So, IMS, House Tremere, conscious that it doesn't have the raw power or special abilities of other magi, compensate partly by making ample use of mundanes, which, contrary to the time of a mage, are cheap ans easily available. Likewise, they remember the Spider Wars and the Ordo Miscellanea and don't disregard the power of hedge mages. If something can be done by an edgie, it saves the time of a Tremere Mage.
This gave me 2 ideas:
- Project: Silver Crow
The idea is simple: Preparing for threats is great, seeing them coming is better. So, what's a Tremere to do? Take people with Precognitive abilities (Visions, or Premonitions, but even simple Intuition is better than random guessing) from all over Mythic Europe, as a vast net, and try to find a common point in their divinations. Also, have a bunch of scholars do Inceptions on all kind of topics. If you want some independant confirmation, try out the mages initiated in the Mysteries of Divination and Augury. That way, if something big (like the Mongol Horde) is coming, you should have some advance warning.
That's Project: Silver Crow (Silver is good for Intellego, and crows are believed to be able to see the future). It opens all kind of story hooks:
- A Tremere PC may be tasked to finding and "colllecting" seers, or to be initiated in Divination
- a Character close to the PCs interests the House, especially if they are a "reliable" precog (Meaning someone with Divine abilities).
- it is easy for demons to engineer false prophets, or give false Visions to someone, which may make the House an unwitting tool of the Infernal. It'd probably try to prevent this by stashing as many precogs as possible in a "safe" place, preferably with regular Room DEO. Not that said precogs, or their friends and families, would agree.
- a Tremere PC may be given a weird task, based on someone's visions, such as "the daughter of the count mustn't marry the Baron!"
- If The Church hears about this, there'll probably be some tension... Could House Tremere be endangering the Order?
- given the magnitude of the threat, how could the Mongol Horde be perceived by various seers? And how would the House react?
- Packs
Vexillations are great, but out there, you're often on your own, without your sodales. So, the House encourage magi to surround themselves with a "pack" of talented mundanes, following the classic roles of a Runner party, itself inherited from the A-Team: The Fighter (axe and dice), the Face (social skills and charm), the carrier (someone who knows how to handle horses/ carriage/ ships) and the Ace ( someone with Supernatural abilities, like Shapeshifter or a bunch of minor virtues, hopefullly an hedge wizard. The idea is to surprise the opposition with something they don't expect).
A pack should be able to operate on its own, possibly without leaving traces leading to their Tremere overseer, but they are indispensable support. Possible hooks:
- hired hedgies resent not having the protection of the Parma
- House Ex Miscelllanea could be a treasure trove of untapped potential. Diplomatic overtures would, obviously, need to be made, if scars left from the Schism War could be healed.
I had more ideas, but I'm getting real sleepy. Hope this interests someone?
