Bestiary

Many mages are more afraid of fame or publicity than they are of most physical threats. Unfortunately, it’s pretty easy these days to get caught performing vulgar magick. The brutal combination of cell-phone cameras and YouTube videos exposes a lot of mages to unwanted publicity. And sometimes, the folks who see those videos and want to share in the fun are even worse than the folks who simply want to kill you.

A typical dilettante has bookshelves full of works about Atlantis, auras, and reincarnation. She wears symbols around her neck that she doesn’t really understand, and figures that her yoga classes open her to the mysteries of the universe. For the most part, she’s harmless — a useful member of a Cult Background, perhaps even a Backup or Retainer consor. She could become a lover, a friend or, if she attains actual power, a Background-level Ally. That said, she also has the potential to become annoying, intrusive, or even hazardous to a mage who winds up on her radar… especially if she either decides to take that mage as a “divine lover,” an “ascended master,” or a target for unhealthy obsessions. That obsession might become even more destructive if the dilettante spends lots of time on social-media groups. A Facebook video of her “real magic” inspiration might wind up in front of a deadlier set of eyes than her own.

Suggested Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 2, Charisma 2, Manipulation 3, Appearance 3, Perception 2, Intelligence 3, Wits 2

Suggested Abilities: Academics 3, Art 2 (Dance), Athletics 2, Awareness 1, Brawl 1, Computer 2, Crafts 2, Drive 1, Esoterica 4 (Wicca, Yoga, Tai Chi, Tantra), Etiquette 2, Expression 2, Investigation 2, Meditation 1, Occult 2, Research 1, Science 1, Stealth 1

Willpower: 4

Health Levels: OK, ‒1, ‒1, ‒2, ‒2, ‒5, Incapacitated

Suggested Powers: Probably none, aside for perhaps a Wonder or an unusual Merit or two.

Equipment: Laptop computer, old compact car, yoga mat, smartphone, occult jewelry and book collection.

Image: Attractive in a bohemian way, a New-Age Dilettante has the sleek fitness of a yoga-trained dancer and the intense manner of a true believer.

Leonidas Running Deer

Roleplaying Notes: Normative culture is so constrained by its consumerist blinders than it refuses to see — and cannot appreciate — the wonders in plain sight. You do, though, and so every day, to you, is a miraculous new adventure. Blessed Be!

He’s a leonine charisma bomb: agile, good-looking, skilled in the many arts of Tantra, yoga, NVC, ecstatic dance, and the profound utterances of the innately divine. Leo (“As my name says, I am like the lion, but also like the deer.”) is a dedicated seeker of enlightenment wherever it can be found… and if it can be found wearing the earthly form of a good-looking girl who loves to party, so much the better for everyone!

He wasn’t always this way. Back when Leonard Feldstein was in college, he was the sort of shy, bookish guy who always wondered why the other guys got the chicks. A short-haired, stocky fixture of the computer department, he seemed destined for a chaste devotion to artificial intelligence and its fascinating applications when he happened to take a yoga class as a means of losing some weight. Seeing the well-sculpted people who frequented that class, Leo took to the discipline with the ardor of a young man who has discovered his true calling in this incarnation. Though his initial enthusiasm came from a desire to get laid, Leo soon discovered that he not only looked better, he felt better in ways that surpassed physical aesthetics. His journey from bookworm to lion-deer had begun.

An enthusiastic seeker of all things demi-spiritual, Leonidas soon adopted a name that suited his vision of himself. Between his new name, his new build, and his undeniable intellect (with, as he discovered, a talent for picking up all the right words and phrases to employ), Leo quickly attained a circle of admirers, detractors, and soon-to-be ex-girlfriends. Bristling with newfound confidence, he joined campus pagan groups, Buddhist groups, sex-positive societies, queer-advocate groups (turns out he wasn’t really into guys after all), Wiccan covens, a Nordic Tradition band, even (briefly!) a Satanic church. His favorite practice, however, involved an… eclectic blend of western Tantra, yoga, freeform acroyoga dance, and the legendary Sweet Medicine SunDance Path. It was in the latter society that he acquired the surname Running Deer, for his now-lean build and his tireless endurance. (Or, perhaps, because he spent each gathering running from pretty girl to pretty girl.)

Who needs artificial intelligence when you can major in enlightenment? After flunking out of college, Leonidas embarked on a hike across America, bringing the fruits of his spiritual wisdom to the darkened corners (and darkened bedrooms) of souls who seemed as lonely as he once had been. Now an itinerant seeker with a heart full of joy (and a complex collection of interesting diseases), Leonidas Running Deer embraces the many forms of ecstatic wisdom to be found between the cracks of normative society… and if said wisdom can be found between the sheets of a beguiling yogi, so very much the better!

Blessed with his namesake’s flowing mane of hair, Leonidas cuts a striking figure. Years of yoga and lack of decent food have slimmed him to a lean physique. Honed muscles beckon from beneath what little clothing he deigns to wear (“Clothing is just another lie meant to shield us from our inner souls.”), and his warm amber eyes glitter with the essence of the superior man (or maybe that’s just hunger). His wandering (read: homelessness) leads him to assorted couches, tents, sleeping bags, and beds across North America. He speaks Spanish (badly) and can recite passages of various sutras (the Kama one in particular) with scholarly devotion. Leo’s not actually entirely clueless, and he’s got a decent working knowledge of yoga techniques and basic Ecstatic practices. As a result, he eagerly seeks out Cultists of Ecstasy (who find him vaguely teachable), Dreamspeakers (who find him offensive), and Verbena (who, truth be told, scare the living shit out of him) whenever he can. Like a bouncy puppy, Leo inserts himself into gatherings, festivals, protest rallies, and so forth, generally by being as helpful as he can be. Dude can cook, to be fair, can play guitar (badly), and lends a strong pair of arms to any physical task that needs doing. His once-brilliant mind still makes appearances from time to time, as well, and most folks he’s been with find him pretty decent in the sack. If Leo Running Deer ever learns to get over himself, there might just be a potentially powerful mage in there someplace. For the moment, though, he keeps on running.