Mathoms,Tchochkes,Commodities and Stuff. A look at the Bartering system of Mage

By Reverend X.S. Kinesys.

I am reminded of issues of Hellblazer,past and present, where it seems that John Constantine must work full time in order to accumulate all the mystic junk and favors that inevitably get his ass out of the current sling it's in. So it seems that there must be some sort of system for dealing with getting what you want if you don't have the skills or power for various things.

One of the more common forms of barter among Mages who know one another only casually. Favor brokering can be very useful when powerful enemies come looking for you and discover that an entire contingent of Mages has turned out to protect you,either because they owe you or you owe THEM.

As a game master it also behooves you to put Players in debt to other Mages with the old "favor to named later" trick if they want certain things from N.P.C.'s. The formality of the favor trading depends on the people involved. Hermetics and syndicate Mages tend to be very formal as do Progenitors and Iterators. Virtuals do favors very easily for one another but are very costly to others. Verbena will do favors but often expect a threefold return on their investment. Cultists may forget that they owe you or that you owe them...( I said I'd do that? man...I must have been really stoned.)

This tendency towards favor trading is also useful in dealing with other supernatural beings as many have similar systems of trading among themselves and some can even be trusted to deliver on their promises. (dealing in favors with Vampires and Wraiths is always risky, But dealing with Gypsies and Garou is almost always done on the basis of honor and mutual respect,if you can get them to respect you.With Changeling and Humans it's a crap shoot.)

Unlike the Vampiric system of Prestation, most Mage favors are not ordinarily transferable. The only exception to this might be saving the life of a Mage who is the student of a more powerful Mage. this might incur an obligation from both of them.

Tass:

This is the closest analog to a monetary system that Mage has. It is finite,valuable, not widely available unless you have prime 5 and has a multitude of uses. Tass is storable and when refined, nonvolatile.( i.e. it won't just bleed into surrounding patterns after a month.Quintessence banking can be a very smart thing to do.) It can be used to make things and events,and large amounts of it are good for making talismans and fetishes. it also is useful for building and shoring up horizon realms. making it a versatile commodity. Horizon Mages have an actual monetary system and a Tax system based on Tass.

Talismans:

Because of the difficulty involved in making these things and the large Tass expenditure (not to mention permanent willpower expenditure!) that must accompany them, it is rare for these things to be traded on an open market. and almost never outside of the tradition that they were made for...But it is not unheard of. and it's certainly not impossible.Talismans are nigh on to indestructible and as such their are still talismans floating about that date back to prehistory.

Fetishes:

Even more rarely traded than talismans because they have personalities and wills of their own. Dreamspeakers have been known to trade things among themselves but only among those they absolutely trust.( and even then it's usually a case of, " I think you are meant to carry this now. What will you give me in return?") Talens on the other hand are a whole different story,because of their impermanent nature. There are a few Dreamspeakers and a few Etherites who can do a brisk business in these things.

Books:

What does one do with their copy of Unausprechlichen Kulten when one has read it a few times? Tome tend to be a finite resource and when exhausted are useful for barter. A few Hermetics and Virtuals in my campaigns have taken to collecting hard to find books of the Art and translating them into C.D.rom or optical disk format (complete with a graphics package for pictures and diagrams.) They do a brisk business in books on all kinds of matters and can translate these works into all sorts of different languages.

Some books of course are too dangerous to fall into the wrong hands and thus are not widely available.Translations of the Necronomicon are as common as dirt but complete translations are much more scarce. Many technocratic Texts are considered "classified" and have dire consequences for those caught with them. Even some books that are available are incomplete or hard to find outside of a particular tradition or convention.

As a result,there is a robust black market in stolen books, and the various feuds that have started over this have caused untold damage to Tradition Mage unity. Some Hermetic Mage gets pissed at some Chorus Mage who denies him access to some precious tome, so he hires some Orphan to steal it for him, but then gets double crossed by that Orphan who sells it for big money to a disguised Nephandi and all burning hell breaks loose as the Mages throttle one another while Nephandi summon great Cthulhu from the depths.

Also note, that not all mystic texts are in Magi libraries. there are large number of mystic texts in the hands of Gypsies,Mummies,hedge magi, Tremere,Tzimisce,Uktena and the Arcanum.

"Mundane" materials:

There is a market for certain types of mundane articles in the Mage world. These articles tends to be valued for their craftsmanship,utility and/or half a dozen other factors. a list of possibilities follows:

1) a suit of clothing that protects like armor.( an etheric Mage with high levels of matter is always in demand for these items.

2) Precision crafted custom built weapons.(Etherics tend toward guns while Akashics and Euthanatos tend toward more archaic weapons.)

3) Trinary computers

4) "blessed items" (get in debt to a Dreamspeakers or a chorus Mage,your choice.)

5) Personal articles from other supernatural beings or other Mages, and/or the contract theft of same.

6) Explosives and/or other chemical compounds.

7) Nuclear material.

8) highly technical electronics

9) Drugs(it just safer to go find a cultist than to try to synthesize it yourself.)

10) Not easily created Matter. (meteoric steel for example...)

Aside from passing out boons("the bearer of this certificate is entitled to one(1) Boon upon redemption.") Some Mages further their personal economy and/or personal influence by providing certain services to the Mage community at large.

Akashic Mages have been known to be some of the best trainers in unarmed combat and some forms of melee combat as well. They won't teach you Do... but they can teach you practically any form of martial art you could name. Some very young Akashic brothers hire themselves out as bodyguards and some provide tutelage in spirit lore,feng shui,Zen arts, and Asian languages

Celestial Mages often get very hard-nosed about manipulating prime(for chantries and talismans) and the creation of talismans and other "Blessed" items, but often offer their most important service for free...Spiritual counseling. And it is for precisely this reason that they hold the influence they do. Many a Mage has been turned from the path of Descent because of a long talk with a celestial Mage.

Ecstatic Mages are often consulted for divinations,(they ain't always believed,but that's the Cassandra Syndrome for you...) but one of their most overlooked services is in the area of Party Organizing.(they know all the best bands,they can lay hands on any "Refreshments" you require. They know when to break out the food or the Mad-Libs and they know when and who will crash.)

Dreamspeakers look upon their work as a sacred trust and thus might look at payment for their services as an insult...but you can never tell. They might not produce much in terms of materials or books but when you want to increase your circle of spiritual contacts, need a liaison to a group of shapechangers or need an experienced umbral guide, you will find none better.

Euthanatoi often enjoy a wide panoply of skills that make for great services. They are second only to the Ecstatics when dealing with divinations. They know the Shadow-lands like the Dreamspeakers know the rest of the umbra,and they have extensive knowledge of martial arts,weapons of all types,poisons,and explosives. It is however a good idea NOT to assume that all Euthanatos perform Assassinations for hire. Some like it, some don't care...but some consider it the ultimate form of blasphemy.

Hermetics are known for their abilities with languages,complex math and ciphers. those who are computer savvy are usually every bit in demand as a virtual adept. there are no finer people to consult when dealing with a problem that will only yield to research and their libraries still dwarf those of the Virtuals. They will even provide a written estimate for payment and a service contract.

Etheric Mages are of course the logical choice for technically oriented services but most Mages overlook their ability to do laboratory analysis of materials and their absolute genius at stress testing

Verbena are known far and wide for their life oriented services. These include trauma care but can also include acting as a Mages personal physician, pediatric care, Midwifing,veterinary care,"Potion" making and other apothecarial services. tutoring in herb lore and even, acting as a personal trainer. Beyond this the verbena are also skilled in divinations and manipulate weather even better than the Hermetics.

Virtual will always be able to get work whether in the fields of cryptography, intrusions for hire, Security services and manipulation of all sorts of information.

Think that the Technocrats aren't going to play these reindeer games? Guess again buddy! Many technocrats of course deal amongst themselves and there are not a few of them that also deal with other Mages. There are, of course, two rules for dealing with technocracy Mages.

1) don't get caught.

2) don't get screwed.

Progenitor services are always in high demand, and they aim to keep it that way. Clone bodies are a form of currency to them and they spend freely with their Technocratic brethren as well as with any tradition Mage stupid enough to be duped into it. They also act as the Technocracy's H.M.O. and tend the ill,infirm,and hopelessly shattered among the technocratic patients. Their other field of expertise lies in the area of "pets" and other watch creatures and they do a booming business in this field.

Iterator Mages might seem to be outside this loop but they aren't really. They often exchange muscle and drudgework for needed services of their fellows. It is a well known truism that Iterators will often do dreary and dangerous work that would bore the shit out of any other type of mage.They provide other conventions with their version of high tech gear and are often the ones to consult when one needs to increase efficiency in some group or process.(it pretty much goes without saying that most Iterators will not deal with the tradition Mages.)

Order Mages are great to have when you have to jump through some sort of bureaucratic hoops. Need spies? They got them. Need to have a friend surreptitiously sprung from Mecha? Better bring quite a bit to the table. Need to have your records erased or altered? You might have to talk to these guys.

Void Mages deal in transport...pure and simple. They can get you there, and maybe even back. Just don't piss them off or they might read their poetry at you... Void Mages might be the only real outlet of Technocracy tech that trad Mages can get their mitts on and because they travel so far and wide, they are likely to have access to the weirdest collection of things imaginable.

Syndicate Mages?....Well, they'll deal with anybody, even Nephandi. It's all part of their ethic.("Do the Job!") If you want anything that the normal world can provide including wealth,fame,or power...talk to a syndicate mage.they can get it for you wholesale. It is not unusual to find syndicate Mages blind brokering sales of magickal articles between groups of tradition Mages. They are always on the lookout for talent and unique skills and if you aren't careful,you could end up working for them full time without really realizing it....Just don't get caught. The Syndicate will hire or deal with anybody but the whole time they will be gathering information about you, on the off chance that the Order Mages find out.(they still take a dim view of this sort of thing.) They will throw you to the Order and go back to business as usual.

While a form of Marauder economics is not impossible...thinking about such is liable to make my head bleed. But the possibility of dealing with Nephandi is not to be discounted... Oh I know, in the stark light of day its very easy to say "Never! No! A thousand times NO!" but that's not when they are going to come around.

Are you a Hermetic or a Virtual or an Ether Mage? Chances are, you are lonely, very lonely....what would you give to meet your true soul mate? Surely not your SOUL of course, but I'm sure that we can come to an arrangement...

Are you a Verbena or a Dreamspeaker or a Euthanatos? Then you are probably frustrated that the holy work isn't going as well as it should...and maybe our goals and yours aren't that far apart...

Are you an Akashic or Celestial Mage? Are you seeking inner peace? Peace comes from satisfaction... and we deal in satisfaction.

Are you an Ecstatic or a Hollow one? Hey! let's party. you folks really have no idea what feeling good is all about...yet.

Are you a technocrat? I think if you look, you will find that we already own you....

Are you terminal? We can fix that. Have you ever lost a loved one? We can get them back for you. Have you ever lusted? Hey! no problem. Have you ever thirsted for vengeance or for power? Step right up.

Price? ...well....let's discuss that later.

Trading Nodes on the Open market? Are you nuts? Well...you pretty much have to have some kind of personal relationship with all the principles involved and may have to do quite a bit of negotiation. This could happen in the case of a cabal doing a bunch of drudgework for a chantry that has just come into possession of a much larger node and is looking to trade their much smaller node for something valuable. Please note that most nodes are not portable and might involve a bit of real estate. The size of the node is not going to be over a 2 and you should try to read the fine print of any contract you sign.( a cabal of Mages once ended up signing themselves into a contract for service with a hermetic chantry for 20 years for a level 1 node...needless to say, they were not happy.)

Other Stuff:

Which includes hedge magickal materials( which might still be useful to the very low powered Mage.)

Thaumaturgical magickal items.(many of which will function with the use of human blood.)

Thaumaturgically warded items.( any article that can have ward vs.ghouls,kindred, Garou, or spirits cast on it can be in demand to the low powered and the Tremere do a brisk business in them.)

Mummy amulets and Potions(can't be beat for rarity. and very useful.)

Wraith fetters( Caveat Magi )

Gypsy Draba( useless to Mages,but a possible trade good to gypsies. just make sure they keep their hands in their pockets at all times.)

Changeling treasures(same as above)

Pieces of angels,demons,bygones and other suchlike.(multiple magickal uses and also renderable for tass.)

Holy relics (useful to chorus Mages and inquisitors alike.)

Tractable and/or trainable pets(ranging from anything to a good smart dog,to a spirit, to a gargoyle,to an bygone critter.)

Slaves( You can decide how sticky you want to get your soul.but the slave trade still exist in parts of the real world.)

"Gatherables"( which include any kind of article that is found in nature that is or can be magickally useful. I.E. plants,sacrificial animals,and stones of various types.)

and of course, Towels.(if you are going to travel the umbra,it's a good idea to know where your towel is.