Traditions (Magic Vegas)

v60e continued
== Chapter 3: Traditions ==
Playing a game is fun, but designing it can be fun, too. The idea of Magic Vegas is to share that aspect with players by allowing them to design the traditions that their magician characters use. Conceptually, the process of defining a tradition for the game is straightforward: Read up on a mythology, noting its gods and their portfolios and symbols, any other kinds of beings (spirits), any Otherworlds included in its cosmology, and any other notable characteristics for flavor. Decide which of the gods define paths and which are patrons of the tradition, and use your own creativity to fill in holes in the archæological record or resolve contradictions. Remember that the mythology may have evolved over thousands of years, so there’s no definitively best interpretation. Cursory research on the internet will be sufficient for game mechanics, though deeper research can inform narrative depiction. 
What makes this concept possible is a framework under which contradictory things can all be true, in this case the idea that magic consists of channeling the natural law from a place where nature itself is different. No such framework can be perfect, so the idea is to get close and then make it fit. Playability adds some constraints that wouldn’t be present otherwise, for instance there’s no theoretical reason why similar effects channeled from different worlds should have identical mechanics, but it wouldn’t be practical to expect a game master to keep track of a dozen minor variations on each ritual. Likewise there’s no cosmological reason why a world shouldn’t be very similar to Midgard, or very different, but game balance is a reason to give each path and tradition a repertoire of comparable size. The challenge is two-fold: First use these rules to get as close to your concept as possible, and then suspend disbelief in spite of the rough edges. 
Traditions are like Mexican restaurants: The burritos, enchiladas, tacos, and tamales are all made from the same ingredients, just assembled in different ways. Likewise traditions have access to the same rituals, which can come off as boring. The burden of differentiation falls on each player, and his tool is narrative description: He can choose to say, “I cast Conjure Flame,” or he could say, “As I stoke the forge, I invoke mighty Vulcan!” Also, each tradition has gaps, and the GM should be aware of them and make sure they become pinch points occasionally. 
Players have two basic methods to populate the rituals in a path: Choose 3 partial path groupings, or choose 20 rituals, and repeat half a dozen times. You can mix methods, you can omit rituals that don’t fit, you can include a given ritual in multiple paths. The groups take less work and tend to give a few extra rituals, but the individual selections tend to produce more satisfying interpretations. One good way to go about it is to start with partial paths, omit what doesn’t fit the theme, and see how many slots are left. And since you are the one designing the path for your own character to use, look through the rituals for the ones you personally like the most, and be sure to squeeze them in somewhere. Remember that there’s more than one way to interpret source material (especially if it evolved over millenia) and that the point is to have fun, not to defend a thesis. 
That said, also remember that a tradition is a resource for all of its members, most of whom will be weaker than player characters, choosing to specialize in single paths like an engineer chooses civil, electrical, or mechanical. It’s about as much work (in that the point cost is comparable). Each path should be worthwhile and provide the specialist something valuable to trade with other magicians outside his specialty, or else it would have fall into disuse. 
With rough drafts of each path, the designer should review each one, imagining the world where its rituals are always in effect, for everyone. A single ritual can make it uninhabitable. Obviously Rotting Death is such a ritual, but some are less obvious, like Water to Wine. Wine merely impairs humans, but it kills most other animals, including the ones which pollinate plants! Some worlds which aren’t inimical to life are inimical to civilization, such as one of Unbearable Pleasure: Any physical contact between people incapacitates them both. There’s no requirement that any tradition have a home-away-from-home, but it’s a valuable resource that may be attested in the source material, so if a world is close, you can fine-tune it to habitability in 3 steps: First, omit inimical rituals that aren’t truly necessary; if you need a world that’s chilly but not frozen, for instance, that’s not a worldlaw: It’s just altitude. Second, for those rituals that can’t be omitted, provide countermeasures; if that cold world is comfortable to the inhabitants, then maybe it has Endure Elements, too. Third, if countermeasures aren’t enough or aren’t available, tone down the effect with a limitation; maybe absolute zero is overkill. This third option reduces the utility of channeling a worldlaw in favor of valuable real estate, likely a net benefit. 
The rule that a path symbol is sufficient for any ritual in the path is there for ease of play, with the expectation that optional symbols will inform the narrative anytime Symbol-Drawing is used (for that juicy +1 bonus). The rule that a given ritual within a path can have additional mandatory limitations is there to facilitate the design of Otherworlds. In the Winter Court of Druids’ Path of Cernunnos, blizzards aren’t constant, but they are quite common because they’re somehow linked to mistletoe, and that means that a druid can reliably summon a blizzard by channeling Cernunnos if he has but a fresh sprig of this readily-available ingredient. Keeping track of an extra symbol for one ritual is easier than keeping track of such symbols for hundreds. 
Certain rituals bear further discussion in this vein, for by default, they make a world useless, but a simple limitation toggles them into assets. That includes any form of creation: Create Spring means that water bubbles up everywhere, so there’s no solid ground, and Create Animal means it’s raining frogs, or cats and dogs, constantly. All that’s necessary is an ingredient limitation. Besides the example from Cernunnos, the path of Asgard can Create Animal from the corpse of that animal, so just slaughter it for meat, and find it hale after dinner. Even though it doesn’t have the word Create in the name, Water to Wine is effectively a creation spell. Add grapes as an ingredient and you drastically simplify the process of making wine without poisoning a whole world (just a vineyard at a time). 
Heat and especially Cold have bizarre physical effects at the extreme. Imagine a world at absolute zero, with no liquid and no molten core, or imagine such heat that water evaporates and rocks melt. Endure Elements means the temperature won’t kill you, but there’s no water to drink and no food to eat because plants and animals would have no water, either. Add Create Spring and you get liquid water, but it quickly boils away if not captured in a pressurized vessel, so life may be possible but by no means comfortable. Cap the temperature at a level that enervates the unprotected but doesn’t require a class in physical chemistry to understand, and match it with Endure Elements to make a world that is weird but usable. Alternatively, place a depth limitation on Cold a bit below the surface, so a molten core is still possible and life teams in the ocean under the icebergs, or place an ingredient limitation on Heat so that molten deserts appear only in the presence of sulfur. 	
How do you see Slumber applied? Is it an attack, designed to subdue without killing, or is it a utility to facilitate healthy rest and/or dream magic? If the latter, make it voluntary with a caveat: Anyone who is genuinely in need of rest must make a Will check or volunteer, penalized according to need (and the penalty can be great if he’s been up for days thanks to Vigil). The difference from the unmodified spell is the lack of a contest; he need not make this check by a greater margin than the ritual itself, and if he’s well-rested he needn’t roll the check at all. Inhabitants of the source world sleep soundly every night, but they don’t sleep all day. 
By default, Skinchange requires no ingredient. The benefit is that can affect anyone (at penalty if other than the magician himself), but the drawback is that it affects everyone on the source world. Commonly, it does have an ingredient, a pelt of the animal, hence the name Skinchange. If a single path has multiple versions, the pelt ingredient may be assumed. When channeled, Magelock assures privacy by keeping doors closed, but on its sourceworld, it assures the lack of privacy by making sure there are no doors! Add a seal as an ingredient, and any door not so marked will operate normally (but the seal itself will identify the tradition of the magician who placed it). Unbearable Pleasure usually comes from a god(dess) of love, meaning sex, so sexual contact is an appropriate limitation.
===Detailed Traditions===
:See Magic Vegas Design Example for how to create other Traditions
*Babylonian Tradition
*Brujeria (Mexican Tradition)
*Classical (Greco-Roman Tradition)
*Dao (Chinese Tradition)
*Druidry (Celtic Tradition)
*Seiđr (Norse/Germanic Tradition)
=== Thumbnail Traditions===
The write-ups that follow, all based on the partial path design method, should be sufficient to characterize an NPC magician on the fly, including the scope of his repertoire. There’s more to say about any of them, and more traditions likely to have survived than are listed here, including shamanic traditions from Africa, the Americas, Australia, and northern Asia, but they lack embassies in Magic Vegas. 
==== Hermeticism (and the Cult of Isis) ====
Language(s): Demotic/Hieratic Egyptian, Classical Arabic/Greek/Latin. Mark: Curious. 
Countermagic Symbol: Ankh. 
Other trappings: Caduceus, canopic jars, feathers, flail, geometric seals, pyramid, rose cross, sceptre/staff. 
Patrons: Abraxas, Bes, Nephthys. Horror per language (Babylonian Kingu for Arabic, Classical Typhon otherwise). 
Magic Vegas embassy: Venetian. 
Path of Atum: Creation, Time, Water, Animal: Ape/Snake. Mark: Perfectionist. 
Path of Horus: Excellence, Light, Rule, Animal: Hawk. Mark: Vengeful. 
Path of Isis: Healing, Mother, Prosperity, Animal: Snake. Mark: Ambition. 
Path of Osiris: Agriculture, Death, River (Halt Aging), Animal: Fish. Mark: Judgmental. 
Path of Set: Fire, Land, Plague, Animal: Cryptid. Mark: Xenophilia. 
Path of Tefnut and family – Shu, Geb, and Nut: Air, Earth, Sky, Animal: Goose. Mark: Duality. 
Path of Thoth and Ma’at: Fate, Justice, Wisdom, Animals: Baboons, Ibis, Vultures. Mark: Careful. 
Notably Absent: Armor, any kind of dream or illusion. 
Kemetic religion was never a monolith, the plethora of gods from a multi-millenial history representing a family of variant traditions. The paths above are based on the Ennead of Heliopolis, with the addition of Ma’at, a central philosophical concept as well as a goddess. Horus and Osiris are the chief gods, but Isis is the central figure in their story. Isine and Raic traditions have the Path of Atum(-Ra) in common, so they can use each others’ Fetishes to sustain rituals at only -1. 
Conquest by Greece and then Rome spread elements of Egyptian culture (and magic) around the Mediterranean, giving them a new lease on life. Hermeticism is a religious philosophy with multi-fold influences from the region, including Zoroastrianism, but it takes its magic from the Cult of Isis translated to Classical languages, the Oriental source of so-called Western Esoterica. Although few members are actually magicians, modern practitioners include Freemasons, Rosicrucians, and successor orders to the Golden Dawn; Joseph Smith even adapted Masonic rituals for early Mormons. Their seminal focus is spiritual development and enlightenment (gnosis) through an understanding of astrological correspondences and the fundamental elements of the universe, but some orders give that short shrift in favor of power, using magic for personal aggrandizement and hedonistic gratification (nominally under Crowley’s condition: an it harm none). They’re a federation making some show of presenting a united front to the magical community while arguing among themselves over philosophical issues that boil down to who should be in charge. Ostensibly, Hermetic lodges emphasize secrecy, if only to pique the interest of potential clients and acolytes, and of course to avoid Skeptics. Once in, magicians of lower degree owe obedience to the higher, the reward for which is magical power that they can otherwise use however they please so long as it doesn’t endanger the organization as a whole. 
In its original state, Isine shared a language with the Raic tradition, making it relatively easy to dabble with both, and thanks to translation, it’s similarly easy to combine Hermetic with Babylonian or Classical. 
==== Hinduism	(and Gypsies) ====
Language: Classical Indian (Pali, Sanskrit), Tibetan, or Southeast Asian; Romani. Mark: Varies by sect. 
Countermagic Symbol: Reverse swastika. 
Channeling Path Symbols: Mandala (complex diagram) or murti (complex idol) for each. 
Other trappings: Bell, cane, conch shell, lingam (phallus), lotus, oil lamp, yantras (geometric designs). 
Patrons: Hanuman, Ganga, Kartikeya, Ammon, countless more. Horror Vritra (Corruption, Distortion, Plague). 
Magic Vegas embassy: Circus Circus (Gypsy) and Mandalay Bay (Vajrayana). 
Channeling Paths: Each variant has up to 7. 
	Path of Brahma: Creation, Craft, Wisdom, Animal: Goose. Mark: Order. 
	Path of Chandra: Excellence, Land, Night, Animal: Antelope. Mark: Neurosis. 
	Path of Ganesha: Commerce, Prosperity, Wisdom, Animal: Rodent. Mark: Social. 
	Path of Himavat: Dream, Volcano, Winter (Hold Breath), Animal: Game. Mark: Love of nature. 
	Path of Indra: Rule, Sky, Strategy, Animal: Elephant. Mark: Intemperate desire. 
	Path of Lakshmi: Prosperity, Sex, Tricks, Animal: Eagle. Mark: Confidence. 
	Path of Parvati: Agriculture, Healing, Mother, Animal: Tiger. Mark: Nurture. 
	Path of Saraswati: Inspiration, River, Visions (omit Water to Wine), Animal: Peacock. Mark: Creative. 
	Path of Shiva: Battle, Fire, Time, Animal: Bull. Mark: Destructive. 
	Path of Varuna: Justice, Sea, Water, Animal: Fish. Mark: Honor. 
	Path of Yama: Aging, Earth, Fate, Animal: Buffalo. Mark: Judgment.
Notably Absent: Command the Bodies of the Dead, Flash, Walk on Air. 
The most ancient religion still widely practiced today is Hinduism, with a wider Believer base than any other channeling tradition. Its most ancient texts, the Vedas, date back at least six thousand years, but the tradition has evolved significantly in that time, with sects and off-shoots coexisting in relative peace, at least with each other (less so with Islam). This is a possible interpretation, with the Hindu magical tradition understood as a family of variants – pick 7 of the dozen paths above for each – with many more gods syncretized into the ones listed here, as Surya (sun) is the celestial aspect of Agni (fire) who is in turn as aspect of Shiva (destruction), and in some cases all paths taken to be aspects of a supreme god such as Vishnu. His is among the most important paths, protecting natural order, but that’s Countermagic, what Norse call the path of Midgard, available in all variants. Here are sample arrangements: 
Vedic: Agni (Shiva), Himavat, Indra, Soma (Chandra), Ushas (Lakshmi), Varuna, Yama. 
Brahminism/Vaishnavism: Brahma, Chandra, Lakshmi, Parvati, Saraswati, Shiva, Varuna. 
Shaivism: Ganesha, Himavat, Indra, Lakshmi, Parvati, Shiva, Yama. 
Shaktism: Indrani (Indra), Kali (Shiva), Lakshmi, Nirrti (Yama), Parvati, Saraswati, Shakti (Brahma). 
Smarta aspires to be all-encompassing (combine Shaivism with Vaishnavism). Most variants are Marked by caste (psychologically, even those which reject it philosophically), though Shaktism is Marked by feminism and Vedism by ancient tradition. Buddhism is a flexible religious philosophy that may incorporate local magic, and in the case of Tibet’s Vajrayana, the local magic is Vedic and there’s a tradition of “transgressive” acts as a shortcut to power: deceit, intoxication, sex, slaughter – things a spy or soldier must do, and that which motivates him to do them. Sikhism is a modern Shiva-derived Monotheism with emphasis on the Path of Heroes, and Jainism is an older (Brahmin) Monotheism with extreme dietary restrictions as Disciplines of Faith. Parsi Zoroastrianism, also known as Mithraicism in ancient Rome, is a still older (Vedic) form of Monotheism with an emphasis on the Path of Allies (including Astrology) and high ritual purity standards as Disciplines of Faith. 
Although the word “Gypsy" derives from Egypt, Roma actually migrated from India, bringing Eastern mysticism to Europe, and their famous magic is that of Hinduism, fragmented, for as low-caste or untouchable, their ancestors never had access to a complete grimoire. Under the Gypsy version, Path of Allies features Cartomancy, for although the origin of Tarot is unknown to modern scholarship, it’s actually a brilliant invention whose rich symbolism preserves magical lore for an illiterate people, colorful cards serving as mandalas (path symbols) and formulæ. The idea inspired Hermetic magicians to adapt the concept to their own tradition. Gypsies have a separate seat at the table in Magic Vegas, but their tradition is fragmentary in the political sense too (its Mark), and few of them pay any attention to their nominal delegate. They’re too disorganized, tribal, and ready to employ their specialty, curses, against one another. Nonetheless, widespread Belief in Gypsy magic by outsiders and the popularity of Tarot give Romani clout in the community of magicians. Gypsy culture has rigid but evolving gender roles, so that magic was first divided between the sexes (reducing the burden of Marks on any magician) and then relegated to women, causing certain Channeling paths to be forgotten (except at default) along with the more difficult rituals from all paths and anything ill-suited to a nomadic lifestyle. Fully reconstituted, the tradition would have the paths of Chandra, Indra, Lakshmi, Parvati, Saraswati, Shiva, and Yama. 
==== Kahuna ====
Language: Any Polynesian: Mark: Sacred hierarchy.
Countermagic Symbol: Seashell. 
Channeling Path Symbols: Godsticks (carved rods) for each. 
Other Trappings: Adze, feather, hook, hula, jade, kava, lehua, music, pearl, sex, shark tooth, tattoo, tiki, turtle shell. 
Patrons: Maui generally, Pele’s family for Hawaii specifically. Horror Whiro (Corruption, Earth, Plague). 
Magic Vegas embassy: Mirage. 
Path of Rehua/Lehua-Kono: Air, Healing, Light, Animal: Bird. Mark: Nobility of spirit. 
Path of Rongo/Lono: Agriculture, Inspiration, Sex (Weathworking Rain for Water to Wine), Animal: Pest. Mark: Sex. 
Path of Ruaumoko/Pele: Fire, Prosperity, Volcano, Animal: Whale. Mark: Devotion. 
Path of Tane/Kane: Creation, Land, Mother, Animal: Bird/Reptile. Mark: Practicality (impatient with impracticality). 
Path of Tangaroa/Kanaloa: Commerce, Excellence, Sea, Animal: Any Marine. Mark: Exploration. 
Path of Tawhirimatea/Haikili: River, Sky, Strategy, Animal: Albatross. Mark: Anger. 
Path of Tumatauenga/Ku: Battle, Craft, Tricks, Animal: Any Domestic. Mark: War. 
Notably Absent: History, Slumber, Suggestion, Swim, any kind of communication. 
Polynesians migrated north and east across the Pacific in stages, settling a small island until population pressure forced them to move again. Tahiti is one of the larger islands, but still only 28 miles at the widest. The next migration target is the Hawaiian archipelago, more than 2,000 miles away but 20 times the area, colonized from Tahiti in several waves. The result is that there’s relatively little linguistic drift, much of it in the form of consonant substitutions (Maori Tangaroa becomes Hawaiian Kanaloa). The full extant of Polynesian exploration and degree of inter-island trade is a matter for debate among archæologists, but the sweet potato is a dietary staple throughout the region, even in New Zealand, and it came from America! 
Taboos are a feature of Polynesian culture generally and expanded to an oppressive degree in some places, including Hawaii, with a caste system as one aspect. Hawaiian colonial history has its share of the usual bitterness, white men getting rich at the native’s expense, with the usual nuance (collaborators getting rich too). In game terms, Christian missionaries eroded native Belief (with the support of some natives who resented the taboo system), and Monotheist magicians among them protected colonists from native magic, the only local tool which could otherwise have matched the colonizer’s technology. This means that Hawaiian magicians have the same problem as those of European traditions, which is why they have an embassy in Magic Vegas (the Mirage resort), but it’s hard for native Hawaiian magicians to look at their nominal new allies and not see the same complexion as that of the colonists who weakened their magic in the first place. 
==== Paiute ====
Language: Any Numic. Mark: Tribal. 
Countermagic Symbol: Rattle. 
Other trappings: Cane/staff, dance, feathers, fire, song, tobacco. 
Patrons: Coyote. 
Magic Vegas embassy: None. 
Path of Isa: Dream, Healing, Sky, Animal: Wolf. Mark: Loyal. 
Notably Absent: Armor, Grace, Scry, Suggestion, Vigil, Vigor, Windfall, creation, curses, physical illusions. 
Magical traditions of American origin have no direct representation on the council, but they do have contact which has led to widespread replication of the casino model in places that don’t compete with Las Vegas. Shamans of the indigenous tribe are known for prophetic dreams, healing, the occasional rain dance, and working with spirits, especially local totems (or Parasites to curse enemies). If theirs were ever a mature tradition with half a dozen more channeling paths, the others have been lost, perhaps because Numic languages have no written form. Syncretism might be possible, but language is a barrier even for neighboring American traditions like Hopi and Navajo, both of which have legends suggesting cultural experience with multiple Otherworlds but whose practical channeling repertoire is not much different. Some of those legends hint at a Polynesian connection, but there’s no linguistic evidence. 
==== Raicism ====
Language: Egyptian (Hieratic or older). Mark: Exalt Egypt. 
Countermagic Symbol: Ankh. 
Channeling Path Symbols: Cartouche (complex hieroglyph) for each. 
Other trappings: Horns, double crown, flail, lotus, potter’s wheel, scarab seal, sistrum. 
Patrons: Ptah. Horror Apep, same as Classical Typhon (Corruption, Discontinuity, Volcano). 
Magic Vegas embassy: Luxor. 
Path of Amun-Ra: Air, Rule, Visions (Hallucination), Animal: Hawk. Mark: Status-Conscious. 
Path of Anubis-Ra: Death, Justice, Night, Animal: Canine. World: Duat (the underworld). Mark: Code. 
Path of Atum-Ra: Creation, Time, Water, Animal: Ape/Snake. Mark: Perfectionist. 
Path of Khepri-Ra: Land, Light, Mother, Animal: Scarab Beetle. Mark: External Mood Influence (solar). 
Path of Khnum-Ra: Commerce, Craft, River, Animal: Sheep. Mark: Grand Project. 
Path of Montu-Ra and Raet: Fire, Strategy, Wisdom, Animal: Bull/Falcon. Mark: Loyalty. 
Path of the Eye of Ra: Battle, Inspiration, Sex, Animals: Cat/Cobra. Mark: Lust (could be battle-lust). 
Notably Absent: Dose, Slumber, physical illusions. 
It’s almost Zoroastrian, the worship of the sun, Ra, as a single god with an adversary, Apep. But in this case, the “single god” is really a collection of path-gods misrepresented as a spiritual unity in order to bring about a political one, and the “eye of Ra” is actually a collection of goddesses including Bast, Hathor, Sehkmet, Wadjet, and more. Arguably, the propaganda worked, for the state endured millenia, but thousands of years of Egyptian history haven’t been entirely peaceful. Merging upper and lower kingdoms required force, a struggle mirrored by sometimes-secret conflict between two magical traditions, even if the uninitiated couldn’t tell the difference. One tradition saw Ra as the lord of the living by day and the dead by night, while the other tried to supplant him with Horus and Osiris in these roles. Due in part to a pharoah pushing Atenism (Raic Monotheism), Isis predominated by the time of Roman conquest, and the magic of Ra was lost for centuries. 
Imagine you’re part of the English magical community during the glory days. Some kind of aristocrat obviously, or nouveua riche, with time and money to spend on the arcane. You could study magic from the jewel of the empire, India, but while the crown controls the territory, you’d never have authority among Hindu priests. Your heritage on the isle includes Seiđr, but that’s divination-locked, with Classical from the days of Caesar mainly preserved by the Monotheist church, and of course Druidry but also thanks partly to Caesar, that’s dominated by the bloody Irish! So you fund archæology, racing the Germans in Assyria only to discover that the magic of Babylon is alive and well in your local dockside brothels and opium dens, and again you, a gentleman, would be subordinate, in this case to criminal scum. The results in Egypt are much more promising, for yes, there’s far more to it than the cult of Isis, basis for Freemasonry that’s taken hold in those rebellious colonies. It’s painstaking for decades, until you find the motherlode, King Tut, just in time for the empire to unwind. So now you have a druidic revival, but modern English “druids” dress in ritual robes that look suspiciously Egyptian. 
==== Shinto ====
Language: Japanese (Middle or earlier). Mark: Traditional. 
Countermagic Symbol: Rope of rice straw with paper streamers.
Other Trappings: Music, dance, sumo, prayer boards, luck slips, torii gates, cloth-wrapped amulets.
Patrons: Ebisu, Tenjin. Horror Amatsumikaboshi, same as False Dao (Discontinuity, Distortion, Tricks). 
Magic Vegas embassy: Nobu hotel. 
Path of Amaterasu and Tsukiyomi: Air, Light, Rule (Vigor), Animal: Bird. Symbol: Mirror. Mark: Shy. 
Path of Hachiman: Battle, Fate, Strategy, Animal: Dove/Horse. Symbol: Bow/Arrow. Mark: Protective. 
Path of Inari: Agriculture, Commerce, Inspiration, Animal: Fox. Symbol: Rice. Mark: Generous. 
Path of Izanagi and Izanami: Land, Plague, Sex, Animal: Bug. Symbol: Spear. Mark: Vengeful. 
Path of Kagutsuchi: Craft, Fire, Time, Animal: Lizard. Symbol: Torch. Mark: Discipline. 
Path of Omoikane: Justice, Visions, Wisdom, Animal: Bird. Symbol: Puzzles. Mark: Thoughtful. 
Path of Susanoo (or Ryujin): Sky, Volcano, Water, Animal: Fish/Reptile. Symbol: Sword. Mark: Mercurial. 
Notably Absent: Dose, Slumber, Windfall, creation, zombies. 
Until WWII, Shinto was the state religion of Japan even as it competed with and syncretized Christianity, Dao, and sundry schools of Buddhism. Factions are mostly harmonious and retain their relationship with government, albeit unofficially. Although they claim atheism in surveys, Shinto shrines in their homes show that most Japanese are open to Belief, and interest in martial arts and animé spreads Belief abroad. 
==== Voodoo ====
Language: Yoruba or derived Creole such as Haitian. Mark: Volatile (Petro) or Sweet (Rada). 
Countermagic Symbol: White cloth. 
Channeling Path Symbols: Vever (geometric design made with colored sand) for each. 
Other trappings: Blood, bone, drum, intoxicant, mask, mirror, palm frond, shell, smoke. 
Patrons: Legba, Shango. Horror unspoken but baku come from somewhere (Corruption, Discontinuity, Tricks).
Magic Vegas embassy: Treasure Island. 
Path of Agwe and Erzulie: Commerce, Mother, Sea, Animal: Fish. Mark: Aquaphile. 
Path of Damballa and Ayida-Wedo: Creation, Fire, Water, Animal: Snake. Mark: Kind.
Path of Ogun and Oya: Battle, Earth, Sky, Animal: Dog. Mark: Militant. 
Path of Orunmila and Olodumare: Rule, Visions, Wisdom. Mark: Ethical. 
Path of Oshosi: Inspiration, Land, Prosperity, Animal: Game. Mark: Implacable. 
Path of Oshun: Fate, River, Sex, Animal: Peacock/Vulture. Mark: Sensual. 
Path of the Guedes and Babalú Ayé: Death, Healing, Plague, Animal: Fowl. Mark: Cynical. 
Notably Absent: Slumber, Vigor. 
The magic tradition of the Yoruba people in Nigeria expanded to the New World with the slave trade. Forbidden to practice openly, slaves became adept at disguising their magic with Religious Ritual (Catholic), though that isn’t usually necessary in modern times. Like Hindu, Voodoo is an active religion with plentiful Believers (at least in some places) and forks of the tradition that may utilize different channeling paths. The main branches are Petro and Rada, and these don’t require different paths, for every path has an angry Petro aspect, and in frustration magicians of oppresses populations turn to it.
Category:Magic Vegas Tradition