Classical (Greco-Roman Tradition) (Magic Vegas)

This describes a Tradition of Magic Vegas 
v60e Chapter 3 continued
==Views==
This version of the Classical or Greco-Roman magical tradition is based on the Dei Consentes, the council of 12 major gods in male-female pairs, with a seventh path to represent the Cthonic rituals of ancient Greece (earth-oriented instead of sky-oriented). There must have been several versions over the ages, with different combinations of paths, now lost like Orphic. When the Romans conquered Greece, they incorporated much of Greek philosophy and religion, so much so that little is known of their original gods. As the empire expanded, syncretism set in, meaning that it’s quite possible that some foreign magic paths were incorporated into the Roman tradition, displacing original Greek paths while keeping the brand name. Greek gods of “healing” are more about medicine, so the tradition lacks healing rituals, relying on Esoteric Medicine, Dryads, or in grave need summoning the Phoenix. 
Given Rome’s importance to the history of Europe, the Classical tradition is widespread in the developed world. The Catholic church largely suppressed Roman paganism, outlawing it in the late stage of the empire, but some practitioners survived within the church itself, and now there’s a revival of Believers among neo-pagans like Wiccans. Even if they theoretically draw upon all traditions, a hopelessly huge task, the lore most available is Classical. In fact, the availability of lore, with some bits of truth, has been sufficient in Western culture to inspire the occasional Believer and even lead to self-initiation, especially among those educated in the classics. The result is a fragmented tradition of dabblers with an inner circle debating whether to freeze them out or invite them in. The Elysian faction says aye, to which end they have an embassy in Magic Vegas, but the Atlantean faction says nay, fearing it will jeopardize a tacit truce with Catholic Monotheists. 
==Symbols== 
* Sacrifice of white animals on outdoor raised altars (or black animals in pits for the Cthonic path), music and dance or poetry, caves, cornucopia, defixiones (folded lead tablets), flowers, honey, laurel wreaths, mazes, mosaics, shells, statues, ionic columns, hymns, libations, torches, and copper dishes. Language: Classical Greek or Latin. Weapons: Labrys (axe), gladius (shortsword), javelin, large shield, long spear, net, quadrens, trident. Countermagic: Athamé (dagger). Magic Vegas Embassy: Caesar’s Palace. Mark: Hubris (disadvantage such as Megalomania). 
==Allies== 
* Non-unique Monsters too numerous to list but include centaur, cyclops, dragons, and furies; statues of these may Embody Sphinx. Divination: Gastromancy/Sortilege. Patrons: Bacchus, Hecate, Pan, the Phoenix, and lesser ones associated with specific paths such as Iris (Juno) and Io (Mars). Totems: Asp, Bat, Bear, Bull, Frog, Eagle, Horse, Spider; dogs are the traditional hosts for Familiars. 
==Path of Apollo and Diana== 
* Borrow Skill (Artistic/Athletic/Outdoor, History, and Herbal Pharmacy), Bright Vision, Channeling (Apollo/Diana), Command Beast (Dog/Hawk/Horse), Continual Light, Create Gate (Elysium), Divination (Augury), Flash, Grace, Hasten Mount, Hawk Vision, Hunter's Blessing, Journeyman's Blessing (Art/Healthcare), Lure, Perfect Appearance, Perfect Control, Planar Visit (Elysium), Seek Beast (Game), Speak with Beast (Dog/Hawk), Summon Beast (Horse), Tirelessness, Vigor, Virility, Warrior's Blessing, Water to Wine (grapes), Weatherworking (Fair). Symbol: Lyre. Portfolio: Mostly rituals of excellence, inspiration, and light. Mark: Sexual aberration (such as a fetish, homosexuality, nymphomania, disinterest, or the kind of desires that require celibacy). World: Elysium is not so different from the modern concept of heaven, full of festivity and light and talking animals, where inhabitants (souls of the worthy) all have perfected form. 
==Path of Jupiter and Juno== 
* Air Vision, Channeling (Jupiter/Juno), Command Beast (Cattle), Create Gate (Olympus), Fertility, Gentle Beast (Eagle/Peafowl), Gift of Tongues, Hail, Inexorable Breeze, Journeyman's Blessing (Childcare/Governance), Lightning, Love Charm, Oath, Perfection of the Soul (no effect on Marks of Power), Planar Visit (Olympus), Predict Weather, Read Thoughts, Seek Beast (Cattle), Smooth Ride, Soothe, Speak with Beast (Eagle), Suggestion, Summon Beast (Eagle), Thunderbolt, Vigil, Virility, Weatherworking (Rain/Storm). Symbol: Thunderbolt. Portfolio: Mostly pertaining to motherhood, sovereignty, and weather. Mark: Status (traits such as Chauvinism or conspicuous consumption). World: In a land of constant storms, mountains such as Olympus rise above the clouds as its inhabitants rise above the storms of passion, higher than Everest, yet by a peculiar property, time rather than air becomes thin at the peaks (suggesting a bizarre ritual that magicians of the tradition could conduct at high altitude). The best magicians retire here so that they may be available to intervene in grand affairs for many years to come. 
==Path of Mars and Venus== 
* Armor, Channeling (Mars/Venus), Command Beast of War, Create Gate (Themyscera), Gentle Beast (Songbird), Ghost Shirt, Grace, Halt Aging (reduce ravages but add no years), Hasten Mount, Journeyman’s Blessing (Military/Sex), Locate, Lust, Perfect Appearance, Perfect Control, Planar Visit (Themyscera), Seek Beast (Vulture), Skinchange (Boar – males), Speak with Beast (Boar/Dog/Songbird), Summon Beast (Dog/Songbird), Telepathy, Tirelessness, Unbearable Pleasure (sex), Vigor, Virility, Vision of Luck, Vitality, Warrior's Blessing, Weapon Blessing. Symbol: Helmet. Portfolio: War and romantic love. Mark: Glory (memorable affectations to Obsession with fame). World: Themyscera is famous for its permanent residents, the Amazons. They’re protected from Lust because all the men are swine, literally.
==Path of Mercury and Ceres== * Apportation, Channeling (Mercury/Ceres), Clean, Command Beast of Burden, Create Gate (Utopia), Fertility, Fix Glitch, Gentle Beast (Predator), Great Haste, Guise, Hand of Glory, Heal Plant, Journeyman's Blessing (Agriculture/Clandestine), Liar’s Charm, Love Charm, Mage-Stealth, Phantom, Planar Visit (Utopia), Preserve Food, Purify Air, Rejuvenate Plant, Repair, Skinchange (Totemic), Stroke of Luck, Summon Beast (Domestic/Pests), Windfall. Symbol: Caduceus. Portfolio: Agriculture and trade, including dishonest trade. Mark: Independence (could be Intolerance of authority, Obsession with self-sufficiency, or a Vow to avoid debt). World: Utopia is famously idyllic and bountiful; everything works (including social experiments), but nothing is as it appears. 
==Path of Morpheus== 
* Channeling (Pluto), Cloud Memory, Command Beast (Dog), Create Gate (Chthon), Death Vision, Divination (Oneiromancy), Doom, Dream Shackles, Dream Visitor, Dreamwalk, Evil Eye, Gentle Beast (Reptile), Gloom, Hallucination, Journeyman's Curse, Malaise, Night Terrors, Night Vision, Panic, Planar Visit (Chthon), Purify Earth, Slumber, Speak with Beast (Dog), Summon Beast (Dog), Vision of Luck, Walk Through Earth, Will Lock. Symbol: Scepter. Portfolio: Death (including sleep), fate, darkness, earth and the underworld. Mark: Materialism (disadvantage such as Greed or Miserliness). World: Chthon is the Greek Underworld, a realm of ghosts trapped in their dreams of remorse, locally mutable but with fixed realms imposed by the will of their moderators. A visit in flesh sans protection is painfully fatal, but you must visit in flesh in order to channel Countermagic to make ghosts remember information lost to the present age. A visit in spirit avoids physical curses, and a stabilized dream is like a massive virtual reality online, more immersive than the internet but just as useful. 
==Path of Neptune and Minerva== 
* Channeling (Neptune/Minerva), Command the Waves, Create Gate (Atlantis), Divination (Crystal-Gazing, Extispicy), Endure Elements (also heat DR), Gentle Beast (Horse/Owl/Shark), Gift of Letters, History, Hold Breath, Inexorable Breeze, Journeyman's Blessing (Education/Maritime), Locate, Locate Spares, Planar Visit (Atlantis), Predict Weather, Read the Manual, Resist Pressure, Scry, See Secrets, Seek Beast (Fish), Seek Coastline, Speak with Beast (Owl), Summon Beast (Horse/Owl), Swim, Wisdom (only mitigates Afflictions). Symbol: Trident. Portfolio: Wisdom and the sea. Mark: Moral Authority (disadvantage such as intellectual Bully, Odious Habit of using big words, or self-righteous Stubbornness). World: With naught but a few volcanic islands, Atlantis is mostly inhabited in the sea, where a wise people with no need of breath use volcanic heat for industry. 
==Path of Typhon and Echidna (Horror)== 
* Blackout, Channeling (Typhon/Echidna), Create Gate (Nix), Command Beast (Spawn of Echidna), Dark Vision, Entombment, Essential Acid, Exchange Bodies, Gentle Beast (Spawn of Echidna), Hand of Glory, Invisibility, Irradiate, Lesser Wish, Planar Visit (Nix), Predict Earth Movement, Rockfall, Seek Beast (Spawn of Echidna), Shake the Earth, Speak with Beast (Spawn of Echidna), Stench, Summon Beast (Spawn of Echidna), Summon Shade, Time Out, Timeslip, Transform (Spawn of Echidna), Weatherworking (Geyser/Volcano). Portfolio: Darkness, evil, earthquakes and volcanoes. Symbol: Double-armed spiral (looks like a 6 combined with a 9). World: Nix, utterly dark and inimical to terrestrial life. Mark: Spiritual Distortion. 
==Path of Vulcan and Vesta== 
* Cadence, Channeling (Vulcan/Vesta), Conjure Flame, Create Gate (Lost World), Divination (Pyromancy), Earth Vision, Endure Elements (also heat DR), Heat, Hold Breath, Infravision, Journeyman's Blessing (Clergy/Craftsmen), Know Fault, Measurement, Planar Visit (Lost World), Repair, Reshape, Seek Beast (Crustacean), Seek Earth, Shake the Earth, Stench, Transmutation of Metals (also improves quality of burnt sacrifices), Weapon Blessing, Weatherworking (Geyser/Volcano). Symbol: Hammer. Portfolio: Fire, earth, volcanoes, and craftsmanship. Mark: Focus (disadvantage such as Attentive or Oblivious). World: The domain of Vulcan would fit a modern notion of hell, full of fire, shifting earth, and smoky air, with no liquid water on the surface. However it is a hollow world, and deep underground, corresponding to the molten core of the real world, the temperature is merely tropical and dinosaurs still walk. 
==Absent Rituals==
*Age, Alter Terrain, Blight, Body of Shadow, Calm the Winds, Cold, Cloud-Vaulting, Command the Bodies of the Dead, Contract Object, Create Animal, Create Earth, Create Object, Create Plant, Create Spring, Create Warrior, Current, Decay, Distant Blow, Dose, Earth to Stone, Enlarge, Entombment, Evisceration, Firecalm, Frostbite, Fuel, Garble, Great Gas Mileage, Gremlins, Hide Path, Ice Slick, Impotence, Loyal Item, Machines Hate You, Madness, Magelock, Mirror, Mist, Obscurity, Plant Growth, Predict Earth Movement, Purify Water, Read Memories, Regeneration, Remove Contagion, Resist Pressure, Retch, Rotting Death, Ruin, Seek Pass, Seek Plant, Seek Water, Shape Earth, Silence, Smoke, Snow Shoes, Spasm, Steal Energy, Sterility, Stone to Earth, Stop Healing, Succor, Sunbolt, Supercharge, Teleport, Unlimited Ammo, Walk on Air, Walk Through Earth, Walk Through Plants, Water Vision, Weaken Blood, and Wizard Mouth.
Category:Magic Vegas Tradition
Category:Books and Paths