The Scarlet Woman, Warning! Not for Kids! Options

[Ancient History]

The file appears before you as an scroll of red-tinged chrome, with just the hint of gold filigree and circuit patterns along the edges. Settled into your private dataspace, you insert the passcode you purchased from that filthy little dealer into your deck and upload it, where it appears as a small iron key with a heart-shape on the end of the handle. With a touch, the key dissapears and the scroll unlocks, folding out origami-style into a lap-sized book, hotlinks smoldering on the left-hand index...

The Fellini Manual appeared in the occult underground of London in 2014, and was quickly labelled as pornography by the authorities and knowledgable occultists. Named after the author, one Arturo Fellini (a nom de plume) and based loosely on the writings of Aleister Crowley, the Fellini Manual had only a very limited run, straight-to-optical-chip, a method well ahead of its time, especially for the book-loving magic crowd.

The content of the Manual was so atrocious, however, that in 2016 it was officially banned in Great Britain, possession of it being deemed a magical felony no matter the talents or intent of the individual. The Lord Protector's agents collected and destroyed most of the books, keeping one copy under lock and key, while a prominent Madame is thought to hold another, but approximately ten are in unknown locations. Rumor has it that very London occult societies, the Vatican's black library, and a few eccentrics are all interested in obtaining an original copy. Inferior copies have long circulated in the dim back corners of the Matrix, but today the Fellini Manual is considered more of an urban myth than an actual magical work, or at best an expensive pillow-book with an overblown reputation by those who have seen the inferior copies. Due to the age of the code and the security encryptions on it, these copies lack any useful magical information, although they may serve as inspiration for spells or rituals involving sex and magic.

Unlike most other magical texts it has a helpful index and search function.

The Manual is a mixture of text, diagrams, photographs, and video material, most of it being in the triple-X bracket. The author begins with a simple treatise (featuring multiple illustrations and six five-minute videos) on using various sexual techniques to center oneself while performing a magical act, such as summoning a spirit, casting a spell, or participating in ritual magic (for the hours-long rituals required by the latter, the author includes certain tantric exercises, a calisthenics regimen, and certain pharmeceutical aids).

Fellini then delves into the concept of the Scarlet Woman. Something of a misnomer, the Scarlet Woman in this case is an adept of any gender that is submissive to and dominated by a magician according to Fellini's instruction, as given in the manual. Through repeated degradation and abuse, the Scarlet Woman, who must willingly go along with the process, although Fellini gives certain drugs and practices that can make it easier, becomes a receptacle of power for the magician. Individuals may be surprised at the levels to which the domineering magician (called by Fellini "the magus") must go to properly defile the submissive, including tattooing, branding, implantation of foreign objects beneath the skin, piercing, and of course various sexual acts, some enhanced by magic.

The Fellini Manual describes the Scarlet Woman as a willing partner for ritual sex for purposes of Centering, whose inherent adept powers empower the magus as they cast their spell. Ideally, the Scarlet Woman possesses sufficient magical ability to join in the ritual and aid the magus further.

[ Spoiler ]

The process for making a Scarlet Woman (who may be of any gender) is typically undertaken only by toxic shamans, petro houngans and mambos, and corrupted mages, because it means reducing an adept to little more than a tool, controlled and corrupted by demeaning sexual practices, drugs, and physical and mental abuse.

When a magus finds a suitable candidate, they must, by force or charisma, begin a sexual relationship with them, leading them by turns through greater and greater acts of submission. Particularly willful individuals are dulled through drugs and magical enchantment. The process culminates in a ceremonial initiation, where the unfortunate Scarlet Woman undergoes an Oath to serve the magus and submits to being branded with the magus' name on their inner thigh. From this point on, the Scarlet Woman is on the Via Donna Scarlatta, the Way of the Scarlet Woman, rather than their previous Adept Way.

Once initiated in this manner, a Scarlet Women can regain their self-confidence and escape their status only through a supreme act of will, and subsequent psychological treatment. Former Scarlet Women retain any abilities they gained while a Scarlet Woman, but may choose a new Way as they reconstruct their identity.

Via Donna Scarlatta
Adepts on this path may only learn the Aid Spell, Astral Perception, Improved Ability(Ritual Sex, etc.), Living Focus and Magical Power abilities (a Scarlet Woman is an exception to the normal rule that Magical Power may only be taken initially at character generation). The Scarlet Woman serves to aid their magus by learning and performing sexual acts for purposes of Centering, especially using their Aid Spell power. A Scarlet Woman may only learn the Centering, Cognition, Infusion, Somatic Control and Virtuoso metamagics on their own, although they may learn any their magus teaches them.

A Scarlet Woman is an ideal and willing subject to practice blood sacrifice on, or to serve a vessel for possession by a spirit, particularly a corrupt spirit such as spirits of Erzulie Ge-Rouge.

[lodestar]

Where do you come up with this stuff Ancient?

[Smiley]

Creepy.

[Ancient History]

Boredom, back issues of Hellblazer and Dr. Strange, old pulp stories...

[DocMortand]

What would be the target number(s) for a Scarlet Woman to break free from the Magus? You say it's possible, but not a mechanism to use.

Also - what happens to the Scarlet Woman if the Magus is killed?

I love your work, as always, AH.

[Ancient History]

Well, since I figure it would never happen to a PC (as it requires months of game time and abuse most characters would throttle a GM over), I just put it down to a Fist-of-God moment...high willpower guys and gals aren't apt to become a Scarlet Woman anywho, although you never know.

If the magus dies? Still a Scarlet Woman until they break out...can lead to a horible career of prostitution, or seeking out another magus (or even coaxing a magician into becoming one); generally speaking it ain't pretty.

[Demonseed Elite]

sweet

I wish SR had more magical development of this style.

[Charon]

Hey, have you been spying in the dark corners of my psyche?

Great work, AH.

[Patrick Goodman]

Excellent piece of work, AH, as always. Creepy, but excellent.

[Ancient History]

Ah, weel. I didn't want to go to far. Like in Hellblazer...

[Foreigner]

A.H.:

Actually, this sounds quite similar to something that just popped into my head late one night/early one morning (essentially, it woke me out of a sound sleep; either that, or it hit me right as I was on the verge of falling asleep--I don't recall which).

The thought was:

What would happen if SR allowed for Tantric Metamagics?

Unfortunately, that was all that occurred to me at the time. I couldn't think of how to adapt the idea to the gaming system.

(I told you people that I wasn't quite "all there", so to speak. Now maybe you'll believe me. :P In the immortal words of George Carlin, These are the sort of things that occur to me when I'm at home alone and the television is broken.)

I don't really understand enough of the magic system to figure out which type of Magician (i.e., Mage or Shaman) would be best suited to this specialty, although I rather think that it would be a discipline available only to female characters.

Edit: My bad, A.H. Either I haven't been getting enough sleep of late, or I didn't think it through.

--Foreigner

This post has been edited by Foreigner: Apr 19 2005, 02:31 AM

[Crimson Jack]

That's going in a run. Thanks, AH. :)

[Ancient History]

Oh good, another group of players pissed at me.

[Crimson Jack]

You have one fan of your work in my gaming group. She doesn't post or view DSF for some reason, but I've given you props/credit when I use your stuff. My group generally finds your stuff amusing-to-very cool.

[Ancient History]

...except when the ex-insect shaman magician's way adept with a Queen Roach spirit tied into her Cage of Bone decides she needs part of them to make a focus or two, and to have the rest be her little bishi on leashes.

[Dawnshadow]

Can I please have a small tac-nuke on a dead man's trigger? Please?

[Ancient History]

Only if you submit to having "Poor Impulse Control" tattooed on your forehead, irradiated twice and you get taken out by an unarmed teenage girl.

[Fortune]

I never get tired of telling you what a great job you do, AH. :)

[Dawnshadow]

Better than becoming an insect spirit..

I think.

Maybe.

No, not really.

But then again, neither's getting hit 12 times with an 'orgasm' spell and then getting hit by a force 1 manabolt.... after being told it's just another 'orgasm' spell.

Edit: might better than becoming an insect spirit's bishi. I don't even want to think about what that would entail.

[Smiley]

Hmmm... an orgasm spell...

[Pthgar]

Nice, this psycho mage would make a great arch-villian. Hmmm... a vamp or nosferatu version would be... no, that's to much.

[Ancient History]

Well, everyone likes a little snack after the act...

[DocMortand]

Yep, instead of smoking a ciggy, you're smoking a human. :)

[Smiley]

[Foreigner]

Smiley:

I read a quote to that effect on The Shadowrun Quotefile once:

Collector: "My new spell is a work of genius!"
GM: "How so?"
C: "The more times I hit someone with it, the less likely they will resist the next time I target them." (sic)
GM: "There are no rules for that. It's impossible."
C: "My new spell is called 'Orgasm'."
GM:... "That's MEAN."

Mojo Jojo 42
Monday, November 22, 2004, at 02:50:08 (CST)

:P

--Foreigner