The Moscow Cabal

I'm happy to share my dots. I'm also trying to figure out what animal for my Familiar still. What would be least obtrusive, easiest to have in most situations. I was thinking a bird or cat. Possibly a fox that could wrap over my shoulder and pretend to be a shawl. It's been about 8 years since I've played mage so I've been giving my self a refresher.

I'm totally in as well in sharing our merits.

As for what we've to discuss, I propose a little exercise. It's always awkward, to talk about how our characters met, what do they know of each, and all of that. So, first, each of us writes up a small description of their characters - A physical description, sure, but also getting in details about their personality, their ideology, their wishes, their fears, all of that. Not their background, just a writeup, a summary. That information doesn't have to necessarily be about what is known about them.

With that done, maybe other people could decide on how or why our characters met? As in, not the character's players but their fellow players. For example, I could say, for example, that rune's and moloch's characters met each other in a party where they both felt very out of place. Then, the two players proceed to mash the details over the prompt. What do you guys think? 😁

Lux, would you leed with an example of a writeup? Then I'll gladly follow

Writeup
Stepan Savelievich, shadowname: pisatel (писатель) truly believes that there are threads coming into Moscow with all the new cultures, and his job is to guard the sleepers against this (intellectual) treads, like magic texts, folklore rituals, ect. He works at a bookstore and as a scribe. He fits in from the lower middle class to the lower nobility.
He looks like the image, without the thing on his arm.
He is an investigator more than a fighter
Fears, wishes - I don't know yet

Merits
I'll gladly share 1 dot sanctuary and 2 dots hollow, but I'll keep a separate sanctuary (1 size/1 security - secret room behind a bookcase)

What do we need the room (size) for? Why go over 2 dots in size?

Dragomir Anatolyevich Krestovozdvizhenskaya, known by the Shadow Name Chernobog, is a Ukrainian Cossack and Acanthus Mage of the Free Council. He is a member of the Don Cossack Host in Eastern Ukraine, as well as an initiate of the Daoine Legacy.

Dragomir is a large stocky man with the rough, weather-worn features of someone who has spent his life outdoors. His hands are meaty and calloused, and his arms and chest bear the scars of past battles and saber duels. He has golden brown eyes, an aquiline nose, and a thick horseshoe mustache. In typical Cossack fashion, Dragomir sports a khokhol, a hairstyle consisting of a long forelock of hair on an otherwise fully shaved head. Chernobog’s khokhol is usually worn braided and hanging down the left side of his face, tucked behind his ear. According to Cossack belief, as each Cossack goes to Hell for killing his enemies, God pulls them back out by their forelocks, forgiving their sins because they were committed in defense of family and homeland.

Dragomir’s clothing tends to be showy and ostentatious. His fashion sense could be described as "Caribbean pirate meets nomadic horseman". He prefers bright colors; lots of whites, reds, and blues. The Cossack wears open-breasted kaftan tunics (which show a hefty amount of chest hair) over flared trousers, leather riding boots, and a wide crimson sash at the waist. In cold weather, he dons a black papakha (tall fur hat) and long coat with large gold buttons. He has no jewelry other than earrings: a silver loop in his left ear, and a crescent-shaped earring in his right ear that denotes his status as the only living son of his family.

Dragomir is a boisterous, larger-than-life person who loves women, fighting, and vodka. He’s loud, gregarious, and hot-blooded, and he makes no apologies for it. Like most Cossacks, Chernobog believes in living life to the fullest, so he both works hard and plays hard. He loves and hates with passionate intensity. The Cossack would die for friends and family, and he visits a terrible wrath on those he considers enemies.

Dragomir has an innate sense of justice (Justice is his virtue). He frowns upon the victimization of the weak by the strong, especially when those victims are children. He despises those without honor, in particular, people who lie and break their word (so much so that Chernobog usually turns other people’s agreements and promises into magically binding contracts, using Fate to punish those who forswear on their deals). He also resents those who attempt to impose their will on the Cossacks as a whole (i.e., the Russian Tsardom and the Ottomans). Faced with such injustices, Dragomir will often go out of his way to rectify the situation, even if it has nothing to do with him. The Cossack believes that the punishment should fit the crime, and so he likes to castigate his foes in ironic or poetic ways. However, Dragomir’s moral sensibilities are still those of a 16th century Cossack. Thus, he thinks nothing of mercilessly slaughtering his enemies and then raiding their villages. People without honor or character are victimized without a second thought.

Dragomir holds a deep respect for ancient Slavic paganism, from which much of his magical practices are drawn. Although the Cossack is not quite religious, he is very superstitious and puts a great amount of faith in his people’s folklore. As a practitioner of the Fate Arcanum, Dragomir lives according to a semi-deterministic philosophy, often taking the position that some things are predestined and simply "meant to be." He sees the individual threads of destiny in every part of the Tapestry, and because of this, he accepts that there are forces beyond human control. By Dragomir’s estimation, free will only partially exists, and even then, its influence waxes and wanes. Consequently, the Cossack tends to roll with the punches and live in the moment; he rarely, if ever, bemoans his fate or feels sorry for himself.

Dragomir is an excellent horseman. As with most Cossacks, he has spent his life around horses and was able to ride one by the age of five. Most of his work and warfare center around the use of a horse. When not employing his spells, Dragomir fights from horseback with a bow and arrow. He rides a Russian Don, a type of Cossack horse bred for cavalry work. Chernobog is close with his horse, which he likes better than most people.

Ha, sorry Rune, turns out I was the last one to pop up for this. x)Originally born in Smolensk, Lithuania, Diana Vylkelite mostly grew up on a muscovite orphanage knowing only one thing: She's not Muscovite, she's not Russian, and it doesn't really matter what she does because she will never be either.

Diana is a svelte young woman, of puffy cherry-like lips and a warm gaze. Her long, dense blonde hair is typically braided, resting on her upper back. Her eyes are a muddled blue, and the rest of her facial features are all sharply elegant. Yet, there's still a certain roughness on her: Despite her trained smile and cared teeth, her lips almost always sports a few tender cracks. While her arms are slender and elegant, her palms have a few callouses. While her nails are taken care off, her soles are generally dirty. None of these features are necessarily unappealing, especially to men, and if anything it just adds an enticing contrast to the woman. She's not a noble, or an aristocrat, and she'll never be one. But, she is a handmaiden, a handmaiden charged to take care, train and help a noble's daughter. As far as professions go, that may be the best position she could ever aspire.

She normally wears virgin white dresses, whose quality and elegance are always significantly worse than to those dresses of the one she takes care of. She hardly uses any jewelry either, aside from a simple silver bracelet here and there. That doesn't mean she is not fond of it, quite the contrary. She'd love to wear the most beautiful dresses, with the most shining jewelry, but to her, that's something she'll never be able to do. She could, of course, use her magic to get it, but...

Diana is flighty in the sense that she may be too kind, not realistic enough, and because of that, too prone of never actually being able to accomplish her tasks in the best manner. To fool people, to manipulate them, to trick them: All of these things are something that she generally dislikes doing. But her eyes burn bright when she speaks honestly to someone, and still, there's so much that her conviction can accomplish, for not everyone can be convinced. She grew up with violence and felt the need to be able to respond to it, to defend herself, but accomplishing things non-consensually never quite felt like a victory to her. A tie, at the best of occasions. In her mind, if she uses the same methods that those she hates so much have used, then... Isn't she just like them? An animal, with no reason? No conscious over her emotions?

Her hate towards the Tsardom has never been well channeled. She doesn't hate the Russians, but she does hate its military, those that decide that living by killing is in any way acceptable. Yet, she may roll her eyes at typical Russian attitudes, at its people, at its religion. She's Catholic, of course, and while she pays respect to her Saints, she only does so in her home.

She has a sharp eye and a good understanding of politics. She's very socially driven, despite almost always hiding a small hand crossbow under her dress, strapped against her leg. (Actually, sorry, Qralloq, can we begin with stuff like this? Can I say I have a crossbow? I'm not sure how it works here, that's all). She also can hide, although that's something she mostly did when she was a child. She finds nature beautiful, but in the same way that art is beautiful to her: She likes to observe it, and not work on it.

Assuming that you guys want to proceed as I suggested, and considering Qralloq's opinion, let's say that...

Diana and Stepan - Meeting prompt, decided by Moloch.
Diana and Chernobog - Standard prompt, decided by Thelindra.
Diana and Kolya - Standard prompt, decided by the Librarian.
Diana and the Babushka - Standard prompt, decided by Rune.
Babushka and Stepan - Meeting prompt, decided by Lux(yay)
Babushka and Chernobog - Meeting prompt, decided by Thelindra
Babushka and Kolya - Standard prompt, decided by Moloch.
Kolya and Chernobog - Meeting prompt, decided by Librarian.

I think that everyone is covered then, right? Anyways, a Meeting Prompt is a prompt that has to lead on how the characters met. Not only that, but that situation has to dissolve into one of them joining our cabal. Following Qralloq's suggestion, the order of which everyone joined and was then invited by is Diana=Stepan>Babushka>Chernobog>Kolya. Meaning that Diana and Stepan are the original founders, the Babushka was invited by Stepan, Chernobog was invited by the Babushka, and Kolya was invited by Chernobog.

A standard prompt doesn't, necessarily, has to be about how they met. Especially because joining the cabal is enough good reason! A Standard prompt is simply a prompt about a situation that resulted in the definition of the nature of two people's relationship. A short, collaborative story, let's say. Not very different than the meeting prompt, aside from knowing each other previously from that.

Assuming that everyone agrees:

Lux decides how Babushka and Stepan met.
Moloch decides how Diana and Stepan met, and how the Babushka and Kolya defined their relationship.
Thelindra decides how the Babushka and Chernobog met, and how Diana and Chernobog defined their relationship.
The Librarian decides how Konya and Chernobog met, and how Diana and Kolya defined their relationship.
Rune decides how the Babushka and Diana defined their relationship.

(Who assigned what was decided randomly btw )

Whatcha guys think?

I'm not a huge fan of someone deciding things about my character. If it's the gm/dm/st making a change to better fit the story, thats cool, but Id rather chat with other PCs to figure out things. That's just my vote though. If every one else is good with it I'm game.

It's not supposed to involve any decision-making, though! Just a simple prompt, as in "You were both in trouble when you met". And then the pair go from there and decide what that entails themselves. And it certainly hasn't to be imperative. If you think your character could never be in trouble, then you go ahead and say it, or counter-suggest something to your partner, or whatever. It's just so we get the ball going. 😁

Edit: Though it's whatever if people don't want to directly do it either!

It looks like you put a lot of work into that, Lux :) I'll need to think about the characters for a bit.

Out of curiosity, what did people choose for their Shadow Names?

Babushka isnher shadow name. I was tempted to go "Baba Yaga" but since she is likely a true fae that wasn't something I wanted to court.

Stepan Savelievich, shadowname: Pisatel (писатель), Russian for Writer/scribe (long live google.translate)

Oh, I hadn't even thought about that! Hmmm... I think her shadow name will just be a random name. Agnë Ruzele. Yep,

As for that thing up there, it's whatever you want guys, really. No pressure! Rune, what do you think? Also, Thalindra hasn't been showing up a lot. Hope she appears to chime in as well!

I’m still here.

Not sure for a shadow name yet. I’ll have to browse around when I look for a portrait.

I’ll post a synopsis for Kolya this afternoon. 🙂

I like the idea of Diana and Stepan as founders of the cabal. With shared sanctuary, Dianas dislike to the Tzar and the army, and Stepan's mission to protect the sleepers from magic, I am starting to see a possible cabal theme taking shape.

I imagine a larger home (size 3) filled with artifacts of strange and different kinds. In the best Warehouse 13 stile most of the older stuff is uncataloged and unidentified, but they have secured some of the texts and items from the wrong hands (army/sleepers/not us). The old stuff is considered dangerous and off-limit until identified, but perhaps they found a few interesting items, like a collapsible hand crossbow, a sword-cane, our hallow (one big or several minors) that they use.

Cabal titles could be Archivists, Curators, Acquirers, Protectors, Investigators...

I think that some of Stepan's backstory could be that he was sent to the owner of the house to finish his study. On the third day of the master-apprenticeship, the master vanished, and Stepan was alone in a big house full of stuff he was told to be wary of. He needed help and quickly found Diana




I'll stop for now and let guys join the brain storm

I like it so far

Hmm, I didn’t save any points from character creation to put into a shared sanctum. Although perhaps I should have.

Also, what are people’s Orders?

I know Stepan is Guardian of the Veil, and Babushka is Mysterium. What is everyone else?

Kolya is a Moros Mysterium.

I have to catch up with the thread yet, but Diana is from the Silver Ladder!

What did you all think about rune's post on a cabal theme and cluttered Sanctum?

As a mechanics perspective, you won't find magical loot without spending xp, but the idea is sound and has my support if you all agree.

Also, I should point out that intention is that there won't be other mages permanently around, at least officially.

I’m down with the cluttered sanctum; that works for me. Honestly, I’m open to any ideas for the cabal and its themes. But I like the idea of protecting Sleepers and hunting Abyssal Intruders as our cabal’s focus.

Whoops, I was going to ask exactly what Moloch may have implied. I love Rune's pitch, but there are a few things I think we should clarify before doing anything. Firstly, why do we exist, as a group? While this has to do with why Diana and Stepen decided to found the cabal in the first place, everyone definitely should pitch in. I'm not sure Agnë would dedicate her life to hunting Abyssal Intruders in the first place, but if she were to find herself as the only few people able to do it, I think she would step in. Whatever could trigger her to do that, though? I'm asking because it could very well eventually be the reason why we all come together. Once these things are established, we should be able to link our characters more easily.

As for Cabal titles, I definitely think that they should be more thematic to our mission. 😁

Maybe our GM wants to chime in about it? Because if the reason that we are together is an objective, I feel like it will very much be the focus of the narrative. Maybe Qralloq has a preference, or wants the limit the scope of our ideas a bit? Having a structure may help us build around it as well. 😁

My intention is that you have lives and purposes outside of the cabal. Then, INCITING INCIDENT occurs and you need to deal with the NEW PROBLEM. As such, I'd rather you weren't heavily invested in a singular purpose, but be interested in solving problems.

I like the PROTECT SLEEPERS and FIGHT THE ABYSS angle. You could be living lives, waiting for a shoe to drop.

Yeah, me too. I feel like that works rather well, especially if we're more of a preemptive strike kind of group. We exist because we may have had only a few accidents involving the Abyss, but having faced it, we come to the conclusion that is better to always stay vigilant, just in case. So it's not like our whole lives are about it, but we do dedicate a few hours a week to it. What do you guys think?

Rune, following your same train of thought, maybe Diana proceeded to help you because of (reasons), and then we promptly found out that oh no, your master got eaten by abyss dudes(or something like that). So we deal with them and the situation felt so alarming to us that we decided to found the cabal? From there, the rest could have easily found us as we could have found them, assuming that they faced the same kind of trouble and we were on it. This is all very summarized, of course.

What do you guys think?

@Lux Yes! Master got eaten by the abyss guys. Perfect!

I’m going the John Wick route: I hadn’t picked up a bow in years. And then the Abyss killed my favorite horse, and now I am PISSED!

B abushka is big on helping out the locals who don't know better and giving them harmless, natural remedies that work. so protecting sleepers is up her alley

Our cluttered sanctum from the outside. That is now I picture it right now, anyway.