This week's Onyx Pathcast features the second half of the huge chat about Mage the Ascension, looking at various projects and how the creative team go about working on them. It's a bit broader and bigger than just our Lore of the Traditions subject, covering lots of ground.
Here's a link to the episode: <Onyx Pathcast Episode 194> . Give it a listen to hear lots of subjects, including:
Lore of the Traditions still on Kickstarter!
We’ve got Travis Legge
Also Danielle Lauzon!
Ian A. A. Watson is on this roundtable,
Along with Michael Barker! What a stacked show!
Barker and Matthew invented YouTube.
A brief history of the em dash
Let’s try to talk about Mage
Ian on Mage: The Ascension
A surprise guest!
Danielle on writing/developing shifts
On “rescuing” a book
Travis on developing Lore of the Traditions
Barker on Mage development
On Victorian Mage and Empire
Burger Time
A Mage-Inspired Burger Campaign
Clearly, this one keeps a tight focus! (That's sarcasm! This one brings the silly)
#LoreOfTheTraditions
#MageTheAscension
Backers Only - Manuscript Preview #9 - The Verbena
about 2 years ago
– Fri, Feb 11, 2022 at 03:10:35 AM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
FINAL WEEK COUNTDOWN
about 2 years ago
– Thu, Feb 10, 2022 at 08:47:07 AM
Hello Mages,
We're officially in the final week countdown for this Kickstarter campaign! Over these final days I'll be sharing a handful of instruction and review-type posts about Reward Tiers & Add Ons, and What Comes Next, so if you've got any process questions or are wondering about how the Kickstarter steps work, I'm hoping to clarify any remaining questions before we finish. Of course, if you're still wondering about something, please ask and I'll help as best I can.
Final Week Schedule
February 11 - Backers-onlyManuscript Download for The Verbena
February 12 - OnyxPathcast Episode: Mage The Ascension Roundtable II
February 13 - Pledge Tier & Add On Review
February 14 - Previewfrom the Virtual Adepts chapter
February 15 - Backers-onlyManuscript Download for The VirtualAdepts
February 16 - Stretch Goal Review
February 17 - Final Day Checklist & What Comes Next
Next Tuesday, I'll be posting the final draft manuscript download section. If you're a backer of this campaign, you'll be able to read the entire draft manuscript before we finish, before any pledges are processed, and before Kickstarter sends out any conclusion note. So, if you haven't joined up yet, please do so in these final days and know that you can cancel your pledge before the end if this book isn't for you.
BUT - if it is for you (and if you're reading this, I think you already know that it is), joining up now will help us maybe achieve another Stretch Goal before we review our many accomplishments next Wednesday! I sure would love to add another Stretch Goal reward on to the list!
IF YOU ARE already a backer, then an assignment for you:
Be an Ascension Ambassador
I know, this is something I've already said many times (and seem to say during every project!), but for this final week, you are officially a virtual ambassador for this Kickstarter project. It's time to share your excitement for Loreof the Traditions! Basically, we want to recruit as many interested backers as possible to form our own sort of Mystic Council over this final week.
I know I end every update post with "Keep spreading the word! Invite others to join in!" - but what does that mean, and how do you do it?
Easy answer - don't stop talking about M20:Lore of the Traditions until 2:01 PM EST next Thursday February 17th (when the campaign has ended). Yes, family and friends were tired of me talking about it - maybe even during Valentine's Day dinner! - but what else have I got to talk about? And they've learned to tolerate me during a kickstarter campaign (at least during the pandemic). But here's the thing - there are others around who haven't heard or don't know about the campaign.
Resources to Share
If you're inviting new backers, or if you are a new backer (hi new backers!), here are a few key resources to be aware of for this campaign.
Backers are able to review the (soon-to-be) complete manuscript for this book before the campaign closes and any pledges are processed. No need to wonder how the Cult of Ecstasy or the Euthanatos or any of the others have been updated! Know what you're getting into by checking this book out!
And, if you join now, as I've noted, we'll be posting the final two chapters covering the Verbena and the Virtual Adepts tomorrow and next Tuesday, respectively, before we begin our final 48 hour countdown.
Look & Listen
The team at Mage: The Podcast (including writer Terry Robinson) chatted with most of the writers about adapting and updating the Traditions in this book. Check them out over three episodes:
The Onyx Pathcast posted the first of a two-part Mage: The Ascension roundtable. looking at various projects and how the creative team go about working on them. It's a bit broader and bigger than just our Lore of the Traditions subject, covering lots of ground (with part II coming soon!).
On Saturday at 10 PM EST Dork Tales returns with Breaking Tradition Episode Two, which will be broadcast from their channel https://www.twitch.tv/dorktales and will be hosted on the Onyx Path channel!
And we'll have more Actual Plays streaming on Twitch next week as well!
More Mage: The Ascension Discussion
You may also be able to get further insight and possibly some in-depth conversation at these Onyx Path discussion zones:
1) Don't forget to share a link to the Kickstarter in any discussion you have (where appropriate) - and feel free to pass any of the list of podcast links above to those who may need more info (or, just point them to this post!)
2) Don't forget to tell us about any post or review or discussion you write! Come to the comments section and let us know so we can all go and contribute! I know I keep saying it, but really - these last days are key. Keep the enthusiasm high (hitting stretch goals certainly makes that easier!) and keep on inviting others to join in, either directly ("Come see...") or just by setting an example of your enthusiasm and interest.
Final Week
We've got one week to go, everyone! Thank you all so much for your support! Like the Nine Traditions, we've come together, despite individual differences, to accomplish greater tasks - in this case, funding this book and adding new projects to the M20 list. Let's continue to work our magick together and let's see if we can't get another Stretch Goal or two before we review next Wednesday!
#LoreOfTheTraditions
#MageTheAscension
#FinalWeekCountdown
Preview: The Verbena
about 2 years ago
– Wed, Feb 09, 2022 at 10:46:45 AM
Modern Verbena
The challenges facing the Verbena differ little from those faced by every organization prizing tradition: how to preserve good and useful wisdom while adapting to the demands of 21st century magic. Though the women’s liberation and queer rights movements freed many Verbena to practice their craft more openly, the Tradition’s membership struggles with hidebound notions of who “counts” as a true witch.
Country Witch, City Witch
In centuries past, Verbena practiced their craft in the wild. They formed deep and abiding connections to the land, and the life living on it, and structured their lives to align with the agricultural seasons. Many elder Verbena continue observing these ways, living in remote cabins, or at least within a short drive of the deep wilds. Some covens form compounds in this way, choosing to live in remote areas untouched by overly mundane energies.
But as attitudes regarding land shift, so has the relationship between a young Verbena, her community, and her environment. The rise of urbanization as a global trend means many Verbena Awaken in the hearts of cities or suburbs. How can she develop a meaningful relationship with the land when the land is mostly asphalt and AstroTurf?
Urban witches adapt in several ways. Many of them carry forward the practice of hiding in plain sight observed by their foremothers. Their cast-iron pans double as both cookware and cauldron, while lovingly-tended patio gardens produce the herbs needed for their foci. In some places, these witches manage to cultivate their own tiny, twenty-square-foot groves in community gardens. And the herbs these witches can’t grow, the nearby supermarket or pagan store provides. When she really needs to commune with nature, an urban Verbena turns to state parks and campgrounds. In between camping trips, she casts her hexes using subway maps and follows power lines instead of ley lines.
Traditional witches disdain such practice, viewing them as lazy and misguided. If the traditionalists had their way, the Verbena would retreat to the few truly wild places left in the world. Some go so far as to construct their own Horizon Realms to sequester in. Urban witches have their own criticisms regarding such retreat from the world. Witches, they believe, have a sacred obligation to serve their communities. Though they struggle to fully observe the Old Ways, urban witches believe they cannot and should not abandon Earth-centric life.
Techno-Wicca
Though one doesn’t often think of high-end tablets or databanks when pondering the Craft, the newest generation of Verbena grew up in a world surrounded by technology. Naturally, some of them incorporate digital instruments into their workings. Some simply prefer keeping their Books of Shadows in electronic format, while others go further.
Ashe Lombard works at the forefront of this Green Revolution. Ashe studied environmental science before their Awakening and is keenly aware of the raw computing power found in plants. The young Verbena wants to carry the concept of communing with nature to the fullest extent possible. To this aim, the techno-witch has developed a complex system of bio-computers. Though the other Verbena deride their ‘plant cyborgs,’ a few Virtual Adepts have questions about a few strangely verdant corners of the Virtual Web.
Blood of the Wyck
Verbena history teaches that, through the Aeduna, the first practitioners of the Old Ways descended from divine beings called the Wyck. As the Tradition developed, due to both magical and mundane pressures, many Verbena took apprentices from within their own families. These Verbena’s descendants thus now possess a tendency to boast they come from this bloodline or another. Nightshade and William Groth’s descendants enjoy the most respect as a powerful Verbena bloodline, but several other established families wield considerable influence within the Tradition.
Such Verbena frequently find themselves rising in positions of leadership, only to face accusations of nepotism. Elder Verbena assert their niece or granddaughter simply proved herself the best-suited for whichever honor she received. In many cases, they aren’t even wrong. Bloodline Verbena have readier access to Mentors, Nodes, and the Tradition’s collective wisdom. These lucky practitioners see little reason to question their blessings and point to their own hard work as justification for whatever benefits they enjoy.
Modern social movements have given Verbena without a noteworthy family line, or even a family line at all, the proper language to describe and push back against their systemic exclusion. Some of the less-conservative lineages now make overtures to certain talented young witches, offering adoption. Verbena have always practiced adoption, of course, and many family lines propose this as a fair solution. Though some witches seem grateful for acknowledgement and acceptance, other, fierier Verbena insist this is no solution at all. They agitate for an entire dismantling of the family inheritance system — shocking the eldest Verbena who remember the times when such methods were the only way to ensure Verbena wisdom survived at all.
No solution acceptable to all involved has yet emerged, and many a cross-coven Esbat celebration falls apart due to bickering and bitterness. Especially because the question of bloodline tutelage feeds into a much larger issue facing the tradition: the systematic exclusion of entire paradigms within the Tradition.
Druid, Shaman, Witch, Healer
In large part thanks to Nightshade and Groth’s outsize influence on the Tradition, plus prevailing mortal attitudes, Verbena historically tended to emphasize their Celtic, Norse, and Hellenistic pagan paradigms. When many covens come together in celebration, they frequently observe the European holidays of Imbolc, Samhain, Yule, and others. Even the language used to describe the ritual implements and practices borrow heavily from European-derived traditions.
This has quite understandably perturbed the Verbena following indigenous or tribal paradigms. Though the Kha’vadi accept any number of indigenous Awakened into their Tradition, not every practitioner finds a home among the Dreamspeakers. Many find themselves more comfortable with the focus on Life and land the Verbena teach. Some join the Verbena deliberately, rejecting the Traditional stereotypes of indigenous magic which pigeonholes them into the Kha’vadi.
As discussions unfold over the issue of bloodline inheritance and nepotism, Verbena practicing indigenous paradigms have grown more vocal about their own place within the Tradition. Led by Takoda Standing-Bear, they insist on an equal place in the circle. Their Celtic and Euro-pagan counterparts don’t necessarily oppose such concessions, but neither do they fully understand the depth of the problem.
A few elder Verbena, those leading not only covens but entire bloodlines, do resent the rising sentiment among their indigenous craft-mates. They see this outspokenness as part of a larger push by jealous youngsters to deprive the wisest and most accomplished Verbena of their hard-earned authority. Most indigenous Verbena assert such isn’t their goal — though some absolutely do want to see the bloodline system dismantled within the Tradition and new paradigms elevated.
For now, the conflict appears stuck. Those who most wish change possess little power to effect it; those who have the greatest power see little reason to wield it. The various factions within the Tradition keep talking past each other, waiting for the other side to blink. Progress will assuredly prevail, but who among the witches has the talent and determination to create such change?
Life, Death, Rebirth
All such conflicts pale in comparison, however, to a slow, collective realization of the Verbena’s duty in a challenging modern world. A core tenet of the Old Ways embraces the sacred cycle of life, death, and rebirth. The old must pass away again and experience a new birth. Fields must lay fallow over the winter in preparation for spring, while elders pass away to make room for the young. A mage dies only for another to inherit her Avatar. The Verbena don’t know exactly what comes next for Creation, but take seriously their role as those charged with bringing the new world into being, in harmony with the Old Ways.
And who stands more fit to oversee this rebirth than the Verbena? None are as suited as they to serve as spiritual midwives. No other Tradition keeps alive the wisdom of the Wyck and the gifts of the Aeduna as the Verbena.
Of course, the question must arise: what form will this rebirth of Awakened society take? And how shall mortal society reflect such a rebirth? Will the people live simply, giving up eight hours of desk work for twelve hours of farm work? As ardently as some wish a return to a pastoral life, progress’ march never calls retreat. Whatever form the new society takes, the Verbena understand their role as the guides and guardians for such.
Verbena observing different paradigms squabble over the particulars. Indigenous and elder Celtic Verbena make common cause in wishing to see an end to urbanization. On the other end of the spectrum, newly Awakened witches explore the potential of uniting biology with cybernetics. The victor remains unclear. All anyone knows is, if the Verbena fail to seize the moment, they risk falling into irrelevance.
Two quick update reminders.
First, if you had grabbed any of the WoD 20A PDF or existing Mage 20A PDFs as ADD ONS to your pledge, read today's earlier update. They're going to be offered at cheaper prices as part of Onyx Path's 10th Anniversary Sale, so save money and get them from DriveThruRPG!
Secondly, check out Onyx Path's Twitch channel at 9:00 PM EST tonight for Walking Into Shadow, an information and interview show centered around Mage: The Ascension.
#LoreOfTheTraditions
About Those Add Ons... Don't Get 'Em.
about 2 years ago
– Wed, Feb 09, 2022 at 05:41:27 AM
Hello Backers,
I had made a small note about this last week, but the situation has expanded, so wanted to let you know about our World of Darkness PDF Add On rewards offered as part of this campaign.
DON'T ADD ONTHESE REWARDS FOR THIS CAMPAIGN. They're available for massively discounted prices from DriveThruRPG this month.
In a fun bit of Left Hand not knowing what the Right Hand was doing (I'm the Left Hand in this scenario), Onyx Path is celebrating their 10th Anniversary this year by discounting many of their digital offerings down to 10% of the normal price (that's 90% off!).
I had included these titles as Add On options for this campaign, with some decent pricing - at least the best we can offer as part of a Kickstarter campaign and accounting for the extra costs that go with that. But those deals aren't even close to what can be offered at DriveThruRPG as part of Onyx Path's Anniversary Sale.
As mentioned last week, the World of Darkness 20th Anniversary titles are going on sale in waves by line. Last week saw many of the V20 titles on sale. This week, they’re focusing on Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition! PDFs from the W20 game line are currently on sale for 10% of their original prices, for their 10th anniversary. That means it’s 90% off!
The World of Darkness 20th Anniversary titles offered as part of the Onyx Path 10th Anniversary Sale will continue all month, with both Changeling: The Dreaming 20A and Wraith: The Oblivion 20A titles on sale next week, during our final week of the campaign.
AND - MAGE: THE ASCENSION 20th ANNIVERSARY PDFs will be on sale the following week, right after our campaign ends.
So, even though I like building our funding amount and unlocking Stretch Goals, I can't replicate this pricing as part of the campaign and don't want you to miss out on this amazing deal. Luckily, we're still a few weeks away from finishing this campaign and processing pledges, so you are able to update your pledge and Add Ons and can take advantage of this deal. I'll post a reminder again as part of our Final Week review when I discuss Pledge Tiers and Add Ons, but it's good to be aware that there are some amazing deals going on over at DriveThru all throughout 2022 in celebration of 10 years of Onyx Path!
I don't know if Rich Bastard's Guide to Magick (which officially gets released today!) or Technocracy Reloaded will be included in the 90% discount offering... but they won't be priced higher than they are as part of this campaign, so it's a safe bet that grabbing them from DriveThruRPG the week after our campaign ends is still your best bet.
Apologies for all of the confusion on this. Hopefully this sale allows everyone to really stock up their digital shelves and makes up for the extra work.
