Post by xaria on Jan 27, 2020 11:44:43 GMT -6
Storyteller Note: Because Mage is a complex and occasionally elusive beastie that has many layers I have kept this initial outline for character creation a minimized as I could without sacrificing fundamental information. In time there will be a more detailed outline posted. However if you find you don’t wish to wait. An extended resource for character creation can be found in Chapter Six pg 245 in the M20 core rule book.
Stages of Creation
• Part I: Creating Your Character (pp. 254-265) covers the essential steps involved in crafting your new mage.• Part II: Character Traits (pp. 266-335) presents the various game Traits that define what your character can and cannot do.
• Part III: Character Progress (pp. 335-339) shows the ways in which your mage can grow, change, and prosper. Within those sections, other sections handle the other elements – most especially the different sorts of Traits and their related rules.
Some of the rules throughout the following chapter contradict the systems given in previous editions of Mage. Although your Storyteller will be the final arbitrator about the rules used in your particular Mage chronicle, consider the following rules to be official and definitive as far as the Mage 20 series is concerned.
Trait Ratings
When you build your Mage character, you spend certain amounts of points on various Traits. The exact amounts depend upon the Trait in question. We’ll get into the specifics later on; for now, just remember that most Traits range between one dot and five dots. A zero-dot rating in a Trait reflects the total absence of that characteristic, whereas six dots or more in an Ability, Attribute or Background reflects an inhuman degree of expertise. Certain Traits – Arete, Willpower, Quintessence, and Paradox – range from 0 to 10 or more. Aside from Willpower, non-mages don’t have these Traits at all.For the majority of your Traits, think of your character’s abilities along this range:
• Poor/ Novice
•• Average/ Beginning Professional
••• Good/ Experienced Pro
•••• Exceptional/ Highly Skilled Pro
••••• World-Class
••••• • Beyond Normal Human Range
•• Average/ Beginning Professional
••• Good/ Experienced Pro
•••• Exceptional/ Highly Skilled Pro
••••• World-Class
••••• • Beyond Normal Human Range
Most folks range between 1 and 3 in their various Attributes and between 0 and 3 in assorted Abilities. So when you’re deciding what your mage is especially good at, select a few Traits that represent her most outstanding features, then find the things she’s not as good at and assign the remaining points accordingly.
Character Creation Process
Step One: Concept and Identity
Decide identity and motivation; choose concept, Faction, Essence, and Archetypes.Sample Concepts
• Activist – Journalist, blogger, lobbyist, malcontent.
• Artist – Writer, dancer, painter, musician.• Athlete – Team player, personal trainer, physical artisan, thrill-seeker.
• Caretaker – Parent, teacher, social worker, medical professional.
• Criminal – Gang member, con artist, drug dealer, thief.
• Executive – Tycoon, manager, facilitator, power-player.
• Guardian – Cop, security guard, conspiracy theorist, social watchdog.
• Intellectual – Scholar, professor, philosopher, social critic.
• Kid – Child, student, innocent, gutter-punk.
• Laborer – Factory worker, sales clerk, roadie, construction worker.
• Mystic – Priest, hermit, shaman, enlightened weirdo.
• Night-Owl – Bartender, bouncer, club-goer, celebrity.
• Rebel – Vagabond, outlaw, urban tribalist, subculture devotee.
• Technician – Mechanic, lab tech, craftsman, computer geek.
• Warrior – Soldier, mercenary, vigilante, prophet. Essences
• Dynamic – Passionate force for progress and change.
• Static – Grounded agent of secure stability.
• Primordial – Elusive figure of primal mystery.
• Questing – Wandering dreamer of new horizons.
Archetypes
(Nature & Demeanor) p. 267-273.
Activist | Your drive is to fix a broken world. |
Architect | You seek to build something of lasting value. |
Autocrat | You need control. |
Benefactor | You’ve got the power to help, and so you do. |
Bon Vivant | Existence is for pleasure. |
Bravo | Might makes right. |
Capitalist | Why give it away for free when you can sell it? |
Caregiver | Everyone needs nurturing. |
Celebrant | Your cause brings you joy. |
Chameleon | You manage to blend into any situation. |
Child | Innocent and playful, you inspire others to take care of you. |
Competitor | You must be the best. |
Conformist | You follow and assist. |
Conniver | Others exist for your benefit. |
Contrary | You invert order to reveal greater truths. |
Creep Show | Disgusting others makes you Smile. |
Crusader | You’re a front-line fighter for a higher power. |
Curmudgeon | Everything has its flaws. |
Dabbler | It’s always about the next big thing. |
Deviant | The status quo is for sheep. |
Director | You oversee what must be done. |
Enigma | Just when people think they’ve figured you out, you change the game. |
Eye of the Storm | Chaos and havoc follow you, but it never gets to you. |
Fanatic | The cause is all that matters. |
Gallant | You’re not the showstopper: you’re the show! |
Guru | People find you spiritually compelling. |
Hacker | You upgrade things by taking them apart. |
Idealist | A greater Truth awaits us, and you know what it is. |
Innovator | Your imagination drives progress forward. |
Judge | Your judgment will improve things. |
Loner | You need no one else, you make your own way. |
Machine | Weakness is for lesser beings. |
Mad Scientist | True science knows no bounds! |
Martyr | You suffer for the greater good. |
Masochist | Pain reminds you that you still exist. |
Monster | You’re the unapologetic shadow in the mirror of your world. |
Pedagogue | You save others through knowledge. |
Penitent | You have much to atone for. |
Perfectionist | You strive for an unattainable goal. |
Prophet | Speaking truth to power is your life’s work. |
Rebel | You follow no one’s rules. |
Rogue | Rebellion is your gospel and your fame. |
Sadist | You live to cause pain. |
Scientist | Everything is a puzzle to solve. |
Sensualist | Sensation is your drug of choice. |
Sociopath | The inferior must be destroyed. |
Soldier | Tactics and knowing when to strike make all the difference. |
Survivor | No matter what happens, you endure. Nothing can keep you down. |
Thrill-Seeker | The rush is all that matters. |
Traditionalist | As it has always been, so it must be. |
Trickster | You make the world your toy. Laughter dims the pain. |
Visionary | Something exists beyond all this. Your perception transcends the obvious and chases a greater vision for us all. |
Factions
• The Traditions
Those who seek a return to the days of High Magick or a new dawn of mystic potential. Bitter enemies of the Technocracy, they appear to have been losing the battle for reality.
•
• The Orphans
And then you’ve got the mages who belong to no group beyond perhaps their own private circles. These orphaned mages either know nothing about the other sects, or else refuse to become part of the larger wars.
The Nine Traditions
(p. 148-165)
(p. 148-165)
((Storyteller Note: The Tradition name changes in M20 have been disregarded in favor of 3rd Edition.))
The Affinity Sphere entry under each group gives the default Sphere focused on by each sect. Some groups have more than one Sphere listed, but only one Affinity Sphere may be chosen per character.
• Akashic Brotherhood
Masters of mind, body, and spirit through the Arts of personal discipline.
Affinity Spheres: Mind or Life
• Celestial Chorus
Affinity Spheres: Mind or Life
• Celestial Chorus
Sacred singers who give a human Voice to the Divine Song.
Affinity Spheres: Prime, Forces, or Spirit
• Cult of Ecstasy
Affinity Spheres: Prime, Forces, or Spirit
• Cult of Ecstasy
Visionary seers who transcend limitations through sacred experience.
Affinity Spheres: Time, Life, or Mind
• Dreamspeakers
Affinity Spheres: Time, Life, or Mind
• Dreamspeakers
Preservers and protectors of both the Spirit Ways and the Earth that have been looted, abandoned, and oppressed.
Affinity Spheres: Spirit, Forces, Life, or Matter
• Euthanatoi
Affinity Spheres: Spirit, Forces, Life, or Matter
• Euthanatoi
Disciples of mortality who purge corruption and bring merciful release from suffering.
Affinity Spheres: Entropy, Life, or Spirit
• Order of Hermes
Affinity Spheres: Entropy, Life, or Spirit
• Order of Hermes
Rigorous masters of High Magick and the Elemental Arts.
Affinity Spheres: Forces
• Sons of Ether
Affinity Spheres: Forces
• Sons of Ether
Engineers, Mechanics, Explorers, Brilliant eccentrics of scientific potential.
Affinity Spheres: Matter, Forces, or Prime
• Verbena
Affinity Spheres: Matter, Forces, or Prime
• Verbena
Primal devotees of rough Nature and mystic blood.
Affinity Spheres: Life or Forces
• Virtual Adepts
Affinity Spheres: Life or Forces
• Virtual Adepts
Reality-hackers, Revolutionists, Web Breakers dedicated to the freedom of knowledge and discovery.
Affinity Spheres: Correspondence/ Data or Forces
Affinity Spheres: Correspondence/ Data or Forces
Step Two: Select Abilities
- Place initial dot into each Attribute.
- Assign primary, secondary, and tertiary Ability categories (Physical, Social, Mental) (7/ 5/ 3).
Physical Traits: Strength, Dexterity, Stamina.
Social Traits: Charisma, Manipulation, Appearance.
Mental Traits: Perception, Intelligence, Wits.
Step Three: Select Attributes
- Prioritize Attribute categories as above (13/ 9/ 5).
- Assign points to Talents, Skills, Knowledges.
- Check Secondary Attributes for specialized options. (Attributes Cap at 3)
- Make sure to check the 'Additional Specialties Rule' & 'Minimum Abilities & Spheres' Thread.
Attributes
(p. 275-289)
Alertness, Art, Athletics, Awareness, Brawl, Empathy, Expression, Intimidation, Leadership, Streetwise, Subterfuge.
• Core Skills:
Animal Kinship*, Crafts, Drive, Etiquette, Firearms, Larceny, Martial Arts, Meditation, Melee, Performance, Research, Stealth, Survival, Technology.
• Core Knowledges:
Academics, Computer, Cosmology, Subdimensions, Enigmas, Esoterica, Finance, Investigation, Law, Medicine, Occult, Politics, Science.
Secondary
(p. 289-300)
Animal Kinship*, Blatancy*, Carousing*, Cooking, Diplomacy, Do*, Flying*, High Ritual*, Hobby*, Instruction, Intrigue, Intuition, Lucid Dreaming*, Mimicry, Negotiation, Newspeak, Scan, Scrounging, Seduction*, Style
• Skills:
Acrobatics*, Analysis, Archery*, Blind Fighting, Biotech*, Climbing, Disguise, Elusion, Energy Weapons*, Escapology, Fast-Draw, Fast-Talk, Fencing/Kenjutsu, Fortune-Telling/
• Knowledges:
Area Knowledge*, Belief Systems*, Conspiracy Theory, Chantry/
Step Four: Select Advantages
- Choose Backgrounds (7).
- Define Focus (paradigm, practice, instruments).
Backgrounds
(p. 301-328).
• Allies – Friends who’ll help you out.• Alternate Identity – An established alias.
• Arcane – Mysterious ability to remain unrecognized.
• Avatar – Embodiment of the Awakened/Enlightened Self.
• Backup – Agents you can call upon in emergencies.
• Blessing - Strange powers gave you an uncanny gift.
• Certification – Special permits for special things.
• Chantry/Construct – Mystic or Technocratic stronghold.
• Contacts – Information sources and social networks.
• Cult – Group of dedicated believers.
• Demesne – Personal inner dream-space.
• Destiny – Inspiring sense of great purpose.
• Dream – Ability to tap into Abilities you don’t normally possess.
• Enhancement $ – Cybernetic or biotech improvements to your body.
• Fame – Notoriety in the Sleeper world.
• Familiar/Companion – Non-human helper with special abilities.
• Influence – Social clout in the mortal world.
• Legend – A potent archetype connected to you.
• Library – Access to special information.
• Mentor – Awakened/ Enlightened elder with a bond to you.
• Node – A place of power that’s more or less in your possession.
• Past Lives – Helpful memories from prior incarnations.
• Patron – Influential benefactor with helpful resources.
• Rank – A title of importance among the Masses.
• Requisitions * – Access to Technocratic hardware.
• Resources – Financial credit, cash flow, and property.
• Retainers – Skilled followers.
• Sanctum/Laboratory $ – Special place to work your arts.
• Secret Weapons * – Guinea-pig status with Technocratic inventors.
• Spies – Information networks.
• Status - Favored position among your peers.
• Totem $ – A powerful spirit ally. (Shamanic characters only.)
• Wonder – A Talisman, Fetish, or Device that contains its own reality-bending power.
*Available only to Technocratic Union characters.
$ Costs double the usual amount of points.
Step Five: Finishing Touches
- Record Spheres (6, with the Affinity Sphere receiving the first dot).
- Record beginning Arete (1) (Capped at 3 at char Gen), Willpower (5),
- Quintessence (Avatar rating) and Paradox (0).
- Spend freebie points (15).
- Describe appearance, quirks, motivations, identity.
Spheres
(p. 512-527).
- Correspondence – Understanding of the connections between places, spaces, and things.
- Entropy – Study of mortality, probability, and chaos.
- Forces – Command over elemental energies.
- Life – Influence over organic beings and the physical structures of living bodies.
- Matter – Control of inert materials, objects, and solid elemental structures.
- Mind – Influence over emotions and thoughts, including the ability to project consciousness from one’s physical body
- Prime – Control over primordial energies.
- Spirit – Contact with Otherworldly spaces and entities; considered an Art by mystics and a Science by Technocrats, though in game terms it’s all the same thing.
- Time – Perception of, and influence over, temporal states and time-based phenomena.
(Sphere Variations only available at ST discretion)
• Data – Tracing connections through information.
• Dimensional Science – Hyperphysics of alternate dimensions.
• Primal Utility – Employment of quantum valuation Energies.
Languages:
At creation you get your native language for free. Plus 1 additional language per point in Intelligence. Natural Linguist 2/point.
Starting Quintessence: 20
Starting Paradox: 0
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Freebie Points
Trait | Freebie Cost/dot |
Attribute | 5 |
Ability | 2 |
Languages | 1 |
Background | 1 |
Sphere | 7 |
Arete | 4 (Cap at 3) |
Willpower | 1 |
Merits & Flaws | Total FB Point gain from Flaws: 7 |
Experience Costs
Trait Cost
New Ability 3
Language 3
New Sphere 10
Affinity Sphere current rating x 7
Other Sphere current rating x 8
Arete current rating x 8
Attribute current rating x 4
Ability current rating x 2
Affinity Sphere current rating x 7
Other Sphere current rating x 8
Arete current rating x 8
Attribute current rating x 4
Ability current rating x 2
Background* n/a
Willpower current rating x 1
* Backgrounds may not be raised with experience points.
Willpower current rating x 1
* Backgrounds may not be raised with experience points.