Chicago, IL - USA, Strange Crossroads

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Chronicle Info

Not Probationary
Satellite Chronicle
Parent Chronicle (If Satellite): Chicago, IL - USA, New Moon Rising

Genre(s): Mage, Other

Number of Players: 0-9 players

Premise: Setting
This Chronicle is set in the post-Ascension War (i.e. Mage: the Ascension 20th-Anniversary) World of Darkness, primarily in what’s considered in Real Life™ to be the northwestern suburbs of Chicago, in the towns primarily north of the intersection of the I-90 and I-290 expressways. These towns and villages have largely come together to form a joint venture called "The Crossroads Shared Municipality" to maximize efficient use of resources and services. The area designated “Chicago” proper in this version of the World of Darkness is itself several times the volume of Chicago in Real Life™, encompassing most of the Greater Chicago Metropolitan Area and several bordering counties. It’s also several times more densely populated, crime-ridden, and run-down. While the inner-city is known among the Awakened as a decaying and deadly battleground - where Technocrats vie for control against the machinations of vampires, shapeshifters, and other night-folk - suburban Chicagoland is generally considered less hostile... or at least less often the focus of such conflicts. Perhaps it would help to understand how it came to be this way...
As far as the recent history of the Mage community in the Chicagoland area goes, the Traditions and Technocracy spent most of the aughts in various stages of fighting and rebuilding from the Ascension War. Some say the world ended in that time and we just didn’t notice it. The Technocracy managed to maintain some central control; the Traditions not so much. And so the Traditions as of 2004-ish were already more of a loosely-associated collection of groups rather than something more formal. And then Horizon fell and faded into but a memory due to Hollow One treachery, Doissetep crashed and burned, and the Council of Nine was gone...
The Technocracy spent much of the next ten years in cleanup operations around the globe, routing out and eliminating groups of “Reality Deviants” wherever they found them - severely depleting their numbers. And once that was sufficiently done, they fortified their strongholds in major cities like Chicago, turned inwards and began to stagnate and rust. Little by little their grip on Consensus began to slip, as new threats emerged from within and without...
The dust of the Avatar Storm was settling when in late 2015, a group of Mages and Werewolf shamans banded together to eliminate the looming threat of the “Red Star,” also known as “Anti-helios,” and “Wormwood,” by performing powerful mystic Rites in the Astral Realm of the Umbra. They managed to extinguish the Red Star, which some say endangered all life on Earth. But even as the the titan shattered and fell, some new and perhaps greater danger was awakened.
So today, the Traditions are operating primarily as independent underground cells, without centralized leadership, on limited resources they’re struggling to maintain. But the good news is that the Technocracy is also largely working with limited resources as well, stretched thin trying to maintain their hold on Consensus and advance the Pogrom. Something the Technocracy wishes to keep secret has been going on in their Ivory Towers and they’ve consolidated their power in response. This may present an opportunity to the surviving Traditions mages in hiding.

Theme: Choices and the Consequences thereof

Mood: Surreal Personal Horror
Meaning “spooky” not silly. While there may be jokes and points of light, this is the World of Darkness, not a comedy, nor a superhero story - more SyFy’s The Magicians meets Stranger Things or Channel Zero: Candle Cove than Buffy: the Vampire Slayer.

Additional Information: CSC is playing live games 6-11 on 4th Sunday of every month, and Discord games 2nd Sunday of every month. All characters are considered active and earning XP based on their attendance to Virtual Games. Please look to facebook or our linked discord for information.

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/strangecrossroads
Discord link: https://discord.gg/4KyUadu

Information for Travellers: Please see House Rules on our Facebook page: "Chicago: Strange Crossroads"

Website: https://sites.google.com/view/strange-crossroads

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/strangecrossroads

Chronicle Email Lists:

Head Storyteller: Ryan Kussman - aces.low.you.go@gmail.com

Council Member: Dylan Parker - CNMR.CouncilRep@gmail.com

This chronicle information form was last updated on 18-May-2023

Game Sessions

2nd Sunday

Genre:
Check-In Starts:
5:30pm
Game Start Time:
6:00pm
Game Date Notes: 2nd Sundays is Discord: https://discord.gg/4KyUadu

4th Sunday

Genre: Mage, Other
Check-In Starts:
6:00pm
Game Start Time:
7:00pm
Game Date Notes: 4th Sundays is live games at Critical Games, in Worth, IL

Game Site Information

Game Site Address:
Critical Games
6954 W 111th St
Worth , IL
United States
Illinois US
Additional Notes:
Critical Games www.criticalgames.com 6954 W 111th St, Worth, IL 60482 (708) 827-5035