View source for Chantry/ Construct (mage V20)

;[[Mage Information]]
== <span style="color:#4B0082;"> Chantry/ Construct ==
In the hazardous world of the Awakened, it’s always a good
idea to have some like-minded associates and a stronghold
with some fair security. Since the Golden Age of Wizardry,
such places have been called Covenants: centers where a group
of allied mages stake out territory, consolidate resources, and
agreed to assist and defend one another when need be. In later
years, the Order of Reason adopted that idea and built the
Technocratic Union around that principle. By the 20 th century,
Tradition mages call those places Chantries, the Union calls them
Constructs, and other mages call them by whatever sounds like
a culturally appropriate name (temple, lodge, mosque, etc.).

In game terms, a Chantry or Construct is a base of
operations. A character with this Background belongs to such
a base and has certain benefits from, and responsibilities to,
the group that maintains that base. Most Technocratic agents
belong to a Construct by default – that’s just how the Union
operates. Mystic mages have a more of a choice about such
things, but many of them belong to Chantries as a matter of
practicality. There is strength in numbers, after all.

Because '''Mage'''’s character-creation rules assume that beginning
characters are new to the Awakened game, a character with this
Background begins as a low-ranking member of an established
stronghold. She gets the benefit of a belonging to a group of older
and more experienced peers (who are probably Storyteller-run
characters), but starts off at the bottom of the pecking order too.
The elders have her doing errands and chores around the Chantry,
and she lacks political clout within the group. Growing beyond
that stage is one of the keys to a young mage’s journey.

A group of mystic mages can also create their own Chantry,
an option that’s not open to Technocratic operatives. (The
Union frowns on such individualism.) By pooling points among
the members, the group can assemble the resources necessary
to build a place of its own. In game terms, these construction
points reflect time, money, favors, labor, and other things spent
in the process of establishing the stronghold. (A point-based
building system was included in '''The Book of Chantries''', but
that system has since been discarded.) The more points the
group assembles, the larger the Chantry can become.

:Secure Squat -- 10-20 point pool
:Small Sanctuary -- 21-30 point pool
:Mystic Chantry -- 30-70 point pool
:Stronghold -- 71-100 point pool
:Power Center -- 101+ point pool

A Chantry or Construct can take whatever form seems
appropriate. One might be a rural woodland grove; another
could be an abandoned movie theater; a third may be a
secluded mad laboratory; and a fourth sets up shop in an office
building, Viking long-house, law firm, or machine shop. Low-
level Chantries and Constructs have a few mundane resources
– some magickal wards, a security system, perhaps a handful
of unAwakened aides, communication services, and so forth.
At the Mystic Chantry level, the place can get a few paranormal
trappings: scrying pools, portals to Horizon Realms, spirit
guardians, that sort of thing. Strongholds and Power Centers have
extensive mundane and magickal/ hypertech resources; such
places should be hashed out in detail with the Storyteller and
demand huge investments of time, power, labor, and materials.

The stability of this pool depends on the continued
cooperation and survival of the contributors. If a mage quits or
gets killed, his points are lost. If the entire group fractures, all
points are lost and the Chantry dissolves. Surviving members
might pool some experience points and make up the difference
for the lost contribution. Otherwise, that Chantry joins the
many broken fellowships and strongholds sprinkled throughout
mage history.

Incidentally, other Backgrounds that are connected to
the Chantry must be purchased separately. The following
Backgrounds may be added to a Chantry: Allies, Arcane, Backup,
Cult, Familiar, Influence, Library, Mentor, Node, Patron, Retainers,
Resources, Spies, and Wonder. For details about combining
Background points toward a shared Background Trait, see
'''Pooling Backgrounds''', (pp.301-302).

:X -- No place to call home.
:•• -- One pool point or membership in a tiny Squat.
:•••• -- Two pool points or membership in a small Sanctuary.
:••••• • -- Three pool points or membership in an average Chantry or Construct.
:••••• ••• -- Four pool points or membership in a Stronghold.
:••••• ••••• -- Five pool points or membership in a Power Center.
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https://www.scribd.com/document/72118259/White-Wolf-Mage-the-Ascension-Book-of-Chantries
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