Mage Characters

Felicia Hardesty

“Abra, abra-cadabra, abracadabra,
I want to reach out and grab ya.”
– Steve Miller Band “Abracadabra”

Name: Felicia Hardesty

Tradition: Cult of Ecstacy

Essence: Dynamic

Nature: Avante-garde

Demeanor: Praise-seeker

Concept: Awakened Stage Magician

Quote: “Look deep into the eyes of Countess d’Sangre: surrender to her hypnotic gaze.”

Concept: Awakened stage magician

Description: Felicia stands 5′ 7″ tall (in her stocking feet, 5′ 9″ in heels) and weighs 138 lbs. She has long dark brown hair and green eyes: her trademark is a long lock of her hair before her left ear braided with silver beads and clear crystals. She also wears a pair of silver rings in her left ear.

She had commanding features: a broad forehead, deep-set green eyes underneath arching eyebrows and long, dark eyelashes, flaring cheekbones, an upturned nose with flared nostrils, sensual lips, and a pointed chin and strong jawline. She is in reasonably good physical shape and maintains it with light exercise and running.

For her magic performances she wears a traditional stage magician’s costume: a black satin jacket and trousers, a white satin blouse with ruffles up the front and at the cuffs, high-heeled black boots, and a collapsible black satin top hat. As Countess d’Sangre she wears a low-cut sleeveless blood-red satin gown cut high up her thighs, long red gloves, gold sandals, a (fake) gold and ruby necklace and earring set, and white makeup to represent the vampiric pallor. Off stage she prefers casual clothing, but she still manages to make anything she wears look fashionable.

Prelude: It was quite by accident (or perhaps by her Avatar nudging her in the right direction) that Felicia became fascinated with stage magic. Her parents approved, being involved in the Hollywood entertainment business themselves. She learned her skills from the best teachers in the area. She started her stage career while attending UCLA, and graduated with a BA in Fine Arts.

Quite fortuitously she got the role of Countess d’Sangre, the hostess of a late-night horror film program for a local TV station. The program proved very successful and the program was syndicated around the country. Part of that success was due to her insistence on transferring the role to the stage and playing local college campuses, etc. To further the vampiric aspects of the part, she learned hypnosis and added it to her act. When the show finally finished after five years, she made arrangements to continue the act and went touring college campuses, her favorite venue.

Magick: Felicia’s skills in magick are not concentrated in one or two Spheres but seems to be spread out over many. If there is one theme that she has discovered, it is the transcendence of the mind over reality. But first she must know reality before she can transcend it.

All of Felicia’s current foci are standard stage magic illusions or hypnotic devices. Because of her awakening Avatar, Felicia no longer requires a foci to work her Time magick.

• Correspondence (Multiplying ball illusion)
• Mind (Hypnodisk)
• Prime (Magician’s wand)
• Time (Felicia’s first book of magic tricks, a valuable collector’s item rumored to have been owned by Houdini)

Backgrounds: Her strong Avatar was what eventually led her to her teacher. Felicia can obtain performances through her connection with Countess d’Sangre, as well as some money from a line of popular posters. Instead of a regular residence in an apartment or home, she lives out of motel rooms and (when necessary) the limited facilities of her van. She does have membership in several regional and national campground associations. Finally, one night after a performance, Felicia came back to her van to discover Bubastis sitting on the front seat, waiting for her. Bubastis imperiously introduced herself as Felicia’s familiar, and has been with Felicia ever since. Felicia keeps a catbox in the van and milk and canned catfood in the van’s small refrigerator.

Merits: A gift she always possessed is the soothing power of her voice. A deep, throaty sound, likened to a cat’s purr, it is remarkably compelling. She has integrated it into her use of hypnosis, finding it very helpful to overcome her limited knowledge of the art. [Soothing Voice (3)] A gift that was always a part of her nature is her sheer animal magnetism. She always had the knack of looking good and acting sensual that drew appreciative men’s looks and scorning women’s looks to her. It has also made her stage act very popular. [Animal Magnetism (1)] Because of her many gifts and years as Countess d’Sangre, Felicia now has a good reputation in the entertainment industry. She is guaranteed some public notoriety and she has a number of show-business ties and contacts, which is how she can remain in the business after syndication. [Entertainment Ties (3)]

Flaws: However, her gifts have a price. Her Avatar is not human, but not animal either: it might be related to the werecats, the Bastet. Because of that strong Avatar she is cursed with its mark: a certain feline appearance and mannerisms, which even unAwakened individuals comment on, calling her “catty”. She has the habit of leaning forward and cocking her head like an animal when trying to hear faint sounds. In certain moments, the light will briefly reflect from her eyes like a cat’s: it is not always noticeable and never seen if actively looked for. [Primal Mark: cat (2)] She also has an obsessive curiosity [Curiosity (2)] and feels a need to protect cats. [Prohibition: protects cats (1)] She is also allergic to dogs. [Allergy: dogs (1)] From somewhere in her past lives she acquired the Bard’s Tongue. It usually takes the form of quotations from Shakespeare or fantasy novels. [Bard’s tongue (1)]

Equipment: Beat-up minivan nicknamed “Houdini” with a large closet, a small bed, table, kitchen and bathroom arrangement, and storage space for her traveling trunks of illusions; clothing; well-worn trunks with a collection of escape equipment and magic tricks; stage costumes; collection of advertising posters; electric typewriter; books on hypnosis and the life and illusions of Houdini; collection of dangling crystals, spiraling disks, mirrors, and other hypnotic aids, including a “hypnodisk” given to her by her late mentor.

Roleplaying Hints: Felicia is languorously seductive. All quiet slyness and sensual coyness, she never looks directly at anyone unless concentrating on them alone: the effect is of some predatory feline covertly examining its prey. She is not promiscuous but she is not above seducing a partner (she is strictly heterosexual) with her charms or hypnotic skills when she feels the need for a lover.