Drones. Pawns. Red marks on a balance sheet. Yeah, right. Within every company, you’ll find people who keep that company in business. They might not get any respect from the higher-ups… hell, they rarely receive anything better than lip service, a paycheck, and a constantly shrinking benefits package. Really, though, it’s these clerks, admins, baristas, receptionists, delivery people, cooks, assistants, stockers, drivers, customer-service representatives, and so forth who keep every business functioning. Their jobs rarely seem glamorous (much less fulfilling), but these people are the heart and hands of the modern world. Ignore them at your risk.

Throughout the industrialized world, and much of the rest of it as well, “human resources” is the category into which most everyday people are put by default. The skill sets and cultural abilities vary from place to place and job to job, but the overall emphasis on manual or intellectual labor in service to a larger whole is almost universal. Certain human resources — construction workers, groundskeepers, warehouse personnel, day laborers, and so forth — favor Physical Traits, while others, mostly office workers and shop staff, emphasize Mental Traits instead. Folks with high Social Traits tend to gravitate toward upper-level job status eventually, though an unusually charismatic or physically attractive person might start out (or stick with) an otherwise unglamorous profession due

to circumstances, opportunities, or a simple desire to score a paycheck and spend their energies doing something else entirely.

Contrary to preconceptions, most workers do have outside lives that are more important than their jobs. These people have kids, families, dreams, or outside vocations that have little or nothing to do with work. And so, from a game perspective, it’s this other, greater life that generally determines the Abilities and Attributes, perhaps the Merits and Flaws, such characters possess. A bookstore clerk might have three dots in Art or a pizza server could have Athletics 4, and you’d never know that unless you viewed that person as something other than a drone behind the counter or the recipient of a minimum wage.

What does any of this have to do with mages? For starters, many mages begin their Paths this way, stuck in a restaurant or office building until something drastic shakes their world. Some mages, like the Marauder Hive (see Mage 20, p. 629), even stay in such positions after their Awakening, especially if the mage in question hails from the Technocracy or the Virtual Adept Tradition. Even if they don’t Awaken, these people could join Cults, become Wards, or work as Backup, Contacts, or Spies for an Awakened operative. Allies with low combat potential are consors and extraordinary citizens with useful professional skills. Human-resource characters might tend the counter at a Chantry’s coffee shop, crunch the numbers for a Syndicate rep’s Procedures, or drive the limo for that Hermetic wizard who’s too rich and busy to drive herself around town. In short, these are the folks mages rarely think about even though they surround themselves with human resources all the time, sometimes employing them as instruments of Enlightened Arts (see Mage 20, p. 595).

Most vitally, however, the Awakened must look beyond the simple labels like “Masses,” “Sleepers,” or “human resources” to see the true makers of our reality. For just as a corporation would grind to a halt without the many workers who make things happen, so too would Earth’s Reality slide into chaos without the hopes, dreams, and daily lives of the people who decide what is and is not possible.

Kendell Keye

“Hi! What can I help you with today?” Kendell’s so helpful that folks tend to overlook their unconventional nature. Black-painted nails, silver raven skull on a chain, hints of eyeliner, and a stylish wardrobe complement Kendell’s natural good looks and personable charm. Kendell’s pretty, no doubt about it. And so, folks who normally trip over ideas like “genderfluid” smile and use Kendell’s name or the pronoun “they” when referring to the nice young person on the other side of the counter.

It hasn’t always been this easy… nor, really, is it when Kendell’s not behind a counter where they can make themselves useful. Initially pegged with a gender and name that did not suit the person in Kendell’s soul, that bygone not-Kendell barely survived their early teens. Depression, ostracism, and a feeling of wrongness when facing the mirror or other peo­ ple’s preconceptions weighed Kendell’s former self into an abyss of self-harm and social withdrawal. Their parents had no problem with the idea of their child being gay, but still couldn’t bring themselves to accept that their kid was not the person they thought they’d raised at all. Even now, Mom struggles to remember Kendell’s name and proper pronouns… not out of malice but simply because she still sees the child she bore, not the adult that kid became.

If Kendell hadn’t discovered theater during high school, they might never have found a toolbox that helped them build the identity they needed to create. Acting gave them confidence, social skills, and a group of like-minded peers who were less tied up in who Kendell “should be” than in who Kendell could be. A few of those friends helped Kendell find websites and online com­ munities that explained gender dysphoria, supported Kendell’s quest to find an identity that suited Kendell better, and helped the shy kid Kendell was grow more personable than before. By the time they reached graduation, Kendell had assumed a more fitting, gender-neutral name, collected a growing roster of friends and lovers, and begun to love the person they saw in the mirror. Acting, meanwhile, helped Kendell nurture the engaging persona they use at work these days. From a depressed, reclusive kid rose the charismatic charmer Kendell is today — one who reworks external reality without the use of magickal Spheres.

Sure, Kendell still has dark moments, and those retail jobs are starting to wear very thin. There’s no place to move upward in such a job, really, and Kendell has their eyes set on a more creative career. YouTube channels and the occasional role in local theatre, though, do not pay the rent, and so Kendell continues to ply the retail trade, moving from store to store with a clutch of good recommendations and an expanding pool of contacts and skills. Smart, efficient, and good at making customers spend money, Kendell’s still a work in progress who — at least for now — has managed to play the customer-service game to their advantage while staying a few steps away from financial crisis. It’s a balancing act, especially without that college degree Kendell cannot begin to afford, but at least for now, Kendell Keye has a potentially promising future.

Mages conversant with the Crafts and Traditions often mistake Kendell for one of their own. They’re wrong, though; Kendell’s “magic” comes from personal skill and an ingratiating personality. The raven skull and occult-inspired tattoos are flourishes of fashion, little more. Oh, Kendell is intrigued by the mystic fringes of popular culture. Aside from a few books and some online reading, though, Kendell’s not versed in the deeper levels of esoteric knowledge… yet. If the right person comes along, though, and gives Kendell a half-decent offer toward something better than competent retail experience, Keye might just become a useful consor, a great assistant, or perhaps someday even an Awakened mage.

Tall and angular, Kendell sports a shaggy dyed-black, razor-cut hairstyle. Their clothes seem boyish, but their voice and body language resist binary distinctions. Unfailingly polite to customers, Kendell seems equally at home selling books, car parts, groceries, or cooking supplies. They’ve worked a few gigs as a food server or barista, but the mess, waste, and obnoxious customers force those options to the back of the “only if I have to” queue. For now, the local economy keeps Kendell’s paycheck steady, supplementing a slender stream of income from Kendell’s YouTube gig. Off the clock, Kendell hosts a series of podcasts on gender issues and evolving concepts of identity, shares an apartment with two significant others, and strives to lay the foundation for something more permanent than a string of retail jobs. “I don’t know yet,” is the refrain when friends ask what Kendell eventually wants to do with this life. As for when their parents ask similar questions, Kendell says simply, “I’ll let you know when I get there.”