Cosmology
Places of Interest, near and far, within the Spirit Worlds
Digital Web – A virtual realm located somewhere in the Mid Umbra, the Digital Web is a Realm of pure information, one that has been pulled closer to the world through science fiction and consensual reality. Unlike other spirit realm, the Spirit Sphere is not needed to access it, and the realm is open to sleepers.
There are four ways to access the Digital Web:
1. Sensory Visitation – any person, Mage or Sleeper, can make a Sensory Visitation to the realm with the proper equipment, whether it’s a desk top computer or a VR rig. This is not actually visiting the realm. The person is still present on Earth, but is similar to a video game with outstanding graphics.
2. Astral Visitation is when a Mage project their senses into the Web, leaving their body behind. Correspondence 2 is required, along with an appropriate foci. This form of visit is limited based on the Mages tradition and paradigm. In addition to Technomages (Technocracy, Virtual Adepts, and Sons of Ether), mystic mages of the Dreamspeaker (Ghost Wheel only) and the Order of Hermes (House Veditius only) can also enter. Mages roll Intelligence + Computer, dif 7, and acquire a minimum of 3 successes.
3. Holistic Immersion is when a Mage downloads their body, transforming it into pure information, and then enters the Digital Web. A trinary computer is required, along with an extended Intelligence + Computer roll, dif 7. Each roll represents 30 seconds and 5 successes are needed. 5 successes are needed. The mage also needs Life 4/ Correspondence 2/ Forces 2 to construct a body in the web.
4. Finally, Mages of the Mystic Traditions can reach the Digital Web by traveling through the Spirit Realm, either using Mind 4 to travel the astral plane or Spirit 4 to physically step sideways. In both cases after the appropriate Arete roll is made the player then needs to roll Intelligence + Cosmology in order to make their way to their destination. This is an extended action, with 5 successes needed.
The Black Spiral
Across all cultures, there has been a name for the places of damnation: Hades, Hell, Apophis, the Underworld, Duat – many names which in the end describe the same place: The Black Spiral.
The Black Spiral is the realm of hell, a twisting road that leads ever deeper into the Umbra to place of greater and greater torture. Here all sorts of demons are imprisoned, trapped with fallen angels, forgotten gods, and souls damned by Heaven for their many sins.
One foolish enough seeking to enter the Black Spiral may do so at a place where great suffering occurred. Spirit 4 is required, but in order for the living to enter they must do so willingly. Mystic or Techno, the realm of the damned welcomes all. Most occultists believe that the doors to the Black Spiral open only one way, thought there are rumors of an exit existing somewhere in Phoenix, guarded by a vampire sentinel to insure that the nightmarish horrors trapped within do not escape. (OOC: Dr. Joshua Panther)
The Shadowlands
The Realm of Ghosts, the Shadowlands is located just below our world, a place where the recently dead haunt the world and watch the people they love move on with their lives. The Shadowlands is a dull place, where everything is colored black or shades of grey. It’s always chilly, just cold enough so that the chill seeps past ones clothes and into their bones. A world built on emotion, it’s not uncommon to find artefacts and even buildings have become solid, been given form by the emotional investment others have made. A beloved teddy bear, a home where a happy couple built a family, a knife that ended a loved one’s life.
The nature of the Shadowlands creates an interesting question: are ghosts the souls of the dead, or are they memories given form through the emotional investment from the people they once were and the families that were left behind? If it’s the latter, then what is Transcendence?
Entering the Shadowlands can be done at any place where death is strong, either a graveyard, a morgue, or the scene of a murder. A Mage needs Spirit 4 and they can cross over. Necromancers, however (Mages who specialize in Spirit magic of the dead) may cross over anywhere, and will find most of their magics to be easier in the Shadowlands.
Once present, it is possible to travel further into the Tempest, seeking out the islands of safety such as Stygia, or to continue on to the Labyrinth itself. If anyone has ever gone to Oblivion, even the memory of their existence has been wiped from reality.
Twilight
A realm of spirits, Twilight is located just above our world and is the twin of the Shadowlands. Where in the Shadowlands everything is black and gray, colors are bright and lively. The air is scented, and everything seems more alive. This makes it no less dangerous, as a variety of concept spirits in habit this world, hunting the inattentive.
Buildings which are only dreams in an architect’s head stand proudly next to older structures with a long history, buildings which have gained a degree of self-awareness themselves. From here a Mage can move unseen through the world, and travel to other worlds within the Umbra.
It’s important to note that a Mage who steps into Twilight will inevitably come into contact with the Garou. The Wolves have the ability to slip in and out of Twilight the way humans can step into another room. When here, a Garou can track a Mage by the scent of his shadow, hear the sound of their heart beating. Mages are urged to use caution.
Any Mage can enter Twilight from a location appropriate to their personal paradigm. Spirit 4 is needed, and while the Realm is open to both Techno and Mystic Mages, Necromancers can only enter from a location where one has recently died, either naturally or through violence.
The Shallows
The Shallows is a portion of the spirit world which overlaps our own, and the Veil/Gauntlet between the two is so thin that one could easily slip through and not realize what has happened. A person who has entered the Shallows can still interact with the world: talking with the deli clerk, saying hi to Mrs. Johnson next door, going to work and coming home as if everything is fine.
But when in the Shallows, any cloak of ignorance is gone, disguises fall away, and people are forced to confront the truth about what it is that inhabits the world around them.
Like other areas of the Umbra, the Shallows have its own set of rules. People are attacked not physically, but mentally. Instead of losing health points WP is lost (temporary WP). When all WP is gone, they gain a derangement instead of dying. It's only after their sanity is gone that death becomes possible. Mind magics can offer protection, but not immunity.
The idea behind the Shallows is that there are areas where people do not cross over into the Umbra. They just get their feet wet. Areas so thin it's more of a puddle that anything else. Anything can send a person to the Shallows: a book, a picture, even a conversation. Once in, most people don't know enough to get themselves out, and getting out is they only way to return to safety.
The only way to escape the Shallows is to find a door. Spirit magic cannot create a doorway, but can make it easy to find one.
ST Notes: The Shallows do not appear in any World of Darkness supplement, but if a creation of my own. Inspired by the writing of Laird Baron, this is where the stories of madness and despair take place. Think HP Lovecraft. When a Mage slips into the shallows, finding a way out is not difficult. Although a doorway must be found, using the spheres this is a simple task.
BUT, when a PC exits the Shallows, the story ends immediately. The character chose safety and sanity over knowledge and truth, and will have to live in ignorance as a result. They will not be allowed to reenter to continue the tale.