Setting Overview

Themes

A list of the intended core themes of the Chronicle.

Addicted to Mystery

Cannot go without this one. The tagline for the Second Edition. The Chronicles of Darkness are brimming, crawling and echoing with Mysteries and mages are ideally equipped to investigate them. Indeed they have to, it is in their very souls. Addiction, though, can be a nasty thing. Watch out or it might hurt you and the ones you care about. Will you know when to stop?

Political Expediency

The Awakened are people of high ideals. Magic itself is the act of making ideals real. Yet mages can be surprisingly quick to accept the less-than-ideal for the sake of expediency or the hope that their ideals will be realized anyway. The so-called Wise often politick as viciously as the worst Sleepers, rarely enjoying an epiphany about what they are doing. It will be all worth it for the end result, they tell themselves. How far will you go for your goals before your struggle itself destroys them? Is the result of compromised ideals even worth the struggle?

Gambling with High Stakes

Las Vegas is the Gambling Capital of the World, which means the local Awakened should feel right at home. They know about gambling for high stakes, every incautious spell is a gamble with the Abyss as the croupier. Best hope the house doesn’t win this time. Every political manoeuvre needs to brave the interests of other willworkers. If you listen to some stories, Awakening itself was a spiritual gamble. But the real gambles are the Mysteries they pursue. Being Addicted to Mysteries often means going all-in for just a tiny bit more knowledge, a tiny political success, being a tiny bit closer to Heaven. What is it like when everything rests on the roll of the dice or the draw of a card? Will you go all-in or fold.

The Orders in Las Vegas

Free Council

A city like Las Vegas draws in many Libertines with novel ideas and practices. With all the weirdness and chaos around, even the strangest Techné barely registers, meaning they have an easy time finding Sleeper societies to invest in or hide their magic in. Like their Diamond counterparts, the Free Councillors are very interested in the sheer Arcadian power of the city, but naturally draw the exact opposite conclusions: Las Vegas is not a reflection of existing Arcadian Truths per se, but a major birthplace of new Truths. Surely, never before has a city or community like it existed, where people have their lives made and lost at the roll of the dice, the draw of the cards, all voluntarily. Everything is a big game of Roulette. To many Libertines, the idea that Las Vegas is just an expression of what was already there is clearly arguing in Bad Faith.

Despite the fact that the city’s central Mystery makes the ideological differences between the Diamond and Free Council very obvious, the Order is fairly well-integrated into the Pentacle Consilium of the Silver City. One of the city’s Councillors is a Libertine and they are welcome at Consilium. Even when debates between them and Diamond ideologues can get quite heated sometimes. Assembly takes place once a month regardless, to discuss internal matters and general policy. Trusted Diamond mages (often Arrows) are usually welcome and even allowed to vote, depending on just how trusted they are.

If the Free Council here has an enemy or rival among the Diamond it would be the local Mysterium. The two Orders regularly clash over access to Mysteries (especially Supernal Verges) and how, if at all, Sleepers should be involved in the process of researching them.

While it looks relatively pleasant from the outside, compared to some other regions in the USA, the schisms between the Free Council and Diamond mages are growing deeper and wider, not just on philosophical issues, but also the rulings of the Consilium.

Adamantine Arrow

For the most part it is business as usual for the Ungula Draconis in Las Vegas. The Pentacle needs protection and many challenges ask to be overcome in the Sin City. Arrows, of all Awakened in the city, except perhaps Mystagogues, are the most likely to learn at least a bit of Fate and Time, even when they are not part of a mage’s core interests. Many dangers the Awakened face here use or stem from the Arcadian Arcana and following the ideal that Adaptability is Strength means most Arrows try to at least have some means of countering them directly.

The higher number of Acanthus Arrow has also led to a curious practice: preventive strikes. The Talons here are far more likely to strike targets before they have done the deeds that will make them targets, the advantage of having many warriors able to divine the outcome of a fight. Yet, especially when opposing the Seers of the Throne often find their plans thwarted.

The standing order to not interfere with the local vampire population is perhaps the hardest on the local Arrow. Many Arrows take up Oaths to protect Sleepers, but in Vegas swearing such an Oath can seriously put a willworker between a rock and a hard place, more so than usual. The vampires here often show less regard and care than in other parts of the world, usually to the detriment of the Sleepers and Sleepwalkers they feed from. Of course, the Adamantine Arrow Caucus of Nevada is prepared for a possible catastrophe and many local Arrows have trained to fight vampires effectively, but as everyone who has had the misfortune to deal with them knows, it rarely is as easy as a contest of physical might.

Nevada and the surrounding states also happens to be the home of many Free Companies. The Adamant Sage has spend much time and effort to contain their mercenary ways, but rarely with much success. The fear is that a Company operation might cause unnecessary fallout for the Las Vegas Consilium.

Guardians of the Veil

The Visus Draconis is always watching and in Sin City, there is much to see. Seers, Scelesti, Banishers, Vampires, Demons, Sleepers that have veered to close to harmful truths, all deserve the attention of the Dragon’s Eye. It would be fair to say that the Guardians here have their hands full. The Seers are always looking for an opening and in a city so run through with organised crime, the shadow war between the Guardians and the Seers often takes the form of power struggles between and within crime syndicates. However, telling just whose assets one is attacking is often harder to tell than either side would like, neither the Guardians nor the Seers wish to cause diplomatic incidents with the other supernatural societies of the city, and so the Guardians must be very cautious.

The vampires and demons of the Sin City pose another, different danger: a moral one. The secrets these beings keeps, as well as the boons they offer are too tempting for some mages to resist and more than one Awakened ended up trapped, broken by their own Hubris and lust foreknowledge. The Guardians try to prevent what they can, but sometimes death is the only reasonable option.

Sleepers need special protection in the gambling capital of the world. It is far too easy for them to wander into Supernal Verges, shattering their own minds, overwhelmed by Supernal Glory, while also tearing apart these wonders with Dissonance. Many Guardians work closely with Libertines and Mystagogues to track the movement of any Verges, not just to study, but to contain the damage to unwitting Sleepers.

Unbeknownst to the rest of the Pentacle, those Guardians that adhere to the Esoteric Tenets are watching for something else. They fear the Silver Ladder is working on some grand project. A project that will spell disaster for Las Vegas and so they intend to do what they can to undermine it, to save the city and its Awakened from the Hubris of théarchs.

Mysterium

Alongside the Free Council, the Alae Draconis is on the forefront of research into the many shifting Arcadian Verges. A special focus for both Orders is just how nearby Sleepers, as well as the Fallen World outside of them, are affected by them. Many competing theories have evolved and are heatedly debated within and without the Order. One question that repeatedly comes up is whether the location of Las Vegas always had Arcadian significance, and the creation of the city was simply brought about by Sleepers drawn to it, or whether its powerful symbolism was only imprinted on it over time. Sure is that already around World War Two those Awakened adept in Time felt its powerful pull to the Mojave Desert, but considering the vagaries of the Time Arcanum this only complicates the chicken-or-egg questions.

As a general rule, the Mysterium is not particularly interested in the dealings of other supernatural beings, but when a Pentacle mage falls to outside temptation, it is more often than not a Mystagogue. The strange animating power of vampires, the diverse and confusing origins of demons and the powers other night-folk offer are too much for some of the Mysterium to resist. And here it is so easy to observe them in their natural habitat. The Hierophant continues to encourage his fellows to focus on the Supernal, but not all listen. The Censor of Las Vegas, meanwhile, has a secondary role: to ensure mages investigating these things have the right moral fibre and dissuade them from their research if they do not.

Another interest of the local Mysterium is the Mojave Desert. The other Pentacle Orders (except for some Thyrsus) tend to pay little attention to the Mysteries of the driest of American deserts. Many strange cryptids and Spirits can be found here, if one knows where to look. The Censorium of Nevada is within a hidden and heavily warded cave somewhere out in that desert. A small group of local Mystagogues are even convinced that out there is an undiscovered ruin of the Time Before, still waiting to be found. Their evidence is inconclusive, but that has never kept the Awakened from trying.

Silver Ladder

Everything is a bit stranger, grander and more flashy in Vegas. This is as true of the casinos, hotels and other entertainment facilities as it is of the Vox Draconis. Théarchs always dream big, but those in the Silver City (a nickname that calls to and encourages the local Silver Ladder with its powerful symbolism) have clear plans to make those dreams come true. The other Orders do not know what, but the Silver Ladder is clearly up to something big here. Théarchs from other Consilia in America regularly visit and the self-appointed leaders of the Pentacle seem to spin their cryptopolies wider and deeper here than normal. Whether or not these grand plans have anything to do with the city’s mystic peculiarities is not known to outsiders, but it would seem to be a fair guess. The final result of their plans might still be a while off, but the Order is patient. Here, the Silver Dream seems just a bit closer to not being a dream much longer. In the meantime, the Pentacle must be preserved and kept strong.

For this reason, the Silver Ladder is more invested in the status quo than any other Order, at least until these plans can come to fruition. Encouraging deeper co-operation between the other Orders, keeping the Seers at bay and local bloodsuckers neutral, counteract Scelesti and Banisher sabotage, these are some of the tasks that théarchs busy themselves with night-tonight. Negating the petty politicking of the other Orders is a precarious balancing act, though. To easily, the Ladder could appear weak or ultimately cause a fracture by being soft when they need to be harsh. It is an irony that escapes some théarchs that in order for their ideals to become reality, they have to engage in the basest realpolitik.

Perhaps one of the greatest assets of the Silver City’s Vox is its Hierarch. Nike is well-loved by most of the Awakened of the Consilium, even the Libertines, her rulings and judgements often considered exceedingly fair. She has connections to théarchs all over the USA and beyond and maintains close connections to the city’s other supernatural denizens. Not everyone loves her though. Her rivals often argue that she bends the Lex Magica to the very breaking point and her popularity is more due to charisma and clever backroom deals than Solomonian judgements. Her greatest enemy within Consilium is the Councillor representing the Guardians of the Veil. It is an open secret the Guardian Councillor wants her removed from office, but has so far failed.

The Paths in Las Vegas

Acanthus

For the Path of Thistle, Las Vegas is a bit of an American Mecca. The city has noticeably more mages on this Path than any other single Path (both from local Awakenings and Acanthus from other regions moving here), and indeed there is much to see for an Acanthus, not least of which the Arcadian Verges. The pervasiveness of gambling makes for easy living for those who command Fate and Time, but even capable Acanthus need to be careful. Too much luck and people will get suspicious, which is bad enough with Sleepers, but many times worse with less mundane folk.

Unsurprisingly, Las Vegas is also home to multiple Fate and Time-based Legacies, like the Sisterhood of the Blessed (the Hierarch herself belonging to them) and the People of the Hour.

Mastigos

With a nickname like “Sin City” it is no surprise that certain brands of Mastigos are drawn to Vegas. Those Warlocks with a focus on studying Vice, Sin, the Goetia and other manifestations of humanity’s flaws find ample subjects of study, while those studying the connections of minds and the nature of Sympathy can watch the strands of Pandemonium twist around tourists and outsiders coming from all over the USA and beyond. And always remember, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas... or does it?

A major part of Mastigos culture in Sin City is an ongoing struggle for supremacy between two goetic Legacies, the Clavicularius and Bene Ashmedai. Both have a strong focus on the summoning and binding of malefic entities, but approach the task with different values and goals.

Moros

People often get so hung up on the gambling itself, they overlook greater Truths. Certainly Las Vegas feeds on Fortune and Misfortune both, but how lives can radically change in an instant is also testament to the powers of Matter and the Truths of Constant Change. Material wealth is of course only one expression of Matter, but one that holds strong symbolic power over the city, for better or worse. Pentacle Moros often witness the hand of the Chancellor (the Exarch of Matter) in the city’s everyday dealings, leading many to assume that the Ministry of Mammon must be a major power among the local Seers.

Those on the Path of Doom with a greater interest in Death rarely have to probe around long for deaths, ghosts and Avernian Gates to study. The high crime and suicide rates make sure of that.

Obrimos

Las Vegas is a strange city to be an Obrimos in. It is clearly crackling with power, but it is rarely the kind of power many Obrimos feel all that comfortable with. The neon lights, the congregations of people worshipping in their own self-made temples of money and fortune, they all are a promises of power, but it is a slippery kind.

A side effect of the many Arcadian Verges seems to be a larger number of smaller Hallows in and around the city. These Hallows are far less stable than normal, though, and so many Thaumaturges busy themselves finding and using these, before they might shift away.

The Silver Ladder has a special interest in the Consilium’s Obrimos. Any new Thaumaturges who Awaken are often hastily approached by them and made an offer to join. There have even been cases of them successfully poaching Obrimos from other Orders. Why the local Silver Ladder tries to claim so many Awakened on the Path of Might nobody but them knows.

Thyrsus

Among those Shamans staying within the city proper, there is a strong bias towards study of the Spirit Arcanum. The unique nature of the city breeds strange and novel spirits or creates spirits of more common types with much greater power than normal. Nearly every major casino or hotel has their own “house spirit” representing them, a feat otherwise only matched by buildings with a very turbulent or long history. Sometimes these powerful spirits engage in schemes against each other, trying their hardest to outdo the competition on the hunt for more and more Essence. Those Thyrsus in the city dedicated to Life often find themselves in an odd counter position to the Moros, dealing with the results of crimes and suicides from the other side of the Life/Death divide.

Most Awakened that regularly venture out of the urban area into the Mojave are Shamans. Cryptids, spirits and stranger things await anyone willing to follow the Singing Paths to them.

Further Notes

See Setting Overview Addendum for more details on the geographic organization of the Consilium and Order Caucuses.