Panopticon (MTAw)

Overview

It is the most ancient great Ministry, and credits its longevity to an eternal truth, passed down by the Eye: Vision is power. Making extensive use of surveillance technology, the Panopticon styles itself servants of the Eye, Archigenitor Exarch of control through surveillance. With every tracked private message, every law passed to strip a bit more privacy from citizens, the Panopticon gains power. Eyes high in orbit can see every inch of the globe, and the Ministry spends a great deal of time managing Seer conspiracy cults, promoting a culture without privacy, so that the people shackle themselves for fear of retribution[1].

In ancient times[2], the Ministry was a confluence of cults. Proto-Panoptics included cults called the Wedjat (after the so-called Eye of Horus), the Mystery of Helios (the Greek god of vision) and the Akashic Sages. These cults were spread around the world, but they never considered themselves truly separate groups, for the Eye made distance and culture irrelevant. Thanks to the Space Arcanum, the evolving Panopticon was very familiar with its far-flung branches. The cults dreamed of each other and traveled across oceans to trade local secrets.

In the 18th century, the Panopticon became a Ministry at the behest of the hegemons. They originally did it to unite against the Pentacle, but the decision also gave them the collective power to appoint a Minister and draw even closer to their Exarch. The new Ministry was the weakest of the four great sects, but not for long. Sleepers helped them immensely; they developed the surveillance state and technologies capable of stripping privacy from entire populations. Now, watchers don’t need to rely on brute force magical methods to follow the Eye’s philosophy. They need only send operatives into CCTV networks, intelligence agencies and paranoid conspiracies. These tools multiply the Ministry’s force. There’s no need to risk a spell when a camera will do. The Panopticon's position as one of the Four Great Ministries is cemented in the modern world.

Customs & Resources

The Tree of Eyes[3]

The Tree of Eyes is a simple tradition: every watcher should spy on and be spied upon by one inferior and one superior. At the bottom, a neophyte doesn’t have an inferior to study, so she learns everything she can about her contacts and the organizations she’s infil- trated. At higher ranks this isn’t strictly required, but most watchers keep tabs on “their” Sleepers anyway. In some tetrarchies every watcher knows who’s watching her. They perform rituals to formally adopt or change who they study. This sort of thing falls in and out of favor, because powerful Ministry mages often use threats and bribes to influence anyone observing them, leading to rogue branches of the Ministry. Elsewhere, watchers spy anonymously. This encourages distracting paranoia, but maintains loyalty to the Ministry.

Advancement Dossiers[3]

To progress within the Ministry, a watcher has to prove that she’s ready for the job — or one of her superiors needs to step aside. An ambitious mage compiles a detailed dossier about the watcher she wants to replace, and asks a trustworthy ally to spy on her, and testify to superiors that she’s competent. This witness can’t be the one studying her under the Tree of Eyes because senior members of the Ministry need two points of view to study. (If the mage unknowingly picks someone linked to her by the Tree, that watcher should pass the job onto a third party.) The superior secretly reviews each dossier and grants Status accord- ing to his findings. Sometimes, the judge has to deal with blackmail; ambitious mages spy on them, too.

Grigori[4]

Rather than a ritual vestment, one variant of Profane Urim takes the form of a shroud or grave wrappings. Exclusively grant- ed to Panopticon by the Eye, when a Sleepwalker is bound in the shroud he undergoes a horrific transformation. His body is placed into suspended animation, while his mind and soul are fused to create an ephemeral entity projected out into Twilight as an invisible watchdog and spy. When viewed in Twilight by Mind Mage Sight, Grigori resemble mummified, struggling humanoid forms covered in eyes and borne aloft by six wings made of smoke. Their comatose bodies, safely stored in secure locations, constantly whisper descriptions of what the Grigori see. Removing the Sleepwalker from the shroud is instantly fatal.

Prelacy

The Eye grants the Crown of Vision[5]. When using the Sympathetic Range Attainment, the character counts as having a weak sympathetic connection to any subject she has no connection for. She reduces the effects of Occultation and similar powers by her Space dots.

References

  1. ↑ MTAw: Mage: The Awakening Second Edition, p. 72 Buy it from DriveThruRPG! Now in Print!
  2. ↑ MTAw: Seers of the Throne, p. 60 Buy it from DriveThruRPG!
  3. 1 2 MTAw: Seers of the Throne, p. 62-63 Buy it from DriveThruRPG!
  4. ↑ MTAw: Mage: The Awakening Second Edition, p. 310 Buy it from DriveThruRPG! Now in Print!
  5. ↑ MTAw: Mage: The Awakening Second Edition, p. 103 Buy it from DriveThruRPG! Now in Print!
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