Sample Sanctum: The Unfettered Quill

Some modern-day wizards seek to do more than study dusty tomes and master the art. They want to change the world. The willworkers at the Unfettered Quill hope ignite the minds of local artists and writers in the hopes of finding hints of the true nature of the world in their work. When mundane methods fail, they turn their magic to accessing the minds of these creators directly.

The Unfettered Quill

This unassuming brownstone advertises with a simple brass plate on the door and frosting upon the large front window in the shape of a feather. Inside piles of manuscripts nestle around abstract artworks. An open plan office contains the staff (and cabal) who publish the Unfettered Quill, a local magazine detailing the arts within this portion of the city. From reviews of stage productions to the publication of yearly anthologies in several genres, they foster the creative pursuits and encourage aspiring artists.

The first floor is given over the offices and a small chamber that resembles a coffeeshop more than a meeting room. The second floor nominally houses Washbash Improvements, a rental company owns many of the buildings in the area. The rentals are handled elsewhere and the offices are merely a front for the cabal's gentrification activities. The top floor contains a few bedrooms for those who work long hours here. A locked door leads to the basement and the Dreamgate.

Uncommonly for a sanctum, the Unfettered Quill lacks a Hallow. Instead many of the members belong to Legacies or subsist off scouring and trade. A simple ward protects the establishment from prying eyes and teleporters while the walls in Twilight are fortified by the resident Moros. One member has woven a cunning spell that dissuades those with angry hearts from entering the building (they must succeed at a Resolve + Composure roll to beat the Potency 3 spell).

The Dreamcatchers

The cabal which runs the Unfettered Quill formed only a few years ago. The idealistic (if greedy) Free Council founders joined with some like-minded members of the Mysterium with the goal of creating an artist's mecca within the city. They hope to glean Supernal lore from the minds of writers and artists.

The Dreamcatchers formed to take advantage of an artifact the original members discovered in their early studies. Stolen from below the city, they have used to it to secretly access the Astral. There they alter the mental landscape to encourage the arts and drive off those elements they feel detract from the neighborhood.

Their sigil is unsurprisingly a dreamcatcher.

Artifact (7 dots): The Dreamgate

This empty doorway curves in ways that can't easily be described, seemingly tilted or warped even though all measuring devices assure it obeys perfect Euclidean angles. Its surface seems more metal than wood, covered in alien forms of the Atlantean runes.

Size: 6; Durability: 4; Structure: 10.

Powers: The Dreamgate allows those who meditate in its presence to access the Astral as if they were at a 5 dot Hallow. If the user(s) concentrates on a specific target they can travel to that soul's Oneiros directly. Meditation rolls in that case suffer a penalty equal to the sympathetic penalties and any Wards must also be overcome.

“Deborah” Dickinson

Disciple of the Arcana of Fate and Time, Voter in the Free Council, founding member of the Dreamcatchers

Concept: Wanna be writer

Background: Dickinson was the fat girl in high school and even though she lost of most of those pounds she still carries that idea with her. In college, she put her effort into her writing, dimly hoping someone would notice her. Sadly she lacked the talent to stand out in the crowd of aspiring artists. Instead in her artistic studies she uncovered a hidden pattern linking writers and artists throughout history. A common current threading through their works, lives and dreams.

After her Awakening she focused on learning about those areas other mages find mysterious. For now that means dreams and the hints of the Supernal within them. She cultivates young minds for the hints of the 'something greater' that touches them. In her daily life she helps run (as editor) the Unfettered Quill.

Description: A stocky woman with long dark hair and wire rimmed glasses, Dickinson quickly takes charge of any situation, loudly voicing her opinion.

Storyteller Notes: You want attention and to be recognized for your work. While you would never steal someone else's work, you secretly hope to find something in the dreams of other that you can pass off as your own.

Quote: “We are churching up this street.”

Path: Acanthus  Order: Free Council

Virtue: Hope      Vice: Envy

Arcana: Fate 3, Mind 2, Time 3

Gnosis: 3

Legacy: Dickinson is currently attempting to join the Pygmalions but has yet to find a teacher who will accept her.