SEEKER

The Role Playing Game

is published by Vajra Enterprises, Portland Oregon
ISBN 978-0-9713095-8-6
Designed and Written by Brian St.Claire-King
Game Design Assistance by Nick Argall
Consultation by Allon Mureinik
Cover by Jason Juta
Illustrations by
Eric Williams (p.119, 125, 131, 135, 139), Gerasimos Kolokas (p.111, 115)
and Mike Mumah (p.61, 163).
Playtesting by
Allan Schnoor, Edward Saxton, Charles Crowe, Matthew Lilley, Robert Crouchley,
Robert Richmond, Etay Livne, Guili Abelha, Guy Reisman, Henrik Jespersen,
Jeremiah Barkman, John Christopher Greenleaf Weil,
Jonas Rune Lundgaard Pedersen, Kelson McConnel, Mads Krogh,
Mads Marturin, Mike Hutton, Nick Redmond, Peter Alexander,
Tiffany St.Claire-King, Tony Davis, Yael Reisman, Yonatan Arbel.
Copyright 2012 by Vajra Enterprises
All rights reserved under the Universal Copyright Convention.
No part of this book may be reproduced for commercial purposes.
Small portions may be reproduced for use in play.
Portions of the ORC-L rules have been released under a
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

Visit www.VajraEnterprises.com

Seeker In Brief

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What Are Seekers?

Where Do They Seek?

Seekers are people who are devoting

every day to the twin goals of improving
themselves and understanding the universe.
They must give up loyalty to any ideology or
dogma in order to fully pursue improvement
and understanding. This turns out to be a
very powerful formula. Seekers are able
to bypass the limitations that hold back
regular people and achieve wisdom, insight
and abilities that others might consider
superhuman.

Seekers cannot stay in one place. They

must be constantly exposed to new
situations, and so this means being
wanderers. Since few have dependable
sources of income, most are reduced to
walking, hitchhiking and other cheap or
free means of transportation. Seekers
wanderings may take them all over the
world, but this volume focuses on the
possible adventures of Seekers on the
back roads and in small towns of the
United States. As Seekers have a knack
for running into interesting or challenging
situations, the America they experience is
darker, stranger, weirder, more dangerous
and more amazing than the America most
people know.

Who Are Seekers?

Seekers come from all walks of life,
all backgrounds. Yet there are certain
traditions that are more likely to propel
a person onto the path of being a Seeker.
Scientists, philosophers, mystics, shamans
and monks, to name a few, are more likely
to become Seekers. Yet there is no tradition
guaranteed to create Seekers. The tradition
a Seeker comes from tends to color his or her
view of the things experienced on the path,
and the language one might use to identify
those things. Yet Seekers are no longer
bound by the limitations and prejudices of
their traditions. Each tradition is both a
ramp onto the path of Seekerdom but also
a barrier that one has broken through to
become a true Seeker.

When Have Seekers Existed?

Seekers have been around as long as
people have, but this volume concerns
itself with Seekers of today. The modern
world, with its ability to expose people
to multiple ideologies and traditions, has
produced more Seekers per capita than
any other era of recorded history.

With Whom Do They Seek?

One of the coincidences that Seekers

experience is that they run into each
other. Often, Seekers find it useful to
Why Do They Seek?
travel together for a time and learn from
Seekers have many reasons for being on the each other. Many adventures happen to
path. Common reasons include: curiosity, Seekers while they share the road with
love of learning, a desire to gain abilities other Seekers.
that can be used to help people. Some are
thrust on the path by circumstances beyond How Do They Seek?
their control (e.g. a fugitive from the law, by No one source of wisdom can provide a
virtue of having to give up his or her entire Seeker with everything he or she needs.
life, may become a Seeker). Other Seekers A teacher, a book, a self-imposed regimen
are driven by personal demons. It may of study are all things that can teach a
seem paradoxical for someone whose life Seeker, but each can only teach a Seeker
is dedicated, in part, to self-improvement to so much and then the Seeker must move
have such mundane problems as alcoholism on. Yet knowledge without practice is
or a bad temper, but for many Seekers it is useless. Seekers must live their wisdom,
the desire to defeat these demons that leads embody it in the day-to-day choices they
them to Seekerdom.
make. A Seekers life could be said to be
an ongoing experiment in ways of living

and of interacting with others, with the environment Introduction

Do you, Seeker
and with ones self. Philosophies can inform these
take this road
experiments, but only living them can tell whether they
to walk on
Aleister Crowley
rescues kids
were successful or not.
and to learn
from
from a burning
building.
and to live on
Richard
Dawkins
protects a
A Seeker achieves best results from constantly being on until you grow too tired
togang.
walk?
small
town
from
a
biker
the move and from being open to learn from whoever
And
do
you
promise
to
have
the
they meet and whatever situation they encounter. The Dalai Lama
humilitymust beat a
at his own
game.
NiChallenges help Seekers learn, and the universe pool
to shark
go wherever
the road
leads
etzsche fights ayou
bear.
provides challenges for Seekers at every turn.
even if its not where you
thought you wanted to go?
How Do Seekers Act?
A person
giving
a to
piano
lesdo you
promise
have the
For the most party they act like regular people: they can sonAnd
does not generally
promise
faith
have character flaws, or bad habits, they can be con- that
play
will
thatlearning
the roadtowill
givepiano
you what
fused, scared, unsure or mistaken. They can do unwise make you better
you need
at diagnosing
things. Yet in the areas they have studied (their paths) illnesses
if you
following
it?
or keep
designing
buildings.
they are one-in-a-million in their level of insight, wis- A And
your
bookdoonyou
thepromise
botanytoofuse
orchids
skills promise to
dom and skill. They are able to act confidently and ably does not generally
learned
thepsychology
road
in situations that would be challenging for any non- give insight
intoonthe
to help
the
people
you
meetthe
Seeker. Also, Seekers are people who are not content to of serial
killers or predicting
along the road
live and behave as others do. Their lives and lifestyles path a tornado
will take. Yet
even if it is dangerous to do so?
are ongoing experiments and this can come across as there
are some disciplines, studeccentricities or even as madness.
ies, philosophies, mystical and
do you,that
roadpromise
religiousAnd
systems
take
this
Seeker
How Powerful is a Seeker?
to teach universal truths or give
to guidebenefits. If
Seekers abilities are subtly powerful. They perceive universal personal
and
to nourish
true, then these
and understand things that normal people dont. Their these claims are
and
teach their stuskills and understanding make them very capable in systems shouldto give
until
the
Seeker
grows
too tired
of advantage,
a wide range of situations. In most arenas they can dents some kind
to walk?
if only a tiny one, in any
compete with a highly trained and well equipped even
And do you promise to lead to
such as fighting
professional: solving mysteries as well as top FBI given activity,
knowledge
investigators, infiltrating hostile turf as well as Navy a bear.
of things that your Seeker
Seals, treating illnesses as well as doctors, etc. Yet
never knew they were ignorant
of?
because they are not specialists and their powers are Part of the design
of Seeker was
And
do
you
promise
provide
subtle, they are often underestimated.
to create a space fortoperformthat
which
your
Seeker
needs
to
ing thought stay
experiments
on the
alive
What Are The Rules?
efficacy
of various
-isms
and keep
walking on
you?and
Seeker uses ORC-L, a rules-light version of Organic -ologies. Imagine a practitiodo you promise to lead to
Rule Components. ORC-L was used because it requires nerAnd
of one of
these disciplines,
challenges
less keeping track of physical world minutia (e.g. onethat
whowill
can
spend
waktest every every
skill your
equipment lists) and thus allows Seeker gameplay to ing hour onSeeker
has
that discipline,
and
focus more on philosophical, psychological and spiritual imagine
that will
forcethat
yourpractitioner
Seeker to
how
growthe
or skills
die trying?
aspects of gameplay. The basic mechanic of ORC-L would use
or wisdom
involves computing your AV (applicable attribute + any gained to deal with various realThen,
by the power
vested in me
applicable skills or focus + any applicable equipment life
problems
and dilemmas.
In
I
now
pronounce
youNietzpackage) and pitting that against either another this game you can have
Seeker
and road
characters AV or against a set difficulty. 50/50s, a coin sche, or his
modern
equivalent,
toss or anything else with an equal chance of winning fight a bear and see what would
-Written on 34 consecutive mile
or losing, are done until the player either loses his or happen.
markers on Highway 101 in
her AVs number of times or wins the opposing AVs
California
number of times.

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Introduction

Table of Contents

Introduction
Seekers in Brief.................. 2
Seekers vs. Other RPGs........ 6
Richard Dawkins protects a small
Chapter One: Character
town from a biker gang.
Creation
Step 1 - Character Concept... 9
Mother Theresa must beat a pool Step 2 - Attributes.............. 11
shark at his own game.
Step 3 - Mundane Skills..... 12
Step 4 - Paths..................... 16
Nietzsche fights a bear.
Step 5 - Equipment............ 20
Step 6 - Advantages & Disads.. 23
A person giving a piano lesson does Step 7 - Eccentricities........ 28
not generally promise that learning to Step 8 - Character Advancement.29

Aleister Crowley rescues kids

from a burning building.

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play piano will make you better at diagnosing illnesses or designing buildings. A book on the botany of orchids
does not generally promise to give
insight into the psychology of serial
killers or predicting the path a tornado
will take. Yet there are some disciplines, studies, philosophies, mystical
and religious systems that promise to
teach universal truths or give universal
personal benefits. If these claims are
true, then these systems should give
their students some kind of advantage,
even if only a tiny one, in any given
activity, such as fighting a bear.

Chapter Three: The World of

Seekers
There is No One Truth....... 46
The Supernormal............... 47
About Seekers.................... 48
Advancing on the Paths..... 56
Traps & Leaving The Path.57
Evil Seekers....................... 64
Part of the design of Seeker was to Prodigies............................ 66
create a space for performing thought Sorcerers............................ 66
experiments on the efficacy of Advanced Practitioners...... 66
various -isms and -ologies. Imagine a Seeker Crafts...................... 69
practitioner of one of these disciplines, Demons . ........................... 69

one who can spend every waking hour

on that discipline, and imagine how
that practitioner would use the skills
or wisdom gained to deal with various
real-life problems and dilemmas. In
this game you can have Nietzsche, or
his modern equivalent, fight a bear
and see what would happen.

Yet you dont have to be a philosophy

major to play Seeker. Some of the -isms
Seeker was designed to simulate are
based on complex abstract concepts,
but others are based on very simple
ideas: harness the power of emotions,
strive to be selfless, dont let ideas get
in the way of intuition and common
sense, etc.

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Chapter Two: Organic Rule

Components
What Is ORC-L.................. 32
Basic Mechanics................ 32
Combat............................... 37
Using Paths........................ 40
Demons.............................. 42

Chapter Four: Traditions

About Traditions................ 72
African American Culture.. 74
African Syncretisms........... 74
Alternative Medicine......... 75
Anthropology/Sociology.... 75
Art...................................... 75
Athletics............................. 76
Body Modification............. 76
Brujeria.............................. 76
Buddhism........................... 77
Clowning............................ 78
Computer Science.............. 78
Curanderismo..................... 79
Existentialism.................... 79
Feminism/Ethic Studies/
Queer Studies................... 80
Fictional Traditions............ 80
Freedom............................. 80

Freemasonry...................... 81
Hippies............................... 81
Kabbalah............................ 82
Occultism/Magick.............. 82
Martial Arts........................ 82
Mathematics....................... 83
Military.............................. 84
Monotheism....................... 84
Mysticism.......................... 86
Native American Spirituality. 86
Neopaganism/Wicca.......... 87
New Thought..................... 87
Ordinary Life..................... 88
Politics............................... 89
Psychology......................... 89
Science............................... 91
Self-Help............................ 92
Sex..................................... 92
Shamanism......................... 92
Sufism................................ 95
Taoism................................ 95
Transcendentalism............. 96
Western Philosophy........... 97

Chapter Five - Paths

About The Paths................ 100
Plus and Minus.................. 101
-Thought............................ 104
+Thought........................... 109
-Self.................................... 113
+Self................................... 117
-Harmony........................... 122
+Harmony.......................... 127
-Feeling.............................. 133
+Feeling............................. 137
Chapter Six - Adventures
Typical Seeker Adventure.. 143
Other Adventure Types...... 146
Communities...................... 146
Mundane Antagonists........ 153
Supernatural Antagonists... 155
The Iglesias Family............ 156
Nature & Accidents............ 169
The Unexplained................ 169
Psychological Challenges.. 172
Navajo Country.................. 174
Introductory Adventure:
Weaponized Honeybees.. 177
Appendix:
ORC-L to ORC Conversion.183
PC Character Sheet............... 184
NPC Character Sheet............ 185
Community Character Sheet.186

Clarksdale Police.
Hello, is this Detective Pendleton?
This is Chief Pendleton.
Sorry, Chief. Im Julie Yee. Im an
officer in the Soldiers Peak, Alaska
Police Department.
Alaska, huh? What can I do for you,
Office Yee?
Well, Ive got a fellow in lock-up
here. Real weird character. Claims
to not have a name, but says his birth
certificate reads Jacob Goldman. He
told me that if I called you, you would
vouch for him.
Mm-hmm.
So do you? Vouch for him?
If youll indulge me, Officer Yee, let
me tell you what went through my mind
when this fellow first came to town.
Okay.
So this fellow hitchhikes into my town,
he doesnt know anybody here, he doesnt
have any business here, he doesnt have
a pair of shoes, much less a dollar in
his pocket. He gives weird answers to
questions. The most hell say is that hes
gone on some sort of spiritual quest,
although he wont claim any religion
Ive ever heard of. To my mind, this
person is obviously a crazy person and
hes liable to kill one of the people Im
sworn to protect if I dont do something
about him. I end up dusting off my law
books, checking to see if theres a law
against vagrancy on the books. Any of
this sound familiar to you?
Absolutely.
Well, Ill tell you, I couldnt have been
more wrong. I wont tell you the whole
story, because my shift is over soon and
my wife will kill me if dinner is cold
when I get home. Let me just say that
this individual, he stuck his neck out, he

put himself in considerable danger. It was

a situation I never could have handled on
my own. And he saved my bacon. He
helped protect the lives and well-being of
every person in Clarksdale, without even
being asked. He didnt ask for any reward.
He didnt even stick around long enough
for us to properly thank him. He did it
for no other reason than that someone
needed help and he had the ability to help
them. And let me tell you: this person has
some talents, some incredible talents. Ive
never met anyone who can do the things
this person can do.
I no offense, Chief Pendleton, but
showing up in town and throwing himself
into a dangerous situation, how exactly
does that prove hes not crazy?
What does crazy mean, Officer Yee?
Does it mean someone is different, doesnt
do what youd expect them to? If so, then
my friend is definitely crazy. Does it mean
you dont see the world as it really is? If
thats what it means, hes the least crazy
person I know. He wasnt in my town
half a day and he had the entire situation
here pegged. He even had me pegged,
understood all my faults and weaknesses
as well as my wife does. Now, does crazy
mean you do things you shouldnt ought
to? Every thing this person did here in
Clarksdale was something that ended up
helping people, no matter how little sense
his actions made at the time.
So youre saying I should what, let
him have free run of my town?
Thats what I would do. Since youve
more-or-less asked for my advice, here it
is: Let him out of lock-up, invite him home
for dinner, let him sleep on your couch. I
dont expect that to sound right to you, but
its the best advice I can give. However, I
doubt that having to spend a night in a jail
cell will phase my friend in the least.

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Thank you, Chief Pendleton. I... Ill take

that under advisement.

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What Makes Seekers Different From Standard RPGs?

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Standard RPGs

Seeker

A PCs personality flaws and

prejudices often define how a PC will
act. Generally, a PC is less wise than
his or her player.

Players are invited to imagine and play the part of

characters who are wiser and more enlightened than
the average person. The PCs unusual behaviors are
not so much a limitation but a purposeful experiment
in how to act and live.

Character class limits the acquisition

of skills and powers.

Any PCs path may lead him or her to any realization

or change and thus to acquire any available ability.

Players are rewarded for winning

the adventure, they gain nothing or
are penalized when they lose.

Players are rewarded for being challenged, and thus

losing an adventure can be worth more than winning
it easily.

PCs are forced into conflicts where

violence is the easiest and best
solution.

Violence is a valid solution to some problems.

However, a PC who prefers non-violent means of
solving problems and whose skills and abilities are
focused on that can be just as effective.

There is a clear delineation between

good and evil.

Each PC makes his or her own moral judgments.

Behaviors that might be acceptable to one Seeker
might be intolerable to another. Often, the people
causing problems in a Seeker adventure are,
themselves, victims of their own ignorance or
personal demons.

PCs are encouraged to advance

by gaining fame, wealth, better
equipment.

To Seekers, fame can be counterproductive and

wealth and equipment are only of limited usefulness.
New ideas, new teachers, trying new things are much
more important for advancement.

The speculative element of the game

(the magic, sci-fi tech, etc.) is quite
blatant and flows from the central
conceit of the games cosmology.

Supernormal phenomena are powerful but subtle,

such that a PC who is a scientific rationalist and a
mystic occultist could both see evidence that they
are correct. Nothing in the game text or in gameplay
will falsify either viewpoint.

The core tropes of gameplay, that the

GM comes up with adventures that
challenge the PCs, then reward the
PCs for winning those challenges, are
known by players but not by PCs.

PCs are aware that they need the universe (or each
other) to provide them with dangers and challenges
in order for them to grow. They can thus buy-in to
the process.

Game mechanics encourage each PC

to be a specialist: to buy skills and
equipment that allow them to do one
thing very well.

Seekers Path levels can be used to help PCs in nearly

any sort of endeavor, limited only by the players
creativity, familiarity with the Path and ability to
make a good argument to the GM.

PCs are from the same subculture

(adventurers, mercenaries, cereal box
monsters, etc.) and thus share the same
basic worldview and vocabulary.

Although PCs are all Seekers, and all gain wisdom in

the same way, how they view the world, what names
they call things by, and what their backgrounds are,
can be very different.

Advancement is along paths preset by

the game creators.

Seeker is designed to model, and allow players to

play, any sort of discipline, philosophy, religion, etc.
that the players can think of.

Take a walk, not to get to any particular place, but just to walk.
Breathe fresh air. Feel the sun on your face.
Leave behind, if only for a while, your distractions and worries and duties.
Walk wherever you, and you alone, want to.
Report to no one. Explore places youve never been.
Take the time to notice details. Notice the feel of a place.
Let your thoughts wander. Be aware of your feelings as they wash over you.
Explore your memories. Think about huge, important issues.
Think about tiny, inconsequential things.
Have new ideas, hunches, inspiration.
Feel stronger. Feel clear-headed. Feel balanced.
Feel on top of things. Feel smarter and wiser.
Dont turn around. Dont go back to your home and job and responsibilities.
Keep walking.
Walk until your legs are thickly muscled and your skin is deeply tanned.
Rely on the kindness of strangers or the whims of fate for your next meal.
Find and read odd books. Have philosophical debates with passing strangers.
Have huge, frightening revelations. Fight the dark things inside your own head.
Build theories. Practice new ways of thinking, experiencing, being.
Give yourself dangerous and arduous tests.
Find others who can test you.
Stop, briefly, to help people, and then move on.
Leave nuggets of wisdom that may inspire people, and then move on.
Come across others who walk, like you,
and share their journey with them for a while, then move on.
Amaze people, change lives, change whole communities, then move on.
Never stop walking, never stop growing, until your journey is done.

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Joe believed that regret is a form of

weakness. To regret something is to wish
you could go back in time and do things
differently. To wish for things you could
never have was a habit of lesser souls. Of
all Joes reading about and experiments with
occultism and native brujeria, the lesson he
believed he had learned was this: the strong
decide what they want to be and be it, the
weak sit around wishing for the world to
be different. This was the principle upon
which Joe had built many things, including
a successful drug dealing operation that
kept him comfortably wealthy.

Yet something felt wrong. The fact that he was

standing there making excuses, explaining to
himself why it was okay that he shot his friend,
that felt like the action of a weak person. Does
a strong person make excuses, tell stories to
justify his or her actions? What would the
occult masters or the crazy old Indian brujos
say?

Yet something like regret, something that

wanted to be regret, tugged at Joes heart
as he looked down at the body of his friend,
lying in a spreading pool of bright arterial
blood. Joe reminded himself that Cal
knew the Code, has sworn an oath to the
Code while smoking a joint impregnated
with sacred plants. Joe reminded himself
that Cal had chosen, of his own free will,
to betray Joe, knowing the punishment
for betrayal set forth in the Code. Joe
reminded himself that everything he had
achieved for himself: the money, the power,
the respect, had all come from his fastidious
observance of and enforcement of the Code.
The Fresno pot-dealing scene had been
chaos, back-stabbing and rip-offs until Joe
had created the Code. The Code had been
inspired by Joes dabblings in the occult and
he borrowed language and ritual from the
occult to give the Code some authority. The
Code said some crimes must be punished
by death. Those transgressed against had
not just permission, but an obligation, to
kill. Betrayal was one of those crimes, and
thats why Joe has to shoot his lieutenant,
his friend. To have not shot him was to
endanger the entire system Joe had worked
so hard to build.

Suddenly Joe was angry. If the Code said he

must shoot a friend, then fuck the Code. If
his modest drug empire was threatened by not
following the Code, then fuck that empire. If
his ability to afford a nice house, fine liquor,
fancy cars and a big screen TV was imperiled
by the loss of his empire, then fuck all of that
shit.

Joe knew that, on the off chance that

someone had heard the shots and called
the police, he should now be walking to his
car and driving away. It was not likely that
the police had been called, given that it was
the middle of the night in a part of town
dominated by railroad tracks, abandoned
industrial buildings and vacant lots. Yet
Joe had spent rleatively little time in prison
by refusing to take unnecessary chances.

Finally, Joe holstered his pistol, he turned,

and he left the vacant parking lot with the
lone yellow light buzzing overhead. He got
in his car, started the engine and drove. Yet
he didnt turn back towards the city, back to
his expensive condo with the king bed, the
whirlpool bath, the fortunes worth of native
American art on the walls, the occult library
and the safe full of drugs and cash. He turned
in the direction that led away from the city.
Where the road led, he did not know.

They would say, Joe realized, that you must

decide on the kind of person you want to be
and be that person. And Joe needed to be
brave enough to deal with the truth of the
matter: he didnt want to be the kind of person
who shoots a friend.

Joe has long ago chosen to be strong rather

than weak. Yet somehow, without realizing it,
he has slipped into weakness, become a slave
to his desires, his responsibilities, his beliefs.
And this had led him to shoot a friend, to not
even realize that he had another choice.
Joe realized that tears were streaming from
his one good eye. He knew what he needed to
do: choose what kind of person he wanted to
be and be it. And yet he didnt know what kind
of person he wanted to be, only that he didnt
want to be the person he was now.
Then it struck Joe that the only way to find
the person he wanted to be was to give up
the things that had grown to imprison him:
his wealth, his empire, his Code. He had to
set out, not knowing what he would find. It
was terrifying, but also thrilling, like many of
the great epiphanies described in his occult
books.

Chapter One
CHARACTER CREATION
Character Creation In Brief

1. Create a concept for your character.

2. Spend 24 points in 8 attributes. 10 Hit Points.
3. Spend 10 points among 11 skills. Different
skills have different costs.
4. Choose 4 levels of Paths.

5.
6.
7.
8.

Spend 5 points on equipment.

Take advantages and/or disadvantages.
Choose 3 eccentricities.
Gain and spend XP from gameplay.

Step One - Character Concept

In Brief: Create the basic idea of the character.
First, decide on the basic concept and
details of the PC. What is the PCs
gender, age and ethnicity? Where
does the PC come from? What does
the PC look like? What is the PCs
personality?
Why is the character seeking
wisdom, power or knowledge? Is it
pure curiosity? Is he or she seeking
power to help people? Seeking
power to battle some inner demon?
Is it belief that it is his or her fate?
How did the PC gain the freedom to
wander the roads of the world with
no responsibilities or attachments?
Did the PC slowly shed his or her
attachments? Did the PC leave his or
her normal life behind in a moment
of crisis? Or was the PC forced into
a life of wandering by external forces
(e.g. finding himself or herself on
the run as a wanted fugitive)? What
philosophical or mystical systems
did the PC study before coming a
Seeker? (See Traditions, p.72, for
more ideas on this.)

How Are Seekers Perceived?

The answer depends mostly on the Seeker himself
or herself. Path levels play in to this. Someone
with levels of +Harmony is likely to be perceived
as friendly and likeable. Someone with +Feeling
as passionate and intense. Someone with -Self
is likely to not be noticed at all. Eccentricities
play a large part as well: someone who comes
into town barefoot, or wearing monks robes, or
leading a pack of wolves, is likely to be judged
based on those things. The fact that a Seeker is
a wandering, homeless, jobless stranger is likely
to make people perceive the Seeker as mentally
ill, a criminal or grifter, or as a lazy bum.
People with training, money or power (e.g. a
serial killer, an FBI agent, a cult leader, a rich
eccentric, a spy, etc.) tend to underestimate
Seekers. Since the Seeker does not have what
those people look for in their peers or enemies,
they tend to dismiss Seekers, on first blush, as
being nobody of consequence.
All of these, of course, are first impressions.
After Seekers have had a chance to help or hurt
(or, in come cases, just confuse) people, they are
perceived quite differently. Seekers may end up
being perceived as geniuses, messiahs, devils,
magicians, incredibly well trained individuals
or extraordinarily lucky, all depending on what
they do and how they choose to explain what
theyve done.

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Character Concept Example: We envision our sample PC, Christina, as a tall,

proud, eccentric, itinerant country preacher, wearing blue-jeans, a flannel shirt
and a white priests collar. She is seeking the power to help her fellow human,
driven by a belief in compassion above all else. When her church was destroyed
by a hurricane she took it as a sign that she should wander the earth.

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What You Know

As a new Seeker, youve learned the

following:

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The world is vastly more

complicated than most people
believe. Most peoples view of how
the universe works is only a small
part of the picture, only answering
the questions that those people have
thought of to ask.
There are others who, like you,
are gaining knowledge and abilities
beyond those of normal humans.
What tradition they come from, what
they believe, what their abilities are,
what their reason for seeking is and
what they consider ethical can all
vary widely. The only common
factor is that they are all wanderers
or travelers, people not rooted by
family, career or community.
The path you are on is not a straight
path towards a known goal. It twists
and turns, branches off, dead ends,
sometimes even leads you full circle
to where you started. It is your
willingness to go wherever your path
leads you, rather than insisting on a
particular dogma or goal, that makes
you special.
The knowledge gained by one Seeker
cannot simply be taught to another.
Each path is personal and unique.
True Seekers are never disciples
of any one teacher, book or dogma.
Seekers may temporarily act under
someone elses direction to try to
learn some skill or lesson, but Seekers
only truly progress when they are free
to do, think and learn whatever seems
right to them at the moment. A Seeker can never predict where the next
insight will come from, or what the
Seeker will gain from that insight.

You cannot understand the universe

without fixing your own flaws, and
you cannot fix your own flaws
without understanding the universe.
Being a Seeker is the difficult and
strenuous act of trying to do both
simultaneously.
A challenge, especially a difficulty
one and especially when there is
much at stake, can help prompt new
breakthroughs for a Seeker.
Others that have supernormal
abilities include those rare people
who were born with them, people
who learned them by rote (and have
none of the wisdom that accompanies
them in Seekers), people who are
advanced practitioners of various
magical, mystical, philosophical,
religious or intellectual systems, and
those who were once wanderers like
you (although they may have since
descended into a state of abject
ignorance or insanity).
Some of the worst problems
of individuals and communities
are those that some Seekers call
demons. These problems adapt
and are hard to destroy (so much so
that the words alive or intelligent
may, in come contexts, be applicable
to them) and operate on levels that
regular people are usually unaware
of.
Some Seekers believe in a higher
being or beings (gods, totems,
ancestor spirits, aliens) and
some do not. There has been no
definitive proof either way and
those that believe do so as a matter
of faith. The wisdom and abilities
of Seekerdom are open to believers
and to non-believers equally.

Step Two - Attributes

Endurance (END)- This represents
stamina for intense physical exertion as
well as the bodys ability to fight disease
and resist toxins. Endurance is used when
You have 24 points to spread between 8 a character needs to hold his or her breath,
attributes. You must put at least 1 point in go on a long hike or survive a serious
each and you cannot put more than 5 in illness.
any. Later character creation options may
increase or decrease attributes above 5 or Intelligence (INL)- This represents
below 1.
the speed at which the mind reacts, ability
with abstract thought, learning, creativity
1 represents the lowest a person can
and memory.
be in that attribute without being
considered disabled.
Speed (SPD)- This represents the
2-3 represents the attribute level for
ability to run and leap.
an average, healthy adult.
5 represents the highest a person can
Strength (STH)- This represents
be in that attribute without being
upper body strength, including the
considered superhuman.
strength of the characters hands and
back. A character would use Strength to
The attributes are as follows:
yank an item from someones hands or lift
a heavy object.
Agility
(AGY)- This represents
limberness, coordination, balance and Willpower (WIL)- This represents
speed of physical reactions. Agility is used the ability to resist emotions, discomfort
when a character needs to move silently, or psychological manipulation. WIL
keep his or her balance, scale a wall or get would be used to control oneself in the
through a small space.
face of strong emotions, resist pain, stay
conscious or battle against mind control.
Awareness (AWR)- This represents
the ability to notice things. This is not the The PC also starts with 10 Hit Points.
acuity of ones senses, but rather the ability
to be aware of important details. Awareness
is used whenever characters need to notice
a clue, avoid an ambush or sense attempts
at mental manipulation.
In Brief: Split 24 points between 8 attributes, min. 1, max. 5. 10 Hit Points.

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Charm
(CHM)- This represents
likeability, social presence, persuasiveness
and ability to read people. Charm is used
when a character needs to put on an act,
convince an audience, seduce someone or
pick up on subtle social cues.
Attributes Example: We decide Christina should be Smart, Charming, Willful
and just a little Stronger than average. Altogether we spread our points out as
AGY 2, AWR 2, CHM 5, END 2, INL 4, SPD 2, STH 3 and WIL 4 (24 in total).
We also note that Christina has 10 Hit Points.

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Step Three - Mundane Skills

In Brief: 10 skill points, skills cost 1 to 4
points per level, min. 0 max. 5 levels for
each skill, 1-2 levels gives 1 specialty,
3-5 gives 2.

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You start with 10 skill points to buy skills

with. Skills are bought in levels, with each
skill having a different per-level cost:
Academic - 2 points per level
Athletic - 3 points per level
Combat - 4 points per level
Creative - 1 point per level
Criminal - 4 points per level
Tech - 1 point per level
Investigation/Espionage - 4 points per level
Labor - 1 point per level
Medicine - 3 points per level
People - 2 points per level
Traditional - 1 point per level
Specialties- Specialties act as one extra
level in that skill (see p.33 for more). For
instance, if you have 2 levels in Academic
and a specialty of Math, you can do Math
as if you had 3 skill levels. For every skill
you have at least one level in, choose one
specialty. For each skill you have at least
three levels in, choose two specialties.
Each specialty can be taken only once.
Some advantages give a free skill specialty
without conferring any levels in that skill.
If a PC has a specialty without levels in
the skill, he or she can make a skill roll,
dealing with that specialty only, as if the
PC had one skill level.

Skills and their specialties are as follows:

Academic
Cost: 2 points per level
Typical Attribute: INL
Specialties:
Sciences*: Includes biology, chemistry,
geology,
meteorology,
archeology,
paleontology, physics, psychology. Example
Equipment: Reference books, calculators,
microscopes, chemical reagents, picks,
brushes, barometer.
Humanities*: Philosophy, religion,
mythology. Example Equipment: Reference
books.
Business & Law*: Business law,
criminal law, tort law, legal research,
business,
economics,
social
work,
government, politics. Example Equipment:
Reference books.
Math*:
Mathematics,
statistics,
accounting, cryptography, mnemonics.
Example Equipment: Calculator, reference
books, graphing calculator, computer.

Athletic
Cost: 3 points per level
Typical Attribute: AGY
Specialties:
Outdoors*: Running, hiking, rock
climbing, mountain climbing, swimming,
SCUBA diving.
Example Equipment:
Running shoes, climbing gear, wetsuit,
flippers, SCUBA gear.

Skills Example: We want Christina to have the sort of skills a country girl might
have, and we want her to be skilled at dealing with people, so we give her two
levels of Traditional (costing 2 points), two levels of Labor (costing 2 points)
and three levels of People (costing 6 points). This uses all 10 skill points. In
Labor we choose the specialty of Building, in Traditional we choose Livelihood
and in People (since she has 3 levels) we choose Performance and Social.
Since Christina has 5 CHM, her AV for People rolls is 8 (5 CHM + 3 skill
levels). Her AV for People rolls where she is Performing is 9 (5 CHM + 3 skill
levels +1 for having a specialty).

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 Vehicles:
skateboarding,
hanggliding.

Bicycling,
skating, music, amp, computer with music editing
kayaking, parachuting, software.

Writing*: Writing fiction, writing non Martial Arts: Control: Aikido, tae fiction, editing, penmanship. Example
kwon do, wrestling. This is the combat equipment: Notebook, pen, dictionary,
style Control, but with no equipment thesaurus, laptop with word processor.
packages available. See p.37 for more.
Martial Arts: Exhaust: Boxing, Criminal
kickboxing, wrestling. This is the combat
style Exhaust, but with no equipment Cost: 4 points per level
packages available. See p.37 for more.
Typical Attribute: AGY

Combat
Cost: 4 points per level
Typical Attribute: N/A (see p.37)
Specialties:
Kill*: This is the combat style Kill.
See p.37 for more. Example Equipment:
Knives, swords, sniper rifles, bow and
arrow, shotgun.

Specialties:
Underworld*:
Black
market,
organized crime, drugs, gambling. Example
Equipment: Stylish suit, small scales, cell
phone, loaded dice.
Trickery*: Disguise, impersonation,
forgery. Example Equipment: Disguise kit,
x-acto knife, laminator, computer and color
printer.

Theft*: Lock picking, alarm systems,

Control*: This is the combat style pocket picking, prowling, auto-theft.
Control. See p.37 for more. Example Example Equipment: Lockpicks, slim jim,
Equipment: Armor, rope, chain, net.
dark clothes, electronics tools, crowbar.
Exhaust*: This is the combat style
Exhaust. See p.37 for more. Example Tech
Equipment: Armor, brass knuckles, steelCost: 1 point per level
toed boots.
Ruin*: This is the combat style Ruin. Typical Attribute: INL
See p.37 for more. Example Equipment: Specialties:
Pepper spray, taser.
Hardware*: Electronics, repairing and

upgrading computer hardware, networks.
Example Equipment: Electronics tools,
Creative
electronics reference book, voltmeter, spare
Cost: 1 point per level
parts, laptop with network diagnostic
Typical Attribute: AWR
software.
Specialties:

Software*: Doing internet research,

using software, writing computer programs,
internet publishing. Example Equipment:
Smart-phone, laptop, satellite internet
service card.

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Visual Arts*: Photography, sculpture,

painting, drawing, filmmaking. Example
Equipment: Sketch pad, pencils, pens,
paint, brushes, camera, movie camera,
carving tools, clay, computer with video Hacking*: Hacking, phone phreaking,
editing software.
data pirating, anonymity, denial of service
Music*: Writing and reading music, attacks. Example Equipment: Laptop, telco
playing instruments, singing. Example linework handset, common hacking tools,
Equipment: Instrument, books of sheet rented bot-nets.

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Investigation/Espionage
Cost: 4 points per level
Typical Attribute: INL
Specialties:

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Pharmaceuticals*:
Pharmacology,
psychopharmacology. Example equipment:
Common medications, physicians desk
reference, syringe.

People

Military*: Military tactics, using and

disarming explosives, offensive driving, Cost: 2 points per level
WMDs.
Example Equipment: Maps, Typical Attribute: CHM
GPS, bomb-disarming tools, chemical and
Specialties:
biological weapon sensors.
Performance: Oratory, storytelling,
Investigating People*: Interrogation, dance.
brainwashing, torture, law enforcement
research. Example Equipment: Handcuffs, Social*: Seduction, fashion, makeup,
sodium
pentothal,
background-check counseling. Typical Equipment: Various
outfits for different occasions, makeup, skin
database access.
creams, perfume or cologne, counseling
Crime Scene*: Crime scene forensics, handbook.
forensic pathology, autopsies. Example
Speaking
foreign
Equipment: Tools, evidence collection kits, Language*:
languages.
Example
Equipment:
Foreign
microscope, field gunpowder residue tests,
language phrasebooks, dictionaries, pocket
autopsy kit.
translators.

Labor
Cost: 1 point per level
Typical Attribute: INL
Specialties:
Building/Repair*:
Blacksmithing,
welding, electronics, carpentry, mechanics,
plumbing. Example Equipment: Leatherman, tool kit, blowtorch, spare fuses, tape
measure, duct tape.

Traditional
Cost: 1 points per level
Typical Attribute: AWR
Specialties:
Traditional Medicine*: Ethnogenic
psychoactives,
herbal
medicine,
acupuncture.
Example Equipment:
Common medicinal herbs, common
psychoactives, acupuncture needles.

Transport: Driving passenger vehicles,

driving construction machinery, sailing, Survival*: Wilderness survival, light
sleep, navigation, finding and making
flying.
shelters, building fires, tracking. Example
Power: Demolitions, heavy machinery. Equipment: Compass, hatchet, canteen,
water purification tablets, flint and magnesium fire starter, fishing line, fish hook.
Medicine
Cost: 3 points per level
Typical Attribute: INL

Tricks: Hypnosis, lip reading, sleight

of hand.

Livelihood*: Animal training, cooking,

traditional crafts, wildcrafting. Example
Trauma*:
Emergency
medicine, equipment: Knives, scissors, grooming
physical therapy. Example Equipment: tools, scrapers, animal care books, wild
First aid kit, fully stocked paramedic case. plants handbook, mini-blowtorch, pliers.
Surgery*: Surgery, plastic surgery.
Example Equipment: Field surgical kit, *Indicates that an equipment package is
available for this specialty, see Step 5.
anesthetics.
Specialties:

Talents
In Brief: 1 skill point for an extra specialty to be able to do one specific thing.

Anything that humans can learn to do but that is not mentioned in the skill
descriptions can be learned as a Talent. Talents cost 1 skill point each and
act as an additional specialty for whatever skill is most appropriate. The
specialty allows the PC to make skill rolls to do that one specific activity.
Talents are good for tricks that are not part of any normal course of study.
For instance, no normal curriculum in Athletic or People or Traditional will
teach a person sword swallowing, although it is definitely something people
can learn to do.
For example: Ted wants to learn how to swallow swords, so he spends 1
skill point to buy a specialty of Athletic called Swallow Swords. If he has
zero levels in Athletic, this Talent gives him a Sword Swallowing AV of AGY
+1 (for having a specialty). If he has levels in Athletic, his AV is AGY +
Athletic +1. Players should consult with GMs whether equipment packages
are available for a Talent. For instance, a GM might say there is no special
Sword Swallowing equipment package.
Talents can be used for things a PC has learned in absence of the greater
context of learning that typically goes with it. Say, for instance, that a
PC is an avid birdwatcher and knows everything about birds, but knows
nothing about any other type of wildlife or about nature, biology or science
in general. That PC would have an Academics of zero with a specialty (a
Talent) of Bird Knowledge. The things the PC could do with this Talent
would be very limited because they wouldnt have the science background
to generalize beyond basic facts.
Talents should be only for very specific activities, e.g. swallowing swords
or answering questions about birds. Surgery would be too broad of a
subject matter and should be purchased by buying the skill Medicine and the
Surgery specialty. Removing Bullets, however, might be an appropriate
talent for a gang member who has no medical training but has been forced
to dig bullets out of friends.

Training

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Skill costs to buy skill levels with XP during during gameplay can be reduced
by studying with a skilled teacher. The exact cost should be negotiated with
the GM and cannot go lower than 1 skill point per level. For example: Marita
finds a master martial artist and apprentices herself to him, doing whatever
tasks or exercises he assigns her. During the period the GM allows Marita
to buy Athletic at a cost of 1 skill point per level.

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Step Four - Paths

In Brief: Buy 4 levels in Paths. 1-2
levels gives 1 Specialty and 1 Focus,
3-5 gives 2 Specialties and 2 Focuses.

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There are eight Paths, and you start with 4

levels among these Paths. You can put all
four levels in one Path, or you can spread
the levels out among multiple Paths.
Each Path that you have at least one
level in gives you access to Path Abilities
(listed in Chapter Five, p.100). When
you have one or two levels in any given
Path, you can choose one Specialty and
one Focus in that Path. When you have
three or more levels in any given Path,
you can choose one Specialty and one
Focus in that Path.
For each Path the PC has levels in, write
a brief (e.g. one sentence) description
of how the PC conceives that Path, or
what that Path means to the PC. These
descriptions can, and should, change over
time as the PC and his or her relationship
to the Paths changes. The description
helps the GM know the PCs outlook, and
it helps the PC to justify different things
he or she wants to use the Paths for.

Path Specialties- A Path Specialty

is much like a skill specialty. This is an
element of that Path that the PC is more
practiced in than the others, and thus can
use that ability as if he or she has one extra
level in that Path. To select a Specialty,
choose any one Path ability, an attribute
bonus from having Path levels, or an activity
that you can gain plusses to from that Path
(including combat).
Focuses- A Focus is an activity that puts
the PC in the right state of consciousness to
use Path Abilities for that particular Path.
After using a Focus, the PC gets a temporary
one extra level in that Path. The Focus must
be either time consuming (e.g. staring at a fire,
taking a walk, having a conversation) or carry
some level of risk or damage to the PC (e.g.
using hallucinogens, sleep deprivation, using
a sweat lodge). Even if a PC has two Focuses,
only one can be used at any given time.
Different Paths can share a Focus (for
instance, a PC might have Medication as
the focus for both -Thought and -Feeling)
but when using a Focus the PC must declare
which Path he or she is boosting (e.g. are
you meditating on not thinking or on not
being affected by emotions?).

Paths Example: We decide to give Christina 3 levels in +Harmony and 1 level in

+Self. For +Harmony we can choose two Specialties and two Focuses, and for
+Self we can choose one Specialty and one Focus.
For the +Self Specialty we choose +Self plusses to attributes. For all other +Self
abilities, Christina has a level of 1, but when computing her plusses to attributes
from being on the Path of +Self, we count her as having 2 levels. As her Focus, she
chooses Preaching (a time consuming activity). After Preaching, she can act as if
she had 2 levels of +Self and has the plusses to attributes consistent with 3 levels of
+Self.
For +Harmony Specialties we chose Making Friends (Christina can now add 4 levels
of +Harmony to making friends) and Combat (when we are able to add +Harmony
to combat, we can add 4 levels). For Focuses, we choose Laying On of Hands and
Reading the Bible.
Now we must write a brief description of each Path Christina has levels in, as
Christina sees them. +Harmony we describe as The idea that God loves everyone
and everything and so should we. +Self we describe as We are all always good
enough for everything God needs us to do.

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Using Paths In Brief

All Paths give plusses to combat AVs, but only in certain circumstances and only
when using certain combat styles.
Some Paths give plusses to attributes, based on the levels one has in the Path.
These attribute plusses are always on.
Each Path has abilities. These are a lot like skills. They are things only people in
that Path can do. One rolls Path level vs. a difficulty determined by the GM.
Any other roll you make can gain a bonus (+1 or +2 per level) if you can convince
the GM that your pursuit of the Path, as you understand it, helps with that kind of
activity. The PCs personal understanding of their Path (as described in their oneline Path descriptions) is important in determining what activities can be aided by
the Path.
Having a specialty means you can act as if you had one extra Path level in whatever
use of the Path (any of the above) you have the focus in.
Using a Focus lets you act, temporarily, as if you have one extra level in that Path.

A brief description of the Paths and their Typical Seekers: A philosophy major
abilities follows. For more, see p.100.
who is out to find out whether there is a
practical use for all the books he or she
-Thinking
has read. A student of Tibetan dialectic
Concept: Those on the Path of -Thinking debate who believes that one can arrive
believe that most of the problems that logic, at the solution to any problem through
philosophy and science are attempting to solve logic. A brilliant mathematician who
are problems that logic, philosophy and science is trying to use advanced mathematical
have invented. People already know most of principles to model the more ephemeral
what they need to know about the universe and aspects of life.
the answers to most questions are simple, and so Abilities: Deduction, Improv, Profile
-Thinkers try to learn to silence the chattering Thought Strengths.
of the mind so they can hear the wisdom and
answers they already have.
-Self
Typical Seekers: A student of Zen who uses
Concept: Those on the Path of -Self learn
meditation to silence the mind. A retired
to distrust and to shed ideas about self.
housewife who has seen enough foolishness
They strive to become egoless, believing
to know that a dose of common sense beats an
neither in their own strengths nor their
ideology or philosophy any day of the week.
own weaknesses. They learn to see the
Abilities: Dumb Luck, Profile Thought self-identities of others as nothing more
than poorly-told-stories that have nothing
Weaknesses, Reading Bones.
to do with reality except where they create
reality as self-fulfilling prophecies.
+Thinking
Concept: For those on the Path of +Thinking,
the human capacity for logic and reasoning is the
greatest tool we will ever have and one whose
potential we havent even begun to tap. They do
not believe that some are born smart and others
not, but that each person develops their mental
abilities through practice. Ideas, concepts and
abstractions are considered keys that open
different doors to understanding and +Thinkers
go around collecting as many as possible.

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Typical Seekers: A monotheist who

believes the ultimate act of supplication
to God is the humility of giving up self.
A critic of modern society who thinks that
peoples adoption of ridiculous roles is
damaging to the human spirit. An Eastern
mystic who believes that attachment to
selfhood is a barrier to enlightenment.
Abilities: Mirror of Self, Profile SelfIdentity Weaknesses, Unnoticable.

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Sample Focuses by Path
-Thought: Meditation, using
hallucinogens, reading tarot
cards, taking a walk, doing
calligraphy.

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+Thought:
Reading
a
book, engaging in debate,
drinking
coffee,
making
diagrams, blogging, silent
contemplation.
-Self: Being an anonymous
member of a crowd, being
enigmatic, getting others to
talk about themselves, menial
labor, being alone, providing
medical care to others.
+Self: Looking in the mirror,
using deliriants, getting dressed
up, playing sports, martial arts
practice, yelling at people,
flirting.
-Harmony: Self-mutilation,
engaging in a rant, visualizing
ones own death, breaking
taboos, observing others while
staying unseen, reading about
historical injustices, being
insulted.
+Harmony: Sitting in nature,
giving a massage, eating a meal
with a family, keeping an altar,
dancing, giving compliments.
-Feeling: Fasting, making
calculations, sleep deprivation,
sleeping outside, giving things
away, solitude.
+Feeling: Having sex, making
art, listening to music, hiking,
watching a sunrise, getting
in a fistfight, singing, using
hallucinogens.

Concept: Those on the Path of -Self learn that selfconfidence, believing in oneself, is a key to unlocking
human potential. They strive to be able to control
what they believe about themselves and to believe it
so strongly that whatever they believe in, if it is not
already true, becomes so.
Typical Seekers: An athlete or martial artist who has
learned that the key to success is self-confidence. A
user of native psychoactive plants that give one a
feeling of strength and power. A political radical who
believes that people need to overcome the feeling of
powerlessness that society has instilled in people.
Abilities: Animal Magnetism, Choose Identity, Profile
Self-Identity Strengths.

-Harmony
Concept: Those on the Path of -Harmony have purposefully put themselves outside of society so that
they can question everything from an unbiased point
of view. For those on this Path the saying just because
everyone believes it doesnt make it true is a very important one. Those in this Path know that by being on
the outside one can see solutions that those on the inside cant, and they learn to resist the instinct to reach
harmony with the ideas of others that so often causes
groupthink. Out of all the Paths, -Harmony practitioners are best able to explore their dark sides.
Typical Seekers: A social psychologist who has studied
the errors caused by groupthink. A political and social
radical who believes that modern society is as blind
to its injustices and moral failings as slave-owning
society was to its own. An aboriginal sorcerer whose
power comes from exploring activities and items that
the native culture considers taboo. A goth poet who
seeks to find beauty in what everyone else considers
ugliness.
Abilities: Profile Harmony Weaknesses, Sabotage
Harmony.

+Harmony
Concept: Those on the Path of +Harmony believe that
no man is an island, that each person is connected to
and depends on the people and natural world around
them, and that being in harmony with ones body,
community and environment is a route to peace,
prosperity and power. Those on this Path strive to
learn the healthiest way of living and interacting with
ones environment, and learn that it is much easier to
get by in the world by doing so.

Typical Seekers: A Mexican Curandera

(traditional healer) who has learned to treat
not only physical illness but also illnesses in
peoples relationships with those around them.
A tree-hugging hippie who still believes that
it is possible for people to love each other. A
devout monotheist who takes seriously his or
her religions laws about treating your neighbors
problems as your own. A professional mediator
who has learned that cooperation is always
more rewarding than competition.
Abilities: Fix Harmony, Luck, Profile Harmony
Weaknesses.

-Feeling
Concept: Those on the Path of -Feeling believe
that emotions are the key enemy of reason and
that far too many people, whether they know it
or not, make decisions based on what they feel
rather than on what is rational. Those on this
Path learn to control their emotions and protect
their thoughts from interference by emotion.
They also learn not to let the universe provoke
unwanted emotions in them.
Typical Seekers: An ascetic yogi learning to
live with few earthly pleasures in order to feel
cosmic pleasures. A cynical skeptic who sees
base emotions like fear and hatred behind what
most people call reason. A Buddhist monk who
is trying to learn to react only with compassion,
no matter what might happen.
Abilities: Absorb Emotions, Profile Feeling
Weaknesses, Survive on Little.

+Feeling
Concept: For those on this Path, emotions and
feelings are a source of power and wisdom that
goes untapped in most people. Students of this
Path learn to be aware of their own feelings, to
enhance the power of their feelings and draw
power from them. They are also able to express
their feelings strongly enough to evoke feelings
in others.
Typical Seekers: An artist seeking to understand
and document the human experience through
art. A primal scream therapist who believes
that expressing emotions is they key to health.
A high-class call girl who believes that the
most powerful thing in the world is an un-met
emotional need.
Abilities: Chanelling, Gut Intuition, Overpower
Emotion, Profile Feeling Strengths.

Sample Focuses by Tradition

Art: Painting, drawing, dancing,
reading poetry, singing, playing
music, viewing art, listening to music,
drinking absinthe.
Buddhism: Meditation, chanting,
burning incense, sitting, contemplating riddles, menial labor.
Freedom: Driving, walking, listening
to music, being lost.
Hippie/New Age Philosophy: Singing, using hallucinogens, using marijuana, meditating, staring at crystals,
chanting, being naked, having sex.
Martial Arts: Doing katas (martial
art exercises), doing Tai Chi,
meditating.
Mathematics: Doing calculations,
making lists, drawing diagrams.
Monotheism: Praying, reading
a holy book, meditating, burning
incense, chanting, singing, preaching,
maintaining an altar, dancing, selfflagellation, visualizing the death of
a martyr.

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Occultism: Rituals, meditation, sex,

using hallucinogens, reading books.
Ordinary Life: Having conversations,
walking, menial labor, silent
contemplation, making crafts.
Philosophy: Debating, reading books,
writing, lecturing, walking.
Psychology: Talking with a trusted
confidant,
silent
introspection,
playing word-association games,
analyzing dreams, looking at ink
blots, role-playing.
Shamanism: Using hallucinogens,
using deliriants, fasting, dancing,
beating drums, being alone in nature,
sleep deprivation, self-mutilation.

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Step Five - Equipment

In Brief: The PC starts with 5
Equipment Points worth of equipment. Equipment Points can be
used to buy Equipment Packages
or special equipment.

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Equipment Packages

The following skill specialties have equipment packages available:

Academic: Sciences, Humanities, Business
& Law, Math
Athletic: Outdoors
Combat: Kill, Control, Exhaust, Ruin
Creative: Visual Arts, Music, Writing
Criminal: Trickery, Theft
Tech: Hardware, Software, Hacking
Investigation/Espionage: Military, Investigating People, Crime Scene
Labor: Building/Repair
Medicine: Trauma, Surgery, Pharmaceuticals
People: Social, Language
Traditional: Traditional Medicine, Survival,
Livelihood

Many skill specialties have a corresponding equipment package. This

is a set of tools and reference materials that help a person use a skill
specialty. Equipment packages are
bought in levels, from 1 to 3. Level
one (O) is the cheapest equipment
and level three (OOO) is the most
expensive, complete and high-tech
set of equipment. For instance, Academic: Humanities O might be a few
dusty old paperback books, while
Humanities OOO might be a library Example: If one were to spend 1 Equipment Point for
of hundreds of books and journals a package to correspond to the Outdoors specialty of
Athletic, one would have Athletic: Outdoors O Package,
on the hard drive of a laptop.
which might be a backpack, a compass, an old leather
Each level of an equipment package jacket and a good pair of gloves and would give +1
gives +1 to skill rolls of that to Outdoor skill rolls. If one were to spend 6 EP one
could buy Athletic: Outdoors OOO, which might be an
specialty.
expensive gore-tex jacket, GPS, tent, pocket fishing kit,
The cost for an equipment package laser fire starter, wetsuit, mountain climbing tools and
more and would give +3 to Outdoors rolls.
is the as follows:
Cost
1 EP
3 EP
6 EP

Package Level
O
OO
OOO

Combat Packages- Like other skills, one

can purchase equipment packages for combat skill

specialties. A Combat: Kill O package might be
a straight-razor. Combat: Kill OOO might be riot
armor and two poisoned katanas.

Equipment Example: Since Christina has the skills Traditional, Labor and People, we decide to give her the packages Traditional: Survival OO, costing 3 EP and
People: Social O, costing 1 EP. We want her to defend herself, so we spend her last
EP point on Combat: Kill O. We envision this equipment as some wilderness survival gear (a tent, bedroll, hatchet, fishing line and hook), a nice outfit for preaching in and some makeup, a small mirror and hairbrush, and a hunting knife.
Since she has two levels of the skill Traditional, and has the Traditional: Survival
OO equipment package, when she makes a Survival skill roll, her AV is the applicable attribute (AWR, which is 2) +2 (from having two levels of the skill) +2 (from
having 2 levels of the appropriate equipment package). So her AV is 6 altogether,
which is fairly good.

020

Double the cost to make any combat package

ranged, e.g. throwing knives, a bow and
arrows, pistol, or sniper rile, depending on
the level purchased.

Encumbrance- Assume that a healthy

PC can carry 6 EP worth of equipment

packages, e.g. in a backpack. Any more
equipment than this and a PC will need a
vehicle or some other storage space.

Specific Equipment- Some pieces

of equipment dont correspond to any
skill specialty and are thus listed as their
own separate items. These include drugs,
animals, explosives, vehicles and other
miscellaneous tools.
Drugs- Only recreational drugs are
listed.
Plain medical pharmaceuticals
should be purchased as Medicine: Trauma
or Medicine: Pharmaceuticals packages.
Herbal Medicines should be purchased as a
Traditional: Traditional Medicine package.

Should You Buy a Gun?

In most roleplaying games, the wisest
thing to do during character creation is to
make the PC as combat-able as possible
so the PC can survive encounters with
increasingly tough enemy combatants.
Not buying a gun, or some equivalent
weapon, when you have the resources
to do so, would be unwise. In Seeker,
however, you could buy a weapon, but
not having one could be just as valid a
choice, perhaps even a better choice, for
the following reasons:
Seeker is a game of great, but subtle
powers. There are no giant monsters or
super-strong cyborgs, just people. PCs
might face enemies with guns, but Seekers
have Path abilities that can put them on
equal footing with those enemies, even
when the PCs are unarmed.

The cost listed for a drug is the cost for

one dose per day. A PC with one of the
following should always start play with one
dose on hand.

The prototypical Seeker adventure (see

p.143) involves gaining the trust of people
in need and then helping them. Violence,
or threats of violence, may not be the
best way to help people. If the PCs are
trying to find a child lost in a mine, or stop
a blood feud between two Appalachian
clans, or convince the members of a
cult that they are being manipulated and
brainwashed, a gun might be of no help
at all, and character creation points spent
on weapons and combat skills might have
been better spent elsewhere.

Alcohol (costs 1 EP): +1 vs. pain/fear,
-1 AGY, -1 AWR, -1 INL, Addiction OO.

Caffeine (costs 1 EP): +1 vs.
unconsciousness.

Cigarettes (costs 1 EP): Addiction O.

Cocaine/Crack (costs 2 EP): +4 vs.
unconsciousness, Addiction 6, Paranoid
Delusions O.

Deliriants (costs 1 EP): These are
various dangerous plants, e.g. jimsonweed,
that can cause psychotic behavior. Delusions
OOOO, Amnesia OOO, +1 END, +1 Hit
Points, -1 AWR, -1 WIL, Heart Attack O.

Finally, Seekers can only progress on the

Paths when they are challenged. Failing
an adventure, or just barely winning, gives
more Experience Points than winning
easily. Going into a situation with few
resources helps ensure that the PC will
actually be challenged. Facing down
a bar full of angry, drunk bikers is not
going to be much of a challenge if the PC
is a world-class martial artist or a pistolpacking badass. Facing a bar full of angry,
drunk bikers with no weapons and little
or no combat skills can cause a Seeker to
reach deep into his or her bag of tricks and
find out more about his or her Path

If more than 1 dose of a drug is taken,

double the bad effects and keep good effects
the same. Withdrawal from a drug (the side
effects when a regular user stops using the
drug) is, unless specified otherwise, the
opposite of the normal effects of the drug.

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Ecstasy (costs 2 EP): Euphoria OO, -5 Explosives- The PC starts with one
vs. hallucinations/delusions, Addiction OO. explosive per game session.

Hallucinogens (costs 2 EP): These
Explosive O (costs 1 EP) will destroy
are various chemicals (e.g. LSD) or plants anything in 5 ft.
(e.g. peyote, ayahuasca). Hallucinations 7,

Explosive OO (costs 2 EP) will destroy
Delusions OO, +1 AWR.
anything in 20 ft.

Heroin (costs 3 EP): +5 vs. pain, +4 vs.

Explosive OOO (costs 3 EP) will
fear, -1 AGY, Euphoria 5, Addiction 6.
destroy anything in 50 ft.

Inhalants (costs 1 EP): Euphoria 5, +2
vs. pain, -2 AGY, -2 AWR, -2 INL, Addiction
Vehicles
OO.

Bicycle, Kayak or Junker Car cost 1

Marijuana (costs 2 EP): -2 to memory EP.
rolls, -1 INL, -2 AWR, +2 vs. fear/anger/
Moped or Junker Motorcycle costs 2
pain, Addiction O.
EP.

Meth (costs 3 EP): +2 vs.
Motorboat, RV, New Motorcycle,
unconsciousness, Addiction 5.
New Car cost 4 EP.

Opium (costs 2 EP): +2 vs. fear, -1 INL,
Personal Aircraft or Heavily-1 AGY, Euphoria OO, Addiction OOOO.
Upgraded Sports Car cost 6 EP.

Psychedelics (costs 1 EP): These
are chemicals or plants that have a similar Miscl Equipment
Binoculars (Costs 1 EP)
effect to hallucinogens but are milder.
Hallucinations O, Euphoria O, +1 AWR.

Bug (Costs 2 EP): Audio/camera bug
or tracking bug. Comes with receiver or
Animals- Animals come in three tracker.
basic types: untrained, trained and highly
Cellphone (Costs 1 EP)
trained. Untrained animals are habituated
Digital Camera (Costs 1 EP)
to human presence but dont know how to

Flashlight: Heavy Duty (Costs 1 EP)
follow any commands. Trained animals
can follow basic commands common to
Gasmask (Costs 1 EP)
that animal (e.g. a horse knows giddyup
GPS (costs 1 EP)
and woah). A highly trained animal has

Handcuffs (Costs 1 EP)
been specifically trained in one specialty
Musical Instrument (Costs 1 EP)
skill, e.g. a bloodhound is trained to track
people by scent.

Laptop (Costs 2 EP): Comes with
wimax
access to the internet in any urban

Dog: Untrained (Costs 1 EP). Kill AV
area.
+1
EP to give it satellite based access
3, Hit Points 6.
anywhere in the continental US.

Dog: Trained (Costs 2 EP). Kill AV 3,

Nightvision Goggles (Costs 2 EP)
Hit Points 6.

Poison: Deadly (costs 1 EP): 1 dose per

Dog: Highly Trained (Costs 4 EP). adventure. Ingestor dies within 5 minutes
Includes seeing-eye-dogs, bloodhounds, without medical intervention.
fighting dogs. Kill AV 4, Hit Points 6.

Poison: Debilitating (costs 1 EP).

Horse: Untrained (Costs 2 EP). Ruin 1 dose per adventure. Ingestor takes -4
AV 2, Hit Points 8.
penalty to all rolls.

Horse: Trained (Costs 4 EP). Ruin
Poison: Knockout (costs 2 EP). 1
AV 2, Hit Points 8.
dose per adventure. 5 difficulty save vs.

Horse: Highly Trained (Costs 8 EP). unconsciousness, -3 AWR, -3 INL.
Includes horses trained for hunting, racing
Smartphone (Costs 2 EP): Can connect
to the internet in most urban areas.
or war. Ruin AV 3, Hit Points 8.

Spraypaint (Costs 1 EP): 4 cans per adventure.

Tent & Sleeping Bag (Costs 1 EP)
Video Camera (Costs 1 EP)
Walkie Talkies (Costs 1 EP/pair)

Pocket Money- This is a source of income that the

PC can depend on to give the PC access to money. This
might be dividends from wisely invested money, royalties
from a book, care-packages sent by concerned relatives,
etc.
Money cannot be saved and accumulated between
adventures. It is assumed that money not spent by the
end of an adventure will be spent after the adventure and
before the next. Pocket money does not include money a
PC earns during an adventure (in game).

Free Equipment
The following very minor
or very common equipment
costs 0 EP: Shoes, clothing, a
hat, gloves, cheap jewelry, a
backpack, sunglasses, condoms,
a handkerchief, a jacket,
glasses, a cane, a walking stick,
a cheap flashlight, a few books
(nothing powerful enough to
act as a skill package), paper,
pens, pencils, a padlock.

Each point of EP gives $25 at the start of each adventure.

Step Six - Advantages & Disads

In Brief: Buy advantages with BP, get BP
for demons and disads. 1 Attribute Point,
3 Skill Points or 3 Equipment Points =
1 Bonus Point.
The PC can gain Bonus Points by taking
disadvantages or by reducing Attribute Points,
Skill Points or Equipment Points. The PC
can spend Bonus Points on advantages or on
additional Attribute Points, Skill Points or
Equipment Points.
1 Attribute Point = 1 BP
3 Skill Points = 1 BP
4 Equipment Points = 1 BP

Available advantages, disadvantages

and demons follow:

Advantages
Contact (Costs 1 BP): The PC has a contact he or she can call on for information,
advice, or sometimes help. To keep the
relationship healthy, the PC should generally repay favors. The contact is high
up in one of the following: law enforcement, government, academia, big business, intelligence, military or medicine.
Criminal Background (Costs 3 BP):
Gives Criminal (2) and a free Kill or
Ruin specialty of Combat.

Fame (Costs 1 BP): The PC has gained

some renown, enough so that most
people will recognize the PCs name,
and about one in thirty will recognize the
PC by sight. The PC might be a famous
A PC cannot take more than 8 points of disads author, artist, guru, scientist, etc.
without special permission from the GM.
A PC can also lower Hit Points to get BP. A
PC receives 1 BP for 2 Hit Points. Hit Points
cannot be reduced below 6. Hit Points cannot
be increased using Bonus Points.

Advantages and Disads Example: Looking at the list of disads, we decide that
Christina will have a young child, her daughter, with her on her journeys. We take
the Caregiver: Child disad, which gives 2 BP. We decide not to give Christina
any Demons. Looking to spend those 2 BP, we look through the advantages. We
find Physically Attractive, which costs 1 BP and will leave her with 1 BP left. We
choose to trade that 1 BP for 1 Attribute Point and increase her AGY to 3.

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Law Enforcement Background (Costs

3 BP): Gives Investigation/Espionage (2)
and a free Martial Arts: Control specialty
of Athletic. Costs +1 BP for the PC to still
be employed as an active member of law
enforcement.

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Medical Background (Costs 3 BP): Gives

the skills Academic (1), and Medicine (2),
and the equipment package Medicine:
Trauma (2). Costs +1 BP for the PC to still
be able to legally practice medicine and
prescribe drugs
Military Background (Costs 2 BP): Gives
Athletic (1), the Kill specialty of Combat
and the Military specialty of Investigation/
Espionage free.
Original Peoples (Costs 2 BP): The PC is
a member of an ethnic group with a strong
connection to that groups traditional
language and traditions, and the community
of people of that ethnicity within the united
states. The PC starts out bilingual (can
speak English and the native language
equally well) and gets Traditional (3) free.
Note: You choose to be a member of any
ethnicity as part of Character Concept, but
that alone not convey the language, skill
and social benefits of this advantage.

some university, and privileges there, even

if the PC is on a sabbatical from teaching
at the moment. Gives Academic (3) and a
free Writing specialty of Creative.
Sorcerous Skill (Costs 1 BP/ea.): This is a
Path ability or plus that the PC has gained
by rote learning, rather than by having
levels in that Path itself. Choose one Path
the PC does not have any levels in, and give
the PC the equivalent of one Specialty in
that Path. For instance, a PC who does not
have any dots in +Harmony may still have
a Specialty in Luck or in plusses to make
friends and use these as if he or she has one
level of +Harmony. If the PC later gains a
level in that Path, the PC retains this as an
additional Path Specialty.
Teacher (Costs 1 BP): The PC has a
relationship with an elder Seeker (8+ Path
levels) who wants to teach the PC. This
is useful because the teacher can set up
challenges (see p.57) for the PC, and because
the PC can seek out that teacher for advice.
The downside is that to advance along his
or her own Path, the PC may someday have
to leave that teacher, and may encounter
resistance if the teacher has come to depend
on having a follower.

Physically Attractive (Costs 1 BP): +2 to Disadvantages

seduction rolls.
Addiction: Alcohol (gives 2 BP): 3
difficulty WIL roll to abstain.
Powerful Item (Costs 2 BP): The
PC possesses something created by a Addiction: Cocaine/Crack (gives 4 BP): 4
Seeker, Prodigy, Sorcerer or Advanced difficulty WIL roll to abstain.
Practitioner. It was created with more
Addiction: Heroin (gives 4 BP): 3 difficulty
than just great workmanship or inspired
WIL roll to abstain. -1 vs. disease from
creativity. It has been created with a subtle suppressed immune system.
power the PC is not yet capable of fully
understanding. Choose one particular Addiction: Meth (gives 3 BP): 3 difficulty
(non-combat) activity the item is intended WIL roll to abstain. -2 Hit Points from
to perform. The object gives +4 to rolls to malnutrition.
do that particular thing. Examples: a will- Addiction: Nicotine (gives 1 BP): 3
work-for-food sign that gives +4 to rolls difficulty WIL roll to abstain.
to beg for change, a pair of dancing shoes
that gives +4 for rolls to do a beautiful and Addiction: Opium/Pain Pills (gives 2
enchanting dance, a hand-crafted scalpel BP): 3 difficulty WIL roll to abstain. -1 vs.
that gives +4 to emergency abdominal disease from suppressed immune system.
surgeries.
Allergy: Deadly (Gives 1 BP): Choose a
Professor (Costs 3 BP): The PC has spent thing the PC is allergic to. If eaten, the PC
a good portion of his or her life in higher will be incapacitated within 10 minutes,
education: learning, teaching, studying, dead within 1 hour without medical
writing papers. The PC still has tenure at intervention.

Blind (Gives 5 BP): -4 to

combat rolls.
Burned Out (Gives 1 BP):
The PC has spent too many
decades doing too many drugs
and his or her brain has been
permanently altered. Gives
-2 to save vs. hallucinations
and delusions, -1 to memory
rolls and the PC exhibits a
noticeably spacey manner.
Caregiver: Child (Gives
2 BP): PC is responsible
for a child, who has 1 in all
attributes, 4 Hit Points and no
appreciable skills.

Other Advantages
& Disads
There are many more possible advantages and disads that are not listed here
because they can be most
easily implemented by
changing attributes, skills,
equipment, etc. Here are
some examples of how
un-listed advantages and
disads can be created:
Poverty: Reduce EP.
Bad Leg: Reduce SPD, possibly AGY.
Old Age: Reduce END,
AGY, SPD, STH, AWR, Hit
Points, possible INL. Perhaps take the Senile disad.
Computer Genius: Increase
INL, buy tech skills.
Bad Heart: Reduce END,
Hit Points.

Caregiver:
Elderly/
Physically Disabled (Gives
1 BP): PC is responsible for
a loved one who is too old or
disabled to care for himself or
herself. One physical attribute
(AWR, AGY, END, SPD,
STH) is at 0, the rest are at 1. 6 Hit Points.
No appreciable skills.

persuaded to quit. Not only

is this bad for the student
(who should be seeking his
or her own path), it is bad
for the PC, who may become
trapped (see p.62) if she of she
becomes attached to being an
authority.
Hemophilia (Gives 2 BP):
Any Hit Point damage from
injuries is done again every
5 minutes until PC dies or
receives medical treatment.

Hunted: Law Enforcement

(Gives 3 BP): The PC is
wanted by law enforcement,
for a serious crime that the
PC might or might not have
committed. The PCs face
is on wanted posters in Post
Offices and police stations
around the country. Even
if the PC didnt commit the
crime, the PC has no easy
means of proving his or her innocence. If
caught the PC will be put in prison for a
long time. Cannot be taken in conjunction
with Illegal Immigrant or Criminal/Mental
Health History.

Caregiver: Mentally Disabled (Gives

2 BP): PC is responsible for caring for a
mentally incompetent loved one. INL is 0
for most purposes, other attributes at 2, 10 Hunted: Organized Crime (Gives 2 BP):
Hit Points.
A major organized crime group has a hit
out on the PC, and is offering a big reward
Criminal/Mental Health History (Gives 1
to any other organized crime group, gang
BP): Anyone doing a background check on
or random street thug who can take the PC
the PC will find that the PC has a significant
out. The organized crime group is angry
criminal record, has recently spent time in a
enough at the PC to have a few experienced
mental institution, or both. Even if the PC
enforcers driving around the country hunting
refuses to give a name, the PC can easily be
for the PC.
identified by checking his or her fingerprints
against a national database. Theres nothing Hunted: Seeker (Costs 2 BP): Another
a PC could be arrested for, but its enough Seeker, with approximately the same number
to make anyone in law enforcement very of Path levels as the PC, is out to kill or ruin
suspicious of the PC.
the PC, probably due to irreconcilable moral
judgments (see Evil Seekers, p.64).
Deaf (Gives 3 BP): The PC cannot hear.
The PC can speak American Sign Language, Illegal Immigrant (Gives 2 BP): The PC is
and can buy ability to read lips for 1 Skill not an American citizen and does not have a
currently valid visa or green card. If caught
Point.
the PC will be deported. Cannot be taken in
Disfigured (Gives 1 BP): -4 to seduction conjunction with Hunted: Law Enforcement
rolls.
or Criminal/Mental Health History.
Follower (Gives 1 BP): The PC has a Illiterate (Gives 1 BP): PC cannot read
would-be student following the PC, trying and cannot have the skills Academic,
to learn from the PC, who cannot be easily

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Tech, Investigation/Espionage or
Medicine. Can buy this off during
gameplay by spending 4 Skill
Points.
Missing Loved One (Gives 1 BP):
The PC has a loved one (child, lover,
spouse, parent, sibling) who is lost,
ran away, has been kidnapped, or for
some other reason is missing. One
big reason the PC is on the road is to
search for this lost loved one.
Naive (Gives 1 BP)- The PC was
raised in very isolated circumstances
(e.g. on a hippy commune, or in
an Amish town) and is ignorant
about much of how things work in
normal America. The PC may be
surprised to discover, for instance,
that marijuana is illegal, or that
people lock their doors at night.
Minor (Gives 4 BP): The PC is
not yet an adult, and cannot quite
pass as an adult, so if caught by law
enforcement may be returned to the
PCs parents or to a foster home. -2
Attribute Points, -1 Hit Point.
Missing Arm (Gives 2 BP ea.):
STH is halved for most purposes.
Mute (Gives 3 BP): The PC cannot
speak. The PC gets American
Sign Language as a free native
language.
Senile (Gives 1 BP):
-4 vs.
unconsciousness, regular 5 difficulty
saves vs. amnesia.
Terminal Illness (Gives 4 BP):
The PC is dying of something that
neither western nor alternative
medicine have any good hope of
curing. The PC starts with -1 END,
-1 to Seduction rolls (from physical
signs of the disease, e.g. gauntness
or rashes), -1 to memory rolls and
-2 to save vs. disease. Each month
choose either -1 END or -1 Hit
Point.
Wheelchair Bound (Gives 2 BP)The PC is, for the most part, bound
to a wheelchair. For most purposes,
use half of STH, rounded up, to
compute the PCs effective SPD.

Demons
A Demon is more than just a disadvantage. A disadvantage is just a circumstance in the PCs life that can
potentially be overcome. A Demon is a disadvantage
that adapts, reacts and can grow stronger if given the
opportunity. To those of a more scientific worldview,
a Demon is a self-reinforcing psychosocial dysfunction, while to those with a more magical worldview it
is an actual living entity that feeds on the PC. Either
way, subduing a Demon is a major undertaking, even
for an accomplished Seeker. Choosing a Demon is
not something that should be taken lightly: having a
Demon means a constant psychological and spiritual
battle that is likely to become the central conflict of
the PCs life. See p.69 for more about Demons and
p.42 for rules concerning Demons.
Having a Demon gives 6 BP. A PC cannot start with
any more than one demon.
A PCs demon starts at 3 Power.
Come common demons are:
Compulsion
Abilities: The demon can roll vs. the PCs
Will to make the PC do some compulsive activity
(lying, gambling, stealing, pulling out hair, swearing,
barking).
Strengthened By: Anxiety that acting on the
compulsion will cause problems for the PC or others.
Weakened By: The PC not being afraid of acting
on a compulsion, either because the PC doesnt think
he or she will, or doesnt care about any consequences
of doing so.
Discrimination
Abilities: Gives the PC a minus (equal to its
own power) to hide a given characteristic that the PC
may be discriminated against for. Gives other people
a minus (equal to its power) to avoid acting on any
feelings of fear, hatred or disgust engendered by the
hosts status.
Strengthened By: Anxiety, anger or sadness that
people dislike the PC because of some characteristic
the PC is unable to hide.
Weakened By: Successfully confronting a
person who is discriminating against the PC, and
either defeating that persons attempts to harm the PC
or teaching that person not to discriminate against the
PC.

 Feud

Abilities: The Demon links a PC and

an enemy of approximately equal power.
This enemy has the same Demon. The
Demon causes coincidences that again
and again put the PC and his or her enemy
together and in conflict. The Demon rolls
vs. the PCs Will to cause anger against the
enemy.
Strengthened By: Being hurt by an
enemy.
Weakened By: Making peace with,
working together with or mutual forgiveness
with/from an enemy.
Intoxicants

Abilities: Can roll vs. the PCs will

to make the PC seek out and consume
intoxicating substances.
Strengthened By: Anxiety, shame,
worry or regret due to the things the PC has
done while intoxicated or to get intoxicants.
Weakened By: Resisting using intoxicants
and using the advantage of sobriety to make
ones own life better in a significant way.
Loneliness

Abilities: Can roll vs. the hosts

Will to make the host nervous while
meeting new people or while trying to
make a relationship stronger (e.g. move
from acquaintance to friend). If the host
fails to resist the nervousness, he or she
either terminates the contact, does or says
something inappropriate, or becomes unable
to communicate effectively.
Strengthened By: Lack of companionship.
Weakened By: Gaining valuable, trusting
friendships.
Lost Love- This is a demon that forms
after a loved one is lost (typically dies) out
of the person-shaped-hole the loss leaves in
that persons life.

Abilities: Can make a roll vs. the

PCs WIL to make the PC too sad to engage
in activities that might fulfill the PCs
emotional needs.

Strengthened By: The PCs

emotional needs not being met (e.g. for
love, companionship, friendship, an ally,
someone to care for), needs that were
previously fulfilled by the loved one who
has been lost.
Weakened By: Finding other people
or other ways to fulfill the PCs emotional
needs.
Need
Abilities: Gives the PC a minus
(equal to the Demons strength) to any roll
to secure the necessities of life.
Strengthened By: Anxiety about
where the PC will find the physical
necessities of life (food, water, a safe place
to sleep).
Weakened By: Not worrying about
where the necessities of life will come
from, either because the PC knows he or
she will get them, or because the PC is able
to not care.
Psycho-Magnet
Abilities: The Demon can make a
roll to attract the attention of psychos and
evil people, can manipulate circumstance
to put the PC in contact with psychos and
evil people, can give the PC a minus (equal
to the Demons strength) to determine
whether or not people are crazy or evil.
Strengthened By: Anxiety that the
people the PC knows are secretly evil or
crazy.
Weakened
By:
Repeatedly
discovering that people are secretly crazy
or evil in time to deal with them before
they can hurt the PC or people the PC cares
about.
Rage
Abilities: Can roll vs. the PCs Will
to make the PC lose his or her temper.
Strengthened By: Fear that the PC
will hurt someone.
Weakened By: The PC being able
to deal with frustration, disappointment,
etc. in a way that helps people, rather than
hurting them.

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 Sadness- Sadness can start Shame- This Demon takes a different form

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as sadness about a particular thing

that has happened, e.g. the loss
of a loved one, but ends up being
sadness about sadness itself, or,
to put it another way, sadness that
prevents one from choosing to be
happy and thus perpetuates itself.
A person under the grip of Sadness
is fully aware that they are focusing
on the negative rather than the good,
and that they are failing to make
the choices that would lead to their
happiness. Yet self-knowledge does
not help them, and may even make
their pain more acute.
Abilities: Can make an
opposed roll vs. the PCs WIL to
make the PC not want a potential
source of happiness. Give the PC a
plus (equal to the demons strength)
to be aware of anything ugly, terrible
or tragic.
Strengthened By: The loss of
a potential source of happiness for
the PC, even if that loss is caused by
the PCs own inaction.
Weakened By: Anything that
gives the PC joy.

depending on what the infected would feel most

ashamed of. It might cause a vegetarian to eat
meat, a celibate Seeker to have sex, a polite person
to be rude, a person trying to respect their body to
self-mutilate, etc.
Abilities: The Demon can roll vs. the PCs
will to make the PC do something the PC would
feel bad about doing.
Strengthened By: The PC feeling shame
about doing things he or she feels bad about.
Weakened By: Consistently resisting the urge
to do things the PC feels bad about -or- consistently
resisting feeling bad about the things the PC has
done.
Unrequited Love

Abilities: Can make a roll vs. the PCs Will

to make the PC infatuated with some inappropriate
person. Gives the PC a minus (equal to the demons
strength) to rolls to impress, befriend or seduce the
person the PC is infatuated with.
Strengthened By: Sorrow and frustration
about loving someone who does not love the PC
back.
Weakened By: Finding someone to love who
loves the PC back or finding an alternate way to
meet the same emotional needs.

Step Six - Eccentricities

In Brief: Choose 3 unique, easily noticed
things about the PC.
A large part of being a Seeker is experimenting with other ways of living and being. Thus
Seekers often do things that normal people
dont. These practices and restrictions can easily change as the PC finds new roads to travel
on the path of seekerdom, but whenever one is
shed the PC will always adopt a different one.
Keep in mind that eccentricities are choices,
not rules, and a PC can always choose not to
follow an eccentricity when the PC knows
something bad might result from following it.

Choose 3 Eccentricities about the PC.

Some examples of eccentricities:
Doesnt eat cooked food.
Pacifist: will not engage in combat.
Never wears shoes.
Claims not to have a name.
Wears animal skins.
Wears monks robes.
Always says whatever is on his or her
mind.
Loudly argues that God does not exist
whenever anyone brings it up.

Eccentricities Example: We decide that Christina will wear a priests collar, never
wear shoes, and call every person brother or sister.

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Step Eight - Character Advancement

In Brief: 0 to 1 XP per adventure.
1 XP = 4 EP, 1 Attribute Point or 3 Skill
Points. 1 Path costs 2 XP, but requires
a crisis.

Gaining XP
PCs earn XP (experience points) for
completing adventures.
Unlike other
ORC games, a Seeker can gain more XP
for failing at adventure goals than for
succeeding, because failure can teach a
Seeker more. This doesnt happen if PCs
fail because they didnt try, or didnt use
all of the resources available to them, only
if they tried their best but still failed. In
general the PC should get:
Despite best attempts, PC failed: 1 XP
PC succeeded, but doing so was
extremely challenging: XP to 1 XP
PC succeeded, easily: 0 XP to XP.
PC failed by not really trying: 0 XP.
Additional ways to gain XP are:
Adopt a new lifestyle ( XP). The PC
must live by it for at least a month. This
should be something very different from
the lifestyle the PC is used to. The PC
doesnt have to believe anything, just
change the way he or she lives. E.g. an
atheist scientist could live a month by the
lifestyle of a Catholic monk.

Study under a tradition teacher ( XP).

This is someone, not necessarily a Seeker,
well versed in one of the Traditions listed
in Chapter Four. The PC has to follow the
directions of the teacher and learn by the
methods used by that Tradition to teach
new students. Depending on the Tradition
this could mean anything from reading a
dozen books to taking peyote and chanting
in a sweat lodge. Note that studying under
a traditions teacher can also reduce skill
costs (see p.15). Note that teachers dont
always know they are teachers. Often a
PC will find someone who has wisdom to
impart, but who doesnt think of himself or
herself as special. It is up to the PCs to
tease the wisdom out of these people.
Experiencing something the PC doesnt
understand ( XP). The PC experienced
something that makes no sense to the PC
and that doesnt fit in with how the PC
thinks the world works. A PC might see
someone make a marble appear from thin
air and think oh, it must be some sleightof-hand and not get XP because they have
a reasinable theory, but if the PC is an
accomplished stage magician and knows
every sleight-of-hand trick and still cant
explain the marble, then the PC will gain
XP. Such experiences are useful because
they remind the PCs that they dont know
everything and send them hunting for new
ways of understanding the universe.

Advancement Example: In her first adventure, Christina succeeds, but only barely, earning her 1 XP. In her second adventure, she fails to achieve her goals, and
gains 1 XP. In her third and fourth adventures she succeeds, but without much
challenge, so she only earns XP each. Altogether, she has earned 3 XP. She decides to spend 1 XP to buy 3 Skill Points. She buys 1 level in Creative, which costs
2 Skill Points, choosing Music as her specialty. In game she explains that she
has been studying creative arts, and especially music, whenever she runs across
someone who can teach her. With her next 2 XP, she wants to buy a Path level.
However, she cant actually buy that level until she runs into a crisis where she
has exhausted every other solution and something bad will happen if she doesnt
advance. This is not something that comes easily and so Christina keeps adventuring, trusting that the universe will provide her with the challenge she needs.

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Finding a new idea ( XP). This is an idea

that the PC has never known before, but that
clicks for the PC: seems important and
useful. This idea could be something the PC
hears someone say, something the PC reads in a
book, in a fortune cookie, on a bumper sticker,
etc. New ideas could be found anywhere.
The only predictable thing about them is that
they usually dont show up where you were
expecting them (as an expected or sought after
idea is usually not new to the PC).
The usefulness of an idea is generally unique
to that Seeker at that point in his or her journey.
Present the same idea to another Seeker, or
to the past of future versions of that Seeker,
and they would probably say that makes no
sense or I though that was obvious. An
idea is like a key that opens the next door in
the Seekers personal journey through the
labyrinth of ideas.
Roleplaying Finding Ideas
Depending on the style of play, these may
be actual ideas that are discussed in detail
and that players must decide if their characters find them useful, or the GM could
just say you find a bit of wisdom without any further description.

A surprising accomplishment ( XP).

This is when the PC succeeds at something that the PC has no relevant training, experience or Path abilities for, an
accomplishment that surprises anyone
who knows the PC but also the PC himself or herself. For example: an unathletic, bookish scientist beats a thug in a
fistfight, a +Feeling poet with no mathematical training or known talent is able
to solve a difficult equation, etc.

Using XP
XP can be used to buy additional skill
points, equipment points or attribute
points as follows:
1 XP = 3 Equipment Points
1 XP = 1 Attribute Point
1 XP = 3 Skill Points
XP can also be used to buy Path levels
for 2 XP per level. However, Path
levels can be bought only if the PC is
in a crisis: a situation where the PC is
in trouble and the PC can find no other
way out of trouble than to gain a Path
level. The PC must have tried his or her
best to find a solution and failed, and
there must be real consequences (e.g. to
the PCs life, limb, freedom or sanity,
or to the life, limb, freedom or sanity of
another) if the PC fails to find a way out
of the trouble.

Overcoming a disadvantage ( XP).

Any time a PC can rid himself or herself of
some flaw (either physical, social, legal or
psychological) doing so frees the PC from
an inhibitor or limiter of personal growth.
This could be a disadvantage the PC selected Note also that psychological issues
during character creation, or something that may appear as a PC nears being able
was picked up during gameplay.
to buy a new Path level. This is the
subconscious resisting the trauma
Defeating a PCs own personal demon of a major worldview change. See
(1 XP). The demon should be brought to 0 Psychological Challenges (p.172) for
Power, see p.42.
more. For more on Crises, see p.57.

Nobody living can ever stop me,

As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can make me turn back;
This land was made for you and me.
-Woodie Guthrie, This Land is Your Land

030

In the employee parking lot, guards and

other prison employees were arriving for
the day shift. Tom introduced himself to a
guard, remarking on how nice the guards
car was. Im Tom, he said with a smile,
extending his hand. Todays my first
day. Tom chatted with the guard about
restoring old cars. Other guards joined
them on their walk through the parking lot
and Tom introduced himself to each with a
smile. Tom asked a lot of questions: how
long had they worked there, how did this
prison compare to other prisons they had
worked at, did they like the job? He seemed
genuinely interested in their answers, and
soon they were reeling out stories without
any prompting from Tom.
The guards were still talking animatedly
when they reached the checkpoint. Each
guard raised a photo ID on a lanyard,
pointing the little image of themselves at
another guard who sat on a stool in a little
booth. Tom mimicked the gesture, but instead
of showing an ID he gave a little wave and
a knowing smile. If the woman in the booth
noticed a lack of ID, her eyes did not betray
such knowledge. She simply pressed an
unseen buzzer and the gate opened to let
them through.
Tom spent the rest of the day meeting
prison employees. He steered clear of the
Human Resources office and the Wardens
office, instead sticking with the rank-andfile workers. He talked to guards, janitors,
facilities engineers, kitchen staff, nurses,
educational directors and the prison
librarian. Each time he introduced himself
as Im Tom, Im new here. When people
asked what his position was, he would
say Im still trying to figure out exactly
what they want me to do here. Then he
would distract them with questions about
themselves.
By the end of the day, Tom had gotten to
know almost every employee of the prison,
and many of the prisoners, on a first name
basis. As he walked the long concretefloor halls he would call out to them: Hey
Jim, hows it going? Everything good
Juanita? Hey Chester, hows it hanging?
He would ask people for things: a pen, a cup
of coffee, a cigarette. Somehow, the way he
asked for and received things made people
feel good, made them feel like they had won
something.

Evening came and Tom didnt leave with the

other day shift workers. Instead, he stayed
on and met the evening shift workers. Then
the evening shift ended and the graveyard
shift came on. Tom spent most of the evening
chatting with a group of guards in Cell Block
B, laughing at their jokes and stories, patting
them warmly on the back.
Tom convinced Pablo that he really did look
beat, which Pablo didnt even notice until
Tom brought it up, and that it would be okay
for him to go take a quick nap. Then he
convinced Bill that the coffee at the guards
station was shit and that he really ought to
go try out the flavored-espresso machine
in the waiting room for prisoner visits. He
assured them he would keep an eye on things
and radio them if anything came up.
When they were gone, Tom extracted three
prisoners. He had them carry their mattresses
and told them to complain about having been
rousted from their beds in the middle of the
night. He convinced the guard at the vehicle
gate that he had to do an emergency bedbug disposal. The guard at the gate replied
that all bed-bug mattress disposals had to be
done during the day shift. Tom admitted that
he had messed up and was trying to cover
his ass before he got in big trouble. I know
I dont have the right to ask this, Tom said
with a smile, but can you help me out here?
I really dont want to get in trouble on my
first day.
The next day, the morning head-count showed
three prisoners missing. The warden found
an envelope pushed under his door. Inside
an anonymous note read My apologies
for any trouble I might have caused. The
three men I took were, in fact, innocent
and were urgently needed elsewhere. The
Commissioner of Prisons convened an
inquiry panel. They conducted weeks of
interviews, talked to nearly every employee
in the prison. Some employees claimed to
have seen Tom wearing an official ID card.
A few even claimed that Tom had been
working at the prison for weeks. Yet in the
end, the panel reported that they could find
no compelling evidence that Tom had ever
shown and ID, worn a uniform, told anyone
his position or who his supervisor was, or
even given his full name.

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Chapter Two
ORGANIC RULE COMPONENTS
WHAT IS ORC-L?

ORC-L stands for Organic Rule Components

- Lite. It is a version of Organic Rule
Components designed for light or live-action
play. ORC-L was used for Seeker because we
wanted mundane things like equipment, skills
and physical attributes to be simpler so that
more of gameplay and character creation could
revolve around the Paths. ORC-L characters
and gameplay can easily be converted to regular
ORC and vice versa (see p.183 for more).
ORC and ORC-L are what some would call a
simulationist system. The idea is that a GM
(Game Master) simulates reality, and tells
players what happens when their characters
do or try to do things, with the rules there to
help answer any questions that the GM and
players are not sure of (e.g. can I lift this rock,
can I disarm this bomb?). The rules should
only come into play when uncertainty exists.
When a PC wants to do something and the
GM is sure it would or wouldnt work, no
rules are needed.
So, for example: Max wants to jump over a
building. The GM, whose job it is to simulate
reality, says you fail and describes what
happens next. Next, Max wants to jump over a
small crack in the ground. The GM says you
succeed and describes what happens next.
Finally, Max wants to jump over a 6 foot wide
chasm. The GM isnt sure whether Max could
do this or not, and so asks Max to make a roll
vs. a difficulty that the GM thinks is appropriate for jumping over a 6 ft. chasm.

Co-GMing
In the standard mode of play, each player
controls one PC (player character) and the
GM controls the rest of the universe. The
GM controls everything from NPCs (NonPlayer Characters) to Demons, to bizarre
twists of coincidence.
An alternate way to play is for each player
to have a PC and to take turns controlling
the universe. The PCs are Seekers who
have decided to take turns leading and being led into situations designed to teach
and challenge them. Each adventure is
a challenge or expedition arranged by one
Seeker for the benefit of his or her compatriots. The player whose Seeker is creating
the challenge acts as the GM, controlling
NPCs, demons and coincidence.
Example: The Seekers Nate, Achmed, Lotus
and 3.14 are walking down the road together.
3.14 sees a town she had been to before,
and has an idea. I think I might be able to
arrange for an interesting challenge for you
three. Let me go ahead and arrange things.
You stay here for the night and then come
into town. When the other Seekers come
into town the next morning, 3.14 is nowhere
to be found and they find the xenophobic
and violent sheriff has been led to believe
the Seekers are terrorists. 3.14s player
invents the town, its people and challenges,
and narrates to the other players what the
results of their actions are. When the PCs
deal with the sheriff and leave the town,
3.14 rejoins the Seekers and then it becomes
the turn of another Seeker.

BASIC MECHANICS
Skill vs. Non-Skill Actions
In Brief: Sometimes you can roll just your attribute when
you dont have a skill, other times you need a skill.
Some actions dont require a skill, although a skill can
help. Examples includes lifting objects, sneaking around,
seducing someone. Other actions cant be attempted without
at least one level in the appropriate skill, e.g. programming
a computer, speaking a foreign language, picking a lock.
The GM decides what actions require a skill.

Example: A character with

no levels in Athletic can
climb just using AGY (and
any climbing equipment the
character happens to have).
A character without any
levels in Tech, however, cant
attempt to write a computer
program, no matter how
high his or her INL.

Your AV
In Brief: AV = attribute + skill
+1/specialty +equip
Your Action Value (AV) for any
non-combat action you try to
take is computed as follows:
Applicable attribute
+ applicable skill (if you have one)
+1 if an applicable skill specialty
+ the value of any applicable
equipment package.
Example: Dems AV for climbing
is 3 (his AGY) +3 (his Athletic
skill) +1 (he has the Outdoors
specialty of Athletic) +2 (he
has an Athletic: Outdoors OO
equipment package), a total of
9.

50/50s
In Brief: Anything where you
win half the time.
50/50s refers to any random
procedure by which a player has
a 50/50 chance of succeeding or
failing.
Example 1: The initiator of an
action takes out a coin and flips
it, each heads is a success, each
tails is a failure.
Example 2: The initiator of an
action pulls out a 6 sided die and
rolls it, each odd number is a
success, each even is a failure.
Example 3: The player plays rockpaper-scissors against another
player, or the GM, ignoring any
ties.
Example 4: The players take turns
dealing out cards. For each pair
of cards, whoever gets the highest
value card is the winner. Ties are
ignored.

Difficulties
O
Very Easy
Average people can do this
most of the time.
OO
Easy
An average person has a
better than 50% chance of
being able to do this.

Human vs.
Inanimate Object
In Brief: 50/50s until
you fail your AVs
worth of times or
succeed the difficultys
worth of times

Moderate-Hard
OOOO
This is something an
average person can only do
rarely.

When a human wants

to do something to an
inanimate object, e.g.
lift a barrel, pick a lock,
climb a wall, hack a
computer, etc. compare
the humans AV for that
action to the objects
difficulty for that action.
Then do 50/50s until one
of two things happen:

OOOOO Hard
This is a significant
challenge for even a highly
capable person.

If the human fails a

number of times equal to
his or her AV, then the
human loses.

OOOOOO Very Hard

The best people in the
world at this activity would
fail half the time.

If the human succeeds

a number of times equal
to the objects difficulty,
the human wins.

OOOOOOO Legendary
Even the most able person
on the planet can only
achieve this occasionally.

Example: Tim has an AV

of 6 to pick locks. The
lock he wants to pick
has a difficulty of 3. Tim
does 50/50s until he
either succeeds a total of
3 times (and successfully
picks the lock) or fails a
total of 6 times (and is
unable to pick the lock),
whichever comes first.
Tim takes out a coin an
flips it, getting heads
(a success), then heads
(2nd success), then tails
(failure), then tails (2nd
failure), then tails (3rd
failure), then heads (3rd
success). At this point he
stops because he has 3
successes and has picked
the lock.

OOO
Moderate
An average person has
slightly less than a 50%
chance of being able to do
this.

Rolling Ties
Faster
When AVs are equal (in
other words, tied) the
player or players have a
50% chance of winning,
so only one 50/50 needs
to be made. Say two great
chess masters with an AV
of 10 each are playing
each other. Rather than
having to do ten 50/50s,
just do one.

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Character Vs.
Character

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In Brief: AV vs. AV. First person to win a number of times

equal to the opponents AV is
winner.
When two characters are
opposing each other on
something (e.g. both have a grip
on a briefcase and are trying to
pull it from the others hands)
then compare the first characters
AV vs. the second characters
AV. The first character to get a
number of successes equal to the
opponents AV is the winner.
Example: Andy and Petra are
trying to beat each other in a
sprint. Andys AV for sprinting
is 2 and Petras is 3. They do
50/50s until either Andy wins
3 times (meaning Petra failed
3 times) or Petra wins 2 times
(and Andy has failed twice).
Whoever meets their target
number of successes first wins.

Saves
In Brief: Attribute vs. difficulty.
A save is a roll to prevent something bad from happening, e.g. hallucinations, unconsciousness, disease. There are only rarely skills
or equipment that help with a save.
Rather, the AV for a save is typically the attribute alone. The exact
effect of failing is determined by
the GM but a failure typically incapacitates or kills the character.
Example: Tim, who has WIL
2, takes a drug which causes
hallucinations OOO.
If he
succeeds at 3 50/50s before he
loses 2, he is not debilitated by
hallucinations, otherwise he is.

Cooperative Rolls
When several characters are involved in an action,
first you should determine if the action is cooperative
or if each persons success or failure is independent of
anyone elses participation.
An example of a Cooperative roll would be several
PCs getting together to try to lift a fallen tree. In this
case you can add every persons AV together. In other
circumstances it might be more appropriate to split up
the difficulty between the people involved. For example:
If several antique vases fall from a shelf, it might be 6
difficulty for one person to catch them all before they hit
the ground, but if three people are trying to catch them it
might only be 2 difficulty each.
An example of an independent roll would be hearing a
faint noise. Each person either hears it or they dont. In
this case, you can do simultaneous 50/50s against the
difficulty. For example: Amanda, Bill and Caroline have
AWRs of 2, 3 and 4 respectively. There is a scratching
noise that the GM has determined is 3 difficulty to
notice. The GM could do separate AV vs. difficulty
sessions against each player, but to save time the PC
runs them all simultaneously. Say the GM is using
cards. The GM puts a card on the table and so does
each player. Each player might have had a success or a
failure. Each player keeps track of his or her number of
successes and failures until they either succeed 3 times
or lose their AVs number of times. Thus each player
may or may not notice the scratching noise.
Live Action vs. Tabletop Play
All rules included herein are suitable for both live action
and tabletop play. Live action play may necessitate a few
extra rules and conventions, most of which are common
sense:
Everything any players says or does is something the
character says or does unless:
The player is a GM not currently playing an NPC.
A player is referring to or making notes on a character
sheet.
The player has indicated he or she is acting or talking
out-of-character.
Players can interact (even fight if they are comfortable
enough with combat rules) without requiring a GM be
present. Players should generally make sure a GM is
present when they effect the environment (e.g. pick the
lock on the mysterious storage locker), unless a note has
been provided to tell a PC the result of an action (e.g. the
locker has a notecard taped to it listing the difficulty to pick
on one side and the contents of the locker on the other).

Combat
In Brief: Combat uses essentially the same system, except for two changes: AV is
calculated differently and even the loser has an effect on the situation.

AVs

A Combat Round

In Brief: Attribute 1 + Attribute 2 +

skill + specialty +combat package (or
half if not appropriate), all divided by
2, rounding down.

In Brief: As per normal AV vs. AV, with

success effects based on AV and effects by
loser based on half AV.

There are four different styles of combat:

Kill, Control, Ruin and Exhaust. Each
are a specialty of the Combat or Athletic
skills. The AVs for each can be calculated
ahead of time. AVs are calculated as
follows:

The combat initiator must declare what style

he or she is using and what his or her AV is.
The defender must next declare his or her
style and AV. Then the opponents do 50/50s
until one player wins a number of times equal
to the opponents AV, as per usual person vs.
person rolls.

(Attribute 1 + Attribute 2
+ Combat Skill +1 if Specialty
+Equipment level*)
all divided by 2 (round down).

The style you are using, your AV for that style

and whether you won or lost determines the
effects on your opponent for the round. The
effect when you lose is, for the most part, half
of the effect of winning. Always round down
*If equipment is appropriate to this to the nearest point.
combat style (e.g. youre computing Kill
and its a Combat: Kill package), add in Kill
the full equipment level. If the package
is not appropriate (meant for a different Winning: For each point of AV you do 2
combat style), add in half, rounded down, Hit Points damage to the opponent.
of the level.
Losing: For each point of AV you do 1
Hit Point damage to the opponent.
The attributes for each combat style are
Example: You have a Kill AV of 3. If
as follows:
you win a combat round you do 6 Hit Points
Kill:
WIL + AGY
damage to your enemy. If you lose a combat
round you do 3 Hit Points damage.
Control: AWR + AGY
Ruin:

INL + AGY

Exhaust: STH + AGY

Example: Tim has WIL 3, AGY 2, INL 4,
Combat 2 (Specialty: Kill) and has the
equipment package Combat: Kill OOO.
His AV for kill is 5: WIL (3) + AGY (2)
+2 (skill) +1 (specialty) +3 (weapon), all
divided by 2. His AV for ruin is 4: INL
(4) + AGY (2) +2 (skill) +1 (weapon/2),
all divided by 2 and rounded down to the
nearest one.

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Ruin
Winning: For each point of AV you do 1
damage to opponents combat AVs.
Losing: For each 2 points of AV you do
1 damage to opponents combat AVs.
Example: You have a Ruin AV of 4. If
you win a combat round you reduce all your
opponents combat AVs by 4 points each. If
you lose a combat round you reduce all your
opponents combat AVs by 2 points each.

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Control

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Winning: For each point of AV

you can protect yourself from 1 point
of damage to your Hit Points or combat
AVs. Also, you now have the opponent in
a hold (see sidebar).
Losing: For each 2 points of AV you
can protect yourself from 1 point of damage to your Hit Points or combat AVs.
Example: You have a Control AV of
5. If you win, you protect from 5 damage done that round to your Hit Points or
Combat AVs and have your opponent in a
hold. If you lose you protect from 2 damage to your Hit Points or Combat AVs.
Exhaust
Winning: For each point of AV
you can protect yourself from 1 point of
damage to your Hit Points or combat AVs
and for each point of AV you do 1 damage
to the enemys Hit Points. Also, you do
exactly 1 damage to the combat AVs of
the enemy. This damage to AVs cannot
be protected from in any way.
Losing: For each 2 points of AV
you can protect yourself from 1 point
of damage to your Hit Points or combat
AVs and for each 2 points of AV you do 1
damage to the enemys Hit Points.
Example: You have an Exhaust AV
of 3. If you win a combat round you
protect yourself from 3 points of damage
to your Hit Points or AVs and you do 3 Hit
Points worth of damage, plus 1 damage
to the enemys combat AVs that cannot be
protected from. If you lose, you protect
yourself from 1 point of damage to Hit
Points or Combat AVs and do 1 Hit Point
damage to the enemy.
After a combat round is over and the results
are calculated and applied, the opponents
can continue with a new combat round,
or one of the opponents can try to end
combat (e.g. by running away, trying to
talk to the enemy).

Holds
While in a hold, an opponent cannot attack so
long as the PC maintains the hold. A victim
og a hold can attempt an AV vs. AV roll to
escape the hold (using STH to overpower,
AGY to outmaneuver or WIL to win a
contest of withstanding pain) but the person
in the hold is at a significant disadvantage (-3
AV) to such rolls.

Blindness/Darkness
Partially Blinded: -2 to combat AVs
Fully Blinded: -4 to combat AVs

Narrative Descriptions of
Combat Styles
Kill: Youre trying to do as much damage
as quickly as possible. You go right for
vital organs. You go in fast, hit hard, pay
little attention to defense. You dont want
to scare them or hurt them, you want to
kill them before they can hurt you.
Ruin: Youre here to fuck up your
opponent. You want to poke their eyes
out, break their fingers, cut their tendons,
smash their kneecaps, cause them so
much pain they cant think. Your goal is
to destroy their ability to fight.
Control: You stay calm. Your first goal
is to prevent them from hurting you. You
dodge and deflect attacks, when they move
into weapons range you move out. All
the while you looking for an opportunity
to grab and twist a limb, or knock them
down and put a foot on them, putting
them in a position they cant easily get
out of.
Exhaust: You are here to outlast your
opponents. You are going to wear them
down, while defending yourself from
harm. Block, hit, block, hit, again and
again until they are too exhausted to keep
fighting, and then you take them out.

Incapacity and Death

In Brief: <5 HP means mortally wounded, 0 HP
means dead, 0 combat AVs means incapacitated.

If a combatants Hit Points are reduced to 4 or below

it means the character has received mortal injuries.
The character can continue to fight or do other things
until one of two things happens: the characters Hit
Points are reduced to 0 or the characters ENDs
worth of combat rounds passes. If either of these
happens the character is incapacitated: cannot fight
or do anything else that requires 50/50s.
A mortally wounded character whose Hit Points
are still more than 0 can be saved by medical
intervention (Medicine: Trauma specialty) within
the characters END worth of minutes. Characters
at 0 Hit Points cannot be saved.

Full Combat Example

Doktor Smash (Kill AV 5) and
Chubby Pete (Control AV 4) are
fighting.
Round 1 - Doktor Smash, who
initiated combat, declares he will be
using Kill (5). Chubby Pete says he
will use Control (4). They do rockpaper-scissors for 50/50s. Smashs
goal is to get 4 successes (Petes AV)
while Petes goal is to get 5 successes
(Smashs AV). Smash gets a success,
then Pete gets a success, then Pete
gets a second success, then Pete gets
a third, then Smash gets a second,
then Pete gets a fourth, then Smash
gets a third, then Smash gets a fourth
success, equal to Petes AV, so Smash
wins.

If a characters combat AVs are all brought to 0 by

use of the Ruin or Exhaust combat styles, the character is incapacitated and can no longer fight, but
the character is not in danger of dying. The charac- As the Winner, smash does 10
damage (2 times his AV), enough
ter stays incapacitated until medical care is given.
to kill Pete. As the loser, since he
Injuries are halved every week (round up to the is using Control, Pete can protect
himself from 1 damage to HP or AV
nearest Hit Point) as the character heals.
for every 2 points of his Control AV.
Therefore, he protects himself from 2
2 on 1
of Petes damage, and takes only 8.
In Brief: When fighting multiple opponents, He has received mortal injuries but
can still fight for 2 (his END) more
you can split your combat AVs.
rounds or until his Hit Points are
When two or more opponents make a concerted reduced to 0.
attack on one person, the person who is being
ganged-up-on must split his or her combat AV Round 2 - Doktor Smash will use Kill
between the opponents. Although each combat (AV 5), Chubby Pete will use Control
is 50/50d separately they are considered to have (AV 4). Pete gets a success, then a
happened simultaneously and the effects of second, then Smash gets a success,
combat are not applied until the end of the combat then Pete gets a third success, Smash
round. The gangee can divide points however he gets a second, Pete gets a fourth
success, then a fifth (equal to Smashs
or she wants.
AV).
Example: Kawahara, who has Control 8, is being
attacked by Billy (Ruin 3), Carla (Kill 2) and As the loser, Smash does 4 damage
Josiah (Exhaust 4). Kawahara decides to divide (his Kill AV), but as the winner Pete
his Control as follows: 3 against Billy, 3 against protects from all 4 damage (1 x his
Carla and 2 against Josiah. Combat is rolled 3 AV) and now has Smash in a hold,
times with 3 different AV vs. AV combinations: 3 meaning combat is over.
vs. 3, 3 vs. 2 and 2 vs. 4. Only after all 3 are
rolled is damage to HPs and AVs applied.

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039

Using Paths

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In Brief: Use Paths: to add +2 per level to activities central to that Path; to add +1 per
level to activities not central but that can be aided by the Path; as the AV to roll Path
abilities (used much like skills); to add +1 per level to combat in certain circumstances;
to add to attributes (only some Paths). Multiple Paths can be used simultaneously, their
benefits stacking. Add +1 to the effective Path level when a Focus is used and +1 if what is
being done has been chosen as a Specialty.

There are five ways to use the levels one has The plusses and abilities section for each
in a Path:
Path will give examples of things that are
primary to that Path. Yet a PC can add +2
Plusses to Attributes
per level to any AV, even one not listed in
the examples, so long as the PC can make
Some Paths give plusses to attributes based on the case that this is a primary activity of
the PCs level in that Path. These plusses are that Path as the player and the PC underalways on in every situation (except where the stands it. The GM is the final arbiter of
description lists a way to defeat them) and dont whether Paths can be added to AVs.
have to be justified or rolled for. Increasing the
effective Path level though a Focus or through
Adding to AVs for Aided Activity
having this as a Specialty will increase the
PCs attributes even further.
The PC can add +1 per level of a Path
to AVs for activities that are not primary
Adding to AVs for Primary Path to the Path, but that can be aided by the
Activity
skills learned or personal traits achieved
When the PC is attempting to do something on the Path.
which is the primary activity of a Path, the PC
can add 2 points for each level of the Path to Example: a PC with 3 levels of +Thought
is trying to move a heavy log that has
the AV for that action.
fallen on a friend. This is primarily a
Example: Bill is trying to make a save vs. fear, challenge of strength, and not a challenge
and would normally have an AV of 3 (Bills central to the Path of +Thought. However,
WIL). However, Bill has 3 levels in -Feeling, +Thought can be used peripherally, via
and since resisting acting on emotions is one of knowledge of physics, leverage, relative
the primary activities of the Path of -Feeling, hardness of things that might be used as
Bill can add 2 points per level (6 points in levers, knowledge of human physiology,
total) to his AV. Now, Bills AV for a save vs. etc. to help the Seeker approach this
problem in the most intelligent way
fear is 9 (2 x 3 levels of -Feeling + 3 WIL).
possible. Thus, the PC can add 3 (one for
Having a Specialty in that type of roll boosts each level of +Thought) to his or her STH
the PCs effective Path level by one. Using a to determine the AV for moving the log.
Focus boosts the PCs effective Path level by
one. Only one Focus can be used at any one Plusses can also be used to reduce a
time and any given focus can only boost one penalty, e.g. -Thought being used to
reduce the penalties for being blind.
Path at a time.
Example: As per the example above, except
Bill has a -Feeling specialty of resisting fear
and a focus of using a sweat lodge. If Bill
uses a sweat lodge prior to having to make his
save vs. fear, his effective Path level is now 5
(3 levels in -Feeling, +1 for specialty, +1 for
focus) and so he adds 10 (2 x 5) to his AV. Now
his AV for saving vs. fear is a superhuman 13.

As with primary activities, examples of

aidable activities are listed in the Paths
section for each Path, yet the PC need not
be limited by this list. The PC can add
+1 per level to any AV where the PC can
make a good argument that being on that
Path would aid ones ability to accomplish
that thing.

As with primary activities, count the

effective Path level as +1 if the PC
has used a Focus and +1 if the player
has specifically chosen this sort of
action as a Specialty (for example, if
the +Thought Seeker wrote down +to
manual labor or + to feats of strength
as a specialty).

Adding to Combat AVs

Each Path lists a very specific
circumstance in which one point per
Path level can be added to combat
AVs. For the sake of game balance, the
listed circumstance is generally the only
circumstance in which Path level should
be added. Like everything else, using a
Focus will add one and having combat
plusses as a Specialty will add two.

Path Abilities

Example One: Leticia has -Self OO and -Feeling O and -Harmony O. She wants to hide her
fear from a group of bikers who are taunting
her by dangling a poisonous snake in her face.
She makes a case that hiding emotions from
others is a primary activity of -Feeling and
that not letting others read you is a primary
activity of -Harmony and an activity aided by
-Self. The GM agrees and allows her to add 6
(1 for each level of -Self and 2 for each level of
-Feeling and -Harmony) to her AV.
Example Two: Javier has -Self OO and
-Harmony OO and is trying to use the Mirror
of Self ability (a -Self ability) to make an old
wino think that Javier is like him. Javier
points out that because dealing with outsiders
is something aided by -Harmony, he should be
able to add 1 point per level of -Harmony. The
GM agrees and allows Javier to use an AV of 4
(2 for -Self and 2 for -Harmony).
Example Three: Ravine has +Feeling OOO
and -Harmony O. She has been hiding
in a bathroom stall watching some young
skinheads roughing someone up. She is about
to exit the stall and make a surprise attack on
the skinheads, using the Ruin style of combat.
She makes an argument that she meets the
criteria for using -Harmony (a no-holdsbarred surprise attack using Ruin or Kill) and
+Feeling (a no-holds-barred rage attack using
Ruin or Kill) in combat. The GM agrees and
allows her to add 4 to her AV (+3 for +Feeling
and +1 for -Harmony).

Each Path description lists abilities

particular to that Path. The Path
abilities are much like skills: only a
person with at least one point in that
Path (or sorcerous abilities, p.66) can
use these abilities. Like skills, the PC
is assigned a difficulty based on what he
or she is trying to do with the ability.
Unlike skills (which use attribute +
skill + equipment for AV) the AV for a
Path ability is the Path level alone (+1
if a Focus has been used, +1 if this Path
ability has been chosen for a Specialty).
Players are encouraged to create new Beyond Five Levels
Path abilities (with approval by the GM) PCs who buy more Path levels with XP can go
beyond those listed in the book.
beyond five levels in any Path. It is up to the
player and GM to work together to determine
the gameplay effects of having more than five
Combining Paths
levels. These can include:
PCs can combine different Paths together
Extrapolation of existing plusses and
to achieve something, so long as they
abilities.
can justify how both Paths would come
into play in the situation. The plusses
Abilities and plusses from other Paths
to the AV from multiple Paths might be
(for instance, a Seeker with 6 levels of
combined, or one Path may give plusses
-Self may gain some -Harmony abilities
to using a Path ability from another
and plusses).
Path, or combat plusses can even be
Brand new plusses and abilities. These
combined (where the situation meets the
should be unique to that Seeker and his or
requirement of more than one Path).
her understanding of that Path.

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Demons

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In Brief: Demons can roll Power vs. hosts WIL, Power/2 vs. other nearby peoples WIL,
can manipulate circumstance. Some things increase a Demons power by 1, others reduce
it by 1. At 0 Power the Demon is unconscious. Demons can occasionally help (add Power
to hosts AV).

If a Demon is lowered to zero dots of Power,

it is essentially unconscious, unable to exert
any influence. A Demon never fully goes
away, though. Should the right Demonstrengthening circumstances re-occur, even
decades later, a zero-Power Demon will
A Demon is controlled by the GM just like come back, at one dot of Power.
an NPC.
A Demon does not always harm a PC and
A Demon has three ways of exerting can occasionally even be helpful. A Demon
can help a PC by using its standard means
influence:
of manipulating the PC at a time that helps
the PC, e.g. a Demon of rage helping a
Creating feelings or desires in the
PC fly into a rage to survive a desperate
Demons host. The host must make a
situation. A Demon may decide to help a
roll of his or her WIL vs. the demons
PC of its own accord, or a PC may be able
Power to resist these feelings or
to force a Demon to do so with a WIL vs.
desires. Paths can be used to help a
the Demons power roll.
PC resist these impulses.
A Demon exerts influence on the people it
has infected (and to others around them)
in ways that tend to make it stronger. A
Demons current strength is measured by
Power, its only attribute.

Creating feelings or desires in other

people the host encounters. This is
harder for the Demon and the target,
if he or she wants to resist, only
has to beat half the demons Power
(rounded down).
Manipulating seemingly random
circumstance to put the host in
situations likely to force him or her
to do something that will make the
Demon stronger.
The listing for each demon will describe
that which will make the demon stronger,
and that which will make the Demon
weaker. Depending on the severity of
the circumstances it could take weeks or
months for the Demon to grow noticeably
weaker or more powerful, or it could take
seconds. This is a decision made by the
GM or the player controlling the Demon.
The listed circumstances will raise or
lower the Power of a Demon by one point
at a time.

A Demon that infects a community follows

the same rules, except instead of having one
host it has several simultaneously.
Demon Example: Alberta starts play with
the demon of Rage. The demon starts at
3 Power. The write-up for rage lists the
following:
Abilities: Can roll vs. the PCs Will to
make the PC lose his or her temper.
Strengthened By: Fear that the PC will
hurt someone.
Weakened By: The PC being able to
deal with frustration, disappointment, etc.
in a way that helps people, rather than
hurting them.
During the course of an adventure, Alberta
is trying to use herbal medicine to aid a sick
mother, who refuses, saying that the herbs
are witchcraft, the work of the Devil.
The GM decides that this will cause Alberta
to become frustrated and forces her to make
a save vs. anger. The roll is made with the

PCs WIL vs. the demons Power (3). Alberta

wins the roll, and so does not lose her temper
and do something she regrets. Yet Alberta is
worried about becoming more frustrated and
exits the room, leaving the sick mother untreated. The GM decides to count this as the PC
acting on fear of hurting someone and raises
the demons Power by one.
Some time later, Alberta is in a barber shop listening to a group of young men making plans
to try to scare a new town resident, who is of
Arabic descent, into leaving town because they
think he might be a terrorist. Before the GM
can make Alberta roll vs. anger, Alberta goes
on the offensive, standing up and making an
angry diatribe about how the young men are
being stupid, ignorant, uneducated and prejudiced. This diatribe shames the men and they
call of their plan of trying to frighten away
the towns new resident. The GM decides this
counts as Alberta using her frustration to help
people and reduces the Demons power by
one.
Later, Alberta finds herself trapped in a cave
with a bear. Knowing it is her only hope to
survive, Alberta makes a roll of her WIL vs.
the demons Power and wins, meaning the Demon must now work on her behalf. She makes
a CHM roll to try to frighten off the bear (by
screaming at it, throwing rocks at it, stomping,
baring her teeth and otherwise trying to act as
mean, angry and dangerous as possible) and
gets to add in the demons Power so that her
AV is now her CHM + 3. Note that Alberta
could not have added the Demons power to
make friends with the bear because that is not
among the Demons abilities.

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Much later, Alberta has continued to use frustration to help people and has lowered the Demons Power to zero. The demon is now unconscious and can no longer make rolls to
try to make Alberta lose her temper. However,
Alberta can still lose her temper mundanely,
given a strong enough frustration, and if she
ever shows fear that she will lose her temper
and hurt someone, the GM can bring the rage
Demon back with 1 point of Power.

043

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044

The Humble One sat on a flat rock in

the middle of a stream, his legs crossed
and his eyes closed. Behind him, water
cascaded down rocks, splashing into the
stream. Tall trees rose up on either side
of the stream, their canopies meeting
overhead, letting through only sporadic
shafts of sunlight. The Humble One wore
a coarse brown cloth wrapped around
him, covering one shoulder but leaving
the other bare. The Humble One had
long, wavy grey hair and a long beard.
Maxie stepped into the stream. The legs
of her jeans were rolled up so that they
would not splash through the cold water.
She stepped carefully, not wanting to
slip on the rocks. Where she stepped,
clouds of green-grey silt rose up and
were carried away by the flowing water.
When she came close to the rock, the
Humble Ones eyes opened and a warm
smile spread across his face. Maxie,
she said warmly, as always, seeing you
brings me joy.
Maxie smiled back. She wore no makeup
and her only jewelry was a silver ring
in her nose and another in her eyebrow.
He hair was short, black and spiky. She
wore a striped sweater in grey and black
and jeans. Her eyes, usually curious
and enthusiastic, seemed wary this
morning.
I sense something bothers you, the
Humble One said, Please, share it with
me. I will help however I can.
Maxie thought and then spoke carefully.
I want to say... thank you. I have learned
so much during my time with you. I have
come to understand so much.
I only provide the opportunities, the
Humble One said. You did the work
of learning. Yet this is not what bothers
you.

I... Maxie said, biting her lip. I have

learned so much here, but I think I should
move on, seek opportunities for learning
elsewhere.
The Humble Ones smile did not falter.
I know you have felt frustrated lately at
what you see as a slowing of your progress.
Great leaps of understanding are close for
you. Just keep working at it and you will
gain great rewards.
That may be true, said Maxie, but still,
I would like to take a different path, see
what else is waiting for me out there. I may
return here someday, if you are still willing
to give me more of your wisdom. Right
now, though, I am going to try something
else.
For a long moment there was nothing but
the rush and splash of water and birds singing in the trees overhead. He stared at her
compassionately and she stared at him with
concern. Cold water continued to flow over
the tops of Maxies feet, which were becoming painfully cold, close to cramping.
At last he spoke. You do not need to worry
that your words will hurt my feelings.
Nothing you say will injure me.
She let out a relieved breath. Im glad to
hear that.
But, he continued patiently, Your feelings
deceive you. You cannot see the path that
lies before you, but I can. I know that right
here is where you should be, where you will
find the wisdom you seek. Yes, you heave
learned much, but you have also resisted
many revelations. They frighten you and so
you think thats not right, I dont believe
that, I will put it from my mind. Yet the
truth does not go away just because you are
not ready to accept it. It waits for you, and
with my help you will find the courage to
accept those truths that frightened you.

Maxie sighed, putting her hands on her

hips. It comes down to this: I believe
that everyone must have their own unique
path. I believe everyone must find truths
that mean something to them, and nobody
can decide that for you. I believe everyone
makes their own mistakes, and when they
realize the nature of those mistakes they
can learn from them, and thats how they
grow. I believe that when it comes down to
it, this thing Ive been doing, seeking out
truth and wisdom and power and beauty,
thats something nobody can do for you.
And thats why Im going to leave.
The Humble One closed his eyes gently.
He breathed deeply and several small birds
dove from a tree, fluttering by on either side
of him. He opened his eyes again. This is
a mistake too grave to your spiritual health
for me to allow you to make it.
Maxie stepped closer. She sunk down and
put a knee on the Humble Ones rock. Her
face was now only a few feet from his. Are
you saying you wont let me go?
Spend more time, allow me a chance to
convince you. I know you think your heart
is telling you to leave. I know your rational
mind has come up with what you think are
compelling arguments why you should
leave. Yet these are your weaknesses
deceiving you, and the only way to defeat
those weaknesses is to stand and fight them.
You must stay.
Maxie stood. I understand that is what
you want, but you cant keep me here. You
cant stop me from leaving.
I know everyone in this valley, he said,
still calm, still smiling. I have helped
everyone who lives here in some way or
another. Everyone trusts me. If I say I
need help keeping you here, they will do
whatever I ask.

Maxie let anger seep into her voice.

You dont have the right to keep me
here against my will. You arent perfect
and you dont know everything. Ive
seen you act from selfish motives, Ive
seen you act from pride. When I first
met you I was so overawed with what
you had to teach me that I couldnt see
your prejudices, but now I can. If you
think youve achieved perfection then
youre deluding yourself.
I am like a mirror. You look in me
and you see your own pride, your
own prejudice reflected back, because
that is what you understand. In time
you will see that only compassion
and understanding has guided my
decisions.
Please, Maxie said, If you
acknowledge the possibility that you
may be wrong, then you have to let
me go. To do otherwise would be to
risk stifling my progress. If you dont
acknowledge that you might be wrong,
if you believe you are without a flaw,
then I have to leave, I wont be the
student of someone who thinks they
are perfect. Do you understand?
He only smiled.
She turned towards the bank of the
stream, took a step away. Then she
looked back at the Humble One and
said Im going now. Call your
friends in the valley if you want, have
them try to stop me. I should warn
you that I wont be afraid to hurt
them, so make sure you take that into
consideration.
Maxie walked away.

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Chapter Three
THE WORLD OF SEEKERS
There is No One Truth

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In Brief: No one ultimate truth. No one route to truth. Everyone is ignorant about some
things, but can also have useful wisdom.

Most mystical and religious systems are predicated on the

idea that there is one fundamental truth about the universe,
and that all other truths are either false, are unimportant, or
follow logically from the one fundamental truth. Anyone
who can grasp this fundamental truth, these systems say, need
look no further.
Seeker is based on the idea that the universe is of infinite
complexity. There is no fundamental truth, not even one
definition of truth that all reasonable people would agree
on. There are countless ways to understand how the universe
works, and all of them are useful in their own way.
Anyone who claims that everything you need to know about
the universe could fit in one book, or be taught by one guru, is
absolutely wrong. If acquiring knowledge about the universe
is a journey, then it is a journey with no right direction to go
in and no ending.
Since there is no one true wisdom and thus no one true route
to wisdom, it also means that all humans are equals, in that
they all have equal capacity (whether they choose to use it
or not) to improve themselves and gain useful understanding
of the universe. A person who is born with greater capacity
for abstract thought is better suited to learn wisdom and
truths based on abstract reasoning, but a person born with
less capacity can learn other truths and other wisdom not
dependent on abstract thought. Thus truth can be found in
anyone.
People who believe there is one path, one truth, can gain great
things and can become powerful, but they are always limited.
They can only go so far.
Since there is no higher truth, being wrong about one thing does
not mean that someone is wrong about everything. Everyone
is ignorant. The wisest, most powerful Seeker who ever lived
is completely ignorant about some important things. And at
the same time, someone can be a horrible, ignorant, petty,
prejudiced failure of a person, but still have some valuable
bit of wisdom or knowledge. The goal of most religions,
philosophies and scientific systems is to not be wrong, but in
the Seeker universe this is an impossible, counterproductive
goal. A better goal is to always be ready to accept, and thus

People
keep
looking
for wisdom from perfect
messiahs, because they dont
want to get their wisdom
from people with flaws.
Its because people want a
dogma that will answer any
question, like a key that will
fit any lock, and if someone
has that perfect answer then
how could they possibly be
flawed? We need to accept
that there is no one-size-fitsall answer to everything.
Wisdom abounds, the world
is verdant with it, but it
cannot be gotten from a
perfect person because
there are no perfect people.
If we go looking for perfect
people we will find people
whose flaws we are blind to
because they match our own
and we will accept flawed
wisdom from them. We need
to learn to gather the wisdom
that is all around us. Maybe
the idiot understands how to
enjoy life, maybe the racist
understands the value of art,
maybe the wino understands
how to get along with people.
If we start learning from
what they got right rather
than rejecting them for what
they got wrong, then we start
moving towards becoming
truly better people.
-Fred, a gas station
attendant in New Mexico

I think its better to have ideas. You can change an idea. Changing a belief is trickier.
Life should be malleable and progressive; working from idea to idea permits that.
Beliefs anchor you to certain points and limit growth; new ideas cant generate.
-Rufus in the movie Dogma

move beyond, this moments ignorance.

Looking for a teacher who is perfect is just
as impossible of a goal. When seeking out
a teacher, a student can only hope to learn
whatever of value the teacher is ready to
teach and the student is ready to learn at the
moment and then be ready to move on.
Many things in the Seeker universe can
be understood in very different ways. A
phenomenon may be understood with
complex mathematical and scientific ideas,
or it may be seen as magic or miracle. Both
are equally correct (and, on the flip-side of

the coin, equally wrong) ways of viewing

the universe. That they seem to contradict
each other is only evidence of how much
left we have to learn.
In the Seeker universe, understanding the
universe, and understanding oneself, are
one-in-the-same and are each a prerequisite
to each other. Thus, great understanding
and great personal powers, ability and
refinement are available to those willing
to engage in a constant cycle of selfimprovement and gaining wisdom.

The Supernormal
In Brief: Things beyond what normal people consider likely abound, especially among Seekers.
To most, they make no sense, but to those with wisdom they are perfectly understandable.

The Seeker universe is full of amazing

things; things that most ordinary people
dont believe are even possible. To call them
supernatural, paranormal, magical or miraculous would be to ascribe one worldviews
explanation to them. Instead, this volume
will call them supernormal. Supernormal
things abound. All Seekers have supernormal abilities, but supernormal events and
abilities are not restricted solely to Seekers.
Supernormal events do not directly
contradict the laws of physics, and so
are more subtle than typical ideas of
superpowers or magic. No Seeker, for
example, can conjure fireballs from thin air.
Yet there are Seekers who can walk through
fire without getting hurt, or predict every
move a chaotic firestorm will make, or make
others believe there is a fire where there is
not, or sit naked in a snowstorm warmed
only by a meditation on internal fire, or
create a painting of a burning house-fire
so evocative that it makes people weep or
cower in terror, or take an ordinary person
and make some minor change in her life that
will turn her into a pyromaniac, etc.

The supernormal is in everything that

stretches or breaks the limits of what ordinary people believe is likely or possible.
A mathematical prodigy is supernormal.
Someone who is healthy and active at 115
years old is supernormal. A hard-to-believe
coincidence is supernormal. A series of
misfortunes that plague a person or community can be supernormal. Ordinary people
dont understand how or why these things
happen, and many Seekers may not even
understand, but there is some Seeker somewhere who understands the universe in such
a way that any of these things would make
perfect sense, be just another example of the
universe quietly following its own rules.

Fantastic Nomenclature
When Seekers meet, they find a common
language to speak about the things they have
experienced, and this language is passed down
to younger Seekers and may have very old
roots. Thats why many terms Seekers use,
e.g. demons, sorcerers, powers have
magical connotations, even though a large
portion of the Seekers using them do not
believe in magic and think there is a rational/
scientific explanation for these phenomena.

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About Seekers
In Brief: Seekers wander, seeking wisdom, power, self-improvement. They often end
up helping people wherever they go.

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The people called Seekers in this book

call themselves by a variety of names,
or refuse to be called by any name at
all. Seekers are people in search of
power, wisdom or enlightenment who
have found that the best way to find
what theyre looking for is to wander
this world. There is no one church or
dogma that Seekers belong to: they come
from many different backgrounds and
view their quest in many different ways.
Seekers dont know who will be their
next teacher or what task will be their
next lesson. Thats why they wander
with no physical goal in mind. Seekers
can usually recognize others of their kind
and while there is no organization or
culture of Seekers, sometimes Seekers
find it pleasant and useful to share the
road with each other for a time.
By learning and improving themselves far
beyond what most people think is likely
or possible, Seekers gain useful abilities
that make them much more powerful and
able than a normal human being. There
are eight primary Paths: general routes
to knowledge, self-improvement and
power. Seekers may have walked a little
of each Path, or may have gone far down
a single Path. See p.100 for more on the
Paths.

Seekers as Anti-Fundamentalists
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able
to entertain a thought without accepting it.
-Aristotle
A fundamentalist puts a stick in the sand and
says this is what I believe and defends that
belief from all contradictory arguments. A
Seeker puts a stick in the sand and say this
is as far as Ive explored. Tomorrow, Ill go
even farther.
-The Mad Monk

There are many possible definitions of fundamentalism. One is that fundamentalism

is the act of taking certain truths to be true
and unquestionable and to basing ones life
around these truths.
Given this definition of fundamentalism, a
Seeker is the exact opposite of a fundamentalist. A Seeker questions everything, and
all of his or her beliefs are subject to change.
Anyone who holds certain beliefs as unquestionable cannot be a true Seeker.
A Seeker may have a goal that he or she does
not waver from, e.g. to become closer to the
divine, or to discover truth, or to be good.
An unwavering goal and an unwavering
belief are very different: an unwavering goal
allows for (even prompts) ones basic view
of the universe to change, an unwavering
belief does not.

Fear not the path of truth for lack of people walking on it.
-Arabic Proverb
Not all who wander are lost.
-J.R.R. Tolkien
There is no religion higher than truth.
-Vedic saying
Look at every path closely and deliberately. Try as many times as you think necessary.
Then ask yourself, and yourself alone.... Does this path have a heart?
If it does, the path is good. If it doesnt, its of no use.
-Carlos Castaneda

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Revere the goals. Never revere the methods used to achieve them. Revering a
method makes you blind to its flaws, meaning you can never reach your goal.
-Sally, a retired scientist

Not every Seeker has compassion as

a motivation or goal, but most do.
Wherever they go, Seekers find people having problems and they usually
want to use their special abilities and
understanding to help those people.
Helping others overcome their problems acts as a useful challenge for
Seekers. Thus, much of a Seekers
life is made up of arriving in a new
place, noticing that there are people
who are suffering or are in danger,
and trying to find a way to use their
abilities to help those people. The
world is a much more dangerous
place than most people realize, and
would be a much worse place without Seekers traveling the world quietly making things better. Some of
the problems Seekers help people
with are problems of the mundane
world (e.g. a racist skinheads terrorizing a community, a small child lost
in the woods, a nuclear plant in danger of meltdown). Others involve
forces and abilities that normal people arent generally aware of but that
Seekers are. This can include people with Seeker abilities (sorcerers
(p.66), prodigies (p.66), advanced
practitioners (p.66), evil Seekers
(p.64), trapped Seekers (p.56)) or it
can include what some Seekers call
Demons (p.69).
A Seeker doesnt see ordinary people
as ignorant or lesser beings. Ordinary
people often have important insights
that can help Seekers move to the
next level of understanding and
power.

What Are Seekers Like?

Seekers are Eccentric.
Seekers are all involved in the attempt to
become something more or better than a normal
person. There is no set path, no list of steps they
can take to achieve this goal, and so they must
experiment with different ways of thinking,
behaving and being. Some of these experiments
are not visible to the naked eye and some are.
Almost every Seeker dresses or acts in ways that
are distinctively different from the mainstream.
These eccentricities could be as mild as going
barefoot everywhere or as extreme as refusing
to communicate in anything other than barks and
growls.
Seekers are Flawed.
The enlightenment gained on the path of Seekerdom is not a rising tide that raises all boats.
That is to say that knowledge, wisdom and
power gained in one domain does not automatically grant knowledge, wisdom and power in all
domains. Seekers, no matter how accomplished
they are, can be just as flawed as normal people.
In fact, their flaws can seem even greater because
the personal power they wield makes those flaws
much more dangerous. Depending on their path,
a Seeker might be a rude asshole, an alcoholic, a
pushover, neurotic, prejudiced, paranoid, etc.
Seekers are Amazing.
Although Seekers are not superior in every way
to regular people, they are superior in some very
distinct and very important ways. All Seekers,
no matter their path, gain incredible wisdom and
understanding and the power to do incredible
things.
Seekers have abilities that seem
superhuman to regular people, and any given
Seeker can consistently take on and succeed at
a huge variety of challenges.

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When you are in charge of your own life, you end up reading only books that say
things you already believe, talking to people who are like you, doing things that are
like the things you have already done. If you want to grow, you need to not be in
control of your own life, let the universe toss you around a little.
-Hoang, punk band drummer.

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The only difference between Seekers

and normal people is one of degree. A
Seekers lifestyle is configured such
that it provides exponentially more
opportunities for insight and revelation
than an ordinary lifestyle. Beyond that,
there is little difference.
There are many who believe they are on
the path to truth, wisdom and power, but
who are not true Seekers. The major difference is that Seekers are beholden to no
master, no tradition and no followers, and
thus feel free to change paths whenever
their current path, whatever that may be,
has nothing to offer them. A good analogy would be gold prospectors. Ordinary
people are stuck on one claim, one plot
of land, where they may find lots of gold,
or they may find nothing. No matter how
much gold they find, it will eventually
run out and no amount of digging will get
them any more. A Seeker is a miner who
can leave a claim at any time to look for
another with more potential.

Seeker History
In Brief: Since the first human
communities, people have left their
lives to seek strength and knowledge
with which to protect their communities.
Organized religion and government tried
to wipe out these practices but failed.
Today there are more resources available
and thus more Seekers.

Long ago, before there were governments,

organized religions or books, people lived,
not necessarily in harmony with nature,
but in close contact with nature. Yet
nature was (and still is) unpredictable and
dangerous. Diseases, wild animal attacks,
mental illness, poor weather, attacks by
strange tribes and strings of bad luck in
hunting were unpredictable and deadly to
the average person. The chains of cause
and effect that led to these phenomena
were incomprehensible to these ancient
people, and thus these events seemed to be
the work of invisible, malevolent beings.

Out of the desperate need to protect themselves

from these dangers, these ancient groups all
created traditions by which one person from
the tribe would be selected and trained to
understand and deal with these dangers. In
most cultures this training included leaving
the community. There were often long
periods of isolation in the wilderness, or
travelling to other communities and studying
under their protectors. Even when there was
no physical separation from the community,
there was a severing of relationships. The
student changed his or her name, gave
up bonds of kinship and friendship, often
experienced a ritual death and funeral. The
new person was an outcast, depended upon
but at the same time separate from the people
they protected and cared for. This sacrifice
helped our ancestors survive.
These people went by many names, but
the most common term used by western
anthropologists is shaman.
When organized religion, academics and
governments came along they largely tried to
wipe out these traditions (or, in some cases,
to kill the people practicing them) because
power sought by an individual was a threat to
organizations that depended on the awarding
of power to individuals via the authority of a
bureaucracy.
Many of the iniquities of history have
disproportionately hurt Seekers: the
burning of witches, the censure of heretics
and dissidents, the destruction of native
culture in the name of progress, people who
think or believe differently being forced into
madhouses, etc. One could go so far as to
say that for the last few millennia the worlds
powers have been at war with Seekers, and
only now is this war starting to abate.
Yet these ancient techniques, of leaving ones
home and oneself to seek power and wisdom,
could never be wiped out. In some cases,
shamanism has survived in its original form.
In other cases, the techniques of shamanism
were incorporated into occult or mystical
systems. And in many more cases these techniques have been re-discovered by each new
generation. Seekerdom has never stopped.

Rise of the Seekers- Today,

there are many more Seekers per capita than there has been in many millennia. Even within the past half-century
the numbers have risen dramatically.
Heres why there are so many Seekers
today:

The decline of Western Culturalcentrism: Somewhere around the

1960s the idea that Western culture
was superior to all other cultures
and that those cultures had nothing
to offer to the West came into question and has been slowly eroding.
Easier travel means that a wouldbe Seeker can go more new places
and meet more new Seekers. A
Seeker-to-be, today, can live with
African tribespeople, then French
bohemian existentialists and then
Thai monks, all in the space of a
single year.
Media technology makes more
teachings from more cultures
and times available to would-beSeekers.
Higher standards of living means
more people can afford to quit their
jobs and roam around the country.
New ideas mean more traditions
that can spawn Seekers and more
food for Seekers hungry for new
ideas. Even in the past few decades,
new disciplines have appeared that
are capable of spawning new Seekers, including social and cognitive
psychology, postmodernism, computer science, game theory and
chaos mathematics.
By inspiring or mentoring wouldbe-Seekers, Seekers tend to create
more Seekers, so more Seekers on
the road means more Seekers being created.

Seekers and the Public

In Brief: Many individuals know about Seekers, but society at large does not. Bureaucracies are incapable of grasping Seekers.

The world at large knows very little about

Seekers. This is because Seekers come in
so many different forms (different abilities,
different traditions, different words they use
to describe that they do) and because Seekers
make few attempts to gain students, followers
or converts. Another reason that Seekers
arent known better is that many of those who
start to investigate Seekers and what they are
end up dropping out and becoming Seekers
themselves.
Seekers are rare enough that the average
person has never met one. Those who have
met Seekers think they are something oneof-a-kind, not one example of a class of
people. They think of Seekers as saints, holy
men, geniuses, prodigies, prophets or just
extraordinary lucky crazy people. Sometimes
a Seeker comes, helps people and passes, and
then a small new religion blossoms where
they had been, with the Seeker an unwitting
prophet, angel or God.
Major institutions (government, churches,
corporations, universities, news agencies) all
have no idea that Seekers exist. A few individual
members of these institutions may know that
Seekers exist, but they cannot communicate
this knowledge through the official channels
of their particular institutions. The very
concept of Seekers is one that bureaucracies
are unsuited to dealing with. That there is a
group of people with no common origin, no
common ideology, no rules, no organization,
of unpredictable powers, motivations and
methods, moving about the country randomly
doing whatever they happen to think is right, is
as hard for bureaucracies to grasp as it is for the
two-dimensional beings of Flatland to grasp
the existence of three-dimensional beings. In
other words, Seekers as a whole are as good as
invisible to the major power structures of the
world, although not to individuals within those
structures.

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Sam Downs,
Seeker-Aware FBI Agent

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Sam is a senior field agent in

the FBIs criminal apprehension
division. He is responsible
for interfacing with local law
enforcement in the entire
Midwest region to apprehend
criminals wanted by the FBI.
His office is in Denver, Colorado
but he ends up driving all around
the Midwest, staying in hotels
as he pursues criminals. Aside
from the occasional intern, he
typically works alone.

Appearance- Short (5 2) white male, looking to be

in his 30s with curly dark-brown hair, clean shaven,
prominent nose, wearing a charcoal grey suit.

For several years, Sam has been

aware of the existence of Seekers,
ever since a Seeker helped him
catch a serial killer. He has met
a handful of Seekers and has
been collecting news stories
and law enforcement reports
that he thinks are indicative of
Seekers. He knows that Seekers
are wanderers, students of
philosophy and mysticism, and
that Seekers have remarkable
skills and talents. He doesnt
believe that all Seekers are
good, nor that they have the
right to break laws. He is
willing to disregard very minor
rule breaking, especially if done
when pursuing a good cause,
but will arrest, even go out of
his way to hunt down, Seekers
who blatantly break the law.

Equipment
Handcuffs, Smart Phone
Ranged Combat: Kill OO (automatic pistol)
Investigation/Espionage: Crime Scene O (small evidence collection kit)

Attributes- AGY OOOO, AWR OOO, CHM OO,

INL OOOO, END OO, SPD OOO, STH OO, WIL OOO.
10 Hit Points.
Skills
Academic O
Specialty: Business & Law
Combat OO
Specialty: Kill
Investigation/Espionage OOO Specialties: People, Crime Scene

Personality- Sam believes in hard work, honesty, law

and order, in the chain of command, and in the power
of the government to make things better. His pet peeves
are prejudice and people who think they can do whatever
they want.
Personality Strengths and Weaknesses
Thought Strengths OOO Weaknesses OO
(Well educated, mostly unprejudiced.)

Self Strengths OOO

Weaknesses OOO
(Has had to fight to be accepted as an equal.)

Harmony Strengths O Weaknesses OOO

(A loner who is angry about not being heard.)

Feeling Strengths OO Weaknesses O

Sam has written several memos (Tries to maintain an emotional distance.)
and reports trying to explain the
Seeker phenomenon to his supe- Combat AVs
riors. He has received responses Kill OOOOOO
Control OOOOO
like what am I supposed to do Ruin OOOOO
Exhaust OOOO
with this? or I see no way to
verify these assertions and, even
if I could, I see no actionable
items. He has since stopped
writing such memos and is bitter and angry about not being
heard by his superiors.

Becoming Seekers
In Brief: To become Seekers, people must leave
their lives behind. This is almost always painful.

The life of being a Seeker starts when someone

gives up ties to job, friends and residence and
decides (or is forced) to wander the world seeking truth or wisdom or power. This split from
ordinary life can happen in many ways and
for many reasons. For some Seekers it is the
culmination of a slow process of years or decades spent giving up attachments. For others
it is something that happened suddenly, over the
course of a single, extremely intense evening.
Some Seekers have simply put on their shoes,
opened their front doors and left, not even bothering to close the door behind them. Some
Seekers choose the path, others have it thrust on
them by some psychological crisis or by things
happening in their lives. Some become Seekers after a tragedy leaves them without a family. Some become Seekers after fleeing from
the law leaves them unable to go home. It is
frightening and difficult to leave the life one
knows, especially when all one gains instead is
an uncertain future. No matter how much they
believe becoming a Seeker is the right thing to
do, that first step is almost always painful.
Disabled Seekers
Sometimes, being a Seeker helps people learn to deal
with serious disabilities, even to become more capable than an ordinary non-disabled person. Someone
with extremely poor memory due to brain damage or
senility might walk the Path of -Thought and learn to
make up for, with intuition and wisdom, what they
lack in mental vigor. A person who is deaf and dumb
might walk the Path of +Harmony in order to learn to
communicate without words. A person with neurochemical imbalances might walk the Path of +Feeling
in order to control and make use of what would otherwise be debilitating periods of mania, depression or
fear. A person with muscular dystrophy who is stuck
in a wheelchair may walk the Path of +Thought to
learn how to substitute calculation for fine control in
his or her interactions with the world. Disabilities
can thus be a reason for becoming a Seeker.

Seeker Lifestyle
In Brief: Most Seekers walk and hitchhike, do odd jobs for room and board,
are often treated with suspicion or hostility by local law enforcement.

Travel- Some Seekers travel the

back roads of the country in cars or
on motorcycles. Some feel a strong
connection to their vehicles, and some
even exercise their Path abilities in the
repair and maintenance of vehicles.
Yet the majority of Seekers walk or
hitchhike from place to place. Most
find that operating a vehicle requires
money, which means getting a job,
which means forming connections to
a place that can distract one from the
path. Also, many find that walking
gives one a better chance to enjoy the
environment and hitchhiking gives one
a better chance to meet new people than
riding alone would.
Room and Board- For the basic
necessities of life: food, water, shelter
from the elements during the night, multiple opportunities present themselves to
Seekers. A small number of Seekers are
wealthy and can afford to pay to eat in
restaurants and stay in hotels (or, in communities too small to have restaurants
and hotels, pay some community member
to take in guests in their homes). Other
Seekers do work in exchange for room
and board, e.g. washing dishes in a restaurant in exchange for a hot meal, painting a
barn in exchange for permission to sleep
in it. Many are willing to give a Seeker
room and board with nothing in return,
perhaps because they see the Seeker as an
innocent in need of charity, as a friend,
or as an important person or an important
guest. Seekers have learned not to underestimate the kindness and willingness to
give of ordinary Americans.

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Grasshopper wanted to go on a journey. I will find a road, he said. I will follow

that road wherever it goes. One morning Grasshopper found a road. It was long
and dusty. It went up hills and down into valleys. This road looks fine to me, said
Grasshopper. I am on my way.
-Grasshopper on the Road, by Arnold Lobel

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I am sorry, but I will not be here. I will be moving on. I will be doing new things.
That is too bad, said the butterflies. We will miss you. Grasshopper, do you really
do something different every day of your life? Always, said Grasshopper. Always
and always!
-Grasshopper on the Road, by Arnold Lobel

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Some Seekers are skilled at wilderness

survival and can meet all their needs
without anyones help: they hunt,
gather edible plants, build temporary
shelters and keep themselves warm with
campfires. There are also a few Seekers
skilled enough in theft and burglary that
they can meet all their needs: they break
into and sleep in currently-unoccupied
buildings and either eat what they find
there or shoplift food and sundries.
Trouble With the Law- Everything about Seekers makes them likely
to come under intense scrutiny from, if
not all out attack by, law enforcement in
the communities they visit. There isnt
a Seeker in America today who hasnt
spent at least one night in a jail cell
because some rural sheriff picked him
or her up saying something like Im
going to lock you up until I can figure
out what to do with you.
From a law enforcement point of view,
a Seeker is a stranger to the community
who is eccentric, who does not spend
money like a tourist does, who cannot
explain what he or she is doing there
and who quickly starts meddling in the
communitys business. Law enforcement
officers often decide that Seekers are
crazy people, vagrants, potential cult
leaders, grifters or thieves. And Seekers
are often guilty of breaking laws, if
only laws against hitchhiking, camping
somewhere that isnt a sanctioned
campground, or requiring everyone to
have a visible means of support.

Even Seekers who try to stay within the law

can find themselves charged with crimes they
didnt commit by law enforcement personnel
willing to lie just to get a Seeker put behind
bars. These convictions show up on the
Seekers criminal record, making the next
sheriff or cop the Seeker encounters even
more certain that the Seeker is dangerous.
Some Seekers end up with long rap sheets,
despite having done nothing wrong.
Yet this all doesnt mean Seekers cant earn
the respect or friendship of law enforcement.
Seekers on the Path of +Harmony are most
likely to befriend a local sheriff or cop, but
any Seeker, by helping people or doing good,
can overcome their negative first impressions
and even make an ally for life.
Typical Sheriff
Attributes- AGY OO, AWR OO,
CHM OO, END OOO, INL OOO,
SPD OO, STH OOO, WIL OOO. 10 Hit Points.
Skills
Athletic O Specialty: Outdoors
Combat O Specialty: Kill
Inv/Espionage O Specialty: Investigating People
Medicine O Specialty: Trauma
Equipment
Handcuffs, GPS, Car
Ranged Combat: Kill Package OO (rifle,
bullet proof vest)
Ranged Combat: Ruin Package O (taser
gun)
Combat AVs
Kill OOOO
Ruin OOO
Control OOO
Exhaust OOO

The sky became dark. Grasshopper watched the moon rising over the land. He
watched the stars come out. He was happy to be walking slowly down the road.
Grasshopper was tired. He lay down in a soft place. He knew that in the morning the
road would still be there, taking him on and on to wherever he wanted to go.
-Grasshopper on the Road, by Arnold Lobel

Seeker Coincidences
In Brief: Seekers tend to run into other
Seekers, run into challenges that test their
abilities, find sources of wisdom and find
the basic necessities of life.

The life of a Seeker is rife with

coincidences. To some Seekers this is a
sign that the universe or some higher
power is guiding Seekers and easing
their way. To others this is a rational and
mathematical consequence of the Seeker
lifestyle. The rationalist explanation can
be simplified to two points: people with
the same interests often end up having the
same experiences and people are more
likely to find the things they expect to
find. The biggest coincidences in the life
of a Seeker are:

could be challenges personally affecting

the Seeker (e.g. the Seeker spends the
night on someones couch, wakes the
next morning to find that person has
been murdered and the Seeker is the
natural suspect) or affecting people the
PC meets (e.g. the PC stops in a caf,
chats with the owner and finds out that
the owner is in fear for her life because
of a biker gang that has been harassing
her).

Finding Wisdom: Seekers are

continually finding new sources of
knowledge that have meaning to them,
personally, on their particular point on
their particular paths. This wisdom
is most likely a person who has some
wise observation about the universe to
pass on to the PC, but it could also be a
book, a piece of art, a historical artifact
Running Into Other Seekers: or even a place where the beauty and
Seekers are continually crossing paths power of the universe is strikingly
with other Seekers. Seekers quite often evident.
meet new Seekers and run into old Seeker
acquaintances, with absolutely no pre- Finding Basic Necessities:
planning on a Seekers part. A Seeker Life as a Seeker is not necessarily
can pick a highway at random, can easy (see Finding Challenges, above)
hitchhike to wherever youre willing to but Seekers seldom have their journey
take me to, can end up in a small town ended by want of basic needs. Seekers
with a population of 100 in the middle hardly ever starve to death, or die for
of nowhere, and can run into three other want of medical care, or freeze to
Seekers who just happen to be in the same death outside at night because they
town at the same time. Or a Seeker might cant find a warm place to stay. These
be at a cocktail party in a Manhattan high- basic necessities of life seem to make
rise and look across the room to notice a themselves available to Seekers when
Seeker she met in a sweat lodge on Navajo they truly cannot do without them. A
land. Seekers often discover that other Seeker will find a kind soul willing
Seekers have preceded them in the places to give the PC a place to sleep for the
night, or a job that can earn the PC
they explore.
enough money for diner and a hotel, or
Finding Challenges: Seekers are an abandoned cabin in that wilderness
never without challenges. Everywhere that can shelter the PC for the night,
they go they find some problem that needs etc. See Lifestyle, p.53 for more.
to be fixed, mystery that needs to be solved
or danger that needs to be overcome. These

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Advancing on the Paths

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Ideas are not wisdom, although they can be molded into wisdom. One cannot
transmit wisdom to another, one can only transmit ideas. To try to give wisdom to
another is like sending someone chunks of metal, rubber and plastic and saying
look, I have given you a car.
-Eskimo Bill

The Paths Cannot Be Taught The Black Gulf

In Brief: One cannot teach Paths, as each
person arrives at wisdom in a unique way.

In Brief: Major leaps in wisdom and

knowledge can be terrifying.

The Paths (described on detail in p.100) are

the general areas of wisdom, knowledge,
skill and power that Seekers gain. No
person, no matter how advanced they
are in the Paths, can teach the Paths to
another. This is because each persons
path is unique. Each person is somewhere
on a string of knowledge, realizations and
self-improvements that are unique to them.
A concept that will open up new worlds
of understanding for one Seeker will, to
another, be meaningless, or will seem like
unremarkable common sense. Although
two Seekers on the same level of the same
Path may be similar in what they can do
and how they do it, what they know and
believe can be completely different.

Many of the traditions that Seekers come

from have some sort of frightening or terrible,
often dangerous, gulf that practitioners must
pass through. Most shamanistic traditions
have the practitioner experience a death of
self and be reborn. In some occult traditions
based on the Kabbalah, practitioners must
cross a terrifying void, situated at the
sephira of Daat (knowledge, sentience),
to continue growing closer to the divine.
In existentialism, one must experience an
existential crisis, a depressing and anxious
time where one must acknowledge that
there is no God and no inherent meaning to
life. Christian mysticism has the concept of
the dark night of the soul, a harrowing,
confusing sense of withdrawal of Gods
presence that accompanies the final stages
Path abilities can be taught by rote, but not of giving up ego. On the other side of
the actual wisdom of the Paths themselves. each of these black gulfs are, according to
See Sorcerers (p.66) for more on people these traditions, new levels of power and
who learn Path abilities by rote.
understanding, but only for those with the
courage and will to cross the gulfs.
While the paths cannot be taught, it is
possible for one Seeker to create challenges Why do such disparate traditions have
that may prompt a crisis (next page) in such similar themes? It is because truly
another Seeker. This is a difficult and changing how one views the universe is
dangerous art. Since the abilities of all always a harrowing experience. One must
Seekers are so different it can be very sometimes give up ones old ideas about
difficult to judge the right difficulty for the universe before one can adopt new
a challenge. A challenge which is not ones, leaving one temporarily ungrounded,
difficult doesnt help the Seeker, one that is unsure what one believes about anything or
too difficult can kill the Seeker. Yet despite what the future will hold. It is the difficulty
all this, when they work, challenges are the of these radical changes that typically keep
greatest gift any Seeker can give another.
them out of reach of the average person.
Problems can not be solved at the same level of awareness that created them.
-Albert Einstein

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If it was easy, many

Seekers say to non-Seekers who want to do what
they do, everyone would
be doing it. What makes
Seekers unique is their
willingness to, again and
again, traverse this black
gulf.
Traversing the black gulf
is so harrowing that even
approaching it can cause
a deep subconscious fear
that can manifest as psychological
symptoms
(e.g. panic, hallucinations, amnesia, hysterical
blindness). These symptoms are the Seekers subconscious trying to prevent them from walking
willingly into this dark
pit. Most Seekers learn to
ignore these psychological problems and keep
advancing despite them.
A few Seekers, versed
in the shamanic arts of
visions and journeying,
fight against hallucinated/
imaginary embodiments
of these fears to try to
conquer them so they can
advance along the paths
unmolested by them. See
p.172 for more.

Crises
In Brief: Seekers can only advance along the Path
when they face a crisis where advancement is the only
solution.
The Black Gulf makes advancement along any Path a painful,
frightening experience. It is not a thing a person can just
decide to do. A Crisis is required to force a Seeker to take
that next step. A Crisis is any circumstance where a Seeker:
Faces some challenge, problem or dilemma.
The consequences of failure are meaningful to the Seeker.
The Seeker has looked at every possible solution within his
or her current set of abilities (including just giving up) and
have found that none will work.
The only way to succeed is to advance along one of the Paths.
When all these circumstances are met, and when enough ideas
and experiences have planted the seeds of new realizations
in the PCs mind, the PC can advance along the Paths.
A crisis can be an external circumstance that a PC finds
himself or herself in (e.g. the PC is trapped in the basement
of a serial killer and can find no means of escape). A crisis
can come from within when a Demon grows too powerful
to control. A crisis can be something a Seeker inflicts on
himself or herself in order to learn and grow, but a selfinflicted challenge cant be easy to get out of. A PC cannot
just assign herself a hard math problem and say Im not going
to stop until I solve this, because there really isnt anything
preventing the PC from quitting. A PC can, however, get
herself lost in a cave system with no lights, because once in
that circumstance the only solution is to finish.
See p.30 for more on the mechanics of Path advancement.

Traps & Leaving the Path

Retired Seekers
In Brief: Some Seekers retire but keep much
of their wisdom and abilities.

There are many ways to leave the path of

seekerdom. Some Seekers consciously
choose to retire, to stop traveling and seeking.
There is no shame in this, and these exSeekers usually remain wise and powerful,
and still capable of teaching something new
to an active Seeker.

Retired Seekers slowly lose their Path

abilities. This is not so much because
Seekers forget the wisdom they have
learned (although this can happen)
because that they do not have the time to
put that wisdom into practice. Leading
a normal life takes a lot of time, energy
and attention, as does maintaining great
Seeker abilities, and retired Seekers find
it is impossible to do both.

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A good analogy would be a

world-class chess champion
or martial artist. While they
spend most of each day, every
day, practicing their crafts
their skills remain incredibly
high. When they are distracted
by normal life and only have a
little time for practice, their
skills slowly deteriorate. They
remain highly above average,
but they are no longer worldclass. Retired Seekers remain
the wisest, most skilled, most
insightful people in their
communities, but they no
longer have powers that some
would call superhuman.
Unlike Trapped Seekers (p.62),
Retired Seekers are under no
great illusions about what
is happening to them. They
might not know the particulars
of their new failings and flaws
(because people cannot know
what it is they dont know) but
they do know that they are not
what they once were.
In mechanical terms, a Retired
Seekers Path levels slowly
go down. When they disappear, specialties and focuses
can remain, especially if the
Retired Seeker can use these
abilities in their new lives. At
the end, a retired Seekers profile can look much like that of
a sorcerer: zero levels in Paths
but several Path specialties. It
is rare, although possible, for
retired Seekers to lose all of
their Path abilities. When Path
levels disappear, it is appropriate to write up Psychological
Strengths and Weaknesses profiles (p.145) for retired Seeker
NPCs. The ghost of Path levels will appear here as very
high strengths ratings and very
low weaknesses ratings.

Mariko M Yamamoto, Retired Seeker

As a teen, M has the misfortune of looking at the nuclear blast
at Nagasaki. She was far enough away to avoid other injuries,
but her vision slowly deteriorated and within a few years she was
mostly blind. She joined a Buddhist nunnery where she studied
Buddhism and foreign languages, including English. In the
1960s, she joined Global Voices For Peace, an international
anti-nuclear weapons group. She started giving speeches on
behalf of the group, first in Japan and then all over the world. Her
intense, charismatic style and the fact she had been disabled by a
nuclear blast made her a very popular speaker. While staying in
the US she met and fell in love with an American peace activist.
He talked her into giving up being a nun and moving with him
to a commune in the California mountains. Their relationship
soon soured (despite his proclaiming himself to be a feminist,
he wanted Mariko to be submissive) and M grew frustrated with
politics in the commune. So one day she left, hitchhiking away
with nothing but a backpack and an expired visa.
M became a Seeker and walked the Paths of -Thought, +Harmony
and -Self. The Path of -Thought increased her ability to use her
other senses to make up her lack of vision. When she needed
money she would set up in a public place and do tricks (juggling,
guessing peoples height and weight). Eventually she gained a
sword and came up with a blind samurai routine that pleased
audiences. The routine involved, for instance, cutting in half
apples that audience members had thrown in the air.
As she traveled, M met people with deformities or strange
talents who wanted to join her on the road. At first she tried to
dissuade them, saying that it was a hard and often dangerous road
she walked on, but eventually she relented and her act became
a traveling sideshow. Now responsible for the welfare of other
people, she found she could no longer go where she wanted or
stay as long as she felt like. She realized she was leaving the path
of Seekerdom but she decided that she was okay with that.
As years passed, her Path abilities began to wane. She had too
much other work to do to constantly practice and hone her abilities.
One of her main focuses as a Seeker had been on shedding ideas
about or attachments to selfhood. As an aging showperson,
though, she no longer had the time or energy to constantly battle
against self and a self-identity slowly reappeared.
Meanwhile, she ran across many travelers she recognized as
Seekers. She was always happy to take in Seekers for as long as
they wanted to stay with the troupe. Then she had a run-in with
Coyote (p.65) who tried to separate her from her sideshow (in
hopes of putting her back on the Path of Seekerdom). She realized, then, that all Seekers are not good, and she began to test the
Seekers she met, hoping to find and ruin those who thought it was
okay to hurt innocent people.
Social Status- M is the leader and paymaster of a traveling
sideshow. People come and go but she typically has 5-10 people
(mostly performers) working for her. She acts as a mentor to her
employees and inspires fierce loyalty from them. Her employees
know her as a very wise and very talented woman, although they
fear the lash of her tongue when she catches them doing anything
stupid.

Personality: M makes it a practice

to say whatever is on her mind.
Sometimes she can be warm, empathetic, supportive and full of
wise advice. Yet she also has a
temper and will tell off anyone, at
great lengths, when they piss her
off. She is angered the most by
people who let their beliefs in their
Attributes- AGY OO, AWR OOOOO, CHM OOO, own flaws hold them back or who
INL OOOO, SPD O, STH O, WIL OOOOO. 7 Hit Points. do stupid things when they should
have known better. Being a busiPsychological Strengths and Weaknesses
ness woman and a carnie has made
her cynical, tending to think most
Thought Strengths OOO Weaknesses O
(Respectful of the teachings of wise men and women, people are trying to cheat each
other. She puts on an act as an unbut always skeptical.)
compromising, cynical, iron-willed
Self Strengths OOO Weaknesses O
businesswoman who is used to get (Too busy to think about her own weakness or flaws.)
ting her way. This act is calculated
to make people treat her and her
Harmony Strengths OOO Weaknesses OO
crew fairly.
(Devoted to the welfare of her troupe.)
Appearance- A short, plump, elderly Japanese woman,
appearing to be in her 60s. Her skin is tanned, wrinkled
and leathery. Her hair is thinning, grey and cut very short.
Her eyes have milky cataracts over the pupils. She smokes
cigars. She typically wears a white t-shirt and oil-stained
coveralls and smells like cigar smoke and pine needles.
She speaks with a thick Japanese accent and a voice tinged
with cynical humor.

Feeling Strengths OO Weaknesses OOO

(Too old to have patience with idiots or liars.)

As one might expect from a former

-Self Seeker, M avoids talking
about herself and her background
Paths
and does not often reveal her past
-Thinking: Zero
Specialties: Operating without as a Seeker.
seeing (+1), letting go of manipulation/mind control (+2),
Methods: M rarely performs any
combat plusses.
more: she is out of practice and is
-Self: Zero
Specialties: Profile Self Identity
no longer limber or agile enough.
Weaknesses, avoiding being read by others (+2).
Instead, she manages money for her
+Harmony: Zero
Specialties: Noticing changes to traveling sideshow, does promotion,
familiar environments (+1), make people feel guilty (+2). negotiates with sponsors, venue
operators, local law enforcement,
Skills
recruits and trains new talent and
Academic O
Specialty: Humanities
mediates disputes between member
of her crew.
Combat: O
Specialty: Kill
People OOOO
Specialties: Performance, Language She is always happy to meet
Traditional OOO
Specialties: Tricks, Traditional Medicine anyone with talents, especially
Seekers. She will try to find them
Equipment: RV
a place in the troupe and try to help
Combat: Kill OOO (high quality katana)
them find firendship (even love)
Traditional: Traditional Medicine OO (herb and acu- among troupe members. She never
pressures anyone to perform, but
puncture needle kit)
when they do she makes sure they
got a piece of the profit.
Advantages & Disads: Blind (-4 to combat AVs)
Combat AVs (Note: M has -4 to AVs from being blind, but
+1 from her -Thought specialty: Operating Without Seeing).
Kill OOO
Ruin O
Control O
Exhaust -1
+1 when she is engaging in combat without premeditation

Yet at the same time she is mentoring

and helping new sideshow
employees, she is also testing them.
She puts them in situations that will
test their morality.
continued next page

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Mariko M Yamamoto, Retired Seeker (continued)

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Her long-time crew are happy to play-act to

help create these moral challenges. She is
looking, in particular, for willingness to hurt
other people or take away peoples freedom
(even if done in the name of helping people).
Depending on how dangerous she thinks
someone is, M might simply leave them behind (they wake up to find up the sideshow
has moved on without them) or she may frame
Randolph Dumb Randy CarlsonThis is Ms senior-most troupe member
and is her driver. He has the features of
someone with Downs Syndrome (short,
plump, round face, small chin, almond
shaped eyes). His act is to convince
the audience that he is severely
developmentally delayed but then he
solves math problems suggested by
the audience. He is not of subnormal
intelligence, nor is he a savant: just
someone of normal intelligence who is
good at math and is a good actor.
Selma Gutierrez- Selma is a tattooed
lady who strips down to her bra and
panties to show her various tattoos. She
also has a knife throwing act. For her
volunteer, who stands on stage while
knives are thrown around him, Selma
chooses a man from the audience who
thought he could impress his friends
by flirting with the sexy tattooed
lady. When not on stage she is shy,
has trouble reading other people and
spends most of her free time reading
fantasy novels.
Susan and Peter Stare The Wonder
Twins- This brother and sister pair are
attractive, 20-something, of mixed race,
tattooed and pierced. Their act starts
as an acrobatic, highly choreographed
fight in which they jump and tumble
around stage, grab and throw each
other, ripping each others clothes off
in the process. The reveal comes
when enough of their clothes are off
that the audience finds the one who
they assumed was male is female and
vice versa. Off stage they are friendly,
gregarious, love to joke, are both
sexually voracious bisexuals, have a
dislike of authority figures (except for
M) and whisper to each other very mean
jokes about the people they meet.

a person for a crime (e.g. hide drugs in someones tent then tell the local Sherrif that person
has been dealing). If she worries a Seeker is
powerful enough to evade capture she may even
drug his or her food with herbal tinctures before
framing him or her.
For those Seekers who pass her tests, she offers
to impart what wisdom she has to them. This
includes creating challenges for the Seekers.

Ms Troupe
Jain Snake Man Campbell- A sixty-something Caucasian man with long stringy hair and a long grey-and-brown
beard. On stage he wears a leather jacket and pants dyed
bright green. Off-stage he wears a plaid flannel shirt and
blue jeans. He walks around with a large snake draped
around his neck. His act involves pulling snakes out of
terrariums and doing things with them, including letting
them eat live mice out of his hands. Many of the snakes
are poisonous. They seldom bite Jain, but he has had venomous bites and he knows how to deal with snake venom.
Jain considers himself a simple, fairly normal guy with
few needs. He has had little education and gets embarrassed and angry when he is caught making a mistake (e.g.
calling snakes amphibians). He gets mad at M for questioning the few things he takes pride in, and for what he
calls poking (bringing up things about him hed rather
not talk about, like his lack of education). Several times
he has lost his temper, screamed at M and stormed off,
vowing never to return. Yet he does return, claiming that
he couldnt find any other work that paid as well.
Kaelani The Bishop Clark- A teenage African American
girl with straightened hair to her shoulders and a round,
youthful face. On stage she wears a red sequined dress
that shows off her zaftig (plump and curvy) figure. Her
arms end at her elbows without any forearms or hands.
Her act consists of her doing complicated things, with
apparent ease, using what she has for arms. She tosses and
spins a beachball, uses a fork and spoon, writes with a pen,
shuffles and deals cards and even does three-card-monte.
Although she has a forged birth certificate claiming she is
19, Kaelani is actually an underaged runaway. Her family
were very religious, very conservative and very poor.
Kaelani feels incredibly lucky to have found M and joined
the sideshow. She is kind and polite and has a seemingly
endless capacity to enjoy the simple pleasures of life.
Lucas Wild ManAlbertson- A caucasian male whose
age is hard to determine. His skin is tanned, leathery,
dirty, with scars and tribal-style tattoos. He has large
tusk-shaped bone jewelry in his septum and ears. His
hair and beard have been formed into long dreadlocks
with green plants growing in them. On stage he wears a
bear skin and leather loincloth. Off stage he wears dirty
t-shirts and jeans and is often seen smoking a joint.

Ms Troupe (continued)
His act is that he pretends to be a feral human. It takes Lucas a while to open up to people, but
He eats live insects (including scorpions), walks once he does he barrages them with corny jokes
on broken glass and crushes rocks with his teeth. and puns. He claims he has a mean, paranoid
Off stage he is gentle and smart. He considers streak, and that he smokes marijuana to suppress
himself a neo-primitive and tries to spend that part of himself, but nobody else in the troupe
time every day in direct contact with nature. has ever seen evidence of this mean streak.

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Trapped Seekers

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In Brief: Think they are perfect when they

arent or that they are progressing towards
enlightenment when they are really doing
nothing.
Megalomaniacal Trapped
Seekers can be dangerous because they
think anything they do is right.

the process of gaining power that they forget

about doing anything good with their power.
They feel their right to rule is absolute so they
feel they have the right to do anything, even
hurt people, to increase their power. Some
subtly use their powers to control every
aspect of a community. They try to create
a utopia but as their understanding of the
universe is incomplete, their communities
can never be completely perfect. Sometimes
they blame these imperfections on some
outside force (e.g. a Seeker who just came
to town). At other times the imperfection
grows to become a serious problem, leading
the Seeker to exert more overt control until
the community is suffering under the grip of
a totalitarian leader.

Other Seekers leave the path without even

realizing they have done so, and those
Seekers can be dangerous. We call these
Seekers trapped because they have met
a dead end in their path to understanding
and self-improvement that they have not
been able to find their way back from. Any
Seeker may become trapped. The essence
of being a Seeker is change and any Seeker
Giving oneself over fully to a teacher is
who stops changing is trapped.
another kind of trap. When a Seeker comes
One major trap is megalomania. A Seek- to believe that his or her teacher is perfect,
er can come to believe that he or she has and thus always will have higher wisdom
found the ultimate truth, knows all the an- to teach the Seeker, then the Seeker fails
swers. The majority of these trapped Seek- to recognize when the Seekers path must
ers become teachers or religious leaders. diverge from that of the teacher and that the
When try to instill the wisdom they have Seeker must move on.
learned in others (rather than letting others
find their own wisdom) they create Sor- Other Seekers become trapped when they
cerers (p.66). Their conviction that they come to believe they are achieving something
are right can make them dangerous. They when they are really achieving nothing.
often demand absolute loyalty from their They may spend years, or decades, in a state
students and punish any who disobey them of euphoria, or sitting in meditation with an
or restrain any who try to leave. They are empty mind, or high on hallucinogens, or
not doing this maliciously. They honestly rereading the same book over again, learning
believe that they are the only ones in the nothing new even when they think they are
world who knows what is best for their stu- progressing towards enlightenment.
dents and thus their students shouldnt be
allowed free will.
Freeing Trapped Seekers
A trapped Seeker can be a useful teacher to
other Seekers, for a time. They can teach
new ideas and provide useful challenges
that can help a Seeker achieve higher levels
in the paths, but after the Seekers have
learned all they can learn from that teacher
they often find the teacher unwilling to
release his or her grip on the student.
Other trapped Seekers become convinced
that they should be leaders. They use
their abilities to take over political parties,
churches, unions or fraternal organizations.
However, they become so obsessed with

In Brief: One can help trapped Seekers by

showing them they are wrong.

A Seeker can only be freed if he or she can

be made aware that he or she is trapped.
One cannot force another to have such
an epiphany, but one can make it more
likely. Defeating a trapped Seeker (without
killing him or her) is a good way to show
the trapped Seeker that he or she doesnt
have perfect wisdom. Creating a sufficient
challenge (p.57) for trapped Seeker can also
jumpstart advancement along the Paths,
freeing that Seeker.

Infinity, Trapped Seeker

Infinity, once known as Martha Ducane, is a Seeker who believes she has
achieved perfect freedom from emotion
and operates solely on the basis of logic
and rationality. Believing that she has
achieved her goal, she has stopped traveling and seeking out wisdom, and has
instead founded a commune/monastery/
school where she attempts to teach her
students what she has learned. Believing
that names carry with them emotional
ties, she has renamed herself and her followers after numbers, giving herself the
name Infinity to denote her perfection.
She does not consider this arrogance, because arrogance implies irrationality and
she does not think it is possible for her to
be irrational.
Infinitys school is called simply The
School (although some call it The
School of Numbers) and is located on
a farmhouse in the foothills northeast of
Los Angeles. At any given time Infinity
has about 12 students. Infinity and her
students all wear white t-shirts and blue
jeans, all have shaved heads and are all
clean-shaven. They lead quiet, simple
lives. They farm, they read various
philosophy books (so they can critique
the irrationality of their authors in group
discussions with Infinity), they listen to
long lectures by Infinity, they travel to LA
in a van to help the needy and recruit new
students. They take cold showers, sleep
on wooden planks without blankets and
are supposed to be completely abstinent.

Appearance- Tall, skinny white female, appearing

to be in her 40s. She has a shaven head, wears a
plain t-shirt and blue jeans, walks barefoot, has
tanned skin, has piercing amber-colored eyes and
a slack, emotionless face. When she speaks it is
with a slow, calm, emotionless tone.
Attributes- AGY OO, AWR 7, CHM OOOO,
END OOOOO, INL 8, SPD OO, STH OO, WIL
OOOOO. 11 Hit Points.
Skills
Academic OOO Specialties: Humanities, Sciences
Athletic OO
Specialty: Martial Arts: Control
Labor O
Specialty: Building/Repair
Medicine O
Specialty: Trauma
People O
Specialty: Performance
Paths
-Self O (Freedom from the prejudice of self-concepts.)
Specialty: Not allowing her intentions to be
read (+2).
Focus: Cold Showers
+Thinking O (Applying logic to understanding the universe.)
Specialty: Deduction
Focus: Group Discussions
-Feeling OOOO (Freeing the rational mind
from the prejudices of emotions.)
Specialties: Attribute Plusses, Absorb Emotions
Focuses: Meditation, Lectures

Combat AVs
Kill OOO
Control OOOOOO
Ruin OOOOO Exhaust OOO
+4 to Control or Exhaust when Infinitys opponent is attacking from anger or fear. +1 to combat
when Infinity has examined the situation and had
Infinity believes it is her job to help rid her time to formulate a strategy. +1 to Combat when
students of irrationality based on emotion. opponent has a higher combat AV.
Whenever a student does something she
doesnt like or doesnt agree with, she sur- Eccentricities- Note: As Infinity is trapped, she
mises that they are being irrational. She believes her Eccentricities are immutable laws
points out the irrationality and tells the about how one should live, rather than temporary
student to go into seclusion and meditate experiments.
Insists on being called a number rather
until they can overcome this emotion. If
than a name.
anyone ever tries to leave the school, that
Lives ascetically (cold showers, hard beds,
too is an act of irrationality and Infinity
bland food).
has no moral qualms about ordering her
Is celibate.
students to lock the dissenter up until the
Always tells everyone the truth as she knows
dissenter agrees that the desire to leave
it, making no attempts to spare their feelings.
was an irrational emotion now surpassed.
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Typical Finite
This is one of the students of Infinitys Paths
school. Although they do not know it, they -Feeling: Zero
Specialties: Resist actare Sorcerers who have been taught Path ing on emotions (+2), resist pain (+2).
abilities by rote (rather than coming to their
Combat AVs
own understanding of the Paths).
Kill OOO
Control OO
Attributes- AGY OO, AWR OOO, CHM Ruin OOO
Exhaust OO
OO, END OOOO, INL OOOO, SPD OO,
STH OO, WIL OOOO. 10 Hit Points.
Skills
Academic O
Specialty: Humanities
Traditional O
Specialty: Livelihood

Evil Seekers
In Brief: Seekers have different moral judgments. An Evil Seeker is any Seeker whose
actions you find unforgivable and who you cannot come to a compromise with.

Despite the many things they learn,

Seekers dont find a single code of ethics
imprinted in the fabric of the universe.
Each Seeker must create his or her own
code of ethics, and it is rare that those
codes will completely match that of other Seekers. This difference is where conflicts may arise. For instance, a Seeker
who believes in easing suffering by any
means necessary may kidnap a drug addict and keep her prisoner in a basement
while she detoxes. Another Seeker, who
puts human free-will above all else, feels
that the violation of the addicts rights
does not justify the potential good of
helping her overcome the addiction.
A different moral code is not a mistake
(like the mistaken beliefs that keep
Trapped Seekers trapped) and so there
is no way to prompt a Seeker to adopt a
different moral code.
Some Seekers value the search for truth
and knowledge so much more than
compassion and justice that they choose to
experiment on unwilling humans. Some
of these experiments are quite benign,
others are very harmful: using dangerous
psychoactives on people to learn
about human psychology, destroying a
small town to watch complex systems
dissolving, creating Demons to observe
their nature, etc.

Other Seekers may put increasing the beauty

of the world as their highest priority, and may
decide that one way to do that is to kill ignorant,
prejudiced, hateful, greedy or disruptive
people.
Or, similarly, a Seeker may decide that the
knowledge to be gained from exercising his or
her dark side (the petty, hateful, greedy side)
outweighs the damage this dark side might do
while in charge. Such a Seeker may even have a
Jekyll-and-Hyde behavior, acting at times wise
and compassionate and at other times cruel and
ignorant.
It is quite natural that Seekers would have
disagreements about what the right thing to do
is, yet most find ways, some civil and some not,
to resolve their disagreements. They may say
lets flip over it or do what you think is right
and so will I, even if that means trying to stop
you. After that disagreement is over, they can
usually be friends again.
Yet when some Seekers moral code is so
diametrically opposed to your own that you,
the Seeker, do not feel you can let that person
continue to walk the Earth acting by that code,
then that Seeker is, to you, an Evil Seeker.
In other words, an Evil Seeker is one whose
morality is so different from yours that it
becomes your moral duty to stop them.
By this definition, it is not always other Seekers
who are Evil. Any Seeker PC might someday
run into a Seeker who thinks they are the evil
one.

Coyote, Evil Seeker

Coyote is a Seeker who likes to Skills:
free people by destroying whatever Academic O
Specialty: Humanities
those people own and depend on. Athletic OOO Specialties: Martial Arts: Control,
He burns down peoples houses, Outdoors
gets them fired from their jobs, Creative O
Specialty: Music
forces them to move to new Criminal O
Specialty: Trickery
places (often new countries) and Labor O
Specialty: Power
breaks up relationships. He has People O
Specialty: Social
even been known to damage Traditional OOOO Specialties: Tricks, Livelihood
attractive people in ways that will
make them ugly. By removing Paths
peoples psychological anchors he -Thought OOO (Trusting the universes wisdom.)
is giving them a chance to surpass Specialties: Dumb Luck, combat plusses
their normal mind-set, to learn Focuses: Smoking Tobacco Pipe, Woodcarving
they dont need the things that -Self OO (Dont be puffed up with ideas about self.)
they thought they did, to become Specialty: Unnoticeable
better and happier people. Some Focus: Whipping Self With Branch
become better and happier people -Harmony OOO (Give up what you thought you
after encounters with Coyote, a needed.)
few even become Seekers. Yet Specialties: Sabotage Harmony, Profile Harmony
there are others who do not Weaknesses
benefit from the experience, they Focus: Vandalism
only suffer. Coyote also likes to +Harmony OO (Be open to the divine spirit that
indulge his own sense of humor binds all creation.)
by tricking people in clever ways Specialty: Move through environments without
or causing what seem like bizarre leaving traces (+1)
Focus: Chanting
coincidences.
By Coyotes moral code he is
in the right: he gives people
opportunities and if they dont take
them its their own fault. Other
Seekers, however, think Coyote
is unethical. Many Seekers have
tried to stop Coyote, but so far he
has turned out to be more powerful
than any Seeker he has come up
against.
Appearance: Native American
male, small, compact, muscular,
appearance of age varies (people
think he is anywhere from 20 to
60), with long black hair braided
in a ponytail, wearing a Hawaiianprint shirt, blue jeans and a canvas
backpack with a wooden flute
sticking out of it.
Attributes (includes plusses
from Paths) AGY OOOO, AWR
OOOOO, CHM OO, END
OOOOO, INL OOOOO, SPD
OOO, STH OOO, WIL OOOO,
14 Hit Points

+Feeling O (Humans are animals and should act

more like animals.)
Specialty: Persuasion (+1)
Focus: Hallucinogens
Equipment:
Athletic: Outdoors O (hiking boots, rope, swim goggles)
Creative: Music O (flute)
Criminal: Trickery O (small disguise kit, small ID card
making kit)
Traditional: Survival O (compass, fire starter, fishing
line and hook, sleeping bag)
Eccentricities:
Speaks in riddles, never giving a straight answer to a question.
Often found whistling a tune.
Does not carry or use money.
Destroys that which people have come to depend on.
Bathes in cold water every morning.

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Control 6
Exhaust OOOOO
Kill OOOO
Ruin OOOO
+3 to combat engaged in without any premeditation,
+2 to combat where opponent has a higher AV, +3 to Kill
or Ruin surprise attacks, +2 to Control or Exhaust when
trying to end combat without anyone getting hurt, +1 to
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Prodigies
In Brief: Some children born with Path wisdom and abilities, typically lose them when they grow up.

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A tiny percentage of children grow up

with knowledge, wisdom and power that
it usually takes a Seeker years to develop.
Prodigies can be born in any place to any
parents. In some cases it seems that the
mind has developed differently from that of
normal people with different strengths and
weaknesses and a unique way of viewing
the universe. In other cases it seems that,
by random chance, the child never started
making the mistakes that adult Seekers work
so hard to stop making. Occasionally, brain
damage can make someone a prodigy.

Most Prodigies have only one level in one

of the Paths. More levels are exponentially
more rare. Most Prodigies will eventually
forget the wisdom they had as children as
they are indoctrinated into the behaviors
and beliefs of those around them. A few
will keep their wisdom throughout their
lives and a few will even become Seekers.
The reincarnated masters (tulkus in Tibetan) of Buddhism, who show compassion,
wisdom and insight from a young age are,
to most Seekers, one example of Prodigies.

Sorcerers
In Brief: People who have learned Path abilities by rote without any of the
accompanying wisdom.
These are people who have some of the
same abilities of Seekers but without the
understanding that accompanies those
powers in Seekers. Seekers gain their abilities as a consequence of understanding the
universe, sorcerers learn the ability by rote
and have no understanding (or an incorrect
understanding) of how their abilities work.
Most sorcerers can be traced back to
something someone created by accident or
something that a Seeker (usually one in a
trap) taught to non-Seeker students. Once
sorcerous techniques are created, Sorcerers
can teach them to others, creating more
Sorcerers. Sorcerers can thus easily come
to outnumber Seekers, and to be found in
high concentrations.

Most Sorcerers are students of an occult

tradition, although some rationalize their
power in religious or psychological terms.
Seekers usually consider Sorcerers
dangerous, because they can do the things
Seekers can but without the wisdom or
knowledge to do them in a way that helps
people.
Mechanically, treat a Sorcerer as having a
specialty or specialties (but not levels) in
a Path, allowing them to use certain Path
abilities as if they had one level in that
Path. Some sorcerers also have Focuses,
allowing them to act as if they had two
levels in those things they specialize in.

Advanced Practitioners
In Brief: Some adherents of traditions can gain Path levels even without being Seekers.

The lifestyle of a Seeker is the fastest and

surest way a person can gain understanding,
wisdom, power and self-improvement,
but it is not the only way. As described
in Chapter Four, there are many traditions
that, if followed sincerely, can bring
wisdom, insight and power. Advanced
practitioners of these traditions can have

wisdom and abilities equivalent to Seeker

Paths, but without ever having to have been
a wandering sampler of various paths.
Advanced practitioners rarely have more
than one Path level. They usually have
Specialties and may or may not have
Focuses.

Flora Escepticita Gutierrez, Young Prodigy

Everyone knows Flora was born
different. As a toddler, she was willful
and disobedient. No punishment seemed
to phase her except spankings and even
those only caused her to try harder to
not get caught. She would steal, lie
and hit other people (even grown-ups).
Then, when she was four, she asked her
mom what good was and, when it was
explained to her as helping people,
not hurting them, she said she wanted
to be good. Her behavior changed and
she stopped doing things that hurt other
people, yet she didnt become any easier
to live with.
She has spent every day since questioning
everything her parents, teachers and
peers tell her. After each explanation
she stops, thinking and decides whether
or not she believes they are right. For
example: although her parents are very
religious Catholics, Flora has decided
she doesnt believe in God, and only goes
to church because her parents force her
to. Her constant questioning has earned
her the nickname escepticita (little
skeptic). Once, when her parents told
her that coffee makes children sick, she
didnt believe them and to prove them
wrong she shoplifted and ate an entire jar
of instant coffee. She had no physical
complaints and her parents have been
letting her drink coffee since then.
Flora doesnt care what others think of
her and is unaffected by taunts, insults
and ostracism of other kids. One time a
group of girls at school tried to ambush
and beat her up in the girls bathroom,
but she stabbed one of the girls in the
eye with her house keys, and nobody has
messed with her since. Flora is brutally
honest with people (e.g. she will tell
strangers she meets in the street You
are really very ugly.) She also swears
quite a lot, both in Spanish and English.
Most of the kids and adults who deal
with her on a regular basis dislike her,

but Flora doesnt care. Flora also stands up

against any sort of cruelty, prejudice or unfair
treatment. She will even speak out on behalf
of kids who have told Flora they hate her.
She has virtually eliminated bullying in her
school by speaking out against any form of
picking-on or discriminating against other
children. She is effective not because she is
an imposing figure, but because she refuses
to shut up about something until it is fixed.
She has openly accused several people in her
town (including teachers at her school) of
being racist.
Lately, she has started asking adults how much
money they make and telling those making
little that doesnt seem fair, they should be
paying you more. Although most people
brush this off as childish navet, her words
have implanted subtle ideas that are causing
the low-paid workers of her community to
talk about demanding more.
Appearance- Young Hispanic girl about the
size of a seven year old, although those who
meet her are often very unsure about what her
age is. She has short curly dark-brown hair,
brown eyes, wears glasses, a faded grey Ninja
Turtles shirt with stains and holes in it, blue
jeans and sneakers. Her right leg is deformed
and she walks using a pair of crutches.
Attributes- AGY O, AWR OO, CHM O,
END OO, INL OO, SPD zero, STH O, WIL
OOO. 6 Hit Points.

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-Harmony OO (Many things people say
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Specialty: Outsider empathy (+1)
Focus: None
Combat AVs
Kill OO
Control O
Ruin O
Exhaust O
+2 to Kill and Ruin AVs when making a
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Colton Donaldson, Sorcerer and Self-Help Guru

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The son of fairly wealthy parents, Colton

spent a year backpacking around Europe
after graduating from college. There he
met a Seeker (although he doesnt know
her by that term) who became his traveling
companion. The Seeker tried, and failed,
to teach Colton about the Path of +Feeling.
Colton never understood the basic wisdom
of +Feeling, but was able, through practice,
to learn +Feeling abilities. After returning
from Europe, Colton got a corporate job
and used his Path Abilities to rise through
the ranks, becoming a well-paid executive.
Finding corporate life boring, he quit and
began his own company teaching +Feeling
Path abilities to young executives.
Many powerful young executives, who have
risen through the ranks after graduating the
program, have required their subordinates to
take the program (paying out of their own
pockets, of course).
His company and program have gone
through several name changes (currently the
program is the Power and the company
is Power Unleashing, LLC). Participants
pay $5,000 for a two-week program held in
the conference facilities of some big hotel,
usually located near a major airport. At the
program, Colton and his assistants run the
participants through several exercises and
Colton gives nightly high-energy lectures.
The program is about equal parts complete
bullshit, learning Path abilities by rote, and
Colton using his own abilities to make participants believe that their lives have been
changed and that they should recommend
the program to all their friends. The sessions can get very intense, with Colton, who
is trying to make people lose control of their
emotions, ridiculing, yelling at, and not allowing participants to leave for food, water
or to use the bathroom. Some, but not all,
participants leave the course with +Feeling
Path abilities.
For the most part, Colton believes the bullshit
he is selling. He believes he knows the secret to unlocking peoples hidden power
and that he is changing the lives of his students, making them better people, and that
his program is worth every dollar that people
pay. The truth is, though, that he does not
understand +Feeling and thus doesnt understand how or why the Path abilities work.

Appearance- A handsome Caucasian male in

his mid-thirties. He is of average height and
build, but often people perceive him as being
tall. He has short blonde hair in a conservative
cut, is clean shaven, has intense green eyes,
wears a silver stud in one ear, wears exquisitely
tailored business-casual clothing in bold colors
and a gold Rolex.
Attributes- AGY OO, AWR OO, CHM
OOOOO, END OOO, INL OOO, SPD OOO,
STH OOO, WIL OOOO. 10 Hit Points.
Skills
Academic OO
Law
People OOO
Social

Specialty: Business &

Specialities: Performance,

Paths
+Feeling: Zero
Specialties: Channeling, persuasion (+1)
Focus: Making a speech
Personality- Colton has become dangerously
arrogant, believing he is the wisest and most
powerful person he knows. Not only does he
lie habitually, but he is in the habit of believing
his own lies. He knows he can be cruel to his
students, but he believes pain is a small price
to pay for what they will gain. He thinks he
is doing good in this world and would only
knowingly damage another person if he thinks
they are trying to sabotage or hurt him.
Personality Strengths & Weaknesses
Thought Strengths OOO Weaknesses OOOO
(Thinks he knows all the answers.)
Self Strengths OOOO
Weaknesses OOOOO
(Dangerously arrogant, megalomaniacal.)
Harmony Strengths OO Weaknesses OO
(Surrounds himself with sycophantic followers.)
Feeling Strengths OOOOO Weaknesses OOO
(Allows his passions to run wild, to guide him.)
Combat AVs
Kill OOO*
Control OO
Ruin OO
Exhaust OO**
*+1 if Colton can make a 3 difficulty Channeling roll.
**+1 if Colton can make a 1 difficulty Channeling roll.

Seeker Crafts
In Brief: Powerful Seekers can create objects that are supernormally good at one
thing.
For the most part, the supernormal things
that happen because of Seekers last only
as long as those Seekers are around. The
exception is that very powerful Seekers
(and occasionally Prodigies) can use their
incredible and unique understanding of
the universe to create something that no
normal person, no matter how skilled,
could have. These crafts are supernormally
effective, yet they are only effective for
the exact purpose they were created for.
A sword might be superb at slicing in half
other swords, but for all other purposes it
acts as a regular sword. A house designed
by a Seekers might be an excellent place
to recuperate from an illness, but in other
respects it is a regular house. A painting
might make anyone who has been in a
fire burst into tears, but seem like only a
moderately good painting to anyone else.

Why these crafts work as well as they do

is a mystery to everyone, except perhaps to
Seekers who happen to have come to the
same conclusions about the universe as the
creators.
A Seekers craft contains no hidden
magical force. Its power is in the details
of its form. So, in theory, if it could be
exactly reproduced the replica would have
the same power. Yet in reality it is not so
easy to replicate every detail. Things one
wouldnt think matter end up making a big
difference, like the oil a sword is wiped with,
or the unique scent of a piece of canvas a
painting was painted on. Those who have
attempted to mass-produce Seeker Crafts
have generally failed.

Demons
In Brief: A recurring bad luck or bad behavior that can adapt and grow stronger.
A Demon is a pattern of bad circumstances
that a person repeatedly gets into. The
pattern follows its host everywhere,
reinforces its own existence, can adjust to
new circumstances and, if unchecked, can
grow stronger.
When regular people are infected by
Demons, they typically fail to see them
for what they really are. Ancient people
may have seen them as harmful spirits,
but modern people see mental illness,
bad luck, a string of coincidences or a
persistent character flaw.
The typical +Thought explanation is that
a Demon is an unconscious pattern of
behavior that has created a self-reinforcing
feedback loop between the host and the
world around the host. Take alcoholism
for instance: an alcoholic drinks because

he cannot bear the state of his life, yet being

a drunkard makes the circumstances of his
life worse, so he is forced to drink even
more. The fact that many people see their
Demons as something outside themselves
(e.g. as bad luck) is only because people
are unaware of how their own behaviors and
nonverbal signals help bring about these
situations.

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Demon is a real demon, an entity that lives
inside you, that feeds by hurting you and
those around you and that will grow more
powerful if not fought or tamed.
People can have Demons, but so can
communities. A family feud is one example
of a Demon that can haunt a community for
generations. For more on the Demons of
communities, see p.168.

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Nemesis

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Another example is a town where the towns

wealthy and powerful people belong to one
In Brief: A Demon of prejudice, infecting church. That churchs minister might be at
communities and attacking Seekers.
the top of the social ladder, his inner circle
next, then regular parishioners and, at the
This is a family of Demons (or perhaps a bottom, all of the towns non-believers,
single Demon, depending who you ask) that agnostics or followers of other faiths.
is of special interest to Seekers because it
seems to notice and attack Seekers, and Although the Nemesis usually infects a
thus has often earned the name Nemesis town, it can infect other communities, such
among Seekers. This is a Demon of as a corporation or a high school. In the high
prejudice and elitism. The Demon uses school the top of the hierarchy might be the
discrimination to consolidate power clique with the schools most popular kids
(e.g. the football players and cheerleaders)
among a few people in a community and to with every other clique arranged along a sokeep power concentrated there generation cial hierarchy. The most popular clique sets,
after generation. The discrimination can or influences the position of, every other
be based on ethnicity, on religion, on clique in the hierarchy.
nationality, on level of education, or even
on less tangible things like intelligence, The Nemesis is especially sensitive to anysocial skills or attractiveness.
thing which might threaten the social order.
Seekers are always a threat to any unfair
Integral to the Nemesis operation is a or dysfunctional social order, first because
multi-level hierarchy. Each person on the they meddle in other peoples business, and
hierarchy (except those on the very bottom) second because they represent authority
help enforce the social hierarchy because gained personally, not granted by another. A
they fear losing whatever status that have Seekers power comes from within, not from
in that hierarchy. The people at the top are money, property, heritage, degrees or authorgiven authority as preservers of the social ity granted by a government of church, and
hierarchy. The leaders of the community thus they are anathema to the artificial hiermay have the power to decide where in archies that the Nemesis depends on.
the communitys hierarchy of status each
person stands. It is also necessary, for The Demon notices Seekers when any person
the Nemesis to thrive, that the people at it has infected notices anyone acting in a
the bottom of the hierarchy suffer, so that Seeker-like way. The Demon makes each
person it infects hyper-sensitive to anyone
everyone else fears being at the bottom.
who acts differently, who doesnt follow the
The Nemesis can be found infecting mores of the community. When it notices a
communities to a greater or lesser degree Seeker, the Demon attacks. The Demons
primary weapon is prejudice and it bring
all around the world, going back to the that weapon to bear with full strength upon
beginning of recorded history. Some suspected Seekers. Word spreads quickly
Seekers even believe that Nazi Germany through the town about this new strange
was an instance of the Demon growing to person and nearly everyone hearing this
infect an entire country.
reacts, thanks to the Demon, with fear or
anger.
A classic (although less and less frequently
encountered) example of a community Destroying the Demon involves destroying
ruled by the Nemesis is that of a town the social hierarchy and dethroning the
where the hierarchy is wealthy whites, poor communitys leaders. This usually means
whites and poor Blacks or Hispanics. The coming into conflict with nearly every person
poor whites (via some organization like in the community. Yet in the few cases
the KKK) work to help keep the Blacks or where the Nemesis had been destroyed, the
Hispanics in line and the wealthy whites majority of people in the community find
themselves better off afterwards.
are the ones who most benefit.

Sapphire was lying on a cold, musty concrete floor. Cold water was dripping down
her face and soaking through her clothes.
She wanted to wipe the water from her eyes,
but found her wrists were secured together
tightly behind her back. She rolled over,
trying to blink away the water. Then she
saw three bearded men, one of whom held
a bucket. They were in a shed made of unpainted wood. There were no windows and
only one door, which the bearded men stood
before. The only light was from a bare, yellowish bulb from which cobwebs stretched.
One of the men spoke. He had a thick
Middle-Eastern accent and a deep voice.
What did you do with the briefcase?
Sapphire sat up, feeling a bit dizzy. I hid
it, she said plainly, I put it somewhere
that it wouldnt irradiate anyone and where
nobody would be able to do anything stupid
with it, like try to hurt innocent people.
The man stepped forward. Tell me where
you hid it, he commanded.
I might, she said, Tell me what you plan
to do with it.
Do not waste our time, whore. For every
minute of our time you waste, we will make
you pay. Her dug into a pocket of his
jacket and pulled out a pair of old pliers.
We start by pulling out your fingernails,
and go from there.
He looked to his companions, motioning
towards Sapphire and saying something in
Arabic which Sapphire knew meant hold
her down.
Seriously though, Sapphire interrupted,
Sell me on this. You think youve got a
good cause? You think youre in the right?
Then you should be able to convince me.
He shook his head. There is no way you
would understand. You are an infidel, a
corrupt, sinful whore, the product of a
corrupt, sinful nation, where only money
and power is valued.
You may be wrong there, she said, with
a tone of warning. You say I wouldnt
understand, yet I have studied Islam in some
depth. For instance, when you said infidel
I imagine you are thinking of the Arabic
word kfir, used in the Quran to mean

an unbeliever, or more literally someone who

hides or covers the truth. A kfir is someone
who denies the truth, even when it is staring
him or her in the face. You see the truth in front
of you and yet you deny it, out of arrogance, or
spite or fear. Deftly, she put her feet under
herself and rose to a standing position. That
is what kfir means.
So you claim to be a Muslim? the man with
the pliers demanded incredulously, looking
Sapphire up and down, noting the tattoos, the
black tanktop and jeans, the dyed black hair,
the now-smudged lipstick and mascara. You
are not a Muslim. And even if you were, that
would not save you.
I dont claim to be anything, Sapphire
answered, because claiming means nothing.
Claiming to be a Muslim doesnt make my
will the will of the creator any more than
claiming to be an Olympic weightlifter makes
me strong. The man with the pliers opened
his mouth to interrupt, but Sapphire pierced
him with a glare. What I can tell you, she
continued, is that I have taken the teachings
of the prophet Muhammad, may the creator
honor him, and I have submitted myself to those
teachings. I have tried my best to hear those
teachings without prejudice or judgement,
without fear, to accept what they have to teach
me, whether it was something I wanted to learn
or not. Can you truly, before the creator, say
the same about yourselves?
He surged forward and grabbed a handful of
black hair on the back of her head. Sapphire
did not flinch. You dare to questions our faith,
you tattooed whore? We are mujadeen. We
fight a holy war, are prepared to die in Allahs
name, to protect the Muslim world from those
who would invade it and corrupt it.

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You call yourself mujadeen? she asked

sharply, cutting him off. You think you are
engaged in Jihad? You think your willingness
to give your life is the most you have to offer the
creator? What you offer is a pittance, an insult.
How about willingness to face down your worst
fears? When will you offer that to your creator?
How about facing down some uncertainty and
doubt? How about an interpretation of the
Quran that forces you to make moral judgments
instead of relying on unwavering rules? Is that
to much to do for your creator?
continued next page

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Chapter Four
TRADITIONS
About Traditions

In Brief: Traditions are wisdom and approaches to wisdom codified into a system or
doctrine. Seekers must bypass Traditions to become Seekers, yet Traditions still affect
their outlook. Traditions encountered on the road can help give wisdom to Seekers.

Traditions are wisdom, or approaches to

finding wisdom, that has been codified
into some body of beliefs or practices.
Traditions can go by the names religion,
philosophy or discipline, among
others.

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Traditions have two major roles in the lives

of Seekers:
First, most Seekers were launched into
Seekerdom by a Tradition. The Tradition
gave the Seeker a taste of the wisdom and
power that could be achieved. Although
becoming a Seeker, by definition, involves
surpassing the limitations of any particular

Tradition. Yet the Tradition a Seeker comes

from can still color how a Seeker perceives
or talks about things.
Second, when Seekers find wisdom on the
road, wisdom that will help them grow and
advance along the Paths, that wisdom often
comes in the form of something from one of
the Traditions. This could be someone accomplished in one of the Traditions (especially an Advanced Practitioner, p.66) who
can teach the PC or lead the PCs to a new
challenge, or it could be a book (or even
something as small as a bumper sticker to the
message in a fortune cookie) containing wisdom gleaned from one of these Traditions.

continued from previous page

Shaytan is the author of all doubt, came She stood proudly, her arms still secured behind
the soft voice of the man on the left.
her back. You still judge me too quickly,
No, countered Sapphire quickly. To kfir. There is more to me than your limited
doubt ones convictions is an act of humility flirting with spirituality could ever allow you
before the creator. To deny doubt is to hide to understand. And the fact is that I cannot
from the truth, to cover it, as a kfir. You lose. If I fight you until my last dying breath,
would use nuclear materials to hurt innocent then either I defeat you and leave this place, or
people, most of whom believe in a kind and I force you to kill me and you never find your
loving creator, most of whom respect Islam. stupid briefcase. Either way, I win.
You act out of fear and hatred and you call The three men balled their fists, hunched their
it the will of Allah, you call it Jihad. She shoulders.
grinned darkly at them. Its amusing how
backwards youve gotten everything. You Now, she hissed, her words seeming to come
are the kfir and I am the mujahid. You hide not from her lips but from the entire room, Let
from the truth, while I have spent my life me teach you what the words of the prophet,
trying to understand the will of the creator. may the creator honor him, have taught me
After all, isnt a Jihad a struggle to protect about real Jihad. Swiftly, Sapphire turned
the innocent? I may be wrong, because I and launched herself towards one of the sheds
am a human and my understanding of the bare walls. She ran up the wall, jumping off
creator is imperfect, but my best guess is that of it and towards the bare bulb hanging from
the middle of the sheds ceiling. Her head bent
the creator would want me to fight you.
down, her shoulder shattered the bulb. Shards
The man in the middle laughed, and his of glass flew, along with a glowing filament
companions joined him. Fight us? You that winked out as it fell. Sapphire landed
think you could win?
gracefully on the concrete floor. It was too
dark for anyone to see her grin.

It is important to remember that a Seeker

is a person who tries new things, but then
moves on once they have learned what
they can learn. Accordingly, a Seeker
may adopt the practices or lifestyle of one
of the Traditions (take a monks vows,
keep a Santeria shrine, meditate in a Zen
temple, study the Torah with Kabbalists, sit
in sweat lodges and eat peyote, etc.), and
these can be valuable learning experiences
for Seekers, but this doesnt mean the
Seeker has limited himself or herself to
those Traditions. A Seeker has the ability
to learn from Traditions without being
bound by them.
Do All Paths Lead to
Seekerdom?
Does Satanism help some people
to become Seekers? Scientology?
Being a junkie? Being a construction
worker?
Anyone can wake up one day and
decide to become a Seeker. Yet there
are some disciplines that make people
more likely to become Seekers.
Some only contribute a tiny bit to
the likelihood of becoming a Seeker
(e.g. Self-Help) and some contribute
much more (e.g. Shamanism). What
they all have in common is that they
give a person a taste of wisdom that
helps them understand more about
the universe and helps them become
better, more capable people. Each
gives a sample of what they can only
gain in great quantity by becoming
Seekers.
So, any Tradition that offers a
chance at both knowledge and selfimprovement is a Tradition that
can lead to Seekerdom. It doesnt
matter how many people have done
that Tradition wrong and gained
nothing. As long as someone could
do it right and gain something
valuable, that could be the first step
to becoming a Seeker.

America the Spiritual

America has a unique spiritual character. By most measurements, America
is the most religious among prosperous, well-educated nations. Yet America also teems with fervent spiritual
experimentation and diversity. In its
short history, America has spawned
spiritual traditions that have circled
the globe, including Transcendentalism, New Thought, Spiritualism, several new branches of Christianity and
new-age spirituality.
One factor in Americas unique
spiritual character is that religious
freedom was set forth as a human right
and religious tolerance (although often
embattled) has remained an important
part of the culture. Another factor is
that America was an experiment, one
guided by the belief that one could
create a better government, and this
sense of experimentation and faith that
newer can be better has leaked into the
spiritual culture of the country.
The restless desire to find a better
way of being can be found among
every type of American, in every walk
of life. It can be seen when young
urban professionals go to yoga studios
after work, when gutterpunks with
mohawks and septum piercings try to
find happiness without the material
comforts of a home, when graduate
students meet in the coffee shops of
small college towns to discuss Sartre
and Derrida, when urban farmers
compost their kitchen scraps and grow
their own veggies, when couples attend
classes on how to have more fulfilling
sex lives, when working moms convert
to Wicca after reading about it on the
internet, and in any of the countless
other spiritual, religious, philosophical
or lifestyle experiments that are carried
out every day in America.

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African American Culture

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There is a significant current in African

American culture towards self-taught
scholarship and philosophy. The ability
to educate oneself through solitary
reading, to be versed in a wide variety
of books, and to be able to speak
eloquently on philosophical matters is
highly prized. This is because for most
of African American history, access to
education was both a key to improving
economic status and something that was
systematically denied to them. In places
where regular education is difficult
to obtain, the respect for self-taught
scholarship is often the highest: in poor
neighborhoods, in prisons and among
homeless people.

There is also a feeling among someAfrican

Americans that mainstream scholarship and
education is largely about telling White peoples
story and about describing the world as seen
from the limited, often biased, perspective of
White people. Through self-education, these
African Americans hope to find or create a less
biased worldview. African-American selftaught scholars often enter onto the Paths of
-Harmony (seeking to root out subconscious
prejudices and biases), +Harmony (seeking
a more aboriginal understanding of the
relations of people with each other and with
the cosmos), +Self (because of the emphasis
on pride to fight against internalizing negative
stereotypes) or +Thought (from the emphasis
on ideas and reason).

African Syncretisms
There are several Latin American and
Caribbean religions that combine African
polytheistic beliefs with Christianity.
These include Vodoun (from Haiti,
Dominican Republic and parts of
Cuba, with Voodoo as a New Orleanian
offshoot), Candomble and Umbanda
(from Brazil and adjacent countries)
and Santeria (from Puerto Rico and the
Dominican Republic).

Papa Legba (male loa of crossroads,

pranks and compacts, a messenger to other
loa)
Damballa (male loa of serpents, cocreator of the universe)
Ayida-Wedo (female loa of rainbows, cocreator of the universe)
Erzulie (female loa of love, sensuality,
femininity, rivers and freshwater)
Obatala (male chief of the loa and creator
of humanity)
Chango (male loa of war, justice,
lightning and dance)
Oggun (male loa of hunting, plants, tools,
minerals, wild animals)
Baron Samedi (male loa of the dead and
death)
Maman Brigette (female loa of thunder,
storms, cemeteries, war, passage to the
afterlife)

The syncretic religions believe in a

creator god but that god is remote and
unknowable and is seldom appealed to.
More important are ancestor spirits and a
large number of loa orisha or orixa
(lesser gods) that are able to aid humans
by interdicting in human matters. Most
are associated with a Christian saint.
Each of these lesser gods are active in
the life of every practitioner, although
there is one primary lesser god who is
in charge of each person. Shrines are
kept and offerings are made (including
animal sacrifice) but the most important When practitioners are possessed, the loa
rites are dances wherein practitioners are speak and act through them. The practitioners
show remarkable abilities: amazing strength,
possessed by these beings.
bravery, fortitude, charisma, the ability to eat
Each group calls these beings by different glass and touch fire without being harmed,
names and each group has a few major etc. Some Seekers on the Path of +Self
beings that are unique to that region. would say that possession is simply a trick
Some major members of the Haitian to allow practitioners to utilize more of their
inherent human potential. Some practitioners
pantheon are:

of African Syncretisms become Seekers

on the Path of +Self and hold an abstract
belief that the loa are both real and also
represent the untapped power of human
potential.

Other syncretic practitioners are led into

Seekerdom by their religions emphasis on
balance between cosmic forces, between
people and the cosmos and between
people and their communities. These are
typically led to the Path of +Harmony.

Alternative Medicine
A cultures ancient healing beliefs often
persist even after other elements of the
culture have been modernized. These
traditions tend to view a human as a being
whose internal forces must be kept in
balance (ying with yang, hot with cold, the
four humours with each other) and who
must stay in a harmonious relationship with
other forces. The practices of these healing
traditions vary: herbs, dancing, singing,
piercing with needles, massage, etc. but

the goal is always to restore the patients

internal and/or external harmony.
Alternative Medicine can be studied by
Westerners who are self-consciously
seeking an alternative to modern medicine,
or by members of traditional cultures who
see it as normal medicine. Either way,
these traditions lead some to Seekerdom,
almost always starting on the path of
+Harmony.

Anthropology/Sociology
These are the study of the beliefs, traditions
and rules of human cultures and societies.
Students of these fields quickly become
aware that everyone thinks the arbitrary
choices of their particular culture or society
are universal, undeniable truths. Few ever
think to question those truths that they have
grown up with, whether that be that witches
cause crop failures or that manic depression
is an illness. The realization that a cultures
truths are mistaken for universal truths leads
to cultural relativism: trying to see truths as
malleable and subjective rather than absolute,

while acknowledging that our membership

in a culture makes it difficult us to see
anything objectively. The skepticism
about our own culture and its beliefs and
judgments can often lead to Seekerdom
via the Path of -Harmony or -Feeling.
Anthropology can also lead to the path of
Seekerdom by exposing anthropologists,
who often look at the facets of other cultures
from a utilitarian (how does this help
them) viewpoint, to the wisdom or utility
of other Traditions, e.g. Shamanism (p.92).

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Art
As a tradition, art doesnt have many beliefs,
except the belief that great art requires not
only technical skill but the ability to tap into
and express ones true emotions.
Just as an artist learns that there are more
shades and tones of color than there are
words for, the discipline of art teaches an
artist to appreciate the complexity, depth and
power of emotion. Many artists feel that by
channeling their emotions they are tapping
into a power that can overcome illness, lack
of sleep, the effects of drugs, etc.
Many artists are influenced by the schools
of Dadaism and Surrealism, both of which

are as much philosophies as they are

artistic styles. Both are anti-thought.
Dadaism is an attempt to destroy all preconceived notions, to reveal and revel in a
world that makes no sense. Surrealism is
about tapping into ones subconscious as
a source of information.
Artists who become Seekers usually start
on the Path of +Feeling. The Paths of
-Thought (a state of heightened creativity
demands the suppression of thought) and
+Self (its not a long leap from learning to
express oneself to learning to feel strongly
about selfhood) are also common.

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Athletics
To achieve the highest levels of most
sports requires high self-confidence and
an extremely strict code of self-discipline.
It also requires learning to ignore ones
feelings, e.g. play through pain, ignore fear

and develop a near inexhaustible supply

of self-confidence. Athletes who become
Seekers typically start out on the Paths of
+Self or -Feeling.

Body Modification
In the modern West, the body modification
movement finds much in common with
ancient traditions that use self-torture and
painful rituals. Body Modders experience
ecstasy and a boost in self-confidence from
enduring the pain of tattoos, piercings, even

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Brujeria
Just as the healing techniques of shamanism often survive long after the shamanic worldview
is gone (see Alternative Medicine), so do the
shamanic techniques of hurting people. The
latter typically goes underground and is passed
from generation to generation as a secret society. The stories about these groups grow larger
with each retelling, while the societies themselves stay tiny, until the fiction almost completely overwhelms the reality. The witches
of Europe might once have been a cult who
passed down harmful shamanic practices, but
such a cult, if it ever existed, was wiped out
long ago. Most of those persecuted as witches
were innocent scapegoats and the witchcraft
of today is a modern reconstruction.
In Latin America these traditions are
collectively called Brujeria (witchcraft) and
the practitioners Brujas (f) and Brujos (m).
Again, the myth of Brujeria is much larger than
the reality, but it is an actual tradition with real
adherents a few of which become Seekers.
Those who actually practice Brujeria dont
necessarily think of themselves as evil any
more than a gun owner does. They think of
themselves as learning and teaching power,
power that can be as easily used for selfdefense as it can for evil.
The discipline of Brujeria usually involves
taking dangerous deliriant herbs containing
drugs of the atropine family. Dealing with the
unpleasant hallucinogens and delusions caused
by these drugs requires practitioners to develop
an incredible strength of will. The drugs also

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suspension by hooks. Body modders

who become Seekers typically end up
on the Paths of +Self, or (because they
are purposefully marking themselves as
outside the mainstream) of -Harmony.

cause students to believe wholeheartedly

that they are physically, mentally and
spiritually powerful. They often learn to
believe that they can transform themselves
into powerful animals to prowl, travel and
fight with extreme skill.
Students of Brujeria are taught about
different poisons and how to use them.
They are taught to resist the effects of
these poisons should they accidentally
poison themselves. They are also taught
how fragile the health of people, animals
and communities are, how little things can
disrupt that health, and how one small act
of sabotage can have a cascading effect
that can affect entire communities.
Brujas and Brujos are also taught the power
of being an outsider, of refusing to accept
group morality and taboos and believe
the consensus reality. Brujeria teaches its
students to act like other people, but to think
of themselves as a class apart from other
people. In cultures where collectivism
is the standard, Brujeria teaches that it is
possible to get away with being selfish.
When Brujeria leads to Seekerdom, the
Seekers usually start out onto either the
Path of +Self (because of the emphasis
on developing strength of will, believing
oneself to be powerful and taking on the
identity of a powerful animal) or the Path
of -Harmony (because of the emphasis
on being an outsider and disrupting the
harmony of others).

Buddhism
I gained nothing at all from Supreme Enlightenment, and for that very reason it is
called Supreme Enlightenment.
-Gautama Buddha
Buddhism is unique among major
organized religions in that (at least at
its more philosophical levels) it is not
centered around the worship of a higher
power. Instead, Buddhism is about easing,
and eventually eliminating, a souls
suffering by successive improvements of
that soul. Buddhists believe that souls
are reincarnated and that each incarnation
includes suffering. We unenlightened
sentient beings bring suffering upon
ourselves. We cause our own suffering
by believing in things that dont exist, by
wanting things we cant have or dont need,
and by karma, a natural law which causes
suffering we cause (either to ourselves or
to others) to be revisited on us later.

dead, existing and not-existing, real and fictional, all are meaningless in sunyata. It is
because things dont exist and distinctions
dont matter that wanting things and caring
about distinctions causes suffering.
There are three major branches of Buddhism:
Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana.
Theravadans believe that there is only one
real way to progress toward enlightenment:
living as a monk or nun. In Therevadan
countries, most of the population will spend
a few years living as a celibate monk or nun
before starting a family. A minority will
stay monks or nuns all their lives.
Mahayana (larger vehicle) is based on the
idea that there are many ways to progress
towards enlightenment. Some ways are
good for some people, others for other
people. Some Mahayana Buddhists become
monks or nuns, others are lay practitioners.
One practice within Mahayana Buddhism is
Zen (sitting) which focuses on achieving
brief flashes of enlightenment when the
mind is cleared of all thought. These flashes
are achieved via meditation, an insolvable
riddle, or a sudden shock.

Buddhism teaches people recognize and

let go of the desires and beliefs that cause
suffering and to avoid hurting others so
that less bad karma will come back to
affect the practitioner. The end goal,
although it may take many lifetimes to
achieve, is a state of no desires and no bad
karma, allowing escape from the cycle of
reincarnations into a state where one both
exists and does not exist (nirvana). This
is the state of enlightenment, believed to
have been achieved by Gautama Buddha, Vajrayana Buddhism, which was developed
who then taught others how to achieve it, in the isolated region of Tibet, teaches that
thus creating the Buddhist religion.
there are shortcuts to enlightenment that
can allow one to achieve enlightenment in
A major tenet of Buddhism is that all exis- a single lifetime. These techniques can be
tence is empty. The universe does not exist psychologically dangerous, so arent for
and we only believe it exists because we everyone. Instead of slowly extinguishing
desire it to. Life, death, even suffering it- passions, these techniques use passion to
self are thus all meaningless. The soul itself destroy passions: anger to destroy fear, lust
only exists because it has a desire to exist. to destroy anger, etc. Some of these practices
Buddhists thus class beliefs and desires as involve ritual sex. Another Vajrayana
the same thing: a belief that a chair exists practice, Chod, involves going to a graveyard
is really a collective desire that it should and meditating on ones own death to the
exist. Outside, behind, before, after and point that the practitioner actually believes
in-between the illusion of reality (samsara) he or she is dying. Overcoming the fear of
is a state of perfect non-existence (sunyata) death can allow the practitioner to overcome
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his or her attachments to beliefs about self.

Vajrayana, although the smallest subtype
of Buddhism, is growing rapidly because
Tibetan communities in exile have been
teaching the religion to Western converts.

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a Buddhist community, dont attend a

Buddhist church, dont even necessarily
identify as Buddhist, yet read about
Buddhism, believe many of the tenets
of Buddhism and try to find ways to put
Buddhist principles to work in their
Buddhists are a small minority of the everyday lives.
worlds population, yet Buddhism has
made significant inroads into the US, The Buddhist focus on not causing
both among Asian immigrants and their suffering leads many Buddhists to the
descendents, and among non-Asians who Path of +Harmony. The concept that all
have adopted Buddhism, mostly as an beliefs are false leads many Buddhists,
alternative to monotheism. Many non- especially practitioners of Zen, to the Path
Asian Buddhists can trace their beliefs back of -Thought. The work of extinguishing
to the 1960s, a time when there was a lot passions leads many to the Path of -Feeling
of hope that wisdom from Asian countries and giving up attachments to ideas of self
could help solve some of the Western leads many (especially Vajrayana Chod
worlds problems.
practitioners) to the Path of -Self. Those
Vajrayana practitioners who try to use
America has millions of armchair passion to combat passion occasionally
Buddhists: people who dont belong to find themselves on the Path of +Feeling.

Clowning
Almost every culture has a class of people
whose job it is to make others laugh. In
many aboriginal cultures the clown has an
important and sacred role in ceremonies.
Whether a dancer in a mask doing a
parody of an animal or spirit, or a stand-up
comedian making wry observations about
the world, all clowns have one thing in
common: they shine a light on the failings,
especially the stupidity, of others. An
important duty of a clown is to keep people
from taking themselves too seriously.
Thus, as a discipline, clowning hones
skepticism. Clowns see the downside of
every other tradition. For example: too
much deep thought leaves you with your
head in the clouds, bereft of common

sense; being too holy and righteous makes

you a stiff who doesnt know how to have
fun. This broad skepticism of everything,
can, itself, lead to Seekerdom.
Clowning can lead to the Path of -Thought
when clowns realize that the smartest, most
educated people do just as many stupid
things as anyone else. It can lead to the
Path of -Self when the Clown decides that
most people are full of themselves, puffed
up with ideas about themselves that, to an
objective outsider, are ridiculous. Less
often, Clowning leads to -Harmony (when
the clown decides most people are sheep)
or -Feeling (when the clown decides that
emotions are the cause of most stupidity).

Computer Science
This field, and especially the sub-field
of artificial intelligence, has contributed
a few Seekers to the Path of +Thought
because of the focus on how best to
process information and make rational
decisions.

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Curanderismo
Native
Latin
American
healing
traditions have largely survived in a
pan-Latin-American tradition known as
Curanderismo. Curanderismo is found
most often in Mexico, Guatemala,
Nicaragua, Venezuela, Brazil, Puerto
Rico, Argentina, Colombia and Cuba and
among communities of immigrants from
these countries living abroad. Influences
include Catholicism, African beliefs,
Native American shamanism, 19th
century Spiritualism and mediumship and
even ancient Greek healing treatises.

Curanderismo, as the name implies, is primarily

a system of healing practices. Diseases are
believed to be caused by malevolent spirits,
attack by brujos (see Brujeria, p.76) or by an
imbalance of humors (yellow bile, black bile,
blood, phlegm), or imbalance of hot and
cold in the body (usually caused by diet).

Each country has its own Curanderismo

traditions incorporating native beliefs
and plants. Some South American
curanderos, for instance, use ayahuasca,
a native admixture of hallucinogenic
plants.

Curanderos believe that it is possible to

operate on three different levels. The majority
of Curanderos operate only on the material
level: they use material things (e.g. herbs,
eggs, oils) to cure illnesses. The spiritual
level is less common and those who work on
this level can cure via candles, prayers and
benevolent spirits. The mental level is the
least common. Those who operate on the
mental level can effect the world and effect
cures via power of the mind alone. The
mental level is considered the highest level of
Curanderismo.

Curanderos can be male or female,

though the majority are female.

Curanderos who become Seekers usually

enter onto the Path of +Harmony.

Existentialism
Existentialism was created in the mid20th-century by French writers and
philosophers, drawing inspiration from,
among other things, the theories of Freud
and Karl Marx. Existentialism is based
on atheism (the belief that there is no
God), but it is more than just Atheism.
While Atheism is just the statement of
belief (there is no God), Existentialism
is about the highly personal journey of
how one comes to deal with living in a
godless universe.
Existentialists say that since the universe
and humans have no intelligent creator,
human lives have no inherent meaning.
If someone creates a tool (e.g. a paper
cutter) then that tool has an inherent
job (to cut paper) and can be judged as
good or bad depending on how well it
does that job (how well it cuts paper).
Humans have no creator and thus no
inherent purpose and no inherent means
of being judged as good or bad.

The only meaning in human lives is that

meaning which humans give to their own
lives. In most Existentialist fiction the hero
goes through a crisis where he or she first
feels sadness and horror (the existential
crisis) about the lack of meaning to the
universe and then finds joy in the ultimate
freedom of it. This freedom does not absolve
people of responsibility. Since people have
ultimate freedom they cannot blame biology
or experiences for how theyve turned out.
People must take responsibility for their own
character flaws. It is this personal journey, of
building ones own meaning in life, ones own
values, that launches many Existentialists
onto the path of Seekerdom.

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Existentialists who become Seekers usually

enter onto the Path of -Harmony (because
of the emphasis on creating ones own
meanings, not accepting those assigned by
culture or belief systems) or +Self (because of
the emphasis on humans freedom to choose
what kind of people they are going to be).

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Feminism/Ethnic Studies/Queer Studies

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These are all recently created academic

disciplines, all with a common purpose:
to counterbalance mainstream academias
over-emphasis on the stories, ideas and
viewpoints of heterosexual white males.
Students of the disciplines are critical
of mainstream science and philosophy.
They think that mainstream science and
philosophy are good at finding truth as
defined in the Western tradition, but that
there are other types of truth that are equally
valid. For every objective scientific truth,
there are many more subjective truths about
perceptions, point of view and feelings,
that are just as important.
Much of Western Culture is predicated on the
idea that anything that destroys something
else is superior to that which it destroyed.

If pantheism destroys shamanism and

monotheism destroys pantheism, then
monotheism is the superior religion. If
militaristic nation-states conquer peaceful
hunter gatherers, then the nation states
are superior societies. Those in feminist/
ethnic/queer studies are critical of this
idea, and this often sends them looking for
value among the traditions and beliefs of
conquered peoples.
Those from these traditions who become
Seekers often come to the Path of +Feeling,
from their study of subjective truths, to
-Thought, from their criticism of Western
standards of logic and knowledge, and to
+Harmony from their study of collectivist
rather than individualistic societies.

Fictional Traditions
Occasionally, a discipline from a piece of
fiction will be enough to launch a person
into Seekerdom. These fictional traditions
are often modeled off of real traditions.
Their primary value is that they provide
a goal that students can aspire to. Just as
Christianity provides Jesus or Buddhism
provides Gautama Buddha, the fictional
traditions might provide a wise wizard
or mystic knight. A follower of such a
tradition would ague that it doesnt matter
if the figure being aspired to is real or not,
so long as aspiring to be like them makes
one a better person.

Most fictional traditions come from the

beloved classics of sci-fi and fantasy
fiction. There are also fictional occult
and shamanistic traditions. The highly
popular Carlos Castaneda books contain
the teachings of a fictional Yaqui shaman,
yet the fact that this shaman is fictional
doesnt mean that the series hasnt given
many a Path to wisdom and even launched
a few into Seekerdom.
The most common starting Paths for
those that come from fictional traditions
are +Self, -Feeling and -Thought.

Freedom
Rather than being led to Seekerdom by
the wisdom inherent in some tradition or
gleaned through some discipline, some are
made into Seekers just by the act of leaving
the confines of their lives. This could be
a literal escape, e.g. from a prison, human
trafficking or abusive household, or it could
be an escape from self-imposed limitations.
For example: a miserable workaholic
might one day become so stressed and

080

unhappy that she decides to quit her job

and become a homeless wanderer. The
son of a rich industrialist, who has been
groomed to believe it is his destiny to take
over the family business, might decide
instead to give up everything and live by
his wits.

Freemasonry
Almost every fraternal organization
around today is based in some way on the
Masons. Many are appendant bodies:
orders that are open only to Masons and
that provide additional levels of initiation
while remaining a distinct organization
from the Masons. Others are completely
separate organizations who modeled
themselves after the Masons. These
freemasonry-influenced groups range
from the Knights of Columbus, founded
as a Catholic alternative to the Masons,
to the Golden Dawn, one of the most
famous and influential occult orders (see
Occultism/Magick, p.82).
For most members of the Masons and
freemasonry-inspired orders, their group
is just a means to meet and socialize with
peers. Some members, though, take

seriously the stated goal of these groups to

elevate the character of their members.
This goal comes with a philosophy, told
mostly through allegorical tales and playacting, that focuses on being righteous,
self-sufficient, true to ones principles and
choosing to do the right thing no matter the
circumstances. Out of the millions of masons
and members of freemasonry-inspired orders
worldwide, a handful dedicate themselves
to elevating their character to such a great
degree that they become Seekers.
Those who become Seekers often enter onto
the Paths of +Self (because of the emphasis
on righteousness and principles), of
-Feeling (because of the emphasis on doing
whats right despite fear) and of -Harmony
(because of the emphasis on doing whats
right regardless of what others are doing).

Hippies
The 1960s saw one of the largest and most ambitious
counterculture movements of all time, one which
launched many Seekers. Cultural change built up
such momentum that many believed that every flaw
in Western culture would be fixed. As a discipline,
hippies tried to cultivate in themselves the qualities
they thought the culture of their parents lacked.
Although hippies did not transform Western
culture into what they hoped it might be, they
did have a significant effect on the culture. The
60s counterculture movement also served as a
progenitor to the New Age movement and every
subsequent youth counterculture movement.
Even today, hippies exist as a subculture, made up
of holdovers from the 60s who refused to reintegrate
into mainstream society as well as those from later
generations who joined this subculture.
The emphasis on avoiding the mistakes of the
mainstream leads some Hippies to the Path of
-Harmony, while the emphasis on peace and love
leads some to the Path of +Harmony. The use of
hallucinogens and idea that normal people can be
freed by being freaked out leads some to the
Path of -Thought. The emphasis on art, creativity, free love and self-expression leads some to the
Path of +Feeling.

Hippies thought So they tried to

mainstream
be
culture was
Sexually
repressive.

Free and open

with their
sexuality.

Too concerned
with rules.
Not creative
enough.
Not in touch with
their feelings.

Free spirits.

Aggressive and
competitive.
Obsessed with
cleanliness and
hygiene.

Wildly artistic.

H
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P
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Openly
emotional.
Peaceful,
compassionate
and loving.
Unconcerned
with arbitrary
standards of
cleanliness.

Greedy, obsessed
being poor
with being middle Happy
and
homeless.
or upper-class.
Prejudiced.
Unprejudiced.
Not respectful of
Willing to learn
the wisdom of
from other
other cultures.
cultures.

081

Kabbalah
This is mystic Judaism, based on the idea
that the Torah (the holy texts of Judaism,
the Old Testament of Christianity) contains both literal truths, allegorical truths,
and hidden, esoteric truths. The beliefs of
Kabbalah are said to be found in the Torahs hidden truths. Kabbalah as we know
it today was first codified in the 13th Century in a book known as the Zohar.

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The basic cosmology of Kabbalah is that

everything in the universe emanates from
God. God himself is unknowable, transcending all distinctions, and can only be
perceived and known through his emanations (each of which are lesser than God
himself). The emanations are continuous:
all of existence depends, moment by moment, on God for its continued being.
Kabbalah is most commonly found among
Hasidic Jews. In more recent times, Kabbalistic ideas have become separated
from Judaism itself, spawning Christian,
Muslim and Occult Kabbalist doctrines.

Kabbalistic practices include study of

Kabbalistic texts as well as the Torah
(including marathon all-night Torah study
sessions),
philosophy,
contemplation,
meditation on divine names and meditation
on cleaving to God. Study and prayer
sometimes leads Kabbalists to deep trancelike altered states of consciousness.
Some forms of Kabbalah feature the practice
of magic via the use of angelic names and the
magical power of Hebrew letters, especially
in amulets. Hasidic kabbalists typically
do not practice magic, preferring instead to
internalize the mysticism of Kabbalah.
When Kabbalah leads to the path of Seekerdom, it often leads to the Path of +Thought
(because of the focus on reading, reason and
contemplation), +Harmony (because of the
emphasis on understanding all things as an
emanation of the divine) or -Thought (because of the mystical doctrines of coming
to know the unknowable through meditation
and altered states of consciousness).

Occultism/Magick
These are two of many names for modern
Western occultism. Modern occultism
draws from many sources: from Jewish
Kabbalah, from alchemy (interpreted as
an attempt to refine and transmute the
spirit, rather than refine and transmute
matter), from Greek Neo-Platonism,
from freemasonry, from gnosticism and
from various pagan traditions. Magick
makes heavy use of ritual. The basic
worldview, similar to Kabbalah, is that
every thing (including lesser deities) is an
emanation of the Godhead. Some things,

like physical matter, are farther removed from

divinity and power than others. The goal of
most occult practice is to purify the self, to
connect it with its inherent divinity and with
the will of the universe (which are actually
the same thing). The ability to affect people
and things via spells is only a by-product of
this larger goal. Spells are mostly used to
remove anything that stands in the way of
ones destiny. Practitioners of Occultism
often enter into the Path of +Self, and less
often onto the Path of +Feeling or -Thought.

Martial Arts
Most martial arts are not simply about
learning to beat people up: they are a
discipline with strong philosophical
underpinnings. Most Eastern martial arts
can trace their practices back to Buddhist
(p.77) and Taoist (p.95) ideas. Many
martial arts could even be described as a
moving meditation.

082

All martial arts teach high-level practitioners

to act without their internal dialogues getting
in the way or slowing them down. Thus those
who come to Seekerdom via martial arts often
first come to the Path of -Thought. A few enter
onto the Path of +Self, as some martial arts
teach people to project self-confidence as a
weapon. A few, whose arts teach non-violent
self-defense, enter onto the Path of +Harmony.

Mathematics
Today, people rarely associate academic
mathematics with philosophy or mysticism,
yet math used to be inseparable from those.
The idea of numbers as perfect ideals,
concepts whose meaning, properties and
importance are unaffected by anything
going on in the real world, can be traced
back to Platos idea of perfect forms (which
was also the basis of much of western
occultism).
Much of mathematics is either too abstract
(e.g. trying to prove whether all imaginary
nine-dimensional shapes have a certain
property) or too simplistic (e.g. computing
compound interest on a loan) to lead to
Seekerdom. There are some fields of math,
however, practical enough to show realworld usefulness yet complicated enough
that they can enlighten people to new truths
about the world around them. These are
the fields that lead to Seekerdom.
Probability and statistics answer the important question: from what I can see and
measure around me, what can I know
about the world at large? For instance, if
you poll a handful of people about their
opinions, what do their answers let you
guess about the population as a whole and
how confident can you be about those assumptions? Probability and statistics are
also the backbone of modern science and
medicine, because statistics is necessary to
separate the real effects of a treatment or
experimental condition from the effects of
random chance. In other words, statistics
separates those things that are actually correlated from those that only appear to be
because of chance. Statistics gives insights
into how we generalize from what we observe to truths about the world as a whole.
Game theory looks at peoples choices as
strategies within a game. The efficacy of
those choices can be computed. The classic
problem in game theory is the prisoners
dilemma: imagine that you and your fellow
criminals have been caught by the police.
The police only have enough evidence to
charge you with a lesser offense than the

offense you actually committed. If you and

your compatriots stay silent, youll all be
convicted of the lesser offense. If one of
you squeals, that person will go free while
the rest will be convicted of the greater
offense. Each prisoner has no idea what
the other prisoners are going to do. The
dilemma is whether the best strategy is to
squeal or stay silent.
Game theory is surprisingly useful in
predicting and explaining peoples choices
and suggesting the optimum choice in a broad
range of situations: international diplomacy,
economic strategies, couples counseling,
even dealing with traffic congestion. Game
theory tells us that, despite the prejudice
of many Westerners towards winning by
making others lose, most games with real
world analogues have outcomes where
everybody can win (non-zero sum
outcomes) and coperating to achieve these
outcomes is usually a good strategy.
Chaos theory, also called complexity theory,
deals with things that, until recently, mathematicians thought had too many independently active parts to be accurately modeled, such as the weather, or an economy,
or an ecosystem. What mathematicians are
discovering is that these very complex systems often have self-organizing principles.
Patterns can develop in the chaos and seemingly unimportant factors can have big effects on the whole system.

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Mathematicians who become Seekers

usually end up on the Path of +Thought
after coming to believe that mathematical
principles can be used to understand and
predict much about the things that go on
around us.
A smaller number enter on to the Path
of +Harmony when their study of chaos
shows them that the fate of every part of
a system is strongly effected by the fate of
any other piece, and their study of game
theory shows them that cooperation, when
it can be achieved, is almost always the best
strategy.

083

How Mathematicians View:

Supernormal Abilities: Seekers, Prodigies, Demons: These are no more alive or
Sorcerers and Advanced Practitioners are sentient than a hurricane is. They are
outliers on the natural bell-curve of human self-sustaining patterns in the normally
ability. Not impossible, merely unlikely and
chaotic systems inside people or that
therefore rarely seen.
people are parts of. The patterns remain
The Coincidences That Plague the Lives
of Seekers: The self-organizing principle as long as the forces that fuel them do.
of seemingly random things. Seekers seem Because they are self-reinforcing they
to move around randomly, but really they can change and move, seeming to adapt
follow rules (even if they themselves are not to changes in their environment.
aware of what those rules are) and thus fall
into recognizable patterns.

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Military
In nearly every culture there is a discipline
for those that will go to war, from the braves
of some Native American cultures, to
Japanese Samurai, to the modern military.
These disciplines have their own traditions
and rituals meant to help warriors achieve
bravery and calm focus in battle. They
also tend to emphasize personal codes
of honor. A major component of these
traditions are austerities. Many Native
American warriors, for example, would
forgo sex, sleep on the hard ground and

Those from the disciplines of warriors who

become Seekers usually go to the Path of
-Feeling (because of the emphasis on resisting fear and doing without lifes pleasures) or the Path of +Self (because of the
emphasis on personal honor and bravery).

Monotheism
This category encompasses Christianity,
Judaism and Islam as well as lesser known
religions (Zoroastrianism, Bahai, etc.).
Despite their outward differences, the
core principles of these religions are very
similar.
Although the majority of the worlds people
are believers in some form of monotheism,
only a very tiny minority become Seekers
(and Seekers from monotheistic traditions
make up a significant portion of, but are not
an overwhelming majority of, Seekers).
This is because most people are content
to engage in their faith at a fairly passive
level: reading holy books, listening to
sermons, praying, making offerings,
asking forgiveness for sins, etc. This type

084

eat very simple meals before a battle. In

the modern military there are grueling
boot camps, designed not merely to train
the body and teach skills but to harden the
wills of soldiers.

of religious practice asks relatively little

from its followers, especially in terms of
personal change.
A small number of believers, however, feel
strongly enough about their faith that they
seek out new religious ideas and practices
and try to radically change themselves in
order to be closer to the divine. And of
those, many fall into the trap of worshiping
the beliefs and rules of their particular
religion rather than worshiping the divine
itself. Those who avoid this trap are those
likely to become Seekers. And because of
the incredible variety of beliefs, techniques
and schools of thought in monotheism,
Seekers from the traditions of monotheism
can start in any and all of the Paths.

Monotheists who enter onto the Path on

+Thought tend to be from traditions that
put a high value on scholarship, philosophy
and reason, such as the Jesuit order of
Catholicism or Jewish rabbis. Those who
enter onto the Path of -Thought are mostly
mystics, such as Sufis, Jewish Kabbalists or
Christian Quakers.

ance and peace. Even the Jihad of Islam

is meant to be used only in defense of the
innocent and only after all peaceful options have been exhausted. Although these
admonitions are ignored by many modern
practitioners, they are seen as the most
important message of these religions by
many who become Seekers.

The Path of -Self is the most popular starting

Path for those from the monotheistic
branches and schools that stress humility.
Islam tends to put the most emphasis on
humility, the name Islam meaning, literally,
to submit. Mystics are also likely to see
value in removing selfhood.

The Path of -Feeling is usually the domain

of monotheistic ascetics (often monks and
nuns) who try to rid the mind of worldly
desires and emotions to better experience
the love of the creator.

The Path of +Self, by contrast, is much

more rare. This could be an evangelical
preacher who thinks God has given him the
power to win hearts and minds, or a Jihadist
in the original sense (meaning a righteous
warrior, and not necessarily a terrorist) who
thinks Allah has given her the strength and
bravery to defend innocents against evil.
The Path of -Harmony is little found where
monotheism is in the mainstream. Yet
those who find themselves in a persecuted
religious minority may come to the Path of
-Harmony. Christians often take inspiration
from the martyrs of the past, who died
rather than denying their beliefs. Jews
have had a history, both ancient and recent,
of preserving their culture and beliefs even
while among a hostile majority.
In Judaism, the principle of pikuach nefesh
places the importance of life above almost
everything else, and teaches that to save a
life one should transgress most religious
laws (and, certainly, the lesser laws of
government or culture). This dogged
pursuit of life above all else can also lead
to the Path of -Harmony.
The Path of +Harmony is also popular
among monotheists, since each monotheistic religion is full of admonitions to love
thy neighbor, turn the other cheek and
to engage in charity, forgiveness, toler-

The Path of +Feeling is fairly rare as a

starting Path for monotheists. It is most
common among Sufis (p.95), who use
singing, music and dance to achieve
ecstatic trances, and Southern Protestants,
who are encouraged to express a full range
of emotions, most importantly joy, at
religious services.
Common Ground
Between Atheists and
Believers
Although they start from very different
places, Seekers who believe in a God
and those who believe in none, when
they compare notes, often find that they
have a lot in common. Atheists often
come to the conclusion that, to have a
life worth living, one must organize
ones life around certain principles,
such as compassion, love, truth,
beauty and/or justice. Monotheists, on
the other hand, choose to believe that
at the center of creation is a being who
personifies compassion, love, truth,
beauty and/or justice. Either way of
seeing it can lead Seekers to make
similar choices and adopt similar goals
for themselves. In fact, some Seekers
switch belief systems entirely, or come
to believe, in a very abstract way, that
both are true, with little change to their
day-to-day lifestyle or behavior.

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Mysticism
This is an attempt to transform oneself by
developing awareness of or union with the
divine. Most mystical traditions are monotheistic (Christian, Muslim, Jewish, etc.).
Mystic traditions make use of prayer, meditation, asceticism, poverty, and sometimes hermitage. Mystics often experience feelings of
ecstasy, the awareness of the divine at work
in ordinary things and ordinary occurrences,
ability to perform miracles (what some might
call supernormal abilities) and even physical

changes (e.g. stigmata). Mystics can enter onto the Path of -Self (because of the
emphasis on giving up ego in preference
for divine presence), -Thought (because
of the emphasis on divine inspiration),
-Feeling (because of the emphasis on asceticism and giving up all feelings other
than divine love) or +Harmony (because
of the emphasis on the harmony between
mystics, the divine and creation).

Native American Spirituality

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There is a rich and varied field of Native

American traditions.
Pre-contact native
beliefs varied considerably between cultural
groups. Furthermore, each tribe has weathered
contact with White Christian culture (and its
repeated attempts to wipe out native beliefs)
in different ways. For some tribes, pre-contact
beliefs and traditions remain mostly intact, in
others all that remains of native spirituality
is a Native American-flavored Christianity.
Thus there are, today, hundreds of different
Native American spiritual traditions.

Native American cosmology typically

envisions the universes forces and
beings, both those that can be seen and
touched and those that cannot, as being
interconnected, so that the fate of every
being is intertwined with the fate of every
other being.

Most Native American groups have a

spiritual geography where the traditional
homelands of those groups is full of
sacred places. These places are powerful
and important to the health of the tribe
Most Native American belief systems posit and have to be treated with special
the existence of an all-powerful creator being, respect.
who created humans, the natural world and the
spirit world. Yet most human interaction with Native American rituals often take the
the spirit world is not with the all-powerful form of dances: night-long sessions
creator but with lesser Gods, nature spirits of smoking tobacco, dancing, beating
and ancestor spirits. The natural and spiritual drums and chanting. Sweat lodges as a
worlds are typically thought of as the same means of purification are also common.
thing. Most bad things (sickness, madness,
misfortune) are believed to be caused by a Most Native Americans cultures had or
damaged relationship between people and have a role for a shaman or medicine
the natural/spiritual world around them. worker or holy person. This person
Maintaining a relationship with the natural/ is responsible for diagnosing spiritual
spiritual world is a matter of how one chooses ills, prescribing and performing healing
to live ones own life. A simple, observant, ceremonies and communicating with
respectful relationship with ones world is spirits on behalf of the tribe. Becoming
usually considered the best. Everything a one of these spiritual specialists can mean
person does, from hunting, to making a pot, long periods of ascetic living (e.g. living
to bathing, is an opportunity to act in a way alone and bathing in ice cold water every
that maintains good relationships with the day). In some cultures, hallucinogens
spiritual/natural world. Observances of taboos or deliriants (peyote, jimsonweed, black
(things that shouldnt be done or touched or drink, etc.) are used to gain power and
eaten during certain times) are also important facilitate communication with invisible
for maintaining healthy relationships with the beings. In others, ordeals of exhausting
dancing or self-torture are used.
spiritual/natural world.

Native American spiritual beliefs tend

to put a heavy emphasis on dreams or
visions (waking hallucinations) as a
means of receiving communication from
the spiritual world. These communications
are seen as extremely important. Some
cultures believe that holy people can
spritwalk: leave their bodies as spirits
and travel throughout this and to other
worlds.
Many Native American cultures also have
or had a body of beliefs about sorcery:
taboo means of hurting other people via
dangerous, spiritually polluted or taboo
substances and actions. See Brujeria
(p.76) for more.

masks, displaying lewd, antisocial or taboo

behavior or acting contrary to how everyone else was expected to act. These clowns
were considered important to the success
of ceremonies. The anthropological explanation is that the clowns validated cultural
boundaries and rules by transgressing them.
See p.78 for more on Clowning.
Most who become Seekers from the
traditions of Native American Spirituality
enter onto the Path of +Harmony (from
the emphasis on keeping in harmony with
the spiritual and natural world), -Thought
(from the emphasis on spiritual information
received via visions, dreams and observing
the natural world) or occasionally -Harmony
(from the emphasis on transgressing a
cultures mores by sorcerers or sacred
clowns).

Similarly, many Native American cultures had a role for a sacred clown. Sacred clowns would usually perform at
dances and ceremonies, often wearing See also Navajo Country, p.174.

Neopaganism/Wicca
There are pockets of original paganism still
surviving across the globe, but the majority
of those who identify as pagan in the United
States are students of purposeful attempts
to resurrect vanished pagan traditions.
These attempts started in the 1950s and
peaked in the 1980s. They were mostly
an alternative for those dissatisfied with
the perceived weaknesses of monotheism
(and Christianity in particular). Where
Christianity was dismissive of nature,
of sex, of the feminine and of personal
power, the creators of neo-pagan faiths
wanted religions that would put those
things on a pedestal. Where Christianity
was full of rules and taboos, they wanted
a religion that would encourage them to
express themselves in any way that didnt

involve hurting other people. The result

has been a number of religious faiths and
attendant magical systems, resurrected from
the gods and beliefs of ancient peoples,
notably the peoples of Europe. The most
popular is Wicca, which uses a horned god
and mother goddess culled from various
European legends.
Neo-pagans and wiccans who come to
Seekerdom typically come to the Path of
+Harmony (because of the emphasis on
pagan Gods signifying natural forces that
should be kept in balance), +Self (because
of the emphasis on personal power and free
self-expression) or, more rarely, -Harmony
(because of the emphasis on exploring
taboo subjects).

New Thought
This is an American invention, starting
in the late 19th century and taking some
inspiration from Transcendentalism
(p.96). There have been many New
Thought movements and churches, some
Christian and some not. What all have in
common is the belief that human thought

creates the circumstances of our lives and

that people with positive thoughts have
better and healthier lives. New Thought is
the antecedent to most self-help movements.
Those coming to Seekerdom from New
Thought are most likely to enter onto the
Path of +Self.

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Ordinary Life
You may be capable of great things, but life consists of small things.
-Deng Ming-Dao

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As much as Seekers like to point out the

flaws in western culture, it can be a discipline that spawns many Seekers. Everyday
life can be its own discipline when someone
undertakes, seriously, to be the best child,
parent, lover, friend or coworker one can
be. In other words, taking the normal
roles of everyday life and trying to fulfill
them as well as one can is potentially as
enlightening as any mystical, magical,
religious or intellectual discipline. There
are no austerities or rituals. Every workday, every party, every friend who needs
help moving, every quiet evening at home
with ones family gives a practitioner of
this tradition the opportunity to try to be a
better person. There are no lofty or extreme
goals, such as being one with the universe
or eliminating all worldly desires. Instead,
the goal is balance: to be confident but
not arrogant, assertive but not aggressive,
kind but not self-sacrificing, skeptical but
without losing faith, empathetic but able
to retain ones perspective and thoughtful
without losing common sense. Achieving
and maintaining this balance is a goal
as difficult as those found in any other
discipline. Most people are content with
simply good enough. Only a minority
continually push themselves to be better,
and only a tiny minority of those will be
launched onto the path of Seekerdom.
Even serious students of this discipline are
often prevented from becoming Seekers
because their commitments to their
families friends and careers keep them
anchored in one place. They are most
likely to become Seekers when they have
these commitments taken away from them,
either by sudden tragedy or by the slow
movement of the wheel of life. Take, for
instance, a retired widow those children
have all moved away. After decades spent
being the best daughter, wife, mother and

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employee she can be, she it no longer able

to fulfill these roles and so decides to travel
the world, using the skills that made her
so valuable in her family, community and
workplace, to help random strangers.
As a discipline grounded in humility,
rather than lofty cosmic goals, those from
the tradition of Ordinary Life often end
up on the Path of -Self. The emphasis on
getting along with those around you also
leads many to the Path of +Harmony.
Gender

`Even gender can be a Tradition

capable of launching people into
Seekerdom when people look
towards, and try to emulate, the
highest ideas embodied in gender
roles in their culture.
For instance, in the US, the idealized
female is caring, nurturing, socially
adept, empathetic (+Harmony) as
well as passionate, in touch with her
feelings (+Feeling). The idealized
male is proud, self-confident,
boastful,
competitive
(+Self),
independent, self-sufficient, not
caring what others think of him
(-Harmony) and keeping tight control
over his emotions (-Feeling).
Of course, the traditions of female
and male ideals are not limited
solely to people whose biological
anatomy corresponds to that gender.
A person does not even have to be
homosexual, transgendered or a
cross-dresser to be able to explore
the ideals of the gender opposite
their biological one.

Politics
Along with positing what form of
government will work best, political
philosophies also describe how ideal
political systems will produce better people
and what kind of person is the best member
of one of these hypothetical societies.
Thus, political ideals can provide a model
for self-improvement and from there can
lead to the path of Seekerdom.
Liberal ideals lead a person to try to be
empathetic, altruistic, understanding of
other cultures, living in harmony with the
environment and being constantly critical
of traditional taboos and values. Thus
liberal ideologies often lead to the Path of
+Harmony and -Harmony.

Conservative ideology values respect for

traditions, self-sufficiency, rationality,
competitiveness and leadership, often
leading to the Paths of +Self and -Feeling.
Less mainstream philosophies can lead to
the Path of -Harmony because they are so
far from the mainstream (the same way
being a persecuted religious minority can
lead to -Harmony). The anti-consumerism
in some forms of anarchism can lead to
asceticism, which can lead to the Path
of -Feeling. The focus in socialism on
equality of all people and of removing
the high status enjoyed by the wealthy,
royalty and the clergy can lead to the Path
of -Self.

Im shutting this commune down because I realized that the worst possible thing I
could be doing is taking a bunch of bright young political radicals and sticking them
together in the middle of nowhere. When youre with people who believe the same
things you do, your beliefs become shallow, prejudiced. You forget your own faults
while developing an us-versus-them attitude towards everyone else. This place was
too comfortable for all of us, and the last thing someone who wants to change the
world should be is comfortable. Growing organic potatoes may feel like the right
thing to do, but it isnt going to save the world. If you want to save the world, move
to a red state and rent a room with a conservative, evangelical family. You might
both learn something.

-Leftist Lenny

Psychology
The discipline of psychology has two very
different, yet constantly intermingling,
branches. The first branch, scientific psychology is based on an understanding of the
mind that can be supported through experimental and statistical evidence. It focuses
on what we can be sure we know via the
scientific method (see Science, p.91). The
second branch, clinical psychology, is the
practical discipline of working with patients to help them with their mental difficulties. Clinical psychology focuses on
whatever model of the human mind seems
to work best with actual people, regardless
of whether there is a scientific (or even a rational) basis for it. Despite the obvious differences, ideas are constantly being traded
between these two branches of psychology.

There are hundreds of models for explaining how the mind works, but most
fall into one of the following basic categories:

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Psychodynamic models say that the

human mind is made up of opposing
forces, each of which want different
things. People are typically unaware
of the actions and interplay of those
forces.
Behavioral models say that human
behavior is the product of learning,
that we do that which we have
learned will give us rewards and
avoid that which we have learned
will result in punishment.

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Gestalt models say that our

thoughts, feelings and behaviors
can only be understood as a result
of our experiences, choices, beliefs
and desires creating something
more-than-the-sum-of-its-parts.
Cognitive models view the human
mind as a set of algorithms, like
programs on a computer, that we
learn to use to solve problems.

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Biological models focus on the

anatomical and chemical basis of
thoughts, feelings and behavior.
One part of the brain might be implicated in recognizing faces, one
chemical might cause depression
when it is underactive. Each biological feature is considered for the
evolutionary advantage it would
have given our ancestors.
Social models concern themselves
with how we perceive the hows and
whys of other peoples behaviors
and how those perceptions alter
our own thoughts, feelings and
beliefs.
Study of self-concept and self-esteem can
lead to the Paths of +Self and -Self. Those
on the +Self Path are more likely to have
come from clinical psychology, where
building up self-confidence is considered
a key to success and happiness. -Self
Seekers are more likely to have come from
experimental psychology, where studies
have shown that peoples ideas about self
are either inaccurate of are self-fulfilling
prophecies.
The Path of +Thought is most often the
first Path of cognitive scientists, who
see the mind as a toolbox of problemsolving techniques. -Thought is more
often the domain of psychodynamicists,
who believe that the knowledge that
our rational, conscious selves are aware
of is dwarfed by the knowledge in our
subconscious minds.

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Entering onto the Path of -Feeling is

often the result of experimental studies
showing how emotions and desires
influence peoples rational minds, causing
them to come to incorrect or illogical
conclusions even when they think they
are behaving quite rationally. +Feeling
is often the result of styles and subdisciplines of clinical psychology and
gestalt psychology where it is believed
that being conscious of and voicing
ones feelings is the key to health and
happiness.
Evolutionary psychology can also lead
to the Path of +Feeling because of the
emphasis on emotions as useful biological
features that help humans survive and
prosper, both for our ancestors and for us
today.
The studies of obedience in social
psychology, designed to explain why
people can be convinced so easily to do
horrible things, lead some psychologists
to the Path of -Harmony. Seekers who
come first to the Path of +Harmony are
often couples, family, organizational, or
social skills therapists, who specialize in
helping people get along with others.
Another way Psychology might lead
to Seekerdom is through the study of
extraordinary people. Most of psychology
deals with the study of either average
people or of people with psychological
deficits.
Yet a small number of
psychologists are trying to study people
who surpass normalcy: great leaders,
heroes, prodigies, great athletes, people
who speak out against immorality even
when nobody else is, etc. This study may
lead psychologists to discover those who
have found a reliable means of becoming
extraordinary: Seekers.

Science
At its deepest and most philosophical,
science is about avoiding error. The scientific
method is one designed to dispassionately
and accurately test hypotheses and reject
those hypotheses there is no evidence for.
As a personal discipline, science is about not
letting oneself believe ideas, even ideas that
seem true or are supported by anecdotal
evidence without critical investigation.
Just as an ascetic might think peoples
lives need structure, rules and discipline,
a scientist thinks that peoples beliefs need
structures, rules and discipline.
The process of science and the body of
knowledge gained from that process are two

different things. Science leads to beliefs

about the universe, but it also leads one
to be ready to discard those beliefs if
contradictory evidence is provided. The
beliefs of a typical scientist are that all
of the universe operates by natural laws,
that these laws are stable, and that any
phenomenon can be explained as the
result of the operation of these laws.
Scientists who become Seekers tend
strongly to the Path of +Thought. The
Paths of -Self, -Feeling and -Harmony also
appeal to scientists natural skepticism of
the things people feel and believe.

Criticisms of Science
Many Seekers who do not come from a sciencebased tradition have serious criticisms of the
scientific method as a means of discovering
truth, wisdom and power:
Science does not deal well with complex
systems. The standard means of finding out
anything in science, the experiment, involves
changing one condition and looking for
one consistent result. In complex systems,
however, one change will not have consistent
results, but that doesnt mean it doesnt have
understandable effects.
Science tries to separate a subject from its
environment. An experiment attempts to
take a subject and isolate him, her or it from
the environment as much as possible, so that
only one condition is known to have changed.
E.g. experimenting on a mouse that is living
in a little plastic box by itself. Yet this cant
reflect the true nature of any being. Beings
are constantly affecting and being affected
by their environments, and are not the same
beings once removed from that environment.
Science discounts that which it cannot
understand. Science recognizes no means
for believing things other than science, which
makes science blind to that which it has not

yet discovered scientifically, even if it

is something other cultures have known
for millennia.
Science does not recognize subjective
experience. In fact, science takes
special steps to eliminate the subjective
from data collection, searching for
the most objective criteria possible,
because it fears scientists prejudicing
results from their beliefs. What this
means, though, is that the vast realm
of subjective experiences cannot be
penetrated by scientific inquiry.

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Science can say how to achieve goals,

but not what the right goals are. For
instance, psychologists can take a
group of behaviors that tend to be found
together and use science to discover
what conditions are correlated to the
development of those behaviors, and
what drugs, surgeries and therapies are
most likely to reduce these behaviors.
Yet science cant tell people whether
these behaviors are a disease that should
be eliminated, or a normal variation
that society should get used to. The
former was, until recently, sciences
position on homosexuality.

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Self Help
The world of self-help is made up of
stealing the best-sounding elements of
psychology, medicine, philosophy and
religion and putting them together into
a package to sell books, tapes, seminars,
etc. Sales correlate to promises made and
so self-help usually promises as much as
it can get away with: confidence, success
in every aspect of life, physical health and
overcoming all bad habits and emotional
problems.

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Most Seekers consider the self-help

movement to be fluff: a collection of
techniques that require neither real
sacrifices nor give real revelations about
the nature of the universe. Self-help
techniques that do anything at all are

generally considered sorcery as defined on

p.66: rote learning of Seeker-like techniques
without learning how or why they work.
Yet among the fluff it is possible to find
valuable lessons which, if taken seriously
and adhered to diligently, can launch people
on to the path of Seekerdom. Some of
these lessons are about health (especially
when self-help overlaps with Alternative
Medicine) and about emotions (especially
when it overlaps with psychotherapy). Yet
most of the useful lessons of self-help are
about how self-confidence can be created
and can help a person deal with personal
and interpersonal problems. Thus most
who come to Seekerdom from self-help
disciplines start on the Path of +Self.

Sex
For some people, getting and enjoying sex
is important enough that it becomes its
own discipline. Some make it a discipline
to try to perfect the mainstream sexual
experience: meeting a person, falling in
love and lust with them, seducing them and
sharing an intensely pleasurable, enjoyable
and fulfilling physical experience with
them. The diligent pursuit of their craft
often launches lovers onto the Path of
+Feeling.

Others who turn sex into a discipline

are fetishists. They try to go outside the
mainstream, to explore means of achieving
sexual pleasure and gratification beyond
what is generally considered sexual. These
fetishists tend to believe that there is no one
right or healthy way to have sex and that
humans are naturally heir to a wide range
and variation of sexual preferences, and are
able to enjoy many different kinds of things.
When these fetishists become Seekers they
usually start out on the Path of -Harmony.

Shamanism
This is a tradition (often inaccurately
called a religion) that was independently
invented all over the world. Whether in the
arctic or a tropical island, shamanistic beliefs and practices are remarkably similar.
The original word shaman comes from a
word from the Siberian Tungus tribe, but
is now applied to people throughout the
world. Once, before the advent of organized religion, shamanism was the worlds
default belief system. Today all modern
religions are still rife with practices that
can be traced back to shamanism

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A shaman is the person a tribe sends to deal with

the supernatural world, yet a shaman belongs
to no organization, follows no persons rules.
A shamans authority comes from his or her
own personal power and relationships with
the supernatural. A shaman is to a priest what
a vigilante is to a police officer.
The core beliefs of shamanic cultures are that
the world is filled with invisible spirits, that
they can affect the lives of humans and visa
versa and that these spirits can be helpful or
harmful depending on how they are dealt

with. It is believed that humans have souls (there

are usually different types of souls in a single person,
each causing different types of phenomena) and that
under the right circumstances human souls can travel
to other worlds.
The beliefs of shamanism are not written down or
otherwise codified. There is no such thing as an
orthodox shaman. The beliefs shamans hold are
unique to the individual and are open to change. Far
more important than beliefs are techniques: those
used to create shamans and those used by shamans
to do their work.
Since there is no church, no organization that holds
and can grant sacred authority, one can only achieve
power over and relationships with the supernatural
world via personal trials. Most of the trials that give
shamans their power are things that induce altered
sates of consciousness: sweating, fasting, self-torture, use of deliriants and hallucinogens, long periods
of isolation from other people, exhaustive multi-day
dances, etc. The physical and psychological difficulty of these tasks help build willpower and self-confidence, which are useful in a shamans dealings with
both humans and supernatural entities. The alternate
states of consciousness these practices induce make
it possible for shamans to access visions.
Those undergoing visions see, hear or feel the
supernatural world. The most powerful form of
visions are those where the shaman experiences
leaving his or her body and traveling through this
world and into other worlds as a spirit. Visions
are important because they allow shamans to make
alliances with powerful spirits. The spirits typically
give power in exchange for offerings and prayers.
In shamanic death, the shamans spirit journeys
to another world and is killed and resurrected there.
Sometimes the shaman is physically put in a grave
and a funeral is carried out by his or her tribe. After
resurrection or rebirth, a new name is often adopted.
The death is not just symbolic or nominal. The
shaman actually feels as if he or she is dying and,
afterwards, feels that he or she is a completely new
person. The primary effect of this change of identity
is that it helps the shaman-to-be shed any last ideas
of his or her own weakness. The new shaman is
incredibly self-confident, believing himself or herself
to be mostly immune to physical, spiritual and
psychological harm.
Of all the traditions, sincere students of shamanism are
most likely to become Seekers (yet, because of the relative scarcity of shamans in the developed world today,

Shamanism as a
Seeker Factory
There is no doubt that shamanism has launched many onto
the path of Seekerdom and
that ancient shamans were often Seekers. Yet some Seekers
have a theory: they believe that
shamanism in ancient cultures
was a tradition that evolved as a
means of manufacturing Seekers. Ancient peoples living in
a harsh and dangerous world
did the best possible thing they
could to ensure their survival:
select the member of the tribe
most likely to become a Seeker,
then initiate them in a way designed to put them on the path
of Seekerdom (or, failing that,
at least teach them some Sorcery, gleaned from past Seekers).
Shamanic cultures typically
choose shamans from young
people who show independence, strong will, intelligence
and powerful (sometimes dangerously powerful) emotions.
They put these people through
an initiation that severs them
from their identities and social
standing. They go through a
ritual death and rebirth, are given a new name, sometimes even
sever their family ties. Their
training includes long periods of travel away from the rest
of the tribe, either in seclusion
or travelling to other villages.
Given paleolithic technology
and society, these were the optimum means to prompt the
creation of Seekers. It wouldnt
always create Seekers (nobody
can make you a Seeker, you
have to chose to become one)
but even one Seeker a century
who could teach following generations Sorcerous skills would
give a tribe a distinct edge.

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shamanism only has a moderate representation among Seekers). Many shamans

start out on the Path of +Self because of
the difficult personal challenges of shamanic training and the extreme willpower
and self-confidence that results. Others
start out on the Path of -Self because their
shamanic death has shown them how liberating it is to lose ones preconceived notions about self. The fact that shamans live
apart from their tribe and are often called
on as impartial judges leads some on to the
Path of -Harmony. Yet the focus on fixing peoples problems by repairing their
relationships with the supernatural world
leads some shamans to the Path of +Harmony. Some are led to the Path of -Feeling
because of the arduous and painful rituals
they endure, others to the Path of +Feeling
because of the focus on channeling ecstasy
and passion as a tool to achieve greater
power. The focus on pursuing dreams, visions and various forms of divination to
access hidden knowledge leads some shamans to the Path of -Thought.

Shamanism can still be found all over the

world, but it is often influenced by newer religions. Much of Vietnam, for example, practices a mix of shamanism and Buddhism with
some elements of Chinese pantheism. Many
who consider themselves shamans today are
people who are consciously trying to rediscover
a purer form of their aboriginal ways. A Native
American, for instance, may be trying to revive
shamanistic traditions and practices of his or
her ancestors for the sake of exploring his or her
roots. There are also neo-shamans. These
are mostly white Westerners who, without a
shamanic tradition of their own, have tried to
create a universal shamanic tradition by piecing together the most common shamanic beliefs
and techniques from around the world.
Some neo-shamans fit the stereotype of salad
bar new-agers: picking and choosing pieces of
others cultures that they like and ignoring the
bits they dont like. Yet many do not fit this
stereotype. Instead, they are making a sincere
attempt to dive into humanitys shared shamanic
heritage, and significant numbers of these neoshamans become Seekers.

Shamanic Techniques Found in Other Traditions

Technique
Other Traditions
Development of willpower through arduous
Buddhism, Monotheism, Military, Athletics, Martial Arts
rituals
Music, drumming, dance or chanting to achieve African Syncretism, Native American Spirituality, Hippies,
altered states of consciousness
Magick/Occultism, Buddhism, Sufism, Neo-Paganism
Ritual Death and Rebirth
Buddhism (especially Chod), Magick/Occultism
Use of Hallucinogens or Deliriants
Brujeria, Hippies, Native American Spirituality
The Experience of Leaving Ones Body As a
Spirit to Interact With Spirits or Travel to Other
Magick/Occultism, Mysticism, Vajrayana Buddhism
Worlds
Speaking Directly to Invisible Beings and MainAfrican Syncretism, Native American Spiritualism,
taining a Relationship With Those Beings
Curanderismo, Magick/Occultism, Neo-Paganism
Healing by Fixing Ones Relationship to Alternative Medicine, Hippies, Magick/Occultism, African SynNature or The Spirit World
cretisms, Native American Spirituality, Taoism, Neo-Paganism
Attacking Enemies With Invisible (Spiritual)
Brujeria, Magick/Occultism, African Syncretisms
Poisons
Herbalism Understood as Calling on the Spirits
Alternative Medicine, Brujeria, Magick/Occultism,
of Healing Herbs, Ethnogens and Poisons to Do
African Syncretisms, Neo-Paganism
Work
Pain, Sleep Deprivation, Starvation or Exhaustion to Achieve Altered States of Consciousness
Divination by Inspection of Random Things
(e.g. Entrails)
Knowledge Gleaned Through Visions (Waking
Hallucinations) and Dreams
Living Apart From Others

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Neo-Shamanism

Monotheism (especially Monasticism), Mysticism, Magick/Occultism, Art, Native American Spirituality, Kabbalah, Sufism

African Syncretism, Magick/Occultism, Taoism, Neo-Paganism

Magick/Occultism, Freudian Psychology, Art, Neo-Paganism
Brujeria, Monotheistic Monasticism, Buddhist Monasticism,
Sufism, Transcendentalism

Sufism
Sufism is the mystical arm of Islam. Although
Sufis say they can trace their practice back
to Muhammad (or even before), Sufism
as a distinct tradition appeared in the 8th
Century in response to the great power and
materialism of Islamic leaders (e.g. Caliphs).
The goal of Sufism is to beautify and purify
oneself, cleanse the heart of base desires, and
to turn away from all else but the divine. A
Sufi wants to have only one motivation: the
love of Allah, and wants to have no concept
of an individual self and to never do anything
that defies the will of Allah. Through all this
the Sufi hopes to comprehend Allah.

Ramadan, a pilgrimage to Mecca, etc.). They

often visit the tombs of saints, scholars and
other righteous people. Other Sufi practices
include use of incense, singing, music, dance
and meditation, often resulting in ecstasy or
trance. Some practices are more extreme:
using hunger, sleep deprivation, solitude and
sensory deprivation to break down the Sufis
unwanted habits, desires and ideas.

Today Sufism is practiced all over the world,

but is most popular in Africa. Sufi ideas
have found purchase in Western culture
primarily through English translations of the
emotionally-charged poems of Rumi and the
A Sufi must find a teacher and must spend work of Idries Shah.
years or decades in total obedience to that
teacher. Sufis believe that there are a variety Sufism often leads to the Path of -Self (because
of practices, and that each practitioner must of the emphasis on obliterating selfhood in
be prescribed different practices by his or submission to Allah) or -Feeling (because
her teacher depending on how the students of the emphasis on having no feelings other
heart needs cleansing or healing. Most than love for Allah) or -Thought (because of
Sufis practice humble, ascetic living. They the emphasis on gaining knowledge through
follow normal Islamic observances (prayer mystical, rather than rational, means).
facing Mecca five times a day, observance of

Taoism
The Way that can be described is not the true Way.
Taoism is a combination of philosophy,
organized religion and folk religion/magic
from ancient China (around 200-300
BC). Although Taoism contains medicine,
religion, magic and philosophy, it is the
philosophical ideas of Taoism that have had
the most far reaching influence. Taoism has
strongly influenced Buddhism and martial
arts, and many of the concepts of Eastern
philosophy that have filtered into Western
consciousness, which most assume are
Buddhist in origin, are actually Taoist.
Central to Taoism is the concept of the Tao,
usually translated as the way. The Tao
is the flow of the universe, the invisible
motion behind all things in existence (or
even in non-existence). When people act
against the flow of the Tao, what they try

-Tao Te Ching

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to do is difficult or even impossible. When

they act in accordance with the Tao, what
they do is effortlessly successful. Its like
being in a river: swimming against the flow
is hard, swimming with the flow is easy. One
major goal of Taoism is to achieve union of
ones desires and methods with the Tao, so
that everything one does can be achieved
with effortless ease. This effortless action
is so powerful that it makes those who have
mastered it into virtual superhumans.
The Tao is not intelligent, nor is it simple
enough to ever be completely knowable. It is
not a force for good or evil. If anything,
the Tao tends towards balance between forces
and cycles. One primary symbol of this is the
famous symbol that shows the two primary
forces of Yin and Yang flowing from and

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into each other. In Taoist cosmology, all

opposites depend on each other, create each
other, mix into each other and become each
other infinitely. The Yin, the black part of
the symbol, is passive, yielding action, and
is associated with darkness, shadow, night,
water, femininity, slowness and is sometimes
symbolized by a dragon. The Yang, the white
part of the symbol, is forceful, unyielding
action, and is associated with light, heat,
focus, speed, the sun, daytime, masculinity,
and is sometimes symbolized by a tiger.
Both forces are considered to be of equal
value and equal importance and best kept in
balance within people, within communities
and within the universe as a whole.

Taoism appears in many Chinese martial arts,

where the concept of effortless action is put
into effect. A practitioner of these martial arts
attempts to move very little, to do little work,
rolling with punches and using the momentum
of the opponents own punches and kicks
against them. An advanced martial artist is no
more forceful than is a leaf fluttering in the
breeze, yet is able to avoid every blow and
send the enemy flipping or stumbling into
walls and to the ground.

Taoism has its own associated healing arts,

all based on the idea of balancing internal
forces within the human body. There is also
the idea that a diligent Taoist practitioner
can create an alchemical transformation of
his or her own internal forces and become
immortal. Taoist immortals are part of the
pantheon worshiped in the religious side of
Taoism.

Taoists who become Seekers often enter onto

the Path of -Thought (because of the emphasis
on observing and knowing without making
judgments), onto +Harmony (because of the
emphasis on working with the world around
you instead of in opposition to it) and to
the Path of -Self (because of the emphasis
on putting ones own actions and desires in
harmony with the universe).

Many Taoists practice the I Ching, a form of

divination. Small bundles of sticks are thrown
(coins can also be used), and the resulting piles
create hexagrams which can be looked up
in the I Ching book. Each entry has a lengthy,
Another goal of Taoist practice is to achieve metaphor-laced explanation. Some Taoists
a state of passive receptiveness, where also practice mediumship (being possessed
one sees the universe without prejudice, by spirits).
and without applying labels (e.g. good,
bad, beautiful, ugly, worthy, unworthy) to Taoism leads often to the path of Seekerdom
anything. In other words, to be completely because the idea of allowing the flow of the
non-judgmental and thus to see the universe Tao to take one where it will is very similar
as it truly is.
to a Seekers state of wandering and allowing
his or her studies to be guided by fate/chance/
Unlike Buddhism, which sees natural human the universe. Also, the concept of the Yin and
desires (e.g. the desire for sex, desire for Yang is perhaps the best way to envision the
food) as the source of suffering, Taoism sees Paths and how they relate to each other (e.g.
human desires as natural, and as healthy and the Path of +Self is the Yang of selfhood while
empowering when kept in balance.
-Self if the Yin).

Transcendentalism
This is a philosophy from early-19th century
America. It advocated individualism and
finding ones true character by spending
time alone with nature. Transcendentalism
tried to combine rationalism with valuing
of ones own intuition. Later in its history,
Transcendentalism became involved in
both utopian and abolitionist movements.

096

Transcendentalism never became a major

movement, and today most people discover
it primarily through the original writings of
its founders (e.g. Ralph Waldo Emersons
essays from Walden Pond). Those who
become Seekers through the tradition of
Transcendentalism typically enter onto the
Paths of +Self, -Harmony or +Feeling.

Western Philosophy
At its heart, philosophy is any attempt
to use reason, logic and arguments to try
to answer invisible questions: those
questions that cant be answered by
direct observation or experimentation
with the physical world. The invisible
questions philosophy tries to answer
include: What can we be sure of
and how? What is right and wrong?
What is beautiful or ugly? What
is the relationship of the mind and
consciousness to the body? Every
culture has philosophy, yet when spoken
of in the West, philosophy means a
Western tradition, a conversation (or
argument) that stretches back to ancient
Greece.
Philosophy is often denigrated as a
discipline with no practical value. To a
degree this is true: for some, philosophy
is simply an intellectual exercise, an
attempt to solve a puzzle or win an
argument, with no attempt to use it to
make ones life better. Yet many of
todays disciplines, including physical
science, psychology, anthropology,
political science and math, once
emerged from philosophy. And every
modern discipline, from science to
law, has at its heart a philosophy that
describes and justifies its basic methods.
At the heart of science, for instance, is
the scientific method, and at the heart
of that method is a philosophy that
describes how and why the scientific
method is a valid method of inquiry.
From the philosophers point of view,
then, philosophy is the basis of all
disciplines. Even utilitarianism, the
idea that things are only useful if they
have real world practical applications
is, itself, a philosophy.

Philosophy has even come to question

the limitations of thought, language and
rationality. Recent philosophers have
wondered whether people are invariably
limited in the questions they can ask
and the answers they can find by their
languages and cultures. Philosophy thus
explores even the limits of philosophy
itself.
Philosophy is like Seekerdom in that it
concerns itself with big questions: the
nature of the universe, of life, of how we
learn about the universe. Yet philosophy
is not Seekerdom. At its best, philosophy
can suggest practices that, if followed
vigorously, can lead to Seekerdom.
Philosophers who become Seekers
usually do so after making a decision to
try to put their ideas to the test in their
own lives.
Philosophers who become Seekers almost
always end up on the Path of +Thought,
although a few students of recent schools
(structuralism, post-structuralism, postmodernism) become critical enough
of reason to enter onto the Path of
-Thought.

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098

When Richard came hiking down the

mountain into the town he saw small
but comfortable looking homes, with
well-cared-for gardens. It was early in
the morning, dew still on the grass, and
he went to the towns Church of Christ
for the Sunday service. He had on a
comfortable backpack, a grandfatherlylooking sweater and corduroy pants. The
others at the church service peered at
him curiously. He returned their looks
with kind smiles. After the service he met
and talked with parishioners. Then he
met with the minister. They chatted for
a while. Richard pitched the idea of an
inter-faith understanding meeting, where
members of the community of different
faiths could come together and find
out what they had in common. Richard
talked about other communities he had
held such meetings in and the beneficial
effects experienced there. Richard gave
the minister the contact info for other
ministers who had been involved in such
meetings and encouraged him to call them.
The minister said he would consider it and
Richard said that would be fine.
When Alestair came to town, a trucker let
him off at the side of the road. It was night
and had been raining. Alestair could see
the large buildings of the lumber mill,
illuminated with halogen floodlights and
steam rising from the stacks on the other
side of barbed wire fences. Alestair found
a bar and went in. The bar was full of
lumber mill workers who had stopped in
for a drink after the end of the day shift.
They stared at Alestair, who wore a black
leather jacket with an anarchy symbol, had
a green mohawk and several piercings.
Alestair ordered a drink and eavesdropped
on people talking. He inserted himself
into conversations without invitation,
saying whatever his opinion was on the
matter being discussed. Within an hour
he had gotten into a fistfight and gotten
a bloody nose. Some of the bars patrons
bought him a drink and slapped him on the
back, telling him Its about time someone
punched out that asshole. Alestairs new
friends, when they found out Alestair was
looking for work, suggested he get job at
the mill.

The first Interfaith Understanding Meeting

was held at the Elks Loge. Most of the
attendees were retirees with nothing better
to do. The Church of Christ minister was
there, as were several denominations of
Christians, a few Jews, a few atheists and the
towns only Muslim. It started slow. People
were guarded. With help from Richard, they
started to open up, speak from the heart. By
the end of the meeting they were speaking
openly about their prejudices and apologizing
for having made negative judgments about
others in the town. When the meeting was
over the attendees congratulated each other
and expressed eagerness for the next meeting.
Several people clustered around Richard,
asking his plans. He told him he thought he
would stick around town for a while, making
money giving therapeutic massages. Several
people signed up for appointments.
Alestair was there when the mills HR office
opened up. He got a job and was allowed to
start that day. Alestair immediately rankled
his new supervisor by complaining about
things he thought were unsafe. When the
supervisor talked down to the boiler operators
Alestair came to their defense and was given a
warning and a finger wag. At lunch, the other
workers told him about degrading treatment
by supervisors, about the plants poor safety
record, about how hard it was to make ends
meet on what they were paid. After lunch his
boss told him to scrub out a flue and Alestair
said Not for nine-seventy-five an hour, not a
fucking chance. His supervisor fired him on
the spot and Alestair laughed at the man, and
then loudly, in front of several workers, went
on a rant about everything that was wrong
with the mill until security dragged him away.
Alestairs last words before he was forced out
of the mill were you people need a union!
Richard spent the next few weeks travelling
from house to house giving therapeutic
massages. He talked a little and listened a
lot. People treated him like a therapist, telling
him their secrets and innermost feelings.
Richard learned that there was a lot of anger
in the town. Richard counselled that anger
was counterproductive, that it prevented
people from understanding one another. He

was arrested on suspicion of having child

porn on his computer, several embarrassing
emails were sent from the mills email system
to local newspapers, and the mills safety
manager went on a multi-day drinking binge
Alestair spent the next few weeks sleeping that ended with him being fired. The mills
on couches. He met with mill workers in the management figured Alestair was behind all
towns bar or in workers homes. He visited this and sent his description to the police.
workers who were home after being injured at Alestair changed from his leather jacket to a
the plant. He visited a widow whose husband sports jersey, removed his piercings and hid
had died when he was crushed by a log that his Mohawk under a baseball cap.
tumbled down off of a truck. He told people
that they should not accept their pay and It was late at night, but Richard asked nicely
their working conditions as immutable facts and so the Sheriff allowed Richard to visit
of life. He told people they should get angry, with the prisoner being held in the small
should act on their feelings. He told people jail cell in the back of the Sheriffs office.
if you act reasonably, always make the most Richard extended his hand through the bars
rational decision, then they will always be to shake Alestairs hand but Alestair just
able to control you, to force you down a path looked at him, his face unreadable. Ive
by making the alternative less appealing. been working, Richard said calmly, to try
If we get angry, though, we can force them to get the people of this town to come together,
down the path we want them to take. The to forget the past, to unburden themselves of
mills management got wind of this and fired corrosive emotions, to reach a state of mutual
several workers. Alestair retaliated by spray- understanding and work for the common
painting angry slogans on walls around town good. Yet lately Ive seen evidence that
and by throwing a rock over a fence into a someone out there has been working against
hopper that jammed a machine and halted me, and I believe that person may be you.
production for a day.
The people of this town dont need to get
At the fourth Interfaith Understanding along, Alestair responded, Theyve been
Meeting a skinhead came in and started getting along for years and some people
talking about how Jesus was an Aryan and in this town have benefited from it but many
Jews and Muslims worshiped the Devil. more have suffered because of it. The people
Richard implored everyone else at the meeting here need to be riled up. They need to be
to let the skinhead talk. Richard asked calm put in touch with their anger and they need
questions, getting the young man to reveal to let that anger push them to better their
more and more about his past, his feelings, lives. They need to stomp their feet and say
anger and fears. What if I told you that fuck the consequences, I wont stand for this
you could let all those feelings go, Richard kind of injustice anymore. Ive been trying
asked, and start a new day free from them? to help them do that but Ive been getting this
By the end of the meeting the skinhead was feeling like someone or something is fucking
sobbing and begging those present at the me up, and I think its you.
meeting to forgive him.
They stood and regarded each other across
At Alestairs advising, the mill workers the jail cells bars. Finally Richard spoke.
walked out and the company bussed in scabs Why dont we work together? Coordinate
to replace them. Alestair led protests in front our efforts. Try to reach a common ground
of the plant. He took to sneaking around and work from there to do more than either of
town at night, hopping fences and jimmying us could do alone.
the locks on buildings, committing small but Alestair thought about it. That is the most
powerful acts of sabotage that had cascading nonsensical, impossible, bat-shit crazy
effects. Production in the plant ground to fucking idea I have ever heard. He grinned.
a complete halt, the mills general manager And thats why I like it.
advocated a calm, dispassionate approach,
one where people could discover their
common goals and needs and find mutually
beneficial arrangements.

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Chapter Five
PATHS
About the Paths

In Brief: The Paths correspond to every type of human mental activity. By improving their
faculties in these realms, Seekers both improve themselves and improve their understanding of the universe, far surpassing the basic competence that is required of every adult.

The Paths can be conceived of as all the means

of improving oneself and better understanding
the universe by improving the four major
spheres of human mental activity (feeling,
thinking, having ideas about self, and relating
to that outside oneself) and then each of those
subdivided into the - and +subdivisions.
The Paths Are Not Goals

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around to the other side entirely. Someone

who starts out on the Path of +Feeling may
end up on the Path of +Self, and from there
to -Thought, and from there to +Thought, yet
to that Seeker he or she has only traveled one
path: his or her own.
The Paths Are Like Childhood

The Paths roughly correspond to what children

Truth, compassion, power, oneness with the need to learn in order to be competent members
divine, these are all goals. The Paths are a of society. Kids learn how to think, how to
use logic and reasoning, but they also learn
means of achieving these goals.
that some problems have simple solutions and
dont require too much thought. They learn
The Paths Are Not Curricula
to recognize and even to prompt different
There is no one set of things to learn or emotions in themselves, but they also learn that
conclusions to come to. Rather, the Paths are sometimes emotion must be resisted. They
general fields of inquiry: facets of humans learn how to get along with their friends and
interaction with the universe that one can family, but they also learn that sometimes peer
attempt to improve (and by improving, pressure must be resisted. They learn to be
understand the universe better).
confident, but they also learn that estimations
of their own abilities can be wrong. Children
The Paths Face Inwards and Outwards are amazing in their ability to go from knowing
Thought, feelings, conceptions of self and re- nothing to knowing all this in only a handful of
lationships with the other are all ways a person years.
interacts with and learns about the universe.
Each Path involves coming to understand Seekers take the learning that children must do
oneself, to improve that type of interacting in these basic categories of competence and
with and understanding the universe, and thus continue the learning. Where most peoples
to better understand the universe. A Seeker learning slows when they reach adulthood,
must necessarily learn equal amounts about mostly because theyve reached the level of
competence that society demands from them,
himself or herself and about the universe.
Seekers keep learning in these arenas at the
same rate children do. It is not unfair to say
The Paths are Infinite
that a Seeker is to a normal adult what a normal
Many things which are said about the Paths adult is to a child: basically the same, only far
may seem contradictory. There are an infinite more advanced.
number of Paths that one may take, but they
can be grouped into 8 primary categories. Its The Paths Are Sacrifice
like dividing the compass into 8 octants: You
can still go in any of an infinite number of The +Paths require you to constantly push
directions, but the direction you choose could yourself to do more than you ever thought was
be roughly described as being one of those possible. The -Paths require you to admit that
8 quadrants. An individuals Path may stray you were and are wrong, and thus to try to fix
into another one of the octants, or even circle yourself.

Learning and Meta-Learning

Humans are good at learning. Its what were have studied, are small mnemonic tricks that
designed to do. There is an astounding variety kids learn to help them get through school.
of things that people can learn to do if they put
The Paths can be conceived as a rigorous
in enough practice.
course of meta-learning (and meta-metaBut what if you could learn to learn better? What learning and meta-meta-meta-learning, etc.).
if there was something you could practice doing Seekers learn how to learn about emotions,
that would make whole categories of learning about thinking, about being in harmony
easier? Psychologists call this meta-learning: with others or about selfhood. The Paths
learning how to learn better. The simplest forms make people so much better at learning and
of meta-learning, the forms that psychologists adapting that they can seem superhuman.

Plus and Minus

In Brief: Plus Paths about increasing ability, becoming more powerful and making more
use of abstract mental objects. Minus Paths are about avoiding error, becoming perfect
and dealing more directly with the universe that can be seen and touched. It is possible to
walk both the plus and minus of a Path simultaneously.

The plus (+) Paths are all about recognizing the inherent power of human ability, of learning to strengthen and enhance
the strengths of the human race. They are
about trying harder, doing more, getting
better through practice and examination of
what works best. These are Paths of faith,
whether faith in the divine, faith in science
or philosophy, or faith in humanity itself.

Ordinary people often view those on the

minus Paths as lucky or as savants. Or, they
try to explain the minus Paths Seekers with
nebulous concepts such as enlightenment
that posits an unknowable gulf between the
enlightened and normal people. So, in the
minds of ordinary people, the plus Paths
are about advancement, progressing along
the scale, while the minus Paths are about
enlightenment, jumping off the scale.
The truth, however, is that the plus and
minus Paths are more alike than ordinary
people realize. Neither is so mundane as
advancing along a scale, and yet each is
merely an extension of the improvements
and refinements that mark all human selfbetterment.

The minus (-) Paths are about avoiding

inherent human weaknesses, not making
mistakes, sidestepping problems that dont
really need to be problems. These are Paths
of skepticism. A person on the minus Paths
laughs, sometimes with pity, sometimes
with disgust, sometimes with empathetic
concern, at the foibles and blindness that
continually plague normal humans.
The goals of the minus Paths, to eliminate
the weaknesses of thought, feeling, selfThose on the plus Paths usually achieve identity and connection to others, are
high levels of what average people aspire probably not fully attainable in any one
to: intelligence, confidence, emotional lifetime. Every time a Seeker thinks he
intensity, ability to get along with others. or she is close to achieving that goal,
Thus those on the plus Paths are usually they discover some major chunk of the
recognized and understood quite easily by unwanted weakness inside themselves,
the general population as being superior and suddenly the goal seems as far away
or skilled or talented. Those on the as it ever has. For instance, a -Self Seeker
minus Paths, on the other hand, are more might spend years carving away her selflikely to shortcut past, to do without, what identity, believing she is near to complete
ordinary people want for themselves. selflessness. Yet that -Self Seeker realizes,

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in a moment of painful
epiphany (see The Black
Gulf, p.56) that the self-less
one has become her new
identity and that this identity
itself must be cleansed. Any
Seeker who believes he or
she has achieved complete
enlightenment and no longer
suffers under any of the errors
of thought, self, feeling or
harmony, is deluded and has
most likely fallen into a trap
(p.62).

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Another way to see the difference between the two

types of Paths is that the plus
Paths tend to deal with ideas
and concepts, while the minus Paths tend to deal with
what can actually be seen
and touched:
+Self is all about concepts of self, while -Self is
all about dealing directly
with the world without consulting abstractions about
selfhood.
+Thought is about learning to manipulate ideas and
concepts, while -Thought
is about focusing on simple
and self-evident facts.
+Harmony is about learning about and anticipating
relationships, and figuring
out the right way to interact. -Harmony is about trying to view and interact with
the universe without regard
to pressure from culture,
peers and instincts.
+Feeling is about being
aware of feelings and emotions and aesthetic perceptions, while -Feeling is about
trying to ignore those things
and deal with the absolute
facts of the universe around
oneself.

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Perspectives On Mental Illness

+Thought: Illogical and irrational beliefs cause much mental
illness. These beliefs reflect poor knowledge of what is likely.
A paranoid schizophrenic, for instance, might not be paranoid if
he knew that vast conspiracies were statistically improbable.
-Thought: Mentally ill people spend too much time worrying
about questions that dont matter, like: Is the world a good or
bad place? Am I worthless or worthy? These questions are
essentially meaningless and their answers irrelevant, so mental
energies spent on them is at best a waste and at worst is selftorture.
+Harmony: Mental illness is usually a symptom of separation
from ones community. In the spaces where people are alone
(or think they are), they start doing things which are shameful
to them (e.g. drugs, self-mutilation) or believing things which
reference to common wisdom would say is wrong (e.g.
paranoid delusions).
-Harmony: Mental illness is any belief or behavior that
makes one a liability to the surrounding society. What is
thought of as crazy in one society is perfectly acceptable,
even prized, in another. The idea that there is one state of
mental health that all people should be returned to ignores
the fact that cognitive variety is natural. People should no
more be made to think alike than they should be made to look
alike. Maybe a person who is having trouble working in an
office shouldnt be working in an office, maybe they should be
an artist or explorer. Suffering occurs when people are forced
into roles that are not natural for them.
+Feeling: Mental illness is mostly a product of trying to deny
emotions. Emotions cannot be canceled out simply by denying
them and tend to come out in other ways. For instance, anxiety
about ones worth as a person, if denied, may pop up as a phobia
of snakes. Fear, anger, desire and even love, if not expressed
in healthy ways will be expressed in unhealthy ways.
-Feeling: Mental illness occurs when people give feelings
precedence over rational thought. Paranoia is the triumph of
fear over reason. Depression is the triumph of sadness over
reason. Almost every mental illness can be cured if one can
learn the discipline to control ones emotions.
+Self: Even though they may not be aware of it, most people
today suffer from low self-esteem. They dont believe in
themselves and they dont believe they have the strength to
conquer their own demons. People try different methods to
hide from their own self doubts, from drugs to avoiding the
company of others, but the only cure is to start believing in
themselves.
-Self: Most mental illnesses are caused by concepts of self that
are not only false (as most self-conceptions are) but severely
dysfunctional. The focus on self makes people think that
the universe revolves around them and what they are feeling
(e.g. there must be a conspiracy against me, or I feel bad so
therefore the universe must be a horrible place). Concepts of
mental illness hurt people because people start thinking of
themselves as ill and stop trying to improve themselves.

Despite their differences, the plus and minus

Paths are not incompatible. It is an unfortunate
weakness of the human mind that it is difficult
to keep both the plus and minus sides in mind
at once, but just because it is difficult doesnt
mean that Seekers wont do it. Many Seekers
walk both the plus and minus of a Path at once,
endeavoring, for instance, to learn to create and
use the power of emotions within thenmselves
while, at the same time, learning to bypass
emotions and make decisions based on logic
free from emotional bias. Walking both the plus
and minus Paths at once can be very powerful.

Perspectives On Nature
+Harmony: Whether we know it or
not, we are part of nature and it is part
of us. To respect nature is to respect
ourselves. To be fully healthy and fulfilled, we must live with and be part
of nature.
-Harmony: Nature is brutal, violent,
ugly, dirty, diseased and amoral. We
are dependent on nature for things like
the air we breathe and the food we eat,
but we should learn to temper, not celebrate, the weakness that is that dependence.

+Harmony: Evil is ignorance. It is the incorrect

belief that you can achieve happiness and
prosperity for yourself while destroying happiness
for others.

+Thought: Nature is a wonderful example of how simple principles, such

as that of evolution, can create something of astounding complexity, so
much so that merely understanding
it all is a task worthy of our greatest
thinkers.

-Harmony: Evil people rarely think of themselves

as evil. They believe the moral judgments of
those around them, assume that if good people
are all doing something then that thing must be
okay. Evil is, thus, the lack of an independent
check on the moral assumptions of a community.

-Thought: Nature is all around us,

even within us. If we work with it, let
it do what it wants to do, our way will
be easy. If we try to fight it back or
force it to do what it doesnt want to
do, our way will be difficult.

+Thought: Morality is a negotiation between

people: you respect my property rights, Ill
respect yours. You agree not to kill me if I make
you angry, Ill agree to the same. Evil is when
someone breaks these social contracts.

+Self: Nature can provide great obstacles and be a challenge to survive.

In this way, it is a great way for us to
prove our power and industriousness.

Perspectives On Evil

-Thought: There is no evil. Some people just

get too caught up in other things to do what they
know is right.
+Self: Evil is when people have never decided
for themselves to be good, or they forget that
they have decided to be good, and so without this
moral anchor they let circumstances push them
towards extremes of behavior.
-Self: Humans are not programmed to hurt other
humans, except when we view them as others,
as being not like us. It is the creation of false
categories of my people and not my people
that causes evil.
+Feeling: Evil is caused when people try to
deaden within themselves the empathy and
compassion that are natural to all humans.
-Feeling: Evil is caused when hatred, fear and
desire overcome the rational desire to get along
with others.

-Self: Nature is good to be around

because it does not recognize, nor respond to, our self-concepts. Living
with nature can be unpleasant and dangerous, and dealing with that can be a
great way to practice being selfless.
+Feeling: Nature is beautiful, a worthy subject for our appreciation. Like
the human heart it can be calm and
gentle, or changing and wild, but always powerful.

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-Feeling: Nature is too complicated to

be accurately called beautiful or ugly,
harmonious or violent, those are just
how people want it to be to justify
their own interactions with it and with
each other. It can be useful to us, and
it can create hardship for us, yet even
this hardship can be a good opportunity for people to practice living without
comforts they dont really need.

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Principles

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The Path of -Thought is also the Path of being skeptical of the beliefs, ideas and abstractions that are the products of human minds.
Words and concepts are just dim or simplistic representations of real things, yet people
commonly forget this and start to believe in
the words as entities unto themselves. Ask
someone on the Path of -Thought if they believe God exists and they might say tell me
what you mean by that word and Ill tell you
whether I believe in it. To most on the Path
of -Thought, concepts like good, life,
justice, beauty, sanity, are only simplistic ideas of limited usefulness. Even an
idea like cold, for instance, is relative. A
thing does not have its own coldness, there
must be another object and a consciousness that wants to compare the two. One
fire could be cold if compared to another,
hotter, fire.

The Path of -Thought can be most simply

explained as not overthinking things that
dont need to be overthought. -Thought
is not about being ignorant or dimwitted. Those on this Path try to develop
undirected rather than directed mental
skills. Rather than trying to think of the
solution to a problem, a Seeker learns that
it is often more effective to relax, be aware
and recognize the solution when it presents
itself. To someone on the Path of -Thought,
the relaxed mind is as powerful as the
active mind, perhaps more so. Those on
the Path of -Thought love anything random:
clouds, tea leaves, tarot cards, etc. because
it is easy for them to find answers to their
questions in randomness. Similarly, those
on the Path of -Thought are big believers
in intuition: they know that the conscious
mind is not the only part of the mind with Some on the Path of -Thought even begin
knowledge and intelligence.
to question whether the concepts real
or exists have universal meaning.
Those on the Path of -Thought try to never This is best illustrated by the Buddhist
prejudice themselves. They know that any- concept of sunyata, often translated as all
one who asks a question usually has an an- encompassing nothingness. Sunyata seems
swer they are hoping for, and they tend to a paradox: universal non-existence and
pay attention to the evidence that supports meaninglessness that is, itself, non-existent
that answer and ignore that which doesnt. and meaningless. Yet to many -Thought
Often -Thought Seekers try to avoid any Seekers, Sunyata represents a truth so
kind of decision, instead considering mul- simple and basic that complicated minds
tiple beliefs or plans but not deciding on have trouble grasping it: that concepts such
any until the moment that concrete action as exist only have meaning when applied
is required. This can cause them to be frus- to things we can see and touch, not to the
tratingly vague when asked a question.
entirety of the universe.
The key to being a successful childrens book author is to realize that adults are ridiculous.
All the great classics of childrens literature are about some normal kid going around being
entertained by the silliness of grown-ups. The crazy characters in Alice in Wonderland with
all their quirks, fears and petty squabbles, theyre all just grown-ups. They worry about silly
things, they believe in abstract isms that have little effect on reality, they dont know how to
relax and enjoy the world around them, and they look for complex answers to questions when
most questions actually have very simple answers.
Thats why Ive set off on my own journey through Wonderland. I dont want to be a kid, but I
do want to remember what kids know that adults have forgotten. I want to disconnect from the
adults around me, divest myself for a while of adult society, so I can look at it objectively and
recognize all the things that are just silly.
-The Childrens Book Author

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Those on the Path of -Thought are very

nonchalant about the big questions. They
dont stay awake wondering about the
purpose of life, whether God exists, if the
pleasures in life are worth the suffering,
if there is a universal right or wrong, if
humans have souls, if there is life after
death, etc. Even if it were possible to
answer those questions with a simple yes
or no, the answer wouldnt affect the dayto-day lives of those on this Path. The
right way to act is based on the road in
front of you, the people youre with and
the fullness or emptiness of your belly, not
on abstract truths about the universe.

Traditions

Inter-Path Relationships

Other traditions that have been known

to lead to the Path of -Thinking are
Anthropology/Sociology (mostly from the
study of other cultures mystical systems),
Art (because a state of heightened
creativity demands the suppression of
thought), Clowning (because clowns
realize that the smartest, most educated
people make just as many stupid
mistakes as anyone else), Feminism/
Ethnic Studies/Queer Studies (from their
criticism of Western standards of logic
and knowledge), Fictional Traditions
(through the fictional recreations of
mystical traditions), Hippies (from the
use of hallucinogens and idea that normal
people can be freed by being freaked
out), Martial Arts (mostly from their
connection to Eastern mysticism), Native
American Spirituality (from the emphasis
on spiritual information received via
visions, dreams and observing the
natural world), Ordinary Life (from its
emphasis on practical living rather than
abstract thought), Philosophy (from those
schools of thought that are critical of the
capabilities of reason), Psychology (from
the psychodynamic concept that the
knowledge we are conscious of is dwarfed
by the knowledge in our subconscious
minds) and Shamanism (from the focus
on pursuing dreams, visions and various
forms of divination to access hidden
knowledge).

Many come to the Path of -Thought

from the Path of +Thought. They use
logical thought to prove the limits of the
usefulness of logical thought, then they
go on the Path of -Thought to explore the
alternatives to logic.
The Path of -Thought often leads to the
Path of +Feeling. Without an abstract
meaning to life, the only reason to do
something is because you feel like it, so
-Thought Seekers set about exploring what
it is they feel like doing. Similarly, when
one on the Path of -Thought decides there
is no higher purpose to life, they turn
towards more simple goals: being healthy
and happy, causing no harm, getting along
with others, which leads them to the Path
of +Harmony.
The Path of -Harmony can sometimes lead
to the Path of -Thought when skepticism
of a cultures most important concepts
leads the Seeker to believe that concepts
are, at their root, meaningless. -Thought
can also lead to -Self when a -Thought
Seeker decides that the concept of Self
is an empty one. Similarly, the Path of
-Self can lead one to the Path of -Thought:
belief that ones Self is nothing special can
lead to belief that ones thoughts and ideas
are nothing special.

The major traditions that contribute to the

Path of -Thought are Eastern and Western
Mystical traditions. The Eastern traditions
include Taoism, with its emphasis on
observing and knowing without making
judgments, and Buddhism, especially
Zen, with its concept that all distinctions
are false. Indian philosophy also has a lot
to say about the unreality of the physical
world. The Mystic traditions include
Jewish Kabbalah, Sufism in Islam,
various Mystic paths of Christianity and
the mystic paths of Western occultism.

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The St. Ives Riddle

As I was going to St. Ives, I met a man with seven wives. Every wife had seven baskets, and
every basket had seven cats. Man, woman, baskets and cats, how many were going to St. Ives?

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Challenges

Recognizing

Most -Thought challenges are those

that try to trick the Seeker into thinking they are more complicated than they
really are. The actual answer ends up
being something that the Seeker already
knows or that there is no answer for.
The St. Ives riddle (above) is a classic
example: it tricks people into attempting
a complex multiplication (because they
think that is what is necessary to find the
answer) when really the answer is in the
first stanza of the riddle: As I was going
to St. Ives.

-Thought Seekers often have a smirk on

their faces, as if privy to some in-joke.
It often seems like they arent paying attention, yet they can react quickly to the smallest
thing or remember the smallest detail.
Often seen paying attention to
meaningless things like clouds, tea leaves,
coin flips, tossing sticks into piles, etc.
Often answer questions with questions.
They tend to be quiet people, speaking
only when necessary.

Sometimes a challenge is accompanied

by a sudden shock, designed to make the
student skip out of the groove of their
normal thought processes. Zen masters
would sometimes slap students to induce
this shock.
Sometimes meditation (especially that
which stops thought in preference for
total awareness) and hallucinogens or
deliriants (used to make normal logical
thought impossible) are useful tools for
those on the Path of -Thought. Yet they
can be dangerous: those who come to
depend on them can become trapped.
At best they give beginning Seekers a
glimpse into what its like to not think,
but Seekers must then learn to find this
state in their waking, sober lives.

View of Normals
A Seeker on the Path of -Thought sees normal
people as addled by ideas they believe in that
do them no good. The constant chatter of the
mind distracts people from using their senses.
The answers to lifes most important questions
are obvious, but the average person doesnt trust
simple answers and so needlessly complicates
questions until they are impassable quandaries.
Even worse, people use rational thought to
justify what they already believed (or wanted to
believe), making them inflexible because they
believe their ideas have been proven right.
People spend far too much time thinking about
the future and the past, of places where they
arent and possibilities that arent happening.
They would be so much more capable of
dealing with problems and enjoying what there
is to enjoy about life if they kept their minds
open to the here and now.

I used to think that the brain was the most wonderful organ in my body.
Then I realized who was telling me this.
-Emo Phillips
Most of philosophy is just people trying to find justifications for believing in the things
they already believe in. If they just went ahead and admitted that they believe in those
things because they want to, they could save themselves a lot of trouble
-the Retired Professor
You know the secret wisdoms which everyone seeks. I even suspect that you know the
explicit wisdoms, the ones hidden in plain view, which practically no one looks for.
-Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time

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Path Plusses
Primary: +2 per level
of -Thought to any AV that
involves letting go of harmful
thoughts/ideas
or
that
involve letting ones minds
go blank and letting instinct,
reflex, training or awareness
take over. Examples: AVs
to react quickly and simply,
rolls to be aware of what is
happening around the PC,
rolls to let go of delusions,
hallucinations
or
mind
control.
Aided: +1 per level of
-Thought to any AV which
is aided by having a quiet
mind, thinking in ways other
than with words, or having
a well-rested mind (one not
tired out from unnecessary
thoughts). Examples: AVs
for nonverbal communication
(with people who dont
speak your language or with
animals), AVs for operating
in the dark, or in other
situations where lesser-used
senses must be depended
upon, AVs to save vs. loss of
balance.
Combat: Add +1 per
level to combat rolls only
when the PC is engaging in
combat without premeditation
(either the PC was surprised
by a sneak attack, or the PC
decided to attack without any
plan or preparation).

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I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells.

-Theodor Seuss Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss

Path Abilities
Dumb Luck: Use this ability to find
something the PC wants by not actively
looking for it yet recognizing opportunities
when they appear. The PC might have to
do tiring, unpleasant, tedious or dangerous
things to get the object or his or her desire,
e.g. a PC who wants money might notice
$20 on a small island in the middle of a
swiftly moving river. Dumb Luck cant be
used to find specific things, only general
classes of things or solutions for general
problems. A PC cant use Dumb Luck on
more than one thing at a time. The difficulty
is based on how broad the request is:

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Moderate (3): What will be my

relationship with this new person I
just met?
Hard (5): Whats the best strategy
to escape from this prison?
Legendary (7): What is the
password to this bank network?

Profile Thought Weaknesses:

The PC can recognize when a persons
abstract reasoning faculties are likely
to cause them to reach an incorrect
or inapplicable conclusion. This can
include application of a general rule
when it doesnt apply, obsession with
abstract principles that have no practical
Easy (1): Find a warm place to stay
use in the current situation, thinking one
the night.
is more knowledgeable than one really
is or that ones experience is useful in a
Moderate (3): Find a ride to the next
larger breadth of situations than it really
town.
is, or clinging to a belief despite contrary
Hard (5): Find a way to get a certain
evidence. Once a thought weakness is
door open.
perceived the PC can attempt to illuminate
Legendary (7): Find a replacement
the weakness and thereby give the person
heart.
an opportunity to cure it, or can try to
take advantage of the blind spot in the
Reading Bones: The PC can find persons thinking. The difficulty is based
answers to questions in anything random: on how much contact the PC has had with
tea leaves, the shapes of clouds, tarot the person.
cards, etc. Some would say that invisible
Easy (1): Sense the weaknesses of
forces of the universe are affecting the
someone the PC has known for a few
random outcomes things, others would
hours.
say that randomness allows the PC to
Moderate (3): Sense the weaknesses
express unconscious knowledge the
of someone the PC has talked to for
PC already had, others would say that
5 minutes.
introducing randomness into the problem
solving process allows for the PC to think
Hard (5): Sense the weaknesses of
of solutions he or she wouldnt be able
someone after observing them for
to otherwise. The difficulty is based on
5 minutes or rifling through their
how specific the question the PC wants
belongings.
answered is:
Legendary (7): Sense the weaknesses
Easy (1): What general trends does
of someone upon first seeing them.
my immediate future hold?
If the questions youre asking demand complicated answers then youre probably
asking the wrong questions.
-Raggedy Cecilia

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+Thought
Principles

order can suddenly emerge from chaos.

Yet Seekers dont always limit themselves
to what they can understand. If a phenomena behaves predictably, then thought
can help one to deal with it, regardless of
whether it is understood. Scientists discovered and learned to do useful things
with the inheritability of genes long before
DNA was ever discovered.

To a person on the Path of +Thought,

intelligence is not a static thing. The ideas,
concepts, abstractions, mnemonics (means
of remembering things) and problem
solving techniques a person learns as they
age are a toolkit. The larger a toolkit a
person has and the more well versed they
are in what tools to use in what situations, Inter-Path Relationships
the more problems the person can solve.
More than any other Path, those on the Path
The goal of someone on the Path of +Thought of +Thought try to understand the whys
is to use thought to understand more about and hows of Seekerdom. They consider
how the universe works and use that the Path of +Thought to lead to all other
knowledge to ones benefit. Abstractions Paths. One can, they believe, logically
are used to model how different aspects derive the theoretical existence of and
of the universe work. These abstractions benefits of the other Paths by analyzing
may come from the realms of science, the different capabilities and failures of
human thought and behavior. Yet they
philosophy and mathematics, among other
will generally not claim to presuppose
disciplines, or they may be unique to the the wisdom of these Paths. As they will
Seeker. A +Thought Seeker collects and readily tell anyone: one cant know what
uses thousands of these ideas. To a Seeker one doesnt yet know. Yet the Path of
on the Path of +Thought, an idea is not holy, +Thought does lead easily to the other
it is useful. An idea itself is not correct, it Paths. Many Seekers on all the Paths
is something that can be used to evaluate or started on the Path of +Thought and
reevaluate whether conclusions are correct. understand its usefulness and power.
The criticism most commonly leveled
against the Path of +Thought is that thought
cannot be used to comprehend the universe.
The most common answer by +Thought
Seekers is that the universe can never be
directly comprehended, but that abstract
models of the universe built up in our minds
can approach true comprehension.

Those on other Paths may see those on the

Path of +Thought as dangerously arrogant
with their assertion that they understand
the hows and whys of other Paths. Many
+Thought Seekers also take flak for insisting
that other Seekers do not have supernatural
powers. Many on the Path of +Thought
come from a Western tradition (Western
philosophy, math, science, academia)
Most +Thought Seekers believe that all the while many on the other Paths come from
non-Western traditions, traditions that have
supernormal phenomena that Seekers exbeen persecuted or denigrated in favor
hibit and experience can all be explained of Western traditions. This traditional
rationally. They do not find it necessary animosity can cause problems between
to talk about spirits, souls, the malleability +Thought and other Seekers. Some have
of reality, gods, fate, etc. to explain things doubted that +Thought is a real Path.
happening in physical reality. This is not
to say that they think the world is simple. Perhaps the strongest affinity is between
They borrow ideas from chaos theory +Thought and -Feeling. Trying to develop
(p.83) to explain how complex systems can ones ability to accurately model the
have unexpected and sometimes quite re- universe through thought often leads to
markable properties, including the fact that trying to eliminate prejudice of thought by

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Today, then, since I have opportunely freed my mind from all cares [and am happily
disturbed by no passions], and since I am in the secure possession of leisure in a
peaceable retirement, I will at length apply myself earnestly and freely to the general
overthrow of all my former opinions.
-Rene Descartes

emotions, and vice versa.

They tend to like books and usually

have at least one physical book (or digital
device capable of reading e-books) on
The greatest contributors to the Path of their person.
+Thought are the traditions of Western
The Path of +Thought gives slightly
Philosophy, Mathematics and Science,
fewer opportunities for exercise, compared
each of which have contributed many of
to the other Paths, so +Thought Seekers
the models that +Thought Seekers use to
are not always as athletic looking as other
try to understand the universe.
Seekers.

Traditions

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Other traditions that contribute to +Thought

are African American Culture (with its focus
on self-taught scholarship, philosophy and
ability to argue), Computer Science (with
its emphasis on efficient decision making),
Monotheism (from those sects that put
a high value on scholarship, philosophy
and reason, such as the Jesuit order of
Catholicism, Jewish rabbis, Kabbalah), and
Psychology, especially cognitive science
(where the mind is seen as a toolbox of
problem-solving techniques).

Have the annoying tendency to interject

with Actually, its not that simple,
followed by a long explanation.
Can often be seen distracted in thought,
looking like they are daydreaming,
counting off something on their fingers
or scribbling incomprehensible notes or
figures on scraps of paper.
Rarely act spontaneously or quickly,
they usually take a moment to think before
every action or response.

Usually speak with a large vocabulary,

including many terms that are seldom
Challenges
heard outside of certain mathematical,
The challenges that can help Seekers philosophical or academic specialties.
along the Path of +Thought advance are
those that demand that Seekers absorb View of Normals
and utilize new concepts or new ways of
thinking. Most challenges take the form of Normal people only develop their
puzzles and games, as simple as a verbal cognitive skills to the level necessary to
riddle or as complicated as a custom built get by in modern society. A good analogy
computer game or a mechanical device that would be physical strength: the average
only unlocks when wheels are rotated in a person builds his or her muscle to the
certain way.
point necessary to carry out day-to-day
activities, but no more. The relationship
between +Thought Seekers and normals
Recognizing
is like that between Olympic weightlifters
+Thought Seekers are more likely than and normals: just a matter of the work put
any other Seekers to use technology, such into it.
as smartphones, iPads, slide rules, etc.
The effort to understand the universe is one of the very few things that lifts human
life a little above the level of farce and gives it some of the grace of tragedy.
-Steven Weinberg

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Path Plusses
Primary:
+2 per level of
+Thought to any AV roll that involves
using thought or reason to solve
problems or arrive at new knowledge.
Examples: AVs for using INL based
skills, for deducing facts based on
small clues, for inferring the presence
of unseen elements in a system by
noting its effects on visible elements,
for modeling complex systems.
Aided: +1 per level of +Thought
to any AV that can be aided by
the application of reason, planing
or strategy.
Examples: AVs to
determine the falsehood of delusions,
hallucinations or deceptions, rolls to
do things that use non-INL attributes
but where a smart approach can help
(like using knowledge of leverage and
physiology to figure out how best to
lift a heavy rock).
Combat: Add +1 per level of
+Thought to combat rolls only when
the PC has examined the fighters
capabilities or the environment the
fight will take place in long enough to
formulate a strategy.

Path Abilities
Deduction: This is the Sherlock
Holmes-like ability to take one
small, seemingly irrelevant piece
of information and deduce some
important fact from it. For example,
to deduce from the scuff marks
and stains on someones shoes that
they work as a short-order-cook, or
deduce from examining parasitic
infections of trees that someone has
been poaching deer in a forest. A
PC with knowledge of Psychology
can even make psychological
deductions based on behaviors (e.g.
he strangles schoolgirls, so he must
hate his mother.) The difficulty is
based on the amount of time the PC

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Any philosophy that can be put in a nutshell belongs there.

-Sydney J Harris

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has been studying the subject matter and

collecting clues. In general, the PC should
tell the GM what it is he or she wants to
determine and the GM will say what led
to that determination. Note that a failure
means that the PC has come to an incorrect
conclusion but thinks that logic supports
that conclusion.
Easy (1): Determine someones
occupation by rifling through his or
her house for an hour.
Moderate (3): Determine someones
occupation by rifling through his or
her car for five minutes.
Hard (5): Determine someones
occupation by looking at him or her
for a few seconds.
Legendary (7): Determine someones
occupation by examining their
handwriting.
Improv: By making monumental leaps
of deduction, the PC can work from common
knowledge to knowledge possessed only
by specialists. For example, a PC with no
medical training can cut open a person and,
using knowledge of the basic principles
of evolution and facts remembered from
grade school biology, determine what the
function of each organ must be well enough
to perform successful heart surgery.
Easy (1): Temporary 1 level in an
INL based skill
Moderate (3): Temporary 2 levels in
an INL based skill
Hard (5): Temporary 3 levels in an
INL based skill
Legendary (7): Temporary 4 levels
in an INL based skill

Profile Thought Strengths:

By watching someone solve problems
or listening to someone talk, the PC
can determine what mental strengths a
person has going for him or her. This is
more than just sensing intelligence vs.
stupidity or knowledge vs. ignorance,
but sensing what kind of intelligence
or knowledge a person has. A person
may have book smarts and be good at
abstract intellectual problem solving,
or a person may have people smarts
and be good with people, or have good
spatial abilities, or good musical sense,
or good imagination, etc. The difficulty
is based on how much contact the PC has
had with the person.
Easy (1): Sense the strengths of
someone the PC has known for a
few hours.
Moderate (3): Sense the strengths
of someone the PC has talked to for
5 minutes.
Hard (5): Sense the strengths of
someone by observing them for
5 minutes or rifling through their
belongings.
Legendary (7): Sense the strengths
of someone upon first seeing them.

-Self
Principles

same thoughts and operate from the same

motives, while they assume that others
These
Most of what people believe about are fundamentally different.
themselves is false. Beliefs about self are assumptions are quite often false.
a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you think you
have athletic ability youll play sports a lot Self-identity is built on ideas of difference
and become skilled. If you think youre ugly from others. If you think you are strong,
you wont flirt with people and wont find then you must feel that others are weak.
anyone that finds you attractive. Peoples If you think you are moral, you must feel
beliefs about themselves become a layer of others are immoral. Thus, identity is a
prejudice that affects everything they do. source of most prejudice. Identifying oneIt is also broadcast to others: people catch self as belonging to one gender, religion,
on, even if only at a subconscious level, to nation, tribe or race almost always leads to
what a person thinks about themselves and negative beliefs about, or hatred of, other
genders, religions, nations, tribes or races.
treat the person accordingly.
-Self Seekers thus see identity as the root
Whats more, ideas about self limit ones of most violence and warfare.
ability to adapt, to learn and to understand
the universe. A person who considers In the end, identity is just a simplistic
themselves liberal will reject any idea story that is incapable of matching the true
they consider conservative out of hand, complexity and power of a human being.
even if it is an idea they might have agreed When -Self Seekers learn to see identity
with otherwise. A person who considers as a story, they see people telling this
themselves Christian will reject a teaching story with everything they do: with how
of Buddha even if it is a teaching which they talk, what clothes they wear, what job
they take, who they hang out with, etc. Yet
coincides well with Christs teachings.
while most people think they are telling
People feel discomfort when they act in a people about their strengths (a punk with
way they think is at odds with their self- a skull tattoo tells people Im tough;
identity. Psychologists call this cognitive a businessman with a tailored suit tells
dissonance. It is a powerful force, one people Im rich and sophisticated), to a
which leads people to change their behavior -Self Seeker theyre only saying how they
or to invent and believe phony stories about have limited themselves, what roads of
exploration they have closed themselves
why they did what they did.
off from. In other words, they broadcast
Self-identity is a crutch, one that makes their own weaknesses.
every decision easier (it is easier to do the
kind of things I normally do than to have Those on the Path of -Self prefer to eschew
to make a decision on its own merits each ideas of self altogether. They can avoid
time). Self is the one thing people think the limitations of self by not having any
they can always depend on. No matter beliefs about self. The ideal is to believe
how external circumstances change, nothing about self that isnt believed about
people think they can trust that their all of humanity (e.g. like all humans, I
own capabilities, desires, opinions and need to eat) and even then they try to be
allegiances wont change without warning. extremely skeptical about the supposed
A potential change of identity rocks the limitations of the human creature.
very base of ones reality. Thus, ideas
about self become self-imposed shackles. -Self Seekers try to suppress their sense
of self when observing the world around
Self-identification causes prejudices. them. They find that more energy can
People assume that those who belong to be put towards understanding things as
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Most people are constantly supported by these inflexible ideas about who they are,
what their duties are, what their limitations are, what rules govern their lives. We
have learned not to rely on such things. Where they have skeletons, we are flexible.
Were like octopi: we can fit into any space and go places the others cant.
-Mr. Ill Fix Anything

about self. They also find that being a Traditions

passive observer helps them to blend in, go
unnoticed.
The major contributors to the Path of
-Self are the major monotheistic religions
Yet it is not so easy to escape ideas of self. (Christianity, Islam and Judaism) and
It is a long, hard, often painful process. Eastern philosophies (such as Buddhism
It involves giving up everything one has and Taoism). Monotheism comes to -Self
associated oneself with: ones home, job, because of the focus on humbling oneself
possessions, family, even ones name. before God. Any sincere monotheist
Those on the Path of -Self, long after they may find himself or herself on the Path
think they had given up every possible of -Self, but mystic schools (e.g. Sufism,
attachment to self, find something else, Kabbalah) are especially likely to lead to
often something new, to give up.
that Path.

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Inter-Path Relationships
The Path of -Self is closely related to, and
often overlaps with, the Paths of -Feeling,
-Thought and -Harmony. It is related to
-Feeling because many of the feelings that
-Feeling Seekers try to avoid are about self
and overcoming fear helps one live without
the comfort of selfhood. It is related to
-Thought in that -Thought is about not
believing things and -Self is about not
believing things about self. It is related to
-Harmony in that -Self is about shedding
self-identification with any group, while
-Harmony is about resisting the desire to
adapt to the beliefs of those around you.
Most beginning -Self and +Self Seekers see
their philosophies at odds with each other,
yet more advanced Seekers in these Paths
see more similarities than differences.
Those on the Path of +Harmony usually
dont see the point of -Self except when it
is explained as not trying to impose your
selfhood on those around you or not
thinking about the differences between
yourself and others.

Buddhism and Taoism contribute to -Self

with the idea that ego is a falsehood and
attachments to it cause hardship. The
practice of Chod in Vajrayana Buddhism,
where one meditates on death in order to
bring about a death of selfhood, sends
many Seekers to the Path of -Self.
Other traditions that contribute to -Self are
Clowning (from the realization that most
people are full of themselves, puffed up
with ridiculous ideas about themselves),
various schools of Mysticism (because
of the emphasis of giving up ego in
preference for divine presence), Ordinary
Life (because of its grounding in humility
as opposed to lofty cosmic goals),
Politics, and especially socialism (with
its focus on the equality of all people and
on eliminating the high status enjoyed by
elites), Psychology (from its studies of
self-concept and how it is inaccurate and
often creates self-fulfilling prophecies),
Science (from the skepticism of the
things people feel and believe without
evidence or proof) and Shamanism (where
shamanic death helps liberate one from
preconceived notions about self).

Easy is the path to wisdom for those not blinded by themselves.

-Star Wars: Clone Wars the Series

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Challenges
A few teachers try to make lessons
custom-made for a student, that take
advantage of something the student
believes about themselves. Usually, this
means a challenge that forces a person to
do something they think they are bad at.
Other challenges, which dont have to
be custom made to a particular Seeker,
involve observing a person (or even just
looking at a persons belongings) and
discovering the faults in their concept
of Self. A master might show a student
three items from a persons pockets, or
allow the student to ask three questions
of a person, then determine something
hidden about that persons identity.

Recognizing
-Self Seekers tend to exhibit a lack
of personal style. What they wear, do
with their hair and nails, etc. is usually
utilitarian.
They usually speak very plainly,
avoiding both slang and obtuse
vocabulary.
They have no attitude, so much so
that its hard to tell whether they are
arrogant or humble or what their opinion
is of anything.
Wont give clear answers to personal
questions (e.g. where are you from, what
do you do, what religion are you?).

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View of Normals
The average person depends on, is
controlled by, and is constantly trying
to convince others of a fiction of selfidentity. From the prejudiced redneck
to the arrogant philosophy professor, all
are crippled by their sense of identity.
The story people tell about themselves
is not only untrue, it is so ridiculously
simplistic that it is an insult to the
complexity and potential inherent in
each human.

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...youre not how much money youve got in the bank. Youre not your job.
Youre not your family . Youre not your name.... Youre not your problems....
Youre not your age.... You are not your hopes.
-Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club

Path Plusses
Primary: Add +2 per level of -Self to
any AV that involves not having ideas about
self and thus not communicating ideas about
self to others or that involve being a passive
observer. Examples: AVs to avoid having
the PCs emotions, attributes or intentions
be read by others, rolls to notice things
happening around one.

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Aided: Add +1 to any AV roll that can be

aided by being able to think, act or perceive
unhampered by thoughts about self and
the prejudices they can cause. Example:
empathy, fighting against things that others
would perceive as human weaknesses.
Combat: Add +1 per level of -Self
to combat rolls only when the PC is
outmatched (opponent has a higher combat
AV, prior to addition of Path plusses) and
where thoughts of self would have caused
fear or loss of confidence.
Attributes: Add +1 to Hit Points per
level of -Self (from the PCs refusing to believe in his or her own bodys weaknesses).

Path Abilities
Mirror of Self: By presenting people
with a blank slate, the PC allows people to
project their own ideas about self onto the
PC. The target comes to believe about the
PC what the target believes about himself
or herself: stupid or smart, good or bad,
happy or sad, well liked or hated, brave or
cowardly, etc.
Roll Mirror of Self AV vs. the targets
INL (if the target wins he or she realizes
that these assumptions are unfounded).

Profile Self-Identity Weaknesses:

The PC has become sensitive to the
things people believe about themselves
that do harm to those people by making
them believe that they are weak, keeping
them from seeking self-improvement, or
making them concentrate on one set of
abilities when they could be doing other
things. Self-Identity can be recognized
by interviewing a person or even just
observing how a person walks, what they
wear or what they own. Once weaknesses
are sensed the PC can attempt to make a
person aware of their false beliefs so they
can try to overcome them, or can attempt
to take advantage of those weaknesses.
Easy (1): Sense the weaknesses of
someone the PC has known for a
few hours.
Moderate (3): Sense the weaknesses
of someone the PC has talked to for
5 minutes.
Hard (5): Sense the weaknesses
of someone by observing them for
5 minutes or rifling through their
belongings.
Legendary
(7):
Sense
the
weaknesses of someone upon first
seeing them.
Unnoticable: When the PC
is passively observing his or her
surroundings, not trying to change them,
the PC broadcasts little or no selfhood
and is thus very hard to notice. This
skill works equally well on humans or
animals.
Roll twice the PCs -Self Path level
vs. the targets AWR to avoid being
noticed.

Only the shallow know themselves.

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-Oscar Wilde

+Self
Principles

an allergen show every outward sign of an

allergy attack. These myriad experiments
Those on the Path of +Self agree with show that belief is very powerful. They
those on the Path of -Self that peoples also show that the human mind has an
ideas about themselves often limit those incredible power to control nearly every
people, becoming self-fulfilling prophe- aspect of human biology. Beliefs can affect
cies. Most human weakness is thus just strength, immune system response, healing
illusion. The worst of all these harmful rates, resistance to toxins, oxygen need,
self-concepts is low self-worth: the be- etc. In other words, the difference between
lief that one is worth less than other hu- a normal person and a superhuman is
mans and is thus less deserving of peace, only a matter of belief.
freedom and happiness. Low self-worth
is much more prevalent than most people Seekers on the Path of +Self know that
believe. Most who have it cover it up with people automatically, subconsciously raa shallow, situational self-worth and pre- diate their self-concept to everyone around
tend self-confidence. This shallow self- them via body language and how they
worth mostly requires someone that a per- choose to present themselves to the world.
son can feel themselves superior to. The People automatically and subconsciously
strong man needs weaker men he knows receive these signals from others and tend
he can beat up, the smart woman needs to believe them. These signals are often
stupid people she can feel superior to, etc. given more credence than real life eviThis fragile, weak self-confidence creates dence. A person who believes he is strong
a world of bullies, all trying to feel better and acts strong will be seen as strong, even
about themselves by making someone else if he is not actually very muscular.
feel bad about themselves.
Those on the Path of +Self believe that the
remedy to the weaknesses of self-identity
is to develop true self-confidence and selfworth. To one on the Path of +Self, if you
can believe that you are strong, smart,
attractive and brave then you really will
be. And if you are truly confident in these
beliefs, you wont need to denigrate others
in your own mind to feel good about
yourself.
Those on the Path of +Self are very interested
in the placebo effect: when people think
they are being aided or compromised by
some factor external to themselves (e.g. a
fake drug) and do better or worse than
those who havent been led into this false
belief. For instance, African-American
kids taking an intelligence test do
significantly better when they are told the
test has been culturally corrected to help
them do better, even when this is not the
case. Or people who have been falsely led
to believe that the have been exposed to

To +Self Seekers, any self-identity one can

adopt is useful so long as that self-identity
pushes the limits of human capability. For
some, this means adopting a highly-improved version of their original pre-Seeker
identity: a stronger, smarter, braver, more
attractive, more worthy version of themselves. For others, this means adopting an
identity or identities from outside themselves. These +Self Seekers try to believe
that they are (or have all the qualities of)
a historical figure, a deity, a fictional character, an animal, a force of nature, etc. A
Seeker may channel wolfhood, taking
on the self-identity of a powerful wolf.
Another may be possessed by a number
of Afro-Caribbean deities. All of these
strategies are just a means of overcoming
the limitations of mundane identities.

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Of all the Paths, the Path of +Self requires

the least theory. Seekers dont have to
know why believing in themselves works,
they just have to do it.

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Inter-Path Relationships
The Paths of -Thought and +Harmony often
feel too passive to those on the Path of
+Self. The Path of -Harmony, on the other
hand, can feel like a natural extension of
+Self: its easy to go from enhancing ones
sense of selfhood to learning to resist the
desire to conform.
Those on the Path of +Self often find themselves attracted to both +Feeling and -Feeling. Their self-confidence makes them feel
both that they are too strong to allow their
emotions to control them and at the same
time that their feelings are incredibly important and powerful and should be respected.

Traditions

P
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Traditions with aboriginal roots tend to contribute most strongly to the Path of +Self.
These include African American Culture
(with its emphasis on pride and power to
avoid internalizing prejudices), African
Syncretism (where those who believe themselves possessed by powerful spirits can do
extreme feats of strength and endurance),
Brujeria (with its emphasis on developing strength of will, believing oneself to
be powerful or taking on the identity of a
powerful animal), Occultism/Magick (with
its emphasis on developing personal power
over the universe) and Shamanism (because
of the difficult personal challenges faced in
shamanic training, and the willpower and
self-confidence they build). Anthropology
can also contribute to the Path of +Self because of the study of shamanic and other ancient techniques of gaining personal power.
Popular modern religions, which stress
humility before a higher power, almost
never spawn Seekers on the Path of +Self.
When modern religions do contribute to the
Path of +Self it is in those cases where one
believes oneself to possess special strengths
as an agent of God, e.g. a preacher fighting
for peoples souls or a righteous warrior.

Other traditions that sometimes contribute

to the Path of +Self are Art (because its
not a long leap from learning to express
oneself to learning to feel strongly about
selfhood), Athletics (with the focus on
self-confidence as a prerequisite for
excellence), Body Modification (with
its painful ordeals and radical selfexpression), Existentialism (because
of the emphasis on humans freedom
to choose what kind of people they are
going to be), Freemasonry (because
of the emphasis on righteousness and
principles), Martial Arts (especially where
they teach one to project self-confidence
as a weapon), Military (because of the
emphasis on personal honor and bravery),
New Thought and Self-Help (with their
emphasis on succeeding by believing in
oneself), Politics (especially conservative
and libertarian ideas which value selfsufficiency, rationality, competitiveness
and leadership) and Psychology
(especially clinical psychology, where
building up self-confidence is considered
a key to success and happiness).

Challenges
Most +Self challenges involve overcoming fears or perceived weaknesses,
e.g. walking over hot coals, beating a
physically superior opponent in combat,
walking a thin plank over a deep ravine,
dancing a sundance (dancing around a
pole, attached to it by hooks through
ones chest, and leaning back against
the ropes), taking a mixture of herbs designed to cause frightening delusions,
ritual scarification, etc. +Self challenges
are often thought of as the most brutal
and dangerous (although sometimes the
danger is just an illusion).
Other challenges involve convincing
other people of the Seekers selfperceptions. E.g. bluffing ones way
into a corporate board meeting simply by
acting important.

How much can you know about yourself if youve never been in a fight?
-Fight Club screenplay by Jim Uhls, adapted from the novel by Chuck Palahniuk

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Recognizing
+Self Seekers typically
dress in a unique, often flamboyant personal style.
Whatever physical assets
they have, they wear clothes
that show off those assets.
Modesty is rare in +Self
Seekers.
Many have scars, often
evidently self-inflicted, that
they wear proudly.
They tend to dress as if
they have no fear of the elements (e.g. in a t-shirt and
jeans when it is snowing
out).
They have confident expressions and stare people
directly in the eye.

View of Normals
To a +Self Seeker, the average person is crippled by
delusions about their own
weaknesses. People think
they cant quit smoking, cant
succeed in school, cant stand
up to the local bully, cant
make it as an artist, cant resist eating that piece of cake
in the fridge, cant stand the
pain of a broken hand without drugs, etc. Mostly, they
dont even try to do these
things, or if they do try they
give up quickly. When they
do give up, they call it failure and it feeds their belief
in their own weakness. Or,
they sabotage themselves before even trying so they have
an excuse why they failed
(e.g. I didnt do well on that
test because I was out late
drinking the night before.)

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Because he believes in himself he doesnt try to convince others.

Because he is content with himself he doesnt need others approval.
Because he accepts himself the whole world accepts him.
-Tao Te Ching

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the PCs current self-concept (meaning

In the end, most people find one thing they can be changed on the fly if the PC
theyre sure they can do fairly well and uses the Choose Identity ability).
they depend on that one thing to keep
At +Self (1): +1 to one attribute, +1
themselves from feeling like a total loser.
Hit Point
They dont try to do anything else and they
At +Self (2): +1 each to two attributes,
dont try to do anything really great in their
+2 Hit Points
one thing because they fear failing at the
one thing they have.
At +Self (3): +2 each to two attributes,
+3 Hit Points
For most people, the only chance they will
At +Self (4): +2 each to three
reach their true potential is if some lifeattributes, +4 Hit Points
or-death event makes them forget their
At +Self (5): +3 each to three
perceived limitations, e.g. if their child
attributes, +5 Hit Points
is trapped under a car and they find the
strength to lift that car. This is the inner
strength they could be using every day if Path Abilities
they knew they had it.
Path Plusses
Primary: Add +2 per level of +Self to
rolls to have, and communicate to others,
self-confidence and high self-worth.
Examples: AVs to make others believe that
which the PC believes about self.
Aided: Add +1 per level to rolls that
can be aided by having a very high selfconfidence. Examples: saves where failure
would violate the PCs self concept.
Combat: Add +1 per level of +Self
only when the opponent is trying to use pain
or exhaustion against the PC (opponent is
using the Ruin and Exhaust styles) and
where the PC can use strength of will and
determination to keep fighting.

Animal Magnetism: Through pure

force of ego, the PC can give commands
that weaker-willed individuals find difficult
to resist. The PC cant make a person think
or believe a certain thing, only do a certain
thing. A person, to preserve his or her own
sense of free will, may delude themselves
afterwards that they wanted to do the thing.
The PC is at -1 AV if the person thinks its
something that may harm them, -2 AV if
theyre sure it will, -3 if they think it might
kill them and -4 if theyre sure it will.

Roll the PCs +Self Path level vs. the

victims WIL.

Choose Identity: The PC can choose

between multiple self-concepts, choosing
the one most appropriate for the moment.
This is somewhat like multiple personality
disorder except the PC is always in control
and each personality has access to all the
Attributes: By believing in his or
knowledge that other personalities do.
her own abilities very strongly the PC can
Easy (1): Different person.
boost his or her attributes. Such boosts can
raise an attribute over the normal cap of 5.
Moderate (3): Animal.
The attributes raised must be in-line with
Hard (5): Mythical animal.

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Profile Self-Identity Strengths:

The PC has become sensitive to the things
people believe about themselves that give
those people power, e.g. I am brave I
am attractive I am lucky, etc. Once a
strength is sensed, the PC can attempt to
invoke that strength to help the person, or
attempt to sabotage that strength.

Easy (1): Sense the strengths of

someone the PC has known for a few
hours.
Moderate (3): Sense the strengths of
someone the PC has talked to for 5
minutes.

Animal Transformation
A PC who can use Choose Identity at
3 difficulty can take on the identity
at an animal. The PC can then make
CHM rolls (at +2 per level of +Self)
to make others perceive and believe
that self-concept. The PC can also
add the plusses to attributes from
+Self to the attributes that animal
might have, thus approximating the
speed, strength, acuity of senses or
agility of an animal. Although the
PC wont appear to be an animal on
video tape, for all other intents and
purposes the PC is an animal.

Hard (5): Sense the strengths of

someone by observing them for
5 minutes or rifling through their
belongings.
Legendary (7): Sense the strengths
of someone upon first seeing them.

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Seekers of Self and Teens

Seekers on the Path of +Self or -Self

often find themselves getting involved
in the lives of teenagers. This is
because the teen years are almost
universally a crisis of identity. Teens
are trying to figure out how they should
act, what others think of them and, most
importantly, who they really are. To a
Seeker of Self, a teens identity crisis
is glaringly obvious in everything that
teenager does.

Any Seeker on the Path of +Self

or -Self sees teenagers as a group
of people suffering needlessly by
worrying about questions that should
be answered by either assuming the
best about themselves, or by declaring
those questions foolish and refusing to
think about them. Seekers of Self thus
find themselves drawn to try to counsel
teens, often in innovative ways.

121

-Harmony
Principles

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-Harmony Seekers are very interested in the

evils of history (e.g. war, slavery, holocaust)
and how normal people were persuaded to
participate in these atrocities or allowed them
to happen. There are many answers to this
question. One is that all societies have an
immune system, a means of punishing nonconformists by labeling them as criminals,
psychopaths, perverts, terrorists and heretics.
-Harmony Seekers are willing to be thought
of as these things if it means being an
independent voice and avoiding the logical or
moral mistakes of those around them.

Humans, and especially Westerners, like

to think of themselves as autonomous
beings, capable of making decisions and
reaching conclusions independently of
those around them. In reality, peoples
perceptions and decisions are affected
by their surroundings, by the actions
of those around them, and by their own
personal and cultural backgrounds.
Social psychology experiments have
repeatedly shown how easily people are
influenced without their being aware of
People, by instinct and by cultural training,
it.
are more likely to believe and obey those
The Path of -Harmony is the Path of they consider authority figures. Nothing
trying to recognize and overcome the shows this more clearly than the various
prejudices caused by ones culture, obedience-to-authority studies performed by
ones surroundings, even ones body, to psychologists. In these studies it has been
be able to perceive and manipulate the shown that perfectly normal people, people
world as a disinterested outsider. This is who think of themselves as good, can be
traditionally the Path of heretics: people talked into doing things they think will hurt or
who have had the courage to buck the kill innocent people simply because someone
status quo, to tell people when their in authority tells them to.
beliefs are wrong or their social codes
are unethical, to be an alien and an Another reason people have put up with
outsider and face the stigma associated injustices (e.g. slavery) has been the
perception that these injustices are just the
with refusing to belong.
way things are and thus there is no moral
In many low-tech cultures those who compunction to change them, or that trying
walk the Path of -Harmony become to change these injustices would be too
outcasts, forced to live far away from damaging to the fabric of society. -Harmony
others, denied a position as a member Seekers consider it a strength that they arent
of the community, although still sought dependent on any society or community and
out for aid, especially aid that involves so they have no fear of destroying a society
doing things that community members or community that depends on unjust actions
would be unwilling to do. These for its survival. To most -Harmony Seekers,
dangerous, although useful, outcasts leaving a community in ruins is preferable to
often become mythologized as brujas leaving it stuck in a cycle of injustice. Ruins
can be rebuilt into something better.
witches and sorcerers.
-Harmony Seekers dont believe that
the societys rules apply to them. They
believe true progress towards being
a better person can only come from
creating and obeying your own rules.

It is for these reasons that those on the Path

of -Harmony decide that the best route to
true knowledge, wisdom and power is to
question everything their culture presents
as unquestionable fact, to resist the innate

Whenever you find you are on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.
-Mark Twain

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desire to get along with others and to

resist societys compunction that everyone
in society should do whats best for that
society.

unhealthy parts of nature: toxic plants,

dangerous deliriant drugs, thorns, stinging
insects, etc. They often force themselves
to endure these parts of nature so that they
will gain some immunity to them (and to
A consequence (or perhaps a goal) of help overcome their natural attachment to
their abandoning the values held by their that which their bodies find comfortable
communities is that -Harmony Seekers find and pleasant).
it easier to accept unpleasant truths about
the universe, e.g. people are inherently Normal people tend to quarantine those
selfish and unjust, human life is invariably ideas, feelings, beliefs and parts of their
tragic, the universe is godless. To a self-concept that their culture tells them
-Harmony Seeker, if a belief is comforting, is evil or bad. A major part of -Harmony
or pleasant, or easy, that belief should come practice is exploring this dark side and
deciding for oneself what parts of that
under immediate scrutiny.
dark side should be incorporated into ones
Some on the Path of -Harmony purposeful- normal everyday self.
ly act or dress or modify their bodies in a
way designed to make them be rejected by The Path of -Harmony tends to attract
those around them, all so they can avoid the those most and least interested in morality.
temptation of fitting in. Others strengthen Those least interested in morality are drawn
the psychological wall separating them- to the Path because it explores what one
selves from the world around them with can achieve when one ignores the taboos
gloves, sunglasses, trenchcoats, etc. Some of ones culture. Those most interested in
become ascetics, denying themselves plea- morality hope to learn about and avoid the
sures and comforts, not to prove their own immoralities inherent in their culture. The
strength (like +Self) and not to exercise Path of -Harmony is thus about standing
their ability to ignore unpleasant feelings outside of the moral standards of ones
culture to gain freedom from it. Whether
(like -Feeling) but so that they wont beone uses this freedom for personal gain, or
come comfortable enough with a place and
to recognize and fight injustices, or both,
its people that they start to feel a sense of
is up to the individual Seeker.
belonging.
Many on the Path of -Harmony experiment
with practices and things that cultures have
deemed too dangerous for people to have
access to. Depending on the Tradition they
are studying this might mean experimenting
with dangerous drugs, going to graveyards
and trying to learn from the dead or
intentionally invoking in oneself what
modern society would call mental illness.
Rather than seeking out the friendly and
healthy side of nature, as Seekers of
the Path of +Harmony commonly do,
-Harmony Seekers often seek out and
become acquainted with the dangerous and

Although -Harmony Seekers practice

physical or psychological separation from
others, this does not mean that it is the goal
of -Harmony Seekers to always be alone,
no more than it is the goal of -Thought
Seekers to never think or -Feeling Seekers
to never feel anything. Instead, most
-Harmony Seekers spend time apart from
others so they can overcome any fear
of being lonely or unwanted, and later
enjoy relationships with others without
those relationships being tainted by fear.
A -Harmony Seekers wants to be with
others, but to feel free to unreservedly be
themselves, to never have to hide anything
about themselves or try to conform.

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The strongest man in the world is he who stands most alone.

-Henrik Ibsen

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Inter-Path Relationships
The Path of -Harmony is the most
misunderstood Path, both by non-Seekers
and by Seekers of other Paths. Most
Seekers from other Paths think that
-Harmony Seekers are looking for a license
to be evil, the power to avoid bad karma or
to end their responsibilities to humanity.
+Harmony Seekers, especially, think
-Harmony Seekers purposefully destroy
harmony for their own selfish purposes.

P
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-Harmony does find some allies in the Path

of +Thought. +Thought Seekers know,
from the history of science and philosophy,
that it is very hard and yet very important to
question the beliefs that those around you
consider sacred. Similarly, some -Feeling
Seekers see -Harmony as an extension
of not letting ones feelings affect your
decision-making. -Self Seekers may see
removing oneself from all communities
as an extension of destroying ideas about
self. +Self Seekers, on the other hand,
admire someone who can stand up to the
masses by saying unpopular things.

Traditions
Many of those traditions that contribute
to the Path of -Harmony come from the
experiences of groups who have been
persecuted by the majority, e.g. African
American Culture (where being a target
of prejudice can cause a desire to root
out the prejudices and biases that people
are unaware they have), Brujeria (with
its emphasis on being an outsider and
disrupting the harmony of others) and
Monotheism (especially those martyr
traditions created by persecuted religious
minorities).
Other -Harmony Traditions are those that
purposefully put themselves outside of the
regular culture, e.g. the traditions of Anthropology/Sociology (where practitioners
try to be impartial, skeptical observers of
our culture and society), Body Modification

(where practitioners purposefully mark themselves as outside the mainstream), Clowning

(where focusing on peoples foibles convinces
practitioners that most people are sheep), Existentialism (which has an emphasis on creating ones own meaning, not accepting those
meanings assigned by culture or belief systems), Freemasonry (with an emphasis on doing whats right regardless of what others are
doing), Hippies (who have tried to avoid the
mistakes of the Western mainstream), Politics (especially liberalisms critical attitude
towards traditional values, and other political
extremists critical attitude towards the political status quo) and Sex (especially fetishists
exploration of the edges of what mainstream
society considers acceptable).
Other traditions that contribute to -Harmony
are Native American Spirituality (from the
emphasis on transgressing a cultures mores
by sorcerers or sacred clowns), Psychology
(from obedience studies, designed to explain
why people can be convinced to do horrible
things), Science (from the general skepticism
about any belief our culture offers up with
out evidence to back it up) and Shamanism
(from the fact that shamans live apart from
their tribe and are often called upon as
impartial judges).

Challenges
Some -Harmony challenges involve being
put among a group of people who are all
completely mistaken about the source of
the problem they face. In order to solve the
problem, the PC must come to discount what
everyone is saying to them. Other challenges
may involve having to resist severe forms of
indoctrination, even brainwashing. Other
challenges involve having to exercise ones
dark side by figuring out whats going on
in the mind of a complete outsider (e.g. a
serial killer, terrorist, child molester). Other
challenges may involve breaking cultural
taboos (e.g. smearing oneself with feces
and walking down Main Street) in order to
exercise ones sense of being beyond the
concerns of normal culture.

Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone elses opinions, their lives
a mimicry, their passions a quotation.
-Oscar Wilde

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Recognizing
Seekers on the Path of -Harmony tend to wear clothing
which sets them apart from
any social group or subculture. Sometimes this is clothing
which appears threatening.
They often try to isolate
themselves from their surroundings with gloves, long coats,
etc.
They can come off as unfriendly, or as aloof: refusing to
react reciprocally to the friendly
and unfriendly things others do
to them.
Usually refuse to engage in
normal codes of politeness, e.g.
wont shake hands, will respond
to how are you? by describing
an unpleasant genital rash, etc.

View of Normals
Normal humans, no matter how
much they believe otherwise,
are not independent entities.
They are incredibly dependent
on those around them and on
fragile social structures. Their
dependence on the status quo
makes them weak and frightened of change, even change
which would end up benefiting them. Normal people are
overly influenced by authority,
believing, as our pack animal
ancestors did, that it is wrong to
do anything that one would be
punished for if caught.

M
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Normal people are incredibly

easy to influence: often times
all it takes is a well-timed dirty
look to ruin their whole day,
a hardly noticeable change to
their environment to make them
sick, or an authoritatively issued command to make them
do something they dont want
to do.

125

Most people are ridiculously dependent on

others for their psychological health, selfesteem and happiness. Whether they will
admit it or not, nearly everyone is afraid of
being hated by those around them.
Only a tiny part of what people do can
truly be called their own decision. The rest
of it is just taking cues from those around
them. Even when they make a decision, the
decisions they believe they have available to
them are taken from their social and cultural
contexts. Most of what people believe
about the world is not learned from the
world itself but from other people. Normal
people dont have the time or courage to try
to determine whether what they have been
taught to believe is true or not.

Path Plusses

P
A
T
H
S

Primary: +2 per level of -Harmony to

any AV to resist or sever connections to ones
body, environment or to other people that can
harm the PC, prejudice the PC or give others
information about the PC. Examples: AVs to
resist torture, brainwashing, manipulation,
to avoid letting others read the PCs traits,
to save vs. exposure to and the effects of
diseases and toxins.
Aided: +1 per level of -Harmony to any
AV which is aided by being able to approach a
situation as an impartial observer. Examples:
AVs to notice invasion of ones personal
space, rolls to notice attempts to manipulate
the PC, rolls to intimidate others by being
mysterious and alien, rolls to recognize and
deal with outsiders, rolls to avoid vomiting
or to deal with things others find creepy or
disgusting.
Combat: Add +1 per level to combat
rolls only when you are attacking by
surprise, when you are ignoring any rules
of fair play or ethical behavior in combat
and are attacking the most vulnerable spot
possible (Kill or Ruin styles only).

Path Abilities
Profile Harmony Weaknesses:
The PC can recognize when peoples
connections with the people, animals and
things around them are harmful to those
people. The PC can sense when people
are failing to think for themselves or
have been convinced to injure themselves
for the good of the group. Once the PC
has discovered a weakness he or she can
attempt to make the person aware of that
weakness or can attempt to exploit it. The
difficulty is based on how much contact
the PC had has with the person.
Easy (1): Sense the weaknesses of
someone the PC has known for a
few hours.
Moderate (3): Sense the weaknesses
of someone the PC has talked to for
5 minutes.
Hard (5): Sense the weaknesses
of someone by observing them for
5 minutes or rifling through their
belongings.
Legendary
(7):
Sense
the
weaknesses of someone upon first
seeing them.
Sabotage Harmony: When the PC
finds a system that is in harmony, the PC
can work his or her way to a crucial element
of that system, one that if disrupted, will
throw the whole system out of harmony.
Difficulty is based on how small a change
the PC can make to the system.
Easy (1): Disrupt the economy and
law-and-order in a town by causing
a grudge between two citizens.
Moderate (3): Poison one tree in
a forest to cause throw the entire
ecosystem into chaos.
Hard (5): Cause a family to become
dysfunctional by removing arch
supports from the dads shoe.

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best

night and day to make you like everybody else means to fight the hardest battle
any human being can fight and never stop fighting.
-E.E. Cummings

126

+Harmony
Principles

sation that try to link harmless actions to

unrelated misfortunes. +Harmony Seekers tend to see those cultural beliefs as a
catalog of wisdom, accumulated through
the cultural memory of millennia, about
what things to avoid because they tend to
destabilize the biological, psychological,
ecological and social systems that members of those cultures live within. Unlike
scientists, non-industrial peoples were
able to learn when actions had bad results
without needing to know the exact causal
mechanisms linking them. +Harmony
Seekers collect and utilize these superstitions in the same way +Thought Seekers
collect and use philosophical concepts.

+Harmony is based on the idea that

all living things are part of systems
(communities, ecologies, economies, etc.)
that connect them to other living things via
multiple chains of cause and effect. The
chains of cause and effect in these systems
are so complicated that the effect of one
component on another cannot be predicted.
There are two things that can be predicted:
first, that every component of the system
will have some effect on every other
component in the system. Second, actions
which go against whatever equilibrium has
developed will tend to hurt every member
of the system, including the member doing
the disruption.
Even within a person, everything is
connected: a foot injury could cause a
Take a tree for instance. It effects the world
headache, while gently massaging earlobes
around it in many ways: how it blocks the
may ease a stomachache. The mind and
wind, holds the topsoil together, provides
body are intimately connected. Everything
shade, produces oxygen, is a home to
going on in one affects the other. So, to
animals, etc. Cutting down just one tree
effects everything around that tree in a +Harmony Seeker, treating a physical
ways that cannot really be predicted, yet problem doesnt just mean treating the
insomuch as the tree has become part of the body. It means making sure the persons
equilibrium of the world around it, felling psychology and their relationship with
their environment will contribute to their
tree will tend to make things worse.
being cured. For modern people this is
The lessons for human life are thus: it is folly known as holistic medicine but for nonto consider oneself a lone entity, because industrial peoples, and +Harmony Seekers,
ones fate is closely intertwined with the it is just common sense.
people and the living things around one. It
is also folly to think that one can predict Each person is sensitive not just to their
the long-term consequences of ones own immediate surroundings, but to lunar,
actions. The best thing to do is to try to seasonal and other celestial cycles.
live in equilibrium with your surroundings, +Harmony Seekers thus pay attention to
doing your part to keep the environments the effects of the stars on people.
and communities you are part of healthy,
avoiding actions which hurt other beings, The Path of +Harmony is more about
+Harmony
as these are actions which will most likely lifestyle than ideology.
cause you misfortune.
Seekers try to adapt themselves to fit in
perfectly with their environments. Instead
Most scientifically-minded people see the of trying to change the word around them,
taboos and rituals of non-industrial cultures they change themselves, but in the end
as pure superstition: false beliefs about cau- this makes every place they spend time
No man is an island.

P
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H
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M
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Y

-John Donne

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P
A
T
H
S

in happier and healthier. A +Harmony

Seeker tries to be sensitive to what the
environment wants and what their
own bodies want. Every action a
+Harmony Seeker takes, including what
they eat, what clothing they wear, when
they wake up in the morning, even how
they walk is designed to fit harmoniously
with the needs of their environments
and their bodies. They even try to think
harmonious thoughts that will put them
in the right mind-set to get along with
others.

+Harmony Seekers try to avoid perceiving

themselves as being in opposition against
any person or any thing. +Harmony
Seekers tend to think that the universe is
what game theorists (p.83) call a nonzero-sum game, that it is possible for
everyone to have what they need, and so
anyone who thinks they need to oppose
anyone else is mistaken. +Harmony
Seekers see almost every conflict as
an opportunity to make peace and for
everyone to be happy.

+Harmony Seekers dont find a need to

focus on abstract moral codes. There
is no need to reconcile selfishness with
altruism as they are rarely, if ever, at
odds. Being good is a practical, not a
moral matter. Only the ignorant think
they can make their own lives better by
hurting other beings.

This work-with-rather-than-against approach applies not just to people, but

to ones interactions with the physical
world. When swimming, the Seeker tries
to swim with the current and not against
it. When cutting, they try to cut with the
grain. When doing martial arts, they try to
use the momentum of the other fighters

In my country, in Japan, we have you

would call them mileage clubs. Its like a
sport. The object is to drive around and
see who can get the best gas mileage.
The trick to mileage is to make the engine
do as little work as possible. Find what
speeds and what acceleration the engine
does best, and do that. When you have
momentum, use your momentum. Maybe
the fact that I was raised Buddhist helped
me. You cant drive like you are boss of
everything, you drive like you are partner
of car. Somewhere along the way, I figured
out: this is how people should be to each
other. And then I realized something even
more important: I am the driver of me. My
body and my mind are the vehicle, and my
free-will is the driver, and although Im in
control I must be the partner, find out what
my me is saying it wants. Thats why, when
I was done with our clubs cross-country
tour of America, I said I didnt want to go
back. I could tell that my me wanted to
spend more time traveling around here,
meeting people, learning things.
-The Mileage Club Enthusiast

Thanking Your Knife

+Harmony Seekers can often be seen engaging in odd behaviors such as speaking to inanimate objects. They might, for
example, thank their knife for a job well
done after cutting something with it. One
might ask these Seekers do you really
believe that the knife contains an intelligence that understands what youre saying? Some will say yes, others will say
no, but all will agree that the important
thing is that thanking the knife cultivates,
in the mind of the thanker, a respect for
his or her tools which encourages carefulness and thoughtfulness, discourages
mistreatment of tools and helps the Seeker understand the tools capabilities and
weaknesses and which will, in the end,
benefit the Seeker.
In a similar vein, a monotheistic (Christian, Muslim, Jewish, etc.) Seeker on
the Path of +Harmony might say that it
is important to thank God, not because
God needs peoples thanks, but because
being thankful makes the thankers better
people.

An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.

-Mohandas K Gandhi

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punches and kicks to move the opponents around. The Taoist idea of striving for effortless action, working with
the way things are rather than the way
you want them to be, is especially appealing to +Harmony Seekers.
This is not to say that all +Harmony
Seekers are absolute pacifists. Some
believe there are times and situations
where force is the best option to
restore harmony, some dont. Yet
even those who do use force try to
use as little force as necessary to get
the job done.
Balance is an important concept on the
Path of +Harmony. There is nothing in
this world that is an unqualified good
such that any amount of it is desirable,
and there is little that is an unqualified
bad such that we should not want any
amount of it. Take selfishness, for
example. Too much selfishness can
cause people to do horrible things
to each other and make the world a
worse place. Yet if nobody had any
selfishness, people wouldnt take
care of themselves, or advocate for
themselves, and people would also
suffer. The more +Harmony Seekers
look, the more they find that things
are healthiest and best when kept in
balance. This is the opposite of the
viewpoint of fanatics, crusaders and
extremists, who believe the thing they
are fighting is an absolute evil.
The Path of +Harmony can be brought
to bear on the process of Seeking wisdom itself. Specifically, +Harmony
Seekers see apparently contradictory views and opinions as actually
compatible. Rather than trying to
prove that a belief is wrong, +Harmony Seekers try to find the ways in
which it is correct. Often they find
that people who are arguing are comparing apples to oranges, using the
same terms but meaning very different concepts.

Inter-Path Relationships
It can sometimes be hard to convince +Harmony
Seekers that there is a need for other Paths. To
+Harmony Seekers, peace, health, happiness
and prosperity should be every beings primary
goal and the Path of +Harmony is the easiest
and most effective way to achieve that goal.
+Harmony Seekers often consider themselves
at cross purposes with -Harmony Seekers.
-Harmony Seekers try to break communities
while +Harmony Seekers try to fix them. This
rivalry most likely goes back to the earliest
Seekers. The first Seekers were most likely a
tribal healer who used +Harmony principles
to keep the tribe and its members healthy and
a sorcerer who used -Harmony principles to
break taboos, hurt enemies and resist tribal
collectivism.
+Harmony Seekers see the Paths of +Feeling
and -Feeling as having some utility insomuch as
each can be used to avoid or redirect emotions
that would otherwise be disharmonious with
ones environment.
+Harmony Seekers find themselves more in
sync with -Thought than +Thought Seekers.
The rational solution to a problem is usually
one that creates another problem elsewhere
(like medicine that cures one symptom but
causes another) because reason and science
are best at dealing with simple systems with
predictable outcomes, not complex systems
where actions have unpredictable outcomes.
On the other hand, the intuitive problem solving
of -Thought is more likely to find a solution
that is harmonious on all levels. For their part,
those in the Path of +Thought often accuse
those in the Path of +Harmony of believing in
ridiculous and unfounded superstitions.

P
L
U
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H
A
R
M
O
N
Y

+Harmony Seekers tend to think that +Self

Seekers are too self-centered, too likely to
think of themselves as independent beings.
+Harmony seekers may or may not see the
point of the Path of -Self, depending on how
it is described to them (and -Self Seekers are
notorious for giving unhelpful answers to
questions about their Path).

129

Traditions

Challenges

Even though some of their believers have

engaged in violence in their names, the worlds
major religions all have admonitions to love
thy neighbor, turn the other cheek and
to generally engage in charity, forgiveness,
tolerance and peace, and so these religions
have all contributed to the Path of +Harmony.

Nothing teaches +Harmony as well as

practicing +Harmony. No game or hypothetical situation can teach +Harmony because none are as complicated as
the real world. Most +Harmony challenges are diagnostic challenges: the
student is presented with a situation of
disharmony and they have to figure out
what is causing the disharmony, whether it be as obscure as a pebble placed in
someones shoe or as blatant as a toxin
added to the water supply.

Buddhism has contributed to +Harmony with

its study of karma and emphasis on decreasing
suffering in the world. Taoism has contributed
with it emphasis on working with the world
around you rather than against it.

P
A
T
H
S

Sometimes the lesson is that the student

himself or herself is put into a state of
Many ancient and aboriginal cultures have disharmony and must find out how and
knowledge about how to live in harmony why and cure himself or herself.
with ones surroundings. This knowledge still
exists in traditions such as Shamanism, African
Syncretisms, Curanderismo and Native Recognizing
American Spirituality. There are also Western +Self Seekers tend to wear
traditions that see Western Culture as lacking comfortable clothing, usually natural
in this particular type of wisdom and hope to fabrics.
borrow it from other cultures. These include
the traditions of African American Culture, They tend towards soft, natural colors
Alternative Medicine, Neo-Paganism/Wicca, (greens, browns, oranges, etc.).
Anthropology, Feminism, Ethnic Studies and They seldom use clothing or makeup
Queer Studies.
to try to make themselves stand out.
Other traditions that have contributed to
+Harmony are Martial Arts (especially when
they teach non-violent self-defense as a viable
means to end conflict), Mathematics (when
chaos theory shows that one persons actions
in an environment can have a strong effect on
everyone else, and when game theory shows
that cooperation is almost always the best
strategy), Ordinary Life (with its emphasis on
getting along with those around you), Politics
(especially liberalism, with its emphasis on
being empathetic, altruistic, understanding
of other cultures and living in harmony with
the environment) and Psychology (especially
couples, family, organizational, or social skills
therapists, who specialize in helping people
get along with others).

They act kind, gentle and exceedingly

friendly, rarely ever getting angry or
confrontational.
They have the bodies of people who
eat healthily and treat themselves right.
They are fairly graceful. In particular
their movements seem easy, as if they
made it a habit not to overtax their
bodies.

View of Normals
Normal people, especially Westerners,
underestimate the degree to which they
are affected by their environments.
They see themselves as autonomous
individuals, rather than parts of a

That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah;
the rest is the explanation; go and learn.
-Talmud, Shabbat 31a

130

larger system. They pay little

attention to how their behavior
and actions affect those
around them. Many think
they can get ahead via selfish
or competitive behavior, but
the long-term results of their
actions will almost certainly be
unhappiness. Normal people
pay little attention to whats
good for them: they dont eat
what they should, they dont
sleep as they should, they
dont exercise or relax as much
as they should, they subject
themselves to emotional states
that damage their bodies
and they choose to live in
environments that are bound
to make them unhealthy. And
because they are insensitive
to their own needs, they are
also insensitive to the needs of
those they love and cant make
life better for those they most
want to help.

Path Plusses
Primary: +2 per level of
+Harmony to any AV to form,
repair or strengthen mutually
beneficial relationships between a PC and the PCs body,
other people and the environment. Examples: AVs to adapt
to the skills, habits, customs
and language of a community,
to blend in with ones environment, to make people feel
guilty for doing bad things to
you or to make friends.

P
L
U
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H
A
R
M
O
N
Y

Aided: +1 per level to any

AV which is aided by having
healthy/mutually
beneficial
relationships with a PCs environment, body or other people. Examples: AVs to move
through ones environment easily and without leaving traces,
to notice changes to a familiar
environment, to any medical or
psychotheraputic treatment.

131

 Combat: Add +1 per level of

+Harmony to combat rolls only when you
are unarmed and are trying to end combat
(or escape from combat) without anyone
getting badly hurt (Control or Exhaust
styles only).

P
A
T
H
S

Luck- The +Harmony Seeker is the

beneficiary of what some would call good
karma. So long as the PC has been acting
the part of a +Harmony Seeker, using his
or her abilities to increase health, happiness
and harmony, the PC can request a beneficial
happenstance from the GM. This could be,
Attributes: These are plusses from for instance, someone the PC has helped in
the PC acting in a way that maximizes his the past happening to show up in time to
or her own health.
offer some help to the PC. Or, the chain
of cause-and-effect may not be clear. A
At +Harmony (1): +1 END, +1 Hit
good thing just happens seemingly out of
Point, injuries are halved every 5 days.
nowhere. The nature of the occurrence is
At +Harmony (2): +2 END, +1 STH,
up to the discretion of the GM and may
+1 INL, injuries are halved every 4
not necessarily give the PC what he or she
days.
wants.
At +Harmony (3): +3 END, +1 STH, +1
PC can request 1 beneficial occurrence
INL, +1 AWR, +1 AGY, +3 Hit Points,
per level per of +Harmony each game
injuries are halved every 3 days.
session
At +Harmony (4): +4 END, +2 STH, +2
Profile Harmony Strengths: The
INL, +1 AWR, +1 AGY, +4 Hit Points,
PC can recognize when people have formed
injuries are halved every 2 days.
mutually beneficial relationships with, or
At +Harmony (5): +5 END, +2 STH,
are acting in harmony with, the people,
+2 INL, +2 AWR, +2 AGY, +5 Hit
animals and things around them that make
Points, injuries are halved every day.
those people stronger, healthier and safer.
Once the PC has sensed a strength he or
Path Abilities
she can try to enhance the strength or can
attempt to disrupt it.
Fix Harmony: When the PC finds
Easy (1): Sense the strengths of
a system that is out of harmony, the
someone the PC has known for a few
PC can work his or her way back to the
hours.
malfunctioning element(s) through a
combination of logical investigation (e.g.
Moderate (3): Sense the strengths of
asking people that their problems are,
someone the PC has talked to for 5
when they started, etc.) and intuition. After
minutes.
finding the source of the disharmony, the
Hard (5): Sense the strengths of
PC can determine what would be needed to
someone by observing them for
fix it. Difficulty is based on how obscure
5 minutes or rifling through their
the source of the disharmony is.
belongings.
Easy (1): Track crime and misfortune
Legendary (7): Sense the strengths of
in a town to an unresolved grudge
someone upon first seeing them.
between two citizens.
Moderate (3): Track high death rate
among birds in a forest back to a
diseased and insect-infested tree.
Hard (5): Track failure of a marriage
back to poor arch support in the
husbands shoe.

132

-Feeling
Principles

Avoiding the mistake of emotions means

much more than simply ignoring ones
emotions. Ignoring an emotion does not
deal with it. Ignored emotions can come
out in ways a person is unaware of. A bottled-up emotion typically remains, growing stronger and stronger until one slips
up and the emotion comes out. Instead,
-Feeling Seekers learn how to let go of
emotions, to release them without acting
on them. The highest level of -Feeling
practice is to learn how to not let external
stimuli prompt emotions in the first place.

The Path of -Feeling is predicated on

the belief that people are prejudiced by
their emotions in most of what they do
or think. Rather than logically coming
to conclusions about what is true or what
the best course of action is, people let
their emotions guide their decisions. For
instance, people believe ideas presented
by people they like and disbelieve those
presented by those they dislike. Although
people are aware of instances where they
have done stupid things because they gave
in to emotions, these instances are just the To illustrate: imagine someone walks up
to you and slaps you. One option is to
tip of the iceberg.
suppress the emotion, to sit there stewing in
In addition to making people do stupid rage but resist doing anything or showing
things, emotions can make people unhappy anger in any way. A better option would
by their very presence. Fear, anger, sadness, be to allow yourself to stop being angry.
etc. make people miserable because people The best option would be to not react in
dont have constructive outlets for those anger in the first place.
feelings.
Asceticism is a large part of how most
Most mental illnesses and self-destructive Seekers approach the Path of -Feeling.
habits can be traced back to fear. They are They learn to live with as little as they can
sometimes a direct manifestation of fear without becoming unhealthy. Their com(e.g. panic attacks), or more often they are forts are few or none and they experiment
the things people do to distract themselves with eating little, sleeping little, being cold
from fear. Fear even affects the nature of or hot, even breathing less. The purpose
pain. The same pain is much less bearable is not to punish themselves or make themwhen the person experiencing it thinks it selves unhappy. Ascetic -Feeling Seekers
will go on for hours than when they know consider themselves as content as anyone,
it will be over in a second. If not for fear, it if not more so. Instead, the idea is to winwould be much easier for people to handle now away all the false needs, all the things
we think we need to be happy and worry
hardship and discomfort.
about getting and work too hard to get and
So, to a -Feeling Seeker, the best way to also to conquer the minor and petty feelfind the truth, plot out the best course of ings (boredom, discomfort) that would
action and live life free from displeasure is otherwise make an ascetic unhappy.
to learn to not be affected by emotions.
-Feeling Seekers do not necessarily think
The first step, for most -Feeling Seekers is that emotions are bad. They generally
to learn to acknowledge their feelings but acknowledge that emotions such as love,
not let those feelings affect their rational hunger, humor, pleasure and fascination
decision making processes. This requires a are what make life worth living. Yet they
lot of self-examination, e.g. Am I making dont believe that their feelings about
this decision because its right, or because people and things exist outside of their
heads. When people allow themselves to
Im angry?
believe that their feelings about things and

M
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people are the true natures of those things

and people, thats when they start to make
terrible mistakes. -Feeling Seekers try to
cultivate a view of the universe as a cold,
meaningless, unfeeling conglomeration
of facts and data, onto which we
project our perceptions, judgments and
feelings.

Inter-Path Relations

P
A
T
H
S

Those on the Path of -Feeling usually

think those on the Path of +Feeling are
taking a foolish and dangerous approach
to controlling emotions, akin to trying
to control a fire by throwing sticks of
dynamite on it. Those on the Path of
+Feeling usually think those on the Path
of -Feeling are denying their inherent
power.

Traditions
Many of the worlds major religions have
contributed to the Path of -Feeling. The
monastic and mystical traditions of Judaism,
Christianity and Islam focus on trying to rid
the mind of all desires and emotions other than
the love of the creator. Buddhism emphasizes
extinguishing passions as part of the path of
enlightenment.
Other Traditions contribute to the Path of
-Feeling via their practicality, including the
Athletics and Military Traditions, where giving
in to feelings can lead to failure.

Many Traditions contribute to -Feeling by

taking a skeptical look at the role emotion plays
in human lives: Clowning (when humorists find
emotion at the root of many of the stupid things
people do), Psychology (from experimental
studies showing how emotions and desires
prejudice peoples rational minds), and from
The Path of -Feeling finds kinship
the skepticism inherent in Anthropology/
with the Path of -Thought in that the Sociology and in Science in general.
meditation techniques which allow one to
stop thinking are similar to those which Other paths that have contributed to the Path
allow one to let go of emotions. -Feeling of -Feeling are Freemasonry (because of
also shares kinship with +Thought in its emphasis on doing whats right despite
that both seek an unbiased, logical view fear), Mysticism (because of the emphasis on
of the universe.
asceticism and giving up all feelings other than
divine love), Conservativism (with its values
Sometimes -Feeling and -Harmony find of self-sufficiency, rationality, competitiveness
their Paths help each other: not belonging and leadership) and Shamanism (because of the
to a group makes it easier to have fewer arduous and painful rituals shamans endure).
feelings and vice versa. Those on the Path
of +Harmony, though, often see the Path Challenges
of -Feeling (like the Path of -Harmony)
as an exercise of little practical value.
Many -Feeling challenges, like +Self challenges,
are trials of pain and endurance. Others involve
Those on the Path of +Self sometimes resisting other incitements to emotion, e.g.
feel that their strength makes them resisting a deliberate attempt to piss the Seeker
immune to emotions, and this can lead off or seduce the Seeker. Sometimes the
to the Path of -Feeling. The asceticism challenge is to solve some puzzle that requires
of -Feeling can lead to the Path of -Self logical thinking in circumstances designed to
if giving up physical comforts leads to evoke emotion (e.g. in a room that is on fire, or
on top of a pile of rotting bodies, in the mosh
giving up the comforts of identity.
pit at a rock concert).
If I take death into my life, acknowledge it, and face it squarely,
I will free myself from the anxiety of death and the pettiness of life and only then will I be free to become myself.
-Martin Heidegger

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Recognizing
Many -Feeling Seekers, due to an
ascetic lifestyle, are skinny, yet are
healthy and strong.
They typically have slack,
emotionless faces. If they show any
expression at all its determination
or thoughtfulness.
Often have weather-beaten skin.
They usually choose clothes for
their durability rather than comfort
or style, e.g. a leather vest and blue
jeans.
Dress as if theyre not concerned
about being too cold or too hot.
View of Normals
Despite the evolution of rational
minds, humans are still ruled by a
set of primitive, instinctual drives
(fear, anger, pride, guilt, pain, desire,
etc.) that are more appropriate for
guiding the behavior of a dog than
an intelligent, rational being. These
emotions can become quite easily
invested in things they shouldnt
be: we hate people we have no good
reason to, want things we dont need,
have fears that are out of proportion
to the actual danger, feel guilt for
things that arent actually unethical,
etc. Normal people come to believe
the emotions they have invested in
ideas, actions, people and things are
actually the truth about these ideas,
actions, people and things.

M
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Whats worse, normal people dont

even notice many of the emotions
they have, much less how much
those emotions are prejudicing their
perceptions and decisions.
The
average person is constantly making
bad decisions due to the influence of
emotions. When they consciously
act on their emotions they do stupid
things and when they unconsciously
act on them they dont even realize
that theyve made stupid decisions.

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Path Plusses

P
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Primary: Add +2 per level of

-Feeling to AVs to avoid acting on or
being prejudiced by emotions or feelings.
Examples: AVs to avoid having ones
emotions be read, to resist unwanted
effects of psychoactive drugs, to save vs. Profile Feeling Weaknesses: A
emotions, pain or nausea.
PC can sense when a persons emotions
and feelings are likely to make them think
Secondary: Add +1 per level of and act illogically. Once a weakness is
-Feeling to AVs that can be aided by sensed the PC can try to exploit it or can
having a dispassionate attitude or outlook try to make the person aware of it so that
or by having a well-rested mind (one the person can attempt to think rationally
not tired from harmful or unnecessary despite it. The difficulty is based on how
emotions). Examples: rolls for logical much contact the PC has had with the
problem solving.
person.
Easy (1): Sense the weaknesses of
Combat: Add +1 per level of -Feeling
someone the PC has known for a few
to combat AVs only when the opponent is
hours.
attacking because of an irrational emotion
Moderate (3): Sense the weaknesses
(anger or fear) and the PC can keep a level
of someone the PC has talked to for
head (Control or Exhaust styles only).
5 minutes.
Hard (5): Sense the weaknesses
Attributes: By having a well rested
of someone by observing them for
mind, a mind not distracted by unwanted
5 minutes or rifling through their
feelings, the PC has more mental resources
belongings.
to devote to other activities:
Legendary (7): Sense the weaknesses
At -Feeling (1): No plusses
of someone upon first seeing them.
At -Feeling (2): +1 INL
At -Feeling (3): +1 INL, +1 AWR
Survive on Little: By giving his or
her
body the least it needs to survive on,
At -Feeling (4): +2 INL, +1 AWR
the PC has adapted himself or herself to be
At -Feeling (5): +2 INL, +1 AWR,
more efficient and survive on less. Note that
+1 END
a successful roll means the PC can survive

Path Abilities
Absorb Emotions: By remaining
calm and refusing to react to other
peoples emotional expression, even on an
unconscious body-language level, the PC
can reduce the strength of other peoples
emotions. This skill doesnt work when
the PC himself or herself is the cause of
the emotion (the PC must be a third party)
or where the person is hiding an emotion
(he to she must be openly expressing it).
Easy (1): Give another person +1 vs.
emotion.

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Moderate (3): Give another person

+2 vs. emotion.
Hard (5): Give another person +3 vs.
emotion.
Legendary (7): Give another person
+4 vs. emotion.

and function, but doesnt necessarily means

the PC can function without penalty.
Easy (1): Survive without sleep for a
week -or- survive without breathing
for 5 minutes.
Moderate (3): Survive without
food for a week -or- survive without
breathing for 10 minutes.
Hard (5): Survive without water for
a week -or- survive without breathing
for 20 minutes.
Legendary (7): Survive at 0 Hit
Points for an hour -or- survive without
breathing for 40 minutes.

+Feeling
Principles
To +Feeling Seekers, emotions, feelings
and drives cannot be avoided because
they are the engines that drive our lives.
A completely passionless person would
just sit there until he or she died of thirst.
It is a fallacy to think that a person could
discover some purely logical reason to
exist. If we are machines then emotion
is the fuel that drives us in everything
we do, from our basest to our loftiest
achievements.
Each emotional state puts humans into
the best psychological and physiological
state to deal with the situation at hand.
Fear, for instance, makes out bodies and
minds ready to react quickly and to flee.
Yet people have little consciousness of
or control over their emotions. Most
people are aware of emotions only
after they react to them, as multiple
psychological studies (including those
involving temporary paralysis of facial
muscles) have shown.

Emotion is not just the fuel of the mind. It

can also fuel the body. Strong emotions can
drive humans to feats of strength, can make
a person virtually immune to pain, can help
people overcome physical impairments, etc.
Of the incredible physical feats people have
done, from mothers lifting cars off of children to Appalachian snake handlers surviving snake bites and drinking strychnine, all
happen in a state of heightened emotional
arousal where emotion has ramped up the
sympathetic nervous system to its highest
degree.
Seekers on the Path of +Feeling learn to
be more aware of their emotions and to
strengthen their emotions by focusing
attention on them. They also learn what
things they can expose themselves to that
will provoke emotion, and how to transmute
emotions into each other and to channel them
into physical and psychological power.

+Feeling Seekers pay close attention to the

world around them. They typically consider
emotions and aesthetic experience to be part
of the same thing. For example, a sunset is
not beautiful in the absence of an observer,
it is only beautiful when it excites emotions
The vocabulary for describing emotions in the observer. Thus, by exploring the
is woefully inadequate. Its like trying sights, sounds, tastes, smells and physical
to describe the entire palate of possible sensations of the physical world, +Feeling
colors using only the words white, Seekers are exploring their own emotional
black, red, green, and blue.
landscapes.
Emotions cannot be eliminated but
they can be changed. Anger, fear, lust,
despair and euphoria are very similar
in the parts of the brain they light up.
One can be easily misinterpreted as, or
redirected into, the other. Each is a form
of energy, a stimulation of the brain
which can propel people to doing great
actions.
Emotion is the great motivator. If channeled correctly, it can help humans overcome their psychological weaknesses.
Emotions can even be used against each
other. Anger can overcome fear, love
can overcome anger, etc.

+Feeling Seekers do not fear intense

emotions nor intense experiences. They want
to experience, enjoy and savor everything
to the fullest, from sex, to a painting, to a
thunderstorm, to a barroom brawl. Their
feelings in all these circumstances are
intense and can be channeled to do great
things.

P
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+Feeling Seekers may call themselves

hedonists, but they are not stereotypical
hedonists. They are able to enjoy a long
walk alone in the desert, or a hard days
work, or visiting elderly shut-ins, as much
as they enjoy pleasures such as wine, sex or
gourmet food.

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I have lived too long with cautious thinking. Now I will make myself mad.
-Rumi

Some +Feeling Seekers dont believe

drugs have any place in their Path. Others
believe that, like anything else, drugs can
be useful and enjoyable for the feelings
they provoke. Those +Feeling Seekers
who dabble in drugs learn to control
the drug experience, rather than letting
the drugs control them. By focusing on
the effects of a drug they want, they can
enhance those effects. Thus, they typically
need to use only small doses.

Inter-Path Relations

P
A
T
H
S

them. Yet +Feeling Seekers worry that the

Path of +Harmony leads one to try to blunt
important other emotions (e.g. anger, lust,
jealousy) just because they are antisocial.
Instead, they agree more with the -Harmony
idea that antisocial feelings can be good.

Traditions
One of the biggest contributors to the Path
of +Feeling today is Art, which is predicated
on the awareness of and channeling of
feeling. Similarly, Sex, and the attempt to
get the most out of it one can, contributes
to +Feeling. The tradition of Hippies, with
its emphasis on art, creativity, free love
and self-expression, also contributes to
+Feeling.

The Path of +Feeling shares the most with

the Path of +Self. Both channel internal
power into physical and psychological
strength and both have a focus on feeling
good about who you are and what youre
doing.
Shamanism and Occultism/Magick contribute to +Feeling with their emphasis on
The Paths of -Self, -Harmony and -Feeling channeling ecstasy and passion as a tool to
are often thought of by +Feeling Seekers achieve greater power.
as unnecessarily trying to deprive yourself
of something which is rightfully yours. Feminism, Ethnic Studies and Queer Studies
Seekers of these Paths tend to be, to some can contribute to +Feeling with their study
degree, ascetics and +Feeling Seekers of peoples subjective (rather than objective)
always feel sorry for ascetics.
truths. Psychology contributes to +Feeling,
primarily the styles and sub-disciplines of
+Feeling Seekers agree with -Thought clinical psychology and gestalt psychology,
Seekers that thought is overrated and where it is believed that being conscious
thoughts that make people unhappy should of and voicing ones feelings is the key to
be dropped. On the other hand, +Feeling health and happiness.
Seekers tend to see +Thought Seekers
as a bunch of people who are deluding Among Judaism, Christianity and Islam,
themselves into thinking that thoughts certain subgroups contribute to +Feeling
and ideas have any importance beyond the by emphasizing passion (e.g. Southern
degree they contribute to human pleasure. Protestantism with their joyful and raucous
services, Sufism with their ecstatic dancing).
+Feeling and +Harmony Seekers agree In Buddhism, the concept in tantric
that the best way to get along with people Buddhism that one emotion can conquer
is to cultivate love and compassion for another (e.g. love conquering hate), and
Le coeur a ses raisons que la raison ne connat pas.
(The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of.)
-Blaise Pascal

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in particular the use of sex to

try to achieve enlightenment,
contributes to +Feeling.

Recognizing
+Feeling Seekers often dress
provocatively.
As music can be useful in
prompting a wide range of
emotions, many carry portable
music players or musical
instruments with them.
Have a strong and very
expressive sense of personal
style. They tend towards outfits,
hairstyles and colors that can
be described as intense.
They have very expressive
faces.
They are always
showing some emotion, be it
joy, anger, curiosity, etc.
While most other Seekers
tend towards utilitarian style,
+Feeling Seekers ornament
themselves with beautiful
or evocative things (tattoos,
makeup, jewelry, etc.)
View of Normals
Normal people have no
appreciation for the many
different shades of feeling
they experience. They try to
ignore emotions, which only
causes those emotions to build
up until they are released in
a self-destructive way. They
fear and thus shy away from
anything which will cause
intense emotions, preferring
bland things. They spend much
of their time trying to avoid
feeling emotions like stress,
worry, loneliness, tiredness
and so they numb themselves
with banal pleasures such as
channel surfing, overeating,
drinking, playing trance-

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There Are No Bad Emotions

Evolutionary psychologists are just
starting to realize what +Feeling
Seekers have known for millennia:
that every emotion is useful in the
right circumstances. Every emotion
changes a persons physiological
state and state of conscious to
best survive or take advantage of
the current situation. Yet when
emotions turn on at the wrong time
they cause problems, just as the
immune system turning on at the
wrong time causes allergies and
other auto-immune symptoms.

P
A
T
H
S

Take depression: for many people

in the world, for whom having
food every day is not guaranteed,
depression is triggered by famine.
It lowers the bodys metabolism so
that the body requires less calories
to live. It also puts the mind in a
highly introspective state, the better
to analyze and re-analyze the current
problem, looking for any potential
solution.
Anger helps one fight, fear helps one
run, hunger helps one seek out food,
etc. These emotions are healthy
when they are prompted by real
things and when people are allowed
to respond to them in a meaningful
way.
+Feeling Seekers often come to
a very +Harmony conclusion:
that if people were to live a more
natural lifestyle, one not completely
insulated from the dangers and
challenges that our ancestors faced,
that our emotions would never seem
inappropriate, fruitless or harmful,
but would always be helpful. It is
not difficult for +Feeling Seekers to
find such a lifestyle, one with actual
fighting, actual danger to flee from,
actual hunger, etc.

inducing videogames, etc. This clumsy dulling

of emotions prevents negative emotions from
effecting useful change and prevents positive
emotions from being fully enjoyed.
Normal people are so oriented to goals that they
forget to enjoy what they experience. When
they finally achieve what they want, they have
forgotten how to enjoy it, so all they have left
is to go on to trying to achieve the next thing.
They are weak because emotion drives everything they do, yet they have little control over
the sources of and flow of those emotions.

Path Plusses
Primary: Add +2 per level of +Feeling to
AVs to recognize, enhance, or communicate
ones emotions. Examples: AVs to make others
feel your emotions, to enhance the psychoactive effects of drugs on the PC, to seduce.
Aided: Add +1 per level of +Feeling to
AVs that can be aided by having high levels
of passion or strong knowledge of ones own
passions. Examples: AVs to persuade others,
to sense the emotions of others or to determine
things about a creator of a piece of artwork by
observing that art.
Combat: Add +1 per level to combat rolls
only when the PC is so angry that he or she flies
into a rage and cannot control his or her actions
(Control or Ruin styles only).

Path Abilities
Channeling: The PC can channel strong
emotions into willpower and physical energy,
giving plusses that last about one hour. The
easiest emotions to channel are intense anger
or intense fear. At a higher difficulty (+1) the
PC can use intense sadness or lust. At an even
higher difficulty (+2) the PC can use appreciation of something intensely beautiful (perhaps

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all
true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer
pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.
-Albert Einstein

140

a painting, a piece of music, a naked

person, a natural scene, etc. based on
the PCs tastes). Appreciation of a
thing can only be done one time (e.g.
you can only Channel the appreciation
of a song on ones MP3 player once),
because such appreciation is invariably
less intense the next time one goes to
appreciate it. These plusses cannot be
added to the Combat plusses from being in a rage.
Easy (1): +1 STH, +1 WIL, +1
END, +1 Hit Point
Moderate (3): +2 STH, +2 WIL,
+2 END, +2 Hit Points
Hard (5): +3 STH, +3 WIL, +3
END, +3 Hit Points
Legendary (7): +4 STH, +4 WIL,
+4 END, +4 Hit Points
Gut Intuition: By paying attention
to his or her feelings, the PC can gain
access to important information that
the PC wouldnt otherwise have been
conscious of. All information is in the
form of feelings (e.g. sudden dislike
of a person, fear of a door, etc.). This
skill is especially useful for finding
out about the feelings and intentions
of other people (because emotions are
communicated between people in a way
few are conscious of). For instance,
a feeling of wariness about a person
probably means that the person secretly
wants to hurt the PC. Difficulty is based
on how obscure the human emotions in
the equation are.
Easy (1): Have a gut feeling
about a person the PC just had a
conversation with.
Moderate (3): Have a gut feeling
about a person the PC just saw.
Hard (5): Have a gut feeling
about an inanimate object.
Legendary (7): Have a gut feeling
about something or someone the
PC has only heard about thirdhand.

Overpower Emotion: The PC can

cancel out an unwanted emotion by allowing
another emotion to take precedence in his or
her conscious mind. This can eliminate the
need for a save vs. emotion roll. However,
the PC must act upon the new emotion as if he
or she just failed a save against it. Example:
A huge bear is rushing at the PC, roaring, and
the GM requests a save vs. fear. The PC uses
this ability to cancel the fear by supplanting it
with anger. Yet the PC must now act as if he
or she has failed a save vs. anger.
At +Feeling (1): Cancel up to 3
difficulty save vs. emotion
At +Feeling (2): Cancel up to 6
difficulty save vs. emotion
At +Feeling (3): Cancel any save vs.
emotion
Profile Feeling Strengths: The PC
can sense when a person has emotions and
feelings that can provide him or her with
useful insights or can give them the energy and
willpower necessary to accomplish difficult
goals. The PC can sense, for example, that a
person has a gut feeling about a situation that
they should be listening to, or that a persons
anger could be harnessed as a useful element
for change. Once an emotional strength is
sensed the PC can try to distract the person
from noticing and using the strength or can
try to make the person aware of the strength
so he or she can take advantage of it. The
difficulty is based on how much contact the
PC has had with the person.
Easy (1): Sense the strengths of
someone the PC has known for a few
hours.

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Moderate (3): Sense the strengths of

someone the PC has talked to for 5
minutes.
Hard (5): Sense the strengths of
someone by observing them for
5 minutes or rifling through their
belongings.
Legendary (7): Sense the strengths of
someone upon first seeing them.

141

A young brunette woman in an orange

jumpsuit, her hands handcuffed in front of
her, ran low through the woods at night,
heading towards the town of Bremerton
Falls. The next day a middle aged woman
with long hair, an undyed cotton dress
and no shoes came walking up the road
toward Bremerton Falls, a peaceful and
happy expression on her face. Later that
day, a long haul trucker stopped at the
Bremerton Falls gas station and let out
a handsome African American man with
his hair cut short and wearing an army
jacket.

A
D
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S

Two nights later, the three walked out

of Bremerton Falls together. The young
womans handcuffs and orange jumpsuit
had been replaced with ill-fitting pants
and a black hoodie with the hood up.
The morning after they left, the leader
of the local Aryan Pride gang was found
naked and hog-tied outside of the local
grocery store. The words ignorant hate
monger were written on his belly with
magic marker. Several embarrassed
young white men were seen around town
trying to hide black eyes, missing teeth,
arms in slings or limps.
A young woman in a hoodie with her hair
freshly dyed red, a woman in a cotton
dress with no shoes, and a young man
with any army jacket and walking stick
walked into the town of Baines.
When the three left the town of Baines,
their clothes were dirty, they had various
scrapes and bruises, the barefoot woman
had a limp, and the man in the army jacket
needed a shave.
In their wake, the kids who had gotten lost
in the old coal mines had been returned
to their parents. They were dirty, bruised
and exhausted but otherwise unharmed.
The town council voted to put up a plaque
to commemorate and thank the mysterious
rescuers. A few in the town held the belief
that the rescuers were not humans but
three angels.
A barefoot woman, a young woman with
a hoodie and a man with an army jacket
were dropped off at the Golden Way
Ashram by an elderly couple in an RV.
Later that same day, a pudgy Hispanic

142

man with a polka-dot bow-tie came bicycling

up to the Ashram. His bicycle had hundreds
of toys glued to it and a sleeping bag in its
basket.
Five days later, the four left the ashram
together. The man with the bow tie was
walking his bicycle. The young woman with
the hoodie and the man with the army jacket
were holding hands. The barefoot womans
hair had been crudely hacked off and an
old blue snow jacket covered her torn dress.
There was a deep scowl on her face.
After they left, Guru Marakani left the
Ashram in disgrace. Many of the residents of
the Ashram dialed phone numbers of people
they had not spoken to in years, tearfully
asking for rides home. A minority decided
they would stay, that they could avoid Guru
Marakanis mistakes while keeping the
Ashrams goals alive.
Four strangers walked into the town of
Pine Creek: a man walking his bicycle with
a mangy brown dog in the basket, a young
woman in a hoodie holding hands with a man
in an army jacket and a middle-aged woman
with a fresh crew-cut and a brand-new, finely
tailored black suit, indigo blue undershirt,
silver earrings in the shape of Chinese
dragons, and a suave, self-confident smile.
Only three left Pine Creek. The man with the
bike and dog had a sad, downcast expression.
The woman with the black suit had bloodsoaked bandages covering her left eye-socket
and had her teeth gritted in pain. The young
woman with the hoodie walked ahead of the
rest, not looking back to see if they were
following, a look of rage on her face and a
salty crust from dried tears on her cheeks.
Smoke rose up behind them.
When the fires were finally extinguished,
more than half the town had been burned
down, including the cannery. Word leaked
out that the cannerys owners were declaring
bankruptcy and would not be rebuilding.
Most left the town, going elsewhere to find
work. Years later those ex-Pine Creek
residents would look back on their years in
Pine Creek as the worst of their lives and
would feel thankful that they were over.
continued next page

Chapter SIx
ADVENTURES

Typical Seeker Adventure

In Brief: PCs come to town, help people, leave town.

A prototypical Seeker adventure goes

something like this: A small group of Seekers,
who have decided to share the road with each
other for a while, are walking, hitchhiking,
driving, etc. and come across a small town
that none of them are familiar with. The
first challenge in the town is to ensure their
immediate physical needs (food, drink, a safe
place to stay) are met. The second challenge
is to figure out that someone (or everyone) in
the town needs their help. The third challenge
is to convince the people that need their help
to accept it. The fourth is to fix the problem,
whatever that is. An optional fifth goal is
to find some piece of wisdom hidden in the
town that can give extra XP to the finder.

For example: four wandering Seekers

come to Bloomgarden, a small remote
mountain town. They busy themselves
trying to find odd jobs to earn money for
food at the towns only restaurant and
to pay someone to give them a room for
the night. While eating at the restaurant,
a clue (the waitress sitting on the floor
behind the counter weeping) leads them
to discover what is going on in the town.
The restaurant is owned by a gay couple
and lately a local KKK group has been
terrorizing them: vandalizing their
property and threatening to commit arson
or kill them if they dont leave town.

If you want to learn something, go on a journey.

-old German saying
continued from previous page
Four people drove into the town of Lincoln
Pass. A young woman with a hoodie sat
in the back of the truck next to a man with
a bow tie who wad holding a dog. In the
passenger seat was a woman with a black
suit and dragon earrings and a black eye
patch. The driver was a woman dressed in
the attire of a cowgirl. In the corners of the
windows of the truck one could see remains
of intricate mathematical equations, written
in black grease pencil, that had survived a
cursory wiping of the windows.
Three people drove out of Lincoln Pass in
a truck: The cowgirl driving, and singing
along with a country music song on the
radio, the young woman with the hoodie
sitting next to her, clutching a reproduction
samurai sword, and the man with the polkadot bow-tie sitting in the back of the truck
with his bicycle and dog, chewing on a
grey-green peyote button.

In their wake, an FBI crime scene team

came to Lincoln Pass and ended up
exhuming 13 bodies from the McKitricks
basement. After them the reporters came,
TV trucks parked all around town and
reporters holding microphones prowled
the town looking for anyone willing to say
something like they seemed like a normal
family to me. The town had gained a new
citizen: a middle-aged woman with short
hair, only one eye and a snappy fashion
sense, who could occasionally be seen
wandering through the woods without
shoes on. She would marry the town sheriff
and would eventually become the towns
mayor, remembered long afterwards as the
wisest and best mayor the town ever had.

T
Y
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Somewhere, on some seemingly endless

highway, a truck drives on, its three riders
scanning the road ahead for a hitchhiker
in need of a ride or a good place to stop
and stretch their legs.

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The Seekers must convince the couple to

let them help, and specifically that the
PCs intervention wont just make things
worse. Once they have convinced the
couple to let them help, the Seekers must
find a way to make the KKK members
stop. Also, any Seeker on the Path of
-Self who speaks to the elderly mother of
one of the restaraunt owners will discover
she has some interesting ideas about selfhood that could inspire that PC, giving
an extra point of XP. Their work done,
the PCs leave.

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This formula works well because coming

to a new town each adventure makes it
possible for the GM to easily introduce
any new plot element. Having the PCs
leave town at the end of the adventure
means that the PCs cannot rely on whatever friendship, fame or worship they
have earned. The PCs are always around
new people and thus have to repeatedly
convince those around them that they
have the wisdom and ability to help. And,
finally, having it be a small town means a
limited number of actors, a small system
where the PCs actions can have immediate and strong effects.

How You Got Here:

Backstory
Rather than feeling they are being
railroaded into this particular
plot (being given an illusion of free
will, while in reality the GM will do
anything necessary to make sure the
PCs get to a given plot point), most
players prefer to be dropped right
into the action and told how they
got there. For example: Youre
all in a booth at the back of a dive
bar in the Bowery. A professional
criminal named Lefty has a map of
Manhattan spread out in front of
you and is pointing out mansions
he wants to you break into and steal
diamonds from. What follows is
how you got here and why, for the
moment at least, you are willing to
go along with his plan Players
complaints of my character
wouldnt have done that should be
taken in stride. A back story can be
altered on the fly to deal with those
sort of objections, and players are
usually happy to help GMs come up
with a character-consistent change
to a back story that still reaches the
same objective.

NPC Write-Up Elements

Seeker
Path Levels
Path Specialties
Path Focuses
Eccentricities
Psychological Strengths
& Weaknesses
Attributes, Skills,
Equipment

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

Mundane Advanced
Trapped
Prodigies Sorcerers
Humans Practitioners
Seeker
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
Sometimes
Yes
No
Usually
Yes
Sometimes
Rarely
No
Sometimes
No
No
No
Yes but* Sometimes

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

*An eccentricity is, by definition, something that the Seeker can change at will. For a trapped
Seeker, however, eccentricities often become laws that they live by.

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NPC Personality Strengths and Weaknesses

The following system is be used to rate Self Weaknesses- A low rating means
the personalities of non-Seeker NPCs in the NPC has few false or self-reinforcing
this book. This system is used primarily beliefs about himself or herself. A high
because it makes it easy for GMs to rating means the PC has many false
identify possible strengths and weaknesses beliefs about self or that his or her identity
that Seekers might find using the various gets in the way of rationality (e.g. a white
supremacist whose identity as white
Profile Path abilities.
causes him to adopt ridiculous beliefs).
Each rating is on a scale of 1 to 5, with the
Harmony Strengths- A low rating means
average person being 2 to 3.
the NPCs relationships with nature,
Having 1 in a weakness or 5 in a strength community and with his or her own body
means the NPC is very close (about as close are not strong and do not contribute much
as a normal person can get) to having a dot to the NPCs well being. A high rating
in either a -Path or +Path. For instance, means the NPC has strong, mutually
an NPC with 5 dots in Feeling Strengths beneficial relationships with his or her
is close to having 1 level in the Path of community, natural surroundings and
+Feeling.
body.
On an NPC profile, each strength and Harmony Weaknesses- A low rating
weakness rating should be followed by means the NPC is skeptical of the beliefs
a brief phrase describing that part of the of those around them and is not prone to
personality. E.g. an NPC with Feeling giving in to peer pressure. A high rating
Weaknesses OOO and Feeling Strengths means the NPC believes whatever the
OOO could have Grumpy and doesnt general consensus is and is very likely to
take shit, describing those stats.
give in to peer pressure.
A mentally ill person may potentially Feeling Strengths- A low rating means
go below one on Strengths or over 5 on the NPC has few emotions that motivate
Weaknesses. E.g. a paranoid schizophrenic him or her to achieve good things. A high
may have Thought Weaknesses of 6 and rating means that joy, curiosity, love,
Feeling Weaknesses of 6.
righteous indignation, etc. motivate the
Thought Strengths- A low rating means NPC to be a better person and do great
the NPC is not good at using his or her things.
mental resources, does not have many Feeling Weaknesses- A low rating means
ideas and does not try to use thoughts to the NPC is not often troubled by harmful
solve problems. A high rating means the emotions. A high rating means that the
NPC uses his or her mind a lot, actively NPCs thinking and behavior is often
cultivates ideas and tries to use them to skewed in self-destructive ways by anger,
solve problems.
fear, sadness or desire.
Thought Weaknesses- A low rating means The Personality Strengths and Weakthe NPC does not let ideas drown out feel- nesses system is not appropriate to use
ings, intuition and common sense. A high to describe Seekers because Seekers are
rating means the NPC is prone to over off the map: so far beyond the normal
thinking things, holding on to flawed ideas bounds of these measures that this system
and ignoring common sense and intuition.
cant accurately describe them.
Self Strengths- A low rating means the To create a random NPC, just use random
NPC doesnt have much he or she feels dice rolls (e.g. roll 1d6 and re-roll all
proud of or good about. A high rating sixes) to fill in the personally strengths
means the NPC is self-confident.
and weaknesses for an NPC).

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Other Adventure Types

In Brief: Seekers could end up in virtually any
situation.

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Although the prototypical adventure type described previously is easy to script and works
well, there is no reason not to do other types of
adventures, except for the limits of the GMs
imagination and the types of back-stories the
players will accept as having gotten them to this
point. If a GM want to have the PCs taking up
the job of cat-burglars stealing diamonds from
the mansions of 5th Avenue Manhattan billionaires, the GM merely has to come up with
a backstory where doing so makes sense to the
players.
GMs should feel free to put a group of Seekers
in any situation the GM thinks might be
interesting: lost in the wilderness, pursued by
a hungry man-eating bear; solving a murder
mystery at a medieval reenactment groups
weekend camping event; dealing with a
hostage crisis where columbine-style shooters
have taken over a high school; in a cuttingedge multiplayer virtual reality game trying
to find a secret left there by the games late
head-designer, etc. Even those plots that have
become clich in other genres can become
interesting in Seeker because of the non-clich
ways Seekers can come up with to deal with
these scenarios based on their philosophical
viewpoints.

Communities
What follows are the types of communities
that Seekers are likely to find in their travels
and what they are likely to find there.

Agricultural Towns
These are towns where the economy is driven
by farms and/or ranches. Most people live in
farmhouse or ranchhouses outside of town, but
drive into town for shopping or entertainment.
The town likely has a restaurant, a grocery, a
sheriffs office, a vets office, an auto-shop and
several feed and agricultural supply stores.

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Community Personality
Strengths and
Weaknesses
A community can have a psychological strengths and weaknesses
profile just like a person can. In
the case of a community, the ratings dont represent what goes
on in any one persons head, but
the common motivations (or lack
of motivations) that dominate
the community and the common
ideas (or lack of ideas) that dominate discourse, decision making
and the shared culture of the community.
Imagine sitting in on a town council meeting as the town gathers
to make some decision important
to the community: what voices
dominate the meeting, and what
do they advocate? If the majority
of the speakers advocate thinking
through issues, and the decisions
made benefit from such thought,
the community would have a high
Thought Strengths rating.
For a community, Thought
Strengths and Weaknesses represent the positive and negative role
that ideas play in the community.
Self Strengths and Weaknesses
represent the positive and negative
effects of identity, either community identity (e.g. this is a wellmannered town) or the individual
identities of community members.
Harmony strengths and weaknesses represent how strong the bonds
of community and and community-culture are and how this helps
(strengths) or hurts (weaknesses)
community members. A town
where everyone helps out their
neighbors, for instance, would
have high Harmony Strengths. A
community dominated by a cult,
where everyone is brainwashed
to act, think and feel the same
way would have high Harmony
Weakness. Feeling Strengths and
Weaknesses represent the positive
and negative effects of emotion
on the community.

In some agricultural communities near the

border with Mexico, agricultural workers
(braceros) are brought in during
harvesting season to harvest crops. In
some towns these workers are not treated
well: paid less than minimum wage, kept
in barracks, charged exorbitant fees for
their food and rent and threatened or
beaten by handlers if they complain.

Families in mountain towns typically

survive by a mix of strategies: getting work
when available, getting government aid,
hunting and fishing, subsistence farming,
and trading (and, more recently, making
meth). Besides old hand-built wooden
houses and trailer homes, there is typically
a Post Office, a tiny schoolhouse and
one small store that sells groceries, guns,
hardware and bait.

Mining Towns
This is a community built around a mine or
mines. The majority of businesses support
miners and their families: stores, doctors
offices, restaurants, etc. Mining can be
dangerous and cause health problems,
so these towns can have more than their
share of widows and invalids. The bosses
of the mine (or mines) can hold inordinate
power over other members of the town.

Mill Towns
This is a town organized around a lumber
mill. These towns are located near logging
forests. The mill typically runs 24 hours a
day. Trucks and train loads of lumber and
sawdust are constantly moving out. Like
all company towns, supervisors, managers
and owners have inordinate power over
the life of the town.

Mountain Towns
These are small isolated towns, usually
poor. The residents are usually people
who have had ancestors living there for
generations, and have developed their
own unique culture. In the Appalachians,
in the Southeast, this culture is often
known as hillbilly. Mountain cultures
typically value religion, the land, animals
(e.g. hunting dogs), traditional music,
traditional arts-and-crafts and kinship ties.
People are expected to show allegiance to
their large extended families (occasionally
leading to feuds between families).

Marijuana Grow Operations

These are illegal farms growing marijuana. They often occur in the mountains and woods of Northern California
and Southern Oregon. There is usually a
greenhouse (disguised and camouflaged
so it will not be recognized by helicopters
flying overhead). These are technologically sophisticated operations: hydroponics, grow lights, chemical fertilizers. The
primary growers live in a nearby house
or mobile home, tending the crops and
guarding against theft by local criminals
and rival growers. During the harvest, locals are brought in by the dozens to help
clip and bag the marijuana buds. These
operations are far from any highway, hidden by woods, and traps are often placed
around them to discourage trespassers.

School Towns
Some schools (e.g. boarding schools,
small private colleges) serve as the
nucleus for small communities. The
schools are typically fairly old, with grand
old architecture. The students live in
dormitories on school grounds. Teachers
and school staff live in the surrounding
town. The school is the primary economy
of the town, and there are stores catering
to students: burger and pizza shops, record
stores, video game shops, ice cream
shops, etc. When the school is a college
or university, its library may have some
rare old books of interest to Seekers.

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Reservations/Rancherias

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These are places where the US government

put Native Americans after displacing
them from their land. They are usually
on land that nobody else wanted: remote
and with few exploitable natural resources
to serve as economic engines for the
communities. These communities often
suffer from high unemployment, high rates
of alcoholism and suicide, corrupt tribal
governments, substandard housing and a
trickle of Federal money financing barebones social services. In recent years,
however, many tribes have won the right
to open casinos. The casino is typically
a large, new, brightly decorated building
fronting the highway, containing a hotel,
casino, restaurant, offices, sometimes
even a convention center. Casino-owning
tribes have had an influx of money, often
used for housing, social services, hospitals,
community centers, schools, college
scholarships and native culture museums.
Although reservations generally benefit
from casinos, tribes may have skeletons in
their closet from the measures they had to
take (e.g. deals made with mafia-connected
gaming interests) to get their casinos.

Communes
During the 1960s, many young people left
their urban lives to try to start isolated,
self-sufficient communities based on
peace, love, cooperative living and being
in harmony with nature. Various waves of
environmentalism in the ensuing decades
(including off the grid in the 90s,
zero carbon footprint in the 00s) have
led to the creation of new communes.
Most communes disband within a few
years after their founding (usually from
internal political struggles, or from people
becoming disenchanted or burned out on
the lifestyle), but some last longer and
there are still communes scattered through
the countryside.
These communes
usually have a democratic or consensus
government, shared housing and other

resources, organic farming, home schooling

and the production of hand-made crafts
that are sold in nearby stores. Most in the
communes are friendly and altruistic. Yet,
as in any small community, one person with
a strong personality can accumulate power
and authority and then come to abuse that
power and authority.

Monasteries/Nunneries
Some monasteries and nunneries have
been built in remote places so the monks
and nuns can take advantage of peaceful,
simple living to better meditate on God
or enlightenment.
Most monasteries
and nunneries in the US belong to
Catholic orders (Franciscan, Benedictine,
Dominican, Augustinian, etc.), yet there are
also small Buddhist monasteries (especially
in the countryside of California, Oregon
and Washington, states with relatively high
Asian populations). Life in monasteries
and nunneries is usually a quiet daily
routine of praying, reading, contemplation,
gardening, cleaning and eating communal
meals. Some monks and nuns take up
periods of silence or solitude, yet this is
typically optional.
Some monasteries
and nunneries have a craft, handed down
through generations, that they use to
support themselves, e.g. bookbinding,
furniture making, wine making. Many
monasteries and nunneries have guest
houses or guest quarters that they rent out
(although monasteries only allow male
guests and nunneries only allow females).

Resort Towns
These are towns located in idyllic places
(by a lake or bay, by a beach, on an island,
by a ski slope, etc.) where the primary
economy is tourism. There are quaint
hotels and bed-and-breakfasts, restaurants
and gift shops. These towns usually have a
busy season, when the weather is nice and
the main street is bustling with tourists, and
an off season, when the streets are quiet.

Random Community
Community Disadvantages
Population
01-03: Trapped Seeker (3 levels
01-08: 50-200
in random Paths)
09-33: 200-500
04-07: Sorcerer (2 Specialties
34-68: 500-1,000
in a random Path)
69-93: 1,000-5,000
08-12: Prejudiced/Xenophobic
94-00: 5,000-20,000
Sheriff/Police Chief
13-16: Corrupt/Greedy Sheriff/
Community Type
Police Chief
01-18: Agricultural Town
17-21:
Megalomaniacal/Power19-25: Mining Town
Mad Sheriff/Police Chief
26-32: Mill Town
22-25: Incompetent Sheriff/
33-44: Mountain Town
Police Chief
45-52: School Town
26-29: Prejudiced/Xenophobic
53-60: Reservation/Rancheria
Doctor
61-62: Commune
30-33:
Corrupt/Greedy Doctor
63-64: Monastery
34-37:
Megalomaniacal/Power65-66: Nunnery
Mad Doctor
67-77: Resort Town
78-79: Simple Living Community 38-41: Incompetent Doctor
41-45: Prejudiced/Xenophobic Rich
80-89: Bedroom Town
Person/Business Leader
90-92: National/State Park
46-49: Corrupt/Greedy Rich
93-97: Military Base
Person/Business Leader
98-98: Cult Compound
50-53:
Megalomaniacal/Power99-00: Prison Town
Mad Religious Leader
54-56: Prejudiced/Xenophobic
Community Advantages
Religious Leader
01-05: Kind Sheriff/Police Chief
57-58:
Corrupt/Greedy
05-10: Wise Sheriff/Police Chief
Religious
Leader
11-16: Competent Sheriff/Police
59-62:
Stagnant
Economy
Chief
17-21: Kind Rich Person/Business 63-65: Failing Economy
66-69: Endemic Health
Leader
Problems
25-26: Wise Rich Person/Business
70-73: Demon: Nemesis
Leader
74-77: Demon: Feud
27-32: Competent Rich Person/
78-81: Demon: Xenophobia
Business Leader
82-85: Demon: Poverty
32-37: Prodigy
(2 levels in a random Path) 86-89: Hate Group
90-93: Racial Strife
38-42: Benevolent Ex-Seeker
(2 levels in random Paths) 94-97: Meth Lab
98-00: Marijuana Grow
43-47: Tradition Teacher
Operation
(random tradition)
48-52: Wise Elder(s)
Random Path
53-58: Kind Doctor
59-63: Wise Doctor
01-12: +Thought
64-68: Competent Doctor
12-25: -Thought
69-74: Booming Economy
26-37: +Harmony
75-79: Wise Religious Leader
38-50: -Harmony
80-84: Kind Religious Leader
51-62: +Self
85-89: Competent Religious Leader 63-75: -Self
90-95: Natural Beauty
76-87: +Feeling
96-00: Seeker-Crafted Item
88-00: -Feeling

Random Tradition
00-03: African American
Culture
04-04: African Syncretisms
05-07: Alternative Medicine
08-09: Anthropology/
Sociology
09-15: Art
16-17: Athletics
18-18: Body Modification
19-19: Brujeria
20-22: Buddhism
23-24: Clowning
25-25: Computer Science
26-27: Curanderismo
28-29: Existentialism
30-31: Feminism/Ethnic
Studies/Queer
Studies
32-33: Fictional Tradition
34-35: Freemasonry
36-40: Hippies
41-42: Kabbalah
43-44: Occultism/Magick
45-46: Martial Arts
47-47: Mathematics
48-48: Military
49-57: Monotheism:
Christianity
58-62: Monotheism:
Judaism
63-67: Monotheism: Islam
68-69: Monotheism: Other
70-71: Mysticism
72-74: Native American
Spirituality
75-76: Neo-Paganism/
Wicca
77-77: New Thought
78-80: Ordinary Life
81-83: Western Philosophy
84-84: Politics
85-87: Psychology
88-89: Science
90-90: Self-Help
91-92: Sex
93-95: Shamanism
96-97: Sufism
98-99: Taoism
00-00: Transcendentalism

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Bedroom Towns
These are places within a few hours drive
of a major urban area, populated mostly by
upper-middle and upper-class professionals
(and their spouses) willing to endure a long
commute in exchange for country living.
The houses are usually large and overlook
scenic views. There are large wooden
decks, pools, hot tubs, long driveways and
other trapping of expensive homes. There
is usually a small town center with a drug
store, an upscale grocery store, a restaurant
and a gas station.

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National/State Parks
These are large parks with lakes,
mountains and forests (including some
of the few old-growth forests left in the
country) maintained by State or Federal
governments. They have many of the
countrys most amazing natural wonders:
caves, hot spring, geysers, waterfalls, etc.
There is a steady influx of campers, hikers,
climbers and sightseers. Most parks have
campgrounds, hiking trails, several parkranger posts and sometimes lodges within
the park, as well as restaurants, gas stations,
gift shops and sprawling hotels outside the
park. Park rangers have a fair amount to
deal with, including lost or injured hikers,
animal attacks (including bears lured into
camps by the smell of food), poaching,
robbery (mostly from parked cars) and
sometimes even assaults (serial rapists
or murderers have decided that secluded
hiking trails are good places to grab
victims). Some State and National Parks
were, and still are, holy places to Native
Americans, who sometimes come to the
parks for ceremonies or to protest profane
uses of sacred places (e.g. climbing a
sacred mountain).

and visitors must be checked in. Military

personnel live together in barracks or with
their families in on-base housing. Near
to the base are restaurants and stores that
cater to the military personnel and their
families.

Cult Compounds
Many cult leaders move their cults to
the countryside, seeking to isolate their
members and keep cult activities away from
the prying eyes of outsiders. Depending
on the size of the cult, there may be one
large building (e.g. an old farmhouse) or
a compound of buildings surrounded by
chain-link fences and razor wire. Most
members donate their property and life
savings on joining the cult, providing for
much of the cults expenses. Often, cult
members engage in some craft to make
extra money for the cult. Cult leaders are
paranoid (often with good reason) and
instill paranoia in their people, meaning
security is always high in these compounds
and everyone is on the lookout for people
who dont belong. On the other hand,
cults usually want new members, and will
invite in visitors if when they think those
visitors can be inducted into the cult.

Prison Towns

Most prisons are located far from any

urban area. Small towns grow up around
prisons: housing for prison guards and staff
and their families, then stores, schools,
hospitals, etc. There is usually at least one
cheap hotel catering to people who have
travelled long distances to visit loved ones
in the prison. Prison breaks do happen
occasionally, and there is usually alarm
in the town until escapees are caught.
Although most prison guards are good
people, a few are sadists (drawn to the job
by the promise of power to hurt people)
Military Bases
and a few are turned mean by the stresses
Some military bases and training camps are of the job. These bad guards are not just
located in the countryside. The bases are a danger to prisoners but to community
typically surrounded by barbed-wire fences members as well.

Community by Population
Population 50-200
This is the smallest population that can
support anything that might be called a
town.
Commercial: No stores, offices or other
commercial properties. Residents must
travel to other communities or use mail order for shopping. If any commercial activity is going on, it is out of peoples homes.
Government: This is typically an unincorporated area without its own government.
The town is ruled by the county government. There is usually no Post Office, but
there is rural mail delivery from a nearby
Post Office. There may be a tiny school, or
kids may have to be bussed long distances
to a larger community to go to school. Law
enforcement is by county sheriffs whose
offices are in distant towns. Firefighters
are volunteers with no firehouse.
Population 200-500
Commercial: There is likely a general
store that sells groceries, sundries and
hardware. There are probably one or two
small churches. If an agricultural town,
there will be a feed store.
Government: An unincorporated area
ruled by the county. There is a small school.
County sheriffs act as law enforcement.
Volunteer firefighters may or may not have
a small firehouse.
Population 500-1,000
Commercial: A market, gas station, two
churches, a school, a gift or antique shop,
a coffee shop or small restaurant, a bar, a
laundromat and RV park.
Government: An unincorporated area.
Has a Post Office and a volunteer fire
department with a firehouse. There is an
elementary school and/or a high school.
There may or may not be a small sheriffs
substation (little more than a small shack
that county sheriffs use when they visit
the area). There is likely some sort
of community center used for parties,
meetings, etc. (perhaps a Grange Hall or
Elks Lodge).

Population 1,000-5,000
Commercial: Grocery store, drug store, a few
restaurants, one or two bars, a doctors office,
and some small stores including a clothing
store.
Government: Likely this is an incorporated
township with an (unpaid) town council. It has
a small police station with two or three officers.
There is a Post Office and a firehouse with
one full time fire chief and several part-time
firefighters. There is an elementary school and
high school. There is probably a small library.
Population 5,000-20,0000
This is about as big as a community can get
and still have a small town feel. These are
communities with significant economic engines
(a resort town, prison town, school town, etc.).
For some rural counties, a town of this size
would be the county seat.
Commercial: At least two grocery stores (a
normal one, and an upscale one with organic
products for wealthier residents), a drug store, a
movie theater, a handful of bars (catering to different clientele, including one which is popular
with, although not exclusive to, gays and lesbians), a small retail district with several small
shops of different kinds (clothing, antiques,
gifts, appliances), a record store, a video rental
store, an auto-parts store, an automotive shop,
several restaurants (ranging from fairly fancy
sit-down restaurants, to diners, to popular fastfood franchises), a hotel and bed-and-breakfast
(or several, if this is a tourist destination). There
are offices, such as for realtors, attorneys, and
medical offices. There may even be a small
urgent-care hospital. There is a retirement
home and a mortician. There is a local internet
service provider that also sells and repairs computers. Nearby the town may be a winery, a
historic ranch or farm (now turned into a tourist
attraction), an Indian casino, a small airfield or
an interpretive center for whatever the local
wilderness or nature preserve is.
Government: This is likely an incorporated city
with a city government and a full-time mayor.
There are several full-time police officers and
fire fighters. There is a chamber of commerce
and an office of social services. The town is
not large enough to have a courthouse (instead,
trials take place at the county courthouse).

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Simple Living Communities

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There are several Christian sects whose

members believe in simple, communal living, with restricted contact with the outside
world and restricted use of technology.
These sects are the Amish, Mennonites,
Hutterites, Moravians and a few small
sects of Quakers. These communities can
be found all over the rural US, but are most
commonly found in the northern prairies
of the US and Canada (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ohio, South Dakota, Montana and
especially Pennsylvania). The members
of these sects are mostly descended from
German or Swiss-German immigrants and
many speak unique dialects of German (although English is the most common language spoken in the home).

young people have cell phones and spend

their days text-messaging each other. Most
members of these communities will avail
themselves of modern medicine. Most in
these groups are not educated past the 8th
grade.

Their religions stress humility and so

members of these communities wear simple,
conservative clothes: black button-up shirts
and black pants held up by suspenders and
straw hats for men, plain dresses, black
aprons and bonnets for women, no makeup
or jewelry. They typically use horses and
buggies for transportation. Their homes
are simple and low-tech. Some meet in
a small, plain church, or else hold church
services in the houses of sect members.
They operate their own schools in oneroom school houses. Most property is
Simple living communities typically have owned communally and shared.
10-40 families and a population between 60
to 500 people. There are about a quarter- Most of these communities are agricultural
million Mennonites and a quarter-million or have small manufacturing operations
Amish in North America. Moravian, (run
as
small,
community-owned
Hutterite and Simple Quaker populations businesses). These communities have
are each at less than 100,000.
gained special legal status. They are
exempt from any draft, as their religions
The relationship of these communities forbid them from serving in any military
to technology is often misunderstood by in any capacity. They often do not have to
outsiders. They do not indiscriminately hate pay social security taxes (as their religions
or fear technology. Instead, they evaluate forbid them from collecting social security)
technology for the potential effect it might although they do pay other taxes.
have on their communities and family lives.
Technologies that might serve as status Each community has its rules of behavior,
symbols or cause pride or vanity (e.g. hair of what is not allowed in the community.
dye) are not allowed. Technologies that Those who break minor rules are typically
expose people to potentially harmful just reprimanded.
Those who break
influences from the outside world (e.g. major rules (e.g. murder) are typically
TV, radio) are not allowed. Labor saving excommunicated from the church, forced to
devices (e.g. washing machines, tractors) leave the community and then completely
are generally not allowed because labor shunned. Most times a person can come
is seen as a good things (both because it back if they sincerely repent.
is a humble, honest use of ones time, and
because it makes people dependent on Most of the simple-living sects are
the help of their families and neighbors). Anabaptists. They believe in an adult
Other technologies are allowed if they are conversion to Christianity and an adult
useful, and each community makes its own baptism. One is not a real member of
decisions along those lines. Take phones, the church until ones adulthood baptism.
for instance: some communities have a Nobody is forced to join the church, but
single communal phone for the community, those who do join the church and then fall
others keep cell phones in barns for calling away from it can, in some communities,
veterinarians in emergencies, in others face excommunication and shunning.

Some simple-living communities are

tolerant of some rule-breaking by young
people in the period between adolescence
and being baptized. They Amish call this
period rumspringa (running around).
Many young people find their mates
during this period. Different levels of
misbehavior are expected and tolerated in
each community. In the most extreme cases,
young people may leave their communities
during rumspringa, wear normal clothes,
drink, use drugs, have premarital sex, etc.
All romantic notions aside, the simple
living communities are not immune from
the problems of the modern world. There is
crime in these communities, and there have
been a few instances of drugs being sold
by and to members of these communities.
There have also been instances of members
of these communities selling illegal
agricultural products (e.g. selling whole
unpasteurized milk in states where such
milk is illegal and where a black market
has formed to get such milk to the city
dwellers who crave it).

Sincere Seekers of religious enlightenment

are welcomed in most of these communities.
These communities can be a good place
for Seekers to find teachers of -Self or
+Harmony.

Ghost Towns
Some towns are abandoned when the
primary source of money for the town (e.g.
a gold mine) dries up. Poorly maintained
country roads lead there. They are filled
mostly with abandoned buildings in
varying states of disrepair. Most ghost
towns are only partially abandoned.
They have a few people who refused to
leave, primarily retirees, who must drive
long distances to get things like groceries
and who have to fight to keep their basic
utilities going. Many young people from
surrounding communities travel to ghost
towns in order to explore, party and
vandalize.

Mundane Antagonists
Normal people are the most common
type of antagonist for a Seeker adventure.
Some common antagonists in small town
America would be:

KKK members, or members of other

hate groups (p.155), who will target
non-whites, Jews, homosexuals and
anyone else who challenges them.

Bad sheriffs, those who are corrupt,

racist or xenophobic. They will look
suspiciously on anyone new in town
and react violently to any threat to their
power.

Rural meth manufacturers, who

operate dangerous and toxic meth
labs out of shacks, trailers and mobile
homes. They work long hours, fueled
by their own product, manufacturing
methamphetamine from over-thecounter pharmaceuticals, guarding
their product and selling it. They,
and their helpers and suppliers in the
community who they pay with meth,
can become violent and paranoid from
prolonged meth use.

The rich owners of mines, lumber

mills, farms, etc. who have inordinate
power as the only employer in town.
They fear anyone who might encourage
workers to organize and demand fairer
treatment.

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The Roots of Violence: Wealth without work, Pleasure without conscience,

Knowledge without character, Commerce without morality, Science without humanity,
Worship without sacrifice, Politics without principles.
-Mohandas Gahndi

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Biker gangs, who traffic meth

from the rural labs where it is
manufactured to the various
urban sites where it is sold.
Biker gangs often have corrupt
law enforcement in their pocket, and are also often aligned
with hate groups. They use
intimidation and violence to
eliminate any perceived threat
to their highly-profitable operations.

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Cult leaders, who have moved

their followers to remote
mountain or countryside compounds to be away from real
or imagined enemies. Cult
leaders feel threatened by any
interlopers in their communities who do not recognize their
spiritual authority.
Criminals who seek the countryside for a secluded spot to
commit crimes, including:
poaching, dumping of pollution, hunting and fishing
where it is illegal or by means
that are illegal. There are also
serial killers who take victims
to secluded cabins to toy with
them before killing them.
Any megalomaniacal leader of a community. Having
unquestioned power over a
group of people has turned
many previously good people
into cruel and amoral dictators
who lash out against any perceived threat to their power.
This can happen even in communities as benign as a hippie
commune or a monastery.

The State of Racism in America Today

Overt racism, practiced openly, has become a rare
thing in most of the United States, even in isolated
rural communities. Yet prejudice need not be
practiced openly to effect peoples lives and racism
still exists in America. Some people practice secret
racism, treating non-whites unfairly (denying
them jobs, ruling against them in court cases, etc.)
without ever admitting that they are racist. There
are also many who, without meaning to be racist,
have come to believe racial stereotypes and let these
stereotypes influence their understanding of people.
They think Hispanics are lazy, African Americans
are ignorant and criminal, Native Americans are
drunkards, and they treat these groups according to
those stereotypes.
The effect of this racism, both knowingly and
unknowingly practiced, is that non-Whites are at a
significant disadvantage in economic, educational
and legal arenas. This helps keep poor non-white
communities poor, and keeps the upper reaches of
wealth and power a domain inhabited primarily by
white males.
There are many hate groups whose members will
openly, proudly, admit to being racist. Although
they are only a very small minority, they can have
a big effect. Hate groups will commit vandalism,
arson, assault, even murder when they think they
can get away with it. See next page for a list of
current hate groups. Many hate groups believe they
are persecuted or that a race war is coming and have
isolated, heavily-armed camps and compounds.
Significant instances of prejudice other than racism
can also be found in communities throughout the
US. This includes prejudice against homosexuals.
It includes prejudice against Muslims (or, more
generally, against any non-Christians). In some
communities, teens are assumed to all be criminals
and vandals and are harassed by the police and
others.
Undocumented immigrants, most of whom are from
Mexico, can face hatred and discrimination in many
parts of the US. This is most often found in the states
abutting Mexico. Many fear that undocumented
immigrants will take jobs away from American
citizens or that an uncontrolled influx of Mexicans
will damage American culture or sovereignty. Some
anti-illegal-immigrant groups even form militias to
patrol the border and try to catch those sneaking
across, using force if necessary.

Other Hate Groups

Although the KKK are the prototypical
hate group in rural America, they are only
a minority of hate groups today. Other
popular types of hate groups include:
White Nationalists: Use pseudo-scholarly
arguments to say that America can only
protect its identity and culture by protecting
its position as a White, Anglo, Englishspeaking nation.
Neo-Nazis: Have a youthful base and mostly
espouse the ideologies of the original Nazis:
Aryan supremacy, anti-Semitism, fascism
and violent conquest.

Christian Identity: Believe that White

Europeans, not Jews, are the Israelites
identified in the Bible as Gods chosen
people, and that the Armageddon prophesied in the Bible will be a race war.
Neo-Confederate Groups: Mostly found
in the South, generally think that the
South was in the right and should have
won the Civil War.
Racist Skinheads: Owe much of their
popularity to White prison gangs. Have a
relatively young base and are more likely
to be violent.

Supernormal Antagonists
Other Seekers
NPC Seekers can come into conflict with
PCs for a number of reasons: Some dont
have the same moral standards as PCs and
so will do things that the PCs will feel
compelled to oppose (see Evil Seekers,
p.54). Some NPC Seekers think (either
correctly or mistakenly) that the PCs are
doing things that need to be opposed.
Some Seekers may be dangerous when
in the grips of a Demon that has grown
particularly powerful. Some Seekers may
try to challenge PCs in an attempt to teach
the PCs or give the PCs an opportunity for
growth. Such challenges can be asked for
or unasked for, expected or unexpected.
Or NPC Seekers may create a challenge
for the PCs to test them, with the hopes of
becoming a student or just of learning more
about the PCs.

Trapped Seekers
These can be very dangerous, especially
those who have fallen into the trap of
believing they know everything. Such
Seekers have usually installed themselves
as gurus and have a community of loyal
followers to enforce their wills. Since they
think they know everything, they have
no problem making decisions for other

people, including PCs. For example:

a megalomaniacal trapped Seeker may
decide that a PC needs to go meditate
in a cave for a year in order to reach the
next step in enlightenment, whether the
PC wants to or not. Defeating a trapped
Seeker can help that Seeker escape that
trap and can leave the PCs with a valuable
ally. See p.62 for more.

Sorcerers
These are often dangerous because they
combine the abilities of Seekers with the
petty motives (greed, prejudice, anger,
fanaticism, sadism) of non-Seekers. A
Seeker may be encountered at the center
of a lineage of sorcerers. PCs may, for
instance, encounter a group of sorcerers
and trace them back to a trapped Seeker
who trains and controls them. Yet because
sorcerous skills are learned by rote, and
do not require wisdom or philosophical
insight, sorcerers can teach others and
create more sorcerers. Thus, sorcerers
can be dangerous because of their sheer
numbers. The only limit to the size of
sorcerous groups is that learning sorcerous
skills is difficult and often painful and not
everyone is willing to do what it takes to
gain that power. See p.66 for more.

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The Iglesias Family

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The Iglesias family are an eccentric, wealthy

and powerful family in Southern Texas, near
the border with Mexico. The family owns
farm and ranchlands that support a moderate
sized town (Rancho Vilegua). Those living
in the town (and the migrant workers from
Mexico, braceros that come to work during
harvest season) are extremely careful to
never displease nor offend members of the
Iglesias family. This deference is because
townspeople believe members of the Iglesias
family are brujos: practitioners of evil or
harmful magic. This is close to being true:
the family has sorcerous skills which it
passes down from generation to generation.
The Iglesias family is also in the grips of a
Demon that dooms each generation to incest,
madness, murder and suicide.
Rancho Vilegua- This is an unincorporated township with a normal population of a little
more than a thousand. The population doubles
during harvest season when migrant workers
from Mexico harvest fruit during the day and
sleep in simple wooden barracks at night.

Despite having no permanent law

enforcement presence, the rate of violent
crime and theft in Rancho Vilegua is
very low. Most avoid committing crimes
because they are afraid to do anything that
might anger the Iglesias family. Those
who cant help but make trouble (drunks,
mentally ill people, etc.) eventually come
to the attention of the Iglesias family
who order them to leave town. Mexican
gangs sometimes use Rancho Vilegua as
a waypoint for smuggling drugs (heroin,
meth, marijuana) into the United States,
but they are under strict orders not to sell
to anyone in the town. The only illicit
substance it the town is a small amount
of locally grown marijuana, but it doesnt
seem to cause any harm.
The towns major disadvantage is its
poverty. Ranch and agricultural workers
work long hours for very little pay, and
most of what they earn goes towards high
rents at Iglesias-owned apartments and
expensive groceries from the Iglesiasowned store. There is no real chance to
start a business or make a profit in the town
without a large amount of money (either
rent, for legal businesses, or kickbacks
for less legal ones) going to the Iglesias
family. Most everyone in the town is
just barely making ends meet. Outside
organizers have found the townsfolk too
frightened to try to start a union.

The town is located on a bend of a small river

that winds its way through local foothills.
The river provides water to the towns two
main industries: a huge cattle ranch and
large fruit fields, all owned by the Iglesias
family. The town has a small town center
with a Post Office, elementary school (high
schoolers are bussed to another town 20 miles
away), doctors office, fire house, grocery
and sundries store, library and a Catholic
church. The town is serviced by the county Family History- The Iglesias family
sheriffs office, who do not have a permanent was originally a Jewish family living in
substation here.
Spain. When the Spanish Inquisition
began, the family pretended to convert
The towns population is primarily of to Catholicism, becoming what religious
Mexican origin, although most have lived in historians call Crypto-Jews. In public
the US for generations and are thoroughly they acted like good Catholics: attending
bilingual. Most every one in the town works mass, baptizing their children, giving
for the Iglesias family, owes money to the
money to the Catholic church, but in
Iglesias family or is a family member of
private they learned Hebrew, studied the
someone who does.
Torah and performed abbreviated versions
The town is close enough to the border with of the rituals of Jewish life. Members
Mexico that illegal immigrants who have of the family were taught to think to
crossed the border in the middle of the night themselves I do not believe whenever
they performed a Catholic ritual.
often show up here.

The well-educated men of the Iglesias family became architects and master masons,
designing and building many of Spains
churches and cathedrals (thus the name Iglesias, meaning church). In the 18th Century,
a branch of the family moved to Mexico,
seeking wealth, power and independence in
the new world. They soon became a prominent and powerful Mexican family. It was
their status as crypto-Jews that made them
more open than Catholic families to learning from the natives who worked their lands.
From native shamans they learned herb
and medicine lore and -Harmony sorcerous
skills. These helped cement their power in
the New World. When the United States
took control of Texas, they were one of the
few Mexican families able to bargain with
American authorities to keep their lands.
The Iglesias Demon- In the mid-19th
century, a Demon infected the Iglesias family,
one that would cause the same tragedy to
play out in the Iglesias family generation
after generation.
Both physical deformities (albinism, congenital insensitivity to pain, reproductive
difficulties) and mental problems (propensity to paranoia, depression, problems with
addiction) run in the Iglesias family. In
addition, Iglesias family members grow
up knowing they are fundamentally different from, feared by and often despised by
people outside the family. Family members
are wealthy enough and powerful enough to
indulge their personal vices or eccentricities.
All of this tends to turn them into dysfunctional eccentrics who dont know how to get
along with normal people and thus spend
most of their time alone or in the company
of family members. Most either die early
(health problems or reckless behavior) or
live until old age as childless bachelors and
spinsters. The Iglesias family tree thus looks
more like a vine than a tree, with many stubby offshoots but one primary stalk leading
from one generation to the next.
In each generation, there is at least one male
who is born without any immediately obvious
physical or mental flaws and who grows
up knowing that he will be responsible for

taking care of, and eventually leading and

propagating the family. This responsibility
prompts the young man to find in himself
courage, charm and leadership abilities.
Even from a young age the young man
ends up having to take care of his siblings,
especially one brother or sister who has
more severe problems than the rest of the
family.
Then, as the young man destined to lead
the family is around adulthood, something
happens to his father: perhaps he is
murdered, commits a murder and is sent
to prison, perhaps he commits suicide or
accidentally ODs on drugs. The young
man must suddenly take over as head of
the family, becoming the new patriarch of
the family. There is no consideration of
choice in the matter: everyone in the family
believes that it is the young mans duty to
take over and run the family empire.
The other duty of the young man is to continue the family tree, so he feels compelled
to go out and find a wife, one cultured and
beautiful and strong of character enough to
fulfill her role as matriarch of the family,
but also one capable of understanding (or
at least adapting to) the familys eccentric
ways. The Patriarch thus selects a mate
not for their personal compatibility with
the Patriarch in mind, but with compatibility with the family in mind.
Being the Patriarch, especially starting
at such a young age, puts a tremendous
amount of stress on the young man.
There are family members having
legal, psychological, financial or health
problems. There is running the family
business. There is the task of keeping
the familys secrets and upholding its
reputation. There are terrible things the
Patriarch finds himself doing to protect
the familys power (e.g. having people
killed). There is a marriage that, loveless
or not, is rife with problems. And, perhaps
worst of all, there is the expectation that
the Patriarch never show weakness, never
ask for help, never falter.

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The Iglesias Family (continued)

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Altogether, these pressures tend to drive the

Patriarch into well-hidden self-destructive behaviors: alcoholism, drug abuse, compulsive
gambling, compulsive risk taking, even selfmutilation. The Patriarch is also troubled by
a feeling that his wife can never truly understand what it means to be an Iglesias, and this
idea prevents any true intimacy from forming
between the couple. Seeking the comfort of
true intimacy, as a relief from the pressures
he is under, the Patriarch seeks a secret sexual
liaison with a member of the Iglesias family,
usually a cousin, aunt or sister. The female
relative gives birth to a baby with severe developmental problems. This becomes yet
another skeleton in the family closet that the
Patriarch feels compelled to keep hidden.
Somewhere around his forties, the constant
stress and self-abuse finally does too much
damage to the Patriarchs psyche and he
begins to seriously self-destruct.
The
relationship between the Patriarch and his wife
is a common flash-point and most generations
of the family in the 19th and 20th centuries
have had the Patriarch kill the wife (and
later be executed by the state), the wife kill
the husband, or some sort of murder/suicide.
Thus the next cycle begins again with the next
young man taking over as Patriarch.

in a vague and distant higher power

and others are atheists. They do try to
keep the Sabbath (avoiding work or use
of technology from Friday evening to
Saturday evening). They learn to read
Hebrew, at least enough to read and recite
Torah passages. They hold bar mitzvahs
and bat mitzvahs (celebrations of reaching
adulthood), although in private rather
than public ceremonies. They observe,
although in an abbreviated or eccentric
form, major Jewish holidays and Jewish
observances for birth, marriage and
death.
For the most part they live the lifestyle
of upper class Texans. Insomuch as they
associate with people outside the family
it is with these wealthy Texans: at country
clubs, at ski lodges, at governors dinners,
at gala charity events, etc. Members of
the family do their best to act the part of
elite Texans, even if they feel no kinship
with them.

Iglesias family members also have a

penchant for long, exotic voyages. So
long as they must be alien to the people
around them, they want to be places
where they can be alien openly. This
might mean a voyage down the Amazon,
The Iglesias family do not know that there an extended sex tour of southeast Asia,
is something Seekers would call a Demon a safari in Africa with nothing but African
infecting them. They do know that the family porters for company, etc.
is rife with problems and some even call it
cursed. Yet each new Patriarch thinks he can Iglesias family members amuse themavoid the mistakes made by his father and selves with a variety of interests and
grandfather (even if some other part of him hobbies, mostly tending towards the unfears he cannot). Only the eldest in the family orthodox, dangerous or legally question(usually old aunts) have seen the cycle happen able. Taxidermy, homemade fireworks,
enough to know the eerie repetition of events, lion taming, making absinthe, collecting
and this they tend to keep to themselves (out antique pornography, corresponding with
of a fatalistic belief that there is no way to imprisoned serial killers, tattooing, cock
change things) except for the occasional fighting and illegal drag racing are all
hobbies that members of the family have
prophecy.
recently engaged in, some at as young an
Family Customs and Skills- age as 13.
Although once sincere (yet secret) Jews, the
elements of Judaism in the family have since Then there are what are usually referred to
been relegated to being just one of the many as the family arts: those traditions and
unusual beliefs and customs of the family. skills the family can trace back to their
They do not keep kosher. Some believe contact with native shamans centuries ago.
These are things that family members

are taught as soon as they are old enough

to keep a secret. First among the family
arts is an extensive knowledge of native
poisons, both plant based and animal based
(including rattlesnake venom and fire ant
toxin). Family members learn to grow,
cultivate and concentrate poisons, how to
handle them safely, how to apply them and
what their effects are. The remaining family
arts are what -Harmony Seekers would
recognize as sorcerous skills. Iglesias
family members learn how to resist exposure
to and effects from toxins (+2 to save vs.
toxins), to intimidate others by expressing
the alien elements of their psyches (+1 to
intimidation rolls), to disregard that which
normal people find creepy or disgusting
(+1 vs. creepiness/disgust), to make
surprise attacks that disregard rules of fair
play or human empathy (+1 to surprise
attacks using Kill or Ruin) and to make
small changes to peoples lives that end up
destabilizing the lives of them and everyone
around them (the -Harmony ability called
Sabotage Harmony, p.126). Iglesias family
members are taught to ingest live Fire Ants.
The toxin they produce when they bite a
persons insides cause an altered state of
consciousness which helps the Iglesias clan
focus on their -Harmony abilities.
Family Methods- For the most part,
the Iglesias clan avoids dealing with
outsiders. It is the family Patriarch who
does most of the interaction with outsiders,
mostly meeting with the supervisors who
run the ranch and fruit growing operations,
business contacts who buy meat and fruit,
community business owners and political
leaders.
In most cases, the familys
reputation is enough to keep people inline. When it isnt, a person is summoned
to the Iglesias mansion to meet with the
patriarch in his study. Coffee is offered and
the transgressors cup has a small amount
of poison in it, not enough to make the
person seriously ill, but enough to cause
confusion, anxiety, constricted breathing
and rapid heartbeat. The Patriarch calmly
explains the problem, all the while using his
-Harmony sorcerous ability to intimidate
the person with his alien-ness. Most come
away from such a meeting too frightened to
dare disobey the Patriarch.

In those rare cases where a person has

been met with, intimidated, but still goes
against the wishes of the Patriarch, the
family endeavors to make an example of
the person by ruining his or her life. If
an employee, the person is transferred to
a dangerous or unpleasant duty. Strange
artifacts indicative of brujeria (e.g. a
dead bird stuffed with rattlesnake heads
and broken glass) are left on the persons
doorstep in the middle of the night. The
family gathers information about the victim
(through interviews with acquaintances
and surveillance) trying to gain a picture
of how the persons life works and what
can be changed to disrupt that life (the
Sabotage Harmony ability). Poison is
applied to a persons clothes or food (the
family have access to employee lockers
and, since they are landlords to most town
residents, most apartments). The poison
is not meant to kill but to cause health
problems and psychological disturbances.
The victim gets sick and goes crazy, and
nobody in the community doubts why.
Pleas for mercy are ignored. The family
feels it must make an example, if only to
prevent the next instance of disobedience.
If the victim does not flee town, he or she
will be picked up on some dark night,
driven out into the desert, stripped of
identification and fed drugs that will cause
the victim to wander in a psychotic daze
and then die. Most victims die alone in the
desert and are never found.
The Iglesias Mansion- The Iglesias
mansion sits on a hilltop overlooking the
town. It was originally built in a Spanish
colonial style, built by the experienced cathedral architects of the family. It has high
walls made of whitewashed adobe bricks,
large ornately carved wooden doors, intricate masonry over the windows and a large
interior courtyard garden. Later, the house
was expanded with several tall wooden
Victorian-style towers with pointed roofs.
More recently, a garage, a large back porch
and a backyard pool have been added.

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The mansion was built with a large basement
with heavy wooden doors that can be barred
from within. Originally, family rituals were
held here, now it is mostly just storage for
more than a century of family artifacts.
At any given time there are around 10 to 15
Iglesias family members living the the house.
Others live elsewhere but come for visits,
staying in guest rooms (often with spouses).

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The Iglesias Family Today- The

current Patriarch of the family is Emiliano
Iglesias, a handsome, intense and notoriously
serious man in his late thirties. His wife is
Miriam Bechtel-Iglesias, a tall, beautiful,
brilliant botanist who, more than any other
Matriarch in living memory, has adapted
to the eccentric ways of the Iglesias clan.
They have three children (and another one
on the way). Carmine (15), Javier (12)
and Lilith (5) are famous as troublemakers
and pranksters. They are home-schooled (as
most Iglesias kids are) by their mother. They
spend most of the their days exploring the
house, exploring the grounds and performing
experiments. Javier, who is a healthy and
bright child, is assumed by most to be next
in line as leader of the family. Yet some have
noticed that Carmine is the natural leader of
the group and have wondered if she would
not be the best to take over.
Emilianos mother is in a mental institution,
where she has been since she murdered
Emilianos father. Emiliano has two older
brothers: Felipe spends most of his time in
prison (a consequence of using any drug
he can get a hold of and scamming people
out of money). Pedro lives in the Iglesias
mansion. He has congenital alopecia (lack
of hair), a stutter, has panic attacks at the
idea of interacting with non-Iglesias family
members, and likes to build bombs and blow
things up in the back yard.
Emiliano also has a younger sister, Carla, who
recently moved back to the house after a long
and traumatic divorce. She is shorter than her
siblings, slightly plump with a lazy eye. She
is known for her kindness and gentle nature,

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but also for engaging in long campaigns of

passive-aggressiveness, rumor starting and
metaphorical backstabbing against anyone
who angers her.
Emiliano also had a young half-brother,
Rafael, euphemistically called his cousin,
who is the result of an incestuous affair his
father had. Rafael is short, fat, has a bushy
beard and large underbite and moves with a
clumsy, shuffling limp. He is of subnormal
intelligence and when he gets stressed,
scared or overstimulated he is prone to
fits: screaming, throwing things, locking
himself in his room. Rafael and Emiliano
have always been very close. Emiliano has
been Rafaels protector, teacher and best
friend since a very young age. Emiliano
is the only one who can calm down Rafael
when he goes into a fit.
The eldest in the house is Estarla (79),
Emilianos grandmother. Estarla, although
quite physically healthy, has been growing
senile and often mistakes people for
people from her past. She mostly putters
around the house, rearranging things (she
thinks she is cleaning, but really is causing
clutter). When company is over, someone
is usually given the job of watching Estarla
and escorting her out of the room if she
mistakes the guest for family and starts
blurting out family secrets. For the most
part she is grumpy and cynical and not
afraid to tell off any member of the family.
She has seen the Demon run its course in
three generations and has taken to claiming
she can see the future and blurting out
prophecies at random moments.
Hestia (62) is Estarlas daughter and
Emilianos aunt.
She has digestive
problems which make her unable to eat
anything except the plainest food (she
usually takes meals in her room) and she is
very thin. Her hair is dyed black and kept
in a tight bun, she wears bright red lipstick,
dark eyeshadow, black dresses and tights.
Hestias main hobby, at the moment, is
picking up teenage boys from the town.

She especially enjoys helping boys lose their virginity.

She often gives the teens wine or marijuana. She
proffers these intoxicants not with the goal of lowering
their inhibitions or buying their affections (as many
would suppose), but with the hope of enhancing their
experiences.
The final family member living full-time in the house
is Armando (19), a cousin of Emiliano, who came to
live at the Iglesias house at age 13 after his parents
death. Emiliano is an albino, is painfully shy, and is
taking classes online, working towards a degree in
military history and tactics. His other hobby, also
online, is to pose as a doctor and give medical advice
on internet message boards.
There are other family members who do not live in the
Iglesias house, but come to visit often. Dante is an
antiquities dealer who travels all over the world and
maintains apartments in London and Hong Kong. He
often brings boyfriends when he comes to visit, which
everyone takes in stride except for grandma Estarla.

Enemies of the
Iglesias Family
Potential enemies that may
endanger the Iglesias family
include:
Cross border drug smugglers
who become dissatisfied with
their restrictive agreement
with the Iglesias family.
Labor organizers who
are trying to organize the
Rancho Vilegua agricultural
workers to stand up to the
family.
County sheriffs who are
tired of people from Rancho
Vilegua going missing and
being found later as nothing
but bleached bones in the
desert.

Tessa is a cousin of Emilianos who is married and

has two children. She comes to visit often, her family
sleeping in guest rooms. Her husband, Robert, who
thinks the family is creepy, is miserable for the
entirety of the visit and isnt afraid to let his wife
know.

Elite Texans, especially

those prejudiced against
Mexicans, who dont think
the Iglesias family belongs in
the circles of Texas wealthy
and powerful families.

Another cousin, Isabela, is a schoolteacher on the

Navajo reservation in Arizona. Her husband is a
Navajo medicine man. She has summers off and
she comes alone, spending most of her time drinking
cocktails and lounging in and by the pool.

Seekers who have perceived

the use of sorcerous abilities
by the family and have
decided to put a stop to it.

PCs and the Iglesias Family- There are

several ways the Iglesias family could be used in
an adventure. PCs venturing into Rancho Vilegua
and talking to residents there may see the Iglesias
family as a villain. PCs would perceive a family of
sorcerers keeping townspeople in fear and poverty and
destroying the lives of innocents. Such an adventure
might lead the PCs to confront the family.
Or, the PCs might meet and befriend a member of the
family. The less shy among Iglesias family members
enjoy meeting other eccentrics. This has been how
much new blood has been brought into the family. A
Seeker would be perceived as a homeless eccentric
with unusual beliefs and skills and the impulse would
be to invite them to the Iglesias mansion to stay.

Other eccentrics who the

family have invited into their
home, some of whom may
be dangerously mentally ill.
Carlas ex-husband, who
has glimpsed some of the
familys
darkness
and
blamed the failure of his
marriage on it.

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Yet, in the end, the familys most

dangerous enemy is the family
itself and the self-destructive
things the family Demon makes
family members do.
continued next page

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The Iglesias Family (continued)

Once there, PCs are likely to perceive the family as a
group of interesting potential teachers, but also as people
struggling and suffering under the grip of a powerful
Demon. The Iglesias family has enemies and if the family
comes under attack while PCs are guests the PCs may feel
compelled to defend the family.

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The truth is that the family are neither wholly evil nor wholly
innocent. In some ways they are kind and try to make the
world a better place. They certainly do a good job taking
care of the mentally and physically handicapped among their
family. They are also victims of a Demon that they do not
understand, one that drives them to do self-destructive and
harmful things they often do not want to do. And yet the
family also uses its abilities to hurt innocents and enforce
their economic dominance of and control over the lives of
the townspeople. They do this not because they have chosen
to be bad, but because they have not sought out other possible
ways of living.
Once PCs come to see the Iglesias family as more than just
villains to be fought or good people to be defended, the
greatest challenge would be to help break the curse that has
enslaved and defined the family for centuries.
Defeating the Demon- The Iglesias family is closer
than it has been in known memory to defeating the Demon
that has infected the family, mostly due to Miriam. She has
not been fully infected by the Demon and has not accepted
her role as suffering, neglected trophy wife. She knows bad
things are happening to her husbands mental health, and to
the health of her marriage, and she is willing to go to extreme
ends to save both.
The problem is that Emiliano refuses to talk to her, even
admit that there are issues. He also refuses to see any kind
of mundane therapist or marriage counselor, saying that
they wouldnt understand the family ways. She is not adept
enough at human psychology to figure out what is going on
in his head without his help. If she had a better knowledge of
what happened to previous Patriarchs, this might enlighten
her as to Emilianos state, but the sins and self-destructive
tendencies of previous Patriarchs are something nobody in
the family will speak about, at least not with her.
Nobody in the family understands that they are in the grip of
what a Seeker would call a Demon. They know the family
has problems, or is perhaps cursed, but do not realize it is
in the grip of something that manipulates their behaviors
and perceptions to perpetuate its own existence. If they
understood that, they might have some hope of fighting
back.

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The Iglesias
Demon
Abilities: Can make
those it infects feel different from regular people, making them roll
vs. social anxiety when
dealing with non-family
members. A failed save
vs. anxiety means the
character must flee the
interaction or seek some
anxiety reducer, e.g.
drugs, illicit sex, gambling. The Demon can
also roll to make others afraid of an infected
character. The Demon
can roll vs. the infected
persons will to prevent
that person from doing
anything that would be
contrary to the infected
persons customary role
in the family. The Demon
can also roll to cause incestuous impulses in the
infected.
Strengthened By: Family members making a
conscious decision to
avoid associating with
or stop associating with
non-family
members.
Also strengthened by
self-destructive behaviors (e.g. gambling, drug
use, reckless spending).
Weakened By: Being
accepted as themselves
by non-family members.
Ending a self-destructive
behavior.

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The Iglesias Family (continued)

Iglesias PCs

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To create a PC who is a member

of the Iglesias family, take the
following advantage, costing 3
Bonus Points:
PC can speak English and
Spanish fluently.
Free Poisons specialty of Traditional.
Choose 4 of the following
free skill specialties:
Combat: Kill
Combat: Ruin
Criminal: Underworld
Criminal: Trickery
Criminal: Theft
Tech: Hacking
Inv/Espionage: Military
Inv/Espionage: Crime Scene
Traditional: Traditional Medicine
Traditional: Tricks
PC starts with 7 additional
Equipment Points (due to family wealth).
PC has the Iglesias family as
a contact.
PC starts with the Iglesias
Family Demon (p.162) at 3
Power.
Choose two of the following
as free -Harmony specialties
(as per Sorcerous Skills, p.66):
Saving vs. toxins (+1)
Intimidation by being mysterious/alien (+1)
Dealing with creepy/disgusting (+1)
Combat plusses
Sabotage Harmony (p.126)
When around fellow family
members, the PC can buy additional specialties from this
list at a cost of 3 skill points (1
XP) each.
The PC also gains the free
-Harmony Focus: Ingesting
Fire Ants.

Emiliano Iglesias,
Patriarch of the Iglesias Clan
History- Emiliano grew up being told he would
someday be responsible for the family. This inspired
him to study hard (both in school and the family arts)
and find the courage to interact with people outside the
family. He also felt responsibility, from a very young
age, towards his cousin (secretly his half-brother)
Rafael. Defending Rafael was the cause of many fights,
which would have gotten him kicked out of school had
he not been an Iglesias.
After high school, Emiliano went to a prestigious
private university on the east coast. He studied history
and joined the fencing team. He applied himself with
intensity, studying or doing fencing drills while his
friends were partying. He also met Miriam Bechtel,
a brilliant science student from a middle class Jewish
family, there on a scholarship. Emiliano immediately
recognized in Miriam the qualities he had been trained
to look for in a potential family Matriarch: beauty, social
skills, loyalty and strength of will. He courted her with
the same determination that he had for his schoolwork
and fencing and soon they were lovers. She was two
years his senior and graduated, moving on to a university
in California to get her PhD in botany. They continued
their relationship by remote, flying to visit with each
other on holidays. Emiliano was nearing his graduation
(in only three years, thanks to his heavy coursework)
and planned to indulge himself by staying on to earn
an advanced degree in history. Then, he got word that
his mother had gone insane, killed Emilianos father
and was in a mental hospital. Emiliano quit school and
came home to take care of his family.
After a few years as Iglesias Patriarch, Emiliano
convinced Miriam (who had just gotten her PhD) to
marry him and live with him as Iglesias Matriarch. She
soon became a valuable member of the family and they
had three children who they both care about deeply.
Yet the stresses of the family have weighed heavily on
Emiliano. He has started drinking heavily. He bought
a sports car and lately he has been taking it into the
foothills at night, speeding along the curving mountain
roads at nearly 200 MPH with the lights off. Miriam
has tried to get Emiliano to talk about the things that
are bothering him, but he found himself unable to talk
about them, no matter how hard he tried.
Most recently, Emilianos younger sister, Carla, has moved
back into the household after a messy divorce. Emiliano
and Carla were never especially close as children, but as
adults they found themselves drawn together.

Where he cannot talk about his

problems with his wife, he can
with his sister. He has lately
taken to working late in his study,
refusing to come to bed when
Miriam asks him to, and then
going to Carlas room late at night
to share a bottle of whiskey and
talk. Several times he has woken
up in her bed, having passed out
fully clothed. He worries about
the direction his relationship with
his sister is taking, but cannot
bring himself to stop.
Bonus Characteristics- Emiliano
has the Iglesias Family Demon
(p.162) at 5 Power.
Personality- Emiliano has always
been relied on by his family to
be strong. This has created a
sense of strength and purpose
within him, but also left him
with a feeling that his life is out
of control. His self-destructive
behaviors, his inability to talk to
his wife, his strange relationship
with his sister all seem to him to
be things he cannot change. He
loves his family, but also feels
burdened by them. Yet he also
has a prideful, arrogant sense
that Iglesias family members are
better than regular people and
that he would rather have a short,
unhappy life as an Iglesias than
live as a normal person. Emiliano
has never been cruel and does not
like to hurt people, but he feels
intensely protective of his family
and is willing to do terrible things
to other people to protect them.
Appearance- A handsome Hispanic man, of medium build,
appearing to be in his 40s. He
has salt and pepper hair cut short
and dark, intense eyes. When
conducting business he tends to
wear finely tailored suit jackets
over purple or maroon silk shirts.
When relaxing he likes to wear
black t-shirts and blue jeans.

Attributes- AGY OOOO, AWR OOO, CHM OOOOO,

END OOO, INL OOOO, SPD OO, STH OOO,
WIL OOOOO. 10 Hit Points.
Skills
Academic OOO Specialties: Humanities, Business &
Law
Athletic O
Specialties: Outdoors
Combat OOOO Specialty: Kill, Exhaust
Criminal O
Specialty: Underworld
Labor O
Specialty: Transport
People OO
Specialty: Social
Traditional O Specialty: Traditional Medicine
Equipment- Smart Phone, Laptop, Heavily Upgraded
Sports Car, Poison: Deadly, Poison: Debilitating, Poison: Knock Out, Hallucinogens, Deliriants.
Combat: Kill OOO (fencing sword with poisoned
blade)
Academic: Humanities OOO (library)
Academic: Business & Law OOO (library)
People: Social O (tailored wardrobe)
Paths
-Harmony: Zero

Specialties: Intimidate by being strange (+1),
combat plusses, Sabotage Harmony

Focuses: Ingesting fire ants
Personality Strengths & Weaknesses
Thought Strengths OOOO Weaknesses OOO
(An academic over-achiever who often gets trapped
in his own thoughts)
Weaknesses OOOOO
Self Strengths OOOO
(His perception of his duty to lead the family gives
him strength but also shackles him)
Harmony Strengths O
Weaknesses OOOO
(He feels responsibility for the many who depend
on him, yet he feels there is nobody he can depend
on)
Feeling Strengths OOO Weaknesses OOOO
(An intense, passionate man, yet one plagued by
stress, anxiety and loneliness)
Combat AVs
Kill 8*
Ruin 6*
Control 6 Exhaust 6
*+1 to no-holds-barred surprise attacks.
Emiliano has ingested fire ants.

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The Iglesias Family (continued)

Miriam Iglesias-Bechtel,
Matriarch of the Iglesias Clan

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History- Miriam grew up in an intelligent,

well-educated Jewish family. From a young
age, teachers remarked how brilliant she
was and she knew her intelligence would
someday take her great places. Although
a popular girl (smart, attractive, outgoing,
reasonably athletic) she never had long
lasting relationships. The boys (and later
young men) she met were either too stupid
or too cowardly to hold her interest. In
high school she focused on her studies and
won a scholarship to a prestigious private
university. After being there for a few
years she met Emiliano. He was reasonably
intelligent, attractive and he seemed to be
interested in things different than the other
college boys (although it was hard to tell
what those things were). She allowed
herself to be seduced by him. She found it a
relief to be known as Emilianos girlfriend:
for the first time in many years she didnt
have young men hitting on her all the time.
Miriam found she loved biology, and
plants in particular, and she earned her
undergraduate degree and then won a place
in one of the countrys best plant biology
PhD programs in California. Although she
didnt know if a long-range-relationship
would work, she was willing to give it a
try.
When Emilianos mother murdered his
father, Miriam was impressed, but also
worried, by Emilianos willingness to give
up school and take over as head of the
family. Even though they spent most of
their time apart, she perceived strengths and
deep motivations that had previously been
hidden from her. She loved Emiliano, but
he was also an interesting puzzle.
Upon receiving her doctorate, Miriam was all
set to do post-doctoral work in a prestigious
lab doing important research. Yet Emiliano
begged her to marry him and come with him
to the Iglesias mansion. He told her that he
needed her, and also that he would build her
a lab and that she could experiment on the
Iglesias fruit crop. Reluctantly she agreed.

At first, Miriam was shocked by the

family, but she viewed their strangeness
as an intellectual puzzle. Soon she not
only understood them, but came to care
about them. She even undertook to learn
the family arts and made significant
progress. She thus adapted to the family
faster than any other Matriarch in living
history, and this was a cause for quiet
optimism for some. Miriam gave birth
to three children and, forsaking her plans
to do research full time, endeavored to
raise them to be the best Iglesias family
members they could be.
Miriam knows enough about Iglesias
family history to know that Patriarchs
have severe personal problems and tend
to die early. Although the family doesnt
talk about it, Miriams biological training
has allowed her to discern the effects of
several generations of inbreeding. Lately,
Miriam has become concerned about the
psychological state of her husband, the
health of their marriage, and the strange
looks that pass between Emiliano and
his sister that seem to indicate a shared
secret. Miriam has resolved not to let her
marriage fail without a fight.
Personality- Miriam is intelligent,
self-confident, a believer in the value
of science and that any problem can be
solved with careful thought and hard
work. She is a little spoiled (having
been doted on by her parents) but most
of her achievements have been achieved
through her own efforts. She is not
naturally outgoing or socially facile, but
has learned to do well in social situations
by being sincere and attentive. She is an
atheist. Her intelligence and her beliefs
make her feel different from normal
people. When dealing with unpleasant
things (e.g. the thought of death) or
gross things (e.g. digging through cattle
feces looking for parasites) she goes into
a clinical mode, seeing everything as
cold facts. She likes nature because it is
interesting and complex and she enjoys
taking long walks in the desert, foothills
or along the river, either by herself or with
her children, observing nature.

Methods- Miriam has

several duties in the family. Being a gracious wife
at rich-people parties and
when people are invited
over for dinner is the least
interesting of her duties.
She home-schools her children, teaching them advanced scientific concepts.
She tends to the greenhouse in the mansions
interior courtyard where
(behind a locked door and
frosted windows) all manner of poisonous plants are
grown. She also advises
the managers of the Iglesias
fruit and cattle operations
on anything to do with biology, often personally
checking on sick animals,
spliced trees, etc. She also
provides emotional support
to the less-stable members
of the family, encouraging
or comforting them in their
various ups and downs.
She knows that the Iglesias methods occasionally
involve hurting people and
she has accepted this dispassionately as a clinical
fact. She is happy to leave
such work to others in the
family, but has also prepared herself for the possibility that she might someday have to use poison to
debilitate or kill someone.
Appearance- Tall, broad
shouldered woman, appearing to be in her mid-thirties,
with straight black hair cut
at mid-neck, slightly-tinted
glasses, wearing no makeup, tending towards dark
green dresses and sandals.

Attributes- AGY OO, AWR OO, CHM OOO, END

OO, INL OOOOO, SPD OO, STH OOO, WIL OOOO.
10 Hit Points.
Skills
Academic OOOO Specialties: Sciences, Math
Athletic O
Specialty: Outdoors
Tech O
Specialty: Software
Equipment
Academic: Sciences OOO (science library and small
lab)
Academic: Math OO (laptop with statistics software)
Athletic: Outdoors O (GPS, hiking boots, water bottle,
binoculars)
Tech: Software O (laptop and software)
Paths
-Harmony: Zero
Specialties: save vs. toxins (+2), Sabotage Harmony
Focus: Ingesting fire ants
Bonus Characteristics- Miriam has the Iglesias Family
Demon (p.162) at 1 Power. Physically Attractive (+1 to
seduction rolls).
Psychological Strengths & Weaknesses
Thought Strengths OOOOO
Weaknesses OOO
(A committed scientist and skeptic, sometimes too
concerned with abstractions to notice what is happening
around her)
Self Strengths OOO
Weaknesses OO
(Reasonably self-confident in her intelligence and leadership abilities)
Harmony Strengths OO
Weaknesses OOO
(Cares for her children deeply and feels responsible for
her new extended family)

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Feeling Strengths OO
Weaknesses OO
(Tries to maintain a detached, clinical outlook)
Combat AVs
Kill OOO

Ruin OOOO

Exhaust OOO

Control OO

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will threaten the nemesis who will lash out

by causing fear and anger in the community.
Prodigies are not very likely to be See p.70 for more.
dangerous, although they are not immune
from personality flaws and circumstances Feud: The prototypical feud of this
that can pit them against PCs. A prodigy, kind is the Hatfield-McCoy feud, where
especially a young one, who has never meet two West Virginia clans fought and killed
anyone with Path abilities before may be each other for two decades. As a Demon,
frightened when they first encounter PCs a feud feeds on anger and it creates more
and may think that they need to protect anger by making members of each group
hurt members of the opposite group.
their communities from the PCs.
Feuding parties could be extended families,
ethnic groups, religious adherents, political
Personal Demons
supporters (e.g. liberals vs. conservatives),
young residents of a community versus the
PCs may find people who need help dealing older, poor versus wealthy, even a towns
with personal demons. A person may seem, law enforcement versus its criminal element.
at first, like the enemy but PCs may Even if the PCs can make peace between the
discover this person is driven to do things feuding parties, there is likely to be some
he or she doesnt want to by a Demon. lone, angry combatant who will not live by
Most likely the person doesnt think of the a peace accord and will try to do something
Demon in the same way a Seeker would that would rekindle the feud.
understand it, instead thinking of it as a
mean streak, a mental illness or a Xenophobia: The community is afraid
run of rotten luck. Helping the person of outsiders and usually treats them in a
involves making them understand the paranoid, unfriendly (or outright violently
nature of their predicament, telling them hostile) manner. Thus, potentially helpful
how to starve the Demon and helping them and friendly outsiders are either driven away
resist as the Demon fights back.
or are turned malevolent by their treatment
(If the people in this town are going to treat
me like a criminal then fuck them, maybe
Community Demons
I should steal something.). Thus the fear
It is not just individuals, but entire perpetuates itself. The Demon may have
communities that can be infected with even caused community members to do
what some Seekers call Demons. These things that they feel they need to hide, thus
Demons live not just in the hearts and increasing their paranoia even more. For
minds of community members, but in the instance, if the people of a town once lynched
relationships between community members. a stranger, they will be extra-paranoid that
A powerful Demon in a community can any new visitor in town might discover their
mobilize large numbers of the population secret.
(through fear or anger) against PCs who
threaten it. In other words, as soon as PCs Poverty: The community has fallen
start meddling in the Demons means of into a cycle of poverty. Young people start
feeding itself, they are likely to have much work early, dropping out of school, working exhausting and dangerous jobs. Many
of the community coming after them.
workers are killed or disabled by the danSome common Demons that affect gerous conditions in which they work, leaving families without income earners. Others
communities include:
are driven to drink or drugs by the stresses
Nemesis: Wherein wealth and power and hopelessness. The Demon of poverty
in a community is concentrated into the pulls down anyone who is trying to pull
hands of a few, and prejudice is used to themselves out of poverty by saving money
keep people from demanding or getting or getting an education. It causes accidents,
more. A Seeker, any time he or she is crime, violence and illnesses which cost
recognized as a potential agent of change, money or derail educational plans.
Prodigies

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Nature & Accidents

Any time people need help is an opportunity
for Seekers to face challenges and use their
abilities in creative new ways. The source
of danger doesnt have to be a person
or Demon. Many natural or accidental
occurrences can threaten people:

Various accidents can also put people

at risk as well as isolate them from rescue
services: a mine collapse, an avalanche
that buries a town, a snowstorm that snaps
power lines and cuts off roads, a dam that
breaks and floods a town, etc.

Wild animals can threaten people, especially campers or hikers. Bears are the
biggest threats to human life, but alligators, crocodiles, mountain lions, venomous
snakes, feral or rabid dogs and wolves have
been known to attack and kill humans. Animal attacks on people are fairly rare,
and usually happen
Typical Bear
because of some
STH 7, SPD 4,
sort of change (e.g.
AGY 2, AWR 3,
an animals normal
END 3.
food source being
15 Hit Points.
taken away, or huKill AV 9.
man encroachment
+3 to smell AVs.
into an animals
normal territory).

Disease and toxins can also threaten

people.
An adventure may involve
discovering the source of a toxin (e.g.
leaking barrels of illegally dumped
waste near a towns water reservoir) or
finding treatments for disease outbreaks.
Communities that live in close proximity
to nature can be at risk for outbreaks of rare
diseases that jump from animal to human
populations. For instance, Bubonic Plague
(the Black Death) occasionally pops up in
rural west coast towns where it is spread
from small mammals.

People can often get lost or trapped

in remote places, including forests, caves,
mountainsides and mines. Sometimes it
is adult hikers or climbers who get lost
or trapped, and sometimes it is exploring
children. The challenge for PCs is to find
the lost people, free them (if trapped) and
get them back to civilization. An injury
that prevents a person from walking can
further complicate matters, especially in a
place that vehicles cannot easily get to (e.g.
the side of a mountain or a cave).

OOO Difficulty: Tropical Island, Forest in Summer

Traditional: Survival Skill Roll

Difficulties by Wilderness

OOOO Difficulty: Forest in Winter,

Brushland/Grassland, Marsh/Swamp,
Mountainside Below the Snow-Line
OOOOO Difficulty: Desert, Mountainside Above the Snow-Line, Rainforest
OOOOOO Difficulty: Arctic in Winter

The Unexplained
In Brief: Seeker adventures should contain odd things that do not violate PCs belief
systems, but that cannot be explained.
As a space for players to play out various philosophies, the Seeker setting is one in which
major cosmological questions, such as is
there a god are left unanswered. This is so
players can play atheists or believers and not
be confronted with evidence that might prove
their philosophies wrong. Thus many things

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in more than one way. For instance, the coincidences that happen in the lives of Seekers could be interpreted as an intelligence
guiding their fates, or could be seen as a rational mathematical and psychological consequence of Seekers and how they live.

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Yet many of the things that happen

to Seekers cannot be explained at all.
They do not violate the basic tenets of
any characters philosophy because the
characters do not know how and why they
occurred That there are such occurrences
means just about anything could happen
to Seekers during gameplay. If anything,
constant exposure to the unexplained
makes the lives of Seekers much more
exciting.

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Strange Messages
Seekers often find themselves the recipients
of mysterious, often impossible messages.
For instance, a Seeker who is lost in a cave
system, with nobody in the world knowing
the Seeker is down there, may turn a corner
and find a message scrawled on the wall
advising her to look within herself for the
strength to continue. Or, a Seeker who has
been hunting for a rare, ancient book, and
has finally found it in a box in a forgotten
basement storage room of an old college
library, may find a note inside saying this
book does not contain what you are looking
for. The advice in these messages is
potentially helpful, but never going so far
as to make things easy for the PCs. In this
way, they may seem designed with the goal
of encouraging the PCs advancement along
the Paths.

The unexplained helps Seekers remember

that the universe is of infinite complexity
and there is an endless amount to learn
about how things work. Perhaps someday
Seekers will learn things that will cause
them to understand the unexplained
things they have experienced. Its like
seeing a stage magician perform some
seemingly impossible trick: maybe
theres a rational exploration, maybe it
really was magic, maybe someday youll Visions
find out one way or another, maybe
Waking hallucinations are a common part of
youll never know.
shamanic and shamanism-influenced practices. Yet visions have been known to happen
Nature Goes Wild
to Seekers whose traditions have nothing to
do with shamanism, who have never wanted
One phenomenon that Seekers commonly and have had no history of hallucinations.
experience is that of nature acting out For instance, a mathematician Seeker who
in extreme and unprecedented ways: believes the world is ruled by rational physihailstorms in the middle of a summer cal laws, that there are no such things as God,
day, rats swarming by the hundreds, deer souls or magic, may one day be passing by a
entering cities and bursting into stores small town and see a vision of a fence made
and offices, thousands of mushrooms of bones rising up to surround the town.
sprouting overnight, sinkholes suddenly
swallowing up buildings, dozens of trees It is quite obvious, to those who experience
in a forest simultaneously falling for visions, that they are not physical reality.
no apparent reason, etc. These events Yet this does not make the experiences any
can be dangerous, but also awesome, less intense. Those who investigate the clues
for the people at the middle of them. presented by visions find that the vision
Often, Seekers can trace events like somehow pointed to some truth, a truth the
these to things threatening the health of PCs conscious mind had no way of knowing.
an ecosystem, what +Harmony Seekers For instance, the fence of bones may lead to
would call a disharmony, although the a town where a leak from a nearby chemical
mechanism by which this leads to the plant has incapacitated and is slowly killing
the residents.
bizarre behaviors is unknown.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

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-Hamlet

Powerful animals are a common motif for

visions: bears, eagles, wolves, mountain lions, alligators, etc. They seem to be powerful, intelligent and fearless and seem to
be trying to communicate some wordless
message to the Seeker.

Houses in the Wilderness

Seekers desperately need. They can be

good places to hide (non-Seekers seem to
have a hard time finding these places).
Yet these mysterious buildings can be hard
ones to leave, perhaps it is because they
seem to be a puzzle that is close to being
unraveled. Hours can pass in what seems
like only a few minutes to the explorers of
these buildings. Explorers tend to forget
about other obligations waiting for them
outside. A Seeker may enter a shack in the
middle of the day, and try to exit later only
to find it pitch black. Visitors have even
experienced sights and sounds (e.g. of a
large wild animal prowling outside) that
have made them reluctant to leave.

Seekers occasionally find houses in

otherwise uninhabited places, places not
serviced by any roads. The houses range
from tiny shacks to small manufactured
homes. None are hooked up to power grids
or municipal water supplies. Electricity,
when it is present at all, comes from small
gasoline powered generators. Some seem
to have been abandoned for decades, some
seem to have been recently inhabited. Elder Seekers
Although many Seekers tell tales of finding
such dwellings, none speak of having met Seekers who are much more advanced
along the Paths than PCs are can do things
inhabitants.
that PCs cannot understand or explain. Just
It can be hard to read the person or people as a normal person might think the things
who lived there. There are no personal PCs do are impossible, and never fully
papers, no mail, no books, no art. There are understand the PCs attempt to explain
the bare necessities of life: food, medicine, them, so is the PCs understanding of the
bedding, water, toiletries. Sometimes there abilities of elder Seekers. Elder Seekers
are collections of strange and disjointed can do things that are not described
mementos. In metal tins or old rusty coffee anywhere in the Paths chapter and each
cans, explorers have found stones, Polaroids Elder Seekers abilities are unique. These
of unknown people or places, scraps of powers tend to be subtle even while they
cloth with dried blood on them, antique are amazing: paralyzing someone with
childrens toys, feathers, animal teeth, a touch on the wrist, predicting a future
spent shell casings, etc. These collections event with perfect accuracy, seeming to
seem to hint at, but not quite tell, a story. read a persons thoughts from miles away,
There are also occasionally crafts and tools causing a heavy padlock to fall apart by
with abilities consistent with Seeker-made tapping it, living quite happily on a grain
of rice a day, etc.
crafts (p.69).
These places have been built on or moved
to their current locations without the
knowledge of the owners of the land.
Many are found on national park land or in
protected nature preserves, unbeknownst to
the rangers.
The discovery of these strange dwellings
can be a boon to a Seeker. They can
provide shelter from harsh weather.
They can contain food, water, medicine
(sometimes even weapons or tools) that

Yet just because elder Seekers can do things

that younger Seekers do not understand
does not mean elder Seekers have
surpassed the basic limitations that are true
for everyone in the Seeker universe. There
is no one ultimate truth, nobody can know
everything there is to know, and so even an
elder Seeker can be mistaken, ignorant or
have flaws. And even an elder Seeker is
looking for anyone, even a younger Seeker,
to give them the ideas which will spur their
next revelation.

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Psychological Challenges
In Brief: Impending Path advancement can prompt subconscious resistance, which
can be battled on the plane of visions and journeying.
Being a Seeker means repeatedly admitting
that you were wrong and giving up formerly
held beliefs. For a Seeker, the entire
basis of a persons understanding of and
interaction with the environment, others
and themselves can be destroyed in a single
night. See the Black Gulf (p.56) for more.

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The human subconsciousness often battles

against devastating changes to worldview.
The subconscious throws up barriers
to try to prevent such changes, barriers
that can mimic the symptoms of mental
illness. These barriers can be emotions
(e.g. a sense of dread), distracting thoughts
or hallucinations, or psychosomatic
complaints or loss of capabilities (e.g.
sudden blindness or amnesia). These
phenomena can happen to any Seeker
about to advance along the Paths.

Within the space of visions and journeying,

psychological issues can be interacted with as
if they are physical entities. The psychological dread that is the subconscious resisting
advancement along the Paths typically takes
the form of a dreadful monster. The form
and abilities of the monster are based on the
unique background of the Seeker. Defeating
the monster means that this psychological issue will no longer the trouble the PC (not for
this particular advancement along the Paths).
Defeating a monster can mean engaging it
in physical combat and slaying it, but can
also mean trapping it, tricking it, subduing it,
making deals with it, even befriending it.

When facing down a psychological issue in

visions or journeying, a PC retains all the
same attributes, skills, abilities and equipment the PC has in real life. The PC engaging in combat cannot have his or her physiSome Seekers try their best to ignore cal body be actually harmed, but the PCs
these problems, working through their imaginary Hit Points or combat AVs can
revelations despite the problems they be lost as the PC hallucinates or imagines because.
Others, especially those who ing hurt. If a PC hallucinates/imagines behave studied shamanism or shamanism- ing killed, crippled or put in a hold, the PC
inspired traditions, seek to confront these is ejected from the state of consciousness
psychological barriers head on through in which visions or journeying are possible.
the use of visions or journeying. Visions Example: As Tim nears advancement along
are waking hallucinations where one sees the Paths, he starts to experience distracting,
not-physically-real things superimposed sometimes debilitating, psychological probon physical reality. Journeying is a lems. He decides to confront these head-on
hallucination (or lucid dream) of traveling and eats a peyote button. He has a vision of
to a place beyond this physical reality and himself walking in the desert at night, stalked
by a black, driverless car. As the car wins
interacting with the beings there.
combat rounds using Kill and
Ruin, Tims imagined Hit Points
Practiced shamans can have
Visions &
and imagined combat AVs go
visions or practice journeyJourneying Talent
down. Finally, his imaginary
ing with no external aid.
Others can induce these ex- This ability to have Vi- bones broken and imaginary
periences by inducing states sions or go on Journeys joints dislocated, the car runs
of consciousness receptive (without requiring the him over and Tims imaginary
to them via hallucinogens, use of hallucinogens) Hit Points go to zero. He imsleep deprivation, intensive can be purchased as a mediately finds himself back in
meditation, hypnosis or lu- Talent (p.15) costing 1 his hotel room, still under the
cid dreaming. And, as noted skill point and giving an influence of a hallucinogen,
on p.170, visions occasion- additional specialty of but no longer in the right state
of consciousness to try to conally happen to Seekers for Traditional: Visions &
front his subconscious resisJourneying.
no traceable reason.
tance to advancement.

Demons can also be encountered,

interacted with or fought in visions
or journeys. Defeating a Demon in
combat does not destroy it, but does
reduce its power (as described on
p.42) by one point. However, if a
Seeker loses a battle against a Demon,
the Demon gains a point of power.
PCs can avoid being injured by the
things they encounter in visions
and journeys by making legendary
(7 difficulty) saves vs. fear. When
successful, this means the PC has
simply refused to imagine/hallucinate
being injured.
The monsters that represent unconscious resistance to advancement have
little in the way of skills or equipment.
They often have natural weapons, e.g.
fangs, talons, armored plates, equal
to a 1-2 point combat package. They
also have awesome raw power, with
most of their attributes in the range of
4-7.
A Seekers subconscious seems to
know when a major world-shattering
revelation is coming near, even when
the Seekers conscious mind does not.
Psychological phenomena can start
days before the crisis that may end in
Path advancement, growing stronger
each passing day. In game mechanics
terms, psychological problems should
start when a PC has saved up 2 XP
and should continue until the player
spends the XP (either on a Path level
or on something else).

The Black Bird

Appearance- A huge (8 ft. tall) jet black bird
with huge wings and a roughly human-shaped
head, torso and legs.
Attributes- AGY OOOOO, AWR OOO, CHM
O, END 7, INL OOO, SPD 7 (flying), STH 7,
WIL OOOOO. 10 Hit Points.
Behavior- The Black Bird is one possible
embodiment of fear and existential dread. It
perches in trees and on buildings, glowering
silently at the Seeker and trying to scare the
Seeker away from his or her current Path. It
flies over the Seeker at opportune moments
so that its shadow falls over the Seeker. If its
first appearances do not work, it perches or flies
closer. Finally, if the PC still doesnt relent, it
attacks, swooping down on the Seeker, its wings
beating violently all around while it stabs its
beak into the Seekers eyes, neck and guts.
Equipment- Wings, talons and beak act as a
Ruin OO package.
Combat AVs- Ruin OOOOO, Kill OOOOO,
Exhaust 6, Combat OOOO.
Visions vs. Hallucinations
Visions are generally wanted and sought after
(or, at the least, allowed to happen) by the person
experiencing them. They are always recognized
as being not part of physical reality.
Hallucinations come unbidden and by surprise
and may be mistaken for physical reality.
Either visions or hallucinations or both can
happen to a Seeker who is in the midst of a
psychological crisis.

Using Seeker With Other Vajra Games

Since Seeker is about wanderers, whose
travels could conceivably take them anywhere, who have existed for all human
existence and who will continue to exist in to the conceivable future, Seeker
can be easily mixed with other settings.
Seekers of the 1950s could have travelled
to Tibet, or from Tibet, seeking wisdom.
Seekers of the 2080s could travel to New
York City for the same reasons.

considered Traditions that could launch characters

of each setting into Seekerdom. An Animalist
from Fates Worse Than Death could become a
Seeker on the Path of -Thought or +Feeling. A
Yellow Hat Monk from Tibet could become a
Seeker on the Path of +Thought or -Feeling. A
Scribbler from In Dark Alleys could become a
Seeker on the Path of -Harmony.

The various supernatural and high-tech arts that

characters in Vajra games engage in are not preMost of the character classes of Vajra cluded by Seekerdom. A Seeker can know these
games have some philosophy or arts just as a Seeker in the modern-day setting can
discipline behind them, and could be know computer programming or hypnosis.

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Navajo Country
Seekers in Navajo Country- Navajo Natural Features- Navajo land is

Country is an interesting place for Seekers

to wander through and have adventures in.
One reason is that it is rural: a scattering of
isolated communities over a piece of land
the size of Ireland. Even the biggest towns
only have 4,000 to 8,000 people.

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174

Another reason is that there are people in

need of aid and many ways Seekers can
help them. There is poverty, crime and
government corruption. There are outside
mining and gaming interests trying to exert
influence on local governments. There are
also deserts, canyons, caves and mines that
people can be trapped or lost in. There is
even a large group of native Sorcerers, the
Skinwalkers (p.175).
Navajo Country also has a lot to teach
Seekers. Navajo medicine workers can teach
Seekers on the Path of +Harmony. Medicine
Workers can also help Seekers, even those
with no interest in +Harmony, to fight their
personal Demons. Navajo witches, when
they can be found, can teach about -Harmony.
The beautiful landscape, with some of the
countrys most awe inspiring natural scenes,
can be an inspiration for +Feeling Seekers.

mostly desert with some mountains and

canyons. When it rains, the canyons are
prone to flash floods. These floods have
drowned many, especially visitors who
werent expecting them. Water and wind
has carved many unique features from
the local sandstone, including tall spires,
buttes (tall structures with steep sides and
flat tops) and even natural bridges arching
over canyons. The Canyon de Chelly
National Monument has the ruins of
dwellings built into the rock by the ancient
Anasazi people. Shiprock is a huge (1,583
ft., 482 m. high) rock rising from the desert
plain. Shiprock is managed by the Navajo
government. As it is sacred to the Navajo,
they do not allow climbing on it, although
this doesnt stop some avid rock climbers
from attempting to illegally mount it.

Lifeways- Unemployment is very high

in Navajo country. For their livelihood,
many Navajo herd sheep and cattle.
Many young Navajo grow up caring for
sheep and cattle and learn many useful
skills, including horse riding, roping, knot
tying and tracking. The Navajo also make
rugs, yarn, blankets, rugs and jewelry.
The Navajo have their own unique and
Geography & Population- The Navajo popular style of jewelry, incorporating
Nation is the largest Native American silver and turquoise.
territory in the United States. It is located
in the four corners area, with pieces in There are also coal and uranium mines.
Northeast Arizona, Southeast Utah and Mining has contributed to health
Northwest New Mexico. It is 26,000 mi2 problems in Navajo country, including a
(67,000 km2), roughly the size of West high occurrence of cancer. Yet mining
Virginia. Yet it is sparsely populated, with has slowed in recent times. Tourism is
only 174,000 Navajos and a tiny minority of also an important source of income, and
whites, Hopis and Paiutes. Window Rock the Navajo Nation has recently (in 2004)
is the capitol and, at 4,000 people, one of decided to open a few casinos.
the largest communities on the reservation. With a very low population, spread out
The only larger towns are Chinle (5,000 over such a large area, Navajo communities
people), Kayentra (5,000), Shiprock (8,000) have a very rural character. Long dirt
and Tuba City (8,000). The majority of the roads connect distant communities. Many
population can be found spread throughout dwellings have no natural gas or electricity.
the area in small, isolated rural communities. The residents must burn wood or propane
The Navajo Nation surrounds the smaller from tanks for their light and heat. Often
Hopi Indian Reservation (with only 7,000 residents must drive long distances in
people) and is adjacent to Ute and Jicarilla old beat-up trucks to fill containers with
Apache land.
drinkable water.

Government-

Although
the federal government does
exert some influence on Navajo land, mostly through the
Bureau of Indian Affairs, the
Navajo Nation is mostly autonomous and self-governing.
There is an elected president
and vice-president, a court
system (with family law and
trial courts) and a council of
representatives. Corruption
has plagued the Navajo government, with many government officials looting funds
from tribal coffers.
The Navajo Nation has its
own police force. It operates
primary schools, high schools
and Din College, a two year
community college with the
primary campus in Tsaile
and seven satellite campuses. Din College has around
two-thousand students.

Traditional Culture- For

most of their recent history,

the Navajo have been seminomadic herders.
Silversmithing and weaving are
traditional Navajo Crafts.
The Navajo are traditionally
matrilocal (men move in with
the wives families, women
have a lot of power) and exogamous (it is considered
incest to have sex with someone from one of the clans of
ones grandparents).

Dwellings- The traditional

Navajo dwelling is a hogan,

an 8-sided one-room building made of mud and wood.
Although most Navajo now
live in more modern housing,
hogans are often used for ceremonials (see Healing Traditions below).
continued next page

Skinwalkers
This group originated long ago, possibly before the
European discovery of America, and probably with some
powerful Seeker. The group is centered around Navajo
Country. There are small groups of Skinwalkers on
every town on the reservation, and in some towns outside
the reservation. The Skinwalkers organize themselves
as a secret initiation society, carefully choosing the
most willful, angry and amoral of their neighbors to be
initiated. The initiation and training is long and difficult,
making use of sleep deprivation, whipping with switches
and dangerous and unpleasant deliriant drugs to induce
altered states of consciousness. The goal is to make the
initiative believe that he or she can don an animal skin
(e.g. that of a wolf) and gain all the traits and powers of
that animal. They believe they are animals and are often
mistaken for animals. Initiates are actually gaining +Self
specialties. Skinwalkers use these abilities to prowl their
communities at night, robbing people, raping people and
attacking their enemies. They often target, in animal
guise, people who offended them in their mundane
personas. Although most members commit crimes on
their own, they do band together to eliminate anyone who
is a threat to the secrecy of the group or its members.
Typical Skinwalker

Attributes (without using abilities): AGY OOO,

AWR OO, CHM OO, INL OO, SPD OOO, STH OOO,
WIL OOO. 10 Hit Points.
Attributes (after using the skin donning ritual Focus
and a 3 difficulty Choose Identity roll): AGY OOOO,
AWR OO, CHM OO, INL OO, SPD OOOO, STH OOO,
WIL OOO. 12 Hit Points.
Skills:
Athletic O
Specialty: Outdoors
Combat OO Specialty: Ruin
Traditional O Specialty: Tricks
Paths:
+Self: None
Specialties: Choose Identity, persuade people to believe their identities (+2), attribute plusses.
Focuses: Skinwalker skin-donning ritual

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Equipment:
Animal skin with claws (counts as a Combat: Ruin O
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Combat AVs (with boosted attributes)
Kill OOOO
Ruin OOOO
Control OOO Exhaust OOOO

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Navajo Country (continued)

Navajo Language- The Navajo
language has about 171,000 active
speakers, making it the most spoken
Native American language.
The
Navajo Nation has a Navajo language
newspaper as well as several Englishlanguage media outlets (print, radio and
TV).

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Sacred
GeographyNavajo
creation stories take place in Navajo
territory. Thus the Navajo can point
to the real world places where their
creation tales took place. This gives
them, among other things, a strong
sense of stewardship over their natural
world and a desire to see Navajo land
treated with respect.
Supernatural

Dangers- In the

traditional Navajo belief system, there

are several supernatural misfortunes
that can befall a person. One is
contamination by the dead, or anything
that has been in contact with death. Not
properly burying or mourning the dead
can cause a physical and psychological
disease called Ghost Sickness. Other
spiritual pollutants, such as lighting
struck wood, can also cause illness.
Evil spirits can also infest people.
There are also, in Navajo traditional
belief, witches who use evil magic
to hurt others. Some witches poison
people with corpse powder (dried and
powdered corpse flesh). Others can

covertly shoot small cursed objects into

people. Others can steal something from
someone (e.g. hair, fingernail clippings,
clothing) and bury it with polluting things
so that the person becomes ill. Frenzy
witches use native deliriant plants to
cause disease or dominate the wills of
others. Skinwalkers are a type of witch
who can turn into animals and move
around covertly (see previous page).
Witches meet and initiate each other in
secret. They engage in taboo activities
such as incest, necrophilia, cannibalism
and grave robbing. They even perform
dark versions of Navajo healing
ceremonials.
Healing Traditions- To heal, protect
and cleanse people of physical, mental
and spiritual illness, Navajo medicine
workers engage in ceremonials. There
are many ceremonials, each used for
a different reason, with names such as
Beauty Way, Enemy Way, Ghost Way,
Frenzy Way, etc. They are typically
four days long and involve chanting,
dancing,
praying,
hand-trembling,
making intricate and beautiful sand
paintings, and the use of herbs and herbsmoke. The goal of these ceremonies is
to restore to the patient what is translated
into English as beauty. The Navajo
concept of beauty is related to concepts
of mental and physical health, harmony
with the spirit world and harmony with
the universe in general.

Index of NPCs
Colton Donaldson, Sorcerer, p.68
Coyote, Evil Seeker, p.65

Miriam Iglesias-Bechtel, Matriarch of

the Iglesias Clan, p.166

Emiliano Iglesias, Patriarch of the Iglesias Sam Downs, Seeker Aware FBI Agent, p.52
Clan, p.164
The Black Bird, p.173
Flora Escepticia Gutierrez, Prodigy, p.67 Typical Finite, p.64
Infinity, Trapped Seeker, p.63

Typical Sheriff, p.54

Mariko M Yamamoto, Retired Seeker, p.58 Typical Skinwalker, p.175

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Introductory Adventure: Weaponized Honeybees

In Brief: The PCs will enter a town where the locals are in fear of attacks by especially
aggressive honeybees. The bees can be traced back to the home of Randolph Kent, known
around town as a dangerous, paranoid madman. He will not allow anyone on his property
to take care of the bees. A secret is behind both Randolphs and the bees madness.

Laskys Mill
Laskys Mill is right off a two-lane road that follows the river through forested hills.
This town started its life in the last century as a
lumber mill town. Logs were taken from the nearby
forested foothills and floated down the river to the
mill, which ran on water power. The mill closed
in the 1930s, to be replaced with the Hansen Paint
Plant up on the hill facing town. The Paint Plant
was the towns biggest employer. It closed in the
1990s and the towns economy has stagnated ever
since. Most of the young people have left and the
majority of the town is now retirees. On Main
Street, many of the stores have been vacant and
boarded up for more than a decade. The town has
gone from a peak population of 2,000 to a current
population of around 500.
At the center of town, along the rural route
that leads into and out of town, is the towns
Main Street. Among the buildings that are not
boarded up and abandoned are a diner, a sheriffs
substation, a doctors office, a small Methodist
church, a grocery store, a hardware store and a
gas station. The towns homes are mostly built
at the base of the hills that are South of town. To
the North is the River and a wooden bridge across
the river. On the other side of the river is a road
that leads up the hill to the old Paint Plant where it
overlooks the town.

Entering Town
The PCs will most likely enter town from the rural
route that acts as the towns Main Street. The first
thing the PCs will probably notice is that there is
nobody outside (although, if during the day, the
few running businesses will have open signs in
their windows). The next thing the PCs might
notice is a truck up on the sidewalk, crashed into
a telephone pole, steam rising from the dented
hood. The passenger side door is open and there
is nobody inside the vehicle.

Bee Attack Mechanics

Bee Attributes: AWR 2, END

2, SPD 5. Ruin: O per 5 bees.
Treat a swarm of bees attacking a PC as an opponent using
Ruin. The Ruin AV of a swarm
of bees is equal to 1 for every 5
bees attacking (round up to the
nearest point of AV). Each one
point of Hit Point or AV damage done to a swarm of bees
kills 5 bees. It is impossible to
put bees in a hold, so a successful round using Control does
not have any effect beyond the
canceling out of damage.
From the moment the first bee
attacks, more are attracted by
the pheromones released and
the number of bees rises until
the PC gets indoors or out of
range of the bees.
The rate at which bees accrue depends on how close
to the hive the PCs are when
the attack happens. Within
the backyard the bees live in,
where their density is greatest,
bees will accumulate at a rate
of 10 per combat round until
they reach a maximum of 200
bees altogether.
As one gets farther from the
backyard, bees will accumulate
at a slower rate and the maximum that will show up for an
attack drops. At a range of a
mile from the Kent backyard,
both will drop to zero.

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The PCs may also notice an unusually large

number of bees zipping around in the air.
Before the PCs have a chance to do much
investigating, bees will attack. Any bee
who gets near any person will try to sting
that person. Upon stinging the bee will
emit a pheromone that will attract other
bees. The number of bees attacking will
keep growing until the PC gets inside.

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Getting inside may be difficult. Town

residents are reluctant to open their doors
for anyone being attacked by bees, fearing
the bees will follow them in. Also, if PCs
choose doors on Main Street at random,
they are most likely to find doors that are
locked, boarded up, even chained and
padlocked.
State of Panic
Once the PCs get to speak to a townsperson,
they will find out that the town has been in
a state of fear for the last few days. Bee
stings have been increasing over the last
few months, with almost everyone in town
having been stung at least once. In the
last few days, however, the situation has
worsened dramatically. The entire hive
is apparently out and looking to sting any
person or animal they can. Those who
have ventured outside have been stung
repeatedly. One resident even crashed his
truck while trying to escape town when
bees got into the truck and stung him as he
tried to drive.
The town residents do not know where the
bees are coming from or why they are in
such a frenzy. The popular theory is that
Africanized bees have invaded town, but
this is just conjecture. The town Sheriff
has tried calling county animal control to
come deal with the bees, but the animal
control offices are closed due to a budgetrelated furlough.
The locals have tried to wait out the bees,
but their frenzy has not subsided. The
situation is growing desperate. The town
doctor has run out of the drugs used to treat

178

extreme allergic reactions in those allergic

to beestings. One of the towns elderly
residents drives to a larger town 60 miles
away twice a week for dialysis treatments,
but she has been too scared to leave her
house.

Investigating the Bees

The town does have a small public
library which happens to have a book on
beekeeping. Some town residents have
internet access (either slow access via
phone lines or satellite based internet) and
PCs could look up information on bees
there. Among the towns residents there
are a few who have practiced beekeeping.
Consulting any of these resources will tell
the PCs that this is not normal behavior
for any kind of bees, even Africanized
ones. Bees will swarm and sting anyone
around if their nest is attacked, but will
eventually calm down. These bees seem
to be in a state of perpetual swarm, which
is not anything the PCs will be able to find
precedence for.
A mapping of bee attacks will show the
general bounds of bee activity and suggest
a probable approximate center. Reviewing
this part of the map with town residents
will prompt one resident to remember that
Randolph Kent, whose property is in the
middle of the bee attack area, had been
known to keep bees.
A naturist PC who can capture or examines
bees and compares their behavior to
regular bee behavior will see evidence
of neurological damage: twitching,
clumsiness, brief periods of paralysis.
Examining the ground outside, one will also
find a significant number of dead bees, with
no visible signs as to what killed them.
If PCs can somehow create (or have
with them) chemical analysis equipment,
they will find unusual phosphate-based
chemicals in the bodies of the bees. Such
chemicals are likely man-made and likely
biologically-active.

Venturing Outside
Other than the use of Path
Abilities, the only way to travel
safely outside is to create some
sort of armor that will protect
exposed skin from beestings.
Creating a source of smoke will
also make the bees more docile.
Waiting until night will also
help, as the bees will be colder,
and thus less active, and also
will not be able to see as easily.
Those who do venture outside
and wander around looking for
higher concentrations of bees
will be able to track those bees
to the backyard of Randolph
Kents property.

Randolph Kent
Randolph is known around
town as a dangerous, paranoid
madman. Randolph has outlived
his wife and two children (all
of whom, according to town
gossip, were also insane). In
the years since his sons death,
he has become a recluse, living
on his pension from the paint
plant and venturing from his
house only every few weeks for
groceries. According to town
rumors, Randolph wont even
open his door to his neighbors,
instead yelling through the
door when they knock on it and
threatening to either call the
police, sick his guard dogs on
them, or get his shotgun.
Interviewing elders will reveal
that Randolph was once a kind
and respected member of the
community. He was a chemical engineer at the paint plant
and was forced to retire when
the plant closed in 1993. The
whole family began to act oddly
after that. First his adult daugh-

Sheriff Redmond

Appearance- Middle-aged African-American

male. Short, broad-shouldered, muscular. Short
curly hair with a large bald spot, wears an olivegreen county Sheriffs uniform.
Attributes- AGY OO, AWR OO, CHM OO,
END O, INL OOO, SPD OO, STH OOO, WIL OOO.
10 Hit Points.
Skills
Combat O
Specialty: Kill
Investigation/Espionage O Specialty: Military
Labor O
Specialty: Driving
Equipment- Handcuffs, GPS, Car
Ranged Combat: Kill OO (pistol)
Ranged Combat: Ruin OO (pepper spray)
Psychological Strengths and Weaknesses
Thought Strengths OOO Weaknesses OO
(Tries to be smarter than the bad guys.)
Self Strengths OOO
Weaknesses OO
(A take-charge guy with the self-confidence benefitting an ex-military man)
Harmony Strengths OOO Weaknesses OOOO
(An important part of the community; loyal,
sometimes to a fault)
Feeling Strengths OO
Weaknesses O
(Tries to keep a level head at all times)
Personality- Phil is ex-military and values selfcontrol, willingness to sacrifice and willingness to
obey orders. He thinks of himself as very loyal,
both to his country and his community. Most of the
time he is easygoing and relaxed and likes to joke
around with people. The current situation is making
him feel frustrated, stressed out, and incompetent.
His primary motives are to protect his town from
the bees and (although he wont initially know this
is an issue) to keep the secret of the paint plant
from becoming public.
Combat AVs
Kill OOOO
Control OOO

Ruin OOOO
Exhaust OOO

Randolph Kents Dogs

Appearance- Two large rottweilers.
Attributes- AGY OOO, AWR OOOO, END OOO,
SPD OOOO, STH OOO, WIL O. 5 Hit Points. +3
to smell based AWR rolls. +2 to hearing based AWR
rolls. Kill AV 3.

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Randolph Kent

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Appearance- Tall, thin elderly man with unkempt

grey hair, dark bags under his eyes and a perpetual
scowl. He wears a moth eaten sweater, powderblue sweat pants and house slippers.
Attributes- AGY O, AWR OO, CHM O, END OO,
INL OOOO, SPD O, STH OO, WIL OOOO.
8 Hit Points.
Skills
Academic OOO
Specialties: Sciences, Math
Combat O
Specialties: Kill
Equipment
Ranged Kill OO (Shotgun)
Psychological Strengths and Weaknesses
Thought Strengths OOO Weaknesses OOOOO
(Once a brilliant scientist, now a believer in
improbable conspiracies)
Self Strengths OOO
Weaknesses OOO
(Has learned to rely on himself.)
Harmony Strengths O Weaknesses O
(Lonely and purposefully isolated from others)
Feeling Strengths OO Weaknesses OOO
(Sad, paranoid and full of irrational rage)
Personality- Once a smart, reasonable, loving father and husband, the extensive neurological damage Randolph has suffered has left him angry, paranoid and confused. He no longer understands how
the universe works and, since he cannot control
his emotions, his feelings lead him to believe the
worst. He probably would have committed suicide
if he was not so stubborn.
Methods- Randolph only leaves the house for
groceries, and since the bees have gone into a frenzy
he had stayed inside, living on his voluminous
stores of canned food and spending his waking
hours watching TV. When anyone comes to the
door he yells at them to leave his property. If
he feels he has to, he will open the door a crack,
leaving a security chain attached and making sure
his shotgun is ready to fire. He is not afraid to
point his shotgun at anyone who wont leave his
front steps and he will shoot anyone who enters his
house or backyard unbidden.
Combat
Kill OOOO
Ruin OOO
Control OO
Exhaust OO

ter, who lived with them, died

in a car accident. Then his
wife committed suicide. Then
his son, who had been born
special, died of an unknown
disease. Interviewing the town
doctor will reveal that the son
died of a neurological disease
that was never properly diagnosed. If the doctor relays the
symptoms to a PC with medical knowledge, the disease will
sound like widespread damage
to the entire nervous system,
resulting in motor dysfunction
and behavioral changes.
Interviewing the husbandand-wife owners of the town
grocery store (the only people
to see Randolph regularly
since he became a recluse) will
reveal that Randolph has had
an odd shuffling walk, facial
tics and has been clumsy.
If Phil Redmond, the town
Sheriff, is told that Randolph
Kents property is the source of
the bees, he will be oddly reluctant to confront Randolph.
If the PCs go to Randolphs
door he will act just as town
rumors say he will: He wont
open the door, he will threaten
the PCs to try to make them
go away, he will refuse to talk
about or admit that he has bees
in his backyard, and will absolutely refuse to let anyone on
his property.

The Truth
The towns paint plant was
not actually a paint plant, but
a government run chemical
weapons plant, although most
employees were lied to, told
they were making chemicals

used to create paint with. Real paint was

occasionally moved into the plant, canned,
and moved out of the plant just to keep up
the illusion.
Randolph Kent, who was a chemical
engineer, and Sheriff Phil Redmond, who
was chief of security for the plant, are
among the few still around who know
the plants secret. They are both under
an agreement not to tell anyone the true
nature of the plant, especially as the US
government, who secretly ran the plant,
ran it in direct violation of weapon treaties
the US had signed.
Randolph Kent had suspected that the plant
might have exposed its workers to toxic
chemicals, and that this might be the cause
behind various health problems experienced
by workers. He even thought it explained
why his own son was born simple. When
the plant closed, Randolph feared the
government would erase all evidence of
the plants activities, destroying his ability
to sue if he ever wanted to. So, Randolph
smuggled out a small canister of one of the
plants products, a potent neurotoxin. He
put this canister in a locked wooden shed
in his backyard.
The canister corroded and developed a leak
and the neurotoxin soaked into the ground.
The family kept a vegetable garden in
their backyard and the toxin contaminated
the vegetables and began to destroy the
nervous systems of the family. The brain
damage Randolph has received made him
clumsy, gave him ticks and tremors, made
him forgetful, prone to rage, paranoid and
damaged his self-control.
Sheriff Phil Redmond is still trying to
keep the plants secret (mostly because
he fears the damage lawsuits would do to
the community) and so he doesnt want
strangers interviewing Randolph Kent.
Sheriff Redmond knows Randolph Kent
is crazy (although he doesnt know it is
because of neurotoxin that Kent smuggled
out) and is afraid that, in his state, he could
reveal the plants secrets to anyone.

Recently, the slowly leaking neurotoxins

have reached the wildflowers growing in
the backyard that feed the bees Randolph
keeps there. The neurotoxin has damaged
the bees nervous systems in a way that has
prompted an unending rage. If nothing is
done, the bees will die within a few weeks,
as their constant swarming has left them
unable to gather food or care for larvae.

The Paint Plant

Although it isnt necessary to go to the
paint plant to solve the towns problems,
players may end up going there anyhow.
The plant has been thoroughly cleaned
out, both to remove potential toxins and
to remove evidence as to what the paint
plant actually did. All the entrances are
locked up with chains and wire mesh has
been bolted over the windows. There is
one place where teenagers pried away
enough of the mesh to climb through, and
there are a few beer cans and a smattering
of graffiti inside, but for the most part the
sheriff has done a good job keeping trespassers away from the plant.
The actual machinery of the plant has
been hauled out and melted down, leaving
only bare concrete with old bolt holes.
Yet just from the layout a PC with strong
chemical engineering skills (or +Thought
abilities that allow them to fake having
those skills) can figure out that this was
not a paint plant. There is also enough
evidence of left-over security (cameras,
blast-proof doors, multiple security areas
within the plant each with their own
keycard-based locks) to figure out that
this was something much more sensitive
than a paint plant.
If the PCs are very lucky, they may find
a torn scrap of paper that blew into an air
duct in the floor of a vacant office and
stuck there. The scrap of paper has only
the following text:
From
Colonel Simon Tashinger
Special Projects & Research Office
United States Department of Defense

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Dealing With Bees

The only way to stop the danger to the
townspeople of bee stings is to either
destroy the bees or take them out into
the woods, far from human habitation.
Doing either of these means getting into
Randolph Kents backyard, something
he can not be easily convinced to let
anyone do.

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PCs may be able to subdue Randolph,

but he keeps a loaded shotgun by the
door and a loaded pistol under his pillow
when he sleeps at night, and he is not
afraid to shoot anyone who tries to force
their way in.
The PCs may be able to sneak into
the backyard, but this also will not be
easy. The backyard is surrounded by
a tall wooden fence. The wood is old
and in need of repair and is likely to
collapse when someone tries to climb
it. The backyard is overgrown with
waist-high weeds, making it difficult
to move through. The two guard dogs,
usually kept outside, have been moved
inside by Randolph (they were getting
stung by bees). If they hear anyone in
the backyard, or see anyone through the
sliding glass windows that connect the
kitchen to the backyard, they will start
barking. Randolph will shoot anyone he
finds trespassing in his backyard.
Removing the bees will help the people
in the town, but the toxin will still be
a danger unless the PCs can discover
the existence of the toxin and convince
someone in authority to call in a toxic
cleanup team.

Other Opportunities For Growth

in Laskys Mill

Inside the paint plant, one of the teenagers who once broke in spraypainted a
Nietzsche quote on the wall. This quote
could provide inspiration ( point XP)
to a -Harmony Seeker.
Sitting on a chair in the den of the Kent
house is a book called the Philosophy
of Science. Reading the book could
provide inspiration ( point XP) to a
+Thought Seeker.
Marjorie, one of the husband and wife
team that run the towns grocery store,
is a long time devotee of New Thought
(p.87) and is willing to train a PC or PCs
in the power of positive thinking (good
for a +Self Seeker).

Adventure Results
Extra Bad: Someone gets killed, either
by bees or by Raymond Kent.
Bad: The bee attacks continue until the
bees die of exhaustion and starvation.
Good: The PCs eliminate the threat of
the bees, either by killing the bees or by
moving them to an uninhabited area.
Extra Good: The threat of the bees is
eliminated. Randolph Kent is diagnosed
with neurological damage and gets medical
and psychiatric help. The leaking container
of neurotoxin is found and cleaned up. Exemployees of the plant who were damaged
by chemical exposure are compensated.

Appendix
ORC-L TO ORC-R CONVERSION

Difficulties
Easy
Moderate
Hard
Legendary

ORC-R
10
20
30
40

ORC-L
OO
OOO
OOOOO
(7)

Bonuses/Penalties:
Regular to Light: Divide by four,
round down to the nearest one. E.g. a
drug that gives +10 to save vs. unconsciousness would give +OO.
Light to Regular: Multiply by
four.

Skill
Category
Academic
Athletic
Combat
Creative
Criminal
Tech
Investigation/
Espionage
Labor
Medical
People
Traditional

ORC-R ORC-L
levels
levels
12
1
6
1
7
1
6
1
9
1
9
1

9
6
6
9

1
1
1
1

Skill Points:
Attributes
Regular to Light: Divide attribute
by 4, round up to the nearest one.
Light to Regular: Multiply by
four.
ORC-R
1-4
5-8
9-12
13-16
17-20

ORC-L
O
OO
OOO
OOOO
OOOOO

Skills
Several levels of ORC-R skills equal 1
level of an ORC-L skill. After converting, choose skills or specialties as
appropriate.

10 ORC-R Skill Points =

1 ORC-L Skill Point
Money/Equipment
Every $2,000 in value equals 1 EP and
vice versa.
Bonus Chars
Generally, throw out any advantage or
disad costing or worth less than 4 BPs
when converting to ORC-L.

O
R
C
C
O
N
V
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S
I
O
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4 ORC-R Bonus Points =

1 ORC-L Bonus Point
Experience Points
40 ORC-R XP = 1 ORC-L XP

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SEEKER

Name _______________________________________________

Appearance ____________________________________________________

___________________________
___________________________ Eccentricities
___________________________

AWR OOOOO
SPD OOOOO

Attributes (24)

AGY OOOOO
STH OOOOO

END OOOOO
WIL OOOOO

Skills (10)

Academic OOOOO
(INL, 2)
Specialties ________________________
Combat
OOOOO
(N/A, 4)
Specialties ________________________
Criminal
OOOOO
(AGY, 4)
Specialties ________________________
Inves/Espionage OOOOO
(INL, 4)
Specialties ________________________
Medicine OOOOO
(INL, 3)
Specialties ________________________
Traditional OOOOO
(AWR, 1)
Specialties ________________________
Specialties

___________________________
___________________________
___________________________

Focuses

INL OOOOO
Hit Points ___

Athletic OOOOO (AGY, 3)

Specialties ________________________
Creative OOOOO (AWR, 1)
Specialties ________________________
Tech OOOOO (INL, 1)
Specialties ________________________
Labor OOOOO (INL, 1)
Specialties ________________________
People OOOOO (CHM, 1)
Specialties ________________________

Paths (4)

Specialties

Focuses

____________ ____________
THOUGHT
____________ ____________
____________ ____________ OOOOO + OOOOO ____________ ____________
________________________________
________________________________

____________ ____________
SELF
____________ ____________
____________ ____________ OOOOO + OOOOO ____________ ____________
________________________________
________________________________

____________ ____________
HARMONY
____________ ____________
____________ ____________ OOOOO + OOOOO ____________ ____________
________________________________
________________________________

____________ ____________
FEELING
____________ ____________
____________ ____________ OOOOO + OOOOO ____________ ____________
________________________________
________________________________

Equipment (5) ______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Advantages
___________________________________
KILL

Disads & Demons

___________________________________

___ (WIL + AGY) RUIN ___ (WIL + AGY) CONTROL ___

W: AV dmg to HP. L: AV/2 dmg to HP

W: AV dmg to AVs. L: AV/2 dmg to AVs

Unspent XP __________

(WIL + AGY)

W: dmg -AV, hold. L: dmg -AV/2.

EXHAUST ___

(WIL + AGY)

W: dmg -AV, AV dmg to HP, 1 dmg to AV.

L: dmg -AV/2, AV/2 dmg to HP

1 XP = 1 BP = 1 EP = 1 Attribute Pt. = 3 Skill Pts. 2 XP = 1 Path Pt.

SEEKER NPC

Name _______________________________________________

Appearance ____________________________________________________
AWR OOOOO
SPD OOOOO

Attributes

AGY OOOOO
STH OOOOO

Academic OOOOO
(INL)
Specialties ________________________
Combat
OOOOO
(N/A)
Specialties ________________________
Criminal
OOOOO
(AGY)
Specialties ________________________
Inves/Espionage OOOOO
(INL)
Specialties ________________________
Medicine OOOOO
(INL)
Specialties ________________________
Traditional OOOOO
(AWR)
Specialties ________________________

END OOOOO
WIL OOOOO

INL OOOOO
Hit Points ___

Skills

Athletic OOOOO (AGY)

Specialties ________________________
Creative OOOOO (AWR)
Specialties ________________________
Tech OOOOO (INL)
Specialties ________________________
Labor OOOOO (INL)
Specialties ________________________
People OOOOO (CHM)
Specialties ________________________

SORCEROUS SKILLS _______________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________
STRENGTHS

Psychological

WEAKNESSES

OOOOO
THOUGHT
OOOOO
________________________________
________________________________
OOOOO
SELF
OOOOO
________________________________
________________________________
OOOOO
HARMONY
OOOOO
________________________________
________________________________
OOOOO
FEELING
OOOOO
________________________________
________________________________

Equipment ________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

Advantages
___________________________________
KILL

Disads & Demons

___________________________________

___ (WIL + AGY) RUIN ___ (WIL + AGY) CONTROL ___

W: AV dmg to HP. L: AV/2 dmg to HP

W: AV dmg to AVs. L: AV/2 dmg to AVs

(WIL + AGY)

W: dmg -AV, hold. L: dmg -AV/2.

EXHAUST ___

(WIL + AGY)

W: dmg -AV, AV dmg to HP, 1 dmg to AV.

L: dmg -AV/2, AV/2 dmg to HP

COMMUNITY

Name _______________________________________________

community type _______________________ population ____________

STRENGTHS

Psychological

WEAKNESSES

OOOOO
THOUGHT
OOOOO
________________________________
________________________________
OOOOO
SELF
________________________________

OOOOO
________________________________

OOOOO
HARMONY
OOOOO
________________________________
________________________________

OOOOO
FEELING
OOOOO
________________________________
________________________________

Advantages ______________________________________________________________
Disadvantages ___________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________

Most Powerful Person

Opportunities For Advancement ___________________________________________

Demons

_________________________________________________________ OOOOO

_________________________________________________________ OOOOO

COMMUNITY

Name _______________________________________________

community type _______________________ population ____________

STRENGTHS

Psychological

WEAKNESSES

OOOOO
THOUGHT
OOOOO
________________________________
________________________________
OOOOO
SELF
________________________________

OOOOO
________________________________

OOOOO
HARMONY
OOOOO
________________________________
________________________________

OOOOO
FEELING
OOOOO
________________________________
________________________________

Advantages ______________________________________________________________
Disadvantages ___________________________________________________________
Most Powerful Person

__________________________________________________

Opportunities For Advancement ___________________________________________

Demons

_________________________________________________________ OOOOO

_________________________________________________________ OOOOO