

Latest revision as of 04:29, 12 October 2014

This thing all things devours:
Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;
Gnaws iron, bites steel;
Grinds hard stones to meal;
Slays king, ruins town
And beats high mountain down.

Westin's Guide To Nonmagical Fighting

Current Identity

Robert Nishida, Japanese-American LAPD SWAT.
Technocrat Westin: CDC Special Warfare Group. Progenitor Damage Control.

GURPS Hilarity

I was really bored and found my copy of GURPS Mage: The Ascension. The results are hilarious.

Base: ST 16 [60], DX 18 [120], IQ 14 [80], HT 18 [80]

Perception +4 [20]
Will +5 [25]
Appearance (Attractive) [4]

Basic Subtotal: 389 pts

Advantages

Animal Empathy [5]
Avatar 4 [60]
Awareness [15]
Charisma +1 [5]
Combat Reflexes [15]
Common Sense [10]
Intuition [15]
Immune to Delirium [25]
Patron [15]
Spirit Empathy [10]
Very Fit [15]

Subtotal: 190 pts

Magery

Arete 4 [65]
Entropy Rank 3 [45]
Life Rank 3 [50]
Forces Rank 2 [30]
Spirit Rank 2 [30]

Subtotal: 220 pts

Magick Skills

Entropy 14 [8]
Life 14 [8]
Forces 14 [8]
Spirit 14 [8]

Subtotal: 32 pts

Disadvantages

Duty: Euthanatos, All the Time, Extremely Hazardous [-20]
Fanaticism [-15]
Nightmares [-5]
Secret: Non-Technocracy Mage [-30]

Subtotal: -70 pts

Languages

English (Native) [0]
Arabic (Native) [6]
Chinese (Native) [6]
Greek (Native) [6]
Japanese (Native) [6]

Subtotal: 24 pts

Skills

Acrobatics (18) [4]
Acting (16) [8]
Area Knowledge: Umbra (14) [1]
Boxing (17) [1]
Brawling (18) [1]
Computer Hacking (16) [16]
Computer Operation (16) [4]
Computer Programming (16) [12]
Climbing (17) [1]
Current Affairs (14) [1]
Criminology (13) [1]
Diagnosis (14) [4]
Diplomacy (16) [12]
Driving (Car) (17) [1]
Enigmas (12) [1]
Fast-Talk (16) [8]
Firearms:Pistol (18) [1]
Firearms:Rifle (18) [1]
First Aid (14) [1]
Jumping (18) [1]
Knife (17) [1]
Mechanic/Firearms (13) [1]
Meditation (11) [1]
Occultism (13) [1]
Physician (12) [1]
Poetry (13) [1]
Psychology (16) [12]
Research (13) [1]
Surgery (11) [1]
Shadowing (16) [8]
Shortsword (17) [1]
Survival: Umbra (13) [1]
Stealth (17) [1]
Strategy:Terrorism (14) [4]
Streetwise (13) [1]
Tactics (14) [4]
Teaching (13) [1]
Wrestling (17) [1]
Writing (13) [1]

Subtotal: 123 pts

Total

389 + 190 + 220 + 32 + 24 + 123 - 70 = 908 pts

Medium-Term Goals

  • Learn how to drive again. It's been a long, long while.
  • Reintegrate with humanity maybe. Maybe. Of course, it's nice to have a distance from them considering your job. Attachments are harsh when you know all things must end in time. Maybe you could fake it?
  • Stop putting it off, raid the Pharos's library and bone up on your Occult. Gotta pass the Chalice written exam (they do have a written exam right? The recruitment flyer is awfully nonspecific.)
  • Follow Cathy on an "archaelogical expedition" to find a mummy. Maybe she'll be marginally more sane after she does so.
  • Confront Tom Oneeagle. Guy needs some talking to.
  • Brawl 4, Occult 4, Enigmas or Melee 4. Start working on that omnicompetence!

Long Term Goals

  • Entropy 4, bless self to be lucky forever!
  • Life 4.
  • Firearms 5.

Fun With Spheres

  • Entropy is naturally subtle. Remember this in emergencies.

Entropy

  • Entropy 3/Mind 2 may be able to affect predictable responses to actions. (Requires Mind 2 but I kind of want to get it anyways.)
  • Entropy 3/Life 3 could affect autonomic physical reactions.
  • Entropy 2/Life 2 can alter random chance as applies to life (i.e. meeting strangers, etc.) to increase probabilities of certain results.
  • Entropy 3/Life 2: Affect predictable actions of living things. Guard movements, office shifts, et cetera.
  • Entropy 2/Forces 2: Random forces effects-target lightning and shrapnel, direction of the wind to blow fires in?

Life

  • Life 2 allows minor adaptations to mundane climate extremes, Life 3 can do it to other people.

Timeskip XP Things

Physical Structure Enhancement: Extra -0 Bruised HL + Soak Lethal/Aggravated w/full Stamina (2 pts/6 XP)
+1 permanent paradox
Backup 3: Mercenaries! (3 pts/9 XP?)
Allies ???: Operators Operating Operationally Team (variable XP)
Miscellaneous Wants
Ambidextrous: 3 XP
Tactics (Knowledge) 2: 4 XP
Hunter Book: Defender. Successes rolled on Tactics may be applied to increase initiative (1 success = 1 extra initiative die, take highest) or to shift difficulties on the first turn of action.
Athletics 4 (Parkour): 6 XP

Chalice XP Costs

5 skills required of: Dodge, Subterfuge, Stealth, Melee, Firearms, Technology, Enigmas, Occult at 4+.
Firearms 4 (0 XP) X
Stealth 4 (0 XP) X
Enigmas 4 (2 + 3 = 5 XP)
Occult 4 (2 + 3 = 5 XP)
Dodge 4 (0 XP) X
Melee 4 (6 XP)
Technology 4 (2 + 4 + 6 = 12 XP)
Subterfuge 4 (0 XP) X
PROGRESS: 4/5

Achievement

Cheapest method: Occult 4 (9), Enigmas 4 (6) for 15 XP cost, 7 skills raised (7 sessions or downtime needed).
Shortest method: Melee 4 (7), Occult 4 (9) for 16 XP cost, 5 skills raised (5 sessions or downtime needed).
Most roundabout method: Technology 4 (15), Subterfuge 4 (12), Occult 4 (9) for 36 XP cost, 12 skills raised (12 sessions or downtime needed).

Probably best to choose Occult/Enigmas/Dodge. Technology and Subterfuge are nice but totally extraneous.

Final Evaluation

Without Mentor/Library Discounts, Spirit 2 costs 10+8 (18) XP. 25 XP remains to fulfill Chalice requirements and any miscellaneous attributes/abilities desired.

Chalice Requirement skills/XP cost after any guaranteed discounts:

  • Melee 4 (4+3) [7] XP
  • Subterfuge 4 (4+6) [10] XP
  • Enigmas 4 (1+2+3) [6] XP
  • Occult 4 (3+1+2+3) [9] XP
  • Technology 4 (3+2+4+6) [15] XP

Miscellaneous Desired abilities and attributes:

  • Brawl 4 (3) [3] XP
  • Strength 4 (6) [6] XP
  • Stamina 5 (8) [8] XP
  • Appearance 4 (6) [6] XP
  • Perception 4 (12) [12] XP

Potential Combos

  • Stamina 5 + Occult 4 + Melee 4 (8 + 9 + 7 = 24 XP)
  • Enigmas 4 + Occult 4 + Technology 3 (6 + 9 + 9 = 24 XP)
  • Strength 4 + Melee 4 + Occult 4 + Brawl 4 (6 + 7 + 9 + 3 = 25 XP)
  • Perception 4 + Occult 4 + Enigmas 4 (12 + 6 + 9 = 27 XP, requires at least 2 XP saved from Mentor/Cathy's Library).

Spheres desired

Correspondence 2 (go into the internet, remote use of Mind 2/Entropy 2/Forces 2)
Mind 2 (mental shield, multitasking, affect predictable mental responses)
Matter 2 (conjunctional with Corr2 to teleport small items such as weapons, see through walls, etc)
Prime 3 (anti-magick)

Rotes

Aspect of Achilles (Life 3/Forces 2)-Anointing oneself with water as a sympathetic link to the River Styx, Life 3 is used to harden the skin against blows while Forces 2 saps their energy. Adds soak to the
Ultima Ratio (Entropy 1/Forces 2)-By zeroing and anointing a ranged weapon to a level of precision that would make the god Apollo proud of his servant, the god provides his favor by blessing a weapon so lovingly cared for beyond its normal ability. Entropy 1 senses weak points, Forces 2 increases kinetic energy, reducing attack/damage difficulties for gunshots. Variants could be used with blades (Ares, god of up close and personal warfare is an alternate aspect)
Athena's Boon (Entropy 1/Forces 1)-The goddess of warfare and wisdom (and wisdom in warfare) smiles on well-laid plans and those who execute them. The planning and prayers dedicated to this plan focus the mage's will on combat, reducing attack difficulties with a chosen weapon, and dodge difficulties against the same implement. An alternative, calling upon Ares, god of war, is used when well-laid plans fail and sheer unrelenting violence is the sole determinant of victory.
Armor of Nyx (Forces 2/Entropy 2)-The mage steps accepts the embrace of the goddess of night, whose shadowy arms envelop him or her, hiding the mage from the world. Shadows around the mage warp to aid his concealment, reducing stealth difficulties and increasing the difficulties of others to spot him.
Of Paths Left Untraveled (Entropy 1)-With the use of a dowsing rod or a meditative trance, the Mage accepts Apollo's gift of prophecy to see what is significant and what is not, or the best answer to a specific question. The dowsing variant is better used to acquire physical objects (like, say, a clue to a crime scene) while the meditative variant is more useful for questions.

Maneuvers

Or: How to end fights quickly and horribly maim people.

Neck Snap (Difficulty 9, Dex + Brawl, Damage Str + 3, opponent may add Strength to Stamina to soak, any unsoaked damage means the opponent's neck is broken: Instant death/incapacitation.)- C:tD 239
Joint Break (Difficulty 8, Dex + Brawl, Damage Str + 2, any unsoaked damage means the joint is shattered and limb is made useless)- C:tD 239
Tendon Slice (Difficulty 9, Requires Melee 4 + Dexterity 2, Dex + Melee, Damage [As Weapon], 2 HLs or more of damage mean a critical tendon is cut and a limb is rendered useless, is considered dishonorable by faerie nobles but who gives a shit about them?)- C:tD 240

Paradigm

Magic is the gift of the gods to those who have a major role to play in weaving the world's fate. Mages are heroes in the ancient sense, men of great power and prowess. Few are heroes in the modern sense, as power almost invariably comes with hubris, though. The blessings of the Greek gods and the blood of Zeus empowers Westin as it did with thousands of other heroes, granting him the strength and ability to accomplish heroic deeds.

Philosophy

Service is Magic

To use magic, a willworker must have will, and this will is provided by things greater than one man. Service is magic, for without an underlying philosophy more important than life, a mage cannot function. Magic is the gift to heroes and the just by the gods, a gift which should not be abused. To use magic correctly involves understanding that magic is not a right, it is a privilege, and those who are granted it are granted it for their ability to do great deeds. Ours is to tend the Wheel, to ensure that fate gets its due.

Great may not always mean good, but one must strive to do good in every task. Many mages choose to serve tasks easier than the tending of the Great Wheel, especially those known as the Fallen, who choose decay without rebirth because it is easier to sow chaos and destruction than to prune carefully. They are the antithesis of us, and all they do is cursed.


Life is Conflict

The Great Wheel is a cycle of death and rebirth. Those who are reborn are tested by life, and go on in death to be improved, their flaws removed in Acheron for them to attempt to get ever closer to Ascension. All life is conflict, whether it is the violent conflict of war or the conflict of friendly competition. Conflict is how ideas are refined, the forge from which all triumph and heroism springs.

Existence is War

A Hiercthonoi, therefore, is a warrior. But a warrior's battlefield is not merely the physical. One must be capable and willing to fight on any battlefield-physical, mental, ethical, electronic, spiritual. True warriors understand that any realm may be a battlefield, and as such they must always be ready to fight no matter where the opposition is. To be able to defend one's decisions against the harshest critics is a talent a warrior must be proficient at, just as much as the ability to defend one's ideals with blade or firearm.

Sacrifice is Necessity

Those who live in conflict must be willing to sacrifice for their moral code. A code which one is unwilling to back with one's life is irrelevant. It is not a code, just a lie one sells to himself via self-deception.

Ethics

  • The world is just-fate intervenes to remove the unjust. As an agent of fate, your task is to remove the unjust. Accepting magic is accepting this task.
  • The mage is heroic-all willworkers are granted this power as the agents of greater powers. We are heroes, blessed with the ability to do great deeds and transform the world. As an agent of fate, your deed is to ensure that the world is transformed for the better.
  • Hatred is poisonous-to hate is to lose onself in rage, lashing out unthinking. To hate is to justify any atrocity, actions against one's ethical code, because of hate. The Hiercthonoi cannot hate those he kills, for to hate your target makes killing them into pleasure. Death should always be something to regret,
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