[UA] The End of the World, and so on.

[Nick Wedig]

>John Crowley's _Ægypt_ has gotten me thinking about the end of the world -- 
>or at least the end of the UA world.  

>History shifted into new patterns, the laws of nature changed, certain 
>people, places, and things disappeared (while others simultaneously 
>appeared) or became suddenly fictional, and so on...

I like this bit.  Before the change, there was no America, there was (at best) a single large island on which you found purgatory, as described in Dante.  After the change, we got Native Americans.

>(I figure that most of the old schools of magick would have died right then 
>and there, in favor of more "scientific" schools.  

I imagine many of the older schools died out due to changes in society.  A school in medieval times could have been focused on paradoxes of believing what you're doing (trafficking with demons and the like) was evil, but after the church lost control, this was no longer necessarily so.  (similarly I don't think modern schools like dipsomancy could have existed before the modern conception of alcohol and alcoholism, although alcohol itself is very old).

>In the present day, as the campaign start off, the world is on the verge of 
>the next recreation.  The transition this time will be to the "Age of 
>Uncertainty", exemplified by fuzzy logic, quantum physics, and suchlike.  
>Dermot Arkane's aspiration to ascend as the "Heisenberg Messenger" were what 
>got me started on this way of thinking.  What I'm looking for now is some 
>other archetypes, or interpretations of traditional archetypes, that would 
>have a similar feel.  Any ideas or suggestions?

I'm uncertain how it fits, but I've been imagining (I'm afraid I forgot it during the thread requesting archetypes) an archetype about hidden potential.  Specifically, it comes from various stories (fictional, i know) about kings dressing as commoners to go out into the land.  More modern versions would be geniuses who don't publish their work or celebrities hiding their identity from the media.  Historical avatars would be difficult to name, because being recognized as such would be breaking taboo.  The way it connects in is that the truth of the situation is hidden from the observer.  Exact channels and the like are up to you to determine, but would involve hiding things literally or figuratively (oo... how about bonuses if you flip-flop your roll to be worse?)

Mr. Teapot
hidden king

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