Mage: London

Tradition FactionsIt would be misleading to talk about a single Tradition’s agenda in Londoninstead the Traditions as a group are generally defined by the views andbelieves of the leaders of the most powerful Chantries within the city. Evenwithin a single Tradition it can be hard to talk about a definitive and unitedphilosophy as some Traditions are actually composed of several equallypowerful and influential Chantries and it is only when consensus is reachedbetween the heads of these Chantries that a real “Tradition” appears within thecity. The individual Chantries will be discussed later but there are two majorgroups that span the Traditions and help provide the structure that most mageswithin the city are aware of.

The Council of the Green Chamber

The Council is main Tradition organisation in London. It has existed since theElizabethan period and its name comes from its original meeting place, whichhad green walls. It derives the greater part of its power from its extensivearchives of Nodes in the London area. Essentially the Council acts an arbiter indisputes between Chantries and Tradition and nominally helps set a uniformpolicy that can be followed by all the Traditions in the city. Their real influencethough is underpinned by their ability to assign Nodes to mages that supportthe Council.

The Council has gone through a long period of self-examination andintrospection but is slowly emerging to provide more definite leadership. Therehave been a number of changes in the leadership of the Council and only noware the various members comfortable and familiar with one another to startsetting policy.

Mages from outside the city are meant to make themselves known to theCouncil if they intend to spend any amount of time in the capital. However theCouncil has to rely on the various Chantries to enforce this so this can beconsidered more of a polite consideration than a hard and fast rule.

Most mages will interact with the Council via the Council member whorepresents their Tradition. All London mages will have met the Council at aparty to celebrate the end of their apprenticeship. Once this formality is done amage will generally only deal with the Council if they have something tocommunicate to a Tradition other than their own, they are in dispute with theirMaster, Chantry or Tradition leaders or if they have broken the laws of theTraditions. In the latter case the Council will demand that the renegade mage’s

Tradition bring them to the Council for judgement and sentencing. There is norecord of such an order ever being disobeyed although on occasion a Traditionhas declared that they cannot find their errant member in which case the mageis exiled from the city in their absence.

The London Reform Movement

The London Reform Movement (LRM) is a new group of young and dynamicTradition mages that are dedicated to revitalising the Traditions withinLondon. They have little to offer those who ally with them except mutualsupport. Despite this their energetic and vocal agenda is having an effect,offering an alternative to the overly conservative council and providing a socialnetwork for Tradition mages outside the normal Chantry structures in the city.The group is particularly strong in intellectual and philosophical ideas and theCouncil is having to respond the challenges and demands laid down by theMovement.

Membership is essentially very loose and essentially involves a meredeclaration of support and attendance at meetings and rituals. The voluntarilynature of membership means that LRM members tend to be very dedicated totheir cause.

The key tenets of the Reform movement are essentially that there be moresupport for mixed Tradition Chantries and Cabals, that the Traditions do moreto combat the Technocracy, that there be more co-ordination with Horizon andTraditions outside city and that Nodes be distributed according to merit ratherthan the fiat of the Council.

The LRM also places more importance on more esoteric forms of magic outsidethe Traditions and believes that Orphans have the right to practice their ownforms of magic rather than being forced into a Tradition as the Council wouldprefer.

Most mages only encounter the LRM if they are sympathetic to their views andattempt to assist or join them. A Tradition mage in London can happily livetheir live with the LRM being nothing more than a rumour.

Technocracy FactionsRecently the Technocracy has been enjoying a great deal of success throughmanipulation of government policy within the UK. However this success hassomewhat run away with the cabals involved in “the project” andconservatives and hardliners are now looking for the right time to impose their

own views on how Sleeper society should be guided from here.

Despite their divisions the Technocracy is a far more autocratic and integratedinstitution than the Traditions. Rivalries and disagreements exist but overall theTechnocracy is united in its purpose and goals and individuals cannot beallowed to stand in the way of a higher purpose.

The Establishment

The Establishment is a jokey but unshakeable nickname for the strong,conservative forces that guide and control Reality in Britain. The Establishmentare a close knit group from an almost aristocratic set of families. Establishmentmembers have all gone to the same schools, gone to the same resorts andworked together in the same Sleeper organisations. Their personal links andshared history are far stronger than their Convention allegiances. Conventionoutsiders regard the whole Technocracy in Britain as one irritating anduncontrollable gentleman’s club with unfathomable rules and intentions. Theywould not be wrong. The Establishment share the same general goals ofAscension as the rest of the Technocracy but abhor what they regard as“radicalism”. For the Establishment a step forwards taken in haste is one that iseasily reversed. Instead they prefer to introduce small changes in stages that arenot easily undone. Tradition Mages think of the Establishment as an invisiblesnake slowly crushing all life and vitality out of the Sleepers. The Establishmentwould be pleased with such an analogy. Their main goals are to protect whatthey have achieved so far first and improve on their achievements later.

The group is ferociously conservative but their belief in controlling Reality as awhole rather than repressing “elements” within in means that Traditions areoften given a rather easy ride in the country as a whole and the city inparticular. The Establishment generally refuses to act against “Deviants” unlesstheir activities threaten the Consensus as a whole. The Establishment is well-aware of the risks of attempting a botched “correction”.

Ironically the Establishment have many social and historical connections to theleading Hermetic families in Britain. Both groups feel such connections are tooancient to be severed and therefore Hermetics and Technocrats are often to befound fraternising and even coming to mutually agreeable solutions toproblems.

New White Tower

The New White Tower (NWT) is a group of radical, young Technomancers thatare heavily dominated by New World Order members. The group helped foster

a new attitude in the country with the election of the Labour government in1997 and this has allowed them to set a new agenda for the country and the cityas a whole. One of the prime goals was to get Britain to stop looking back at itspast and instead concentrate on building a new future. Similarly NWT wantedthe British Technocracy to foster stronger links with its American counterpartsand adopt a more aggressive path towards Ascension. For the most part it hasbeen successful but with the advent of the War on Terror the relentless forwardmomentum the group had has been diminished and there have been severaldisagreements within the group as to whether they need to revitalise their basicphilosophy in the light of recent events or not.

There have also been several unexpected outcomes as a result of “the project”.While people have generally been encouraged to be more forward looking andpositive in some cases this has allowed Reality Deviants to hijack the popularmood to advance their own agendas. The group are uncertain as to how to dealwith this and at the moment are unwilling to take direct action but instead trustthat their policies are doing more to sway Sleeper Consciousness than a fewisolated, if charismatic, individuals. Instances of New Age Spirituality and masshysteria have been embarrassing for the group lead some to question theeffectiveness of the Mind Control procedures.

Traditions

Portfolios

As London does not have equal numbers of all Traditions (and indeed hassome Traditions that have never been an organised force in the city) the leadingTraditions tend to have an interest in spheres outside that usually assigned tothem.

Order of Hermes: Forces, Matter, Correspondence

Celestial Chorus: Primes, Celestial Umbra

Verbena: Life, Primal Umbra

Cult of Ecstasy: Time, Mind, Correspondence

Euthanatos: Entropy, Dark Umbra

Akashic Brotherhood

The Brotherhood presence in London consists of a handful of individual magesand therefore the Tradition has no official presence in the Tradition community.In fact within London the Tradition is viewed with extreme suspicion due to a

recent incursion by renegade Brothers who stole and corrupted other Mage’sNodes. Although the Council realises that these individuals were not part of thetrue Tradition most ordinary Tradition Mages cannot make the distinction. As aresult most Akashic Brothers tend to keep a low profile and prefer to act eitheralone or with trusted individuals from other Traditions who can vouch for theirtrustworthiness.

Celestial Chorus

The Celestial Chorus have a long history in London albeit fractured by differentreligious beliefs. The first Choristers arrived when the Romans built the city butthe current Tradition stems from the Norman Conquest. This long historymeans that the Tradition has had long rivalries with both the Order of Hermesand the Verbena both of whom felt the Chorus persecuted them when theChorus was dominant in the city. It is only since the World Wars that the threehave managed to bury the hatchet and work effectively together and even thenthe Verbena frequently hold grudges and want to revisit past injustices.

In the past the Chorus can be identified with the Church of England and theTradition has mirrored the structure of the Sleeper church with Mages oftenoccupying similar positions in both organisations.

In the present the Choristers power is significantly waning as their paradigmfails to connect to majority of Sleepers. Added to this the Tradition has justundergone a major schism between Christian and Islamic Choristers. The latterbelieve that the Technocracy is waging a war against them under the guise ofthe “War on Terror” and that Christian Choristers are willing to ignore it fortheological reasons. This has resulted in a number of Choristers breaking awayfrom the London Tradition and in some cases leaving the city altogether.

Even within the Christian faction there are divisions as to how the Chorus canreconnect with the Sleeper laity. The major winners in all these troubles are theChoristers who prefer to see their Tradition as a “super religion” that isexpressed only partially in Sleeper religions. This group is the only one whohas a philosophy that can link all Choristers and it is also receiving significantsupport from Horizon including “visiting” Masters.

With the dissidents departure from the Tradition the Choristers stand at acrossroads, it is far from certain that they will be able to reorganise and reclaimtheir dominant position.

Cult of Ecstasy

The London Cult is a strange beast as it has been in the city almost as long as

any other Tradition yet it has never really created an organised structure foritself nor sought a great deal of power and influence within Mage society.Instead individuals have carved roles and followings for themselves as theyhave seen fit. The Cult has occasionally formed its own Cabals and more rarelyChantries but most Cultists are happy to associate with other Tradition Magesand be part of their Cabals.

This means that Cultists are often the most well-informed and connected Magesin the city. They frequently find themselves as mediators between other magesand even whole Traditions. They are also sought out, rightly or wrongly, aspurveyors of information and rumour.

Both the Order of Hermes and the Celestial Chorus see the Cult of Ecstasy asuseless dilettantes and vacuous layabouts whose commitment to their ownpleasures frequently expose them to the risk of corruption.

The Cult do not currently have a representative on the Council (although theyare entitled to one). The previous incumbent quit in disgust over variouspolitical power plays and no replacement has yet been found.

Dreamspeakers

True Dreamspeakers are a relative rarity in the city although many of the moremystical Verbena are mistaken for Dreamspeakers. London offers a richUmbral experience for those who are ready to commit themselves but it is onethat rarely aligns along common Dreamspeaker beliefs. Since mostDreamspeakers are committed to introspective and Umbral pursuits thoseDreamspeakers that do work and live in the city tend to have little to do withthe politics of the city and the Tradition is not represented on the Council.Instead the Dreamspeakers hold council with one another “in dreams” andapproach the Council only when they have important information to impart.The Dreamspeakers are sceptical of the Reform Movement but do have somesympathy for a more individual approach to the Traditions.

Dreamspeakers are most often encountered in the Umbra and here they oftenhelp and guide other Tradition Mages in their journeys. Such help is offeredfreely and without compulsion and is often so useful that all the otherTraditions tend to see the Dreamspeakers as entirely beneficial and are willingto assist individual Dreamspeakers without question.

Euthanatos

The Euthanatos tradition has a long history in London but is currently at thelowest ebb of it power ever recorded. The Tradition decided to eliminate the

vampire Roman Southsea when the crimelord’s plans to take over the LondonUnderworld were revealed. The vampire was using several corruptedUmbrood and Dark Umbral spirits as lieutenants and “hitmen” all anathema tothe Tradition. The victory over the crimelord, when achieved, was Pyrrhic forthe Euthanatos Tradition in London. The majority of the Euthanatoi had beenkilled and with the disappearance of the current Keeper of the Undergroundthe Tradition has lost access to most of its nodes.

The Tradition would welcome more Euthantoi basing themselves in London.

The Keeper of the Underground

This is probably the most important position with the modern LondonTradition. The Keeper has to key roles, firstly they explore, map and use thephysical underground of the city, secondly they are the Tradition’srepresentative within the Dark Umbra. The Keeper frequently explores thecracks in the Gauntlet where the Dark Umbra seeps over in to the modernworld and also acts as a kind of exorcist committed to turning the wheel forthose spirits that cannot Ascend to their rightful place. The Keeper hasknowledge of where the Nodes buried beneath the city’s surface are and how tocleanse “Deep Nodes” from the taint of the Dark Umbra. Normally the Keepermanages and monitors all the Euthanatoi nodes apart from those that arepersonally attuned to individual Euthanatos.

The Keeper also explores phenomena such as the “ghost stations” of theLondon Underground and knows how to exploit the vagaries of theunderground system to allow them to travel rapidly around the city, betweenvarious umbra and even, it is rumoured, to travel in time.

The Keeper tradition is oral with the Keeper always having an apprentice whoserves with them for ten or twenty years. In recent times though all thosetrained in the ways of the Keepers have died or disappeared in quicksuccession. Now the Euthantoi are in desperate need of someone who can riskthe hazards of the Dark Umbra and embark on a visionquest to return theknowledge of the Keepers to the Tradition.

Order of Hermes

The London Order of Hermes is jokingly referred to by some Mages as the“finest public school in Central London” as the Tradition in the city is mostlydevoted to research and education. The Hermetics have a number of schoolsdotted around the city all of which are linked to extensive Horizon Realms (inthe case of the Dorfield Apprentice College the entire school is in a Horizon

Realm with only its gateway present inside the Gauntlet). For the HermeticsLondon represents somewhere to relax, train, plan and re-supply. As such theyprefer to live and let live with the Technocracy and prefer to support the statusquo rather than take overt and hostile actions against the London Technocracy.The Hermetics feel that they take a strategical long-term view of actions withinthe city and are far more long-sighted than the other Traditions. These canmake them seem pliant, conservative and inert.

The Order of Hermes have navigated the recent troubled times with ease andhave not suffered from the in-fighting and disorganisation that has afflictedsome of the other Traditions. This has left them as the dominant Traditionwithin the city. They have even been able to exploit divisions within theTechnocracy to secure their position and obtain a good idea of what theiropponent’s intentions are.

The only fly in the ointment is the lack of what might be called “field agents”.The Order is dependent on often unreliable and sympathetic agents and proxiesto achieve their goals. They also often find themselves blind-sided by“grassroots” activities such as the rise of the Reform movement. There is somediscussion as to how to correct this and many are pointing at the Verbena as anexample of how to anchor the Order more firmly in Sleeper and low level Magesociety.

Orphans

Orphans are not ostracised by the Council and are certainly welcome within theReform Movement. However the Council feels that Orphans should beassigned to a Tradition that is sympathetic to their innate magic and thatorphans are literally orphaned from their “true” Tradition. The ReformMovement believes that Orphans should only join a Tradition if they wish toand that these spontaneously Awakened mages might actual reveal somethingimportant about the way Awakening works and the relationship between amage and their Avatar. This idealistic notion though does not address thedangers that Orphans face, not least from their unstructured approach to TrueMagic.

All Tradition mages believe that Orphans are “theirs” though and try to shieldthem from the Technocracy or if worse comes to worse eliminate them beforethey align with the Technocracy, Marauders or worse.

Sons of Ether

Rather like the Dreamspeakers the Sons of Ether are generally solitary Mages

who do not form Cabals or Chantries. Unlike the Dreamspeakers though thereare large numbers of Etherites beavering away in their hidden laboratories. TheTradition’s hey day was during and after the Second World War but in themodern day they find their paradigm is being crushed by the Technocracy andmost are retreating into their Horizon Realms to pursue their researches inmore amenable surroundings. The Sons would be allowed a seat on the Councilbut they have never asked for one.

Verbena

Along with the Order of Hermes the Verbena is one of the most importantTraditions in the city with large Chantries that bustle with activity and largenumbers of enlightened staff. There are three schools of thought within theVerbena. The first is the “Wiccan” or Neo-Pagan school who see themselves aspart of a worldwide Gaian movement with traditions and roots reaching backto prehistory. This group sees themselves as part of the “primitive Traditions”and have strong ties to the spirit world and Dreamspeaker mages.

The second group are the “Scientific” thinkers who seek to try and blur thelines between scientific ideas of medicine and philosophy. This group seek topresent their ideas as a mixture of the spiritual, practical and scientific. One keyexample of this concept is the use of complementary medicines as part ofhealing treatments. This group encourage Sleepers to regard alternativemedicines and therapies as part of a holistic treatment program, much to thechagrin of the Progenitors. Both the Wiccan and Scientific groups involvethemselves significantly in what might loosely be called the “New Age” Sleepermovement.

The final thread of thought is the “Celtic” or “Druidaic” movement which seesthemselves as their heirs to Britain’s mysterious Druids who were annihilatedby the Romans. This group is the most nationalistic in their thinking beingprofoundly interested in purely British folklore, legends, myths and sites suchas Stonehenge. Cynics point out that since so little is known about the Druidsand pre-historic British religious practices that pretty much anything can beincorporated in the belief system. Followers answer that they are rediscoveringlost knowledge via their magical studies and arduous Visionquests.

Outside these main groups are a large number of “covens” or cells made up ofone or two Verbena and a circle of Enlightened believers. These are often onlyweakly linked to larger Cabals and Chantries but there is enoughcommunication to make the Verbena one of the most pervasive Traditions inthe city with a strong Sleeper following.

Interestingly all three views have significant overlaps in philosophy and as aresult the London Tradition is quite cohesive and unified. While powerstruggles do still occur the Verbena agenda is constantly advanced to thebenefit of all.

In recent years the leading Verbena Chantries have been rocked by a number ofscandals that disgraced a number of Verbena Masters. The Tradition has had tolook inwards and revitalise itself and reaffirm its beliefs. Fortunately the broadbase of the Tradition has allowed a number of committed and talentedindividuals to come forward and renew the Tradition. The London Verbenacurrently stand on the threshold of a minor “Golden Age”, observers expectthem to become the leading Tradition in the city soon.

Virtual Adepts

The Virtual Adepts are something of a pariah Tradition within London as theyhave failed to definitely break away from the Technocracy. Many VirtualAdepts still feel a strong affinity with the Iteration X Convention and work withItX Technocrats. Those who are more committed to ideas such as the DigitalWeb have no such links but are so independent minded that they refuse to haveanything to do with the more conventional and stuffy Traditions in the city.

Some Virtual Adepts have turned up as part of cross-Tradition Cabals but thatis about the limit of their involvement in the London Traditions. Digital WebAdepts have some cordial relationships with individual Dreamspeakers andSons of Ether but in general the Tradition should be thought of as a separateand independent group with the London Magical landscape.

The London situation is regarded with embarrassment by the internationalTradition (in so much as they think of it at all) and the Tradition as a wholemight be willing to work with the LRM to try and mend the breach.

Cabals and Chantries

Verbena

Dana Kioch

The Dana Kioch are more of a Tradition within a Tradition than a true Chantry.It has existed since the 1500s possibly even longer. The Dana Kioch were part ofthe first ever Council of the Green Chamber.

Today the group encompasses at least three major Chantries and ten Cabals.The philosophical basis of the society is hard to pin down but leading members

of the “Scientific” and “Wiccan” schools of thought can be found within theDana Kioch ranks. Outside this the Dana Kioch contains members from thewhole spectrum of Verbena thought. Outsiders tend to think of the group asbeing akin to the Freemasons as the major tenants are that members supportone another and if you benefit from being Dana Kioch that you use your powerto help fellow members. Some Verbena strongly dislike the fact that the DanaKioch are willing to extend “honorary” memberships to Mages outside theVerbena Tradition. The Dana Kioch defend this as being part of their inclusivephilosophy but in practice honorary Dana Kioch all tend to be powerful Magesin their own right.

The group have recently had a few internal disputes after one of their leadingmembers, Henry Fielding, had to resign from his post as the CouncilRepresentative of the Verbena. A resignation that gossip has identified as beinga case of going before being pushed. One of Fielding’s allies and friends wastransported to Horizon on suspicion of being deeply in Quiet to point whereMarauderism seemed inevitable. The accusation runs that Fielding found itconvenient to ignore the signs of Quiet in his ally, preferring to use him aspawn against the other Verbena Chantries in the city.

Fielding has retreated to his Chantry (the Institute of Botanical Studies) and hasstated his intention to acquire the rank of Master of the Life Sphere. He hastaken on three Apprentices to assist him in this goal. Despite the rumours it isalso well-known that the current Council Members all seek Fielding’s advice onthe Council matters on a frequent basis.

The Dana Kioch are such a large and diverse group that problems in onesection of the society rarely effect the organisation as a whole. This certainlyseems to be the case at the moment. The Dana Kioch have lost some prestigebut remain one of the most powerful groups in the city.

The Sisters of the Silver Glade

This Chantry is extremely mystical in nature and their secluded mansion andgardens contain the “Silver Glade” an immensely powerful Node that powersthe Chantries ritual magic. Entrance to the Sisters (as the name implies) isrestricted to women (and to lesser extent eunuchs) and membership isextremely demanding with an almost convent-like lifestyle.

The Sisters have recently been more introverted than ever after the former headof the Chantry was condemned by a Tribunal for abusing her abilities. The newhead of the Sisters, Bluechild, has completely reinvigorated the Chantry andhas wiped away all traces of the old, corrupt regime. She has also led the Sisters

in a re-examination of the past and has allegedly led the Chantry in severalrituals of rebirth that have left the Chantry more powerful than ever.

The goals and beliefs of the Chantry are extremely obscure as you have to be amember to know the secrets of the Chantry. However in the past the Sistershave provided powerful healing and cleansing magic to the Council. They alsoseem to be very powerful in the Primordial Umbra and are rumoured to havealliances with werewolves and Fae.

Orden Nagh

The Orden Nagh was founded in the early 1900s as a Neo-Druidaic societydedicated to unearthing the “true history” of the British Isles and its people.Over time the group’s emphasis of Celtic and other alternative histories havepicked up a number of fellow traveller’s with Wiccan beliefs and stranger ideas.This has led to a somewhat confused conception of what the Cabal is about.What is certain is that the Orden Nagh has successfully unlocked (or created)several Umbral Patterns and powerful Spirits in London that were previouslyunknown.

A large part of the Orden Nagh are what are jokingly referred to by outsiders asthe “political wing” of the Cabal. These members demand a greater role in thepolitical direction of the London Traditions as the “true heirs” to the originalBritish mages. These Mages regard the Traditions as “foreign” and their magicas an imposition on the land that wastes effort in “compelling” the naturalforces of the country. This viewpoint is regarded with scorn by most of theother Traditions.

Relationships between the Dana Kioch and the Orden Nagh are in a worddreadful. The Dana Kioch regard the Orden Nagh as the “Dana Kioch SecondXI” made up of those who lacked enough talent to make it within the DanaKioch. They also find the Orden Nagh’s claims of true heritage to be laughablecompared to their long and documented history.

Order of Hermes

The Potterites

The Potterites are a small Cabal that regard themselves as the Tradition’s worsenightmare: Hermetics with a sense of humour. The group are obsessed withlocating “gaps” in the Gauntlet that allow access to Realms and unusualUmbras. After the popularity of the Harry Potter books the group namedthemselves after the eponymous wizard and adopted the slang of the books.

For the Potterites, things like Platform 9½ are exactly what they want to findand create.

The group seek to subvert Consensual Reality by encouraging a belief in “secretplaces” among Sleepers and then using that to actually create Realms whereSleepers can safely discover True Magic and rethink the world they inhabit.

All members of the Potterites carry ornate silver wands as symbols of theirmembership and all have Familiars that reflect their personalities and abilities.

LRM

The Synthetics

The Synthetics are both a band and a cabal, a cabal and a band. Specialising inelectropop with strong influences from bands such as Kraftwerk and theHuman League The Synthetics subvert technocratic ideals byanthropomorphising and fetishing technology, particularly gadgets. The cabalis made up of a shifting rota of Son of Ether and Cult of Ecstasy mages. Theband emphasises the importance of going out and having a good time and alsocreating and playing their own instruments (something they encourage theirfans to do as well).

Despite being closer to the Reform Movement in terms of being a mixed cabaland determined to tweak the nose of the technocracy The Synthetics areprobably closer to their Traditions. They hope to attach a node to their studioand that means towing the Council line.

The Establishment

Future London Transport

This cabal (commonly known as FLT or “Flit”) has been around since theSeventies and is dedicated to try to improve the quality of London’s congestedpublic and private transport systems. The capital’s legendary transportproblems provide a challenge to the use of coincidental Correspondence magicfor Technocratic Procedures. This cabal carries out research into both betterProcedures and also trying to shift the paradigm to one more accepting of fastertransportation with the goal of ultimately allowing instantaneous Coincidentalteleportation. The group have some way to go. They have had some successeswith things like introducing radar based technology and satellite maps thatshow congestion as Focuses for car based Technocrats. The group arehampered by their desire to try and avoid allowing “gaps” in the paradigm thatReality Deviants might exploit. They are sick of hearing about Deviants

explaining the sudden appearances and disappearances on the virtues of theTube. This cabal is composed almost entirely of Void Engineers.

The New White Tower

News Management Service

This NWO chantry is based on the banks of the River Thames in a plush officeblock. From here the chantry members offer an “information management”service to other Technocracy members. While conspiracy theorists might like tobelieve that most of their work is involved in covering up instances ofParadoxical deviation from the Paradigm the majority of the cabal’s work is farmore effective and dangerous. The group are capable of creating and managingSleeper media resources to discredit opponents and ideas or alternatively buildup people’s profile. Many technocrats have found various doors open to themafter a run of positive stories on their work and Deviants with a public profilewill inevitably find themselves on the end of smear stories and doggedrumours about their personal lives. While the heart of the Chantry is the NewsManagement Centre (a node contained within the office block with Mind andCorrespondence resonances) a great deal of the chantry members time is takenup with socialising and mixing in Sleeper media society. A great place for anysocial party animal technocrats.

Locations

Marimba Club

The Marimba Club is a fairly anonymous warehouse like building near Brixtonthat houses a dancehall/nightclub and Nelson Marimba’s chantry in a series ofrooms on the upper floor of the club. Mages are welcome in the dancehall aslong as they behave appropriately and respect the proprietor. Access to theChantry is by invitation only and is often bestowed as a mark of respect.

The Moon Pub, Camden

The Moon Pub is a fairly anonymous pub that forms a focus of Verbena activityin the area. It is owned and run by Rick, an Enlightened who used to be aVerbena apprentice. According to rumour Rick’s Avatar is weak or malformedand he was never capable of mastering True Magic. However as a friendly andsympathetic proprietor he seems to have found his niche. Two cosy saloon barsare reserved for Mages to hold private meetings while the narrow public bar isopen to all. Rick runs a number of “mailboxes” for Mages to use and is always

willing to store messages for people. As a result the Moon is often the first stopon any out of town Mage’s visit to the city.

The Sit Bar, Soho

Beloved by the young, trendy and pretentious the Sit Bar is a recent addition tothe city’s social life and offers the latest in stylish and expensive bar roomdrinking. Entry is expensive and exclusive, any Mage capable of finding thediscrete entrance must pay a point of Quintessence to enter. Once inside the baroffers excellent views over the city and a wide variety of exotic food, beer andentertainment.

The bar is owned and run by Cultist Matt Hardbuck who aims to provide amodern social club environment. Several Mages are openly speculating aboutwhat he is doing with the vast amount of Quintessence he must have andrumours abound that the Council would like him to take on the role of the Cultof Ecstasy representative. These rumours say that the Council think he is theright candidate but cannot come up with the right incentives to make him takeon the job.

VampiresLondon is both a safe haven and a danger zone for vampires. While the streetsseam with unsuspecting prey and countless abandoned buildings andunderground warrens offer a myriad of havens to hide in the Technocracy inLondon are particularly aware of vampires and frequently try to hunt themdown and destroy them. After several flagrant abuses of the Masquerade inLondon during the Seventies the Technocracy instituted a series of well-equipped and well-informed pogroms against all vampires they could find.They also created a series of “honey traps” to lure vampires who tried to fill thevoid created by the extermination programs. The program has more or lesssucceeded in keeping London vampire free.

In addition to the Technocracy there are a number of powerful elder vampires(rumoured to be amongst the Inconnu) who also desire a city relatively free oflesser generation vampires. These manipulators are hidden behind layers andlayers of pawns and stooges that keep them off the Technocracy’s “radar”. Thegoals or motivations of this group are inherently opaque but it would seem thatthese elder’s wish to have London as a personal haven.

Despite this vampire’s have a lot of room to manoeuvre at street level. Thereare simply not enough Technocrats to patrol the streets and the city is too big tomonitor effectively. The careful vampire can easily craft a niche for themselves.

Some clans are more suited to this than others, Nosferatu are particularly adeptat exploiting the gaps in the Technocracy’s security net and utilising the fullpotential of underground London.

Good advice for would-be London vampires is to avoid feeding on importantor random people, instead build up a willing herd. Avoid large coteries, do notbe territorial over domains. Finally be very careful about trying to establishinfluence over Kine institutions. Anything worthwhile probably already has anumber of interested parties who are unlikely to want to share.

Roman Southsea

The vampire known by the pseudonym “Roman Southsea” came to Londonshortly after the crisis of the corrupted nodes. He slowly built himself acriminal empire by bringing together a group of supernatural henchmen andusing them to control and unite the disparate criminal gangs in the city. It wasnot until many months after the collapse of the Dwellers that mages began tohear rumours of the powerful new figure in the city and his fearsomelieutenants. When Southsea’s true nature was revealed however the Euthanatoswere determined to rid the city of him. After attempting a disastrous directassassination, a complex plan was weaved around a favoured blood dollSouthsea was hiding. The woman had a tainted pattern that could bemanipulated into poisoning the vampire.

Southsea was caught out by the plan and for many months hung in the grip of aFinal Death. As he did so his lieutenants fell on one another and attempted toseize control of his criminal empire for themselves. The Euthanatos tookadvantage of the chaos to eliminate some of the most terrible and uncleanbeings who had served Southsea.

All involved in the conflict assumed that Southsea had died but in fact thevampire survived but was physically much diminished. In secret he hasresumed his plans but with the wisdom of failure and with a great fear ofmages. Southsea is now a committed backroom operator and has realised thathis greatest strength is the ability to outlive his potential opponents.

Although no-one knows for sure Southsea is assumed to be either a Ventrue orGiovanni.

WerewolvesThe Tradition Mages are surprisingly knowledgeable about the Garou thatoccupy the city and know of at least three groups present: the Silver Fangs, the

Bone Gnawers and the Glass Walkers. The Silver Fangs are the rulers of theGarou in the city. Centuries ago the Council and the Silver Fang King used tohave a formal alliance and several agreements controlling interaction betweenMages and Garou. However relationships currently are extremely sour with theSilver Fangs refusing to recognise the difference between Tradition Mages andthe Technocrats that overran the city in the Victorian period. Thismisunderstanding is extremely frustrating for the Council and the Silver Fangsrefuse to discuss this issue has meant that the Council has banned all contactbetween Garou and Mages unless sanctioned by the Council. A bad situationcan only be made worse by more misunderstandings between the two groups.Little is known about the Bone Gnawers except that they prefer to live inunderclass areas and that they have engaged in several ritual attempts tochange the London Umbra.

Relations with the Glass Walkers are far better and Mages often find they havemutual interests with the technology obsessed Garou. The Glass Walkers haveoften proved useful in spying on and foiling Technomantic plots. It is knownthat Glass Walkers feel they should be the dominant group amongst the Garouin the city and often press Mages to assist them in deposing the moribundSilver Fangs. This is another diplomatic minefield.

Fae, Wraiths, Mummies and OthersLike many Tradition Mages London Mages have great difficulty separatingWraiths, Fae and other such creatures from the more general Umbrood. VariousMage groups understand more than normal about these various creatures. TheEuthanatos for example are very knowledgeable about Wraiths. The OrdenNagh Cabal have also forged relationships with various Fae that embodyaspects of their own beliefs in the mythology of Britain. The libraries of theOrder of Hermes often have a great deal of information about the varioussupernatural inhabitants that can exist within the Gauntlet but they frequentlymiss the wood for the trees with their obsessive categorisations and groupings.

In general a London Mage thinks in simple terms of Umbrood. A Mummy is anUmbrood that is possessing a body, a Fae is a manifesting Dream Umbrood.Only those committed to exploring the Spirit Sphere discovers there are more tothese creatures than meets the eye.

Some Cabals and Chantries forge pacts with various Umbrood but these areoften jealously guarded against outsiders and knowledge gained is rarelyshared.

London DemonologyDiabolism is strictly prohibited by the Tradition Code and with good reason. InLondon though the issue is slightly vexed. The Celestial Chorus routinelyaccused the Verbena and Order of Hermes of “cavorting with demons” in thecenturies that they persecuted their rivals.

The Verbena answer that the Chorus deliberately confused the Primal , Beastand Elemental Umbrood that are their allies with demonic spirits. A view thatis shared by the Dreamspeakers. The Hermetics have a slightly more complexanswer in that they view their traffic with “daemones” (a semantic hair) assomething quite different to diabolism. For the Hermetic Mages diabolism iswhen a Mage sells their soul to gain Infernal Gifts. The Order instead bargainsand compels daemones into their service through a mixture of negotiation,ancient pacts (going back to Solomon) and sheer force of will. This in their viewis a totally different thing.

There is no straight-forward answer to this question. All Tradition Mages agreethat Infernal Arts are dangerous and that dealing with the Infernal is adangerous path. Most though are loathe to prohibit practices that are ancientand traditional to the various Traditions. Many Mages believe that simpleprohibitions will not work unless all Mages agree to them. Instead the practiceswill be driven underground and signs of potential diabolism will not be spottedin time.

Council Personalities

Nelson Marimba

Nelson is the Euthanatos Council member for London and possibly one of thegreatest Euthantos mages to have dwelt in the city. Despite this profile he isalso an enigmatic figure with a general aura of mystery. In Council he iscautious with counsel but wise when he does speak. Outside the Council he ismuch more impulsive but still given to a passive observation of situations asthey occur. He physically well-built and powerful looking, generallyintimidating. He appears to be in his mid-thirties but occasional references topersonal events in the past have led some to estimate that he might actually bebetween fifty to seventy. He has been in the city for perhaps fifteen years andhas definitely served on the Council for eight.

One mage who has claimed Marimba as an ally in the past believes thatMarimba acts only when a powerful will is involved. Marimba believes that

what is important is what people believe is important. Until a strong will iscommitted to a course of action Marimba believes that nothing can come of acourse of action. This means that Marimba often assists questing mages onventures that may seem hair-brained to outsiders, help is especiallyforthcoming if a mage is on a visionquest. In giving such aid Marimba prefersnot to interfere with council goals and policies but sees the personal as over-riding the political

Marimba is currently spending a great deal of time looking for potentialEuthanatos mages and training those who show an aptitude for the Traditionmagic. Marimba has chosen black mages almost exclusively and even thosealmost entirely from Afro-Caribbean backgrounds.

Marimba has strong links with various Yardie gangs in London. While he has agreat deal of influence over the gangsters (and indeed recruits bodyguards andhelpers from their ranks) he is not directly involved in any illegal activities.

Despite the strong Jamaican connections some older mages insist that Marimbais actually from Central Africa and learnt his magic there.

Sir Henry Allings

Sir Henry is the longest serving member of the Council and the leading figurewithin the Order of Hermes. Well into his sixties Sir Henry is a consummatepolitician and has managed to guide both his Tradition and the Councilthrough countless crises and scandals. His patronage has allowed the Order tocreate ever more Horizon Realms linked to Nodes assigned by the Council. Theonly cloud on the Horizon is that as yet no obvious successor has appeared toSir Henry and some Hermetics feel that the London Traditions are toodependent on just one figure.

Sir Henry has a “London First” attitude and prefers policies that cater for theparticular situation within the city. As a result he is often in conflict withHorizon supporters and has often been accused of collaboration with theTechnocracy, shameless patronage and feathering of his own nest. For his partSir Henry sees many Tradition Mages as utterly unrealistic and idealistic to afault.

Sir Henry has a Chantry come business office in a penthouse on the Thameswhere he keeps a staff that manage on contact with him. From here he manageshis various influences and contacts amongst both magical and Sleeper society.

Sir Henry dominates the Council effortlessly through a mixture of reputation,personality and experience. The only member who can stand up to him is

Nelson Marimba and Sir Henry is wise enough to defer to the Euthanatos onceit is clear that Nelson has made up his mind.

Keith Mallard

Keith is the Celestial Chorus representative on the Council. He was broughtonto the council four years ago to provide a more neutral head to the LondonTradition. As a committed adherent to the concept of the “One” or “Prime” hewas able to sidestep issues of religious dogma. Despite this almost all his timeto date has been taken up by the schism within the London Tradition andattempting to create a more unified Tradition. With the final split of the ChorusKeith can finally draw a line under the incident and has managed to reinforcehis authority within the reduced Tradition. He has also made a number of tripsto Horizon and various key Chorus Chantries on the Continent to cement hisposition as the leader of the London Tradition and enhance his reputation as aleading intellectual within the Tradition as a whole.

With all this strife behind him Keith can now turn his attention morespecifically to London and the Council. His agenda is not public currently but itis clear that the Chorus now expects to play a more important role within thecity.

Beverly Matthews

Beverly is the newest member of the Council and easily the least assuredmember of the Council. A member of the Orden Nagh Verbena Chantry she isacutely aware of his status as the “compromise candidate”. While the OrdenNagh have petitioned ferociously to have more say on the Council their choicefor representative was only really approved as the heads of the other leadingVerbena Chantries were bogged down in scandals and internal politics. She isparticularly incensed that the other Council members still confer to freely andopenly with her predecessor Henry Fielding.

This inadequacy manifests itself in Council meetings by Beverly’s alternationbetween extreme positions and quiet acquiescence. Outside the Council Beverlyis aware that there are plots among both the Verbena and within the Council toreplace her with someone else. Therefore much of her time spent in ferociouspoliticking to shore up her position.

Beverly is easily the most accessible Council member as she is always lookingfor new allies to support her but she is also the least influential member.

City Personalities

Shovan Monserrat

This Hermetic Mage is actually based in Paris but is well known as a patron forambitious Mages in London. Not a great deal is known about Monserrat but hedoes have large estates in France and has inherited a number of Nodes whichallows him to offer Tass as payment for his “little tasks”.

Monserrat is known to be an active agent against the Technocracy on theContinent and many of the jobs he offers to London Mages involve confrontingTechnocrats or supporting other Tradition Mages against the Technocracy.Some Mages have also been involved in spying and reconnaissance onTechnocratic projects. Some missions are routine, some are dangerous but therewards are always tempting.

There are some dark rumours about Monserrat’s fascination with Orphans andHollow Ones but powerful and influential Mages always suffer from envy andmud-slinging. So far no evidence has been found to add substance to anyaccusations against Monserrat.

London SlangLondon Mages are notorious for their wide lexicon of slang that goes backhundreds of years. A complete definition is impossible as many London Magesmake a point of inventing their own vocabulary to help define their Cabal orChantry. Hermetic Mages are particularly notorious for doing this and someestablished Hermetic Cabals use such an arcane slang that not even fellowHermetics can follow what is being said.

Many younger mages like to use mobile phones despite the risk of Technocracymonitoring. This evolving language is constantly in flux but common examplesare offered below.

Dongas: Dreamspeakers.

Gilts, shares and stocks: Quintessence, always refers to personal Quintessence.

Ibbard: A Nephandus or corrupt mage

Issue: a unit of Quintessence, almost always in reference to Tass.

Juwes: Akashic Brothers

Kotcha: Good. A reliable or trustworthy mage.

Kotcha and Kim: I don’t know what to make of him.

Kim (Philby): An unreliable, untrustworthy mage, an informer, a turncoat.

Ricks (Bishoprics): Celestial Choristars.

Station: Node.

Trocs (Trocodero Centre): Virtual Adepts

Trotsky: Assassination, revenge.

London Traditions

The Pendant

Each Mage who was trained and initiated in the city receives an enchantedsilver amulet. The amulet displays a symbol (usually the Tradition sign of theowner but it can be any design) when the Mind and Prime Pattern of the wearermatches that of the person it was designed for. This Talisman is remarkablyuseful in helping to establish that someone is who they claim to be.

Receiving a personalised pendant with a unique design is quite an honourwithin London Mages. As is being given one at all for Mages outside the city.

The Handshake

“The Handshake” is a simple coincidental Prime 2 rote that simply involvespassing a point of Quintessence back and forth as two Mages shake hands. ALondon Tradition Mage can easily recognise the rote and complete the ritualbut for non-Tradition Mages and Sleepers the handshake can be quite painful,akin to an electric shock. For Tradition Mages outside the city who are ignorantof the ritual the experience can be slightly unusual. Many think that the“handshaking” Mage is transferring a gift of Quintessence and fail to return itleading to many misunderstandings. The Handshake is a Prime 1 Rote.

The Knock

The Council discourages Tradition Mages from carrying weapons as people arefar too easily arrested and imprisoned on criminal charges as a result. To tryand help Mages defend themselves the Council has devised this Rote, almostreferred to as “The Knock”, a variant on the “Rubbing the Bones” Rote. TheKnock is a Prime attack on the subject’s Pattern. If the victim is not able tocontrol the flow of Quintessence through their Pattern then the manipulationinvokes nausea, confusion and weakness in the victim. The Knock is alwaysVulgar but has been carefully constructed so that it can be used against Sleeperswithout the additional Paradox penalty. The Knock is a Prime 2 Rote.