Essences

As I keep saying, this project is inspired by Mage: the Ascension, like many of my attempts over the years. Like many of the elements used to define characters in Mage, Essence didn't really get a solid set of mechanisms attached to it until later iterations of the rules (a bit like alignment in almost every incarnation of D&D). There were generally four types of essence...

• Dynamic essences seek change in the world, because they feel that things need to be introduced into the world to bring positivity. 
• Pattern essences seek stability, because they feel certain changes are causing negativity and need to be neutralised.
• Primordial essences think things have already gone too far, and it's time to break some of the existing reality to start anew.
• Questing essences seek something more, pushing beyond the world to greater heights.

The "personalities" at the beginning of this post could easily be a way to define essence in the setting I'm aiming for. The whole nature of the game is an understanding that the world is broken, and the player characters are the avatars of potential change within the setting. Familiars know that the world is broken too, they pick their avatars in the world from among those showing the greatest potential.

Some mystic characters may follow the "Emo" path, where they can see that the world is broken, but don't know how to improve it. In these cases it's the familiar's job to show them how change for the better is possible. They are probably closest to Mage's Questing essences, but they need a kick to get the motivated.

Some may follow the "Goth" path, and it will be their characters journey to protect the beauty in the world. In these cases it will be the familiar's job to show them the things that need to be protected, ad to divert the forces of change away from these things of beauty. They are probably closest to Mage's Pattern essences, but they can be very narrow in the options they choose to protect.

Some may follow the "Punk" path, and it will be in their nature to bring anarchy and chaos against the things that they see oppressing the world, utterly detroying elements of the world that they deem wrong. In these cases, it will be the familiars job to identify the features of the world that are most in need of obliteration, and perhaps identify the best ways to bring it. They are clearly the Primordial essences from a Mage perspective.

Then there are the "Scene" path takers, who are hedonists and idealists striving to stay ahead of the darkness in the world. Their familiars seek to drive them onward, hoping that their journeys will serve as inspirations for lightening the wider world. Initially, I was thinking that they are probably the Dynamic essences, but in reflection they might actually be closer to the Questing essence (without needing the Emo's kick in the pants).

That still leaves us needing a dynamic essence... maybe I could throw in a "Heavy Metal" analog, where they take the Primordial role of seeking death, damage and destruction against the oppressive elemets of the world, while pushing the punks toward the Dynamic role of bringing change for the sake of change.

Maybe I'm just overthinking the whole thing.