In a city as old as London, it’s not surprising that there are some very old chantries as well. Three are open to PCs as of game start; some of the others may become so as the game goes on, and it’s also possible that PCs will eventually be able to create their own chantries.

The established chantries are, by design, headed by NPC leaders and NPC cabals that are preoccupied with their own interests. They don’t have much enthusiasm for earthly affairs, and except in extraordinary circumstances are content to let policy be set by the members who do: in other words, by the PCs. Particularly strong cabals, and even individual personalities who are charismatic or forceful, can sway the agenda of the whole chantry, even if, officially, leadership remains in NPC hands — at least for the foreseeable future.

Our goal in setting things up like this is to provide a persistent backbone to the sphere that doesn’t impinge much, if at all, on the ability of PCs to create and shape their own interest groups, while also not being dependent on long-term PC leadership of a chantry. Players come and go, not always predictably, and having cabal leadership and membership shuffle around on that basis does less damage to verisimilitude than doing the same to chantry leadership; additionally, having disinterested NPC leadership makes it easier for characters who are rivals, or whose Traditions are at odds with one another, to share membership in the same chantry than would be plausible if one of them were to be leading that chantry.

Please note that chantry membership is not restricted by Tradition. They are intentionally designed around the idea of what one does with one’s abilities, rather than what style or type of magick one practices. The composition of a particular chantry’s NPC leadership is not meant to imply that members of other Traditions may not join that chantry.

Chantries and Backgrounds

Our view is that membership in a chantry serves as justification for Background purchases, but does not, in and of itself, provide access to Backgrounds.

What do we mean by that? Well, by way of example, the Geographical Society has a target range in its basement that’s stocked with a bunch of weapons — mostly owned by current or former members. That’s the sort of thing that could justify a member having the Equipment Background, but just being a member doesn’t give you access to the Equipment owned by the chantry. Similarly, the chantries all have varying ability to harvest Quintessence in the manner of a Node, but being a member of the Circle of St. Herodias doesn’t give you dots in Node — rather, the dots you might choose to purchase can be explained as your character’s share of the weekly Quintessence haul. And so on.

The IC explanation for this is that the chantries are all run by people who have been there for a while, and who have monopolized the available resources to such a significant degree that only someone who puts a good deal of effort (in the form of spending XP or chargen resources on Background dots) into gaining access is likely to do so.

We recognize that this will occasionally lead to weird IC situations, and we ask that you work with us — when necessary — in finding a plausible explanation for why one character has access to something but another does not.

Open Chantries

• The Circle of St. Herodias – With a reputation as creative and innovative magickal researchers dedicated to new ideas and new approaches, the Circle grew out of an aristocratic “Hellfire Club” formed in the 18th century, and there’s still a whiff of scandal about them. Located in the borough of Westminster.
• The Geographical Society of Great Britain – Carrying on the traditions of the English explorers of the 15th century, the Society has always been at the forefront in exploring both our own world and the Umbral realms, delving ever deeper in search of the hidden, the forgotten, or the unknown. Located in the borough of Greenwich.
• The London Hydraulic Power Co-Operative – Once a Sleeper project to provide inexpensive power to the city, the Co-Op has evolved into a movement of socially-conscious magi whose goal is to improve the lot of London’s working people. Located in the borough of Tower Hamlets.

NPC-only Chantries

• The London Time Institute — Writeup to come.

Creating Chantries

We aren’t ruling out the possibility of PC-created and -led chantries in the future, but we are a little bit wary of them. They require a significant investment of staff time; they further subdivide the player base; and they often don’t outlast the people invested in creating them. We’ve intentionally made the existing chantries broad in scope and hands-off in the hope that this will allow PCs space to follow their interests without feeling the need to create full-on chantries from scratch.

Until the game is formally open and out of beta, it’s unlikely we will approve any PC-created chantries. If this is something you’d like to plan for, we ask that you keep the following in mind when crafting your pitch:

• What opportunities does your proposed new chantry provide that aren’t possible through one of the existing chantries?
• How do you plan to make your proposed new chantry a source of roleplay not only for its members but, via its interactions with other chantries, for the remainder of the sphere as well?
• What in-character (and out-of-character) resources will your proposed new chantry need? For the in-character resources, why do you think these resources might have gone un-exploited by the existing chantries, or, alternatively, why might one or more of the existing chantries be willing to give them up?
• Where do you propose the new chantry might have its facilities located? What other spheres have influence in the area, and how might they be affected by its presence?
• How do you plan to expand the membership of the chantry so that, in the event of your (and other founding members’) departure from the game, it can continue to be a resource for other players?
• Do you have firm commitments from any other players to join the proposed new chantry? Are you willing to see the new chantry led by NPCs similar to those who lead the existing chantries, if this is a condition of approval?
• Do you understand that the chantry, if approved, will become a resource for the sphere as a whole, which may include (especially if you depart the game) the chantry evolving in ways that may not have been your first choice, or the leadership changing?