Hello everyone!
I’m calling a break on the blog for the time being, as Mage has hit the point of me writing up my redlines so that the authors come back from the Holidays and start the final draft. Those of you who came to GenCon saw the first stages of the redlines, in traditional red pen on printout. Since then we’ve had all the delayed sections delivered, and a good three months of internal playtesting. In particular, while I’ve been running the game with starting characters, Eric Zawadzki and his troupe have been doing their best to break the system with a cabal of Masters. The results, and some things you’ve all brought up on this blog, have informed the next draft. When we return in the new year, we’ll continue the blog with the five Orders you haven’t seen and then go back to voting on topics.
Once the next draft nears completion, we’ll have time for a bit of External playtesting, too. I’ve been writing down email addresses of people volunteering so far, but when it’s time I’ll put a notice up here.
Fiction Anthology
One book we haven’t spoken about much so far is now out of editing, though. The Fallen World Anthology contains 8 original Awakening short stories and 4 reprints of old classics from first edition’s intro fictions. Our theme for the Anthology, like for the second edition core, is Addicted to Mystery; these are stories about mages being drawn in to the murky edges of the World of Darkness.
Here’s what you’ll find inside;
In The Hanged Woman, by Wood Ingham, we kick off with a look at the Awakening of Lucy Sulphate. (Originally published in Legacies: The Sublime.)
In Open Carry, by Matthew McFarland, a grocery-store shooting leads to a confrontation with a brutal entity. Watch out for pine needles.
In The Intruder, by Tristan Tarwater, a Sentinel searches for an unwelcome guest in the back-alleys of New York.
In Crimson Lips, by Eddy Webb, an Eleventh Question is called out of retirement for one last job in 1940s Detroit.
In Obedience, by Geoff Skellams, a Seer of the Throne obeys his Exarch’s command to hunt down a particular artifact, at great personal cost. (Originally published in Seers of the Throne.)
In The Storyteller, by Rick Chilliot, a child carries out missions for a talkative fox in a small town gone very, very wrong. (Originally published in Intruders: Encounters with the Abyss.)
In The Unmurdered Man, by Malcolm Sheppard, the Censor Khonsu (last seen having his soul stolen by a Reaper in Left Hand Path) is restored by an unlikely benefactor, and must solve a series of murders in which every victim looks exactly like him.
In The Wheel, by John Newman, an artist living off his inheritance has bad dreams, and discovers a horrific family secret. (Originally published in Summoners.)
In Imaginary Skin, by Wood Ingham, Lucy Sulphate and her friend Catesby meet a tribe of beings who aren’t supposed to exist.
In Custody Battle, by Eric Zawadzki, two mages go to war over the fate of a family central to their Obsessions.
In The Tahmanawis Stick, by Geoff Skellams, a chance car accident draws a Thyrsus into a conflict between Sleepers and the entity they’ve offended.
And finally in The Human Heart by Malcolm Sheppard, the Old Man of the Hollow has a visitor, to whom it dispenses some unwanted advice. (Originally written for, but cut for space from, Imperial Mysteries.)
As a final taster, here’s a link to Custody Battle. Enjoy, happy holidays, and we’ll be back in 2015!
Comments
38 responses to “Redlines and Anthologies [Mage: The Awakening]”
Rick Chilliot’s “The Storyteller” just chills me to the bone each time I read it. An excellent piece of horror fiction.
On the story:
Wow. Endymion is an ASSHOLE.
I feel like the Nostalgia Critic here: “Normally, violence isn’t the answer, but here, the answer is F, for Fuck His Ass Up.”
Really shows just how valuing knowledge over people can make a mage the monster of the story, and lovably noir. Also shows just how important and cutthroat the Consilium can be.
Well, that escalated quickly.
Murder in the Pines yessss
It’s a shame the preview for Creative Thaumaturgy or Attainments will apparently not be released before the new year.
Nevertheless, I hope Dave and the rest of the OPP crew have a great holiday season and a happy and healthy new year!
“In Imaginary Skin, by Wood Ingham, Lucy Sulphate and her friend Catesby meet a tribe of beings who aren’t supposed to exist.”
Rmoahal? Wouldn’t mind seeing them again 🙂
Rmoahal, yes indeed.
Where can I sign up for external play testing? My group would pray to the Abyss for that chance
Likewise!
Would love to do some play testing – are you just pulling email addresses from the comments, or do we need to sign up somewhere?
Good sir, please consider me when the time for external playtesting begins.
I, too, would like to submit myself for consideration in the external playtesting.
External playtesting??? My group and I would like to volunteer for that.
Also this story was great, I always thought mind mages were a**holes.
As for the story, I have to say, Mind mages can be really big jerks. Also, he seemed a big enough jerk that it doesn’t seem a big loss. He also tended to toss magic around like it’s the solution to everything instead of wielding it with Wisdom. Doesn’t seem to think much of the long term consequences of his actions.
I mean, did he really think she wouldn’t have defenses set up? I wonder how he liked being in a Final Destination movie.
That said, I’m not entirely sure he needed to die or that Thetis needed to be the one to kill him. It’s entirely possible he did, I’m not sure. I mean, he was clearly willing and able to toss around mind control magics whenever he wanted something, which is not good, and killing him before he gets into the “jerks only” section of the secret library might well have saved a large number of people.
But Thetis went directly to life/death threats and then knowingly bound defenses to herself that would cause mortal injury to anyone who attacked her magically. Which seems rather extreme on her end honestly. (Yes, if she hadn’t killed him, she might have ended up in permanent thrall to him via his knowing her real name, but that hadn’t happened yet.)
…..Basically, yes he was a Jerk, but did she really need to become a Killer?
In my view, he mocked Thetis for daring to protect a Sleeper friend of hers. And was trapping a child and her mother in an abusive household for his own convenience. Which might have quite probably turned Sophia into a serial killer.
She may not have been right to kill him, but that was on general principle of non-violence; on Endymion’s grave will be written “And Nothing Of Value Was Lost.”
Arse was going to blow himself up one day, being blown up by an angry nanny that avoided blowing up other people may have been the happiest way he could have gone.
I’d like to add my name to the volunteer bucket.
Also, really digging Thetis’s story. It’s exactly the kind of unease-inducing morality play that I expect from nWoD; yes, Endymion was several flavours of bastard, but was murdering him justified? The natural discomfort it inspires without encouraging easy answers, all while providing a clear insight into what a Mystery is and how they can shape Mages’ lives (and how Mages can shape their own lives) is pretty wonderful.
Give Zawadzki a pat on the back, eh?
More importantly, did Thetis kill Endymion because he was going to ruin her friend’s life, or because he was getting in the way of her pet Mystery?
Oh, mostly the first, but no small dash of the second. Motives are complicated and tangled, as any Mastigoi can tell you.
Were it that I had an interested group, I’d sign up.
Ditto, man. Phooey.
have you ever thought about recording some of your internal playtest games? I’m a podcast junkie and would love to hear em.
Hi Dave, I would be interested in helping with external play testing. I have access to both experienced and new players. I have experience putting games at conventions, conducting tests and I have been running a Mage LARP for a few years now.
Hi Dave
I’d also like help with the external play testing if you have the need.
If anyone can horribly break your rule system in creative new ways its me and mine!
Oh yes. Playtesting would be nice.
My group definitely would love to get in on a playtest, looking forward to information on that going up.
Exelent story, cant wait to read the rest.
btw Thetis did somthing in it that i never got how to do, how did she broke the pipes in the court room with Fate magic??
I’m sure 2e does things a little differently here, but Winds of Chance would cover an effect like this under 1e rules.
Or maybe it was just a Matter effect, but Thetis’ description may be colored by her Path and her Mage Sight.
Nice news! Is good to see this going forward. Oh “The Storyteller”… I love the story but only read it once in a long while because it gives me nightmares every single time.
The part I enjoyed the most about the story was his pity when he noticed that it might be personal to Thetis.
If this is playtest sign up, I am definitely in. Either way, looking forward to Mage 2E!
[…] that will be released in 2015, was posted in its entirety in the developer blog on Sunday. You can read it for free here (link is at the bottom of the blog post there, just above Dave Brookshaw’s […]
I’m glad so many folks enjoyed my contribution to the anthology. It was a lot of fun to write, especially since it involved mages of my two favorite Paths. Yeah, Thetis had good reason to fear for her friend, for Sophia, for the fate of the world (or her Obsession), for her own free will, and even for her life. She didn’t really have any good choices, but killing Endymion was probably an overreaction and arguably the wrong bad choice to make.
are you going to make a blog about Creative Thaumaturgy/Attainments or are you going straight to the Orders??
btw, who won in the end?
[…] Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition: Redlines and Anthologies […]
I know our group would love to wrap-up our long-running Mage game as part of the 2e playtest. In any case, looking forward to seeing the new rules in action.
I would absolutely love to be considered for External playtesting, as me and my group are patiently waiting for Mage v2. to be released.
Happy belated holidays to you all while we’re at it! Keep up the good work.
(Also, Endymion is a twat)