The Marauder Papers
By Shelby Babb (with thanks to Franchesca) Jan. 1996Editor's Note: In the early days of Mage: the Ascension people were familiar with the cosmology presented in Werewolf: the Apocalypse and applied it to Mage. In time, Mage's cosmology was better understood and applied.
Author's Warning: The following contains some concepts and ideas that some readers may find offensive. Also, in writing this I've altered (and in some cases, ignored) published material and rules. This is not meant to be a presentation of real world psychology or mental illness, only an interpretation for use in a role-playing game.
I just stood there and didn't know what to say. I was thinking of a patient I had seen on a ward who kept his finger up his ass "to keep his thoughts from running out," while with his other hand he tried to tear out his hair because it really "belonged to his father." And here was this man telling me that he was doing these things because someone had called him a schizophrenic. What could I say to him?
Paul Meehl, when presented with the idea that schizophrenics acted crazy because others had labeled them schizophrenic
Just as the Nephandi represent the Wyrm and the Technocracy embodies the Weaver, the Marauders represent the Wyld. Marauders are the personification of madness, chaos, change, randomness and much more.
In Book of Madness (the first one), the mystery of the Marauders is explained in detail. That book shows how Marauders are able to escape the full effects of Paradox by wrapping themselves in shield of delusional, hallucinatory Quiets. The Mad Ones are nicely explained, labeled and revealed to the bone. Nothing could be more inaccurate.
Marauders, by their very nature, can not be explained as a broad generalization. Each Marauder is unique, even among other mages. However, despite the individuality of these most individual mages, it is possible to notice some similarities between various Marauders and classify them into groups.