House Rules / Character Creation / Books

Character Creation

The usual character creation rules apply. Here are some specifics and guidelines. Feel free to use the PDF to help out. I have a ton of books at the apartment to help further, such as if you take a numina, want some interesting avatars, mentors, etc. I have just about any book you can magically think of!

Character Sheet
http://mrgone.rocksolidshells.com/pdf/MtA/Mage1-Page.pdf

Books
Mage the Ascension main book
Forged in Dragon's Fire

Tradition Books:
Euthanatos
Cult of X
Sons of Ether
Virtual Adepts
Dreamspeakers
Order of Hermes
Akashic Brotherhood
Celestial Chorus
Verbena

Concepts
Pretty much any concept is fine. These are guidelines.

Technocracy connected characters not recommended. Technocrats are not going to be a main point in this game. And they can be damn painful. If you want to be a runaway from the technocracy, you should consider flaws like dark past, secret, enemies, probationary member, etc. You will be looked on with suspicion and given a watcher.

Tradition
Any tradition of the 9 are fine! Hollow Ones need some serious discussion if you are interested. Being part of a house, faction, organization, etc in the tradition is also ok. Dual traditions can be damn tricky, especially if new to mage, but possible.

You get 1 dot of your tradition's lore for free: Knowledge: TRADITION Lore x1 dot. For example, Akashic Lore x1. See below for the more abilities section for deeper info on lores and more.

Arte 3
I would like us to go no further than arte 3 at character creation. You get arte 1 for free, and can buy up to 3. This gives room for fun and expanding.

Abilities
Mage has some great secondary abilities available. Listing those out beyond the base ones:
High Ritual, Empathy, Animal Ken, Do, Body Control, Strategy, Enochian, Umbrood Protocols, Lucid Dreaming, Hypnotism, Virtual Space(Digital Web Stuff), Web Culture(Internet Stuff), Thrown Weapons, Archery, Blacksmithing, Pilot, Herbalism, Instruction, Finance, Gunsmithing(Restricted), Heavy-Weapons(Restricted), Demolitions(Restricted), and Interrogation(Restricted)

Additional Abilities:

• Skill: Instruction is recommended for characters that intend to mentor other characters because it allows them to treat you as a mentor when making experience requests. Note that it is not required to teach, it's just helpful to the process.
  
• Knowledges: Virtual Space recommended for VA traditions. Specialties: virtual space geography, internet, web culture,
  
• If you want to use thrown weapons like throwing a blade, this can be a specialization of Melee. If you want to use blow darts, this is Firearms.
  
• Knowledge: XXX Lore is taken for each tradition, supernatural, world area etc.
  
  
  
  • Supernatural: For example: Werewolf Lore, Vampire Lore, etc will give you the basics of those supernaturals. With 0, you basically know the tv/movie trivia of them like full moons are required for werewolves to change or vampires hate crosses. Anything specific requires that lore. If you want a tiny bit of info on vampire clans or werewolf tribes, you can take a specialty. For deeeeep info, you can take specific clan or tribe lore, such as Tremere Lore.
    
  • Tradition: You can also take tradition lore. Such as Hermetic Lore, Cult of X Lore, etc. This gives extensive information and secrets about your tradition. You can use this information to track down secrets or more, which can incur merits and flaws.
    
  • Location: Many locations can be taken under other knowledges, such as Occult specialization in Shadowlands and Umbra. If you want to know in-depth knowledge, you can take Shadowlands Lore or Umbral Lore, etc.
    
  
  

"Replaced" Secondaries
If interested in the following from older editions, they are covered in the new abilities.

Martial Arts (Use Brawl or Do), Security (Use Technology and/or Computers), Politics (Use Etiquette, Subterfuge, and/or Leadership), Gardening (Use Science: Horticulture, Crafts: Gardening, and Herbalism), Fortune-telling (Use Occult or Enigmas), Alchemy (Use Science), Intuition (Use Awareness), Mathematics (Use Academics)

Linguistics
Dots:
1 dot - 2 languages
2 dot - 4 languages
3 dot - 8 languages
4 dot - 16 languages
5 dot - 32 languages


Merits/Flaws
These as always are available. I do ask they have an RP reason, some ties to your past, or something coming up in the future. Enemies and hauntings are just fine, and can be rped out through game play. Technocracy connections are not recommended but can be discussed. Fae blood and ties, possible but not highly recommended.

Great list: http://www.deathquaker.org/gaming/meritsflaws.html

Temp Merit/Flaw
These will occur throughout game play, especially for Paradox and Supernatural. Rules and info on those in a later post.

Crafting

Books needed for this section include the main book and the Forged in Dragon's Fire.

Technology and Invention:

Inventing Devices is Int + Science(pg233), Improving Devices is Int + Technology(pg233), and Building Technological devices is Int + Technology. Devices must have already been invented before they can be built. Once you've built your first prototype of a device, the difficulty drops by one to make more without further improvements.

Computers and Programming:

Building computers is Int+Computers. Programming computers is Int+Computers to write the code, and Perc+Computers to check your code for flaws and fix them during compiling. Using Software to create things will vary.

Arts and Crafts:

Crafting is a little more complex because it covers so much. Things like Fine Arts or Jewelry will be Int + Crafts for the design, Perc + Crafts for the actual creation. Hands on crafts like Pottery or Carpentry will be Int + Crafts for design, and Dex + Crafts for the actual creation.


Lesser Items

Lesser Items may be used by anyone who knows how. This includes sorcerers, shamans, psychics, and in some cases even mortals.

False Artifacts (Permanent Charms) are just simple 'Permanent' effects with double the normal successes to make them more resilient. For Creation rules see sidebar on page 17.

Charms and Gadgets are bespelled items that can be triggered only once (aka firing that magical bullet) or that last for a certain amount of time (like until the magical candle has burned out.) Only one of these can be activated per turn. For Creation rules see pg26-28.

False Artifacts, Charms, and Gadgets all take a portion of the mage's attention to continue running and will fade within a month if the mage who made them leaves the venue.

Talens are items with spirits bound into them temporarily much like a Fetish, however in a Talen the spirit performs one task, one time, and is then free to run off into the umbra. They're created much the same way as Fetishes, they just cost less in time and materials.

True Wonders

These are permanent magical items that have been imbued with potent magic and at least ten points of Quintessence to make them self sufficient.

True Artifacts

Artifacts are magical items which are rote, focus, and energy wrapped up in one. For Creation rules see pg16-20. Periapts are Artifacts who's sole purpose is to store Quintessence or Paradox. For Creation rules see pg41.

Talismans

Talismans may be used by anyone who is attuned to it. This includes sorcerers, shamans, psychics, and in some cases, even mortals.

Talismans are invested fragments of awakened will. They have their own arete, and are created differently than Artifacts. For Creation rules see pg48-51.

Grimoires are Talismans who's sole purpose is to teach Spheres or raise Arete. For Creation rules see pg68-71. Primers are a specific type of Grimoire who's sole purpose is to trigger an Awakening. For Creation rules see pg71. Grimoires to teach anything above Arete 3 will not be allowed in game.

Grimoires of any kind can only be used by someone of a similar paradigm as their creator. The margin of availability is generally no more than one tradition.

Fetishes

Fetishes can only be used by those that are attuned to them. See pg31-32 for details.

Fetishes are items with Spirits bound into them (willingly or unwillingly) by magic. They last until certain conditions have been met, or the Spirit runs completely out of Gnosis (their word for Quintessence.) For Creation rules see pg32-36.

Characters are not allowed to own more than two of these items, but you can create them for others if you (or they) are willing to pay the in character costs for it.
Magical Creatures

Guides and Familiars are magical creatures bonded to a mage. For Creation rules see pg80-89.

Digging Into Your Mage

Writing a background takes a bit more than just slapping down some numbers. Here's some places to start.

Resonance
This is a description of what your magic feels like. Does it have a look? a feeling? a scent or sound? It's your fingerprint of magic. Like Vader sensing his old master Obi Wan just when Kenobi used the force.

Choose one word or image that best defines the feel of your magic. It can give you +1/-1 to magics and situations depending on what you are doing. It makes a signature for what you do.

Some options include Dynamic, Static, Entropic and Questing. Dynamic could be fiery, electric, random, moving. Static could be runed, reinforced, binary, etc. Entropic could be death, corrupted, crumbling, cracked. Questing is adventurous.

For example: Voldemort's would have trailing shadows, a scent of death, things skittering in the dark. The word may be "Deathly".

For examples: http://dusk.wikia.com/wiki/Resonance_Traits
Learn more: http://darkforcesmush.wikia.com/wiki/Avatar_and_Essences

Avatar
What is your avatar? The thing that gives you power? If you take a merit to talk to it, is it a ghost? An ancestor? A past life? Avatars can be anything and may color your magics. They can be very powerful, or simple. Elemental, primordial, ghostly, so many things.

Learn more: http://darkforcesmush.wikia.com/wiki/Avatar_and_Essences

Where does magic come from?
So where does your mage think magic comes from? Can be simple or complex.

Spheres
Now that you know how your mage views magic, how do they view the spheres?

They are:

  Correspondence - how everything relates, movement, etc
  Entropy - how things fall apart, die, fate
  Forces - energic power, like elements
  Life - power of living, bodies and life
  Matter - physical like earth
  Mind - the brain and mind in it
  Prime - the basis of magical power, raw magical force
  Spirit - ghosts, spirits of animals, the umbra
  Time - Back to the Future

The 9 Spheres are related by the following:

Prime
  which creates a conception in the
Mind
  which gives focus to create
Spirit
  which is given form by
Forces/Matter/Life
  which is percieved by
Correspondence/Time
  which gives way to decay to
Entropy
  which causes everything to return to Prime

http://whitewolf.wikia.com/wiki/Mage:_The_Ascension great overview of things.