Mage: The Ascension 2022 29: Ending!

This week: fixing the hole in the Shroud!

Fighting through an army of angry ghosts, with help from some friendly ghosts.

Sending the Earthbound back whence it came.

Yes, Simon took the opportunity to say "whence" out loud.

Returning to find that we haven't been knocked out of time or anything like that.

Going on vacation.

Game over.

Being THE WORST remains huge fun.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong

As a single-player computer game with no active combat, I am okay at Swansong.

Mage: The Ascension 2022 28: Boats!

This week: a descent into the Underworld!

There's a skeleton on a ferry and everything! (I blame Simon.)

And fighting an old dead enemy. And more shades. As in a city of them.

Mage: The Ascension 2022 27: Violence!

This week: violence!

Cara kicks a demon right out of the body he's possessing!

Simon and Alissa lay down a ward to keep the Earthbound from rising!

Didi trips a guy!

The day is saved!

The Council take most of the credit!

We're too tired to argue!

Bloodhunt

Bloodhunt has gone live! And I have gone dead. A few times.

Mage: The Ascension 2022 26: Godzilla!

So, the demonic plan is to awaken an Earthbound demon sleeping under the city, and if we don't want a repeat of the New Bremen Godzilla Incident we're going to have to stop that.

New Bremen at 22

Home.

J:

Really wish they'd start a V5 version

R:

The liability of hosting a chat makes NB likely a relic of a bygone time

Jaz:

which blows ass

Conrad Hubbard:

I think you need two things to create a New Bremen:

1. A group of people willing to work on it. This happened last time because me and a bunch of Storytellers put crazy amounts of time into it.

2. A critical mass of players. I think this happened last time by it being on the White Wolf website. If a company didn't want to host it, they would at least have to give an unofficial chat a prominent link.

 

J:

Being on the White Wolf website gave it that air of authenticity, and that definitely drew players. There are a ton of small and medium size Discord servers running, sure a lot of them aren't great, but the desire and ST's are out there. sorta.

Mage: The Ascension 2022 25: Dickery!

Dickish Euthanatos Guy annoyingly finds a lead on the demon issue, so we have to go into a scary lair place and fight shadow things.

Easter special sadly lacking in resurrected religious figures, or bunnies.

Mage: The Ascension 2022 24: Hunters!

This week, a suspicious lack of demons.

Some ghouls, sure, but that's just a regular weekend.

And crossing paths with a new monster hunter. Who's kind of a dick.

"Well, darn."

A happy Plan To Kill Cappadocius Day to all Giovanni friends who celebrate!

Mage: The Ascension 2022 23: Demon kicking!

And next, demonic possession.

Simon and Cara and Michael get to be mysterious heroic strangers when they show up to help, having detected the intrusion. Didi and Alissa get to be supportive and warm as the boys prepare the ritual to draw the demon out. Cara is confident and reassuring as she gets ready to apply combat boots.

Demon: "A great fury rises. Your world will scream."

Didi: "Oh, big surprise."

Demon thumped and banished but the reason it appeared still a question for the Traditions in general...

I'm sure it'll be fine.

Mage: The Ascension 2022 22: Gig!

And next, going to a gig. We are allowed an actual night off.

Of course it's interrupted by monsters. But only a bit.

And Simon brings a date!

Mage: The Ascension 2022 21: Sword fight!

Didi's night is improved by getting to "distract" one of the fancy vampires bidding on the stolen enchanted sundial by batting her lashes and flaunting her neck.

Cara's night is definitely improved by the chance to fight a sword duel with the Unseelie Sidhe knight trying to steal it.

Used correctly it can alter the day and night cycle. Vampires and other things want it, and not just to mess with Daylight Savings.

Mage: The Ascension 2022 20: Auction!

So now we have to sneak into an occult artefact auction.

"Do we get to dress up?"

"Would a 'no' working even be possible?"

We get to meet many interesting people and not-exactly-people.

Vampire Slayer Player

I'd like to play a proper Buffy game again. Our Mage game skewed that way, obviously, but not all the way.

Mage: The Ascension 2022 19: Burglary!

Well, nothing else crazy happens... for a couple of days.

Then someone steals a priceless and almost certainly magical artefact from the museum in a way that suggests a wizard did it. And the Tradition tribunal would like to know if we have an alibi.

Reuel: Their authority is illusory.

Me: But they look so grumpy when you say that.

Claudia's Lament

Watching Bohemian Rhapsody and imagining the authorized "print the legend" biopic of Claudia Welles.

J: Except she died of ennui

Me: Like that ever stopped biopics.

Mage: The Ascension 2022 18: Underworlds!

Simon: "We're gonna have to go in and seal it!"

Cara: "How do we get back?"

Simon: "Good question!"

Didi: "Wow, heavy, everything's in monochrome."

Shadows are returned to being, well, shadows. Alissa's mother is restored. This gives her some hefty Paradox, but she'll be fine in a couple weeks. Assuming nothing else crazy happens.

Ha ha.

Mage: The Ascension 2022 16: Sugar skulls!

This means a visit to some other Hollow Ones...

Didi: "I'm not guaranteeing there will be sugar skulls, but there damn well better be."

... the preparing of a ritual to find the breach...

Simon: "Let me get my enchanted compass, shut up it's not that funny."

... and a fight with a revenant.

Cara: "And I'm up."

Mage: The Ascension 2022 15: Yeah Yeah Yeah Boards!

With some people alive who were scheduled to be dead by now, there's a hole in the Shroud. Cara may have to fight some bad guys she's already killed.

Didi, when asked: "Of course I have a Ouija board. More than one actually."