ESPERS

By D.J. Harper (dharper@mustang.uwo.ca)

History

In the late 40s, many sleepers experienced a much higher level of paranormal activities. Some of these were traceable to supernatural intervention, but others had no clear link to Kindred, Wraiths or Garou. Sleepers reported amazing feats of the mind; telepathy, clairvoyance, and other abilities that stunned the public.

This became a real threat to the Technocracy's carefully planned scheduele for Ascension. If the masses started believing in unscientific, unexplainable psychic phenomena, how long would it be before the Traditions managed to bring back belief in hedge magic, alchemy and faith? And from there, how far until humanity reached the dark ages again? They acted quickly, and within a few months these fledgling psychics were crushed.

But every so often, new reports would turn up. The Technocracy was angry at their lapse and quickly eliminated all loose ends. However, despite their best efforts, psychics kept on appearing, randomly and at odd intervals. Thus, in the later 1950s, an amalgam of the Progenitors was set up specifically to study the human mind and these so-called psychic phenomena.

Once put under the scientific microscope, many of these psychics were 'proved' to be fakes. This, they believed, would harness the human subconscious against psychics and turn paradox against these would-be mages. Whether or not this was true, they were confounded again and again as new psychics kept appearing across the world. Before they could stop it, a cultural media of trashy newspapers and pulp fiction had grown up around these psychics, and they had begun to take a life of their own.

The Technocracy was beginning to become afraid. But then, in the 1960s, they hit upon an even better plan. They created the New York Institute of Psychic Phenomena specifically to study and train these new psychics. Most were given drugs or surgery to 'cull' these magical disturbances from their system. A few, however, the most promising ones, were taken into the Technocracy fold, never to speak about their origins again.

But as the 1990s roll around, the Technocracy has not yet won. Some of their once-psychic mages have turned around and bitten the hand that fed them, fleeing into the world and uplifting their own psychic colleages. Over time, they developed into small groups, and finally, into what might resemble a tiny Tradition.

The Magi who call themselves Espers are the newest, and in a sense one of the oldest, of the Traditions. Before their awakening, Espers were sleepers whose natural unconscious minds were so attuned to magic that they began to evince psychic powers. In terms a mage can understand, they gained an unconscious ability to manipulate reality in some form, much as mages do, but in a much more limited fashion as they lacked the awareness of mages.

The popular theory among the Espers today is that psychic phenomena are a result of the subconscious need of humanity for magic in a magical form. That is, for the unexplainable to have form. These needs do not resist the One directly, lessening paradox, but instead strike out randomly, touching random -- or not so random -- individuals with psychic energies or other supernatural forces, giving them what it wants. However, this seemingly random pattern is often fatal for their targets, who don't know enough about their new powers to avoid accidental death, or worse yet, drawing the attention of others before they can defend themselves.

The first Esper mages, mostly fleeing Tradition mages and Technocracers, helped along some of their select brethren, and in so doing accidentally let them achieve ascension. It was then that they tied magic and psychic powers together.

The mages who make up this fledgling tradition are struggling not only to survive their birthing spasms, but also to 'enlighten' the Traditions and Technocracy to their philosophy, which they believe can stop the Ascension War.

The Esper Tradition is made up of such psychics who have Awakened, often on their own or with the guidance of another Esper.

Espers usually start with high levels of Awareness and Arete.

Sphere

Former telepathics gain Mind 1; telekinetics gain Force 1; and clairvoyants gain Correspondence 1.

Foci

As their understanding of their own powers varies greatly, Espers tend to use different foci from each other. Espers who learn a sphere from a mentor take their mentor's foci in that sphere. Otherwise, espers are free to choose a foci from those other traditions use for that sphere. Some espers are strong-willed enough to see through the illusion of needing foci (those with high Arete) and espers prefer to go without them whenever possible. The Esper Tradition is not yet old enough to have its own standardized foci.

Chantry

Espers are more commonly found in North America than the rest of the world, but they are by no means clustered anywhere. They have no one control base or headquarters, not being an established (or accepted) tradition yet. Espers meet at seances, para-psychic conventions, and, in the case of clairvoyant espers, by pure "chance" on the street. The New York Institute of Psychic Phenomenon is not, as many believe, an esper chantry, but rather a Technocracy holdout.

Philosophy

The espers have joined together both from personal experience, often tinged with horror, and also from an abiding belief that humanity already has the necessary spark needed for Ascension; all that is needed is to light it, and in so doing, set the world aflame. By empowerment, humanity can achieve Ascension en masse, not the stagnation which the Technocracy is pushing. The proof of it is in the psychics, who are being created from the Technocracy's technological magic and not the Traditions foolhardy use of magick.

Game Mechanics

Psychic powers are a feeble attempt at performing the feats a true mage is capable of. One of the first steps in becoming a magi is to unlearn their psychic powers and grasp the true magic open to them. Thus, espers are not united through their powers, but through their backgrounds and philosophies. Characters convert their psychic powers into experience points to spend immediately on magic spheres when they are Awakened. However, in the case of PC espers, there is no effect on game balance -- the mage merely learned spheres faster than average and had more to draw from. They start with the same number of freebie points, spheres and other attributes as any other mage.

Introducing espers into your campaign

One obvious route to take is that of the espers trying to establish themselves. While the idea of psychics is in many cultures' mythologies to some extent, it is also, and perhaps more appropriately, a quasi-scientific phenomenon and part of science-fiction. The traditions jealously guard their supremacy in their own spheres. There are already ten Traditions for only nine spheres, and the Espers would lay claim to three of these. Further, their view of magic may actually lie closer to the Technocracy's.

They are in a unique position; science-using, but magick-loving mages, who wield science as their tool for their magick, but who prefer the older ways, the unexplainable and mysterious. The Technocracy is not evil, only misguided -- as are the Traditions. A fledgling group of espers might look to the Technocracy to become their sixth convention rather than join the traditions. Their philosophy means they could try to change the Technocracy from within rather than fight it and be destroyed. Certainly, the Espers are in no position to argue. They are weak, few in number, young, without resources and limited to only a few places. They may attempt to ally with the Technocracy, but they won't hold their breaths, either. The Technocracy has been trying to 'prove' psychic powers are fake for so long, can they really change their minds? Do they even want to? If they get a better offer from the Traditions, you can bet the Espers will go for it. They desperately need protection, but more than that, acceptance. Change can always come later.