From nv91-asa@nada.kth.se Tue Jun 24 11:04:52 1995 Status: RO X-Status: Received: from netcom13.netcom.com (root@netcom13.netcom.com [192.100.81.125]) by mail.nada.kth.se (8.6.10/8.6.10) with ESMTP id LAA14012 for ; Sat, 24 Jun 1995 11:04:48 +0200 Received: by netcom13.netcom.com (8.6.12/Netcom) id BAA17117; Sat, 24 Jun 1995 01:44:43 -0700 Received: by netcom13.netcom.com (8.6.12/Netcom) id BAA17110; Sat, 24 Jun 1995 01:44:42 -0700 Date: Sat, 24 Jun 1995 01:44:41 -0700 (PDT) From: "Stephen C. Johnson" Subject: Re: Chantries, people, backgrounds... To: wod-l@netcom.com In-Reply-To: Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-wod-l@netcom.com Precedence: list Reply-To: wod-l@netcom.com On Fri, 23 Jun 1995, Anders Sandberg wrote: > Here is something constructive to discuss instead of who really started WW > II, self defence etc: > > One thing I have found greatly helps create a feeling and background in > the game is offhand references to other people, places and things which > are never described, but consistently exist in the background. They help > create a feeling of a living, breathing world with a long history. > > So, maybe we should create some mixed background and references by > borrowing small things from the chronicles of each other? Here are a few > starting points, based on my earlier postings and random ideas: Hey, I like this idea! You know one of the things I try to do in my Chronicles is have "throwaway" mystries and little bits that just exist. Stuff that isn't Tech or Trad or Neph or Maraud or whatever but just is and adds some color. After all the world for mages is supposed to be filled with strange stuff. Here's one example I wrote up for a PC that was just background filler but drove him nuts. ;) The Umbral schooner Some time between the years 1777 and 1779, neither the Traditions or the Technocracy can be more certain then that, this vessel sailed through the Gauntlet and into the near Umbra. That it has been possessed by a spirit, one that may be a Jaggling at best, is a rather obvious conclusion but one that still makes the schooner all the more unpredictable. What ever the power of the spirit it has possessed the schooner and has melded so closely to the vessel that the two are now almost inseparable. The boat itself has the clean lines and proper freeboard of an ocean going vessel, though obviously not one intended to be a sea for any great length of time. At about twenty five feet in length it would be a major chore, but not impossible, for one person to steer and sail the vessel. On first inspection a general condition of well tended and cared for use is evident throughout the schooner. Many stepping on board for the first time wrinkle their noses, as if expecting to smell the scent of fish, though none do. The schooner sails the seas of both the Umbra and the world on this side of the Gauntlet. It seems to delight in having sleepers sail it for a day and with them is a very forgiving and handy vessel. But if the sleepers sailing the schooner damage the vessel purposefully, are possessed of darker or powerful emotions or even if the schooner is in the mood. Then the wilder and more dangerous side of the schooner emerges. I first encountered the schooner at a local marina, being chased by a trio of Men in Black I might add. I had no idea what my magick was summoning, actually I was so panicked I suspect my Avatar panicked as well. In any case I turned a corner of the dock and there the schooner waited. It was simplicity itself to untied the schooner and haul up a single sail to take advantage of the light breeze swiftly tack away from the dock, much to the frustration of the Men in Black. When they "discovered" an available powerboat the schooner tacked directly into the near Umbra confounding the Men in Black and making me wince at the Paradox. The schooner gently sailed me towards the opposite end of the Chesapeake bay and deposited me on a marina dock. The price of the voyage was very reasonable as well, all of my accumulated Paradox and a bit of Quintessence. Since that first encounter I have spoken to other mages who have encountered the schooner and run across the vessel myself again. It seems that the range of the schooner is extremely varied. A Euthanatos once told me that it had taken her to the Shadowlands of the Dark Umbra of Death to find and speak to an ancient Wraith. A Theurge of a Garou pack I encountered knew legends of the schooner and related to me, later in our acquaintance, that the schooner is considered an allied spirit by many of the Tribes of the Garou that know of it. In all of the legends surrounding and encounters I have had with the schooner I have observed the following things tend to be true. First, the schooner respects those that respect it, but it is also forgiving of a true novice. Second, while a sleeper may journey where ever the schooner goes without care, to carry the Awakened anywhere the schooner demands a payment of he schooner is extremely varied. Third, the schooner is extremely powerful to those assaulting it, but strangely weak to those carried within it's hull. But perhaps most interestingly the schooner plays favorites, and it favors the Traditions. {Mechanics: The Umbral Schooner is a plot device, pure and simple. It should have whatever powers, counter magick and personality the Storyteller deems appropriate. Remember that the schooner is a fickle creation, playful one encounter, nasty the second, reluctant the third, curious the fourth and so on. Whatever suits the needs of the Storyteller using the Umbral Schooner}a true novice. Second, while a sleeper may journey where ever the schooner goes without care, to carry the Awakened anywhere the schooner demands a payment of sorts. Third, the schooner is extremely powerful to those assaulting it, but strangely weak to those carried within it's hull. But perhaps most interestingly the schooner plays favorites, and it favors the Traditions. {Mechanics: The Umbral Schooner is a plot device, pure and simple. It should have whatever powers, counter magick and personality the Storyteller deems appropriate. Remember that the schooner is a fickle creation, playful one encounter, nasty the second, reluctant the third, curious the fourth and so on. Whatever suits the needs of the Storyteller using the Umbral Schooner} Hope this stirs up more on this thread... Stephen