Las Vegas (Magic Vegas)

v60e Chapter 1 continued
=== Las Vegas ===
Visit any resort on the Las Vegas Strip. Between the parking garage and the check-in of your hotel, you’ll have multiple opportunities to buy alcohol and gamble. The electronic slot machines will compete for your attention with music and flashing lights. People dress in all fashions, foreign styles and even costumes for shows, or just cosplay for fun. Some perform on the street, all manner of acts, including legerdemain, and moving billboards and flashing hi-rise hotels draw the eye upward. It’s the perfect place for a magician. If he wanders around in ritual garb, he’s just a crazy tourist. If he makes weird sounds and gestures, he’s just another performer or another drunk. If he does something impossible, something that would trigger skepticism, well then, most of the crowd is distracted, or drunk, or expecting to see seemingly-impossible things. It’s Vegas, Baby, where you just might pull off magic in public. 
Behind the scenes, magicians of the Babylonian tradition are the dominant players, selling booze, sex, drugs, and other magical experiences, but they welcome rival traditions. In fact, they’ll make it official, building a themed resort as a sort of embassy. It’ll generate revenue (or launder it), and the theme makes it easier for a magician of the corresponding tradition to do magic. Assume that a themed resort is consecrated to its tradition and that all necessary symbols are available, at the highest level of quality however kitschy they appear to tourists, and further that the overt theme and flowing liquor reduces Skepticism by a third. Hidden among their hundreds of hotel rooms, these resorts have well-stocked shrines and laboratories available for co-traditionalists to rent for $500 per day. 
As Geneva, Switzerland, is a hot spot for international diplomacy, the Babylonians’ idea is that Magic Vegas will serve the same function for magicians of various traditions, a neutral place to resolve disputes and cooperate on matters of mutual concern, such as trade in Fetishes or the threat of Monotheists, Rationalists, and declining Belief. Though universal skeptics, atheists aren’t as dangerous as some of the Believers they replace, and Christians, the old witch hunters, are being squeezed by atheists and Muslims alike. There’s no telling what they’ll do if they get desperate, but they’ve survived two millennia, so don’t underestimate them. It’s no accident that the Guardian Angel Cathedral sits right on the Strip, valuable real estate if the church sold out, but more valuable for its proximity to the “embassies” of Magic Vegas. From the standpoint of channeling traditions, Muslims are just as dangerous as the Christians, maybe moreso, but disinclined to ally with other Monotheists and less of a presence in Las Vegas. 
Most of the themed hotel-casino resorts of the Las Vegas Strip are embassies of magical traditions, with a dozen participating. In Magic Vegas, the theming is more consistent and more relevant to the tradition in question than is its real-world counterpart, and one is completely different:
	Babylonian	Bellagio 		Hindu 	Mandalay			Bay
	Classical 	Caesar’s			Palace	Kahuna 	Mirage
	Dao 	Resorts			World	Raicism	Luxor
	Druidry 	Excalibur		Seiđr 	Valhalla			(replaces real-world Cromwell)
	Gypsy 	Circus			Circus	Shinto 	Nobu			(just a hotel – no casino)
	Hermetic 	Venetian 		Voodoo	Treasure			Island
Ongoing development on the strip reflects politics between traditions. For instance, Daoists withdrew when the Mandarin Imperial became the Waldorf Astoria but recently returned (under Communist influence) to Asian-themed Resorts World, and Shinto’s lack of a casino indicates it plays a limited role (observer). Other traditions may have envoys present. Theming ranges from blatant, to subtle, to blatant while only subtly linked to a magic tradition; Caesar’s Palace, Valhalla, and the Luxor give a +2 quality bonus to any skill used to influence Skeptics to be less Skeptical, but the others only give +1. 
A tram runs adjacent to the Vegas Strip, north to the Stratosphere. What the public doesn’t know is that the its cars have individual Wards, and because they’re often empty, a magician can use one for quick magic, with just enough time en route for the shorter rituals. The penalty for unconsecrated space still applies, but not the one for fast-casting. (There’s another tram that connects the Luxor to Excalibur, convenient for ditraditional magicians, but its cars aren’t spacious enough for rituals, or Warded, and the ride isn’t as long.) 
==== Valhalla ====
Across the street from Caesar’s Palace sits the Valhalla resort hotel and casino (site of the real-world Cromwell). It’s relatively small, a “boutique” resort themed Viking with a replica longboat in the lobby, the look of a great hall in the casino, Futhark runes wherever they’ll fit, murals depicting scenes from Norse mythology, an indoor pool called the Glacier with heated water and refrigerated air, a licensed “ride” (immersive short film) featuring Marvel’s version of Thor, and the award-winning Brewhaus bar serving craft beers from around the world. 
==== Getaway ====
In the world Hursag (accessed by the Path of Ninmah), at the geographical point corresponding to the Las Vegas Strip, the Babylonians have built a small but modern town called Getaway, almost futuristic because all the cars and cigarettes are electric (no fire). There’s a permanent gate in the Bellagio resort, opening into Getaway’s central ziggurat, and the world is lovely, home to Nymphs, lush as a jungle if jungle were tame. The town overlooks an immense lake with a pleasant climate year-round. Getaway’s primarily a college town for acolytes, but Babylonian magicians in Las Vegas build second homes there for a round-the-corner relaxing vacation, Skepticism-free, and magicians of other traditions are welcome as their guests. Municipal laws are minimal, clothing-optional and favorable to vice. The Babylonian delegation has an opener on staff to maintain gates. 
==== Sands Academy ====
There are two reasons why rich parents pay high fees to private schools: The highest possible standards, or the lowest. Sands Academy in Magic Vegas is an example of the latter sort. They take rich kids who got kicked out of other schools. In response to on-campus violence, they’ve no recourse but expulsion, but they ignore lesser offenses. There’s no dress code to violate, no rule against cussing. They have an open campus and long breaks; if a kid takes two steps out the back door to the edge of school property and smokes, it’s illegal but not the school’s problem. There is one thing this school does to justify its tuition: Hire teachers who entertain. Know a starlet who didn’t make the A-list? Sands Academy will pay for her teaching certificate. Kids who can’t wait to see and hear what happens next don’t disrupt class. Although a small school with only a hundred kids per graduating class, Sands Academy has a high proportion of legacy magicians, 1-2%, who attend for socialization and a chance to experiment with magic in a real-world environment, a chance to network with (and magically corrupt) future leaders of the casino/entertainment business. On the off-chance that an exceptional student shows up, he stands a good chance of recruitment by one of the traditions active in Magic Vegas. With a few points shaved off character generation, Sands Academy would be a good place to start a campaign. Although there are real-world schools with the same name, the Sands Academy of Magic Vegas isn’t based on any of them! 
==== Neo-Pagans ====
While still a relatively small movement, Neo-Paganism is important because it offers a potential Believer base for several traditions, in part because many neo-pagans aspire to incorporate traditions from all over the world, an impossible task, but they tend to know more about the European ones. Other traditions could hope to gain a foothold too if they’re willing to recruit outside their cultures of origin, and much of the diplomacy in Magic Vegas concerns this prize.
==== In Council ====
The Babylonians host a monthly Council of delegates, with lots of sidebar action in between. Some issues recur at these meetings, the main one being how to coordinate action against Monotheists and Rationalists. There’s general agreement on promoting freedom of religion, as nobody wants their Believers killed, but what about liberalizing laws against vice, activities important to channeling rituals of certain traditions? Delegations run from green to blue on the political spectrum described above. 
Keeping their lore alive in the popular culture is a goal that most traditions share, though each has a different mythology to promote. Collectively, the delegations and those they represent can pull in the backing to produce and advertise a big-budget movie, but every backer has an agenda. Imagine a movie that introduces Hindu mythology to the West, the exciting adventures of Hanuman perhaps. European traditions will back it, but they’d prefer to contaminate it with some of their own lore; they want it to weaken Skepticism in the general populous but don’t care to cede influence among Neo-Pagans to Oriental interlopers, so the final result will be a compromise. If it’s on track to be too good, the same delegates who capitalized the film may try to sabotage it with curses and gossip. 
Magicians also disagree over what the law for magicians should be. It’s an important question, because only magicians are fit to police other magicians. Killing with a curse, for instance, leaves no evidence but the spectral kind, inadmissible in a US court, but a magician has the skill to interpret it. Magicians respect each other (and those under the protection of another magician) because of power; the point of contention is whether magicians have any obligation to wider society, to respect human rights or temporal governments, or whether they should be free to do anything they can get away with. The war with Monotheists is usually a cold one fought mostly with propaganda, but sometimes it heats up, and usually that’s because a Channeler has done something unwise (disastrous critical failure), so all Channelers do have a stake in the activities of the rest. Acting together, the traditions could sanction heinous magic, but they rarely come to a decision except in the case of Horrors. In addition to bringing magicians to justice, Councilors also negotiate for sanctuary to protect magicians from injustice. If a Classical magician is on the run from Monotheists who for some reason have decided to take direct action, perhaps he could lie low in an area controlled by Voodoo magicians and populated by their Believers. This sort of arrangement is complicated by two factors, the first being aforementioned disagreements about what standard of behavior to hold magicians in the first place; woe betide the fugitive who seeks sanctuary among those who feel the same about his crimes as his hunters do. The second complication is that some traditions are better equipped to offer sanctuary, and they’ll expect proportionate value to which a witch on the lam may have no access. 
Part of the council’s mission is research and development of technologies that make use of the natural laws of Otherworlds. Those worlds are sparsely inhabited if at all, and isolated, so they haven’t kept pace with modern technological development, and most magicians who can access Otherworlds are too busy learning magic to learn science too, so the potential is largely unexplored. Maybe cold fusion and hot superconductors are possible. The problem with coordinating traditions to tackle the problem is that each sees the would-be coordinator as a spy. 
Alas from their own point of view, the Council is strictly a deliberative body with no power to make binding resolutions or pass laws to govern those who cannot be governed by mundane means. Delegates express intentions on behalf of their traditions which those traditions seldom follow through on, but while they can rarely act as a body, some delegations do manage occasionally to strike bargains with other delegations, confirmed with Read Thoughts and enforced with Oath. These deals include media projects, sharing intelligence, asylum, access to Otherworlds, and magical services which a tradition cannot provide for itself. 
==== Sample Scenarios ====
Lost Kitten: While it may seem ironic to have a bunch of rich, powerful magicians on the beat to find a lost pet, a Familiar may hold a portion of its master’s Magery, and its connection makes him vulnerable to attack (or blackmail). The scenario begs for divination magic, like History. The case will be time-sensitive, but not as fast-paced as combat time, so new players will have the opportunity to work through the Ritual Plan (Appendix III) and get bonuses from Extra Time in-character as well. For best results, the ritual History should be performed in a sacred space but activated at the scene of the crime, involving a Fetish or elixir in order to avoid a penalty for duration which might keep the divination from overcoming the kidnapper’s Veil. 
Monster Mayhem: When two player characters need to meet in private on neutral ground, they may book a place like a conference room in a hotel that isn’t affiliated with any embassies in Magic Vegas. This is a great place to have a Monster manifest, because it likely isn’t Warded, and the characters have made sure there won’t be any Skeptical witnesses. With a Fetish sustaining Vigor, a magician can probably stay conscious for a few seconds even after sustaining a mortal blow from a ST 40 fury or horror; the trick is to get into view of Skeptics in that amount of time (and then to explain all the broken furniture in a way that doesn’t pique the interest of those Monotheists up the street at the Guardian Angel Cathedral). 
Magic Hollywood: Movies and television shows about culture heroes like Maui or Hercules may not be realistic or even accurately reflect the source material, but they do inspire some fraction of the audience to research on their own. In fact, user-generated content on the internet, breaking down the differences between movie and myth, can handle a deep dive that won’t work for a mass audience. Viewers don’t leave the cinema as Believers, but some of them start a spiritual journey that will lead them there eventually, and that’s why Magic Vegas backs Hollywood. In theory, every delegation gets a turn at the box office, and also in theory, the Council would never interfere with the creative control of a director picked by the featured tradition, but behind the scenes, other traditions have concerns about a movie’s content and reception, concerns that can lead to lost kittens and monster mayhem. Let a player who has researched the lore of his character’s tradition nominate a story to bring to the screen, and then let the other players discuss how it could be good or bad (or modified to be good or bad) for their characters’ traditions. 
Special Delivery: One PC gets a large package, and it contains a corpse and a note with the necessary info to summon a spirit, a Wight, some form of vampire broadly consistent with the legends of the PC’s tradition. This powerful vampire has had a long and colorful history, but Monotheists were closing in, eliminating his allies and boltholes one by one, and now he seeks refuge. There’s just one problem: He and the PC’s boss did not part as friends. 
Enchant the Vote: In some jurisdiction, there’s a vote to legalize or restrict some vice such as drugs, gambling, or prostitution, or to elect a candidate with a strong position on same, ideally based on real-world events which can furnish a detailed context. Magicians of certain traditions have a stake in liberalization of any laws that restrict their ritual methods, and they have means to influence the minds of voters while Monotheists and Rationals oppose them with Countermagic and political clout. A precedent-setting court case on such a topic could be a more intense battleground because fewer parties are involved, mainly jurors. 
Internal Affair: Change is afoot in some tradition, and a claimant for leadership cleared the way with magic. Of course the primary target was a rival magician, but magicians have Curse Sanctums that prevent direct attacks, so fires, earthquakes, and plane crashes are the way to strike, and those cause collateral damage. The ruthless new boss has chosen his own delegate, and a PC has to help this guy settle in. Should the Council do anything or just regard the internal affair as none of their business? Does it matter that innocent people were killed in the process, and were any of them Believers in other traditions? If the Council wanted to act, what could it do, and who would back its self-promotion to a disciplinary role?