Forum Replies Created
TormentMy plan is to buy all of the supplements I can (and I will have most of them shortly, as I just gotted me a decent-payin’ job), and to addict all my friends to the game.
Besides, I won’t let them read my core rulebook, in the GMish attempt to preserve a sense of mystery, danger, etc., but if they buy the rulebook for themselves, I can hardly say no …
TormentFirst, I would change the name of the Archetype, to distinguish it from the one in _Ascension_, but also because it’s not wholly appropriate.
The term ‘magus’ originated from a caste of priest-astrologers in Babylon; since the term is used for an Archetype, and it has a strong traditional/practical/ritual magick meaning — I doubt anyone would ever call a stage magician a “Magus”, particularly in the OU.
Those qualifications aside, is “The Stage Magician” such a powerful symbol in the human psyche, that it appears in dreams and such, and is fairly easily distinguishable from any other Archetype? I think of Stage Magicians as the robbers of the mythic tone of the Magus, but without the actual powers.
Maybe what you want is a real ‘Magus’ who just uses the trappings of stage magick, but the players only gradually suspect that it isn’t just tricks.
Maybe invent a “cloaking device” ritual, item, or even Adept path, one that hides the energy behind the spells the Stage Magician bad guy casts, so it “feels”, to Aura Sight and such, like just ordinary sleight of hand.
TormentBTW, here’s an interesting website about “Cities of Light” seen in near-death experiences; I found the link via Disinfo.com.
TormentYes, there is a “Magus” Archetype in _Ascension of the Magdalene_, along with a “Rake” Archetype.
I just gotted _Ascension_, it and PoMoMa are the 3 books I own, until my next batch arrive fr/ snailmail. Recent convert. 🙂
The _Ascension_ adventure states that, with changes in civilization and the mass unconscious, humanity has left behind the Archetype of the Magus; presumably, too many ex-Avatars went to the House of Renunciation and exited as Avatars of, say, an “Eccentric Scientist” Archetype, IMHO.
I don’t think, though, that either Archetype is necessarily dead; or it could be enjoying a resurgence with the “New Age”.
There’s an interesting quote by Leary in RA Wilson’s _Cosmic Trigger_ that he believed some of Crowley’s “baraka” was transferred to him. Maybe they were both Narco-Alchemists, or maybe both Magus Avatars …
TormentI had an idea for an RPG that never got written based on this very idea; might make a nifty UA campaign:
All the “extinct” ancient civilizations never died. They just teleported big numbers of their populations to a habitable planet in the Sirius star system, where they continue to live, war, and plot the conquest of Earth.
The first big ones were Atlantis and Lemuria, located on continents of the same name. Atlantis has Angkor Wat, Lemuria has Camelot, Arcadia, Montsalvat, and Karnak. Later, the islands of Xanadu, Shangri-La, Shambhala, and Cathay were colonized. There’s the continent of Tenotchitlan, with the cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. Other islands include Roanoke, Irem the City of Pillars, Shinar, Pompeii, and R’lyeh. Finally, the North Polar Icelands have Ultima Thule.
I had a whole map prepared and everything, if anyone’s interested.