Reality

Reality (Madtown by Night)

Reality in Madtown by Night is a living tapestry—shaped by belief, memory, magick, paradox, and the eternal struggle between cosmic forces. Madison, Wisconsin, stands at a unique spiritual faultline where the consensus of reality grows thin and strange things become possible.

Cosmological Structure

Layers of Reality

Material World: What sleepers perceive as mundane Madison—cities, lakes, and history. But even here, echoes of the supernatural bleed through.

The Umbra: The spirit world overlays Madison. Thin Gauntlet regions (like the Capitol Node or Arboretum) let Garou, Fae, and Mages access spiritual power.

The Dreaming: The realm of the Fae, where reality is shaped by story, dream, and glamour. Freeholds such as Dreaming Echoes tap into this layer.

The Digital Web: A technomagical realm interwoven with Madison’s network infrastructure, controlled by technomancers and haunted by emergent AIs.

Horizon Realms: Realms like New Avalon, built as refuges for mages, serve as both sanctuary and prison for cosmic threats (the Nameless).

Consensus & Paradox

Consensus: The collective belief of humanity anchors what is “real.” In Madison, consensus is thin, allowing magick to flourish—but also inviting paradox and instability.

Paradox: Reality pushes back against breaches in consensus. In Madison, paradox is increasingly caused by the collapse of consensus, not just vulgar magick. This leads to memory loops, glitches, and echo phenomena.

The Capitol Node

The Capitol Node is the spiritual heart of Madison, a metaphysical faultline connecting multiple layers:

• For Garou: The anchor of the Arboretum Caern, a site to defend against the Wyrm and the Nameless.
• For Mages: The power source for New Avalon and a key to containing the Nameless.
• For Fae: The Node’s health determines the vibrancy of local Freeholds and the Dreaming itself.
• For Kindred: Control over the Node means influence over fate and the supernatural order.

Metaphysical Factions & Their Perspectives

• Garou: Reality is a spiritual ecosystem threatened by the Wyrm, Pentex, and the Nameless. They fight to maintain Gaia’s balance but distrust mages and Kindred meddling with the Node.
• Mages: Reality is a Tapestry to be woven, rewritten, or defended. Hermetics, Technomancers, and Disparates each shape consensus differently.
• Fae: Reality is fragile and story-driven. They uphold ancient oaths to sustain Glamour and keep the Dreaming alive—even as belief fades.
• Kindred: Reality is a web of political and supernatural pacts. Some pursue Golconda, seeking to transcend the curse of vampirism; others fight to control the city’s fate.

Reality Glitches & The Nameless

The Nameless is a primordial force of erasure and entropy, imprisoned by ancient magick. Its influence causes:

• Reality Glitches: Flickering signs, changing memories, impossible numbers (e.g., 1.36791013192342), and echoes that repeat or erase the past.
• Echoes: Recurring events, looping conversations, players “almost remembering” alternate versions of history.
• Consensus Fracture: As the Nameless grows stronger, Madison’s reality becomes more unstable—paradox increases, and the barriers between worlds thin.

Timeline Highlights

• Prehistory: Spiritual ecosystems shaped by the Triat (Weaver, Wyld, Wyrm); creation of Nodes and Caerns.
• Indigenous Era: Ho-Chunk and other First Nations construct mounds, perform rituals that still echo in local Nodes.
• Modern Era: The convergence of Garou, Mages, Fae, and Kindred has led to a delicate, unstable peace centered on control of the Capitol Node and reality itself.

See Also

• Capitol Node
• New Avalon
• Paradox
• The Nameless
• Layers of Reality
• Garou of Madison
• Mages of Madison
• Fae of Madison
• Vampires of Madison

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This page is a living document. Reality in Madtown by Night is mutable and may change as echoes ripple through the timeline. Record your paradoxes and echoes below!