Line #72 DarthWiki/FourOhTwo


1	''402'' is a formerly-weekly episode-based Mage: The Awakening game that ended its first "Season" arc after a two-year span, in December 2009, and plans to continue with the second "season" in September 2011.
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3	The game focuses on a group of five young magi whose lives are all intertwined with the University of Portland. They attend 'Magic Class' in an abandoned old building, taught by a mysterious but trustworthy teacher, Holmes. In the first season, the [[PlayerCharacter player characters]] training started to take a backseat to their duties of [[BigDamnHeroes saving the world as we know it.]] The player characters are:
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5	* [[TheHero Quantum]], a [[TheStoic stoic]] ActionGirl. Master of Time and Adept of Matter.
6	* [[TheLancer Mingan]], a NewAgeRetroHippie [[ShapeShifting Shape Shifter]]. Master of Life and Spirit.
7	* [[TheBigGuy Smokey]], a badass with a DarkAndTroubledPast. Master of Forces and Adept of Life.
8	* [[TheSmartGuy Wiki]], an [[AloofAlly aloof]] LovableNerd. Master of Prime and Space.
9	* [[TheHeart Justicar]], the StraightMan Ace Attorney of the group. Master of Mind and Adept of Space.
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11	The group have played through 12 episodic chronicles, each with their own distinct stories, that figure into the overall story.
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13	* 1: "[[PowersInTheFirstEpisode Rebirth]]". The cabal is formed, sans Mingan, and begins to recieve tutelage under Holmes. After he is put into a magical sleep-state by an unknown party, the cabal sets out to find the culprits, but find much more sinister plots at work.
14	* 2: "[[EnemyMine Encounter]]". 402 are attacked by a group of hunters but manage to escape. They track down the hunters and discover that they may not be what they appear to be..
15	* 3: "[[CarnivalOfKillers Discovery]]". When Smokey finds a cave that contains the mythical Codex of St. Cyprian, the cabal becomes a target for multiple psychopaths who want to claim the book's devastating power for themselves.
16	* 4: "[[MidSeasonTwist Control]]". When [[BigBad Hyde]] and The Swarm destroy a convoy being protected by 402, he springs Faust, an infamous mage who caused a catastrophic incident in the past.
17	* 5: "[[ChristmasEpisode Midnight]]". The vampire population in Portland explodes as a huge gang of Brujah descend upon the town.
18	* 6: "[[HeroicBsod Compulsion]]". Smokey murders his girlfriend in his sleep, prompting him to join Hyde, as promises of salvation are whispered in his ear. Did Smokey really kill Milly?
19	* 7: "[[BreatherEpisode Origin]]". Wiki learns that she was adopted, and brings the group to France for an investigation. They discover a conspiracy that threatens mage society everywhere.
20	* 8: "[[HiddenElfVillage Resistance]]". Mingan meets a group of werewolves with which he becomes close. When one of their number is found dead along with an influential mage, tensions fly between the two factions. Who is really pulling the strings?
21	* 9: "[[BizarroEpisode Retribution]]". Justicar's pursuit of a serial killer brings him back to Portland. However, the killer is soon found dead, killed by his own mind. And something escaped.
22	* 10: "[[WhamEpisode Epicenter]]". Quantum starts to blink in and out of another world, one shrouded in red mist. She meets its inhabitants and discovers its properties, while the rest of the cabal struggle to keep her from blinking away forever.
23	* 11: "[[TimeTravel Echoes]]". A surprise attack by Hyde has left 402 in a very tough spot. However, they are suddenly shunted back in time to the year 1207, and meet a very familiar looking knight..
24	* 12: "[[GrandFinale Absolution]]". The final battle between 402 and the Traveler Cult.
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26	There's also going to be a [[LowerDeckEpisode 402 one-shot sidestory]] that figures into the main plot of the series. It's gonna happen sometime in August, 2011.
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28	[[DarthWiki/FourOhTwoCharacters Character page is here.]]
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30	-----
31	''402'' contains examples of the following tropes:
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33	* AbnormalAmmo: 402's main weakness [[spoiler:before Mingan gained the ability to suppress it]] is to Atlantite, a mysterious stone substance that can be used to cripple a mage's abilities, depowering them for a short time, depending on the dose.
34	* AbsurdlySharpBlade: The Heart of Time, Quantum's uber-powerful bastard sword acquired in "Echoes". [[spoiler:She uses it in conjunction with her Time magic to defeat Hyde.]]
35	* ActionDressRip: Quantum and Wiki in "Echoes", after they're dressed "properly".
36	* ActionGirl: You could pretty much call this "ActionGirl: The RPG".
37	* AcquiredPoisonImmunity: Discorsi learned to cast despite breathing atlantite gas in "Control".
38	* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: The ending of "Epicenter", when [[spoiler:Hyde finally infiltrates room 402.]]
39	* AnAssKickingChristmas: "Midnight".
40	* AntiHero: Smokey. Dark past? Check. Daddy Issues? Check. Occasional severe homicidal tendancies? Check.
41	* AnyoneCanDie: Both subverted and played straight. It's pretty clear that Hyde wants 402 alive, and might not even be able to kill them, but the people around the cabal have no such immunity, and sometimes die.
42	* ArcWords: "The Traveler is Coming." [[spoiler:He does.]]
43	* ArtifactOfDoom: Cyprian's Codex.
44	* AscendedExtra: Malachi, the meek Guardians of the Veil secretary. He's a fan of 402, and has helped them out on a couple of occasions.
45	* AttackAttackRetreatRetreat: Smokey's little van stunt in "Rebirth".
46	* BadassDriver: Corona, Before [[TheDragon Sid]] DroppedABridgeOnHim. At least he got a FacingTheBulletsOneLiner in.
47	* BadAssNormal: [[spoiler:Holmes after his depowering in "Echoes".]]
48	* BarBrawl: The destruction of Earl's Watering Hole early in "Discovery".
49	* BattleCouple: Holmes and Misty, as well as Mingan and Artemis.
50	* BioAugmentation: Mingan does this. Often.
51	* BitPartBadguys: The robbers at the restaurant in "Control".
52	* [[spoiler:BittersweetEnding: "Absolution". The cabal defeat Hyde's mooks in a massive battle, save Holmes' lost ex-girlfriend, and defeat all of his generals [[{{Cliffhanger}} only to realize that they were too late in the beginning, and]] TheBadGuyWins, with [[EldritchAbomination Rista Odaria]] [[{{Cliffhanger}} and his cronies being brought into the world through a time vortex]]. [[BigBad Hyde]], however, is depowered and captured by the Guardians of the Veil.]]
53	* BlackDudeDiesFirst: Averted. No major black characters have died, except for [[spoiler:Slug in "Absolution".]]
54	* [[BolivianArmyEnding Bolivian Army]] BattleInTheRain: The climax of "Discovery".
55	* BulletTime: Quantum's perferred combat trick.
56	* CanonImmigrant: Many, most from other tabletop roleplaying games. ([[TabletopGame/VampireTheRequiem Ganymede]], [[TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness Key]], [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons Halberd]], [[TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil Ruby]], [[TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening Cacudeus]].. etc)
57	* CarnivalOfKillers: "Discovery" was made of this trope. A badass punk gang with an [[TheDragon insane leader]], a [[TheVamp homicidal vampire assassin]] and a [[WellIntentionedExtremist group of hunters]] all try to capture Cyprian's Codex, which 402 recently acquired.
58	* CasualDangerDialogue: Given that the tone of the game is [[Creator/JossWhedon Whedonesque]], one can expect a lot of this.
59	* CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys: The cabal visit France in "Origin". Chaos ensues.
60	-->'''Terrified French Man:''' LE FANTOME!! LE FANTOOOMMMMEEE!!
61	* ChekhovsGunman: The Chiurgeon, the mysterious scientist wearing a gas mask who seems to appear every once in a while before retreating.
62	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Thoth in "Origin".
63	* CivilWar: The mage community looks to be on shaky ground after the events of "Epicenter", where [[MagnificentBastard Minos]] and [[HotLibrarian Eva]] have it out over the treatment of the Dorian files and the Guardians' secrecy.
64	* CoolBike: Smokey eventually obtains a motorcycle that is capable of invisibility and can fly. Eat your heart out, [[Literature/HarryPotter Hagrid]]!
65	* CruelAndUnusualDeath: [[spoiler:Ed Scott's death at the hands of Ixion]] in "Retribution". [[spoiler:He seems to have litterally crawled out of his brain into existence.]]
66	* {{Cult}}: The main villains of the game form the Traveler Cult, and gain many followers, especially among [[AxCrazy banishers]], the homeless, and [[CorruptCorporateExecutive corrupt businessmen]].
67	* CulturedBadass: Holmes. He drives a restored car from 1940 and uses a reclaimed .44 magnum from the American Civil War.
68	* DeusExitMachina: The members of Honored Ascension get subjected to this a lot, seeing as how they are some of the most powerful and influential magi around.
69	* DiedInYourArmsTonight: Lupa, in Mingan's, in "Resistance". He is then immediately and forcefully led away as the Guardians of the Veil ''[[NightmareFuel torch her corpse.]]''
70	* DitchTheBodyguards: Lampshaded by the cabal in "Echoes". [[spoiler:They go out of their way to avoid the aid of Edward Hyde, the mysterious knight who looks exactly like the BigBad.]]
71	* DroolHello: A Mana Ghoul gives Smokey and Milly a nice welcome when they find Cyprian's Sanctum in "Discovery".
72	* EpicFail: by one of the ''players''. Quantum forgot a fairly important plot point involving her character (She once paralyzed Ruby before Cacudeus made her better.)
73	--> [[spoiler:''[[subscript:Halberd:'' Quantum. I forgive you.\
74	''Quantum:'' [[NiceJobBreakingItHero For what?]]]]\
75	'''[[EarthShatteringKaboom KABOOM]]''']]
76	* MrFanservice: Cacudeus.
77	* EveryCarIsAPinto: Subverted. Cars take a lot of punishment, as evidenced in "Discovery", where [[TheDragon Sid]]'s {{Mooks}} attack 402's car using [[ImprovisedWeapon a chainsaw duct taped to a two by four]].
78	* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Smokey in "Compulsion".]]
79	* FamilyDisunion: Wiki's parents in "Origin". Harsh.
80	* FinalBattle: "Absolution". [[spoiler:Maybe.]]
81	* [[spoiler:FishOutOfTemporalWater: 402 in "Echoes".]]
82	* ForgottenFallenFriend: Corona. However, Mingan only knew him for a day, and didn't really get to know him.
83	* ForScience: Said verbatim by [[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment Dr. Insano]] {{Expy}} Neuron, the head of Portland's Free Council.
84	* TheGamePlaysYou: In their first encounter, the cabal play Hyde's "game" in Rebirth. After making both sides lose, he tells 402 [[BatmanGambit where the evil cult's ritual is being held]].
85	* GoingNative: What Mingan did upon awakening. He now lives in a tree with functional power, growing pot for pocket money.
86	* GoingToSeeTheElephant: 402 heading to Augusta to experience the destiny stone in "Encounter". The trip back is where [[CarChase things get interesting]].
87	* HalfwayPlotSwitch: "Origin". It starts by examining Wiki's family life, and by the end 402 are defending the Hierarch from a {{Cult}} of deranged religious zealots.
88	* HeroicBSOD: Smokey has a bad time in "Compulsion", as he's [[spoiler:made to believe that he murdered his girlfriend, then recruited by Hyde who entices him with [[BatmanGambit promises of destiny and salvation]]]].
89	* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:All of LADY PEACE, minus Cid, in "Absolution".]]
90	* HiredToHuntYourself: LADY PEACE. They're put in a difficult situation when they harbor a dangerous mage, while being hunters, and being tracked by 402.
91	* HollywoodHealing: {{Lampshaded}} by Cacudeus.
92	* HollywoodTactics: "Absolution", arguably.
93	* IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels: Sometimes 402 [[CurbStompBattle completely destroy their opponents]], but they also often are completely outmatched.
94	* ImprobableAimingSkills: Quantum has only ever botched a gunshot ''twice''. With a '''pistol.'''
95	* JurisdictionFriction: The Red Rock Hunters in "Rebirth". Justicar's uncle convinces the others that capturing 402 is out of their jurisdiction. This leads to the events in "Encounter".
96	* KarmaHoudini: Jim D'Artagnan in "Rebirth" and Antigone in "Absolution".
97	* KillSteal: In "Control", [[spoiler:just as 402 are rearing to defeat Faust, and after Justicar ''revives himself from beyond the grave'' to do so, Hyde appears and shoots Faust with an atlantite bullet.]]
98	* KubrickStare: Both Quantum and Holmes share this quality.
99	* LawEnforcementInc: The Adamantine Arrow and The Guardians of the Veil.
100	* LivingMacguffin: Faust in "Control", [[spoiler:Edward Hyde in "Echoes".]]
101	* TheLoad: Aponea, frequently. Having a pubescent teenage girl around tends to complicate things. Tessa especially despises the poor girl, constantly arguing with her during her planned "training". It didn't take.
102	* MagiBabble: Tessa does this a lot. Most of the seasoned magi still have no idea what she's going on about.
103	* TheMagocracy: The combined forces of the Adamantine Arrow, The Mysterium and the Guardians of the Veil. The Free Council are still getting running in Portland, and the Silver Ladder is non-existent.
104	* MeaningfulName: Mages usually pick names associated with their powers, personality, or particular skills (there are exceptions). Smokey changed his mage name in regards to the incident below.
105	* NoRangeLikePointBlankRange: Smokey used this strategy on a group of cultists, wanting to surprise them. It worked, but backfired when one of the cultists shot him in the chest with lightning, leaving a burned and smoking wound, and resulted in a name change from Mosh to Smokey.
106	* {{Padding}}: Some of the character-centric chronicles, mostly. "Midnight", "Origin", and "Retribution" can be considered this, given their plot irrelevance to the Traveler Arc.
107	* PoliceAreUseless: Subverted with the Adamantine Arrow, but played straight with the in-universe cops, who always arrive late.
108	* RedHerring: Jim D'Artagnan. He refused to tell 402 anything, refuted their accusations, and generally [[CurbStompBattle defeated them using nothing but words]], forcing 402 to scramble for clues before Hyde contacts them.
109	* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler:Three out of the four LADY PEACE members are killed in "Absolution", after making a HeroicSacrifice that turns the tide for the final battle.]]
110	* RevolversAreJustBetter: Holmes is a fan of classic revolvers. He has a gun that, according to 402, shoots explosions.
111	* RPGEpisode: "Echoes".
112	--->'''[[{{Adorkable}} Cid]]''': Uh.. wanna play some Final Fantasy XI?
113	* RuleOfCool: The way the gaming aspect works. Think of something cool? You're a mage, DO IT.
114	* SatelliteCharacter: Rosaline, Zion's girlfriend. She is literally attached magically to Zion, in a weird master/servant relationship.
115	* ScienceIsBad: Subverted. The Free Council are constantly creating magical devices, even ones that can be used by sleepers. The Adamantine Arrow is also starting along this path, with magically imbued weapons, armor and tools.
116	* TheScrappy: Jim D'Artagnan is a rare in-universe example. 402 tend to hate him ''even more than [[BigBad Hyde]]''.
117	* [[spoiler:ShaggyDogStory: The entire plot of the first "season", really.]]
118	* ShapeshifterBaggage: Mingan constantly needs replacement clothes. He carries around a pair of pants in a duffel bag at all times.
119	* StableTimeLoop: In "Echoes".
120	* SuccessionCrisis: In "Absolution", the Adamantine Arrow HQ in Portland is bombed and many of its soldiers killed. Apollo, their leader, is nowhere to be found, leaving low-ranking novice general [[ActionGirl Bast]] in charge. She struggles to keep control of the situation, panicing and terrified, until [[spoiler:Lancer reappears, with a troupe of [[EliteMooks Elite Archers]] and [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome regroups the entire place]].]]
121	* SuicideMission: Both "Rebirth" and "Absolution". [[spoiler:Not everyone makes it out of the latter.]]
122	* TagTeamSuicide: [[spoiler:Halberd, Ruby and Slug in "Absolution".]]
123	* TakingOverTheTown: The Brujah in "Midnight". They just show up in Portland and start wrecking up the place.
124	* TerribleTrio: Hyde, Sid Suicide, and Antigone.
125	* TimeTravel: "Echoes". The cabal winds up in the year 1207.
126	* UrbanFantasy: The setting of the game.
127	* WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong: Paired with DrivesLikeCrazy.
128	--> '''Smokey:''' Fuck it, let's just drive towards them!\
129	'''Quantum:''' NO. Bad idea. ''BAD IDEA.'' Trust me.\
130	'''Smokey:''' Oh. Right.
131	* WretchedHive: Earl's Watering Hole ([[spoiler:Until it was destroyed by Ganymede in a shootout]]) / Earl's ([[spoiler:Until it was destroyed by the Bruja]]/ Pistolero. Earl hates vampires.
132	* XanatosSpeedChess: Hyde in "Rebirth".
133	* YouAreTooLate: [[spoiler:The ending of Absolution.]]

Context DarthWiki / FourOhTwo