Sun Mar 21 '21 Announcement
about 3 years ago – Sun, Mar 21, 2021 at 11:45:24 AM

Hello Extraordinary Benefactors,

We're blasting through our final week, and very close to landing another Stretch Goal! Which is great for me, because I'm going to review our progress and next steps in a few days! Hopefully I'll get to talk about another achievement or two in that update.

But today, I'm going to make a quick post for all of those fans who haven't joined us quite  yet. Today, we've got a review of the Perks and Add On process for this Indiegogo campaign for those thinking of backing this project.

STEP 1: CHOOSE YOUR PERK

This Indiegogo campaign builds upon three core Perks:

1. Supporter - Choose this Perk if you want to support the campaign, but aren't interested in either the PDF or deluxe hardcover version of Victorian Mage at this time. You can select Add On perks with this reward, and you'll have full access to the post-campaign Pledge Manager, should you wish to update your options in the future.
2. Victorian Mage PDF - Choose this Perk if you're staying digital - either saving trees or saving shelf space. This Perk is built around the Victorian Mage PDF, and you can select any Add On perks and have full access to the post-campaign Pledge Manager.
3. Victorian Mage Deluxe Hardcover - Choose this Perk if you're interested in the limited edition Deluxe Hardcover version of this book. This Perk also includes the PDF version, and you can select any additional Add On perks and will have full access to the post-campaign Pledge Manager.

The first step in joining our campaign is to select your Perk. When you join us, you pledge a certain amount to support this campaign's main goal, which is the creation of a limited deluxe edition Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition: Victorian Age book and PDF. As thanks for your support, we offer perk rewards based on your level of funding pledged. The Perk descriptions outline the various rewards reflecting various levels of support pledged. Please note that perks including the deluxe hardcover may automatically add additional charges to cover shipping expenses.

PERK REWARDS

VICTORIAN MAGE PDF VERSION - The digital version of Victorian Mage, fulfilled by our partners at DriveThruRPG.com. Indiegogo contributors will receive a redemption link for an early version, before it goes on sale to the public. This initial "Backer Version" will be used to get feedback from the fans to make the final version the best that it can be. When it has been updated to the final version, it will be automatically added to your DriveThruRPG library and available for download at your convenience.

VICTORIAN MAGE DELUXE HARDCOVER VERSION - The main goal of this campaign is to fund the creation, production, and print run of a beautiful deluxe edition of the game. Note that all Perks that include the Hardcover version also include the PDF version as a bonus. Additional shipping charges are automatically added to your pledge by Indiegogo, based on your delivery location.

LISTED AS A SUPPORTER - Backer names will be listed in the Victorian Mage Deluxe Edition. There are a lot of names going into this book!

MANUSCRIPT PREVIEW E-MAILS – On Wednesday March 23rd, I'll be sending out the preview for Chapter 9 of the current draft manuscript. On Friday March 26th, I'll be sending out one final manuscript preview, combining all previously released sections into one master file. All supporters of this project will also receive a link to a feedback form that will help the development team shepherd the manuscript through the next stages of development and editing. Though the final version may change a bit based on your feedback, you will pretty much have a rough version of this book long before anyone else.

DISCOUNTED PRINT-ON-DEMAND OPTION –  For Victorian Mage, you will have the option of using DriveThruRPG.com’s Print-On-Demand service to purchase a physical, printed copy directly from their PoD partners at a discounted rate (this cost is not included in your pledge, and you do not need to increase the cost of your contribution to use this option). When the PoD versions are available to order (which will be some time after the book has gone to print), you will receive links to purchase these versions of the book from DriveThruRPG.com. You DO NOT need to take advantage of this PoD offer as it does not affect in any way your Perk rewards.

FULL ACCESS IN PLEDGE MANAGER - After the campaign is over we'll launch BackerKit, our post-campaign pledge manager, and invite the contributors to confirm their perks via survey. This allows you to confirm your perks and add on anything that you might have missed, as well as possibly increasing your pledged reward tier, should you choose to expand your perk selection. This option will give international backers additional time to investigate shipping options, should they choose, knowing they can confirm a physical reward at a later date. 

I know that many backers were eager to join the campaign, but also interested in seeing more about the book before any larger commitments were made. Since Indiegogo collects your support pledge when you confirm your Perk, it's not easy to modify your pledge after the fact. In Backerkit, you'll be able to upgrade if you decided to move from Supporter to PDF or Hardcover version, as well as adding in any Add On optional rewards that you've decided to grab at a later time.

The only other option that I know of for altering your pledge at this time is to cancel your current pledge and then re-pledge with a new Perk selection. That has the benefit of getting everything locked in early, but BackerKit will allow flexibility and we won't process any charges until the Victorian Mage book is finalized and preparing for distribution. 

So, if you're interested and hesitant, I suggest pledging at the $5 Supporter tier to ensure full access to rewards and options when the BackerKit pledge manager is launched.

STEP 2: CHOOSE ANY ADD-ONS

After you've chosen your Perk you will see a menu of additional reward options that you can select before your final confirmation. Each can be added to your DriveThruRPG.com digital library via a special redemption link that will be sent out as part of our perk fulfillment plan.

MAGE: THE ASCENSION 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION PDF (+$20) - Available from our partners at DriveThruRPG.com, The M20 rulebook is required to make full use of the rules and options presented in Victorian Mage. 

M20 THE BOOK OF SECRETS PDF (+$10) - For mages who think they have everything, this trove of treasures expands upon the wealth of material presented throughout Mage: The Ascension’s 20th Anniversary Edition. New Traits, new rules, essays, answers, information… the Secrets are revealed within. 

M20 HOW DO YOU DO THAT? PDF (+$10) - Unlike any previous Mage sourcebook, How Do You DO That? strips away the series' trademark ambiguities and deals straight-up with the raw rule systems behind Mage's magick rules, Dividing a multitude of uncanny feats into 10 general categories.

M20 GODS & MONSTERS PDF (+$10) - This compendium of companions, divinities and beasts presents dozens of characters and creatures for your M20 saga.

"MAGES THROUGH THE AGES" PDF BUNDLE  (+$15) - A collection of two historical sourcebooks from previous editions of Mage: The Ascension. This bundle includes the Mage: Sorcerer's Crusade PDF and Dark Ages: Mage PDF.

"VICTORIAN VAMPIRES" PDF BUNDLE (+$20) - A trio of Vampire sourcebooks set during the Victorian Age. This bundle includes the Victorian Age Vampire PDF, the Victorian Age Vampire: London by Night PDF, and the Sunset Empires PDF.

In addition to these optional digital rewards, we've got one more option that can only be added to the Deluxe Book perk (because it includes shipping!).

VICTORIAN MAGE STORYTELLER REFERENCE SCREEN (+$20) - A sturdy, three-panel screen featuring a collage of Victorian Mage art on the outer side, and a selection of charts and other reference info on the inside to make running a Victorian-focused M20 game session a little bit easier. This Perk can only be added to contributions that include the deluxe hardcover (and thus include shipping).

Once you've picked your Perk and chosen your Add-Ons, you will be asked for a final confirmation and your supporting pledge will be processed by Indiegogo.

While we will have a pre-order option for those who are unable to participate in this Indiegogo project, joining in with our crowdfunding campaign before the March 25 conclusion provides the following benefits:

• You'll have full access in the BackerKit Pledge Manager and the ability to upgrade your pledge and add on additional rewards
• You'll be listed as a supporter in the Deluxe Victorian Mage book
• You'll be eligable to have any unlocked Stretch Goal rewards added to your Perk Reward list as a bonus!  

So, as my final note to all of those who've been curious but not yet jumped on this train - if you're interested but hesitant, I suggest pledging for the $5 supporter tier that'll allow upgrade options in the post-campaign Pledge Manager. And, if you pledge before Wednesday, you'll be included in our draft manuscript preview mailing and able to read the entire current manuscript and provide feedback to the development team!

We're closing in on 1,100 backers and have 4 days left in this campaign! We've done extraordinarly well, and I'm eager to see how much more excitement we'll have before Thursday afternoon!

#M20VA
#VictorianMage

Fri Mar 19 '21 Announcement
about 3 years ago – Fri, Mar 19, 2021 at 08:56:23 AM

Hello Extraordinary Benefactors.

We're absolutely in our final week, and here on the final friday of the campaign.

Over the weekend, I'll have an update for all potential backers, looking at our verious pledge Perks and then the Add Ons you can customize your reward with. So, look for that Sunday.

But today's quick update will follow up on a bit from yesterday, because...

WE'VE UNLOCKED 11 STRECH GOALS!

At $85,000 in funding – VTT Tokens & Assets Pack – Digital assets will be created to support online play for Victorian Mage, including character and antagonist tokens. This online asset pack will be added to the rewards list of all funding contributors to this project.

With this achievement, we've unlocked a token set that will include characters from the Victorian Mage book, representing allies and antagonists to help out with online play.

I'll be reviewing all of our Stretch Goal rewards and the projects we've added next week before the campaign ends, but this allows us to announce a couple more goals before then!

Real talk on Stretch Goals.

I know we all want a bunch of books to spin out of this project - certainly Terry Robinson has had an awesome campaign expressign his interest in exploring the Victorian Umbra! There are a ton of potential new directions and avenues to explore in the Victorian Age, not just for Mage: The Ascension, but possibly for other parts of the World of Darkness 20th Anniversary line. 

Before we dig too deep into those dreams, though, I just want to quickly note that big projects like that - those that explore parts of the Victorian Age beyond the borders of this book - are likely bigger projects that we'd be able to squeeze into our bonus format for this project. Some of the ideas we've shared in the comments will likely take time to percolate before being approved by the license holders (Paradox/White Wolf). I think the approved stretch goal projects for this campaign are a little more geared towards support of the M20: Victorian Age book and expanding on the contents within rather than building up the world alongside the book. 

At least that's my reading as someone with no insider knowledge, but just what I've gleaned from reading the weekly Onyx Path Monday Notes. That said, it's clear our desire for more Mage: The Ascension is being observed! After a successful campaign for M20: Technocracy Reloaded last May, and the amazing launch of this Victorian Mage campaign, the M20: Book of Traditions was added to Onyx Path's project list back on March 8th! 

Clearly, these campaigns are having success generating projects beyond just those approved to be Stretch Goal rewards! So, please continue to share your enthusiasm and ideas for additional projects you'd like to see for Mage: The Ascension in the comments - I know that Onyx Path's developers are listening and taking notes, and hopefully those will turn into additional pitches that may eventually get approved by the license holder.

And, in the meantime, let's see if we can't improve our main reward by making it even more beautiful, and then expanding on our most recent Stretch Goal success.

At $90,000 in funding – Art Budget Increase – We’ll be able to increase the art budget for the Victorian Mage book, adding even more epic illustrations and intriguing artwork!

At $95,000 in funding – VTT Tokens & Assets Pack Expanded – Additional assets will be created to support online play for Victorian Mage, including additional tokens based on the Jumpstart and Unusual Characters supplements. This online asset pack will be added to the rewards list of all funding contributors to this project.

I'll be reviewing our Stretch Goal achievements next week before the campaign comes to it's conclusion. I think we'll be able to add one more Stretch Goal before the end... and potentially reveal one more supplemental goal that is being hammered out right now... and absolutely demonstrate our passion and interest in the M20 line!

And if these funding targets look big and difficult to achieve (though they're really not, and well within reach!), don't worry - we're going to extend the campaign for announced Stretch Goals into the post-campaign Pledge Manager portion of this project. That means any funds raised in the first few months in BackerKit after this campaign ends will still count towards those targets! I'll have more information about how that'll work next week when we look at Stretch Goals.

So, if you've been interested in the Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition: The Victorian Age book (Victorian Mage!), you've got less than a week to jump on and have these Stretch Goal rewards added as a bonus to your order. Please join us and help us unlock these last few rewards... and maybe more!

#M20VA
#VictorianMage

Thu Mar 18 '21 Announcement
about 3 years ago – Thu, Mar 18, 2021 at 09:11:59 AM

Hello Extraordinary Benefactors,

We're officially in the final week of this Indiegogo campaign.

I know many of us were nervous when this project first launched, wondering if the M20 fans and Onyx Path supporters would discover it on this platform.

Well, with a week to go, we can certainly see the success! This campaign has now surpassed 1,000 backers (we're at 1,013 as I type this!), and we're closing in quickly on our ELEVENTH Stretch Goal.

That's right, we've recently unlocked the third and final stage of our Bizarre Tales & Unusual Characters PDF supplement:

That means all backers receiving the Victorian Mage book as one of their perks will also recieve two brand new supplements for M20: VA that we've unlocked via Stretch Goal. Both the Victorian Mage Jumpstart and the Bizarre Tales & Unusual Characters PDF supplements will be added to your perks list as a bonus! 

If you're like me, this past year has involved more online gaming than ever before. It's not always as much fun as being with my group in-person, but I'll take what I can get. And every little tool that makes it easier has been a huge help. 

At $85,000 in funding – VTT Token Pack – Digital assets will be created to support online play for Victorian Mage, including character and antagonist tokens from this book. This online asset pack will be added to the rewards list of all funding contributors to this project.

We're approaching this goal quickly! Once we unlock these digital assets, we'll reveal our next set of Stretch Goals. I'm confident we'll be able to add a 12th ... or even a lucky 13th! Stretch Goal within the next week. And maybe more? A handful of really solid days will get us there, and the final week always bring excitement!

The true impetus behind this post, though, is our big push during this final week! Together, we've done the hard work of this campaign - we've come together to fund the development and production of this book - so now it's time to make sure that we're not missing any potential backers.

Be an Ambassador

I know, this is something I've already said many times (and seem to say during every project!), but for this final week, you are officially a duly-deputized ambassador for this Indiegogo project. It's time to spread the magick and invite others to join in on our tradition! Or something that fits the themes of this book - you get it. Basically, we want to recruit as many interested backers as possible over this final week.

I know I've said "Keep spreading the word! Invite others to join in!" - but what does that mean, and how do you do it?

Easy answer - don't stop talking about Victorian Mage until next Thursday March 25th (when the campaign has ended). Yes, we've all heard about it and read each chapter as it comes across our e-mail, but there are others who haven't yet heard or don't know about the campaign.

And with this campaign switching up from Onyx Path's usual pattern, there's a good chance some M20 fans have just missed it. So, please continue to spread the word in your social circles and on your social media. And let's keep talking about Victorian Mage around the 'net and at these Onyx Path discussion zones:

• Onyx Path's Mage: The Ascension Forum
• Onyx Path's Discord
• Onyx Path on Reddit
• Onyx Path's Facebook

Let's make sure all of the M20 fans know about the campaign, and let's see if we can't unlock another Stretch Goal or two in the next week.

For those who've been thinking about backing but haven't quite joined in yet, I'll be reviewing some of the perks and potential Add Ons over the weekend, and next week we'll also look at our Stretch Goal progress and talk about how we're going to extend revealed Stretch Goal targets into our post-camapign process for a limited time.

But you've got to join in to reap the Stretch Goal benefits! So, please keep checking us out over this last week, and let's hope that everyone who's interested in supporting M20 and wants to travel into the Victorian Age has an opportunity to join us on this adventure!

#M20VA
#VictorianMage

Tue Mar 16 '21 Announcement
about 3 years ago – Tue, Mar 16, 2021 at 10:24:21 AM

Hello Extraordinary Benefactors,

I've got another preview of some text from Chapter 9 today, our setting chapter for Victorian Mage. If you've backed this project, you'll see the full draft text for this chapter in 8 days!

Tomorrow, we'll have the draft manuscript preview for Chapters 7 and 8 e-mailed out to all backers tomorrow. 

Chapter Seven: Storytelling the Victorian Fantastic provides suggestions and assistance for running campaigns and creating scenarios in the Victorian Era, including incorporating a wealth of ideas and tropes from popular Victorian fiction, ranging from Westerns to early science fiction by Jules Verne or H. G. Wells, to strange tales of distant locales.

Chapter Eight: Dangerous to Know includes a wealth of information about antagonists and other Storyteller characters, including Marauders, Nephandi, and various corrupt secret societies. This chapter also explores the worlds of the other supernatural creatures magi are likely to encounter, whether ancient vampire noble or angry working class werewolf. Finally, it contains brief write-ups of some of the diversity of Sleepers characters might encounter, from dissolute aristocrats to cowboys and abolitionists.

If you want to get a chance to read these chapters this week and provide feedback to the creative team, please join in and support our campaign by the end of the day today. I'll be pulling the list of backers tomorrow morning to send out our Week 4 mailing.

But now, let's jump ahead (by reading about the past?) to Week 5, with this preview...

Industrial Revolution

While mass immigration does prove to be a boon for the Traditions, the Order of Reason eventually takes full advantage of large population centers with urgent needs. Sanitation and famine are key initial challenges that allow the Order to demonstrate the potential success of their policies. In their desperation, the masses more readily accept strange, alien, and complicated processes that miraculously produce consistent results. Repeating cycles of illuminating (and sometimes creating) social challenges, providing solutions, and releasing reproducible methods to the public becomes the Order’s trusted method of entwining themselves in these growing countries.

The Order’s many Conventions enter an era of rampant growth, and more importantly firmly establish themselves in American society. Introducing and influencing new technologies will get the Order only so far, but active cooperation between the Conventions solidify the masses’ needs for their conveniences. Advancements in manufacturing paper and printing processes enable unprecedented levels of propaganda and targeted education. Quickly shipping huge quantities of food, materials, and manufactured goods supports more abstract management of wealth too complicated for the lay person to manage — yet convinces the common citizen millions of dollars routinely move from one hand to the next in order to keep the cities running. Perhaps the greatest tool in the Order’s plan for domination, the cooperation between railroad expansion and telegraph development promise a firm grasp over the entire continent.

The combination of those two industries reinforce one of the Order’s primary objectives: globalization. Being able to move goods or people across vast distances in a short amount of time, and nearly instantaneous communication between any two points, combine to create an infrastructure the mystics in the Traditions simply cannot compete with. However, even the Order of Reason cannot easily realize a massive project such as the Transcontinental Railroad. Early locomotives, no matter how many advancements are designed to prevent breakdowns and no matter how many legions of workers descend on the land to build the tracks, frequently conflict with the territories of the wilderness and their resistance to the technomantic paradigm. Should the encroachment of rail across the countries be met by more organized resistance capable of reinforcing an area’s predominant paradigm, plans to lay a web of railroads across the continent will face real danger.

Less tangible advancements also place the Order of Reason at advantage. Standardization allows progress towards globalization and, more importantly, widespread acceptance of anything related to the specific benchmarks the Order desires to introduce. Uniform use and measurement of machine tools brings unprecedented collaboration on an industrial scale. Establishing commonly agreed-upon time zones lets the Order project, plan, and coordinate projects of epic proportions. Introducing and using such high concepts might permanently place Tradition magi on the defense unless enough people doubt the veracity of the Order’s achievements.

The Gilded Age

Reconstruction and post-war booms usher in the golden age of the Victorian era. Some regions enjoy a reprieve from widespread warfare for a few decades, and many nations experience surges in economic and social development. America’s “Gilded Age” develops from social, economic, and technological changes building upon each other at astonishing rates. Rapid steam-powered transportation allows even distant parts of the country to receive manufactured goods and floods urban centers with necessary foodstuffs from any farm able to meet such needs. Increases in consumer demand and the cities’ capacity to produce labor results in rising wages and standards of living. Standing on the backs of the men and women producing the goods, a privileged few take control of the country. Eager scions of the Order’s guilds attach themselves to the American behemoth. Feeding on avarice and aggression, luminaries respond only by infecting the system with methods to control.

Urbanization sweeps across North America. Coastal cities reach for the skies in towering skyscrapers and extend their roots deep underground with complex sanitation systems and twisting subways. The British Crown urges the Canadian Provinces into policies that ironically mirror the United States to their south, subjugating French and First Nations’ cultures. Land grants bestow hundreds of thousands of immigrants, freed slaves, and displaced veterans with free land — suppressing the last resistance Native Americans can muster. The United States government and their new robber baron titans of industry form sinister partnerships and conspire to simply purchase or enthrall everything that prevents them from ruling over all they survey.

The reckless growth and economic policies result in terrible inequalities of wealth. Coupled with institutionalized (upheld by the Federal government!) racism, abuses of entire immigrants’ communities create appalling levels of poverty. This does, however, work to galvanize more mystics and magi from the various Traditions and Crafts opposing the juggernaut conventions in the Order of Reason. With each wave of immigration washing up on America’s shores, more and more people turn to the traditions and faiths of their forebears. Without power, wealth, or basic rights, the cast-offs from “civilized society” band together for survival and to celebrate independence from addictive temptations offered to the masses sympathetic to the Order.

As much as the Awakened gather under various philosophical or religious banners, the Order’s conventions experience daily victories. Wondrous technology astounds the average citizen and inspires them to imagine and anticipate the next miracle of science. Unimaginable amounts of wealth trade hands without the appearance of a single dollar bill; such abstract determination of wealth culminates with stock markets, complexities of high finance, and other institutions the lay person accepts without understanding. Indeed, the Order’s crowning achievement in America proves their dominance over all other methodologies. Wall Street — the concept and collective activities — provides the Order with the same potent support and guidance as the mightiest of celestial hosts bestows upon the pious. Wealth and greed replace gods and prayers.

Battle lines, however, are not always clearly drawn. The Awakened may be wise and aware of the world’s many aspects, but they are still human. Growing societies find priorities and moralities crossing each other and intersecting with unpredictable results. Electorates elevate politicians and civil servants as moral examples, yet the people depend on their “leaders” to monitor and manage economic issues, large and small. Such a conflict of interest, sooner or later, allows the propagation of unchecked, selfish endeavors. Unfortunately, mundane society has trouble being led astray by the corrupt and the wicked. Some magi and scientists also change their overall mission when they discover unintended consequences or recognize their own hubris.  With the prospect of cultures vanishing via assimilation (or destruction), entire groups of Awakened doubt why they accept their place within the growing conflict of ideologies. With doubt comes dissent… and even more impassioned reactions.

Frequent clashes around the nation’s development (subdual, some insist) test the cultures and communities the Awakened battle over. Even if on a subconscious or spiritual level, mundane society reacts to the subtle manipulations they endure. Corruption, civil unrest, and calls for sweeping changes certainly happen without the presence of the hidden Conventions and Traditions, but the charged machinations of magi can shift the balance of public opinion and calls to action. Important issues are at stake, especially deep into the so-called Gilded Age. Rampant (and exceedingly violent) racism rages across the nation, supported by legislation “protecting” American interests. Overbearingly patriarchal society disgustingly and easily pushes women’s rights aside. The stranglehold of two-party politics fosters widespread and firmly entrenched corruption though every level of government.

Every step of the way, the Awakened attempt to guide the tumult towards a future that favors their missions. Guilds, Crafts, and Traditions swell with aspirants and apprentices from every class, origin, and creed. All of the factions must face the prospect of managing the chaos within their ranks before their adversaries exploit that disarray.

Fight for the Future

As the century closes, the Awakened feel tensions building. Conflict threatens the souls of men and women on the streets and in the farms across North America. Those old enough to remember the Civil War, bloody conflicts with Native Americans, and the Mexican-American War are mostly marginalized by the country’s unimaginably rapid changes. Policy-makers, social leaders, and average residents just trying to eke out a comfortable life are ill-prepared for true conflict on the world’s stage. Magi may similarly lack organization and focus to properly prepare themselves for the next onslaught of tactics and maneuvers designed to expel culture from society. A single cabal or Chantry, however, could be capable of giving just enough of a push to the era’s precarious balance of power.

Everyone — Awakened and asleep — knows a battle is brewing. How will the magi and enlightened scientists in America fire the first shots of the next century’s Ascension War?

#M20VA
#VictorianMage

Mon Mar 15 '21 Announcement
about 3 years ago – Mon, Mar 15, 2021 at 09:30:58 AM

Hello Extraordinary Benefactors,

We're supposedly in the quiet middle of this crowdfunding campaign, the time that's supposed to be a bit slower before we kick back into high gear during our final week. But it certainly doesn't seem like it. We've been gaining backers and support throughout this campaign, and we're getting closer to our next Stretch Goal AND maybe even hitting 1,000 backers! Astounding!

We're going to dig back into our "Around  the World in 8 Days" tour today with another quick excerpt from Chapter 9, which will be sent to all backers in our Week 5 preview in 9 days! We've still got some time to go in this campaign, and therefore still time to join in, but it seems to be going by very quickly! 

The Decline and Modernization of the Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire is a constant arena for change and conflict in this century, competing with the rising empires of Germany and Russia and struggling to suppress and appease multiple burgeoning rebellions. At the same time the Broken Wheel, a group of Euthanatoi watching the Empire’s descent into entropy, impedes the Choristers and Ahl-i-Batin residing there.

During the Tanzimat or ‘reorganization’ period (1839–1876), the government's constitutional reforms lead to a modern conscripted army, the decriminalization of homosexuality, the replacement of religious law with secular law, and guilds with modern factories. These changes limited the overall influence of the dominant Muslim faith. The Choristers and Batini in the major cities soon see this as a benefit, as less dogmatic oversight from the local faiths grants them flexibility in how to interpret their rites and eases their ability to work together.

During this time the order of the Broken Wheel becomes active in the Empire. A fringe group of eight Euthanatoi, these magi adhere closely to the words of Senex; it is humans, not their science, which corrupts the world and its magick. They see imperialism as an illness of the world, and societal collapse as a communal fever designed to fight off the disease. Over the latter half of the century they record the wars and rebellions of the Ottoman Empire, noting the nationalist rivalries between the principalities. Insistent on seeing how the Masses invoked the powers of Entropy, the Broken Wheel works in secret to limit the efforts by other Enlightened and Awakened orders to stabilize the Empire. The Broken Wheel does not care if the Empire thrives or deteriorates, only that it is permitted to change at the hands of the Masses until it either crumbles to dust or learns to transcend its own sickened state. At the same time, the Choristers and Batini strive for common purpose, hoping to reconcile their own competing ideologies in the process. This is not an easy process. The Christian population of the empire, owing to their higher educational levels, control more of the Empire’s wealth than the Muslim majority, leading to resentment in the communities. This growing class divide increases further in 1853 as the Crimean War drives Muslim refugees south into Ottoman-controlled territory. The financial burden of the war leads the Ottoman state to issue extensive foreign loans as Circassians and Crimean Tatars seek refuge from the Russian Empire. This influx forces the Ottoman Empire to overhaul and modernize its education system and promote the ideals of Turkish nationalism, both of which heavily disrupt the consensus of the region.

The Tanzimat reforms do not halt the rising animosity in the principality regions, many of which have been semi-independent for almost six decades. As the Ottoman state attempts to modernize its infrastructure and army in response to threats from the outside, it also opens itself up to a different kind of threat: creditors. The Ottoman state, in debt after the Crimean War, is forced to declare bankruptcy in 1875. In the same year the tributary principalities of Serbia and Montenegro, and the United Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, unilaterally declare their independence. The Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) ends with a decisive victory for Russia and her Orthodox Christian allies within the Ottoman Empire. Bulgaria is established as an independent principality inside the Ottoman Empire and Romania achieves full independence. Austria-Hungary unilaterally occupies the Ottoman provinces of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Novi Pazar. Relations falter between the Choristers and the Batini within the Empire, both frustrated at their own lack of agency, neither fully aware of the efforts of the Broken Wheel in their midst. Representatives of the Conventions refuse to speak with each other, and the Ahl-i-Batin withdraw even further from the European politics of the Council of Traditions.

In the aftermath of the Russo-Turkish War the Congress of Berlin is held, a meeting of leading statesmen across Europe's great powers and the Ottoman Empire. They address the urgent need to stabilize and reorganize the Balkans and set up new nations. International boundaries are adjusted to minimize the risks of major war, while also recognizing the reduced power of the Ottomans and balancing the distinct interests of the great powers. British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli advocates for restoring the Ottoman territories on the Balkan Peninsula during the Congress of Berlin, and in return Britain assumes the administration of Cyprus in 1878. By 1881, the Ottoman Empire agrees to surrender its debt management to an institution known as the Ottoman Public Debt Administration, a council of European men with presidency alternating between France and Britain. The administration controls most of the Ottoman economy and uses its position to ensure European capital continues to penetrate the empire, often to the detriment of local Ottoman interests. As a result, Ottoman holdings in Europe decline sharply.

As the Ottoman Empire shrinks the Muslim population and its culture also dwindle, with millions migrating to Anatolia and Eastern Thrace. Returning soldiers introduce a cholera epidemic to the city, and migrating communities are soon found dying at the roadside. The Awakened fare no better; four members of the Ahl-i-Batin succumb to apparently unnatural sicknesses while aiding the Masses in their forced migrations. Their colleagues in Istanbul, convinced of betrayal from the Choristers, retaliate with a series of ambushes, escalating into open conflict by the close of 1896. Within two months, with the city descending into riots and instances of the Straits destroying portions of the western wall and the main square, the Awakened of Istanbul flee the city.

The decay of one of the oldest empires of Europe emboldens the Broken Wheel to bring their findings to their fellows in the Euthanatoi. They speak with conviction about the potential for the Awakened to dissolve the great nations, to actively push for this change. They argue that societal collapse can be weaponized to restore consensus and prevent the Technocratic Union’s growing stranglehold over the continent. Throughout all this their peers are impassive, and then perturbed when Archmagus Senex presents himself at the Broken Wheel’s symposium. After the magi conclude their findings Senex sits in silent solitude for over nine hours before calling his councilors to discuss the matter privately. When he returns, he commands the Euthanatoi of the Broken Wheel to return to Istanbul and await further guidance. Over the coming year, six of the eight members of the Broken Wheel disappear without explanation, and the remaining two, Niketas and Helena, are brought to Senex’s Chantry, Cerberus, in the Deep Umbra. Senex does not speak on their fate, whether they came to him as students or as prisoners, and he never declares his views on whether their interpretation of the Great Wheel is correct. Ultimately, the Euthanatoi take this as a warning not to wield the words of their masters in vain, lest their pursuit of destruction become too successful.

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