Mage/Theme/Orders/Silver Ladder/Player Roles

These roles are adapted from Mage: the Awakening 1.0 and are subject to revision in play.

NPC Roles

Deacon - The Deacon's role will always be held by an NPC. The tenure of the present Deacon has lasted for over 70 years. The aging Zadok, an august figure by anyone's measure, has overseen a period of relative prosperity for the caucus, having assumed the mantle when his predecessor rose to the Council of the Wise as Ecgberht. It was he who began the Catalogue of the Cryptopolies, expanding the order's focus on nurturing Cryptopolies by creating the Cryptovoskoi. He has grown impatient in his autumn years, assuming a surly disposition that does not look kindly on those who step out of line. He upholds the orthodoxy of the local caucus's interpretation of the Elemental Precepts, and is rumored to be eyeing Bodhisattva as his successor, so that he might retire to the Magisterium.
Prerequisites: Silver Ladder Status 4.
Current Deacon: Zadok

Claviger - Clavigers are the "key holders" of the Silver Ladder. They serve as emissaries of the Order to the consilium and to the various supernatural societies that exist within the Chronicles of Darkness. Traditionally, they are tasked to serve as Provost in the event the Deacon should serve on the Council, a situation not presently the case here in the Martyr's Tree. They are further tasked with guiding the caucus in the Elemental Precepts, a responsibility that tends to make them an annoyance to their peers. To counteract this, they often resort to gifts and bribery to encourage compliance. Acanthus Clavigers tend to serve as emissaries to the changelings, Mastigos as emissaries to the Consilium, Moros as emissaries to the vampires, Obrimos as emissaries to the Adamantine Arrow, and Thyrsus as emissaries to the spirits.
Prerequisites: Prime 2, Mind 2, Relevant Path Arcana 2, Occult 3 (Elemental Precepts), Persuasion or Subterfuge 2, Silver Ladder Status 3.
Current Clavigers: Arminius, Jeremiah Hamilton

Cryptovoskos - The Cryptovoskoi are the occulted shepherds of the Silver Ladder's cryptopolies. They nurture their flocks within the safe fences of their grazing lands, monitor them for threats, and then eliminate them. They are responsible for identifying individuals within the cryptopolies who demonstrate promise and the potential to Awaken, or who otherwise demonstrate a master of the occult that would make their fallen powers of use even to the inheritors of Atlantis. The greatest Cryptovoskoi create their own mystery cults to serve as their cryptopolies, adding their new insights to the Catalogue of the Cryptopolies. Their close association with fallen world occultists makes the masking of their supernal pattern and true motivations a requirement.
Prerequisites: Prime 2, Mind 2, Mystery Cult Influence 3, Silver Ladder Status 3.
Current Cryptovoskoi: Bodhisattva

Lictor - Part judge for hire, part itinerant priest, the Lictors of the Silver Ladder bring the Lex Magica and its authority to remote places, or even to neighboring consilii to act as impartial arbiters of the Lex Magica in times of need. They are forbidden to take an apprentice, and rarely claim a dedicated sanctum. Rather, they travel at the behest of the Silver Ladder itself, criss-crossing the region to mete out justice or arbitrate disputes between individuals, cadres, and even entire convocations. In exchange, Lictors enjoy immunity from the Duel Arcane, and their rulings are considered final by the Silver Ladder. The Martyr's tree may appoint a Lictor to adjudicate matters at their behest, in which case the Lictor's ruling is final and without appeal. In capital cases, a Lictor is often employed as their immunity from reprisal couples well with the immunity of the Interfector from the same, making such matters a tidy process. Lictors found guilty of corruption are typically subjected to excruciating interrogation followed by the annihilation of their soul by an Interfector. Which makes for a strong deterrant from misconduct, to put it mildly. Lictors are, it goes without saying, Factotums in their own right.
Prerequisites: Passed the Factotum Exam, Politics 3, Academics 3, Occult 4 (Lex Magica), Persuasion 3, Investigation 2, Silver Ladder Status 2.
Current Lictors:

Factotum - Less a position and more of a title, Factotums serve as the litigators of the Awakened world. They argue matters before the Council and the Lictors, both for and against accused parties or in support or opposition to proposed legislation. Many acolytes set their sights on the role of Factotum as a means of establishing themselves as having truly risen out of their apprenticeships. A keen legal mind, a comprehensive understanding of the Elemental Precepts and the Lex Magica, and excellent speaking skills are a must for the work-a-day factotum. Curiously, this is a title that originates within the Silver Ladder but is by no means limited to it; any Awakened Recognized by the Order may study the Lex and take the exam administered and overseen by a Lictor.
Prerequisites: Academics 3 (Lex Magica), Politics 2, Occult 2, Persuasion 2, Investigation 1, Silver Ladder Status 2.
Current Factotums:

Acolyte - In an order as in love with hierarchy as the Silver Ladder, someone has to be on the bottom rung. That's the Acolytes. While they are Awakened mages in their own right, having passed their Apprenticeships, they have yet to win the trust of the Order by demonstrating any mastery of the Elemental Precepts of the Lex Magica. They serve as messengers, errand runners, water carriers, and sometimes scapegoats. The Deacon sometimes employs them as personal assistants in exchange for tutelage, a coveted arrangement for the more advancement minded among them. The fastest way out of this unenviable position is the Factotum exam.
Prerequisites: Silver Ladder Status 1.
Current Acolytes: Psyche