ANDERS MAGE PAGE 2.0

Recently someone said that most people on the verge of magickal Awakening were found and adopted by the Traditions or the Technocracy, while those who weren't, ended up as Orphans, and (if they survived) usually got recruited by some Orphan clique such as the Hollow Ones. However, that seemed to me to miss a fairly crucial point about the nature of Awakening.

As I understand the way magick is supposed to work, members of the Traditions can do this stuff because they have mentally encompassed and internalized their group's world-view, and these world-views in turn incorporate techniques by which the universe can be manipulated (in the same way that Technocratic science incorporates the possibility of engineering, and maybe psi). Therefore, for a Tradition mage, the world-view comes first, the magick second. An Orphan, on the other hand, develops the powers first, without (necessarily) any philosophical infrastructure. The magick just works for such an individual, with no explanations required. Any world-view, such as Hollow One nihilism, comes later. Which is why the game's disregard for any Orphan groupings other than the poseur-punk-goths tells you so much about White Wolf.

However, the Traditions are on the lookout for nascent talents, and unlike the Technocracy, they are (mostly, usually, one hopes) unlikely to bust a gut trying to make a recruit conform to their ideologies — or to exterminate those who don't conform. Therefore, it seems likely to me that each Tradition will, in any year, recruit a percentage of recently-Awakened Orphans, after the recruits have gained their power.

These recruits would very likely learn and eventually express much of the surface philosophy and most of the trappings of the Tradition, but they'd still be Orphans, with no bias as to Spheres and no need for foci (in game-mechanical terms, they'd be Orphans, pure and simple). Editor's Note: Orphan foci rules were revised with 2nd Edition so this doesn't really apply anymore. In fact, they'd probably be permanently slightly embarrassed, as they would keep instinctively doing stuff that their friends and teachers would regard as impossible and somewhat undisciplined. This strikes me as an amusing possibility for role-playing.

Actually, I can imagine most of the Traditions having a stock view of such Orphans:

"Brother Kent is undoubtedly touched by the One, but he must learn that this blessing does not excuse him from paying due respect to the rules and order of the Chorus. It's very unfortunate, really; in the old days, we'd have sent him out into the wilderness to become a hermit for a few years, let him cure the odd pilgrim, tame some lions. But there aren't enough wildernesses nowadays. In fact... Brother Kent, how often must I speak to you about levitating during Matins?"

"The Spirits have touched Climbs-Like-Spider. Hmmph. Sometimes, the Spirits don't know what they are doing, I think. Has no respect for an elder shaman."

"She's a psycho-Kirlian wild talent! I told you! In that paper I published last year — or was it the year before, good grief, I can never keep track of dates. The ambient etheric modulations permit this if the individual has precisely the right beta wave frequency. Quick, Tode! Bring me the cerebro-scanner and my number seven microstatic inductor!"

"Y'know, Hank really knows how to parteeee... But even we gotta worry 'bout someone who just gets off on nothin' at all. I mean, ecstasy is the secret of insight, of course, but if the joy comes from nowhere, what's the insight gonna be into? It could even be like the other Traditions say — when he comes down, he's gonna come down sooo hard..."