Batthyány Circle
The Batthyány Market Hall's iconic clock
This is a highly secretive and close-knit cabal centred around a magical contraption that generates Bitcoin or some equivalent cryptocurrency.
2019/04/27
The Batthyány Circle - Traditionalist faction in Mage: The Budapest Urbancrawl, part 4
This is the last part in a series of high-level overviews of the 4 main Traditionalist factions in my Mage: The Budapest Urbancrawl campaign.
The Batthyány Market Hall's iconic clock
This is a highly secretive and close-knit cabal centred around a magical contraption that generates Bitcoin or some equivalent cryptocurrency.
The Batthyány Market Hall's iconic clock
This is a highly secretive and close-knit cabal centred around a magical contraption that generates Bitcoin or some equivalent cryptocurrency.
2019/04/20
A Mage: The Budapest Urbancrawl Dramasystem Series Pitch
This is an attempt to write up the setting as a Dramasystem series pitch. I have two reasons.
On the one hand, I would definitely do character generation (at least!) for any campaign in the setting using Dramasystem guidelines, and I would recommend it to anyone (I sadly wasn't yet aware of Robin D. Laws' system when I started with the present group.)
On the other hand, I feel formulating the setting in as many formats as I can certainly helps to get it across, so here goes.
Photo by Richard Bohus on Unsplash
On the one hand, I would definitely do character generation (at least!) for any campaign in the setting using Dramasystem guidelines, and I would recommend it to anyone (I sadly wasn't yet aware of Robin D. Laws' system when I started with the present group.)
On the other hand, I feel formulating the setting in as many formats as I can certainly helps to get it across, so here goes.
Photo by Richard Bohus on Unsplash
Nutshell
2019/04/11
The Margit-sziget Magick Market
As established, all sorts of Umbral creatures and talismans seep into Budapest across the Andrássy Rifts. It was inevitable that a semi-official market-place should spring up for people looking for magickal knick-knacks. In fact, this market-place was bound to be somewhere on Margaret Island (Margit-sziget [ˈmɒrɡit,siɡɛt]), smack in the middle of the stretch of Danube dividing the city into Buda and Pest, with magickal waters flowing around it.
2019/04/07
The Polányi Tunnel footbridge
You enter the Polányi footbridge (pronounced [ˌpɔˈlɑːɲi]) at the Batthyány Square (pronounced [ˈbɒcːaːɲi]) quay, walk a 100 metres or so below the Danube river bed, and re-emerge on the Pest side a few hundred meters from Budapest Technocratic Head Offices (see earlier post for a bit more detail) - that is, when the tunnel isn't undergoing one of those frustrating re-constructions that seem to be happening more and more often.
(Disclaimer: I made this up wholesale - don't go looking for the underwater footbridge.)
There's neon-lit garish yellow tilework all through the tunnel, and it has two "lanes" for traffic, one for pedestrians, the other for bicycles, baby carriages, skateboards, et cetera, with a wide divider wall that's interspersed with openings running along the middle.
Motorized vehicles understandably banned.
Probably lots of service tunnels - emergency exits that lead into safe bunkers that can withstand water pressure and explosions, should there be any accidents. Drone of air circulation fans audible throughout the tunnel, louder in places.
Faint aroma of floor polish mixed with the catch of the day - takeaway coffee spilled by low-level ministry officials in a hurry, milk, fish, or vegetables dropping off carriages on their way to the Batthyány Square market hall, some decomposing pigeon pulled apart by crows in the relative safety of the tunnel.
Beggars, musician buskers (if there's more than 2, there is no way you can make out any melody as the tunnel acoustics mess up the sound), and usually quite a few security patrols.
CCTV.
Given the thick divider walls, there must be quite a few niches where CCTV doesn't pick you up, should a mage require a secluded spot for the exchange of illicit goods and/or information.
There's always a chance of an accident, or better yet, a terrorist act that happens to include some of the PCs walking in the tunnel.
Hostage situation.
A mage terrorist cell (they exist!) attempting to infiltrate the Szabadság tér Szövetkezet ([ˈsøvɛtkɛzɛt]) headquarters from within the cover of the tunnel.
The whole site is kind of spooky, and I imagine both the Gauntlet and the Consensus are a bit flakier than usual down there - just remember that you're 15 metres underground, below a whole lot of water.
(Image credit Dominik Martin at Unsplash)
(Disclaimer: I made this up wholesale - don't go looking for the underwater footbridge.)
There's neon-lit garish yellow tilework all through the tunnel, and it has two "lanes" for traffic, one for pedestrians, the other for bicycles, baby carriages, skateboards, et cetera, with a wide divider wall that's interspersed with openings running along the middle.
Motorized vehicles understandably banned.
Probably lots of service tunnels - emergency exits that lead into safe bunkers that can withstand water pressure and explosions, should there be any accidents. Drone of air circulation fans audible throughout the tunnel, louder in places.
Faint aroma of floor polish mixed with the catch of the day - takeaway coffee spilled by low-level ministry officials in a hurry, milk, fish, or vegetables dropping off carriages on their way to the Batthyány Square market hall, some decomposing pigeon pulled apart by crows in the relative safety of the tunnel.
Beggars, musician buskers (if there's more than 2, there is no way you can make out any melody as the tunnel acoustics mess up the sound), and usually quite a few security patrols.
CCTV.
What you can use it for
The tunnel is great for foot chases - especially when its under construction, and one or both lanes are barricaded off.Given the thick divider walls, there must be quite a few niches where CCTV doesn't pick you up, should a mage require a secluded spot for the exchange of illicit goods and/or information.
There's always a chance of an accident, or better yet, a terrorist act that happens to include some of the PCs walking in the tunnel.
Hostage situation.
A mage terrorist cell (they exist!) attempting to infiltrate the Szabadság tér Szövetkezet ([ˈsøvɛtkɛzɛt]) headquarters from within the cover of the tunnel.
The whole site is kind of spooky, and I imagine both the Gauntlet and the Consensus are a bit flakier than usual down there - just remember that you're 15 metres underground, below a whole lot of water.
(Image credit Dominik Martin at Unsplash)
2019/04/01
The Cabal of the Monkey King - Traditionalist factions of Mage: The Budapest Urbancrawl, part 3
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