...It's done? No way!

[untitled_st]

(I have obviously not gotten enough sleep. Either that, or all the mosquitos have sucked out my brain. Please take this in the silly manner in which it is intended. Thank you!)

It's done!

The Evil Players Guide of Doom is now ready for beta reading!

FAQ:

Anna, I have totally been fascinated by your struggle to make a players guide for your silly little Mage LARP! I so want to help you! How can I do this?

Well, you could read a section (or more) of the thing, and make insightful comments about it.

A section? How big is this thing?

63 pages.

But part of that's because I changed the font up to 12 point. At 10 point is was under 50, I think. Plus, there are many many lists in it.

What sort of things would you like people to read for?

Lots of things, including but not limited to:
- do the rules make sense as written?
- do you think the rules would *work* as written?
- does the grammar work? Are there any spelling errors?
- Is it readable? Or terribly terribly dull?
- Is something missing?

But Anna! I haven't played Mage, either LARP or Tabletop! Can I still help?

You are perfect for helping! Although some of the rules do assume you have access to the books, the majority of them should be self-contained. If you don't have a clue what something referenced in here is talking about, I've obviously done something wrong.

Anna, your rules are so kick ass, I want to use them for my game! Can I?

Um, sure. Let me know what you liked. I will be very flattered, and quite surprised.

Will I get anything for helping you?

Well, if you comment to this entry (or really, any other entry, since every comment makes me think about stuff), you'll get a thanks credit in the final product. But unless you're in Edmonton, I doubt you're going to see that.

Um... I'll send you a post card from China, if you're willing to drop me an email with your snail mail address! anna@livinginchina.com

So, what should I do?

Well, after I'm done being silly (which should be shortly, I only have so much caffeine in my system), I'll be putting a series of lj-cuts with each section behind it. At the end of each section will be a link to the bottom, where you can leave comments. Even if you just want to leave a comment of "Read it, looks good", that's great! Or even, "read it, this sucks, come up with something better", that's great, too! But I'll admit, I'll be happier if you leave more than that.

Well, stop bouncing around your computer room chasing mosquitos and get to it!

Okey dokey!

Oh, one last thing: This doesn't follow Mage's metaplot. I jump off that train when they made The War in Heaven trilogy canon.

Untitled
Players Guide


CHRONICLE

Setting

Untitled is an Umbral based game. The characters, carefully chosen by mentors, masters, and other people in the Traditions, have the task of studying and understanding an anomaly that has recently been discovered in the Umbra. The importance of this task cannot be overstated: Porthos Fitz Empress, respected member of the Order of Hermes, spearheaded this task. Although not personally involved in the station, Porthos is the one who secured resources, and began the task of gathering the members of the Station.

Porthos’ plan is not completely supported by the Traditions. Even now, secrets are guarded carefully and cabals with more than one (or at most two) Traditions within them are rare. Some chantries even disallow members of other Traditions. The idea of Tradition resources going to support a group composed of Mages and acolytes from other Traditions was difficult for the Council of Nine to swallow. However, with much cajoling and string pulling, Porthos was able to get the required support to get this project off the ground. As it stands, however, the station has six months to prove itself useful. If it fails, the station will be disbanded, and the parts reclaimed to be used elsewhere.

Built by the Sons of Ether both in one month and over the course of two years (Time magick is a wonderful thing), Deep Umbral Station Brainerd has been carefully and meticulously designed with safety features in mind first. The station boasts multiple crew quarters, a full functioning lab, an airlock for “realm specific” magick, a bridge, and several crew areas. Influence from the Verbena and the Akashics guaranteed that small areas were included in it for the mages and acolytes to relax. However, it is impossible to ignore the true purpose of the station: to study and understand this new anomaly, and to ensure that it is no threat to the Traditions.

The safety fears are well founded: the Umbral quake that heralded the creation of this new anomaly destroyed two Ether Ships, rattled the china in both Doisetep and Cerberus, and knocked out communication with two of the Tradition bases on Ganymede for three days. Other reports have trickled in of damage to Chantries on Earth with access to the Umbra, and that other Ether Ships have sustained heavy damages. Understanding the nature of this anomaly is important to safety of the Traditions, and perhaps for the safety of the Sleepers as well.

Mood and Theme

The theme of Untitled is Exploration and Discovery. The overall mood (which will vary between events) is Fascination.

Character Limitations

The nature of this game requires that the characters be over the age of 18, and have been mages for a minimum of 2 years. Acolytes also need to have been Aware for at least a year, and be over the age of 18. There is a possibility that everyone on the Station could die within the first month, and the Council of Nine is refusing to put anyone at risk who wouldn’t be old enough to “stand up and die for their country” (according to Sao Cristivao, Order of Hermes) onto the Station.

All characters must be of the Traditions. No Hollow Ones, or Orphans, and no characters belonging to a Craft or the Technocracy will be allowed.

Event Costs

The average event will cost 5$ per player. If you feel you can’t afford this, please discuss it with an organizer in advance to see what we can work out. There may be special events, which will cost more. Players will be advised before this happens.

Website

www.weneedasite.com

Organizers

Anna Pearce - anna@livinginchina.com
Thomas Gray - tom@whateverhewants.com

Experience

In the average month, your character has the chance to earn up to four experience points:
1 xp: attending the game
1 xp: registration arrival (arriving within ½ hour of registration time
1 xp: submitting downtime form on time (no late downtime forms will be accepted)
1 xp: submitting a summary of the event or a write-up of a memorable scene.

The write-ups are subject to approval by the storytellers. They are to be between 250 and 500 words, and from your character’s point of view. If you have some other creative writing you would like to submit, do talk to us.

(Please comment on this section here.)


GAME PLAY RULES

Misconduct

The Storytellers reserve the right to ask any player who is showing misconduct to leave the game premises at any time, and for any reason. If the player argues with the storyteller about this, they will be asked not to return.

We reserve the right to eject you from game for any duration - even permanently - if you cheat or if your behavior is disruptive.

Weapons Rules

A Storyteller must approve any and all weapons props before entering the site. Anything considered a weapon, you will be asked to leave outside of the site. The Storyteller's word is final as to what is considered a weapon. Our preference is plastic. Your weapons don't need to look fake, but we don't really want to be on A Channel's news, either.

Disagreements

If you feel the storyteller is wrong about a rules call or plot issue, do bring it to their attention. However, there may be things involved that you are unaware of. Please don’t argue with them. If you still feel the solution is wrong, discuss it with them at another time, preferably several days after the event. (Immediately after the event the storytellers are usually too busy to give your concerns their full attention.)

(Please comment on this section here.)


DEEP UMBRAL STATION BRAINERD

With concerns about Crew comfort and safety for what will likely be a long trip, the DUSB crew quarters were designed by a joint effort of the SoEs and the CoX. Each crew member has their own private room, with a wardrobe to store their private items in. Although each room is small, they are designed primarily with sleeping in mind. Each room spills out into a small common area, shared between members of the cabal. The common area has some comfortable chairs, a coffee table, two desks, and some bookshelves. There's also a microwave, perfect for heating up the occasional snack from the kitchen, and a t.v. with a DVD player. Getting t.v. shows from home will be impossible, but arrangements can be made for various DVDs or other forms of media to be sent with the regular supply run. Also, a separate desk holds a computer that access DUSB's networks, where interactive forums have been set up to facilitate discussion between the various magi. The members of the cabal also share a bathroom with shower and bathtub. That is, one cabal to one common area.

Each common area spills out again into the kitchen-dining area. This is shared between all the cabals on the station. Large enough for the entire station to sit at one time (however unlikely this event is), it contains three stoves, all with ovens; three fridges; and three chest freezers. Again, some things can be sent with the regular supply runs, but station members are expected to take care of their own food needs whenever possible. The dining area also boasts several picnic tables where station personnel are welcome to share meals and information.

Through the efforts of the Verbena, a small garden-area has been created for the station to use in growing their own food. This hothouse has been designed to use a minimal amount of the station's quintessence in order to ensure that the food will grow properly and quickly. However, due to concerns about the safety of the vegetables and fruits during transportation of the station, none have been planted as of yet. It is strongly encouraged that the station personnel plant the seeds that have been provided as quickly as possible. Although the hothouse will provide the proper light conditions, it will be necessary for the plants to be cared for properly to ensure their full potential with regards to food production.

The Laboratory is state of the art, designed by the Sons of Ether with an eye for intra Tradition ease of use. It is well lit, and has several small work areas where the lighting can be adjusted. There is also a large table to set up larger experiments. Safety equipment is easy to locate should the need arise. The lab is equipped with its own internal power source, separate from that of the main station. In the event of a critical power failure of the station, all experiments will be safe

A subsection of the lab, safely behind a primium airlock, is an area the builders dubbed "the vault". This are has been specifically designed to be "Realm Normal", allowing for experiments within the realm itself to take place. Here, samples from the realm can be kept safely, and experiments can be performed with a minimum amount of risk to the station and its denizens. It is strongly recommended that full safety precautions be observed in this area until more is understood about the realm itself.

The main "bridge" area is mainly for communications and defense. This area contains several screens to show various scenes from around the realm. It also contains the only way of communicating "directly" with mages outside of the station. The communication array itself is as yet untested within the realm, but all clinical tests show that regular communication should be available at least twice a month.

The bridge is also designed to be a clearing house of all research on the station, so that it can be accessed easily by all personnel. It is here that all meeting between personnel will take place, and this is to be the primary meeting location of the chief members of the station.

Forums

Although having access to the internet is not required for this game, it is highly recommended. Interactions on the Forums are often key to keeping abreast of plot developments and character interactions.

We will also be providing game-specific email addresses, such as storyteller.untitled@lrps.ca. These can be directed to any email address that you request (mine is going to anna22@telus.net). We request that everything you send IC is CCed to the storytellers so we can keep full advised of everything that’s going on.

If your character is deliberately not responding to a post or email directed to her, please indicate it by a post saying “no response”. This will allow the role play to continue with the assumption you’re deliberately not responding, and the characters can react. As well, if someone doesn’t respond this way, you can assume the player hasn’t seen the post, or is too busy currently to respond.

As a note, critiquing the spelling of others on the forums is high discouraged. If you feel the need to point it out, please do so privately and OOC. That being said, we recommend that everyone tries to spell check their posts before putting them on the forums.

Untitled will have several levels of forums, each with their own level of access.

As a whole, the characters will have access to a discussion forum. This will be an actual “discussion forum” - that is, the characters will be sitting at computers typing to a forum. It will not be for “physical interactions” - meetings between characters. Those will take place in location forums.

We will be setting up several location forums. Key ones will be the Lab, the Bridge, and the Dining Hall. Anything posted to these forums is considered to be happening in those locations. If two posts go up in different locations on the same day IRL, your character can only participate in one of them (unless you leave one to go to the other, and thus arrive at the other late). If they start on different days, then you can participate in both.

Each character will have a private forum. This forum is where the player can post blue booking, requests, letters, or general information about the character. This forum will only be accessed by the Storytellers and the player.

Each cabal will also have their own forum. Posts in this forum can vary between emails, letters, posts to a web server or interactions “in character”. Again, this forum will only be accessed by the cabal and the Storytellers.

The Primary Positions will have a forum shared between them, which can also be posts to a web server, letters, or actual physical interactions. A forum will also be created for all of the “positions” at the Station..

We will accommodate any requests for forums between individual characters, in different locations, or any other types of forums you want. It just needs to be clear if it’s a “physical interaction”, a “discussion forum”, or a combination of the two.

(Please comment on this section here.)


THE CHARACTER SHEET - OVERVIEW

There are several rules changes and clarifications from Laws of Ascension. We will only be listing rules that have been changed in some way, or have been changed specifically from Fade to Black.

Traditions

Only Tradition mages are allowed at this time. No Orphans, Errants, Hollow Ones or Technocrats can be player characters. Unlike in Fade, you can choose to play a Dreamspeaker. However, Tradition Advantages and Disadvantages have been changed, and players are encouraged to review the spec sheets for each Tradition before making a choice. Tradition details are clarified in the Tradition Listings section on page XX.

Traits

Traits are now grouped together as they are in tabletop, rather than being descriptive words as in MET. Please note that negative traits are not being used in Untitled. Traits will affect your downtime, your learning, and some of your capabilities at events. Please see the section on Traits (page XX) and Downtime (page XX) for more information.

Backgrounds

We have included some backgrounds from Laws of Ascension: Companion and eliminated some backgrounds from Laws of Ascension. As well, some backgrounds have been clarified for easier use. Please see the section on Backgrounds (page XX) for more information.

Abilities

We have included some abilities from Laws of Ascension: Companion and altered some of the ones from Laws of Ascension. Please the section on Abilities for more information.

Influence

Influence has been divided into three categories: Sleeper Influence, Tradition Influence and Traditions Influence. Sleeper Influence reflects your pull in the mundane world, outside of Mage politics. Tradition Influence, or more accurately Your Tradition Influence (Cultist, Euthanatos, etc), reflects your pull within your own Tradition. Traditions Influence reflects your pull in the Traditions in general, and is more costly than the other two. Please see the Influence section on page XX.

Rank

Laws of Ascension provides rules for Reputation, much like Status in Laws of the Night. We will not be using these rules. However, Rank will be very important in determining your character’s access to information, respect from people outside of the Station, chances of gaining a formal position within the Station and access to tass. Rank is based on your highest sphere rating, not on your arete. See page XX.

Merits and Flaws

Merits and Flaws from Mage: The Ascension, Laws of Ascension, and Laws of Ascension: Companion are included in this game. Please see the complete list of Merits and Flaws starting on page XX.

Positions

Positions within the Station must be applied for. These include Senior Supply and Resource Manager, Chief Tinker, Knowledge Expansion Guide, Spiritual Contact Advisor, Chief Bottle Washer, Keeper of Life/Bringer of Death, and Conflict Resolutionist. Please see the section on Positions (page XX) for more information.

(Please comment on this section here.)



THE TRADITIONS

Although the basic nature of the Traditions remains the same from Laws of Ascension, we have done away with the Tradition Disadvantages entirely, and have altered or replaced the Tradition Advantages for each. Also included in this section is the name of each Primi (head of the Tradition, and representative on the Council of Nine) and the name of the direct contact for each Tradition from the station. These people will be the ones your character contacts primarily for requests for aid or information. You’re not limited to only these people, but they will be checking up on the characters, as well as demanding reports. More information on each is available in your player pack.

Akashic Brotherhood

Mind, body and spirit are all part of the larger whole of the person, just as the person is part of the larger whole of the universe. Identity, division and conflict are illusions. When the individual does not resist the universe but moves with it, he embraces his nature. From these philosophical roots came the Akashic Brotherhood. By honing the body, the Brothers make a temple for the mind; with the refined mind comes understanding of the spirit. The Brotherhood uses simple tools - exercise, meditation, practice and study - to refine the simple man into a brother of knowledge. The Brotherhood uses Do (The Way) to assist in this refining.

Specialty Sphere: Mind

Primi: Hyemy’ong S’unim (“Brightness of Wisdom”)
Titles: Seat of Mind (Akashic Brotherhood). Master of Mind, Spirit, Life and Forces. Akashic Ambassador to Horizon. Master of Sambo Chonch’al, Horizon’s Akashic subrealm.
He is an ancient Korean man, although he appears only 55. His attempts at “humour” make it hard to believe that he’s considered wise. He supports new initiatives, and is one of the few Primi who supports the Hollow Ones on being included in the Traditions.

Liaison: Khesh
A rising star in the Akashic Brotherhood, Khesh is known to be destined for great things. He’s also known for a hatred of the Technocracy that borders on obsession, something that is disturbing to his brethren.

Advantage:
All Akashics start with a free dot in Do. More than just a martial art, Do is a way of being and understanding. Learning Do requires a mentor as it is simple, yet complex. Because it is a way of being, Do cannot be taught to Acolytes and other non-Awakened individuals. Please see the section on Do, page XX.

Acolytes can choose either a free dot in Meditation or a free dot in Brawl.

Celestial Chorus

The Celestial Chorus is one of the most misunderstood Traditions of all the Nine. Although it is a religious Tradition without question, it does not focus on one religion over another. The One and Prime that the Chorus reveres transcends any single congregation's deity. All humanity is part of that cosmic song, the glorious radiance of Pure and Prime. When humanity is united again in reverence, the Prime shall be whole again, the song manifest and the universe healed.

Specialty Sphere: Prime

Primi: Najjda Bantu
Titles: Seat of Prime (Celestial Chorus). The Eminent Precisian and Prima Councilor Najjda Bantu, Master of Prime, Life, Spirit, Matter and Forces.
A strong-willed woman noted for her confrontational manner in dealing with others. Her main passions are Africa and educational reforms. She doesn’t hide her disdain for the privileged, especially those who complain.

Liaison: Aerthesi
A woman who seems at once focused and flighty, Aerthesi has a strange reputation. Some say her avatar is very strong, and has been leading her through to an important role in the years ahead. Others say she’s sleeping her way to the top. Her focus when studying is extreme, and she’s been known to work herself into exhaustion on more than one occasion. However, she’s easy to distract in conversation. Aerthesi is a member of the Baha’i faith.

Advantage:
Chorus characters start with a free level of Academics: Religion or Expression.

Cultists of Ecstasy

Many Initiates come to the Cult because of its reputation as a continual party. Popular opinion has it that sex, drugs and rock-'n'-roll are what the Cult is about. When the mages get to the party, though, they find out that there's a very specific point to all the revelry. The Cult of Ecstasy does use things like drugs and music and even sex, but they're just means to an end. The point is to achieve a mental state that transcends the physical world, a trance allows all the lines that keep most people and mages penned in. Cultists take the work ecstasy in its original meaning: a sudden, intense rush of feeling that catapults the subject into an altered state. It does have to be a pleasant feeling, but given a choice, most Cultists definitely prefer it that way. The Cult of Ecstasy breaks down barriers and self-imposed limitations to give people a rush of eye-opening experience.

Specialty Sphere: Time

Primi: Marianna of Balador
Titles: Seat of Time (Cult of Ecstasy). Master of Correspondence, Life, Matter, Mind and Time. Oversees Balador, the supreme Cult of Ecstasy Chantry, and its surrounding Horizon Realm city of Altua, as well as Shivakti, the Ecstatic subrealm at Horizon.

A woman whose appearance is ever changing, Marianna is known for her love of life and her passion for experiences. She is a strong advocate of Sleepers, and has never used her Council vote to win her favours. She’s known for being friendly.

Liaison: Helena of Erised
She’s noticeably paranoid about the dangerous of this mission. Everyone knows her main reason: her lover was lost in the original umbra quake. She’s a stickler for checking safety details, but is compassionate when it comes to the emotional needs of those in Deep Umbra.

Advantage:
As open and experimental as their philosophies and lifestyles usually are, most Cultists are used to dealing with a wide range of people, and they usually have little trouble being accepted as they flit between different social scenes. A Cultist might begin the day working hard at the gym, spend the afternoon debating philosophy with professors at the local university, follow dinner by jumping into the pit at an underground punk show and then rave til dawn with the local club-going elite. This "coolness" factor is represented by a free point in Etiquette or Subterfuge.

Dreamspeakers

Spirit-talkers, animal friends, brothers to wind and sisters to Earth - these mages walk the boundaries between our physical world and the realm of dreams, gathering wisdom and skill from the spirits that are native to the earth, the sky and the water. Dreamspeakers are often pigeonholed as shamans, and the name fits them. They are the intermediaries between humanity and Spirit, communicating between the two worlds, maintaining balance and keeping the relationships between the inhabitants of both realms in their proper state of stasis or flux. Of all the Traditions, the Dreamspeakers have the most difficult role and the strongest centering, grounding influence.

Specialty Sphere: Spirit

Primi: Tom “Laughing Eagle” Smithson
Titles: Seat of Spirit (Dreamspeakers), Shaman Tom “Laughing Eagle” Smithson, Master of Spirit, Life and Time. Chief Elder, the Lodge of the Gray Squirrel in the Second World of the Dine. Chief Elder, Cult of the Bear cabal; and Turtle Council House, the Dreamspeaker subrealm at Horizon.

Most people call him “Rigid Eagle” behind his back. He’s known for being very cold and difficult to get along with, and keeps everyone at a distance.

Liaison: Tawny Owl
Tawny Owl is known to be against this station - he feels that the spirit world is not to be studied like it’s a science. He’s a guerilla warrior, and would rather spend his time fighting to save parkland and endangered animals than waste his time dealing with Tradition politics.

Advantage:
Because of their relationships to spirits and the umbra, Dreamspeakers gain a free level of Cosmology or Awareness.

Euthanatos

It's hard to accept the fact that, one day, consciousness as every human knows it will end. Death, to most people, is a terrifying unknown that must be avoided at all costs. It's little wonder, then, that people look into the eyes of a Euthanatos and suddenly grow cold. The Euthanatoi know death, and they know that it must and will come. Sometimes, these mages bring death with them. More often, though, they bring the potential for rebirth, for the seeds of creation in the remnants of the past. If a Euthanatos mage becomes consumed by the taint of death that is associated with all members of the Tradition, they are euthanized by another member of their Tradition.

Specialty Sphere: Entropy

Primi: Indrani Taktsang
Titles: Seat of Entropy (Euthanatos). The Rimpoche (“Precious Jewel”) Indrani Taktsang (“Tiger’s Nest”), Master of Entropy, Mind, Spirit and Correspondence. Lama, Jetsun (revered teacher) and Bhiksu (monk) of Phowa. Second Lama of the Great Wheel Marabout, Tibet, and Lama of Vajra, the Euthanatos subrealm at Horizon.

A teacher and a monk, Takstang focuses on the plight of the people in India. He has voiced some support for the idea of a tenth Tradition, but has stated outright that the Hollow Ones are too immature to be it. He’s a known cynic, and is always quick to point out the flaws in any plan or suggestion.

Liaison: Themis
Themis is a strict teacher, a strict master, and a strict liaison. She refuses to deal with people who insist on failing, and accepts only the best. However, once she’s gotten that best from you, she’ll make certain your work is noticed. She is the publisher of several respected books on Magickal Theory and History.

Advantage:
Because a Euthanatos is usually versed in either healing or harming, they receive a free point in either Brawl or Medicine.

Order of Hermes

Grandfather to the Traditions, mystics without peer, holders of Heaven's key - the Order of Hermes claims many titles. Whether these claims are truth or hubris, the Order has donated more to the Traditions, tutored more Archmages and created more codified magical theories than any other group within the Council. These formalized willworkers stand proudly upon their achievements as high wizards, masters of ritual and spell, sages of great renown and learned builders of artifacts and Chantries. Yet their unity hides powerful political intrigue. Their heyday is gone, washed away in the myths of yesteryear. Their newest Initiates abandon the ancient codes in favor of new ways. The Order has survived for centuries through its intensity and dedication, but the new millennium may be its death-knell - or its rebirth.

Specialty Sphere: Forces

Primi: Getulio Vargas Sao Cristavao
Titles: Seat of Forces (Order of Hermes), Archmage Getulio Vargas Sao Cristavao, Master of Forces, Mater, Entropy and Prime. Also First Master of the Bold Searchers cabal in Chantry Relampago and Master of Enochia ba Pymandre, Horizon’s Hermetic Subrealm.

Sao Cristavao has worked tirelessly his whole life to help abolish slavery through the world. However, he’s known to be rude and vain, and is responsible for the insult that drove half of the Native American Dreamspeakers out of the Council in 1756.

Liaison: Lionel Torg, bani House Bonisagus
Torg is unfailingly polite, but his polite questions make it easy to miss how shrewd and insightful they truly are. He is quite fascinated with the anomaly, and only his political desires are thwarting him from living on the station himself. Torg wants to advance in the Order, with an obvious eye on forming his own Chantry one day.

Advantage:
Through years of arcane study and practice that is the Hermetic training, an Order mage gains a free level of Occult or Politics.

Sons of Ether

Not all science needs to be the banal and regimented process trumpeted by the Technocracy. So say the Sons of Ether, and they practice what they preach. From the mad, inspirational science of Victorian wonder-workers to the fringes of cutting-edge alternative scientific theory, the Sons of Ether use it all. While other Technomancers pioneer new worlds, the Sons of Ether take the discarded cast-offs of technology and turn them into creations of the imagination. No invention is too strange, no theory is too obscure, for them to tweak it and find a way to use it. Contradictions? Impossibilities? Nonsense - there are only doors that have not yet been opened by Science!

Specialty Sphere: Matter
Primi: Julian Spence
Titles: Seat of Matter (Son of Ether). Dr. Julian Spence, Master of Matter, Mind and Forces. First Doctor of Horizon Laboratory, Horizon’s Etherite subrealm. Also Editorial Board Member and Contributor to Paradigma and First Metaphysician of Ether, Great Hall Chantry and Gernsback Continuum.

Dr Spence helped bring the Virtual Adepts into the Traditions in 1961. He’s well respected by his fellow Sons as an authority on the Sphere of Matter. He’s known on the Council for proposing more realistic ways of dealing with things, rather than the fantastical methods proposed by others. Outside of that, not much is known about him.

Liaison: Magnolia Ghaziani
A very attractive young woman, Magnolia is the Acolyte of Julian Spence. She has no mind for details, and is constantly fumbling to remember names, dates, or locations. She’s a firm supporter of the station.

Advantage:
A Son of Ether will usually have a pet theory or two about how the world and reality works. Theories are in constant need of refinement, testing, and proving, so each character gets a free level of Science. Due to the game setting, we recommend a theory related to spirits, Spirit, space, or the umbra.

Verbena

We come into the world bloody and squalling; we prey on flesh and fruit for survival; we grow, learn and adapt; we wane and die, only to feed new life. This never-ending cycle occupies the Verbena, and its constant pulse is the heart of the Tradition. Primordial sorcerers, potent healers, skilled shape shifters - the Verbena dive into sex, blood and flesh without inhibition. Their passionate understanding of all life fuels an equally primeval magic. Verbena are well known for their habit of speaking freely about how they feel about their fellow Traditions, and they don't use any comfortable modern euphemisms to clean up descriptions of their practices. Since so many of their rites are quite intimate in nature and so deeply tied to natural processes, blood and sacrifice, this honesty has put off many members of the other Traditions. Members of other Traditions consider the Verbena disturbing and bloodthirsty.

Specialty Sphere: Life

Primi: Lady Charlotte Quay
Titles: Seat of Life (Verbena), Master of Life, Prime, Spirit, Forces and Mind. First Lady of the Seeking Moon and retired member of the Petals of the First Frost.

Lady Charlotte has only been on the Council for a few decades. She shows respect to those who have earned it, and offers kindness to those she can. However, she doesn’t hide her ability to crush any enemies that come before her. She has a hatred of the Technocracy dating back to her children being kidnapped by them.

Liaison: Hunts-The-Night a.k.a. Hunter
Hunter has a chip on his shoulder that makes him grumpy and quick to anger. However, he’s shown a lot of potential and has a great passion for the world that has advanced him in the Tradition and keeps him in his position of power.

Advantage:
Because of the passionate nature of the Tradition, Verbena can choose a free trait of Survival or Medicine.

Virtual Adepts

No Tradition mirrors the modern world so much as the Virtual Adepts. These former Technocrats embrace technology and its ability to empower people, and they strive to make that technology available to everyone. While most Traditionalists concern themselves with antiquated ways and renewal of ancient practices, the Virtual Adepts are on the horizon searching for the cutting edge. The virtual Adepts ride the wave of the computer revolution, and they use these machines to expand their minds, enable worldwide communication and model novel visions of reality. By spreading computer and communication technology to the Masses, the virtual Adepts help people enrich their own minds. The spread of information and knowledge makes everyone richer and leads to better versions of the world, leaving behind antiquarian notions, physical suffering and social inequity.
Specialty Sphere: Correspondence

Primi: Roger Thackery
Titles: Seat of Correspondence (Virtual Adepts). The Elite Roger “Was Nematrode, Now Hacker” Thackery, Master of Correspondence, Matter, Time and Mind.

Quiet, cocky and self-assured, he attends Council meetings via hologram. The Adept subrealm (Crashspace) hasn’t been touched in decades, and is covered in dust. Thackery is an old-school Adept (so old-school he was a member of the Technocracy, and helped the Adepts defect to the Traditions), but he follows the activities of the newer Adepts with interest. He supports equality for everyone and everything.

Liaison: Roni Sidelman a.k.a. Ivy
The original Liaison for the Virtual Adepts died two weeks ago, and his new apprentice, Ivy, has taken over the position. Ivy has only been a member of the Adepts for a few months, and is still learning the ropes. She’s a reporter for the Associated Press.

Advantage:
Because of their inquisitive and sometimes invasive nature, VA's get a free level of Enigmas or Computers.

(Please comment on this section here.)



TRAITS/ATTRIBUTES

We are following the tabletop rules of dividing attributes into categories instead of traits. “Human Maximums” are 5, but magick can be used to increase your traits for a limited amount of time. (This is subject to UnBelief and Paradox.) Familiars are not bound by human limitations.

Each Attribute has its own benefits for having a high level of that Attribute. Bonuses come in at 5, 8, and 10 dots in each.

Physical Traits:

Strength
5 1 additional damage in brawl or melee attacks
8 When you hit with melee or brawl, your target suffers wound penalties of 1 level higher.
10 You do lethal damage with unarmed attacks.

Dexterity
5 1 extra step per combat round
8 Free retest on dodge, athletics, brawl or melee challenges, even if you do not have the skill.
10 1 extra action per combat round. Taken at end of combat round.

Stamina
5 On a static challenge, tie to soak 1 bashing damage, win to soak 1 lethal or 2 bashing.
8 Reduce all wound penalties by 1 level.
10 No wound penalties.

Social Traits:

Charisma
5 When you spend downtime actions for Cabal Points, for every 3 downtime actions spent to assisting your cabal, you generate 5 points for the cabal to use.
8 With an impassioned plea, you can gain additional supplies from home that would not usually be available to you. Not valid for downtime actions.
10 You can initiate social challenges against otherworldly entities. You're so charismatic, your point comes across despite communication barriers.

Manipulation
5 Spend 5 downtime actions to get 5 automatic successes to find out somebody else's downtime actions or to conceal your own actions. Will be affected by how much time they spend being sneaky and how much time other people spend looking into your actions.
8 Due to a few well-turned phrases, you can gain additional resources from home that would not usually be available to you. Not valid for downtime actions.
10 Spend a mental trait and spend 1 minute in conversation to determine if your target is telling the truth (absolute) and if they believe they are telling the truth (subjective).

Appearance
5 When used in downtime, networking, politics, and bureaucracy skills have one effective level higher. This must be noted to be used.
8 Others around you who can see you suffer a -2 trait penalty due to your distracting nature.
10 Others around you who can see you cannot initiate challenges, but can continue existing challenges.

Mental Traits:

Perception
5 Spend 3 downtime actions for 3 automatic successes on an action involving searching (could be searching for clues, people, items, or information). Success of the overall action depends on the amount of successes required.
8 When talking to someone: static challenge, win or tie, and tell if they are generally telling the truth, as far as the character speaking is concerned. Once per scene.
10 Cannot be surprise attacked.

Intelligence
5 Downtime turns spent researching gain 1 automatic success.
8 You get a free retest on academics, enigmas, and research tests.
10 Spend a mental trait and see an organizer to "remember" some piece of critical information from your studies.

Wits
5 Automatically cancel 1 botch die from a downtime roll due to your quick thinking in critical situations.
8 You get a free retest on alertness and subterfuge challenges.
10 May pre-empt both magic and physical actions.

(Please comment on this section here.)


ABILITIES

All of the abilities in Laws of Ascension are allowed in game, but the following have been altered or clarified:

Awareness
Computers
Do
Instruction
Linguistics

Awareness
Awareness is now used for countermagick. If you have Awareness, you can detect magick being cast and counter it. You can counter 1 effect per turn per Awareness level, provided you have the sphere for it. When you counter, you remove one success from the caster per success you have on the counter challenge. For more information, please see the section on countermagick.

Please note that Awareness is specific to noticing the supernatural, while Alertness if for noticing the "mundane".

Computers

Hacking is no longer a separate ability, but an ability specialization for Computers.

Do
Special Ability for Akashic Mages only.

Do is your character's understanding of the Akashic's beliefs. It combines unity of Mind and Body with understanding of Drahma, the Akashic's 10th sphere. Do can be learned only by Awakened souls - the theory of Do can be learned by Acolytes (academics: Do), but true Do requires being.

Do cannot exceed Arete because Do is a Way of understanding. As understanding increases, so does Do.
The practitioner can focus their internal energy and develops this skill as they advance. You may spend a trait of Quintessence for a retest one time per day per current level of Do. If you have 3 Do, you may spend quintessence 3 times in one day. If you use one point of Do, you lose one daily opportunity to spend quintessence.

It can be used as a focus.

It allows the mage to spend quintessence to retest skills.

Do can be used instead of dodge, brawl, melee, or meditation in a challenge.

Instruction

Instruction is required to assist other people in learning. Although downtime points must be spent to teach others things, if you have instruction you can lower the difficulty of the students learning by the number of success you get on the instruction action. Please see the section on downtime (page XX) for more information.

Linguistics

To clarify, each dot of linguistics is one separate language. Linguistics is not capped.

Included from Laws of Ascension: Companion are the following:

Empathy
High Ritual
Security

Empathy

You're sensitive to people's emotions. This can be an advantage, when you catch someone lying to you. It can also be a downer, when you find yourself sharing in the misery of one of your friends. Still, the ability to see where someone's coming from helps you to win trust and also to figure out the real motives behind the people you deal with.

You can use an Empathy challenge to determine the general emotional state of someone you're dealing with, if you can best the target in a Social Challenge. This might be agitated, angry, afraid, sad, moody, withdrawn or any number of other things; this can sometimes give you a clue to the subject's motives.

Empathy can be blocked with performance: acting or subterfuge, when appropriate.

High Ritual

You're a master of pomp and circumstance. You know exactly where the candles go, how the invocation reads and which colour of drapes to use for the best effect. You can take into account Resonance, the participants' personalities, your own Knowledge and the limitations of your budget and still come up with a ritual that will not only succeed in amplifying your magick, but will look damn cool, too.

Play out your performance of High Ritual for a short time. This will lower the difficulty on the magick you're performing. As a note, High Rituals do take time and effort to prepare, and the Storytellers may require that the spell be performed in downtime, or take your character temporarily out of game.

You can also use High Ritual in a downtime action. Specify on your downtime submission that you will be using High Ritual for your magick challenge, and the difficulty of your magick will be lowered. Of course, once you're done, you likely collapse from exhaustion and sleep for about 16 hours. Also, High Ritual will allow for a single retest to one other participant who fails in a challenge when attempting to aid you in a High Ritual.

Security

You fiddle with traps, electronic locks, scanners, and motion sensors. In addition to knowing how to operate them, you know how to beat them. Whether it's with simple lock picks or sophisticated electronic bypasses, odds are you can figure out a way around the system -- or find a way to close an existing loophole.

Use your Security ability to make challenges to set up or penetrate existing Security operations. For instance, you would use Security to set up a network of cameras in a building, with your Intelligence + Security as the difficulty that someone else would have to use Security to find a way to bypass it. Security + Dexterity could pick a physical lock. You can also use Security to examine blueprints and look for holes in a building's security.

No other abilities or backgrounds from the Companions Guide are available.

(Please comment on this section here.)



BACKGROUNDS

The following backgrounds are allowed in Untitled. If a background is bolded, it has been altered or clarified for game play. Following this list are the details of the altered backgrounds.

Allies (Laws of Ascension, page 102)
Arcane
Avatar
Contacts (Laws of Ascension, page 104)
Chantry
Demesne (Laws of Ascension, Companion page 62)
Destiny (Laws of Ascension, page 104)
Dream
Familiar
Influence (see Influence, page XX)
Lab/Sanctum
Library
Mentor (Laws of Ascension, page 114)Node
Resources (Laws of Ascension, page 115)
Wonder

Arcane

Arcane represents the character's ability to remain unnoticed. It's the computer glitch that eats your tax records. It's the worn out tape on the VCR that means your face isn't visible on the camera. It's that unnoticed something that makes it impossible for people to describe you to the police.

In game terms, arcane has two uses. First, if someone is attempting to find you, they must get more successes than your arcane rating. For example, if your arcane rating is 3, they must have 4 successes in order to locate you. Second, you can spend an arcane point to have people around you forget either your name or your face. You can spend two points and ensure people forget both.

Supernaturals have a defense against arcane. Because of this, you must perform a simple challenge against any Supernaturals in the room if you try to use arcane. If you win, they forget. If you tie, they still forget, but can be reminded later ("Don't you remember? The girl, with the funny makeup?" "Oh, yeah, now I remember."). If you fail, they don't forget you.

For example, Caitlyn is trying to track down Jafar, because he owes her a lot of money. Jafar has a very high arcane rating - 5. She has to get at least six successes on hersearch to track him down. She succeeds, and traces him to a dirty apartment in Edmonton. When she gets there, she asks the landlord about him, but he can't recall anyone matching Jafar's description. Frustrated, Caitlyn starts going door to door, determined to find Jafar.

Avatar

Although essentially the same as in Laws of Ascension (page 103), a few clarifications are necessary.

As stated in Laws of Ascension, meditating at a node for an hour will refresh your Quintessence up to your Avatar rating. Without at least a level of Prime, you cannot hold more than your Avatar rating. Without Prime 3, you cannot channel Quintessence any faster than one point per hour of Meditation.

Also as stated in Laws of Ascension, you can spend Quintessence only up to a limit of your Avatar rating each turn. However, magickal difficulties can only be lowered by a maximum of 3 points through any means. Increasing the difficulty of magick (a form of counter magick) is not limited in this way.

Your Avatar rating will affect your seekings and the influence of your Avatar in your life. Be warned that a high Avatar rating may mean a very active Avatar who won’t leave you alone very often.

Consider how your character perceives her Avatar, and the ways in which the Avatar influences your mage.

Chantry

This background represents a Chantry your characters have belonged to in the past, or have some other close tie with. Although your character is not currently a member of the Chantry, you can call upon their resources or ask them for assistance when needed. This isn't something to be abused - think of it like the Mentor background. If you ask for help too often, you can be ignored. And there's always the possibility that someone in your Chantry will call upon you for help some day. Refusing to grant that help, or failing to succeed, will lower your overall Chantry rating.

Chantry rating can either be shared amongst cabal members, or belong to just one cabal member. If you share a Chantry rating, it cannot be above five as a group. Characters cannot belong to more than one Chantry. If the cabal has a Chantry rating, you cannot then take a personal Chantry rating.

Dream

Dream represents your character's ability to tap into the collective unconsciousness and temporarily access skills and abilities in this way. After a moment of meditation, your character enters an altered state where she can use skills and knowledges that she normally wouldn't have. However, this is not a science, and sometimes the attempts can backfire.

When you chose to use dream, you do a simple test. If you win, you get the ability you want, at your dream rating for 10 minutes or duration of combat. On a tie, you get the ability you want at half of dream rating, but you also get an ability the storytellers dictate, to be used instead of the one you wanted at a time the storytellers choose. On a fail, you get some other ability.

For example, having tracked Jafar to his home, Caitlyn soon realizes that he hasn't been there in months. She wants to go through his belongings and see what she can find, but she admits she has no investigation skills. She closes her eyes to meditate for a moment, attempting to tap into the dream state that will allow her to see clues she would otherwise miss. She opens her eyes, and quickly notices several things that she missed before, including several ticket stubs for the LRT, bought at Stadium Station. However, Jafar lives by the University. As she picks up the stubs, deciding to investigate what he'd be doing there, the investigation skills slip from her mind, and she finds herself doing origami with the stubs.

Familiar

The amount of points you spend into the Familiar background affects the number of character creation points granted to the familiar. A cabal can have their own familiar, and individual members of the cabal can also have familiars, but there can be no more than ½ (rounded down) of the cabal as familiar characters. (That is, a cabal with three mages can only have 1 familiar between them, whereas a cabal with four mages can have 2.)

Familiars eat paradox and provide information and outlook that the average mage does not have. Familiars do need quintessence in order to survive. There is a contract between the mage and familiar that must be honoured, or the familiar will leave without warning.

Familiars are allowed as player characters, and we encourage you to find someone to represent your familiar in game. Please see the detailed section on familiars (page XX) for more information.

Lab

A laboratory will typically be that of a scientist, but can also refer to any other Tradition that performs experiments with magick. Because this is primarily a research station, determined to find out the nature of the anomaly and the realm, access to a lab will be very important to the characters. The people in your Tradition are counting on you to produce something of value, or the funding and support of the station may be cut.

There are three different types of Lab that can be bought. All of these can be shared with cabal mates or with other station personnel.

The first type refers to access to the main lab on the station. Higher levels of this will mean more ready access to the laboratory for experiments and research, and will make any experiments that you perform much easier. This is capped at five.

This background can also refer to access to a lab back “home”, wherever home is for your cabal. You will need to consider how you will access the lab from the station. A benefit of this is that you can have experiments going on when you’re away, without interference from others. You will probably want to have someone back home to watch over the experiment.

The third type of background is a private lab on the station. This lab will have to be very small. It costs double the background points, and is capped at 3. This lab is yours to use in any way you want.

Sanctum

Unlike a lab, where experimentation is the key, a Sanctum is more a place where you magick is attuned to you. In a sanctum, your magick is coincidental, and all other magick is vulgar. Sanctums can’t work for others, unless their paradigm matches yours exactly. This will usually be limited to Apprentices or perhaps Mentors.

Sanctums can either be back home or a private sanctum at double the cost - there is no option of a “group” sanctum.

Library

You must specify what is in your library. You can specify a number of subjects up to the total library rating. This can include spheres, abilities, or a combination of both. You cannot learn higher than your library rating from your library. Libraries can be shared amongst cabal members, or even shared outside of the cabal. However, if you share your library, you cannot access it for that month, and there's the possibility you won't get it back. Please note in lending libraries for spheres that people outside of your paradigm cannot learn from your library. Learning from a library from outside of your cabal has a higher difficulty.

For example, Caitlyn has a library rating of 4, the library can contain the spheres Life and Spirit, and the abilities Cosmology and High Ritual. Caitlyn can use her library to learn up to Life 4, Spirit 4, Cosmology 4 and High Ritual 4. Learning these will take time and experience points.

Node

A node is a wellspring of magickal energy that produces Quintessence and Tass for your character to use. Tass and Quintessence are used to fuel your magick, making it easier, or to make magick more difficult. Tass is a raw substance that can be given away to others, whereas Quintessence is absorbed into a mage's pattern, and can only be used by the mage unless someone removes it from her.

Nodes are a rare commodity, and cost double the normal background rating. So, a three point node costs 6 background points. This cost can be shared amongst cabal members. Portable nodes are even rarer than stable nodes, and cost double again. So, that 3 point node, if made portable, would cost 12 points in total. Again, this can be shared amongst the cabal.

Please note that nodes cannot be bought above level 3.

When creating a node, consider what it looks like, where it's located, who's guarding it when you're not there, and what the tass is like. Also, all nodes have resonance, and the tass will share that resonance.

Wonders
(adapted from Mage: The Ascension Second Edition, page 133)

Wonders (also known as Talismans) are magickal items that have sphere Effects locked inside of them. Some Talismans have several small powers, while others have one big one. No matter how many powers such an item possesses, it cannot have more Effects than the dots in its rating. A level three Talisman, then, could have three Effects, maximum. The Effect is also limited to a Sphere level equal to the dots in the Talisman; the same Talisman could not have an Effect beyond the third rank in a Sphere. Conjunctional Effects are considered to take up one dot per Sphere involved; the sample item could only have on e power if that effect used three different Spheres.

The background cost of a wonder can exceed the usual 5 point maximum.

Each effect used costs one point of the item's Quintessence, and once the Quintessence is used up the item must be recharged (a prime 3 effect) or it becomes an interesting conversation piece. The amount of Quintessence is usually the number of background points in the wonder multiplied by 5.

Because of their power, Wonders cost double the background points. A level 5 talisman would cost 10 background points. Every Talisman has an "arete" of its own, which the mage must roll to pull off the effect, equal to the level of the Talisman. Please note that the arete of a wonder is capped at 5.
For one additional background point, the Wonder can have a higher arete. Also, one additional background point can add 5 additional Quintessence. These are cumulative.

(For those who played Fade to Black, "Michael", the wonder held by Drew Brandt, cost Clayton 11 points.)

Sample Talisman:

Level 1: Spirit Goggles
Arete 3 Quintessence 10 Cost 4
These sturdy (some would say bulky) goggles allow a mystick to peer into the Umbra if the Effect succeeds. Although the Sons of Ether use these Talismans most often, some Men in Black and Void Engineers use such "spirit-tech" to pursue extra-dimensional foes. Under most circumstances, the goggles work without a roll. If the Gauntlet is especially thick, however, an Arete roll may be necessary.

Variations on this Talisman can detect Matter patterns, Entropic influence, Life forms and Prime and Time fluctuations. Like most sensory magicks, these Effects are coincidental.

(Cost: Level 1 Effect costs 2 points, each additional Arete costs 1 for a total of 2. The Quintessence is the cost of the effect * 5, so 10.)

(Please comment on this section here.)



INFLUENCE

Because of the location of the game, influence has not been divided up into the usual categories. Instead, it has been divided up into Sleeper Influence, Specific Tradition Influence, and General Tradition Influence. Sleeper Influence represents your influence with Sleepers back on Earth. Specific Tradition Influence is your influence within your own Tradition. General Tradition Influence is your pull with people outside of your Tradition.

Sleeper Influence
(adapted from Mage: The Ascension 2nd Edition, page 132)

Sleeper influence reflects a mage's ability to affect the Sleeper community through contacts or channels. He may hold political power, own a nightclub, perform in a rock band or command great respect among the faithful. Either way, people listen when he speaks. When used, the mage may get special favours, a temporary forum or just a good table at his favorite restaurant. It can also represent a local search through connections. Influence also helps you acquire new acolytes. People will just want to follow the mage. Influence is generally effective only within the mage's own culture unless the rating is four or five dots, in which case the mage may have an international reputation.

* Moderately influential: always called on when you raise your hand.
** Well-connected: you have important things to say.
*** Position of influence: people seek your opinion.
**** Broad personal power: a few comments could affect stock prices.
***** Vastly influential: when you talk people listen (and hasten to take notes).

Tradition Influence

Tradition Influence (either specific to your Tradition or General Tradition influence) represents your pull within the Mage community. This may be because you have an important mentor, an important destiny, or maybe you've just been on the winning side of one too many firefights for anyone to want to go against you. You can count on at least some support from mages outside of your immediate life. With this influence, you can contact people higher up in the Traditions for information, resources, tass, or favours. You can hold both your Tradition influence and General influence.

For general Tradition influence, the cost is double for Mage characters. Acolytes can buy general Tradition influence at the same cost as specific Tradition influence. Acolytes are closer to real people - they're not so entrenched in the Tradition barriers as the mages are. They'd be willing to work with each other to try to get things done. So whereas a mage would talk to another mages, the acolytes would deal with other acolytes. Less ego, less hubris, and thus things are easier to accomplish.

Please note that all levels of Tradition influence will receive various rumours about their Tradition and Tradition politics.

For example, Caitlyn is still attempting to track down Jafar. She has Influence of 3 and Cultist influence of 2. She has a good reputation in Edmonton because of her job as an accountant. She knows who's cheating on their taxes, and who's hiding money from their ex-wife. She makes a few phone calls, and finds out that Jafar is working as a bouncer at a local club called "The House of Hides and Spikes". Remembering his skills will Correspondence (a few too many fights where there was more than one Jafar), she decides to call in a few favours from her fellow Cultists. A few phone calls (and some promises of tass) later, Anne has joined her in her quest to find Jafar. With Anne on her side, Caitlyn is relatively certain that Jafar won't be getting away again.

(Please comment on this section here.)



Rank indicates your character’s skills with regards to Spheres. Although your character may have achieved a high level of arete and enlightenment, it does not follow that she has a strong mastery of the spheres. Rank is affected only be sphere levels, based on the highest understanding you have achieved in any Sphere.

For example, a character who has Forces 3, Prime 2, Matter 1 and Life 2 would be considered a Disciple.

Rank can affect how those outside of the Station perceive you. To some, no one below an Adept standing should have any position of power. To others, Disciple seems to be the cut off. Your rank will affect how much effort your Tradition is willing to go to for you, how much tass you can conceivably requisition for your experiments, and even if you qualify to be considered for a position within the Station itself. Even how seriously your reports are taken will be affected by your Rank.

Acolytes gain no rank, and are judged on their skill sets and usefulness as opposed to their understanding.

It is important to note that although Rank can be relevant in the social situation inside the Station, there is no formal way of enforcing this. Characters can choose to treat you however they wish, and there is no guarantee that a Disciple will be treated better than an Initiate will.

In order for your proper rank to be acknowledged by the Traditions, you will need to advice your Tradition Representative that your skills have improved. A ceremony of some sort may be necessary, depending on your Tradition.

Highest Sphere Level Attained Rank
1 Apprentice
2 Initiate
3 Disciple
4 Adept
5 Master

(Please comment on this section here.)



{I'm just going to put the preamble here. No one needs to see the four page list of merits and flaws. Well, unless you want to, in which case, email me.)

Merits are capped at 7 points in total. The total points value of Merits versus the total points value of Flaws cannot have a difference of greater than 3. For example, if you buy four points of Merits, you must have flaws between 1 and 7 points. You cannot gain more than 7 freebie points from Flaws.

(Please comment on this section here.)

This is where I discovered that lj does, in fact, have a character limit. Woah.

I'll post the rest in a bit.

If you're terribly impatient, check out the whole thing in rtf format here.