Unknown Armies:Obsession

Obsession

Your Obsession is how your player character links into the Occult Underground. He or she could be obsessed with anything, although Adepts are automatically obsessed with the world view that powers their Magick. Avatars do not necessarily have an obsession, although they can take one if appropriate.

Obsession Examples

Breaking & Entering. The violation of a person’s home is an expression of power and daring that pumps you up. The secrets you find inside are just the whipped topping on the dessert of intrusion.

Egyptian antiquities. You not only have a large personal collection and a degree in archaeology, you compulsively track current artistic and design trends looking for ancient-Egyptian influences.

Human motivation. You’re fascinated by what makes people stubborn, what makes them give in, what makes them love and hate different things.

Knowing it All. You want to accumulate all knowledge for yourself. You love the exchange of information, because you always wind up with more than you started with.

Music. To connect with people on a deep level, you use the sister languages of melody, harmony, and tempo. You see music as a bridge between our separate worlds.

Physical perfection. You diet, stretch out every morning and evening, lift weights three times a week, and try to run ten miles or swim sixty laps at least as often. If you don’t get your exercise, you can practically feel your body turning to putty.

Pleasure. You tried S&M, B&D, LSD, PCP, and XTC—and then you tried them all again, only this time on a water slide. Too much fun is never enough for you.

Religion. Your dedication to Roman Catholicism (or orthodox Judaism, or Zen Buddhism, or whatever you want) guides your every action and thought. You strive completely to live a Christ-like life (or to adhere to the laws of the Talmud, or to annihilate your ego, or...).

Shadows. You dwell in the margins, in both literal and metaphysical shadow. You lurk and you plot and you slip through society like a ghost.

Top Dog. You want to be the quintessential alpha, the leader of the pack. In every situation, you must be dominant.

Toughness. You are compelled to be the baddest mofo on the street. Guns, knives, bare fists—they’re all props, all part of the killer mystique you anxiously seek.

Adept Obsession Examples

• Self-help books (Bibliomancy)
• Conspiracies (Cliomancy)
• Binging (Dipsomancy)
• Vansurfing (Entropomancy)
• Blood Freedom (Epideromancy)
• Eccentric Genius (Mechanomancy)
• Follwing the Dead (Narco-Alchemy)
• Mental Armor (Personamancy)
• The Price of Freedom (Plutomancy)
• Urban Renewal (Urbanomancy)
• The Judges Brown, Judy, and Wapner et. al (Videomancy)