Library (mage V20)
Library
Wow... do people even need books in the Internet Age? Well, yes, actually. Although the Internet has a near-infinite supply of information, there’s still plenty of information that’s available only in books. Especially when you’re dealing with esoteric, mystic, historical, or academic information, a good library can offer data that no net search can uncover. As much as new-millennium mages learn to appreciate the Internet (or else suffer for the lack of that appreciation), hard-copy archives are still essential to the serious student of the magickal Arts and Enlightened hypersciences.
In the late 20 th and early 21 st centuries, this Background Trait reflects access to a multimedia archive that’s vital to that particular mage. An old-fashioned magus might shake his gray head at all that Internet foolishness, but even he will probably still have photographs, record albums, film reels, and probably even *gasp!* DVDs, CDs or MP3s in his archive, if only because so much of the last century has been recorded in such media. An urban witch might have a small but significant collection of classical magick tomes or old ‘60s-era psychedelic magazines to compliment his broadband connection, and even the most sublime transhumanist retains a few dog-eared copies of Mondo 2000 or Piss Clear in her collection. The exact nature of your Library, then, will depend upon your personality and yet give you unrestricted access to an impressive amount of information when you need it.
Because your Library Background is based around a store of useful information for your mage, it includes material that helps you research your chosen Abilities and Spheres. You’ll need to add to your collection from time to time when learning about new topics (no wonder mages tend to be inveterate data- hounds), but then you’ll be able to research topics dealing with those Traits by making successful Mental Trait + Library rolls. Such research, of course, demands time and effort... and with bigger archives, both that time and effort can be substantial!
To reflect enormous archives, this Background can go above 5. A tight-knit and trusting group can also pool this Background, creating truly impressive archives. In this case, the group’s Library Background equals the Library Background of the highest-rated member of that group, plus one dot for each additional contributor. (A cabal whose members have, respectively, Library ratings of 3, 2, 2, and 1 would have a total combined Library Background of 6.) After all, a combined archive will have redundant material... and how many copies of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban do you really need?
For information about Raising and Learning Traits, see the section of that name later in this chapter, (pp. 336-337).
- X -- Those copies of Cosmo won’t help you learn Spheres.
- • -- You’ve got a few New Age paperbacks.
- •• -- Lots of fiction, little substance.
- ••• -- There’s some useful stuff in there when you go digging for it.
- •••• -- Your collection of arcane data is respectable.
- ••••• -- You’ve got a pretty decent collection of diverse lore.
- ••••• • -- You enjoy a huge personal archive.
- ••••• •• -- Your database features extensive written, recorded, and virtual information.
- ••••• ••• -- You’re got full access to a national archive.
- ••••• •••• -- You enjoy unrestricted access to personal, national, and classified databases.
- ••••• ••••• -- Given enough time (and assistance), you can access almost anything that’s been written
down and stored. You might not understand it (damn those codes, lost languages, and foreign tongues!), but you could probably find it.
