Everything

A distressingly common belief attached to many of the other paradigms is that everything is doomed. Someday, probably soon, the whole house of cards will collapse, God will call us to account, and the heat-death of the universe will wipe away everything we ever valued, accomplished, or believed. For religious people, this End Times scenario means the extinction of this world and the beginning of a new one… preferably one where they’re in charge. Among agnostics and atheists, nothing fucking matters because it’s all dying anyhow. All that’s important is getting what you can, while you can, and enjoying the show before the lights go off for good.

Every faction has this belief among its ranks. The ticking clock that seems to define the World of Darkness reinforces a pessimistic view. If you embrace the Reckoning metaplot described in Chapters Three, Four, and Five, it’s an accurate belief – the End Times really are upon us! To these believers, magick involves taking whatever a mage can grab, from whatever source appears to work, and rattling those metaphysical keys in all the doors you can find, hoping to open a few. Time’s short, after all, so any tactic becomes fair game.

For obvious reasons, this is the ultimate Nephandic line. It encourages every sort of excess, from religious extremism to Randian selfishness. However, it also inspires the greatest acts of heroism. If Creation’s on a ticking clock, after all, then the greatest heroes may be the ones who can stop time, turn back the hands, or change the outcome when everything seems lost.