The Bookmobile of DOOM (Mage: The Ascension)

The BookMobile Of DOOM

This Rolling informational arsenal was bought and paid for by Constanzi Ruiz (otherwise known as Arcangel) and given as a gift to Grandmaster Z. It has proven invaluable as a means of transportation for a large amount of gear and Mages to and from places.

The B-Mobile has had a new engine and suspension system put in and has been treated with Doppler poly-mimetic paint and a built-in E.C.M. package. This combined with the very powerful Somebody Else's Problem Field erected around the van make misplacing the van a very real possibility and there is often the problem of people cutting the van off because they can't see it. The van is painted a uniform brown but may assume two other solid colors, Dark blue or black. The license plate is actually a very cunning liquid crystal display that can be changed at the drop of a hat. There is a large box on the roof of the B-Mobile that looks like the housing for an air conditioner but is actually a hiding place for the antenna arrays. The Van has recently been bulletproofed and will stop all small arms fire. At present, it has no other magickal properties.

The Bookmobile of Doom functions as a level 2 sanctum. It offers -1 to any technomagickal Magick performed within and gives an additional 2 dots of arcane to anyone within.

Because of the nature of the parsimony of its owner...Some would say skinflintiness... Most of the Gear in the back of the van is old or secondhand.Most of it works though...

The Van Contains:

*A mini refrigerator.(often containing Pepsi and cold kit-kats)

*A file cabinet that has been welded to the floor directly behind the driver's seat that reaches nearly to the ceiling.The cabinet contains several different types of official looking stationary, Ho-Ho's, toner cartridges, computer magazines, assorted computer consumables, cables, adapters, remote gear, telephone lineman's gear, a small rack for firearms(usually empty) envelopes, stamps, mailing labels,

Directly behind the file cabinet on the left side is the workstation which is a cannibalized work desk that has been bolted, welded and liquid nailed into place where appropriate. the open space on the desk is a hot-docking station for a trinary computer. the rest of the open space on the worktable is filled with guts of computers that occasionally spill onto the floor. The workstation has a very sophisticated tele/radio communications suite as well as input devices for nearly every kind of media.(Jaz, Zip, Cd, Cd-R,  and Midi interface.) there are also three separate monitors( the one on the left has screwed up color) the seat for this workstation is on a metal armature that folds out from the wall. It has a pillow as it is not terribly comfortable to sit for long periods of time.

The right side wall has been thoughtfully provided with a bar with handles for standing passengers and one jump seat directly behind each of the right side doors. there are two printers and a laminator machine bolted to the wall at chest height.

The back of the van has an emergency exit which is mostly blocked by other mathoms including:

• A footstool.
• Two very large Plano toolboxes(one for automotive tools and another for electrical tools.)
• A cardboard box filled with toilet paper rolls and some completely nutritious but absolutely vile breakfast bars.
• A stolen pay phone,(kind of a sentimental thing.) More computer magazines.
• 6 cans of black spray paint.
• A foldable camp bed that just barely fits in the aisle.
• An extremely compact suitcase with a change of clothes and some basic toiletries
• A spare tire wrapped in a garbage bag which serves as an additional seat.
• an oxyacetylene torch and striker.
• and a cannibalized SNES game system in a small box marked "Farm Tools"

Sanctum Sanctorum (Mage:The Ascension)

Sanctum Sanctorum:

I got to thinking about Sanctums the other day. and it occurred to me that it was one of those little corners of the WOD that wasn't exactly painted.(if you take my meaning.) I think each and every one of us has an idea of what a Son of Ether Sanctum looks like and what a Child of Knowledge Sanctum might look like too. So the challenge becomes to define what other sanctums look like.

What do all Sanctums share in common?

1) They are places where bending reality becomes easier for the Mage or Mages in question. In this respect, they are like places of power for Mages without exactly being a horizon realm. (which is a good thing, it gives a haven to Mages without all the baggage of horizon realms and ancient chantries and extra-planetary jaunts and all that stuff that is completely out of place in a "Destiny's Price" style chronicle. It also precludes the Mages from chickening out and ducking into the realm for a while when pissed off vampires or werewolves show up.)

2) They offer an additional amount of anonymity and arcane, thus enabling the Mage to work large magicks without being a huge blip on the nearest Manar scope. They enable a Mage to attack remote targets without being discovered. They enable Mages to hide when the heat is on.( "No...I'm sorry...you people want Doktor FrankenSTERN! He's the next castle on the left!") They also enable Mages to hide awkward things that need hiding like diabolic summonings and Nodes. Sanctums also keep others from knowing what you are up to and is perhaps the sole reason why Convention Mages use them too. Arcane keeps that pesky Time scrying off of you while you plot your enemies bureaucratic demise.

3) They act as a good place to put all the Mages assorted Mathoms like their library, their Tass supplies, ritual equipment, old foci, alchemical labs and other whatnot. Because of the place's Arcane, Others will not find them. In fact, Sanctums seem to gain power based on the amount of Magick Junk they have stored in them.(sort of a weird quasi-resonance thing.)

Akashic Sanctums:

These sorts of sanctums break down into a couple of different types. Many follow the form and function of a traditional Kwoon or Dojo. These types of Sanctum tend to accumulate weapons on the walls, pictures of former masters, scrolls of the teaching, the heavy bag, the speed bag, arrow and shuriken targets. Maka wara boards, bricks, wooden practice dummies, exercise equipment of all types. Herbalogical equipment in large lacquered wooden cabinets, Tatamae(a soft floor), and numerous other training tools. Some Akashics, particularly Orange Robes are more at home in a monasterial setting and might make a combination shrine/library sort of arrangement. While a Blue Skin might just find a waterfall and start to build a Zen garden around it.( the act of creating the Zen garden would be roughly analogous to act of gathering Stuff. the same effect would be achieved.) In all cases, you will be able to find joss, and ritual purification (the calligraphic form of hedge magick and the sight will also have to abide by the rules of feng shui.(and may, in fact, provide some additional abilities if in a really good site.

Celestial Sanctums:

These sorts of sanctums are a lot like a miniature shrine or temple of their own.They differ from a church proper because they are sustained by the will and faith of the user only. The best way to picture the kind of stuff that is available in a Celestial Sanctum is to picture a Catholic Mass. The priest enters into a fenced off area to separate himself from the parishioners mentally. (Proximity is very important in magickal theory.) He wears a special set of clothes(vestments) and works with a special set of tools and helpers(altar-persons, Holy water, and the cup and plate) He consecrates the wine and wafers.(symbolic representation of the deity) and even the air he breathes is changed to be made otherworldly.(With a censer, smell is a very important trigger for changing consciousness.) This collection of theurgical material is also important for magickal workings and is also augmented by religious books and in some cases music as well. Naturally, the trappings are going to be vastly different if your Celestial Mage is a Hindu or a Bantu. But the ideas and processes for touching the divinity are universal and even they are ultimately unnecessary. Other Stuff might include, healing paraphernalia, candles, musical instruments, scourges(to mortify the flesh) Hallucinogens (for the purposes of prophecy.) and a natural source of water or fire.

Cult of Ecstasy Sanctums:

Try to picture the coolest bedroom in the world. Nice big comfy futon, Game system that will run just about anything, Shelves and shelves of books and sheet music, a keyboard, and guitars, incense and other Head supplies like that. Psychedelic lighting and other weird stuff of that sort.(stick-on Glo-in-the-dark stars, Day-Glo mandalas, black light painting, a lava lamp or two. a Chinese rug on the floor...go nuts.) Candles with holders that will prevent an accidental fire. a skylight or maybe a mirror over the bed. A closet filled with every sex toy known to person-kind. Hell...maybe even a hot tub. This would be the place where the Cultist would go to safely stimulate himself or another or where he would go to seek refuge from too much stimulus. In many cases, these sanctums can be made as devoid of sensory stimulus as possible.(many are light tight.) Some Ecstatic cultists try to live in very small homes so as to be able to claim the whole house as a sanctum.

Dreamspeaker Sanctums:

Are usually naturally occurring structures or are built in such a way as to be part of the ecology. While the urban shaman might have some difficulty in this regard, treehouses are becoming increasingly popular as a means around the problem. Mages in the wild will use old trees, Caves, and burial mounds as well as any hidden spot where the ley lines are particularly strong. So how do Dreamspeaker accumulate Stuff? Well.... they don't really. But they might grow a garden, paint some cave paintings, and such sites often attract animals (peaceful ones generally.) Some Dreamspeakers also partake in Verbena-like lore and might have some books and herbs stored nearby. The Sanctum could take the form of a shack or cabin way out in the middle of nowhere. The sanctum might also accumulate cultural arts and crafts.Drums, hand built snowshoes and Bows, bullroarers and other caboodle like that.

Euthanatos Sanctums:

These sanctums often blend elements of Chorus Sanctums and Akashic Sanctums. Some are temples to Shiva. Some are workshops for assembling bombs or distilling poisons. Almost all have an area set aside for combat training and for using dance as a focus. Like many types of sanctums these places often rely heavily on music and incense to create a particular mind set and to remove the Mage from worldly concerns. There are so many ways to deal death, and there are so many tools to do so that a list of Euthanotic Stuff could be a post all by itself....But here is a short smattering of ideas like...tools, a forge, explosives, poisons, statues to Kali, booby traps, torture implements, Bones and other dead stuff, sharpeners, books of stolen kindred and wraith lore. Targets, sacrifices and maybe a prisoner or two.

Hermetic Sanctums:

While Hermetic Sanctums are not without their theurgical elements, they are mainly used as studies and places to experiment. Odds are good that their magickal library is here. if the hermetic in question has an interest in anything personal and time consuming it will be here as well.(Computers? Herbology? Alchemy? Ships-in-bottles? ) Alchemical labs are useful for a few things, Cabalistic high ritual magick requires a number of diverse foci, Enochian Mages will require a tablet of Solomon and every single hermetic sanctum has at least one permanent protective circle for summonings and other major workings. some also have thaumaturgical triangles and Sephirothic trees. Hermetic Sanctums are often very comfy as Hermetics spend a lot of time in them.

Sons of Ether Labs:

Well.....Hmmm...If there was any group that the background was invented for, this is it. Where else are you gonna keep those apparatus and monsters(not to mention that assistant...yeesh!) The following appended list is taken from someone else post. I regret that I don't know whose because it's simply brilliant and I reprint it here in the spirit of transmitting the information again. If it belongs to anybody out there get in touch with me and I'll credit you right here..

Extension cords - and lots of them.

Duck Tape - holds everything together.

A big Generator - MORE POWER!!! Bwahahahaha!

Tesla Coils - gives good mad-scientist lighting

A good "Control Panel" - with knobs, dials, and buttons galore.

A nice sound system, tapes of a raging thunderstorm - for mood.

A "Frankenstein switch" - to pull for big effects.

Spare lab coats - always have a clean lab coat on hand in case something important happens by.

Readouts with the glass covers off - so you can change the readings as needed.

A skylight - OK, more of a feature of the lab itself, but still essential.

All kinds of scientific meters - Photometers, Ph meters, voltmeters, Gas Chromatograph, Speedometer, Odometer, etc.

Ether Telescope and Microscope - to see things too small or distant for Ether goggles to pick up.

Rubber gloves - for messy work.

Sledgehammer, pipe wrench, pliers - for REALLY messy work, for self-defense too.Oil can - to get moving parts going right.

Espresso machine - for those long nights.

Lab Mice - even Mages need cute pets, never hurt them, only a cruel technocracy Mage would do that

A Freezer - for cold storage of things.

Beakers and glassware and Bunsen Burners (oh my)

Acid of some type - to warn people away from.

Many brightly colored chemical solutions

Some Fluorescent Fluid

Silly Putty - for calibrating instruments, defying analysis, and use on the funny papers.

A really big Fish Tank - for immersing things in moxes of stuff

An inflatable Godzilla Decoy - to fool rampaging monsters, best if enhances with a CO2 cartridge for a quick inflation.

Band Aids - For minor lab accidents and study.

For a SoE Botanist:

Several dozen spray bottles containing a variety of plant nutrients

A large hydroponics tank with gro-lighting adjustable to an extensive variety of colors

Flowers which would change color whenever nobody was looking at them.

A Familiar which appeared as a cross between Junior from Little Shop and Cleopatra from Addams Family.

Hundreds of soil samples, including some taken from Umbral Realms.

A seed collection containing varieties which were either extinct or which nobody had ever heard of, as well as mundane ones.

An attached greenhouse which was conspicuously designed more to keep things IN than OUT.

A cage and tank containing common feeder animals (goldfish and mice) though there APPEARED to be nothing to feed them to.

Several cages (again, no lab ANIMALS to put them in.)

A flame thrower (?!)

A moderate chemistry lab, mostly mundane.

The occasional small plant which would uproot and run away if anyone attempted to touch it.

A plot of carrots which appeared to be growing upside down (with the leaves in the soil and the root protruding.)

A couple cabbages which could occasionally he heard to hum tunelessly.

A hand-pump chemical sprayer labeled EMERGENCY in ominous lettering.

A notable lack of insects.

(I'm sorry...I had to laugh after reading it again. We now return you to our regularly scheduled article)

Verbena Sanctums:

Verbena and Dreamspeaker sanctums share a lot of common characteristics. an outdoor setting or very convenient to one. a lowered gauntlet, friendly local animals, artsy-craftsy stuff, healing supplies, apothecarial junk, a local garden, an almanac, an ephemeris, incense, air, earth, fire, and water. sacrifices,(maybe.) some Teutonic Verbena go a lot further with old weapons and runes on everything, Santeria practitioners rival both Celestial Mages and Bataa'a Mages for sheer volume of sacred materials and icons. goblets, altars and some kind of knife of axe are usually the only universal element in this group. Verbena Sanctums react badly to being desecrated. It is known that those who do usually end up horribly cursed.

Virtual Adept Sanctums:

In some respects, the virtual sanctum is often the only place that a virtual can really relax and play a bit of Marathon. while Virtuals pride themselves on their self sufficient nature and self contained power they perhaps need a sanctum as much if not more than Sons of Ether. The Virtual sanctum often is dominated by the Virtual's sit-down mainframe computer. workdesk and an electronics workbench. the place is often heavy with multiple monitors, fax/modems, printers, laminators, phone lines, VR gear, tech manuals, CD-roms of important Magickal works, backup software, a portable fridge and microwave. most Virtual Sanctums also have technology built into the walls and the phone lines that is similar to a fighter jets ECM package to produce that Arcane feeling.(never mind that this is probably impossible.) There is at least one Virtual Magus in our campaign that has transformed an old reconditioned Bookmobile into a Sanctum. Virtuals only spend a lot of time in their sanctum when coding something big or when making a serious run on a heavily protected system.

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

You might think that Technocrats would not have to have a sanctum and in fact the official policy is that Sancta(?) are against the rules of the union, they endanger the prevailing paradigm, they make members of the union difficult to find, and there is no reason that convention members can't use open general labs for their work.

This is, of course, Bullshit.

Technocrats need Sanctums just as much as tradition Mages if only to keep prying eyes from their own side off of them. Technocrats need a place to experiment with the cutting edge of the paradigm, plan their bureaucratic vendettas, turn Nephandi, plan their escape, and of course store their junk.

Progenitor Sanctums:

It is heavily frowned on for Progenitors to use Conventional resources to make things for their personal use...Never mind that everybody does it. That's what Progenitor Sanctums are for. There are Progenitors that study herb lore, keep bees, grow custom orchids, make pets(that will kill you...) and stow away a spare tank for the clone you are growing on the sly.

Iterator X Sanctums:

Rare, but not impossible. They violate Orthodoxy, but some Iterator Mages do find that they work better alone. Picture an immaculate workshop with every kind of tool that you can imagine.then double it.

Order Sanctums:

Every Order Mage needs a place that he is sure is not bugged and will often go to great lengths to secure such a place. Most Sanctums of Order Mages are extremely anonymous offices in near empty office buildings somewhere out of the way. They also use small cramped labs for those Mages well versed in brainwashing techniques. Since Order Mages must usually account for every piece of equipment that they handle, sometimes stocking the Sanctum with found articles can be a real hassle.

Void Sanctums:

Void engineers, because of the sheer weight of secrets that they must keep, often need a sanctum. Research and Execution always needs a lab away from the prying eyes of those not in on the big joke. cybernaut sanctums are practically identical to Virtual Sanctums and anyone involved in Chronal or Dimensional Science Research has to have a Sanctum if he's going to be working earth side for any reason. In fact, it is a good idea to assume that any Void engineer that is working on terran soil has got to have a lab/bolt hole tucked away somewhere. if only to be able to use magicks that he's grown used to in other places that he can't use here.

Syndicate Sanctums:

It doesn't matter what the place looks like as long as it has electricity, and a connection to civilization. As long as that's the case, Hey....Why not go all out? Some syndicate consider their offices to be their sanctums, some keep mountain retreats where they go to recharge from the office. A palatial penthouse somewhere in the city is also a possibility. especially if that place is well stocked with alcohol, cable T.V, a Jacuzzi, and a few buff sorority girls. In fact, in Syndicate circles, Sanctums are a form of status symbol and only a low level schmuck doesn't have at least one. Among Convention Mages, Syndicate Mages are also the most likely to have some sort of Trophy room of some sort and all sorts of junk is likely to accumulate here.

Other Kinds of Sanctums:

Hollow Ones Sanctums:

While Orphans tend to run the entire gamut of Sanctum types, Hollowers have sort of taken on a distinctive look and feel to their Sanctums. Like every other type of Mage they have some sort of incense.(in the case of technocrats,  just in case you are wondering it is either Spic-n-Span or burning solder) and they also have books. (although a Hollower is just as likely to have them jammed into a disused closet as on a bookshelf.) Some Hollowers like graveyard crypts for their Sanctums while others will decorate a room with decayed black lace and real cobwebs to get that oh so important ambience. Their choice of music is liable to be as laid back as Enigma or Orbital or as violent as the Ramones or the Dead Kennedy's. Some might have musical instruments or computers.Others might have bongos and the odd wraith fetter. No Hollow One Sanctum is complete without a set of Tarot cards and a Ouija board.any place that is abandoned is ideal for making into a sanctum.

Craft Sanctums:

Any of the Asian Crafts(Wu Keng and Wu Lung) will usually conform to the kinds of Sanctums that the Akashics have. As far as the Bataa'a go, a voodoun Hounfor is basically the definition of a Sanctum. Their will always be plenty of wide open space for dancing. Children of Knowledge will have alchemical equipment that will put any Hermetic equipment to shame. Hermetics have entered into CoK labs and found themselves drooling. Sisters of Hippolyta and Kopa Loie Mages are likely to conform in many ways to both Dreamspeaker and Verbena Sanctums. Kopa Loie Sanctums are always near water. Which isn't exactly hard in the Hawaiian islands. Templars will have Sanctums that are identical with their Chorus counterparts. (although the musical elements will be conspicuously absent) and as far as the Hem Ka Sobk go...well, they probably have Sanctums but nobody has seen the inside of one and lived.

Nephandi Sanctums:

Small out of the way temples, in building basements, in deep subterranean fastnesses, in old abandoned barns in New England somewhere... Some Nephandi sanctums reside cheek-by-jowl with tradition and technocrat areas. Some like to reside near Spiral danser Caerns, Jhuvunka warrens, and large nihils. Nephandi have even been known to create havens out of radioactive test sites, on islands crawling with smallpox, and in neighborhood graveyards and junkyards. Icons to their master often have links to them as well, and may prove dangerous.(especially in the case of the outsider things who have a history of statue animation) Nephandi Sanctums are likely to be littered with slaves and pets.(who may or may not be able to leave) and all sorts of equipment. The sanctum will often conform to their former traditions or conventions standards unless of course, they are not barrabi and follow the Nephandic tradition itself. Such Sanctums are a Satanists wet dream and occasionally make Spiral dansers nervous and ornery.(>sniff< ..."Too clean...need more shit, blood, and dirt in the air.") their incense is a cloying sickly sweet reek that leaves itself embedded in your clothes. their books are those worm-eaten but carefully preserved tomes of utterly damned literature. Their trophies are likely to be real heads on the wall. Some historically minded Nephandi have become attached to particular eras of history and or particular atrocities. and they have started decorating their sancta in those fashions. This is a fad that is beginning to catch on as it make it very to easy to link these sanctums to certain areas of the Atrocity Realm. The current favorites decorator fashions include Concentration Camp, Ancient Rome, Spanish inquisition, Soweto, Jonestown, and Khmer Rouge. Also remember that most Nephandi Sanctums are seriously booby-trapped. if only to keep out their fellow Nephandi.

The Distillery (Vampire: The Requiem)

The Distillery Tour:

You must be new. Good Evening. I am your host Oskar Duvalle. Welcome to my home away from home. Welcome to the Distillery. Would you like the nickel tour? Fabulous.

Let's head back outside for a moment. It will give me an excuse to burn one. The whole point of this place is to allow kindred like us to feed and yes, even smoke a cigarette on occasion. Oh, don't look so sour. You Americans are so puritanical even tonight… Ah…Yes. Much better… Don't need much, just to taste a little, every once in a while.

These doors open into the foyer proper. The foyer is very important for security sake. It doesn't happen often, but occasionally…Just occasionally mind you, someone will come to the distillery a little bit more hungry than they should. I WOULD rather that they come here though. God knows, that when we leave feeding and hunting as an afterthought, some poor stripper or pizza delivery person gets ripped to pieces and then…Well. It's never pleasant.
The interior and exterior doors of the foyer are made from solid steel and the floor is a cunningly designed freight elevator. You see that camera up there? Wave to the nice person. If you appear to be too close to a frenzy when you come in, you'll be dropped into the basement, tased until you can't move by the security staff, and then they'll open the gate and we have a foot-long syringe filled with animal blood and laced with Thorazine. Odds are good that you'll be put into a nice quite room to sleep it off.

But generally. It doesn't get that far. This place was chosen for a number of reasons and decorated in certain ways to help enhance the calm of everyone who comes here. It is a very "Chill Joint" as the young ones say. Assuming that you aren't some maniac and are able to answer some basic questions, The person behind the camera, I believe it's Reese tonight. will press the button that unlocks the magnetic locks and we'll be let inside. *Snick* Thank you so kindly, Reese.

Ah. Here we have the rules of the house. I am a big believer in letting people know things up front. The rules are as follows:

1) By entering the Distillery, whether you partake of nourishment or not, you are indebted to Clan Daeva for a trivial boon. 

Mostly, we do this as mean to keep people from abusing the privilege too much and to acquire necessary services to keep our doors open and unmolested by humans

2) No Human shall enter the distillery without full knowledge of our nature and safeguards in place to protect our secrecy.

Once, many years ago, in another city, I had a place. I thought I had made it perfectly clear to my clientele that it was a place for kindred and their ghouls and no one else. But some people don't listen very well. When a human realizes he is in a place filled with inhuman predators, there is a tendency to scream…Such things are harsh upon my ears. The unfortunate kindred who caused the problem is now dust on the wind. Take that for what you will.

3) The Distillery is NOT an Elysium. However rampant non-consensual discipline use will be frowned on and unnecessary violence will be met with overwhelming overreaction.

Please note, that I am the one who will decide what is rampant, and what is unnecessary.

4) While no conversational topic is explicitly off-limits, Heated political debates and sectarian turmoil will not be tolerated and you will be asked to leave. Moreover, you will be reported to the Harpy.

Which isn't hard, she's here most nights.

5) Just because you're an inhuman, nights-stalking, blood-drinking, life-stealing, creature of the darkness, does not give you license to be an utter douche bag. Tip your waitstaff.

That one really should go without saying, but proper upbringing is surprisingly rare these nights.

Ah. Here we have the main room. The bar is well stocked with a number of recreational chemicals. I don't keep too many stimulants in stock, as they tend to angry up the blood, but we have a number of lovely alcohols, and other light entertainments available. 

Cherry? Darling? Would you be so kind as pour me a glass of the 85 Calvino brothers wine and a splash of pigs blood? And whatever my young friend here will have. 

The stockyard upstairs is owned by me. If you can still derive sustenance from animal blood, our stores are quite copious. The blood that is sluiced off from the work that takes place upstairs is strained for any foreign matter and chilled. Our cover story is that pig's blood is very close to human blood on a genetic level and that local medical school's Serology department uses the pig's blood for testing. It all happens to be true, but the local medical school's people only take a small percentage for their use.

We have Billiards, darts for those so inclined, Occasional live music, but only by kindred artists, and Karaoke on the weekends. Which I rather like. I'm not much of a singer, but you'd be surprised by some of the Kindred who can carry a tune. Saw the Archbishop in here one night, discovered he has a soft spot in his cold black heart for Elvis Costello. 
I must admit though, I tend to stay away from the place on nights of major sporting events. It's simply not my cup of tea.

Also, we have a thriving clientele of human persons who have become vitae addicted. You shouldn't be at all perturbed if someone importunes you and wants to lead you back to one of the small private rooms in the back. It should go without saying that you ought to be gentle with them and that if your hunger is serious, that you should break your fast on something before going too far. Each of us has our favorites and it's likely they'll be missed. Also…And it should be fairly obvious that our Vitae addicted patrons are going to want a little reciprocity. 

I keep my office back behind the bar. Also, I have a private lounge for my use and the use of my friends…Perhaps I'll show you around some night.

Most of the back rooms are nice and cozy. Intimate and well sound-proofed. All of the furniture is well scotch-guarded and we've got cleaning supplies in each closet. In case there is a spill.

I probably don't have to tell you that getting TOO frisky with your…special friend is a problem. But it happens every once in a great while. We have things in place to take care of such situations. Just don't expect to lean on that option very often…Better plan. Ever. You should also be aware that I have a Ventrue friend who takes a certain sadistic child-like delight in making a vampire's feeding…incredibly complicated, and from what I hear…very itchy. So it would behoove you to act with the highest decorum towards all of our guests.

Have a lovely evening!

The Shade Crystal (Mage: The Ascension)

The Shade Crystal:

Lost in the mists of antiquity, these items are fairly rare. It is said that only thirty of them exist and the methods for creating new ones are lost. They are black crystals of extreme hardness and they are flat and unreflective. often they are found with a silver chain and cage arrangement but others are found alone. The gems have a sort of runic language that is cut into them that is indecipherable. Hermetic Mages believe them to be of Egyptian manufacture but some also posit that they might be Sumerian.

Shade crystals have an unusual ability. when worn over the heart, that ability can be called into effect. A Mage spends a point of his own personal quintessence.(no tass) and the shade crystal will massively amplify his ability to be Arcane. In effect, the expenditure of Quintessence causes the Mages rating in arcane to jump to 5 for one full day and one full night. The Crystal does not require that the Mage have prime 3 to channel quintessence into it. but it also does not have its own store of quintessence on which to draw. Hermetics theorize that its power derives from some powerful, and partially natural, resonance effect. All that is required of the Mage is a point of his avatar quintessence and concentration for a full minute. Even those who do not have Arcane can benefit from the power of the shade crystal.

The user effectively ceases to exist for a day. Those who have close emotional ties to the user will not forget them but if they are out of sight they will cease thinking about you at all. The user does not become invisible but she becomes so unobtrusive that she might as well be. Antagonists that are shooting at anything that moves will note movement in their line of sight but otherwise, may not notice the Mage. To people other than those who are close to the Mage the Mage effectively ceases to exist. phone numbers become lost, computer files become corrupted, Hardcopy files get coffee spilled on them, Sneaking into the movies or the subway becomes easy as pie. Obfuscated vampires will notice something go by... maybe. and vampires with high Auspex might notice you if they happen to be looking. Continued use of this article causes the Mage to unwittingly leave his life behind. (if he's not careful.) If used for more than four days running. Those with close ties will forget they knew you at all. Or even convince themselves that you are dead or lost in a paradox realm somewhere. Archenemies will get on with their lives. Witch hunters will be confused. Your parents and your children will rearrange their personal histories and all traces of your identity will erase themselves. You may even come home to discover that someone is selling your house.If you aren't prepared for this, it could drive you into a seriously deep quiet.

It is also known, that mummies are capable of using these items and power them with Sekhem and in fact use them to leave lives behind them on occasion. it is rumored that they are the creators of these items but that even they have forgotten how to make more. Considering the nature of the Shade crystals, this is not all that unusual.

The Sneaky Bastard's Guide to the Dream Background (Mage: The Ascension)

Cayce was upside down, and he couldn't much say that he cared for it...The sound of screaming metal that appeared to be filling the world was the sound of Patterson's beloved Jaguar rolling over and skidding and finally stopping. They had plowed into a mailbox.

"Stanzi. John. are you O.K.?

no answer.

" Hey! wake up, guys. the Men in Black will be here any second"

A low moaning marked Constanzi's position.still no answer from Patterson, not good.

"Stanzi...Stanzi wake up!"

"Urrrm, John you stupid Pentaho.Ow!"

"Stanzi!"

"Justin? madre de dios, Justin! John's hurt!"

An icy calm that Justin only felt in the thick of combat settled over him.

"Is he conscious?"

"No."

"Shit, he's the only one of us with life Magick...Is your laptop O.K? Is it running?"

"Yes."

"Find me a Hospital," A car door slammed, a pair of black wingtips approached, "and Hurry.."

* * *

The hallway floor was very cool and invitingly stable. Constanzi considered passing out on it. Her vision was a bit blurry and her head was clanging but even so, her adrenaline wrenched her into an upright position. Justin was already up and running.

" You! I've got a trauma case outside and I need a gurney and a crash cart Stat!"

" Are you a doctor?"

"Question me later rookie! this guy has multiple chest fractures. JUMP!"

Orderlies started moving in every direction. Stanzi was amazed. With a practiced and precise grace, they moved John into the E.R. and began ministering to him.

Justin was in the corner putting on a pair of rubber gloves.

"Are you nuts?" she whispered as she approached, "you don't know anything about medicine."

Justin looked up at her with a stranger's eyes. " You're right. Justin doesn't know anything about medicine....Now get out of my way and let me work."

There is little known and little used background in Mage, it's called Dream. Sure you've heard of it. Ever used it? O.K. maybe but have you really thought about it? Like all ill-defined things it is more than ripe for abuse, So...here, in a nutshell, is a nuts and bolts guide to a poorly understood game Mechanic.

The Collective Unconscious:

There are theories. Of course, as long as we have Hermetics, we are always going to have theories. Among Tradition Mages it tends to go like this:

"There is this deep place within the vast collective unconscious wherein all knowledge great and small resides...it finds its expression in the lives of spirits and mortals. Some call it the Maya, some call it the Dreamtime. Only those who can reach this place with their mind and touch it with their spirit may petition it for the knowledge it holds. Because it resides deep within all things it can and does act through many agents and in some cases will act in a completely unpredictable manner. But it will always nourish those who seek to know."

-a purposefully anonymous Dreamspeaker.

In some form or another, this is basically what most tradition Mages teach their pupils who possess this weird-even-for-a-mage ability. With some variations of course....Euthanatos, Verbena, Akashics, Dreamspeakers, Ecstatics, and most Hermetics subscribe to the above. Celestial chorus, Enochian Hermetics, Kabbalistic Hermetics, and Batini Mages tend to view the process as the will of the divine working through the individual. This, they say, is why you sometimes get weird results. There may be some truth to this theory as well.

Technomages, who as a rule do not consider the collective unconscious sentient and don't believe in God, seek to explain the phenomena itself. Virtuals, Etheric Mages and some Void engineers call this "Comparative processing". the basic reasoning is this; by comparing a situation or problem to every piece of data in my mind and looking for patterns and similarities, I can find solutions to situation and problems that I have no direct knowledge or experience of. (While this reasoning might seem specious, I can tell you from experience that it does in fact work in a limited way. I am an absolute machine at any form of standardized testing because of it. Although it is a stretch to say that because I can repair an outboard motor, so I ought to be able to perform thoracic surgery. Course...I'm not a Mage)

In some cases there Technomages fall back on the idea that all principles and axioms are the same and that gives them the paradigmatic nudge they need. Progenitors have even posited the theory that the proteins that make up our D.N.A. have an unknown capacity for information, that past life experiences are made up from bits and pieces of ancestor memory and that each human being potentially carries the sum of the knowledge of his family tree. This theory has yet to be tested. Of the conventions, Iteration X eschews all theorizing on the subject as the Computer seeks to become a Collective Conscious....Iterators with Dream as a background are very rare and are usually considered a wild element.

Nephandi Mages take a typically inverted view of the Collective unconscious. They say that the knowledge that they receive is from Oblivion which contains all the knowledge that has ever been lost. While some Euthanatos and some Dreamspeaker are fascinated by the idea they still subscribe to an active rather than a passive force in the cosmos.

Nobody really knows what the Marauders think about the subject but it is a known fact that Dream comes frighteningly easy to them and there are very few who do not have it.

The Real Story:

If you already have the Book of Worlds, then you already know a few things about the Maya and the astral realms. When a Mage accesses his Dream ability he is basically manipulating the underlying structure of the Maya as it relates to him. Naturally, he does both consciously and unconsciously...(it takes an effort of will to achieve but the Mage has no idea how he is doing it or why it chooses to manifest as it does.)

As has been noted in other places sometimes a dreaming Mage will ask for one thing and get something else which may or may not help. Because of the fluid nature of the Maya, and because of the power of the Mages avatar, The Maya must respond but it may respond with whatever tools it has to hand. This usually depends on the specificity of the requested knowledge.

- A desperate Mage reaches out with his mind for enough brawl knowledge to keep from getting his fool ass killed. Nearly every person on earth has been in fight or two so the knowledge leaps into the mind of the Mage and he gets to walk out instead of being carried out.

- a Mage who cannot read Babylonian finds that he must decipher a clay tablet, he calls on the dream score and finds that a linguistic spirit arrives and gives him the knowledge he seeks.

- a Mage who seek knowledge about a particular vampire finds that he is channeling an 18th-century witch hunter. This kind of knowledge borrowing can get very nasty, very quick.

Mages and spirits and wraiths, Oh my!:

The Maya may work through these disparate beings because they each share one thing in common...they sleep and they dream... occasionally spirits and Wraiths must deal with a phenomenon called "Yanking" it has even been posited that Mages who go into Quiet are being "Yanked" themselves. As it happens, a Mage with a high dream score can sometimes make friends with the entities they are borrowing knowledge from or they can make bitter mortal enemies out of them. In almost all cases, many times when a spirit or wraith manifest they are completely unaware of the Mage and unless the Mage has spirit Magick and knows what to look for he will generally be unaware of what is going on too. Awareness of the spirit usually means that the Mage has at least spirit 1 and notices that his own aura has taken on few different colors. ( It should be noted that working spirit Magick on a spirit while you are using Dream to channel him is usually considered an attack, and will awaken the spirit in question who will usually be as mad as a wet chicken. Prime Magicks also have a small chance to awaken them but this is usually much gentler. Spirits like quintessence and awakening to the movement of quintessence can at times put them in a good mood.

Benefits of Dream:

1) An easy way to pick up common lore:

The example above is a good way to illustrate how useful Dream can be in an emergency. But, Dream has other, simpler uses...It is a good way for Mages to pick up languages, not just the languages of countries, but those of the Romani, the howling and barking of Garou language, the languages of computers, and in some cases languages even more esoteric. It's an excellent way for an Etheric Mage to pick up a scientific discipline that he is unfamiliar with for fast use or long research that verges into unfamiliar territory.

Another good way for this ability to be used is to do research. Here's an example;

A Virtual Adept wants to know about Vampires. He takes a few days of staying at home and using Dream to channel information about vampires, and then writing it all down on the old laptop. While the knowledge of Vampire lore fades every night, the data itself does not. As the character encounters more vampires his knowledge of them becomes more complete and fills in some blanks and inaccuracies.He has a ready made library of information that he can draw on and sooner or later that information starts to impress itself on the conscious mind as well. In this way, a player can either choose for the character to halve the cost of the talent, skill, or knowledge or he can choose to spend the full points on it, all at once, up to the limit of the dream score. (At the ST's discretion of course.)

While Dream is an excellent way to pick up pieces of knowledge, It is also good for picking up skills and abilities of a physical nature. This has unique advantages but also unique disadvantages. Channeling brawl is easy but channeling Ballet dancing is not. Channeling guitar is simplicity itself for someone who already plays another instrument and while the technical moves might still remain in the memory, the muscle memory does not. This is why, whenever channeling a strenuous physical activity a Mage must make a stamina roll against a difficulty of 8. Only one success is required. failure on this roll might mean a cramp or lingering stiffness perhaps even a sprain. A botch on this roll might result in torn ligaments or something broken. While it might seem risky to use this ability some Akashics and Euthanatos swear by this method. In their hands, an unfamiliar weapon or some found object becomes deadly.

2) Recovery of lost lore:

Among Mages, this is known as "Knowledge Dowsing". While this is an invaluable tool to some Mages it is not without its perils as I'll explain in a bit. At times this ability can be used to unearth lost languages, lost history, or even lost geography(!) There have been some cases of people channeling dead persons and writing symphonies while under the influence of "Automatic Writing" Most Mages write these episodes off as a Wraith ability called "Skinriding" but this is not always the case.

3) Past life contact:

There have been documented cases of Mages who have gone to channel an ability and found that they possessed it in a past life and then finding that they are beginning to remember things of that life while that knowledge is being channeled... As any Game master who reads this will realize, this is not always a good thing. While Euthanatos, Verbena, and Akashic Mages seem to have fewer problems in that respect even they are not immune and any Widderslainte who peers back into their other lives is in for a horrifying ride. Etheric Mages and Virtuals sometimes have to battle past lives to remain in the traditions. This is basically a door that the game master may choose to open at any time and in some ways, it can very good or bad for the character. At times solving old past life conflicts can help with the struggle for Arete or it can help psychological problems disappear but it can also be an invitation for the former life to Shanghai the present life. Be warned.

Perils of Dream:

1) Susceptibility to outside influences:

When a Mage opens himself to dreaming, he is essentially dropping most of his spiritual defenses to act as an antenna for whatever the Maya sends. Some entities know this or can sense this. For this reason and this reason only it is unwise to attempt to use dream near a Nihil or a severely Wyrm infested area. When a Mage uses Dream, his ability to fight off external possession is reduced by 2 for the purposes of resisting Puppetry, Domination, or Possession charms of spirits or other forms of coercion. The only exception to this is Mind Magick. The dream users spiritual defenses may be dropped but this does not mean that his mental shields are disabled at all. However this can be circumvented with spirit Magick and/or some spiritual help. Mages with a dream score of 4 or above find that their auric fields are particularly thin... as such, they often have a permanent -1 for resistance even when not using their dream score. When they use it, they are also subjected to the -2 penalty.

2) Specificity breeds problems:

One thing that most Mages who have studied this phenomena can readily attest is that the more specific the knowledge sought, the more problems can arise. Mages who suppose that Dream is an easy road to lost lore often end up in extended Quiets. Let me give you a couple of examples. Lets say that your Mage wants to channel Chinese, Since there are billions of people who speak Chinese, this language just drops into his mind and he can speak it like a native. Lets say that this same Mage need to decipher something written in ancient Mayan, since this knowledge is known by maybe a hundred living people, the Mage is most likely to be contacted by a deceased Mayan, or a linguistic epiphling, and the Mage might take on certain elements of that spirit personality for the duration...and sometimes beyond. Lets say that the Mage wants to decipher a strange stone tablet with old glyph marking that predate mankind. Since no human ever knew that language, the Maya channels something that did... the Mage then screams "Purple hairy SPIDERS!", drives his fingers into his eyes and then starts tearing Doissetep keep apart stone by stone....

You run into the same problems with knowledge as it becomes more personal. lets return to the example of the virtual adept who wants to know about vampires. If he just wants to know general vampire lore he's liable to get it free. If he wants to know about the vampires of a particular place or group he might end up channeling the City Father Totem of that city or he might " yank "some spirit that has links to the group, in the case of Giovanni or Samedi this will probably be a ghost, in the case of thaumaturgically adept vampires, some other type of spirit might be yielded. In some cases the knowledge might come from the sleeping mind of a ghoul close to the group or clan. This can be a disaster if the sleeping ghoul is from one of the Sabbat ghoul families as many of them are thoroughly bent if not outright insane. If the Virtual adept wants to know information about one particular vampire he definitely runs the risk of channeling someone slain by that vampires and maddened by years or decades of frustration. Worse, if the Vampire has Necromancy as a discipline, word may get back to him. The Mage might even be unwittingly influenced by the necromancer through the wraith.(hey, are you frightened yet?)

3) The Oneira:

Some of the dream lords have a vested interest in certain types of knowledge, while Channeling Mages do not have an effect on the Maya itself, some of the Oneira take a keen interest in the kinds of knowledge that goes out especially if it is part of their particular bailiwick. One Oneira was known to hunt a particular Mage for stealing lost stories from the Maya. The Oneira sometimes take a notice in the antics of particular Mages and ultimately it is an incredibly bad idea to annoy them as you gotta sleep sometime.

It is rumored, that the Oneira also protect some knowledge from being accessed. The Akashic Record possesses a legend about a contingent of their Mages that traveled into the Maya and consulted a Chinese Oneira about the best way to keep others from learning the roots of Do. The Oneira, was paid a tribute,(what this was is different in each version of the legend) and in return he has kept that knowledge safe. Apparently, this is an extremely rare procedure and there are only a bare half dozen things that are flatly not accessible by the use of Dream. Few even know what they are. Do is one. Knowledge of Iteration X's Computer Root commands is another. (no-one is sure exactly how they pulled this off.) The lost spirits of the Bunyip, Croatan and the past lives of Silent Striders also remain lost in the mists of the Maya. No one knows who guards them.

                                                                                * * * 

Justin was tired as he stripped off the gloves. Constanzi had gotten a Verbena friend to prepare a few things and as soon he was taken to his room they would minister to him and then get the hell out of there.

"Are you O.K?" She queried, " You went a little weird there for a minute."

" I got a surgeon who died a few years ago, he knew the hospital. He's still sort of in here."

Stanzi shivered. "Is that good or bad?"

"Well..." He grinned, " You see that cute nurse over there?"

"Yeah. So."

" Well, I plan to ask her out."

"Why."

" Cause I remember what she was like in bed. The Doc did a good deed for John, and now I'm going to do a good deed for him...and me."

"Pig."

" All part of the service." Justin Cayce said as he smiled and walked away.