By Theslin Wanders-through-Bramble (theslin@mail.utexas.edu)
Shows of prestidigitation, little glimpses of the supernatural without any "real" Magick, became a great pastime in the "educated" countries: North America and the European nations, among others, sported hundreds of wandering magicians. Dabblers that they were, it's a great mystery how such a sizable chunk of stage charlatans started their journey to Ascension. Critics claim their Awakening was a sick Cultist joke. Another theory was that even staged performance magic was as powerful a force as "Magick" or "science." At the core of all three lies the same basic Prime Force. The Sons of Ether in particular sponsor the latter theory.
Within the Order, Sleepers are often referred to as "The Audience." Tradition mages are generally called "the Hopeless." Beyond this, the Ancient Order has adopted a Vaudeville-esque jargon all its own.
| i. | Respect every Seer's methods. Every shtick is equal to your own. |
| ii. | Never violate the sanctity of a brother's performance. The Show must not be broken nor interrupted. |
| iii. | Respect a brother's territory. An attempt to out-perform a Seer is a challenge. |
| iv. | Respect a brother's secrets. Techniques are to be shared with Apprentices, not with outsiders. Do not share tricks with the Audience. |
| v. | The Hopeless are not of the Ancient Order. Do not share tricks with the other Awakened. |
| vi. | Do not violate the sanctity of a brother's Image. Copy neither technique nor costume. |
Note that the Code is merely a set of protocols, and in times of crisis -- during competition with another Seer, for example -- they are flagrantly violated. As travelling entertainers, the Ancient Order does not maintain a hierarchy or internal structure. More than any Tradition, the Ancient Order of Seers is a "society of equals."
Wand: The Seer must wave a wand while using some spheres. The wand is a unique object, and must work properly with the Seer's image. Black top hat and tuxedo require a black wand with a white tip. Image is everything.
Hat: The Seer must wear a hat to perform Matter effects. As with Wand, the hat must conform to the mage's image, though it is not a unique item. Using a hat in coincidental magic under some circumstances -- with items that are larger than could conceivably fit inside of the hat or are not actually being pulled out of the headpiece -- will raise the difficulty of the effect by one. Baskets and large boxes, while less portable, have often been used as alternative foci.
Patter: Like the Order of Hermes, the Ancient Order of Seers has developed a sort of language to misguide the Audience. It is chanted, mumbled or shouted, but serves only to misfocus attention on the actual magick. Patter does not require Linguistics, unless one is using patter based on Latin or some other language: again, the patter must fit with the image. Many Seers use musical instruments as an alternative focus. Patter increases the time required for a magickal effect by at least one turn.
Cape: When using some of the more vulgar spheres, an act is more believable when concealed under a cape. Blankets, tarps and so forth are equally acceptable. If the Seer is not physically able to cover or block his target from view, the difficulty of his magick is increased by two!
More on foci: As with Technomancers, reliance on Foci is all that keeps a Seer's magick coincidental. Members of the Ancient Order may not begin dropping Foci until they reach an Arete of 5, and even then most choose to hide their Magick beneath a veil of flim-flam and hoopla.
"Who?"
Celestial Chorus: They know a bit about pageantry, they can run a show -- but they just can't advertise! Let 'em die, if they want to.
"Only a step better than the Cult of Ecstasy. I shall not discuss them further."
Cult of Ecstasy: They won't amount to anything, but you could hardly ask for a more appreciative audience.
"Cool. Y'know, after a mushroom or two their shows are worth watching."
Dreamspeakers: Here and now, boys, here and now! How can people be so out of touch?
"I haven't met them, but they sound misguided. I can't see how they have any real focus in life."
Euthanatos: Sick, sick, backwards little deluded drabs. Let 'em stew with the Hermetics for a few centuries.
"Yet another waste of flesh."
Hollow Ones: A bit gloomy, but basically good folks. If you can bring yourself down to their level, you've got a partner you can depend on. Style, a little flash -- all the best in an assistant.
"We all need a chance to laugh, even us Hollows. And its nice to have a Craft that doesn't take itself seriously."
"'Sim sallah-Bim,' hmmm? Clever. I have but three questions. One, how did you do it. Two, in what godforsaken subrealm is my watch. And three, when does the Paradox set in?"
Sons of Ether: They're like brothers, with all the smoke and sparks. If we could only talk them out of the laboratory and under the limelight; the competition would be a welcome change.
"Smoke and sparks? There's more to our craft. Now, perhaps in a variety show, with some demonstrations of the True Sciences..."
Verbena: I do believe they don't really like us. Pity. So many useful tricks, but how do they stand all that blood?
"So utterly without substance. I can't see the point of hating a creature with so little impact on reality."
Virtual Adepts: Yes, yes, very nice. Pocket universes and all that are pretty, but a fad. Speak with the crowds, not to the individual. They do have a good grasp of special effects, though.
"I haven't seen a 'magic' show since I was six. There must be better things to sit through."
Description: Pick a card. Any card. It's a six of spades, right? Card Tricks is an old staple of the Order of Seers, as is any Trick that'll give them ultimate control over a deck of cards. It's a great rote for gambling, as well...
System: With this rote in effect, the Seer can predict which card in a given deck is in what position with almost perfect accuracy. Entropy lays the pattern the cards are shuffled into. Mind allows the caster to "peek" with the victim's eyes.
Description: Sometimes you don't know what to expect from a crowd. Jarrad "The Great Rary" Handell solved that problem. With Know your Audience he could perform as his crowds wished, and always to a full house.
System: The second level of Mind allows the Seer knowledge of his subject's opinions and emotions. Greater levels of Mind and a knack for Correspondence allow the mage to "peek" into an audience as a whole, rather than one target at a time. The mage may ask one "question" of his audience or target, regarding the targets attitudes, emotions and opinions concerning the caster, per success.
Description: No-one can perform True Magic (without the "k") when the Audience can see your every move. The Ancient Order of Seers has posessed this rote since its first members deluded Late Baroque Italy. Useful in combat, performance and heavy traffic, Magic Smoke is a long-time favorite for the more troublesome Seers.
System: The caster of this rote creates a cloud of thick, opaque smoke, up to five cubic yards tall and black as pitch. The smoke is under the caster's control, can be moved at normal walking speed without disippating, and lasts for as many turns as the caster has successes.
Description: A complimentary effect to "Magic Smoke," this old Trick momentarily distracts anybody looking at the mage, producing results from a brief blink to a plague of daydreamers.
System: Prime, Life and Mind are used to locate individuals observing the casting mage. Mind also allows the caster to cast the impulse to blink, or cough, or what-have-you into the audience's cumulative mind. The number of successes equal the severity of the distraction: One success indicates a quick blink, while five successes will tie up the audience for two or three seconds. Sometimes all that's necessary is the tiniest moment of distraction...
Prior to his performance, a Mage must "set up" her audience. This requires a Manipulation + Expression roll, with a difficulty of seven (the Storyteller may assign a higher or lower difficulty based on the "toughness" of the crowd -- very little children are a bit easier to impress than a group of jaded and world-wise high-schoolers.) The number of successes sets the magickal tone for the show, and as well the degree to which the audience's suspension of disbelief aids the mage. Great Works are possible on stage if one can use that unique setting properly.
| Successes | Effect |
| 1 | The mage blew his set-up. The audience expects a poor show. All difficulties for spells are increased by 2. Rotes which were not obviously "faked" (read: Coincidental. The ace was up his sleeve, you could see the wires) are considered Vulgar Magick with Witness. All botched magick draws an extra point of Paradox. Good luck. |
| 2 | The audience expects a dull show. The difficulty of any Vulgar effect is increased by 1. |
| 3 | The audience is expecting a decent show. The difficulty of Coincidental magick is decreased by 1. |
| 4 | The audience is expecting a great show! The difficulty of all magick is decreased by 2. In addition, the mage receives a point of Quintessence whenever a spell succeeds dramatically (with spectacular and eye-catching results and at least four successes). |
| 5+ | The audience is eating out of your hand, hanging on your words and waiting for the next trick with baited breath. Magick difficulties are decreased by 2, the Mage receives a point of Quintessence for dramatic successes. The Show moves one step ahead of you as unexpected props appear to work themselves into your act -- all magick is considered coincidental for the duration of the show. |