I played Mage and I liked it
Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2010 12:30 pm
Yeah holy shit, a thread that isn't complaining about something. The world might be fucked. Hell, it's fucking Mage, World of Dorkness, by White "We can't write a ruleset to save our lives" Wolf! In the past, CSIRO were considering hooking me to a generator so my hatred of WW could be used to power the whole country for the next hundred years.
The game is set "now". We're seriously trying to start each session at the current date, so several days may indeed happen over the course of the session, but then there's likely to be downtime so that when the next session happens the game is still set "now". It's set in Europe, and we had this wonderful conversation.
Me: Good Europe or Bad Europe?
MC: It's WoD, every Europe is Bad Europe in WoD.
Me: I should have rephrased that. Nice Socialist Europe like Sweden, or smelly criminal Europe like the Ukraine or Belarus? Or "Evil" Europe like the Russian Federation?
MC: The UK, but it's still Evil Europe in this.
We're in a circus. Not a travelling Gypsie thing, but a well-funded all-star circus with the tents bigger than some countries (I know, Europe, it has some countries you can spit across) that is also part ballet with the performances stringing together to weave a story. So kind of cool.
My character:
So, the rest of the group:
So yeah. We're a good-looking team, and we're also TEAM GAY. I should point out that this is a very... well there is one straight player, the guy playing the Irish girl. It's not really relevant to this, but it goes with the whole "White Wolf attracts the gay" and probably explains why I'm so friggin comfortable there.
There are many NPCs (it's a circus) but the story isn't about them. A lot of them are just around, doing background things, and for us to use as hooks for stories or shenanigans. However there is Finch, an elderly man in the Sean Connery style where he'll always be good looking, who is a mage and apparently has had training in Krav Maga. Apparently his role is similar to the "NPCs exist to do the shit PCs don't want to do", in that we can often use him as a library, and also on the chance that fighty stuff might become relevant without us wanting to actually do fighty stuff, we could have an actual reason to go "You do it!"
I know, it's a fine line between that and DM penis who does everything. But from the way the game has been played, this NPC is on the right side of the line.
Also of note, he has taken a vow of chastity, and is pretty old-fashioned, suggesting he's older than he looks. Any kind of trouble seems to end in "Now son, is that really appropriate?" (note: not to his actual familial son) or "Am I going to have to take my belt off?" You might be surprised how many players gave the :3 face at that.
The first session largely involved us all chatting and learning about each other and what being a Mage is actually about. As well as figuring out our orders.
"So, I assume there are great responsibilities, right? Like with Spider Man? There's more to it that just 'Don't use it for Evil', right?"
"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you? You're going to be disappointed when you see a lot of mages out there."
And Finch sort of found out about my background, so he and the more experienced PC mage (the two have been a team for a while, in the backstory) went for a little drive, and I never found out what happened. I didn't know (in or out of character) about the Krav Maga thing, so... yeah.
To be continued, because that was just the background for this, my random yammering, and the first session.
So apparently although my complaints about the system are indeed warranted (see: every thread on it here), but the games themselves are not unsalvageable, I just had an incredibly bad run of MCs. Like, seriously all of them, and most of the players, were people who were just flat out bad.
We have a good MC. So I'll yammer on about the game as sessions occur (2 sessions so far, though one was a quick "We have our character sheets complete, let's get the ball rolling" session, another in a fortnight, after that it's "we'll see what we can arrange, no promises") just to remind outsiders that the Den isn't all about bitching.
We have a good MC. So I'll yammer on about the game as sessions occur (2 sessions so far, though one was a quick "We have our character sheets complete, let's get the ball rolling" session, another in a fortnight, after that it's "we'll see what we can arrange, no promises") just to remind outsiders that the Den isn't all about bitching.
Me: Good Europe or Bad Europe?
MC: It's WoD, every Europe is Bad Europe in WoD.
Me: I should have rephrased that. Nice Socialist Europe like Sweden, or smelly criminal Europe like the Ukraine or Belarus? Or "Evil" Europe like the Russian Federation?
MC: The UK, but it's still Evil Europe in this.
We're in a circus. Not a travelling Gypsie thing, but a well-funded all-star circus with the tents bigger than some countries (I know, Europe, it has some countries you can spit across) that is also part ballet with the performances stringing together to weave a story. So kind of cool.
My character:
I decided to be a high-flying acrobat. I should point out I know little of the actual Mage groups, so I seriously made an acrobat and then picked some Mage stuff, fully intending on never casting a spell (easiest way to avoid Paradox?) I went Mastigos, likely to go Mysterium. Life 2 Space 3 Mind 1, and not fucking mental (apparently that's the "annoying stereotype" for Mastigos? They have the potential to be the new Malkavs? Citation Needed here, so if Frank or someone wants to set me straight, I would be okay with this. Not that I'm going to go nuts, because that's annoying.)
Very very good at acrobatics, with Dex 4 Ath 5 Spec: Acrobatics. A few bits and pieces here and there, flat-out given a bunch of dots (Computer, Academics etc.) for "finishing high school", so that was nice. And this might be the first time an MC has said the game is unlikely to have much combat unless we decide to make combat, and I actually believe them.
I could put the whole sheet up if people want. Also, I drew a picture of my character in acrobatic gear, which I'll eventually scan. But I took the 4-dot Striking Looks, not realising it means "You look as good as most celebrities *think* they look". So I'm a 19yo blonde lesbo acrobatic potential-mind-mage who looks more delicious than a Magnum Gold.
Rotes: Spatial Awareness, Scrying, Spatial Map, Sense Life ("Listening to the Soul's Echo") and Organic Resilience of Life. Note the whole "I don't intend on combat-casting and other stuff that makes you asplode".
Background is, in accordance with WoD, fucked up. Kicked out of home by alcoholic parents who didn't want to actually look after their kid, just about finished high school almost, before needing to focus on living. Stole to eat (apparently needed to live), and used parkour to evade police. No, I didn't know a random Werewolf book had a Parkour merit. Eventually this got her on a local paper, "Rooftop Daredevil Evades Police". Parents saw it, and contacted her, welcoming her back... so they could sell her to a stranger as a slave. ##### occurred (I just put a chunk of scribble as though something had been censored out. So "imagine something bad. Okay, it was that.") Despite being helpless, she still somehow came to the realisation that she controlled her life, and that fate was in her hands... and went through her awakening. Emerged from there, not remembering what happened.
That's when the NPC mentor we have, Finch, found me, gave me an offer to join the circus, and drove me over there a week before the game started, explaining the magic thing to me as well as setting up a contract - food! Money! Clothes! Friends! Not being locked in a cupboard and #####! A new life, starting... IN PLYMOUTH.
Very very good at acrobatics, with Dex 4 Ath 5 Spec: Acrobatics. A few bits and pieces here and there, flat-out given a bunch of dots (Computer, Academics etc.) for "finishing high school", so that was nice. And this might be the first time an MC has said the game is unlikely to have much combat unless we decide to make combat, and I actually believe them.
I could put the whole sheet up if people want. Also, I drew a picture of my character in acrobatic gear, which I'll eventually scan. But I took the 4-dot Striking Looks, not realising it means "You look as good as most celebrities *think* they look". So I'm a 19yo blonde lesbo acrobatic potential-mind-mage who looks more delicious than a Magnum Gold.
Rotes: Spatial Awareness, Scrying, Spatial Map, Sense Life ("Listening to the Soul's Echo") and Organic Resilience of Life. Note the whole "I don't intend on combat-casting and other stuff that makes you asplode".
Background is, in accordance with WoD, fucked up. Kicked out of home by alcoholic parents who didn't want to actually look after their kid, just about finished high school almost, before needing to focus on living. Stole to eat (apparently needed to live), and used parkour to evade police. No, I didn't know a random Werewolf book had a Parkour merit. Eventually this got her on a local paper, "Rooftop Daredevil Evades Police". Parents saw it, and contacted her, welcoming her back... so they could sell her to a stranger as a slave. ##### occurred (I just put a chunk of scribble as though something had been censored out. So "imagine something bad. Okay, it was that.") Despite being helpless, she still somehow came to the realisation that she controlled her life, and that fate was in her hands... and went through her awakening. Emerged from there, not remembering what happened.
That's when the NPC mentor we have, Finch, found me, gave me an offer to join the circus, and drove me over there a week before the game started, explaining the magic thing to me as well as setting up a contract - food! Money! Clothes! Friends! Not being locked in a cupboard and #####! A new life, starting... IN PLYMOUTH.
An Irish girl, Life Mage, working as a vet (failed to get into Med school, so went into vet stuff with the hopes of later getting to attempt Med school again. I hear it's hard to get into Med without going to Prague *cheapshot*) and also doing some animal stunts. 21, does her gardening in both the rose garden and the cucumber patch, ifyouknowwhatimean. We ended up getting to share a caravan. Industrial-strength lesbianism has not yet ensued. Wait til we're on the road for a bit. 2-dot Striking Looks.
Another acrobat, an incredibly nondescript, hard-to-remember (a merit, IIRC) young man (20-ish) from France who works with me for the acrobatics, but is as gay as me. Turns out he's a real prankster, often getting into trouble with the pyro NPC. Pyrotechnician, that is. Well, and pyromaniac.
Another gay young man, who seems to like living life easy in the "avoid getting caught up in actual Mage politics (see: pissing matches) and wars" sense. Friendly, more experienced in magic so able to tutor the rest of us a little - by way of totally poisoning the well in regards to the magic gatherings (I forget the word, starts with a C). Has the 2-dot Striking Looks, IIRC.
Another acrobat, an incredibly nondescript, hard-to-remember (a merit, IIRC) young man (20-ish) from France who works with me for the acrobatics, but is as gay as me. Turns out he's a real prankster, often getting into trouble with the pyro NPC. Pyrotechnician, that is. Well, and pyromaniac.
Another gay young man, who seems to like living life easy in the "avoid getting caught up in actual Mage politics (see: pissing matches) and wars" sense. Friendly, more experienced in magic so able to tutor the rest of us a little - by way of totally poisoning the well in regards to the magic gatherings (I forget the word, starts with a C). Has the 2-dot Striking Looks, IIRC.
There are many NPCs (it's a circus) but the story isn't about them. A lot of them are just around, doing background things, and for us to use as hooks for stories or shenanigans. However there is Finch, an elderly man in the Sean Connery style where he'll always be good looking, who is a mage and apparently has had training in Krav Maga. Apparently his role is similar to the "NPCs exist to do the shit PCs don't want to do", in that we can often use him as a library, and also on the chance that fighty stuff might become relevant without us wanting to actually do fighty stuff, we could have an actual reason to go "You do it!"
I know, it's a fine line between that and DM penis who does everything. But from the way the game has been played, this NPC is on the right side of the line.
Also of note, he has taken a vow of chastity, and is pretty old-fashioned, suggesting he's older than he looks. Any kind of trouble seems to end in "Now son, is that really appropriate?" (note: not to his actual familial son) or "Am I going to have to take my belt off?" You might be surprised how many players gave the :3 face at that.
The first session largely involved us all chatting and learning about each other and what being a Mage is actually about. As well as figuring out our orders.
"So, I assume there are great responsibilities, right? Like with Spider Man? There's more to it that just 'Don't use it for Evil', right?"
"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you? You're going to be disappointed when you see a lot of mages out there."
And Finch sort of found out about my background, so he and the more experienced PC mage (the two have been a team for a while, in the backstory) went for a little drive, and I never found out what happened. I didn't know (in or out of character) about the Krav Maga thing, so... yeah.
To be continued, because that was just the background for this, my random yammering, and the first session.