Talk:Alexis Bartram

Sphinx

The woman had spent three weeks carefully examining the new painting that sat in the section of spanish painters. The original artist of the painting was unknown to the curators, but the woman had carefully made notes, sketching seemingly unimportant pieces of the painting and carefully annotating the relative postioning of its elements. Finally, she had found the answer she needed – it had taken the manipulation of a long chain of private collectors over months to get the painting somewhere she could access, but yet another of de Velasco’s hidden secrets would be retrieved and stored once more in an Athenaeum.

Don't Think. Just Know.

What makes humanity special? Is it the capacity to Awaken? Such a view is arrogant in the extreme, say the Sphinxes, for to look at the Sleepers as inferior is to ignore one’s own humanity. No, to the mages who choose to follow this Legacy, the true magic of humanity is language. More to the point, it is the capacity for symbolic recognition, to see a gesture or a marking, hear a collection of sounds, and from that understand. Human beings are optimized, either by the design of a greater being or the rigors of evolution, toward speech and language, both anatomically and neurologically. But all of the biophysical adaptations of the human body toward speech mean nothing without the ability to understand symbols. Upon this phenomenon (some would say “miracle”), the Legacy of the Sphinx is based.

Origins

Parentage: Mastigos or Mysterium

Nicknames: Pathfinders

Background: Mages who find their way to the Sphinx legacy are often interested in languages and symbolism. Some are computer programmers, others teachers, still others translators and communication specailists. An unusual few have no communication background at all, but feel that the universe has some deeper meaning that can be deciphered.

Appearances: The members of the Sphinx legacy can be found among nearly every culture and level of society. They are for the most part contemplative and observant, but frequently can be distracted in observing minute patterns in texture or light and trying to interpet them. The Sphinx legacy lends itself to communication and listening, and so its members generally attempt to present themselves in a nonthreatening manner.

Doctrine

Prerequisites: Fate 2, Investigation 2, One of the following at 2: Academics, Occult, Empathy and Expression.

Initiation: Potential members of the legacy often find themselves beginning their training before they ever even learn of its existence. Mages who look deeply into the world around them, studying patterns and their overlying meaning, can sometimes find themselves accidentally uncovering messages encoded with the Hidden Meaning attainment. Other times they find themselves seeking out other mages whose studies overlap their own. Mysterium mages who seem to have a predilection for puzzles and ciphers can find themselves being given roundabout hints to the legacy’s existence, even as their own nature is traded among potential masters. Once the pupil has been introduced to a master of a compatible temperament, they are bombarded with coded messages of increasing difficulty. If the student proves capable of learning the intuitive approach to meaning, seeing something greater than the message itself. If they are, the student and master can begin the process of soulcrafting.

Organization: Members of the Sphinx legacy maintain a worldwide network of coded messages spread through all varieties of media. A combination of radio stations, public access television, magazine articals, books, and websites serves as an encoded network that Sphinxes can access.

Theory: The Sphinx can derive knowledge without having to understand its source. By recognizing the meaning behind patterns and symbols, they can reach understanding that is otherwise concealed. Through understanding the Mystries hidden in symbols and communications, they can find the Supernal hidden among the mundane.

Magic

Ruling Arcanum: Fate

Yantras: Succeed on an Investigation check relevant to the spell (+2), Spend time scrutinizing the target’s connection to the web of Fate (+2), ???

Oblations: Solving a puzzle without using magic or attainments (crossword, Sudoku, puzzle video games), Translating written work, Transcribing a speech (A story, a monologue, or a political address), Facilitating communication (acting as a mediator or translator)

Attainments

First: The Hidden Meaning

Prerequisites: Initiation
This attainment can create and encode hidden messages in seemingly innocuous patterns within unrelated materials, rolling Manipulation+Investigation or Academics. Decoding a hidden message requires an extended Intelligence+Investigation roll (1 hour/roll, required successes equal to 5 x the successes rolled to Encode). Hidden messages do not have to be encoded, allowing anyone with this attainment or mimicking it with Fate to read them.
Optional: Mind 2
A Sphinx can discern elements of an individual’s character through the examination of the subtle patterns of the target’s dress and bearing, determining their Virtue, Vice, and how many dots in Mental and Social Attributes they have. (This optional duplicates the rote Know Nature, with reach allocated to instant casting.)

Second: Answers Without Questions

Prerequisites: Fate 2, Investigation 3
The Sphinx can follow a thread of the skein of fate towards a desired conclusion following a careful period of observation. As they follow this thread, they may substitute one skill for another of the same category a number of times equal to their dots in Fate. (This attainment duplicates the rote Serendipity, assigning reach to to advanced duration and the 1 reach skill substitution option.)
Optional: Mind 2
With a careful consideration over an individual and their inevitable meeting, the Sphinx can determine the social approach best suited to striking a good impression off the bat. This raises the first impression of the target on the next social maneuvering roll by an amount equal to the Sphinx’s Mind minus the target’s Composure. (This duplicates First Impressions, assigning reach to convert primary factor to Potency and Advanced Duration)

Third: Truth Without Knowledge

Prerequisites: Fate 3, One of the other initiation skills at 2
Using this attainment, the Sphinx can draw inspiration and insight from the faintest patterns in the world around them. Following the guidance of these patterns generates the illusion of staggering luck or baseless confidence, but the Sphinx knows the significance of their course, gaining a Boon with a Potency equal to their dots in Fate. (This duplicates Exceptional Luck with reach allocated to Instant Casting and Advanced Duration)
Optional: Mind 3
Dedicating their study to the pattern of meanings in sounds, movement, or characters on a page, the Sphinx seperates meanings from its mundane sheathe, comprehending any communication they hear, see, or read. (This duplicates Universal Language, allocating reach to Instant Casting.)

Fourth: Off the Path

Prerequisites: Fate 4, A third initiation skill at 2