Mage Characters

Sterling P. (for Percival) Montague

“… ghost riders in the sky …”

Name: Sterling P. Montague

Tradition: Dreamspeaker

Essence: Dynamic

Nature: Visionary

Demeanor: Loner

Concept: Cowboy

Quote: “Eee-yup.”

Concept: Awakened cowboy

Description: Tall, tanned from the weather, Sterling looks like the Marlboro Man come to life. He stands 6′ 3″ and weighs 215 lbs. His hair and eyes are dark brown, and his face is darkly tanned and wrinkled from exposure to the elements. He traditionally wears plaid work shirts and heavy jeans, with sometimes a cowboy hat.

Prelude: Sterling Awakened late in life, but he had had several episodes of occult and magickal significance, mostly dealing with spirits. He grew up accustomed to hearing voices speaking to him on the breeze and getting feelings.

In between jobs on the range, he worked the for American Wild West Rodeo show, where he learned how to use a gun, especially how to draw it. He left the show after becoming disturbed at the show’s callous treatment of animals: his last act was to free a small herd of Appaloosa horses from the show’s lot into the wild when he learned that they were going to be sold for dog food. He was aided in this by a stranger who mysteriously appeared out of the night, dispatched a guard who had a reputation for torturing animals, stared at Sterling with eyes glowing palely like the Moon from across the stables, then vanished into the darkness.

He finally Awakened when he realized the song “Ghost Riders in the Sky” was only supposed to be a song: when he discovered that spirits in the sky wouldn’t normally be expected to speak with him, he found refuge with a Native American shaman who was also a Dreamspeaker. At first, the shaman was unwilling to accept Sterling as an apprentice but Sterling’s character and Code of Honor appealed to the shaman and finally won him over.

Magick: The focus for his Spheres of Prime, Spirit and Mind is a large uncut amethyst crystal. He found this on a vision quest during his initiation into the Tradition: a great grey spirit wolf led him to a secluded valley where crystals grew in profusion, and Sterling selected the one that seemed destined for him. Because of his advanced awareness he no longer requires its help with the Prime and Spirit Spheres.

Backgrounds: What finally convinced the shaman to accept Sterling as an initiate was Sterling’s strong Avatar. What surprised them both was Sterling’s link to the Dream, which finally began to explain some of the strange happenings in his life. The Peacemaker he carries was once owned by Annie Oakley herself, and Sterling even has the documentation to prove it. As such, he will carry it through airports as an antique. It was given to Sterling’s grandfather by Annie herself and has remained in the family ever since. No one knows whether it was enchanted for her or even when it was enchanted: Sterling, as far as he can determine, is the only Mage in his family for several generations, or anything occult, as far back as he can find.

Merits: Sterling has trained long and hard to use either hand, both in writing and in fighting. Drawing with his off hand, his left hand, he is just as fast as with his right. [Ambidextrous (1)] He has always maintained a personal code of honor, something that he takes from the legends of the Old West. [Code of Honor (1)]

Flaws: Sterling is a nicotine addict; he admits it, but doesn’t want to bother changing. [Addiction: cigarettes (1)] Due to his long years on the open range, Sterling has developed an irrational fear of enclosed spaces. Any room smaller than a large bedroom he finds disturbingly claustrophobic, and he refuses to get into elevators except in the most extreme circumstances. [Phobia: enclosed spaces (1)]

Equipment: Duffle bag with spare clothing, poncho, boots, gun belt; several Western paperback novels; photographs of the horses he has owned; turquoise string tie.

Roleplaying Hints: Think of the Marlboro Man as a Mage. Taciturn almost to the point of silence, yet always with a cigarette hanging from his lips. He doesn’t say much, preferring to let his actions speak for themselves. That is, that’s what they say about him: he prefers to listen for the voices of the spirits on the wind and take their council before acting. When he does act, it is usually decisive.