History TabletopGame / WitchCraft

* TomeOfEldritchLore: These are a thing in this setting. They could contain instructions for normal magic, black magic, or -- in the worst cases -- how to contact and summon Mad Gods.

* TooDumbToLive: The [[HellGate Sammael Gate]] in the [[DreamLand Sephiroth of Hod]] is the only permanent breach between our world and the horrible Taint-based universe of the Mad Gods. Predictably, few dare to enter it, and fewer still return alive and sane. However, one Covenant - the Eye of Horus - made it their ''initiation ritual'' for new members to dart into the Sammael Gate and return, figuring that anyone who can survive THAT is badass enough to join their ranks. [[RealityEnsues "Of course, the Eye of Horus was a short-lived group."]]

* IncorruptiblePurePureness: Oddly enough, the Rosicrucians are the one Covenant that does not contain corruption to any meaningful degree. They're not necessarily saints, but their Inquisition ''works''. Becoming a full Rosicrucian involves swearing a heroic oath to forsake all dealings with Hell and the Mad Gods, and very few Rosicrucians of any rank have ever violated this oath.

** Werewolves are the most common type of Ferals (at least in the western world), but every mammalian predator has a Feral equivalent. Ferals can either be born that way, or acquire the Feral curse by [[ViralTransformation being sufficiently injured by a Feral or even killing a Feral]].

* PhantasySpelling ("Vampyres"...)

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Vitalinus, [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld one of the surviving founders of the Rosicrucians]] and unofficial leader of their council of Grand Masters, is mentioned as being the most approachable of the Grand Masters by a fair bit - relaxed, friendly, and almost impossible to surprise or annoy. He makes a habit of visiting local Rosicrucian chapters and meeting all members, making sure no problems are neglected for too long and helping to solve any problems that they can't solve on their own. His goal? He founded the Rosicrucians, and he wants the Covenant to flourish. And since the Covenant is only the sum of its parts, he wants to assist the various parts. When reporting suspected corruption in the Inquisition (see below), it's customary to go to Vitalinus, since "If he's corrupt, we're all stuffed anyway."
** The Rosicrucian Inquisition. Its name makes other Covenants nervous, but it exists to root out collaboration with demons or Mad Gods and other forms of extreme evil. Since the crimes it investigates (and the [[DeaderThanDead associated punishment]]) are so serious, it exercises ''extreme'' thoroughness and care, convicting only one wrongdoer per decade, despite taking on twenty cases or so per year (the rest are either lesser crimes or simple misunderstandings from someone with incomplete facts, as will happen in a secret society). This thoroughness and care makes the Inquisition respected instead of feared within the Covenant.

** Demons are portrayed with more nuance in ''Armageddon'', but in the ''Witchcraft'' era, they are always 100% evil. Even on the rare occasions when they become allies to the Gifted, they'll usually betray the Gifted the minute they've outlived their usefulness.

* BlackMagic: In general, Black Magic is magic that doesn't require care and consideration when used. It can freely be used for evil without rebounding on the caster, but someone will always suffer when it's used - and if it's used selflessly, the caster's the one who'll be stuck with the "bill".

* DarkWorld: In Geburah, those souls who don't reincarnate or Pass On usually end up in the Twilight World. A darker reflection of the living world that many believe is shaped by the collective memories of the ghosts and phantasms "living" there. It is mainly divided into The City and The Wilderness. The City is an amalgation of every city througought history, and The Wilderness is inhabited by ghosts of more primitive humans and animals.

* FauxAffablyEvil: Demons in general. When they're on Earth, demons prefer to take a (usually attractive) human form, all the better to lead humanity astray. But however pleasant they may seem in their human guise, a demon has nothing but contempt for humanity, and their goal is always to cause (or enable) as much tragedy and misery as possible.

* IncorruptiblePurePureness: Oddly enough, the Rosicrucians are the one Covenant that does not contain corruption to any meaningful degree. They're not necessarily good guys, but their Inquisition ''works''. Hell and the Mad Gods have no power over any major groups in them, and very few members at any level have sold their souls.

* SlobsVsSnobs: The Wicce and Rosicrucians don't really get along because of this. Wicce are CloserToEarth pagans who live relatively simple lives and use magic carefully for defense, ''a little'' personal benefit, and fighting evil. Rosicrucians are a fraternity of wizards in business suits who focus on getting rich and developing their magical ability.

* SupernaturallyDeliciousAndNutritious: Any high-essence character not concealing their power with an essence shield looks like a delicious meal to many creatures.

* TooDumbToLive: The [[HellGate Sammael Gate]] in the [[DreamLand Sephiroth of Hod]] is the only permanent breach between our world and the horrible Taint-based universe of the Mad Gods. Predictably, few dare to enter it, and fewer still return alive and sane. However, one Covenant - the Eye of Horus - made it their ''initiation ritual'' for new members to dart into the Sammael Gate and return, figuring that anyone who can survive THAT is badass enough to join their ranks. "Of course, the Eye of Horus was a short-lived group."

* ExtraordinarilyEmpoweredGirl: While [[RareMaleExample not necessarily female]], the Lesser Gifted archetype lets you play this: a talented but relatively ordinary person with a little magical extra.

* ObligatoryWarCrimeScene: Freedom fighters against the Church of Revelations usually don't respect the Red Circle of Leviathan, and willingly kill medics and chaplains from the Helping Hands of Leviathan. (The [=AoR=] don't respect the Red Cross or Crescent either.)

* MugglesDoItBetter: On a strategic scale, the Shaitan are pretty much useless against the UsefulNote/YanksWithTanks. They're good for dealing with underequipped and unprofessional forces and wonderful for terror attacks, but a modern military's firepower will shred the supernatural monsters with machine guns and antitank weapons.

* NotSoDifferent: The Knights Templar have much nobler goals than their sworn enemy, the Combine, but use the same shadowy conspiracy tactics, from media manipulation to assassination. To their credit, the Knights try to avoid "collateral damage" as much as possible, but [[IDidWhatIHadToDo they will do what they must]] to defeat the Combine.

* TooDumbToLive: The [[HellGate Sammael Gate]] in the [[DreamLand Sephiroth of Hod]] is the only permanent breach between our world and the horrible Taint-based universe of the Mad Gods. Predictably, few dare to enter it, and fewer still return alive and sane. However, one Covenant - the Eye of Horus - made it their ''initiation ritual'' for new members to dart into the Sammael Gate and return, figuring that anyone who can survive THAT is badass enough to join their ranks. [[RealityEnsues "Of course, the Eye of Horus was a short-lived group."]]

* AllMythsAreTrue: Almost to the point of All Pop Culture Is True. Not just every myth, but almost every UrbanFantasy or {{Horror}} trope has ''some'' analog somewhere in this setting. Want a party with a fledgling witch whose cat familiar is more magical than she is, a ''[[Film/TheCrow Crow]]''-esque unkillable revenant, a psychic who can make people's heads explode ''Film/{{Scanners}}'' style, and a ''[[Film/TheFrighteners Frighteners]]''-inspired "freelance exorcist" who uses their legit power to communicate with ghosts to swindle the wealthy? Sounds like a Lesser Gifted Wicce, a Bast, a Relentless Dead with a high level of regeneration, a Seer with a lot of levels in Mindkill, and a Necromancer with some Ghost Contacts.

* Magitek: Both sides have access to this but with their lack of ethics, the Army of Revelations is pushing science and magic to horrific limits.

** Subverted by the Nahualli, the Dark Covenant of Aztec blood magic and jaguar Ferals. Originally, they were against Leviathan because [[TakeOverTheWorld the New Sun]] isn't going to happen if the Church of Revelations takes over the world. But then their entire ruling class were Tainted in secret, any Nahualli who tried to stay on message were killed, and the rest absorbed into the Army of Revelations.

* FallenStatesOfAmerica: America's kind of in a bad way. Slum areas of major cities were walled off, and the Supreme Court was laughed at when they declared this unconstitutional (said slum areas have become hives of supernatural danger). Parts of the country have gone Mad Max, with motorcycle gangs of army deserters and Believers roaming the roads, while other areas have rebelled and declared their own petty nations. The U.S. government simply doesn't have the time or resources to deal with any of this - they're too busy fighting a war for humanity's survival.

* GodsNeedPrayerBadly: While Incarnates (read: gods) are not utterly dependent on human belief, they derive a lot of power from it. Before the modern era, most lost their power base when the Seraphim had their mortal minions slaughter the Incarnates' mortal minions.

* LegionsOfHell: They're actually on mankind's side for this conflict, because damning all of humanity to spite the Creator is a pretty hollow victory if Leviathan devours all of reality, you included. The irony that the demons are now forced to protect the very beings that they have spent millennia trying to damn is not lost on them, either.

* Magitek: both sides are attempting this but with their lack of ethics, the Army of Revelations is pushing science and magic to horrific limits.

* MiddleEasternCoalition: [[EnemyMine Israel, Iran and Saudi Arabia]] are working together to fight the Church of Revelations, supported by the largest contingent of the Heavenly Host in the world (the remnants of Gabriel's faction).

* EvilVersusOblivion: The Legion of Hell has no love for humanity, the Pantheons, or the Heavenly Host, but they hate Leviathan (and its threat to Reality) even more.

* *TheDragon: The Dark Apostle has 3 main lieutenants. Each is the leader of the Church of Revelations in a region. El General is responsible for Central and South America, The Lady of Jade leads the Church in Asia, and the Dark Imam in Middle-East. Each one is an extremely powerful Adept of Leviathan.

** Sometimes having the Gift begins in this way, as a formerly normal individual (sometimes even a child) spontaneously manifests their Gift while having never believed that supernatural phenomena is real. If they're lucky, they come to the attention of other Gifted who can teach them about their new powers (and protect them from the Mundane world), but the less fortunate end up going insane, living as fugitives, or in the hands of the Combine (who might kill them outright or just [[TheyWouldCutYouUp put them in a laboratory]]).