Glossary & Quick Reference

For new players and anyone who needs a reminder. If someone mentioned the Leges Machinae in the same breath as the Consensus, the God-Machine, and the Shadow Directorate — and you smiled and nodded while understanding none of it — this document is for you.

Everything here is a quick definition. For the full story behind any term, see the World Bible.

Places

Basilica Purgatory — The city-state where the sim takes place. Built upon the sunken ruins of San Francisco, founded in 100 TE when its Reality Anchor was activated. Population: roughly 80,000 humans and an unknown number of supernaturals living quietly among them.

The Overcity — The surface city: wide streets, government buildings, commercial districts, residential towers. Where most humans live and work.

The Undercity — The original San Francisco, flooded and collapsed during the Sundering, rebuilt over 200 years. The deeper you go, the older and stranger it gets. Where most supernaturals make their home.

The Isle of Purgatory — A stabilized Hedge Isle anchored off the coast since 152 TE. Publicly: a resort where humans safely observe the wild world beyond the walls. In reality: a territory governed by the bana'Shee, a Wyrd-born Fae lord, where the Veil is deliberately thin.

The Basilican League — The international governing body of the fifteen surviving Basilicas. Governs trade (in numisma), communication, and mutual defense.

The Mechanism — The deep sub-basement complex housing the Aether Reactors. Run by the God Machine Guild. Access requires Guild clearance.

The Undercroft — A network of tunnels beneath the old Civic Center ruins. Meeting ground of the Veil Keepers.

The Grove of Sutro — A surviving stand of trees within the Basilica's protected zone. Home of the Thorned Circle.

Systems & Forces

The God-Machine — The vast supernatural infrastructure that rebuilt reality after the Sundering and keeps the Basilicas functional. Not a god in any spiritual sense — a system that maintains order through the Consensus.

The Consensus — Humanity's collective expectation of how reality behaves becomes natural law in their presence. The more mundane witnesses present, the harder it is for supernaturals to act openly.

The Veil — The shared fiction, maintained by supernaturals and enforced by the Veil Keepers, that supernatural beings exist only beyond the Basilica walls.

The Leges Machinae (LAY-ges mah-KEY-nay) — The codified rules of supernatural conduct demanded by the God-Machine: maintain the Veil, don't use abilities in front of crowds, don't interfere with God-Machine infrastructure, never expose the Shadow Directorate.

The Shadow Directorate — The supernatural community's hidden mirror government, founded in 140 TE. Its local operations run largely through the five Factions.

Omega Crates — Automated packages of Old World technology, falling from orbit every few weeks. Most humans don't question where they come from — the Consensus makes sustained curiosity difficult.

Wyrdstorm — A manifestation of raw Dreaming energy seeping through the cracks left by the Sundering. Technology fails; supernatural abilities become erratic.

Reality Anchor — Ancient obelisks that deflect Wyrdstorms, stabilize reality, and allow long-range communication between Basilicas.

The Gauntlet — The barrier between the material world and the spirit realm. Damaged during the Sundering, thin and unstable in the Undercity.

The Dreaming — The vast realm of dreams, creativity, and Fae power. Its gates cracked open during the Great Wyrdstorm and have never been properly sealed.

The Numisma (Ꞥ) — The currency of the Basilican League, roughly 1Ꞥ per old-world cent.

The Supernaturals

Lilum (LIE-lum) — The vampires of Requiem by Night, also called Vampire or Kindred in-world. When Caine walked into Oblivion, Lilith offered every vampire rebirth through her covenant. Those who chose it are the Lilum. The old Sects (Camarilla, Sabbat, Anarchs) don't exist — Factions replaced them. The six common bloodlines are Ventrue, Toreador, Malkavian, Gangrel, Nosferatu, and True Brujah.

Garou — The werewolves of Requiem by Night, also called Werewolf in-world, and Gaian Shifters formally. Remade by Eshtarra the Younger after Gaia the Elder's death. Bane is obsidian, not silver. Metis carry no stigma. Six tribes: Black Furies, Fianna, Get of Fenris, Glass Walkers, Silent Striders, and Children of Eshtarra.

The Lost — Mortals taken to Arcadia by the Fae and eventually escaped, returning changed. Six seemings: Beasts, Darklings, Elementals, Fairest, Ogres, and Wizened.

Dreamborne — Fae beings between the mortal Lost and the fully supernatural Wyrd-born. A Rare playable path requiring Admin approval.

Wyrd-born — True Fae, the most powerful Fae beings. Storyteller-controlled only — not playable. The bana'Shee of the Isle of Purgatory is a Wyrd-born.

Hellion — The Hungry Dead. Beings who have died, endured the Thousand Hells, and returned changed — dual-natured, driven by Dharma, sustained by Essence. Not vampires, though both are undead. Five common Dharma paths: Devil Tiger, Incandescent Owl, Hymn of the Autumnal Vigil, Song of the Dancing Dragon, and Spirit of the Living Earth, plus the Rare path of a Thousand Whispers. See the Hellion page for details.

Sorcerers — Practitioners of hedge magic derived from pacts and structured schools rather than the self. Six Schools: Artificers, Augurs, Druids, Ossians, Wayfarers, and Fury Shapers.

Psychics — Humans born with supernatural mental abilities. Not Awakened, but often mistaken for it — every Psychic must maintain a masking practice to avoid conscription by the God Machine Guild.

Awakened / Mages — Extinct as a free community. Those who Awaken are conscripted by the God Machine Guild. Not playable — if your character appears to be Awakening, contact Admin immediately.

Hunters — Don't hunt supernaturals to destroy them; they maintain balance and keep the Veil intact. Four types: Mundane Hunters, the Imbued, the Shih, and Bystanders.

Half-Damned — Humans with one foot in the supernatural world: Kinfolk, Ghouls, Projectors, and Dhampir.

Common Abbreviations

If a term isn't here, ask your Mentor. That's what they're for. The world is complicated — you don't have to understand all of it on day one.