Addendum: The Council (Magic Vegas)

== Addendum: The Council ==
The Magic Vegas setting makes the assumption that fewer assumptions are better. That is, it leaves room for players to customize magical traditions for their characters, mitigating the sting of imposed mental disadvan­tages (Marks of Power). In the proposed format, they’ll be aides to delegates, and the game master can de­termine the composition of the delegations after he knows about these aides. That may be a chore for game masters who lack the time, so this addendum outlines possible delegations with the understanding that player characters will replace some of the members. 
Delegation Template 
Unless otherwise noted, magicians of the delegations below are sufficiently proficient to carry all or most of the Marks of Power of their respective traditions, to sustain youthful vigor, and to enhance their appearance to a level that smooths social interaction (Attractive to at most Very Beautiful, for Transcendent provokes Skepticism). While there needn’t be a limit on a delegate’s staff, a couple each yields a cast of more than two dozen NPCs, so that’s a good starting point. If there’s a “typical” delegation, it includes the roles of operations, security for the delegation, and outreach to its constituency. The likeliest build for operations is Strategist, followed by those with high intelligence for favorable defaults. Likely builds for security include Hacker, Prodigy, Spellslinger, Spirit Warrior, Summoner, or a Specialist in Countermagic. Likely builds for outreach include any with human allies including Alchemist, Chosen, Fetishmonger, Hypnotist, and Musician. 
Summary
Bellagio (Babylon-Enki): Wanda (Fetishmonger), Eli (Opener to Hursag), Ishtar (Spirit Warrior)
Caesar’s Palace (Classical-Elysian): Archie (Specialist in Countermagic), Verge (Musician), Connie (Strategist)
Circus Circus (Gypsy): Nadja (Prodigy), Kip (Hacker)
Excalibur (Druid-Summer): Jeffry (Planetologist), Ambrose (Strategist), Rewrite (Spellslinger)
Luxor (Ra): Frank (Summoner), Courtney (Hypnotist)
Mandalay Bay (Hindu-Vajrayana): Wangdu, Dharma (Strategist), Chodak (Spirit Warrior)
Mirage (Polynesian-Hawaii): Moana (Prodigy), Honu (Strategist), Buddha (Musician)
Nobu (Shinto observer): Jade (Summoner)
Resorts World (Tao): Li (Dabbler), Hwa (Dabbler)
Treasure Island (Voodoo): Scarlet (Hypnotist), Pox (Specialist of Damballa), Manny (Spirit Warrior)
Valhalla (Seiđr): Bjorn (Spirit Warrior), Erik (Spirit Warrior), Skathi (Strategist)
Venetian (Hermetic): Irving (Strategist), Alia (Alchemist), Harry (Dabbler)
Wynn (Brujeria envoy): Maria (Dabbler), Hector (Dabbler)
The Sands Connnection
Even if not used as the main setting for a campaign with younger magicians, Sands Academy can provide back story to make the campaign seem like it has a history. Several of the characters listed below first met in high school, and a PC could have been part of their clique. This was in the early days, and the Academy has probably found an equilibrium, but the combination of hormones, magic, Marks of Power, and libertine parents (and certain staff) enabled the kids to the height of depravity, dragging their classmates (and certain staff) along with them in an insane series of dares and bets. Yeah, they wrecked lives (addiction, criminal con­viction, teen pregnancy) and ended a few (drug overdoses, drag-racing, and curses just for practice). Go over the top with it when role-playing the reminiscences. The characters in question are Connie, Eric, Frank, Ishtar, Rhiannon, and a couple of other magicians who’ve since moved away, while Dharma was the “vice” principal who helped them get away with it.
=== Bellagio ===
Subtle theming for the Babylonian tradition, which no longer has a religious role. In an age where so much of their ritual requirements are socially or legally discouraged, they wind up associating with criminals. Enki and Ishtar factions would like to change that, mainly because their magical ability to escape the notice of prying eyes doesn’t work against cameras, and smartphones have become ubiquitous. Factions within the tradition take their names from gods with whom they align philosophically, Enlil and Suen for conservatives, Enki for moderate, Ishtar for libertine, and Nergal for the extreme libertine who thinks that magical might makes sovereign right. While they’ve little hope of reviving their particular brand of paganism into mainstream culture, though it’s a stretch target for Enki’s faction, they do hope that by promoting other traditions with similar requirements, they’ll have less need of secrecy. Basically, they’re at the libertine extreme of the philosophical spectrum, and they suggested the Council as a way to combine forces toward what they thought was a common goal, only to find out that many others see this council idea as the would-be governing body that a conservative approach requires. 
Wanda Novak (blue): Lead delegate of the Babylonian tradition, the host of the council. Though pushing 70 she looks 19 and acts it. Wanda’s known to have spear-headed the concept and got the lead seat as a result, perhaps as her own bid for immortality, but the role has been frustrating. She wears her wares in abundance, so she’ll have a variety of powers on tap without needing a ritual, from powerful Djinn and Monsters or other spirits kept in traps. Of course she spends her time outside council preparing fetishes with her coven and making extensive use of ritual vice, and even outside of ritual she affects extreme hedonism. Her ritual garb (which she also wears to council meetings) is a white cape covered in sequins to resemble fish scales, otherwise nude but for copious jewelry. Her features are Polish with curly red hair. While many witches can produce their own craft spirit fetishes to lock rituals, Wanda and her coven can reliably manage those ST 30+ Poltergeists for flying carpets to get around roadless Otherworlds. 
Eli Gold (blue-green): As someone who came to magic in adulthood, Eli chose to focus on a single path, that of Ninmah, becoming one of the best magical healers in the world, the kind you go to if medicine can’t cure your kid’s leukemia. That alone would have secured his legacy within his tradition, but he then spent a decade perfecting his skill with gates, which is why the Bellagio can grant access to Getaway for pretty much any magician who wants to go; if a Skeptic crunches a gate, he’ll make more. He’s a brilliant man, and level-headed lacking most Marks of Power, even though his defaults are proficient. It’s no wonder Wanda relies on his advice even if she still refuses to marry him, and at this point, he looks old enough to be her grandfather anyway, though he’s about the same age. He’s aged gracefully, distinguished with his white hair, and typically dresses business-casual. 
Ishtar Gold (indigo): The sample character from the campaign document and the daughter of Eli Gold and Wanda Novak, Ishtar spent her childhood in Getaway and then attended Sands. Her parentage is typical, a full-service legacy magician breeds with a specialist recruit, the sane parent who provides stability for the child during the crucial early years. Her claim to fame is an Olympic gold medal for a record-shattering long jump, made with­out magic obviously, for she couldn’t possibly overcome the Skepticism of the world. Well, there was magic in the lead-up, as training on a world of healing mitigated training injuries and protected her from the vices that her crazy mom encouraged her to pursue with zest from the youngest possible age. Since retiring from sport, she’s courted scandal to maintain her B-list celebrity status while helping her folks with Council business and teaching the recruits, hoping to find one with whom to make her own legacy. Celebrity has required her to allow her apparent age to rise at least half as fast as her actual, so she looks like an older version of her mom. Protected by Obscurity, she’s usually near nude but for jewelry, as it facilitates Skinchange, or wearing a white mermaid dress sequined like her mom’s cape. With regard to the excesses of her teen years, Ishtar rationalizes that she was young, and she’s at least more subtle now. She firmly believes that everyone should have the opportunity to learn (or at least purchase) magic, that this is the dream that justifies the Council, for their own defense against scary witches like herself. In other words, the problem isn’t that she reads minds, manipulates emotions, and curses her enemies; the problem is that it’s too easy! 
=== Caesar’s Palace ===
Overt, even over-the-top theming for the Classical tradition. It has gates to both Elysium and Utopia, carefully guarded because there’s no longer anyone on staff to restore them. Classical factions take their names from worlds on which they’re based, the main ones being conservative Atlanteans (embedded in the Roman Catholic church), libertine Themyscerans (who also despise patriarchal institutions) and Utopians, and moderate Elysians and Olympians (who aspire to restore the religion under which Western civilization blos­somed). The current delegation is Elysian, though the prior was Utopian. 
Archimedes Karras (yellow-green): Lead delegate of the Classical delegation. Relatively new to his post, Archie relies on his experienced aides. Greek nationalism drew him first to the military and then to the Orthodox church, where he became a Monotheist witch hunter (therefore unmarked), eventually so proficient at Countermagic that he couldn’t help but master other magic by default and succumb to its temptation, provoking a change of heart. The mastery came late enough that he looks a bit older than most magicians, though he’s strong and fit with a military bearing to accompany the iron-gray of his hair. The political change came late enough to warrant distrust from his own faction, which is why his posting is a mystery, unless it implies that the leadership in his tradition still doesn’t regard the Council as important. 
Concetta Martin (blue-green): Another Sands alum, Connie attended when her father was the lead Classical delegate, but he got his ticket punched and moved on. Back then, nobody on Olympus thought the Council would last, but taking a seat provided an opportunity to see what the Babylonians were up to. Connie is a New Age author and podcaster discussing current affairs in light of ancient wisdom, an apologist for reviving Classical religion, sometimes referred to as the “pagan Ben Shapiro with boobs” though she has far fewer viewers than he. Although she starts from the viewpoint of a different religion, she comes to similar conclusions, arguing that society should maximize individual choice but that the individual should choose wisely. She sees more potential for the Council than her father did, to legitimize good witches by holding the wicked to account. This represents a stark change of heart from her high school days and a break from her own family, for in college she learned to value contributions from scholars in other fields than magic, and now she’s trying to live down her guilt even while haunted by her Mark from Elysium, as her sexual aberration is the opposite of Diana’s. Connie favors a skirt suit that shows off her legs, but it’s an illusion – she’s extremely good with illusions. 
Virgil Adoni (blue-green): Wiry leader of the folk/punk fusion band Celebrant. Las Vegas hosts many performers who tire of touring, but there are a few home-grown acts that get that reputation as the ones to see if you want something unique. Celebrant plays matinees and opens for headliners at the Coliseum, where they can affect an audience of hundreds with rituals performed live, on stage, in plain view! You can also jam with Verge at the off-strip bar of which he is co-owner, the Ivory Gate, where top guitar players are likely to stop when they’re in town. He doesn’t use magic to enhance his own pick, and he turns off his magic while he works out. Likewise he hosts an open mic night at his bar where he challenges magicians to perform with only natural magic (no Vigor to enhance Singing, but Musical Influence is fine). With strong Wards, a Sphinx and helpful Dryad, and solid entertainment, the Ivory Gate is a good place for magicians to meet, especially if they want to avoid Getaway. 
=== Circus Circus ===
Older structure, actually in the city limits of Las Vegas, overtly themed as a traveling circus but that in turn owes Gypsy influence. For lack of an opener, there’s no gate. Dr. Richard Quilligan, anthropologist of Irish traveler stock interested in exploring his Gypsy heritage, figured out that he didn’t have one, but along the way he acquired a wife who did, Nadja. Before WWII they traveled among Gypsies, mostly in Eastern Europe and mostly on horseback to impoverished, remote encampments. Helping her husband reconstruct the history of her people, especially interviewing women, Nadja became fascinated with the folklore, even though she was initially a Skeptic. In her copious spiral-bound journals, she recorded dozens of ritual formulæ in no particular order. You couldn’t quite call it self-initiation, as she had teachers, but there was nothing resembling a coherent curriculum. After the war, the couple resumed their quest in India, where Richard was killed in the violence of Kashmere, but Nadja connected to her roots and completed her Grimoire, the first gypsy to do so in generations. And already old, she finally managed to Halt Aging so that she could spend whatever time she had left teaching. 	It was slow going, as Gypsies don’t see themselves as Hindu; in fact; most see themselves as Catholic and Hinduism as idolatry. But she kept proselytizing, and by the time Magic Vegas came to be, she was really the only candidate for delegate, even though she’d already lived a century. 
Nadja Quilligan (blue): Because of her naívety, Nadja has liberal views on magic, and she has made a colossal blunder. That’s because the piecemeal way that she learned contributed to her Ritual Magic skill without proper introduction to any of the paths, until she was finally good enough to work rituals at default, so she has no Marks of Power and no visceral understanding of them. She uses such clout as her position provides to attract students and focuses on teaching instead of Council business, and now she has a score of young women trained to near-proficiency as full service magicians, though she’s held back part of the grimoire. In other traditions, legacies learn magic (and acquire Marks) before puberty, whereas recruits learn afterwards, and dabblers who learn at home may do so as teens but rarely learn all the paths, or even most of them, and at least know what to expect. Nadja’s students acquired their Marks and hormones at the same time, including such as destructiveness and intemperate desire, under the tutelage of a woman desperate to preserve a culture that tolerates those traits only in men, so they’ve been cloistered and frustrated. And then there’s the factionalism, coalescing around two girls, Lavinia Serszshenko and Ethelinda de la Garza. Nadja has noted their leadership among their peers and considers them both candidate successors, but flawed. Lavinia is the grand-daughter of a leading politician in Romania, infamous for political corruption, and her intemperate desire is for power: She wants to unite the Gypsies of Europe politically, taking advantage of proportional representation to get swing votes, and leverage that dispersed influence to get concentrated influence at the federal level. Ethelinda desires every hedonistic experience and sees no reason to pursue political power but would instead use magic to give every Gypsy personal power, so that they need never let anyone, even Lavinia, tell them what to do. Such are the magicians about to be unleashed upon the world. Meanwhile Nadja has her eye on one other girl, Dika Lavelle, a very bright girl with the best theoretical understanding along with mild Marks overall – her intemperate desire is just a sweet tooth – but one of her severe ones is crippling indecisiveness. 
Kip Tinker (blue): Besides being a circus performer, at one time of necessity, Kip is a ruby programmer, Gypsy, and convicted shoplifter. The last is important because if he could have gotten any other coding gig, he would have. Nadja’s clout in the Gypsy community comes from reconstructing their fragmented magical tradition, and now it’s time to encode her life’s work in a modern digital grimoire before she croaks. Kip is officially her aide though not a magician, or at least he wasn’t before given the task to read and organize her journals into a curriculum, but in programming ritual design software, he’s had to do the rituals, and unlike Nadja’s actual students, he has a complete grimoire. While he certainly had a healthy interest in women be­fore, now he’s obsessed, and being around a score of pretty women he can’t touch drives him to distraction, and that’s minor compared to his conviction that he’s an avatar of Vishnu. 
=== Excalibur ===
Kitschy overt theming for medieval knights (albeit with Christendom absent) but only subtle theming for Celtic magic. The double-entente is reminiscent of how the same resort bills itself as “family friendly” be­cause children can feed coins into arcade games while their drunken parents do the same with slot machines. The Druids who govern Arcadia are conservative, wanting nothing to do with the world their ancestors left, but they fear it enough to monitor, and that means malcontents occasionally learn about it. Excalibur has private gates to Avalon and the Winter Court courtesy of malcontent refugees from Arcadia; the idea was to colonize an Otherworld, but Las Vegas itself is so much more convenient. 
Jeffry Manners (green): Lead delegate of the Druidic tradition though also a priest of Ra, making him eccentric; he was already a Raic initiate when he deduced that one of his college professors was an Arcadian expat. When the Babylonians started their Council, the Arcadians weren’t involved enough to object to his self-nomination. His main goal is the construction of a gate nexus, a place from which to explore as many Otherworlds as possible, for which he’s been lobbying the Council since its inception, and if such a nexus existed he’d move toward a more conservative position on the practice of magic, that ritual practice should be confined to Otherworlds. As a genetic dwarf, Dr. Manners cultivates a walrus-worthy mustache to make it clear he’s not a child, and if that’s not enough to be taken seriously, he’ll resort to Perfect Appearance. 
Ambrose Morgan (green): Bard sent to Midgard to observe and report back to Arcadia, he took up the practice of international environmental law and became famous in his field and known among magicians to secure state protection (park or historic monument) for consecrated sites, regardless of tradition. Relocated from Europe in order to observe the Council and Dr. Manners in particular; his boss quite understands that the powers that be in Druidry might force him to resign. Sir Jeffry wants to turn Ambrose by engaging him to help set up, staff, and legitimize the companies needed for his gate project, the biggest problem being that so much material and personnel will often be off-world. 
Rhiannon Wright (indigo): Daughter of the ringleader of those Arcadian refugees and nicknamed “Rewrite” since high school days at Sands, where she was chief cheerleader, yearbook editor, and wicked witch. That is, she was the winner of all those competitive hi-jinx the magical students got up to because she can cast Suggestion in seconds. Obviously she hasn’t changed, because she uses the same ability as a real-estate agent to close deals before breakfast, securing her income while leaving plenty of time to party (or fulfill diplomatic duties). Rhi seems to require adoration, pushing her physical beauty to the highest level that won’t provoke Skepticism and flaunting it, but that’s because she improves her spellslinging with a geas (Disciplines of Faith) to seduce a new lover every day, and to do it without mind control. Since her boss and fellow aide both focus on operations (that gate thing), Rewrite is suited to security but also handles outreach, so her party-girl lifestyle has a purpose. 
=== Guardian Angel Cathedral ===
There’s actually a Catholic cathedral right on the Las Vegas Strip, home to an unofficial “delegation” though its main job is to keep an eye on all those magicians in the interest of protecting the flock. The location is convenient, but there’s another Cathedral in town better suited to workings, St. Joan of Arc, old enough to confer a +3 bonus for consecrated space to Roman Catholic magic (that is, Classical). 
Frederic Haliday (orange): Father Fred is an actual priest and takes his turn conducting mass because the senior priest doesn’t know anything about the magical community, but Fred does have backup from a pair of Believers who see themselves as modern-day knights Templar. While their main role is to observe and report, being far too outnumbered for more, Haliday can meet magicians on their own turf because he’s a Monotheist spellslinger specializing in Countermagic who can Thicken the Walls of the World to level the playing field or even fast-cast Dispel Ritual (Fetish). This tactic is indifferent to margins of success for the rituals which the Fetishes sustain, and margins for Fetish itself are usually low, so any foe who carries Fetishes on his person will likely lose them. 
=== Luxor ===
Overt theming for Egyptian traditions, specifically in support of Ra, but given general befuddlement about such matters, it would probably serve the Hermetic traditions as well. Raicism was supplanted by Isis worship in Roman times, until reconstructed by British archæologists a mere century ago, so its big factional question is the relationship it should have to Druidry. Obviously magicians are nature’s aristocracy and as such must police their own use of power. The revived tradition of Ra is small and based in England, happy to yield the role of delegate to any member who actually wanted to move to America, and their support is spotty, but they did help setup a weak gate to their one habitable world, the Dawnland of Khepri (with a couple of return gates since opened back to Midgard). 
Frank Brooks (green): Frank’s mother Pollyana Talbot started the delegation but can’t be part of it because she’s mastered several traditions of magic, leading other magicians to question her sincerity. Her first step was to wed the owner of the Brookhaven mortuary chain to help her manufacture and stockpile mummies from the supposedly-cremated. From that marriage she bore a son who inherited the business when his dad was no longer necessary. Frank was among the first Raic legacies, trained from the earliest age possible, and when he hit puberty, his mom helped him summon a potent djinniyah to be his consort and advisor. As a priest of Ra who isn’t also a druid, he’s the clear choice for delegate, but he’s seen with some justification as a proxy vote for Dr. Manners of the Excalibur delegation. 
Courtney Tadros (indigo): Courtney rebelled against libertine, hippie parents by being straitlaced, but they enrolled her in Sands in hopes that she’d fall in with a bad crowd, and did she ever, impressing Frank on the first day. He arranged for her to learn magic from his mom while a faculty accomplice faked Courtney’s grades. That means she started magic young enough to get treated more like a legacy than a typical recruit, though still she’s not in the same league as her fellow delegates and works with an abortion clinic to make up the difference. Courtney’s a herpetologist, and Dr. Tadros was her zo prof at UNLV, whom she wed in order to breed children of the Coptic bloodline, the more likely to be Chosen. She also mind-controls other women to do likewise, and for those who don’t keep the babies, her friend at the clinic will fake late-term abortions and turn the premies over to Pollyana. While in college, Courtney joined a sorority and began initiating its members, such that now it’s basically a secret society of Raic recruits, and she has a substantial coven of dabblers (but they’ll improve). 
=== Mandalay Bay ===
Buddhist-themed. As described above, Mandalay’s in a part of the world where Theravada Buddhism reigns, but the delegation here is Vajrayana, which is to say Tibetan, and its goal is to drum up support for the Free Tibet movement. Whether the delegation is making any headway with fellow magicians is doubtful, but they have managed to convert a number of American Buddhists to their version of Belief. There’s no gate, for any opener is back home fighting the good fight. 
Wangdu Phuti (purple): Lead delegate, small and unassuming, nut-brown and bald, over-topped and usually overshadowed by his lovely aides, but he can turn on the charm one-on-one. Not much of a magician but quite the evangelist, he spends his time outside Council recruiting for the cause, usually dressed in the customary attire of a lama (though he is no longer a monk). Of course he wants soldiers, but he’ll settle for cash any way he can get it, even investing donated funds into unsavory businesses such as the vice industry, gray market electronics, spam marketing, and subprime payday loans. 
Chodak Phuti (purple): Wangdu’s wife and bodyguard, haunted by an immensely potent spirit. If the Believers her husband recruits have potential for magic, she mentors them. Free Tibet is Wangdu’s goal, but it’s her obsession, and she’s clear that terrorism against the regime will be required, transgressive acts indeed. She looks like a fitness instructor, saving her nun suit for rituals, dressed in the kind of clothing over which she can don traditional armor of Tibetan cavalry (mail hauberk with the “four mirrors” – pectorals on each side). 
Dharma Collier (purple): Named Dharma and introduced to Buddhism (and drugs) by hippie parents, found her own way to Vajrayana and magic, as proficient as a legacy because of natural aptitude. She’s clearly the brains of the outfit (and twice the actual age of her colleagues), but while Vajrayana accepts non-Tibetan nuns, there’s no way she could be lead delegate. While her boss tries to recruit existing Buddhists to Vajrayana, Dharma runs a ganja yoga class to rope in non-Buddhists, which means like Chodak she typically wears workout clothes when not dressed to impress. Some Sands alumni still call her Miss Collier because of her brief stint as vice principal.
=== The Mirage ===
Spotty theming for Polynesian tradition, specifically Hawaiian. Gate doubtful. Queen Ka’ahumanu supported Christian missionaries in order to overturn an oppressive social order in Hawaii, and the magic tradition of the islands has been a casualty. Opinions differ as to how to revive it, ranging from political independence of the archipelago through pan-Polynesian nationalism to promotion of the tradition on the mainland beyond its culture of origin. Some proponents of this idea argue that a hole in the tradition’s repertoire, direct mind control, is a feature, not a bug. 
Princess Moana (blue): Yes, that’s her name. Actually the character in the movie, which she sponsored and now reviles, was named for her. From her point of view, Hawaiian independence would look pretty good if it results in a restoration of the monarchy, for her royal blood from both Kamehameha the Great and the last king of Maui (if she can prove it) would put her pretty close to the throne, if not on it. And it helps that she’s the best Hawaiian magician in her generation. Of course that comes with Marks, including cruelty and arrogance that complicates her relations with her aides. Though she prefers grass skirt and a lei, she’ll wear what modesty requires and make sure it looks expensive. 
Nehoa Kamaka (blue-green): Retired navy lieutenant commander, goes by Huna (Hawaiian word for sea turtle) after his Totem. Maybe not the best magician, but far more experienced in the world than his boss, responsible for keeping her out of trouble and preserving the treasury with a sideline of trying to advise and implement policy. Notwithstanding loyal service to the US Navy, Huna suspects that independence on amicable terms is the best bet to preserve his cultural heritage. If the Council can help with that, the question is what they want in return. 
Wade Halley (blue-green): Hawaiian by lineage but Nebraskan by birth. Folklorist, folk musician, and comedian called “Buddha” for his big grin and portly phisique. He’s quite skilled with the ukulele, which he incorporates into his standup act. With Huna on drums and the princess dancing the sacred dance, the delegation can put on a pretty good luau when they set their differences aside. Buddha’s popular among Hawaiians living (or born) on the mainland and a proponent of spreading magic among them and beyond. He dresses in Hawaiian shirts, naturally, which don’t quite cover his belly. 
=== Nobu ===
Not a casino, but a hotel attached to Caesar’s Palace. It has overt but tasteful theming in support of the Shinto tradition, which was once the official state religion of Japan, and that relationship continues at least informally. Shinto has factions but not such that magicians of other traditions would notice: They run conservative, oppose poaching Believers in Japan, and will happily return the favor. In response to the Babylonian invitation, they’ve sent an observer. 
Jade Fox (green): Shrine-educated, with a specialty in exorcism – other magicians will always notice spirits in attendance, not just bound in fetishes. Attends council meetings but rarely speaks unless asked a direct question, though she tries to be of service to Shinto followers in America. If the themed resorts are like embassies, think of Nobu as a consulate. Jade dresses as traditional for a shrine maiden, scrupulously observes Japanese etiquette, and frequently consults the ghost of her fiancé, unable to move on. 
=== Resorts World ===
The huge new resort provides no ritual bonus for sacred space, but the Waldorf Astoria does, because It used to be the Mandarin Imperial, home of a Taoist delegation representing magicians of China’s diaspora. The shake-up occurred when the Chinese Communist Party decided to embrace and promote Chinese culture (instead of suppressing it as Mao did), spinning the narrative to benefit foreign relations and paint themselves as the culmination of destiny, rightful heirs to the empire by the will of heaven. Ironically, this rapprochement requires elimination of those who oppose it, like Chen, the former lead delegate. 
Xiang Li (green): While not a widely proficient magician, Li is a trusted party hack (trusted to reign in Dr. Wu). Don’t sell him short, though, for he has considerable education (in sociology) and life experience (in state enterprise). He’s always friendly, full of humorous anecdotes, and expresses a child-like sense of wonder consistent with his small stature, especially noticeable next to his towering aide. With regard to his limited repertoire, Li argues that all magicians should limit their exposure to potent alien psyche and instead cooperate with each other in order to master all available magic. Isn’t such cooperation what the Council is for? 
Wu Hwa (blue-green): Although China officially supports traditional medicine, in reality it hopes to redefine Daoism, keeping the magic but supplanting the worldview for one more consistent with modernity. Dr. Wu is a pioneer in this regard, a noted transhumanist specializing in cybernetic augmentation and tissue engineering with results that would provoke Skepticism if they weren’t couched in technical terms. For instance, as one of the tallest women in the world, she explains her gigantism as the result of experimental hormone therapy intended to treat a growth disorder brought about by childhood malnourishment, and accordingly, she’s an apologist for the government which has ended poverty in much of her homeland. Although her stature is suspicious, she is willing to submit to regulatory authority from the Communist Party, if only because she herself is a likely candidate to draft the policy. 
=== Treasure Island ===
Overtly themed pirate in the main common areas but only subtly themed for Voodoo. Factions are many and regional, but they all tend libertine, each with a comfortable Believer base but differing in how intensely and widely they proselytize. The main goal of the delegation is to reduce the stigmatization of Voodoo outside its strongholds without reducing the fear and mystique it inspires. 
Scarlet Bishop (indigo): Lead delegate on the strength of her personal following in the community, Scarlet’s a Mulatto from the Louisiana branch while both her mad-dog aides are Haitian, so it’s unclear how much unity they’ve got. When not conducting a ritual, usually wearing a top hat and chomping a cigar to invoke Baron Samedi, Scarlet favors a professional look. She comes off as coldly attractive, with a force of personality that makes people think she can get them fired (which with Journeyman’s Curse, she probably can). 
Domingo Laguerre (purple): You can sense the plague spirits waiting to do his bidding, perhaps attracted by the facial scars that lend him the nickname Pox. His specialty is arson (from afar). Dresses outlandishly, which is to say that he’s obviously a houngan to anyone who knows what that is. As for his face, it’s beyond magical help. 
Emmanuel Etienne (indigo): Runs a botanica for local Believers, also sells legal marijuana and practices traditional healing in the back. Only Fetish is a knife, which even concealed is obvious by its outline to spirit sight (implying many spirits bound to elements of a single item). Non-descript dress (jeans and t-shirt). 
=== Valhalla ===
Overtly themed Viking, and the theme carries through to more than just the lobby, including an indoor pool called the Glacier with heated water and refrigerated air. The resort is smaller than most (and if you don’t recognize it, that’s because it’s fictional). The Germanic tradition has few Believers even in its culture of origin, and while Monotheism was waning as well, that’s changed with Muslim immigrants. The delegation needs Believers, perhaps among their cousins in America, and the question of moderate versus libertine is to them a matter of tactics. Whether or not Marvel’s movies featuring Thor have done much to help is denatable, but the delegation will claim it as a success while arguing for escalation. 
Bjorn Jarl (blue-green): Lead delegate and just huge, grew up on Jotunheim and never played football, more’s the pity. Loud and friendly at dinner, quiet and observant in Council. Seems like a sensible man but overwhelmed by the task of making old time religion relevant in the modern day, for the main thing Seiđr magic can’t do is change destiny. Dresses in a vest of bear fur, although it may be concealed under a blazer. Bjorn’s ex-wife Frieda, specializing in the path of Vanaheim, predicted her own infidelity and confessed to her husband, thereby making it impossible for him to do aught to head it off. He’d send her packing now that he has Eric, but he needs her gift of foresight (preferably combined with more discretion). 
Eric Magnussen (blue): Scion of the inaugural delegate (Æsir of course), Eric moved to Vegas and attended Sands academy, more focused on sports (and other recreation) than academics. He’s recently back from a stint in the US marine corps, now a citizen, working as a professional dancer and aide to Bjorn (who makes a big guy look small), guarded by Carl, a comrade-in-arms who didn’t quite return home alive. 
Skathi Jarl (indigo): Bjorn’s sister and also quite tall for a woman, got herself an MBA without getting over being a flibbertigibbet, albeit a statuesque one. Delves the stereotypical “sexy witch” æsthetic with a flying broom and black cat familiar. Often seems distracted (as you get while conferring with spirits).
=== The Venetian ===
Overt theme, but only subtly in favor of magic. Of course you can readily find overt theming in a Masonic lodge or Mormon temple, but they’re the stuffy conservative kind of magician trying to get in tight with Monotheists. Some Hermetic magicians are tired of constant rejection, and they think it’s fine to use magic for personal enrichment. Beyond that, there’s some factional division between libertine on the scale of Aleister Crowley and those who think the Golden Dawn gave them a bad name. Except that it kind of gave them a good name; while it’s hard to convince people that Hermetic magic is real, once you’ve done that, convincing them that you have behind-the-scenes power in business and government is easy. 
Irving Espisito (blue-green): Lead delegate, securities expert, gives classes on how to get rich, which he did with the aid of NAFTA and factories in northern Mexico. Reveals his real secret to special students, keen analysis of spectral evidence. He’s one of the moderate ones, sees no reason to curse/kill when wealth is available without that. Paunchy, dressed in an unkempt suit, gives off a used car salesman vibe and doesn’t usually buff his appearance, the better to be underestimated. His biggest challenge as a delegate is balancing the demands of Masons with those Hermetics who fit the B-movie stereotype. 
Alia St. John (indigo): Mediocre magician but expert alchemist – just ask her – tends bar on the side just to show off her mixology. Fits the B-movie stereotype, inducted into a secret fraternity, the Order of the Silvver Sceptre, at UNLV. Most Hermetics don’t learn magic until college, so the ones Alia’s age aren’t that experienced. Dresses like a tourist – all her shirts (and the buttons that cover her suspenders) come from gift shops (or at least they’re illusions that look like the product of gift shops, but they change when you’re not looking). 
Harold Haldane (green): Rancher who uses magic to train excellent horses, whom he likes better than people. He’s been doing it long enough that his ranch is a place of power, so he’s no need for the Venetian. Dresses like a cowboy and doesn’t use magic on his looks. Irving roped him in as an aide against his better judgment, and he’ll step out again as soon as a replacement’s available.
Faruq the Persian (politics unknown): Not a member of the delegation, but he’s someone to know. When Sufism failed to satisfy, he turned to Hermeticism and got excommunicated from Islam, so then why forsake the heritage of his own race? His contacts in sundry traditions and variants can perform any ritual a Journeyman’s Blessing for Indolence, and he’ll arrange for them to do so at a generous mark-up. 
=== Wynn ===
Not an embassy for any tradition, but as a luxurious resort, it’s a nice place where the Council can put up guests, showing respect. That includes a Brujo from Mexico, but while they’ll extend courtesy, the host tradition has competitive business interests with those Brujeria factions affiliated with drug cartels, and they’ll require plausible assurances before they render substantial assistance or offer a seat on the Council. 
Maria Morales (blue-green): Brujeria factions involved in politics or crime or both never had a use for the Council, but the economic interdependence of Mexico and the US is growing tighter, so some factions have agreed to send an envoy. The compromise candidate was Enriqué, an assassin who might just kill a few problem politicians and frame Babylonians for the job. Except he won’t, because he celebrated his important assignment with a pretty prostitute from Michoacan, who happened to be from a Brujeria faction that always gets the short straw. So she steeled her resolve, murdered her trick, and took his identity, including a Guise Fetish. It has a variety of presets which she can’t access, but its default setting made Enriqué look like himself in a nice suit, and that’s all she needs. The idea is to negotiate on behalf of Brujeria as a whole but do so in a way that raises the relative position of her own faction. Unfortunately she has far too little experience for this job, and notwithstanding one instance of hatred-fueled violence, probably lacks the intestinal fortitude for all that it will require. 
Hector Mendoza (blue): Formerly an enforcer or “knight” for La Familia, Hector is just a tad gentler now that he follows the path of Rabbit and Moon. He may have a beer belly, but he’s still a strong man, crack shot, very alert and streetwise, a self-taught expert in surveillance technology and demolition too. What he lacks in magic, he makes up in general competence, so he was tasked for security. Though he’d only met Enriqué once at a party years before, he instantly recognized Maria’s deception because of her effeminate style of smoking a cigarette. It’s only a matter of time before someone comes gunning for her, and there’s no chance that that someone won’t believe he was in on her scheme.