I realized that we'd (@Glitch and I) posted about this on WORA, but hadn't done so on MSB. Here goes! This is part of what's on our wiki so far.
Theme In General
Shadow War is a game that explores what it means to stand alongside your enemies against a common foe, frenemies for a few brief moments. It's a game to explore the hard choice between fighting the good fight now, or winning the good fight later; which hill do you want to die on? The Shadow War itself isn't just about the Technos and the Trads and the Hermetics versus the Nephandi (though certainly that's an extension of the internal into the external). It's a war waged constantly within the soul of a Mage: which reality is going to come out on top? Can a little give now mean a win in the future, or is it the death of a thousand small cuts? In the end, the only constant is change itself. Whether a Mage makes that change happen, or rides the change like the oncoming wave of the largest tsunami yet seen, or even finds the middle road to do both, is up to each player.
Key Phrases/Theme In Specific
Plots (both staff, meta and player-run) on Shadow War should incorporate one or more of the following key-phrases. It doesn't have to be a central concept, but these are the themes that tie the game together. They're what we're exploring in the stories being told here. Interpret them however you like, so long as some hint is in play. If you'd like your interpretation or suggestion to join the lists below, fire a message to (staff).
Frenemies
- Your friend today is your enemy tomorrow. He may be a friend again the day after that. The world is so much larger than a single instance; a common foe makes all the difference. But just because he's your friend for this fight doesn't mean you have to like him. It doesn't mean you can't take steps to see that his (wrongheaded, stubborn, incorrect, dangerous) world-view is ground into the dirt like the terrible idea it is. Don't worry. He'll return the favor in the morning. -- ES
- Your sister is still yours. Even when she's decided to do something awful and stupid and terrible, she's still yours. The two of you can fight like cats and dogs, but when your backs are against the wall, she's still the one who comes busting through the line to save your ass. Nobody else gets to tear her down. -- ES
Choose Your Battles Wisely
- Can you keep the world from ending if you're bleeding to death in an alley because you decided to interfere in a mugging? If you don't interfere in the mugging, will the neighborhood be just that much more dangerous, leading to the proverbial end of the world? Every choice to interact or not-interact has consequences. You won't always know what those results will be; make your best guess when the moment comes. -- ES
- A Boy Named Sue. Is hatred worth the strength found through adversity? -- ES
The Only Constant Is Change Itself
- Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed. (Does this still apply to Mages? What does your paradigm tell you?) -- ES
- There will be moments of quiet, moments of stillness and rest. They won't last. They never last. The world is constantly in shift, always moving ever-so-slightly forward towards... what, exactly? -- ES
Control vs Chaos
- The very underpinnings of reality can be tweaked by a Mage when she wills. How much of that tweaking should she do? Just enough to keep herself and her loved ones comfortable? Is reality worth living in, if it's all arranged and programmed like a script? How much worth does chaos have in its own right? -- ES
Mechanics
nMage (someday, when OnP releases the new rule-set) married to oMage. There's a guide out there we'll use to help wed once the rules are out and about. The goal is paradigm and seekings and reality-flux of old, with mechanics that don't make everyone cry tears of rage-and-sorrow.
Setting
New Orleans, post-Katrina. I've gathered census info to get a rough idea of how neighborhoods are shaped, but I expect alla that to change with play. When the game starts, and with some structure in place to make it mostly stay that way unless folks really go whackadoo to dismantle, Trads, Technos and Hermetics (PC-playable groups) will be very very loosely allied against the Nephandi (non-PC).
Various Policies As They Come To Mind
- We want a Mage-game that's willing to roll with the punches. If a player(s) can figure out how to do something big that sticks, or even if it's only temp, we want to play it out and see what comes. All plot results get the same treatment.
- Mage-only. We might use other splats as background and story-hooks, but that's not fully decided yet.
- There's a possibility of sister-city with Eldritch; that is to say, same universe. @Coin and @Glitch and I are still discussing that and how/if it would work.
- Creative Thaum: Spells work on a per-ST basis, rather than requiring immediate Staff decision/approval. Your ST for a scene (the group at large if you're just RPing at random) will decide the various details about a CT spell. If you want it to work all the time, you go through Staff, and we'll probably be slow and harsh. Sometimes magic won't work quite the same way. That's a feature, not a bug.
- Seekings are important, but how they'll be handled is still up in the air. I have Opinions, but so does @Glitch, it turns out! TBD.
- No 'spheres'. No one person will be in charge of the PC-groups on a staff level. Well. Me I suppose as the head ST type, but it still won't be spheres.
That's all I've got so far. It's all still in development, mostly because without the rule-set, we're treading water and not pushing to make it happen rightnow rightnow.
ES
There are FB groups opening up for various cities, for interested parties to congregate and plan. I myself don't plan to host an event alone, but I'll likely offer to help if anyone in my area wants to take on the brunt of the work.