ANDERS MAGE PAGE 2.0

In the earliest fights against the Order of Hermes and the Traditions, the technomancers and their earthly allies were not alone. They had the aid of several spirits, making deals with them to gain their support. These spirits received much for their aid. They have been fed with quintessence, given dominion over spirits that joined the cause later, and access to the physical world. More importantly, the Technocracy has pledged that with the defeat of the Traditions, the Monitors will not be swept over and conquered by the hordes of man. They will become friendly alien races, powerful AI systems and many other things, while those who did not join will be hunted to extinction.

Over the centuries, the once diverse and naturalistic spirits that were originally recruited have changed to meet the technomancer paradigm. They have abandoned roots in the natural world and become more technological in nature. They have become entrenched in the command structure and are among the Technocracy's most valiant defenders of the Gauntlet and Horizon against the horrors of the Umbra.

The Monitors are widely varied. Some are small and weak, while others are virtual leviathans. Many are unique, while others have standardized to the extent that they are identical. Many have specialized to heed the calls of specific Void Engineer rotes, and fight in the Ascension War at their command. The following are a small sample of their vast diversity.

Satellite Monitors

Ever since before Sputnik, the Void Engineers have had their own satellite systems girding the Earth. Sleepers think of satellites as complex machines and marvel at their abilities. The technomancers know their true capabilities. They are massive techno-fetishes, enabling Monitors near the Horizon to sense the physical world. A few allow them to attack in the physical world too, but none allow them to actually materialize. Types of satellite monitors:

Communications Monitors

These indispensable devices provide Sleepers and technomancers alike with an easy means of moving information around the globe. All kinds of transmissions are carried, from TV to phone to computer data. Naturally, all is recorded and beamed to the New World Order.

Technomancers access the higher functions of these devices and the spirits attached to them. In the Umbra, the Communication Monitors appear as fractal balls made of metal with lightning playing over their surfaces. The satellites skirt the inside of the Horizon, and are connected by arching beams of energy which form a web of light that stretches farther than the eyes can see. There are rumors there this "Horizon Web" has an internal reality, much like the Digital Web has one in the Gauntlet. Contact with the beams causes violent Force effects. The Communications Monitors are not very effectual in a fight but defend themselves and the Horizon Web.

STR 1, DEX 3, STA 2
CHA 1, MAN 2, APP 0
PER 4, INT 3, WIT 2
Abilities: Alertness 2, Computer 4, Enigmas 3
Willpower 5, Arete 3, Quintessence 3, Paradox 0
Health Levels: OK / -2 / -3 / -5 / incapacitated

Attacks: Ram — the only physical attack these spirits have is to ram an opponent. This causes damage equal to their strength, but their powerfully electrified surface causes three additional dice to bring the total to four.

Magick: The Com. Monitors can use the following rote effects:

Secure Transmission Web (Entropy 2, Forces 3, Mind 3, Prime 2)
This is used as a massive communal magick that maintains the Horizon Web. It gives the web's strands the following properties:

• 4 countermagick dice vs. attempts to interrupt, read or alter inter-monitor signals
• Monitors are aware of any activation of the Countermagick
• A Forces 3 general-spectrum attack is made on anyone that contacts the Horizon Web

Injection (Corr. 3)
The Monitor self-digitizes and moves through the Horizon Web to a distant satellite.

Satellite Monitors

These spirits are highly valued by the Technocracy. They spy on both the Earth and the Deep Umbra, looking for enemy action. By circulating stories about the accuracy of spy satellites and having authorities refute them, sensor acuity is enough to read license plates and the like without fear of Paradox.

The Monitors associated with these satellites have a number of sensory abilities. In the Umbra they appear as metal, many-eyed insectoid creatures. They are slightly larger than man-size, and have beautiful solar panel wings.

STR 3, DEX 3, STA 3
CHA 2, MAN 2, APP 0
PER 5, INT 4, WIT 3
Abilities: Alertness 5, Awareness 4, Computer 3, cosmology 3, Enigmas 3
Willpower 5, Arete 5, Quintessence 5, Paradox 0
Health Levels: OK / -1x2 / -2x2 / -3 / -5 / incapacitated

Armor: The metal exoskeleton of the spirit gives it two dice of armor.

Attack: The spirit can attack with its razor-sharp proboscis, causing STR +1 damage.

Magick:

Monitor Gauntlet (Corr. 2, Entropy 1, Spirit 1, Time 2)
This rote lets the Monitor scan the Gauntlet and the Horizon. The rote searches out and predicts weaknesses and rifts, reporting them immediately to Void Engineer teams.

Monitor Earth (Corr. 2, Forces 1, Mind 1, Spirit 1)
This lets the Monitor extend its senses to the Earth. It can sense the entire electromagnetic spectrum with incredible accuracy and evaluate all it sees. Developing technologies to allows this to operate through weather disturbances has been an area of constant research.

Alert (Corr. 2, Forces 3, Prime 2)
With this rote a Spy Monitor accesses the Horizon Web and downloads information to Technocracy computers. Problems are red-flagged as are assaults on the Monitor itself.

Killer Monitors

The Void Engineers have relatively few of these combinations of huge spirits and powerful devices. They were launched during the Reagan "Star Wars" era and are orbital battle stations. None have been launched since SDI was discontinued and the Void Engineers are disgruntles when their allies deemed it necessary to discontinue the Sleeper projects which helped them place these without paradox.

In the Umbra, a single spirit is associated with each ASAT. These are shaped like thick, bloated worms. They are covered in metal to the extent that only they and the VE's know if they are not entirely technological. They have beaked mouths surrounded by a ring of clawed tentacles. They have various powerful weaponry.

They are universally guardians of areas of importance. Places where the Horizon is very weak, where an Umbral assault is predicted, where "white holes" the VE's have tapped are located and in the center of clusters of other monitors are likely locations for them.

STR 7, DEX 2, STA 8
CHA 2, MAN 2, APP 0
PER 4, INT 3, WIT 4
Abilities: Alertness 2, Athletics 2, Brawling 5, Firearms 5
Willpower 8, Arete 5, Quintessence 15+, Paradox 4
Health Levels: OKx3 / -1x3 / -2x2 / -3x2 / -4x2 / -5x2 / incapacitated

Armor: The metal plating gives the Monitor three extra soak dice.

Attacks:

• Bite — The killer Monitors can bite for ten dice of damage, but must grab the victim and put them in their mouth first.
• Tentacles — A Killer Monitor's six tentacles can be used without dividing its dice pool. The tentacles cause seven dice of crushing damage with a difficulty 7 attack. Attacking with more than one tentacle causes one more die of damage per tentacle. The claws can be used to cause 8 dice of damage with a difficulty 7 attack in place of a crushing attack.

Magick:

Over-Monitoring (Corr. 2, Entropy 1, Time 2)
This allows the killer monitors to watch over a large number of lesser monitors. Time allows it to predict where it will be needed. It is also receptive to messages sent by other Monitors and Void Engineers with high clearance.

Shock (Forces 3, Prime 2)
This simple Forces attack electrifies the spirit's skin like a Forces 3 attack. This causes 6 dice of damage. Anything grappling it that takes 3 dice or more will have to let go. It does affect those in its tentacles, but it can't crush at the same time without splitting its dice pool.

Laser / Particle Beam (Forces 5, Prime 2)
This powerful attack can only be used on distant targets or those in front of the creature's mouth. It causes 24 dice of damage and burns five points of quintessence in the blast.

Assign Aura Monitor: (Forces 5, Prime 2, Spirit 2)
This allows the Killer Monitor to assign an Aura Monitor, a type of monitor with less power and authority, to a target. Any one killer monitor will only have command of three of these at a time.

Aura Monitors

These Monitors traditionally have been the guardians of Void Engineer umbral research stations. Recently, at the urgings of fellow technomancers to become involved in the pogrom, the VE's have been using them as magickal assassins.

These spirits are composed entirely of complex energy fields and can be "projected" into the physical world through special Void Engineer equipment. They are often directed by Killer Monitors or high level Void Engineers to attack individuals who threaten their goals.

In appearance, these spirits are very beautiful. The are floating, shimmering curtains of multichromatic light. They are believed to originally have been nature spirits associated with the northern and southern lights, and are most populous at the poles even today.

STR 0, DEX 5, STA 4
CHA 3, MAN 1, APP 5
PER 2, INT 2, WIT 4
Abilities: Brawl 3, Cosmology 3
Willpower 5, Arete 4, Quintessence 8, Paradox 3
Health Levels: Ok / -1x2 / -2x2 / -3x2 / -5 / Terminally Disrupted

Attacks: While an Aura Monitor has no physical existence, it can cause the energies about its edges to briefly solidify. A quick slash while doing so makea a whip-like attack that causes 4 dice of damage with a difficulty of 6.

Magick:

Manifest (Spirit 3)
Unlike most Monitors, the Aura Monitors can make themselves seen and act in the material world.

Quantify Avatar (Prime 1)
The Monitor can sense strong Avatars. If attacking a group it attacks them preferentially.

Reform (Corr. 3, Spirit 3)
The Monitor can fade from its present location, dispersing its energies and reforming elsewhere in the Umbra.

Radiation Attack (Forces 3, Prime 2)
To perform this, the Monitor must perform a grapple (it has no strength, but this lets it superimpose itself over another). Once this is done it intensifies its own energies, causing damage due to radiation and microwaves, as well as electrical disruption. They prefer this attack, for it kills cleanly and leaves no external evidence as to the cause of death, as the damage is entirely internal. Progenitors can hush up any "natural-looking" death like this very easily, faking autopsies and the like.

Digital Monitors

See Restriction Monitors and Surge Monitors.