The Angel of

Mercy
By Sam Chupp

On the turning away

From the pale and downtrodden
And the words they say
which we don’t understand —
don’t accept that what’s happening
is just a case of others’ suffering
or you’ll find that you’re joining in
the turning away.

— Pink Floyd, “The Turning Away”

Theme Note that this scenario is meant to be placed directly in

your chronicle’s main city. You should supply any necessary
The theme of “The Angel of Mercy” is one common to
information about pertinent objects, landmarks and other
many Mage stories: things aren’t always what they seem —
places (such as nightclubs).
even the name of the story! The angel of the title has nothing
to do with mercy: “Mercy” is a corruption of “Mercille,” the
village from which it hails. The story itself displays many Plot
instances of the theme, not the least of which is that the The characters become involved in a major struggle, one
angelic statue imprisons a major demon. in which both the Nephandi and the Technocracy have a
stake. Most characters will probably be marked for termina-
Mood tion by the Pogrom as a result of the story. During the
playtesting of this scenario, two of the characters were
The mood of the story is one of tension, fear and
marked by the Technomancers, while the other three nar-
conflicting obligations. On the one hand, the characters are
rowly avoided the Men in Black.
in danger of being caught by the Technocracy. On the other
hand, they have an obligation to stop a major malevolent
force from entering the world.

The Angel of Mercy 1

 Background
In A.D. 1171, the Celestial Chorus was still a forces, who used it as a focus for his practice of ritual torture
highly secret order, operating on the fringes of upon prisoners.
the Church and battling the corrupting forces When France was liberated and the former owners of the
of the Nephandi. The Order of Hermes had manse returned, the statue seemed like a vicious reminder of
already begun to fall prey to the malefic powers, the terrible past. The Church was requested to aid in discov-
and it now fell to the Disciples of the Chorus to ering who owned it and where it belonged. No record of the
deal with them on a case-by-case basis. statue’s true origin remained, so the statue was transported to
The Val du Bosque area of Provençal, adorn the Notre Dame Cathedral in Strasbourg.
France, was once a stronghold of Celestial Unknown to the Chorus, the Angel of Mercille was
Chorus activity. In particular, the Cathar “heretics” of the traced by Johann Landouer and Thor Nordsen, two Odinists
region sheltered many a wandering Choirmage, unknowingly from the Iron Circle research group who had escaped the war-
serving the Celestial Light in the process. Was it pure coinci- crimes trials with coincidental magick. They had received
dence that later, in the 11th century, when a greater demon information from demons and malefic spirits that the statue
was accidentally released by curious mages of the Order of was an Infernal object of great power and even greater value.
Hermes, several Choristers were in the area, visiting their The Church was very distrustful of these two obviously Aryan
Cathari brethren? Perhaps... In any event, their presence was figures attempting to purchase an old Italian statue of an
a boon, for they lured the hungry demon down the road to a angel, and their efforts to obtain the angel met with contin-
stronghold of their power: the Church of St. Martin in nearby ued failure.
Mercille. There, in a collective effort, and only through the
greatest of sacrifices, they imprisoned the horrible thing within
a statue made of purest white marble — a statue given by the The Statue Today
Pope to the church in honor of St. Martin. It was a statue of a Michael Wellington, a fairly successful real-estate devel-
beautiful Seraph, wings unfurled and face cast downward, oper in the area, has opened the “Angel Fountain Mall” on
looking vigilant and a little pensive. The demon was deemed the site of a failed downtown shopping area that had been
too powerful to consider banishing, and the Choristers be- closed for the last 20 years. Despite its pretty name, the mall
lieved imprisonment within the statue would prevent the itself retains much of the ambience of an old, abandoned
demon from doing further mischief. building — certainly a different kind of shopping environ-
The statue was placed in the nave of the church and ment. The capstone of the renovation effort, and the namesake
continually watched by the Choristers, who soon made it a of the mall, is the recently acquired Angel of Mercille.
habit to stop by Mercille every time they were near. Habit The Church was forced to auction off some of its older
became tradition, tradition became custom, and soon the and less famous statuary to finance the renovation of the
original meaning behind the “Pilgrimage to Mercille” was lost. cathedral in Strasbourg. Wellington, on vacation in France
As time passed, and as the imprisoned demon caused no at that time, was seized with the concept of making the
trouble, the lore surrounding the statue was likewise lost. The ancient Italian statue the centerpiece for a new shopping
power of the Church’s Dominion still served to weaken the complex. He purchased the statue before the auction even
malefic creature trapped within the statue. began and had it shipped to the United States on his own
private jet.
Then came the Technocracy. This group of mages rose to
power with such swiftness that the Chorus was forced to Spirits set to watch the angel immediately alerted the
forsake all but the strongest of their Nodes, setting their Iron Circle, whose descendants still secretly practiced their
Chantries high in the Umbra to avoid Reason’s crushing grip. Odinist rituals in Berlin. Plans were made to send some
The statue, long forgotten, was left in the little church of St. members of the Circle to America to procure the angel. Kjarl
Martin in Mercille. In 1942, when Hitler’s men swarmed the Nordsen, Thor Nordsen’s son, flew to America to meet with
French countryside seeking ancient holy relics and artifacts, Wellington, who patently refused to part with his relic, even
the statue was uprooted and brought to Paris for inspection by turning down Kjarl’s offer of a professionally done replica in
the Führer’s band of Odinist diabolists, the Iron Circle. The addition to payment.
diabolists were puzzled by this obviously Catholic statue that Kjarl left in disgust, but vowed that “nothing good would
seemed to emanate a very powerful malefic power when closely come of Wellington’s foolish decision.” A year passed, and the
examined. incident was forgotten. The Angel Fountain Mall grew and
After D-Day, the Führer could no longer afford the luxury prospered, and many architectural journals shot photo spreads
of experimental ritual magicians, and the Iron Circle was of the atrium where the angel was located.
disbanded. The statue was taken to a manse in Strasbourg. The prosperity was not to last. Beginning the next Hal-
It fell into the hands of a major in the German occupation loween, there was a rash of murders in the mall area. These

2 Mage Storyteller’s Screen

slayings were so violent and vicious that Wellington hired a
full-time security patrol in order to quell the fears of both the
merchants and the local consumers. Unknown to Wellington,
these murders were committed by one of Kjarl’s operatives, a
gangster named Marko who flew to America for just that
purpose. The murders were ritually performed in order to
enchant the ground around the mall, thus preparing it for the
major ritual to be performed during the coming spring. By
February of the very next year the Angel Fountain Mall had
become the favored hangout of several gangs. Even the secu-
rity force found itself outnumbered by the street gangs. A few
gang fights made the front page of the paper, and Angel
Fountain Mall began losing customers and merchants one by
one.
It is now spring of the same year.

Preludes &
Nocturnes
“Angel of Mercy” is a story that requires a proper
introduction. In order to convey its full effect, you must
foreshadow the events of this story. One way you can do
this is by giving hints to your players that “something is up”
through character interaction and story elements. Below is a
list of possible foreshadowing techniques you can use to
introduce the story:
1. An Order of Hermes mage might discover an ancient
tome containing references to the Forest of Moaning Oaks in
the Val du Bosque region of France, and to a foolish group of
mages who tampered with powerful magicks that restrained a
demon of great power. Nothing is recorded about the fate of
those mages.
2. A Hollow One mage might be laying out a Gothic
Tarot spread, or zoning out listening to Fields of the Nephilim,
and get a vision of a terrible demon from Hell who seeks to
consume all. Of course, her reaction might simply be to write
a poem about it, or say nothing at all.
3. A Dreamspeaker mage might dream about a great,
blood-saturated worm that dwells in the earth and spews its
spittle into the underground rivers that feed the rivers of the
world. Make this dream real and lifelike. Play it as if it is really
happening to the character.
4. A Euthanatos mage might be passing near Angel
Fountain Mall and feel an aura of pure Entropy emanate from
it. The mage may be attracted by the water in the fountain,
which seems to have some small amount of Quintessence in it.
The mage might also be attracted to the fountain as a potential
Node of Entropy.
5. A Celestial Chorus mage might be attracted to the
subject matter of the angel if she sees it in the papers. Perhaps
the Chorister’s own guardian angel/spirit appears to her in a
dream and tries to warn her of the great evil in the mall. Of
course, this might be misconstrued as a prohibition versus

The Angel of Mercy 3

greed, avarice or commerce, but that’s up to the player and how interrupted by the feeling of disquiet in the area. His inner calm
you decide to portray the spirit’s message. An interesting story might become a casualty if he spends any time at the mall at all.
could develop if the player learned that European Choristers He may begin to sense the unbalancing energies build.
knew of the demon in the statue and simply sold the item so 9. An Ecstasy Cultist will already know a lot about Angel
they would not have to deal with the demon themselves. Fountain Mall because he will probably have visited there
6. A Son of Ether character may only become interested many times. Indeed, with its knowledge of Time, the Cult of
in the story once the water begins to bleed. However, you Ecstasy has the best chance to decipher the mystery of the
could have the Son of Ether mage get tipped off that “some- statue by tracing its presence back through time and learning
thing is up” when one of his covalence (Quintessence) about its past.
meters starts bleeping loudly. 10. The Virtual Adepts will be the most difficult to get
7. A Verbena mage, once things get started, might be involved in the story. However, once the story gets started,
contacted by the spirit of Dylanoor, the ancient Druid who they will very much want to be on the scene — if for no other
originally banished the demon. Dylanoor may be able to help reason than the fact that one of their own, a potential Virtual
the Verbena spiritually throughout the story. Adept, plays a part in the second “act” of the story. She’s a
8. The Akashic Brotherhood might take an interest in television news reporter who, as part of being exposed to the
the gangs in the area, or in the Entropic energies that seem to energies around the fountain, is Awakened and discovers her
be building in the mall. A Brother’s meditations might be own ability to channel Correspondence and Forces.

Chapter One:
Fighting the Darkness
a neo-Nazi Satanist group, he will also be harassed. Even the
Scene One: bouncers don’t do much; they are obviously intimidated.

A Night Out The characters can easily avoid any entanglements with
the Blood Lords if that’s what they wish to do, and nothing will
Plot: The first scene of this story involves some happen to them if they do: the Blood Lords are under orders
of the more club-oriented characters (probably from their leaders not to cause too much trouble. The best way
Hollow Ones, Cultists of Ecstasy, Verbena, to avoid trouble with them is to do what they say: leave the club
Dreamspeakers or Euthanatos mages) at a local if they want you to leave the club. Only if one of the characters
nightclub. They may be enjoying themselves uses magick directly on the Blood Lords will the leader, Marko,
for a change or may be at the club for ulterior get involved.
reasons.
Marko is a huge, hulking gangster. Marko wears a Talis-
At some point in the evening, the club is man, a chain of iron that grants him three extra dice to any
overrun by red-jacketed goons. The gang mem- Willpower roll to defeat a direct magickal attack. It also grows
bers all look vaguely Aryan and, from the swastikas and cold when magick is used near it. If he detaches it from his
inverted pentagrams on their jackets, it’s not hard to discern neck, he can use it as a weapon; it inflicts aggravated damage
(Intelligence + (Occult or Streetwise); difficulty 4) that they (this does not negate the protection). Finally, the chain
are some kind of neo-Nazi Satanist group. The gang’s name, allows Marko to contact his master, Kjarl Nordsen. This takes
“The Blood Lords,” is emblazoned on the jackets. The charac- a turn’s concentration, whereupon a conjunctional Corre-
ters may suspect that these gangsters have some kind of spondence/Mind effect alerts Kjarl that Marko requests
vampiric ties, but a Perception + Awareness roll (difficulty 7; attention. Kjarl is normally very good about checking on his
two successes needed) does not reveal the traditional signa- servant immediately.
tures that are associated with the Kindred. All of the Blood
Marko is skilled in the techniques used by Japanese
Lords radiate a certain dark presence, even though it isn’t
wielders of the manriki-gusari. These techniques allow him
readily discernible via magick or Awareness.
to negate an opponent’s dodge successes by removing dice
Most of the characters will be ignored by the gang from his own Dice Pool on a one-for-one basis.
members; however, the character who has the lowest Ap-
Once Marko detects the use of magick, he looks around
pearance rating will be harassed. She will be ordered to leave
the room, using his Awareness to discover the mage or mages
the club immediately: “We don’t want no warthogs in here!”
who used magick. Marko notices all of the characters, display-
Furthermore, if one of the characters is an obvious target for
ing a perceptible reaction as he turns and looks at them.

4 Mage Storyteller’s Screen

Checking Marko Out In any case, Kjarl’s reaction to the characters is the same:
he orders his operatives out of the area.
Unknown to the players, Marko is receiving special
If it seems to you, the Storyteller, that Marko and his six
information from the Iron Circle mage Kjarl Nordsen through
gangsters are outnumbered by the characters, Kjarl tells
a Mind and Correspondence effect. As soon as Marko scans
Marko to retreat with his gang to a more secure location and
the room and recognizes the presence of several mages, he will
not to provoke the mages further. They immediately leave
use his Talisman to contact Kjarl. During the brief commu-
the club, most likely prompting pursuit by some of the more
nication between the two, the characters may note that
aggressive mages. They will not attempt combat unless they
Marko’s eyes glow a soft red. One of the characters may wish
are followed into the rooftops. If the gangsters are not
to know more about Kjarl and focus her Awareness on him.
followed, go to Scene Three.
A roll of Perception + Awareness (difficulty 8) allows the
character to see the Mind energies whirling around Marko’s Kjarl sees the characters as a threat to his entire opera-
head — in addition, the following information can be gleaned: tions in the city, and if they appear weak, he orders his
operatives to withdraw, hopefully luring the mages into the
Successes Information
relatively unpopulated streets. There, Marko and his gang can
One Marko is a brash, hateful, deadly man who
conduct a game of cat-and-mouse on the rooftops while Kjarl
has no respect for human life. There is a
“tunes in” with Correspondence effects.
certain amount of true magick around him.
Two Marko has encountered the occult more Marko
than has your average gangster. He could A neo-Nazi diabolist gangster Acolyte
perhaps be a mage himself.
Attributes: Strength 5, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3,
Three Marko has been involved with some kind Charisma 4, Manipulation 2, Appearance 2, Percep-
of ritual magick in the past. He is familiar tion 4, Intelligence 2, Wits 4
with true magick to some degree.
Abilities: Athletics 4, Awareness 2, Brawl 4,
Four The chain around Marko’s neck is imbued Dodge 4, Intuition I, Intimidation 4, Streetwise 4,
with power from some Entropic force. Subterfuge 4, Drive 2, Firearms 3, Leadership 4, Me-
Five Marko is in league with a powerful mage, lee 3, Stealth 2, Survival 3, Law 1, Medicine l,
who is obviously an Adept or Master in Occult 3
Mind, Entropy, and maybe Forces. Al- Backgrounds: Contacts 3, Allies 1, Mentor 3 (Kjarl)
though Marko himself is not a mage, he is
Willpower 9
definitely an Acolyte of one.
Image: Marko is an immense, Aryan-looking man with a
Note: You should read the information in order from
swastika branded into his shoulder. He looks a bit like Arnold
one success to the number of successes your player receives.
Schwarzenegger, except for his shockingly white hair. He
This simulates the slow revelation of the information and
wears a black leather vest and black leather pants; chrome
how it changes as the mage’s Awareness focuses.
spikes decorate both. His immense chain is always near him.
Roleplaying Notes: Marko is cold, frigid, icy. He lets
Kjarl's Instructions nothing rattle him. Even the sight of a powerful vulgar
If Marko and his gangsters do not seem outnumbered by magick will not shake him. He is like a human shark. He is not
the characters, Kjarl tells Marko to close with one of the incredibly bright, but very cunning. His laughter is a terrible
players. Kjarl then tries, using Correspondence 2 and Mind 3, thing to hear, and he only smiles at cruelty. In battle he has
to discern who and what she is with a psychic scan. Kjarl’s a tendency to hum “Mein Deutschland Uber Alles” under his
Arete is 6. breath.
Characters with at least one dot in both the Mind and Background: Marko was a street punk that Kjarl be-
Correspondence Spheres will immediately notice the magick, friended on his last trip to America. Kjarl was impressed by
and may attempt countermagick. the boy’s tenacity and willpower, and Marko jumped at the
Characters without the Mind and/or Correspondence chance to visit the Fatherland. When Kjarl could not arrange
Spheres may roll Perception + Awareness (difficulty 6, or 8 to purchase the angel, he returned to Germany, this time with
if neither Sphere is possessed) to detect the Mind magick Marko, who left his beloved Blood Lords behind. A year later,
being coincidentally cast at them. Three successes on any of after witnessing the secret rituals of the Iron Circle and
these rolls also detect the fact that Correspondence magick realizing the power that Kjarl and his brethren wielded,
is involved in the effect. Of course, the mage can do little to Marko readily agreed to serve Kjarl in his next mission to
resist except roll Willpower. If the effect takes hold, a smart America. It was a simple matter to locate the (disintegrating)
player may request to roll Intelligence + Meditation (difficulty Blood Lords and resume his control, especially with the new
9) in hopes of “blanking” his thoughts to the scan, thus swastika brand and iron chain he had received as a partial
preventing the invader from learning anything of value. initiation into the Iron Circle. Now he and his gang are in
thrall to the Darkness. What Kjarl does not know is that his

The Angel of Mercy 5

pact demon has also begun recruiting the loyalty of Marko via
dreams and secret mental whisperings: the demon is grooming
Scene Two:
Marko to replace Kjarl should he fail. Fight among the
The Blood Lords, Marko's Gang Rooftops
Twenty-two members strong (only six are with him
Plot: The gangsters take to the rooftops via various
tonight):
ladders and fire escapes, hoping to draw the characters in
Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2, Cha- pursuit.
risma 2, Manipulation 2, Appearance 2, Perception 2,
Action: The gangsters leave the club and Marko flashes
Intelligence 2, Wits 3
the characters a taunting smile. You may even wish to have
Abilities: Athletics 2, Alertness 2, Brawl 3, Dodge 3, him mouth some insult to one of the more aggressive mages.
Streetwise 3, Drive 1, Firearms 3, Melee 2, Law 1, Medicine 1 Then he leaves. The characters may decide not to follow him:
(plus one other Talent or Skill at 2) this is fine. Go on to Scene Three. If they do follow, however,
Willpower 5 they make it outside just in time to see the gang climbing over
Equipment: They are armed with chains, tonfas, knives, the ledge of the roof of the club, and Marko flipping himself
Colt Anacondas and other common handguns (although over the lip of the rooftop from a fire escape ladder.
one has a Glock 20, a present from Marko when he returned The gangsters then go into hiding. The mages may have
from Germany). difficulty climbing in pursuit: there is a fire escape nearby but
Notes: The Blood Lords have sworn their lives to Marko, reaching it requires a Dexterity + Athletics roll (difficulty 7;
and they’ll do pretty much whatever he says. They have two successes required to jump and grab it so that it comes
begun to think of themselves as “an elite urban fighting force down). Various vulgar and coincidental effects may be used
for the Führer” and that’s how they act: like soldiers in a war to ascend the building.
zone. Once on the roof, the characters may roll Perception +
Alertness (difficulty 5; two successes inform them that the
gang is waiting in hiding, and allow them to roll Wits +
Alertness for initiative to begin a combat). If they make no
threatening moves, the gangsters explode out of hiding. Most

6 Mage Storyteller’s Screen

of them carry handguns and various street weapons: chains, Kjarl lives, all about the Iron Circle, and that Kjarl is on the
tonfas and sharp knives. verge of summoning a major demon. Marko doesn’t know
Marko will wade into melee, wielding his chain. The anything about the angel, although he has heard Kjarl curse a
point of this combat is not to kill all the mages, although if that man named Wellington under his breath a few times. If given
happens, Kjarl will be pleased. Kjarl knows that if he can a chance, Marko will kill himself rather than divulge this
provoke the mages enough, they will cast vulgar magick, thus information, and pain does nothing to cajole him: he just grits
attracting the presence of Paradox spirits, and, eventually, his teeth and bears it. He will attempt to spit on any Celestial
the Technocracy. Then he will lead the Technocracy to the Chorus mage, especially if he thinks that mage is a priest.
characters’ Chantry, or wherever they are, and allow the If Marko suddenly vanishes, the gang members flee to the
Pogrom to do his work for him. Wise characters (and players) best of their ability. It shouldn’t be too hard for the characters
will try to avoid this conflict if possible. to catch one. Unfortunately, the gang members yield consid-
If the fight is going poorly for the Lords, or if Marko is erably less information than Marko would have. All they know
gravely injured, Kjarl will attempt to cast an effect on Marko is that Marko sometimes calls someone for “marching orders,”
using his Spirit and Correspondence Spheres. This effect will that Marko received his chain from some secret society in
shift Marko into the Umbra, where one of Kjarl’s evil spirits Germany, and that he left the country a year ago to go to
can carry him back to Kjarl’s hotel room. If the characters have Germany. They know that Marko has some kind of power,
the ability to shift into the Umbra, they will have to fight the which they attribute to satanic rituals from this same cult.
spirit in order to prevent Marko’s escape (see Kjarl’s statistics
for the statistics of his servitor demons).
Note: You should realize that this is one of the places in
Finishing the Chapter
Your characters should finish this chapter with more
the scenario where a group of smart players can conceivably questions than answers. They should be intrigued that a mage
track Marko back to Kjarl’s hotel. Kjarl’s statistics are pro- is backing some human gang member, and might even have
vided in the back: he is a formidable foe, and his servitor gained considerable information about the Iron Circle from
demons aren’t much to sneeze at. Be careful of letting your Marko.
characters get this far, because they may bite off more than
By the way, if Marko is captured, you will either need to
they can chew.
integrate his rescue into the next chapter, or save that
If Marko can be captured alive and separated from his particular story element for one of your own stories. You may
chain (remember, it is a sympathetic Talisman for Kjarl, and simply assume Kjarl decides that Marko isn’t worth the
he can use Correspondence magick in a vulgar fashion to continued effort (he is a very busy man!). If so, this is where
teleport Marko out of there if things get too bad), he might Marko leaves the story, unless the characters want him to be
reveal much information if the characters are ingenious a part of things.
enough to break his will. Marko can tell the characters where

Chapter Two:
Blood in the Fountain
Plot: In this chapter, the players confront and
deal with the problem of the fountain in the Scene One:
mall, which suddenly begins to ooze blood.
They must also face a subsequent conflict with Secrets of Angel
the Technocracy.
Fountain
Plot: The characters are visiting the Angel Fountain Mall
Background for some reason, or perhaps they see a Blood Lord outside the
This chapter takes place two weeks after Chap- mall. They run into the Blood Lords again — they have been
ter One. Kjarl has spent the time in preparation scribing ancient symbols on the pillars surrounding the foun-
for a series of rituals that will destroy the wards binding the tain in the mall.
greater demon within the statue. Kjarl then hopes to bind the Notes: The area of the mall surrounding the fountain is
demon to him and return to the Iron Circle Chantry. In the considered to have a Paradox rating of 1. Note that Wellington,
meantime, it is just as well that the statue is located within a the developer and owner of the mall, is under constant
mall, where the Technocracy will most likely interfere with surveillance by the Syndicate. Any untoward happenings
any do-gooders trying to stop his activities. (strange vulgar magick effects) that take place in the mall will

The Angel of Mercy 7

 ling the Runes, below). Other information about the runes can
Paradox Zones be gained through making Perception + Occult rolls (difficulty
This chapter focuses on areas called Paradox 6) and referring to the following chart:
Zones, places with a higher “background count” of Successes Information
Paradox spirits in the area Each Paradox Zone has a One The runes appear to be foci for conjunc-
Paradox rating, which indicates the number of addi- tional magick.
tional dice rolled to determine the effects of Paradox. Two The runes apparently operate within static
Whenever a mage casts magick within a Paradox Zone, reality.
these dice are rolled in addition to the other dice that Three The runes are set up to receive outside
the mage rolls for the effect. The “successes” and Quintessence from a specific, as yet un-
“failures” scored with these dice do not affect the roll, known source.
but any 1’s rolled are counted, and thus subtract from Four The runes are foci that direct Quintessence
the mage’s successes. These dice thus also increase the through a pattern which in turn “flavors”
chance of a botch. It is very risky to cast vulgar magick the Quintessence and channels it out of the
within a Paradox Zone. pattern.
You may choose to incorporate Paradox Zones Five The runes also interconnect with each
into your chronicle in any place that captures humanity’s other, forming a six-pointed star pattern, as
attention (especially in a place where many video well as a hexagonal shape. The whole acts
cameras are filming, such as the scene of an accident or as a sort of “circuit” that is supposed to
crime), and where Paradox is more likely to occur. process an intense amount of Quintessence
simultaneously. This Quintessence should
be instantly reported to the Syndicate, who will most likely arrive from the use of a Correspondence
report in turn to more aggressive, magick-oriented Conven- and Prime effect.
tions such as the New World Order or Iteration X. Once they carve the runes, the Blood Lords flee the scene,
Action: The characters notice the familiar red jackets of running through maintenance doors into the superstructure of
the Blood Lords on several of the boys who hang out around the
mall: apparently their popularity has grown of late. Have them
roll Perception + Alertness (difficulty 6) to determine whether Dispelling the Runes
they notice the gangsters scratching strange symbols on the The runes provide a focus for the energies of the
marble pillars that face the angel. ward-breaking ritual and are thus essential to its comple-
Each Blood Lord does so with relative finesse, while the tion. However, they have been scribed using one-shot
other kids stand in front to hide what the Blood Lord is doing. Talismans that were carefully crafted by the Iron
The runes aren’t deep, but they are visible to characters in Circle for Kjarl’s (and the Blood Lords’) use. These
close proximity to the statue. Talismans look like iron spikes with diamond tips, and
If the mages try to disrupt the proceedings, the Blood the Quintessence within them is discharged as soon as
Lords attempt to delay the characters while the remaining they were applied to the marble. The runes were simple
runes are carved. Three runes have already been carved. The enough for the Blood Lords to remember.
Blood Lords scratch out one more every round. Unless the The runes are created with a magickal effect using
players act very quickly, the gangsters complete the runes in Spirit 4, Prime 4, Correspondence 3, Entropy 3, Life 3
the time it takes the mages to close and divert them. When and Matter 3 (see The Metaphysics of Ward Breaking
the last scratch is carved, all characters within the area insert below). Four points of Quintessence are used in
defined by the geometry of the runes (basically, all the mages the creation of each rune; this Quintessence fuels the
in the area near the fountain) feel a shiver and sense faint magickal pattern created by the scratch. In order to
emanations of Entropy and Correspondence magick. This is dispel a rune, a mage must “attack” it with a conjunc-
the first part of the ward-breaking ritual. tional effect of equal power, and attain four successes
The physicality of the runes no longer matters. In fact, on the casting roll. This procedure must be followed for
characters can sense (via Awareness) that the magick in the each of the runes! All runes must be erased to negate
runes will remain even if they smooth the runes over, thus the effects, and this will probably have to be accom-
“erasing” them. The magick is not so easily erased (see Dispel- plished with vulgar magick, because each of the runes
is firmly ensconced in reality. Beginning mages won’t
have a chance of dispelling the runes, but that’s okay
because they have a second chance to stop the ward-
breaking — they can thwart the second part of the
ritual.

8 Mage Storyteller’s Screen

 The Metaphysics of
Ward-Breaking
Kjarl’s conjunctional effect is designed to do
several things at once, culminating in the release of
the demon from the statue. The effect requires Corre-
spondence because it is being cast at a distance, and it
requires Prime because raw Quintessence is necessary
to break the power of the ward imprisoning the
demon. The Spirit Sphere aids in the re-formation of
the demon’s spiritual body. The Matter and Life
Spheres govern the blood, which gives the demon a
physical focus with which to form a material body.
Finally, the Entropy effect erodes the static pattern
that holds the demon, while simultaneously fueling
the demon’s negative energies.

the mall. They descend access stairways into maintenance

tunnels that eventually connect to underground sewers. Of
course, the mages may once again pursue them.
The Lords are here to make the runes and leave as soon as
possible, not to waste time in unnecessary fights. The statistics
for these gangsters are identical to those of the Blood Lords in
Chapter One. They will, of course, fight if pursued too far.

Scene Two:
Bloody Sunday
Plot: The following scene takes place several days after
the rune-carving incident. In the interim, your characters
may want to research the situation. Refer to the Researching the
Fountain section, below, if characters pursue this course. The
characters may have posted watchers at the mall by this time.
They should be expecting trouble at the fountain sometime
soon. If characters take no precautions, they will discover the
situation much later, perhaps even on the evening news.
Otherwise, as soon as the mall opens, the characters’ watcher
notices the plywood barrier, and may even manage to peek
around it. If she does, she receives a shocking sight. The
fountain is spewing torrents of blood.

Timeline for the

Blood Fountain
12:00 a.m., early Sunday morning: The second part of
the ritual, which takes approximately 36 hours, begins in
Kjarl’s hotel room. The channeled Quintessence from the
ritual fouls the water and turns it bloody. Onsite security
workers don’t notice the water because the lights are off in the
area of the fountain.

The Angel of Mercy 9

 11:30 a.m., Sunday morning: The Syndicate’s agents
Researching the arrive just as the plywood barrier is finished and the cleansing
of the fountain is nearly complete. They inspect the area and
Fountain determine that it poses a high reality threat: the area is
You may wish to provide your characters ample definitely magickal.
time between chapters to research the fountain. Below 12:00 p.m., Sunday afternoon: The mall opens. The
is the information your characters should easily un- plywood barrier goes largely unnoticed. The angel’s head is
cover if they perform at least a cursory information visible just above the wall.
search. 5:00 p.m., Sunday evening: The mall closes. The mainte-
1. The Angel of Mercy was once the Angel of nance crew, having spent the day scrubbing the bloody walls
Mercille, a village in France. The angel used to be in of the fountain area, refills the pool and restarts the fountain.
the Strasbourg Cathedral of Notre Dame. Prior to that, The water is once again clear. The plywood barrier then comes
it was in the village of Mercille, specifically in the down. Wellington has promised bonuses to them and threat-
chapel of St. Martin, a local saint. ened to fire anyone who goes to the media with the story: the
2. Characters with Verbena or Celestial Chorus workers aren’t interested in losing their jobs. The New World
ties have a chance to learn that the angel was the focus Order arrives on the scene and takes stock of the situation:
of a powerful ritual intended to bind a major demon posing as a security specialty firm and an environmental
within it. It is possible that the demon is still awake cleanup corporation, its agents get carte blanche from Wellington
within the statue, even after centuries of imprison- and set up operations using the existing security stations. The
ment. normal security crew gets the time off with pay, and will
You may wish to give players more information continue to do so during the time that the New World Order
based on Research rolls and Abilities like Culture (to is in charge. The Men in Black now patrol the area, much to
learn about the Iron Circle and other such Nazi the chagrin of any character mages in the area.
occultist groups), Cosmology (to conclude that a 6:00 p.m.—10:00 p.m., Sunday evening: Jorge Hernandez,
demon cannot simply manifest on Earth, but must be one of the maintenance workers involved in the project, has
given physical form in some way — maybe true, maybe very little to lose by going to the media, and a lot to gain. He
not, but this is the answer the Knowledge reveals), calls an “Eyewitness Newsline” phone number and contacts
Occult (a host of information, including the fact that Jody Kramer, a brand-new cub reporter. Mr. Hernandez reports
each Nordic rune represents one of the following the bloody fountain and offers to let Ms. Kramer look at his
Spheres: Correspondence, Entropy, Prime, Spirit, Life, blood-soaked overalls. Although Ms. Kramer is at first skepti-
and Matter), Awareness and Intuition. cal, the stains on the overalls register as human blood, type O
A Virtual Adept should be able to hack into the negative. A quick police check clears Mr. Hernandez of any
Angel Fountain Mall’s main computer, where she previous wrongdoing. Kramer attempts to reach Mr. Wellington
might be able to obtain more information about the on the phone for comment, but he is not available. Ms. Kramer
fountain and the events of Scene Two. persuades the news supervisor to issue her a video camera: she
A Celestial Chorus mage will note that the En- is to shoot her own footage — in the supervisor’s mind the story
tropic energies around the statue are particularly does not even merit a cameraman’s time.
Infernal, and that the spiritual guardian bound to 9:00 a.m., Monday morning: The mall opens. The foun-
the statue (the actual angel within it) is slowly being tain remains clear. Wellington relaxes, but his New World
banished. Order “environmental cleanup specialists” say that they
should stay on site for the next day or so “just in case.”
12:00 p.m., Monday afternoon: During the middle of
9:00 a.m., Sunday morning: The mall is not yet open for lunch rush, to a crowd of 500 spectators eating in the area
business. Maintenance workers arrive to find the water in the around the fountain, the waters suddenly and without warn-
fountain stained crimson. The shift manager of the mall calls ing gush crimson. The angel statue itself begins to cry tears of
Mr. Wellington as soon as he can. blood. Panic grips the consumers, and the Technomancers are
10:30 a.m., Sunday morning: Mr. Wellington returns the incredibly angry.
shift manager’s call, and orders the pool drained and cleaned. 12:10 p.m., Monday afternoon: Hernandez telephones
Because this will take a while, and the mall is scheduled to open Kramer, who is in the process of labeling video archives at the
promptly at 12:00 noon, Wellington orders a temporary ply- time. Kramer grabs a video camera and drives to the mall in
wood wall to be erected around the fountain. The Syndicate’s her own car. Arriving before any other reporters, she is able
surveillance on Wellington records the conversation and to interview bystanders and get excellent shots of the bloody
dispatches agents to investigate. fountain before the Men in Black show up to shut her down.
The Men in Black, temporarily diverted by the arrival of other

10 Mage Storyteller’s Screen

news crews, are unable to gain possession of Kramer’s poten-
tially damning videotape.
It is at this point that the characters get involved in the
story, unless they had “watchers” case the place.
Action: The characters arrive at the mall soon after
hearing about the bloody fountain on the news. They instantly
notice the presence of the Men in Black and the fact that the
Paradox Zone is now 3.
They arrive to a scene of relative chaos. A group of
maintenance workers struggles to erect the plywood barrier,
even as herds of people try to collect the bloody water in
glasses, vials, bowls, fast-food paper cups and whatever else is
available. Many believe that the bloody water is a sign from
the Divine, and assume that the water has miraculous powers.
Add to this news crews from all the city’s media, and the Men
in Black frantically attempting “damage control,” and the
scene becomes tumultuous indeed.
Woe be unto the characters if the Men in Black detect
the presence of mages: they will instantly be blamed for the
whole thing, which is just as Kjarl wants it. See Taking the
Blame, below.
The ratio of blood to water is swiftly increasing. When the
water is completely transubstantiated, the demon within the
statue will be released. See Stopping the Blood, below.

Scene Three: Taking

the Blame
Plot: The Men in Black, upon detecting the characters as
mages, instantly assume that they are the cause of the magickal
effect. A HIT Mark (see the Mage rulebook) from Iteration X
will be translocated to the area to deal with the characters. Of
course, the characters are under the brief protection of the
network news cameras that constantly sweep the area. The
New World Order and Iteration X do not want to be on
national television. Still, the Technomancers try to scare the
characters away from the cameras by informing them of their
doom and the like.
Action: Whenever a character is near a television, radio,
computer, digital sign, or even something as small as a digital
watch, the Technomancers use the device as a communica-
tion channel to interrogate the character about the blood
fountain. Of course, Sleepers are unable to hear the
Technomancers’ Mind-based communication. The
Technomancers do not believe the characters if they claim
innocence for the blood effect. The Technomancers demand
that the characters cease the effect. If the characters continue
to protest that they don’t have anything to do with it, the
Technomancers demand that they aid the Technocracy in
stopping the effect. Of course, this is a very dangerous
proposition, for all magick is dangerous in this area.
If the characters do not try to stop the effect, the Technoc-
racy assumes that they are the cause of it and sends a Pogrom
in their direction to “neutralize” them. If the characters try to
stop the effect, but fail, the Men in Black record the characters’

The Angel of Mercy 11

identities and place a “tail” on them when they leave the Mall. telling her to cease work on the story. Kramer becomes
This could conceivably lead the New World Order to the extremely angry; she screams, “To hell with you!” into the
characters’ Chantry! If the characters successfully stop the receiver and points her camera straight at the fountain.
effect, the Technomancers record the characters’ identities At this point, Ms. Kramer’s Avatar Awakens. She in-
but otherwise leave them alone. They may even be targeted stinctively uses Correspondence to pipe the video directly
for recruitment by the Recruitment Division. into the newsfeed and onto the six o’clock news. Ms. Kramer
is, in actuality, an Orphan mage who has just Awakened.
Scene Four: Stopping Needless to say, the Technocracy sees Ms. Kramer as a
terrific threat: here is a member of the media with the ability
the Blood to see past the cloud of Paradox.
Plot: In this climactic scene, several things happen at If the mages cannot stop the summoning, at 7:00 p.m.,
once. The Technomancers play their ace in the hole: they the transmutation is complete, and the demon manifests.
bring out an empty barrel with a viscous residue of “fake It rises up out of the blood, its teeth glinting black. With
blood” from a special effects studio, claiming that the bloody a few passes of its talons, it dissolves several Men in Black
fountain is a hoax. This happens at about 6:00 p.m., in time for attempting to attack it with their magick. If any character
live coverage on the evening news. Ms. Kramer suspects it is attacks it, it retaliates with a Rank Four Entropy bolt. The
not a fake, having read the lab reports directly. She tries to go demon’s Arete is 5. Paradox spirits begin to scream over the
on the air with her videotape. Meanwhile, the characters, area, seeking to cloak the demon from sight and reweave the
warned by the Technocracy that they might be “eliminated” tattered fabric of reality. The demon, seemingly bound by a
unless they take care of the effect, have to formulate a plan to single strand of light around its middle, rises into the air, flies
stop the energies flowing through the area. through the roof and into the distance. Kjarl binds the demon
Action: The Technomancers tell the characters that into a waiting ruby and departs the hotel immediately,
they have 30 minutes to stop the effect. The characters must leaving Marko behind, and returns to the Iron Circle in
think fast to save their own lives. triumph.
In order to stop this phase of the ward-breaking, the If the mages manage to stop the ward-breaking effect, the
players must cast countermagick against Kjarl’s effect. This Quintessence backlash will “short out” the runes and thus
breaking effect is rated at Prime 3, Life 3 and Correspondence ruin the overall ritual. Kjarl will be very angry at the charac-
3. It can be canceled by six successes on a conjunctional effect ters, but there won’t be a lot he can do about it, for he will have
roll. Three characters may have to work together to produce to deal with the wrath of his pact demon and the servitor
this magickal effect (each must have one of the Spheres at demons who surround him — they won’t be too happy with
Rank Three!). In this case, each character rolls separately. him either. They have loaned him a large amount of Quintes-
Remember, as with all conjunctional magick, if one mage sence to accomplish this, and now it’s time for him to pay.
receives Paradox, all participating mages likewise suffer. Alter- Although the Iron Circle may resurface in the characters’
nately, creative magick use may stop the effect at your discretion. chronicle, Kjarl will certainly not be making an appearance in
No matter what the characters do, the Technomancers it for some time, if ever. Furthermore, the demon will still be
return 30 minutes later with their “proof” that the whole trapped within the statue. Because the ward was partially
thing is a fake. At this point, they have a major confrontation cracked, from time to time the water will be stained brown.
with Ms. Kramer. This water will provide one Tass of Quintessence — a small
The Technomancers’ public relations efforts have had an Node has been formed here, but it won’t last for long. The
effect. Kramer’s news manager calls her on her cellular phone, Technocracy will wipe it out immediately after the first
occurrence of this side effect.

Aftermath
In any case, after the demon is dealt with perhaps the Chantry’s first — will be an interesting night’s
or after it escapes, the blood reverts to water and story.
the fountain returns to normal. Ms. Kramer Furthermore, if Kjarl’s plot succeeds, you may wish to
loses her job for disobeying her news manager, reintroduce Kjarl as a major villain in the chronicle from time
which is just as well, because she must now to time, with his greater demon in tow. Alternately, the
discover what it means to be a mage. The characters may track Kjarl back to Germany.
characters may want to be there for her, because Those who drank of the bloody water or the blood itself
otherwise the Technocracy will surely “deal” might be possessed by Infernal spirits, a problem that could
with her. The characters may ask their own offer a challenge to a group of mages in the city. Locating each
Mentors for assistance in helping Ms. Kramer understand her person and dealing with the demon within could be extremely
new life. Dealing with the new Apprentice in the Chantry —

12 Mage Storyteller’s Screen

difficult. If a vampire were among those possessed... the situ-
ation could get very ugly.
Kjarl's Statistics
The Blood Lords may become a regular fixture in your Kjarl Nordsen
game, particularly if Marko remains alive or viable as a Diabolic Nephandus, Adept of the Iron Circle
character. His sleeping Avatar might have been Awakened;
Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 4, Charisma
the characters would then have to deal with this new, diabolic
4, Manipulation 3, Appearance 1, Perception 3, Intelligence
Orphan.
4, Wits 3
A Dreamspeaker, Verbena or Celestial Chorus mage
Abilities: Alertness 2, Athletics 2, Awareness 4, Brawl 4,
might want to study the statue in the Umbra. In this case, the
Dodge 3, Expression 3, Intimidation 4, Intuition 4, Subterfuge
character so studying will learn that the statue houses an
4, Streetwise 3, Drive 2, Etiquette 3, Firearms 2, Leadership 4,
angel as well as a demon. The angelic spirit may well become
Meditation 4, Melee 4 (saber), Research 3, Stealth 4, Tech-
an advisor and guide to the Chantry from time to time. If the
nology 3, Computer 1, Cosmology 4, Culture 4, Enigmas 3,
Technocracy seizes the statue at the end of the story, this
Investigation 2, Law 2, Linguistics 4, Medicine 4, Occult 5,
advisor will be lost unless the characters can arrange other
Science 3
“living” conditions for her.
Spheres: Correspondence 4, Entropy 4, Forces 2, Life 4,
The characters should not have a chance to capture or
Mind 4, Matter 4, Prime 3, Spirit 4, Time 1
bind the greater demon. It, on the other hand, may try to
manifest to the characters in their dreams. One of the Arete 4, Willpower 8, Quintessence 7, Paradox 5
characters may even be tempted to join it in exchange for Backgrounds: Allies 4 (Iron Circle), Arcane 4, Avatar 5,
power. In this case, that character may try to stop the ward- Dream 2, Influence 2, Mentor 3
breaking. Foci: Swastika necklace (Forces, Spirit, Prime), Nazi
As a side story, the characters may be so repulsed by their dagger (Life, Entropy), monocle (Mind)
enemies’ neo-Nazi leanings that they decide to destroy the Equipment: Glock 20, with a clip of 5 Life-seeking bullets.
entire Iron Circle. A chronicle wherein a group of mages tries 3 WP Grenades (12 dice fire damage),
to build a strike force capable of taking on the Iron Circle could Kjarl has three servitor demons as part of his demonic
be interesting. The characters may even want to recruit pact. They are almost exactly the same.
Kindred, Garou and other supernatural creatures in their
efforts. Nearly all of these groups have some reason to fight the Servitor Demon
diabolist neo-Nazis. Attributes: Strength 6, Dexterity 4,Stamina 4, Charisma
Of course, the above assumes the characters survive the 1, Manipulation 4, Appearance 0, Perception 5, Intelligence
immediate wrath of the Technocracy. The only reason the 1, Wits 4
characters should escape this scenario without being marked Abilities: Athletics 5, Awareness 4, Alertness 4, Brawl
by the Pogrom for termination is if they aid the Technocracy (claws) 4, Dodge 3, Stealth 4, Occult 4
in preserving static reality. Even if they do this, they will Health Levels: OK, OK, -1, -1, -2, -5, -5, Banished
continue to be suspected Marauders ( or worse), and marked by These demons can teleport in the Umbra with no
the soulless computers of Iteration X. The Technomancers Paradox risk, but they lack the magickal power of the greater
will constantly be watching them for signs of chaotic activity. demons. Roll a straight Intelligence check if they are given
complex instructions. On a botch, the demons do something
completely contrary to what they were told

The Angel of Mercy 13

 Appendix
Making “The Angel of Mercy” a Next, you will have to decide what vampire society is like
in your city if you haven’t yet done so. You may be able to use
crossover story with Vampire, a pre-existing Vampire chronicle set in the same city. In this
Keeping in Mind the World of case, the Technocracy may have to make a phone call to the
Darkness Ventrue, who control the media in the city, to keep the news
of the statue as closely guarded as possible. The Technomancers
It’s important that you don’t leave out the other
look at the blood in the fountain with distaste, but the Ventrue
Awakened denizens of the World of Darkness
elders will probably want some. Because the climax of this story
from this scenario. It is purposefully set in an
is at night, it’s possible that a Tremere elder may show up to
urban area, so you can incorporate vampires
gain some of the blood.
and werewolves should you choose. Vampires
in particular will be most interested in the You may decide that something as small as a “blood
events of this story. The Garou may arrive on fountain” doesn’t warrant the attention of the Technocracy,
the scene late, but the Kindred live in the city, and it is the Camarilla who asks the characters to “protect the
and a fountain of blood ( especially one publi- Masquerade” in exchange for favors or gifts. In this case, it is
cized in the media!) will be noticed by every very appropriate for the Blood Lords to be Sabbat vampires, for
single Kindred in the city. the Sabbat seeks to ruin the Masquerade whenever it can.
Vampires standing near the demon when it manifests are
Tailoring the Story in danger of being completely drained by the magick in-
First of all, make the Blood Lords a vampire anarch gang, volved in forming its body. Their vitae may be drained into
or a gang of Sabbat vampires. Marko could be a Sabbat Brujah the demon’s body. If this happens, the vampires immediately
antitribu following the Path of Evil Revelations (as described enter torpor and can only be roused after the requisite time is
in The Storytellers Guide to the Sabbat). served in torpor.

Incidental Charts
Foci Chart
Akashic Brotherhood
Foci: Do–Correspondence/Mind/Prime/Time, Purification– Spirit, Entropy, Sash– Forces, Weapon– Life/Matter
Celestial Chorus
Foci: Fire– Prime/Spirit, Holy Symbol– Forces/Mind, Pure Water– Entropy, Song– Correspondence/Life/Time, and Touch–Matter
Cult of Ecstasy
Foci: Incense– Correspondence/Spirit, Music– Forces/Mind, Ring– Entropy/Matter, Vice– Life/Prime/Time
Dreamspeakers
Foci: Crystals– Life/Mind/Prime, Drums– Correspondence/Entropy/Forces/Matter/Time, Feathers– Spirit
Euthanatos
Foci: Bones– Entropy/Matter/Prime, Dancing– Correspondence/Spirit, Dolls– Life, Rattle– Mind/Time, and Weapon– Forces
Hollow Ones
Foci: Hollow Ones require no foci.
Order of Hermes
Foci: Circle– Spirit,Language– all Spheres, including those with another focus (Linguistics Ability required), Seal of Solomon– Forces/
Prime, Showstone– Mind/Time
Sons of Ether
Foci: Abacus– Correspondence/Entropy, Electricity– Life/Prime, Ether Goggles– Mind/Spirit, Scientific Meter– Forces/Matter/Time
Verbena
Foci: Blood– Life/Prime, Cauldron– Entropy/Spirit, Herbs– Matter, Wand– Correspondence/Forces/Time, Weapon–Mind
Virtual Adepts
Foci: Computer– all Spheres, Electricity– Forces, Network–Prime/Spirit

14 Mage Storyteller’s Screen

 MAGE
TM

The Ascension
Name: Essence: Tradition:
Player: Nature: Mentor:
Chronicle: Demeanor: Cabal:
Attributes
Physical Social Mental
Strength ___________
OOOOO Charisma ___________
OOOOO Perception __________
OOOOO
Dexterity __________
OOOOO Manipulation _________
OOOOO Intelligence _________
OOOOO
Stamina ____________
OOOOO Appearance __________
OOOOO Wits _______________OOOOO
Abilities
Talents Skills Knowledges
Alertness___________
OOOOO OOOOO
Drive _______________ Computer_____________OOOOO
Athletics___________
OOOOO Etiquette _____________
OOOOO Cosmology________________
OOOOO
Awareness______________
OOOOO Firearms ______________
OOOOO Culture ________________
OOOOO
Brawl ______________
OOOOO Leadership____________
OOOOO Enigmas _________________
OOOOO
Dodge ______________
OOOOO Meditation ____________
OOOOO Investigation ____________
OOOOO
Expression___________
OOOOO OOOOO
Melee________________ Law __________________
OOOOO
Intimidation _________
OOOOO OOOOO
Research______________ Linguistics ______________
OOOOO
Intuition ____________
OOOOO Stealth _______________
OOOOO Medicine ____________OOOOO
Streetwise____________
OOOOO Survival ______________
OOOOO Occult_______________OOOOO
Subterfuge ___________
OOOOO Technology ____________
OOOOO Science _____________OOOOO

Advantages
Spheres
Correspondence___ OOOOO Life__________________ OOOOO Prime________________OOOOO
Entropy_____________ OOOOO Mind________________ OOOOO Spirit________________OOOOO
Forces_______________ OOOOO Matter______________ OOOOO Time________________OOOOO

Other T raits Arete Health

______________________ OOOOO OOOOOOOOOO Bruised -0 
______________________ OOOOO Willpower Hurt -1 
______________________ OOOOO OOOOOOOOOO Injured -1 
______________________ OOOOO  Wounded -2 
______________________ OOOOO Mauled -2 
Quintessence Crippled -5 
 Incapacitated 
Combat  


Weapon Difficulty Damage Experience

 


•



  Study Points


Paradox
Attributes: 7/5/3 Abilities: 13/9/5 Spheres: 5 Backgrounds: 7 Freebie Points: 15 (7/5/4/2/1)
 The Golden Rule Normal Healing Times
Health Level Time
Remember that in the end there is only one real Bruised One day
rule in Mage: there are no rules. You are playing a Hurt Three days
mage, so just as the rules of a game are the myths that Injured One week
describe a culture, you must willing to move beyond Wounded One month
that culture to describe your own. You should fashion
Mauled Three months
this game into whatever you need it to be — if the rules
get in your way, then ignore or change them. In the Crippled Three months
end, the true complexity and beauty of the real world Incapacitated Three months
cannot be captured by rules; it takes storytelling and Healing with the Life Sphere: Life 2 heals simple
imagination to do that. Indeed, these rules are not so creatures. Life 3 can heal humans. One level of health is
much rules as they are guidelines, and you are free to restored for each success rolled, but only one roll is possible.
use, abuse, ignore and change them as you wish. Simple healing is coincidental magick. Healing aggravated
wounds requires vulgar magick. Aggravated wounds caused by
paradox cannot be healed by magick. For more details, see pp.
197-200 of the rulebook.

Paradox Catatonia Chart Fire Damage Chart

Successes Period of Catatonia Difficulty Heat of Fire
Three Heat of a candle (first-degree burns)
0 years Five Heat of a torch (second-degree burns)
1 months Seven Heat of a Bunsen burner (third-degree
burns)
2 weeks
Nine Heat of a chemical fire
3-5 days Ten Molten metal
6 hours Wounds Size of Fire
One Torch; part of body burned
7 minutes Two Bonfire; half of body burned
8+ seconds Three Raging inferno; entire body burned

Study Points Chart Experience Cost

Tutor and Student Relative Scores Study Points Trait Cost
One higher 2 New Ability 3
Two higher 4 New Sphere 10
Three higher 6 Willpower current rating
Four higher 8 Knowledges current rating
Five higher 10 Talents and Skills current rating x 2
Modifiers Attributes current rating x 4
Tutor is of the same Tradition as the student: + 0 Tradition Specialty Sphere current rating x 6
Tutor is of a different Tradition from the student: -3 Sphere current rating x 7
Spheres (for Hollow Ones) current rating x 8
Credits Arete current rating x 8
Development: Ken Cliffe, Brian Campbell
Editing: Robert Hatch, Brian Campbell
Art Direction: Richard Thomas
Interior Art: John Cobb, Ken Meyer, William
O’Connor
Color Art: David Martin
Layout: Sam Chupp
Production Assistance: Quentin Blasingame

16 Mage Storyteller’s Screen