Character Generation/Mage

Important notes

• New Technocracy/Nephandi Apps require you to submit a +request FIRST and gain approval for your concept before submitting an application as of September 2025.
  

• Applications for mages with the Kinfolk and/or Kinain merit are closed for the foreseeable future. See Questionable Character Concepts for details.

Set Fullname, Date of Birth (we do not use age, as time is real time), Concept (a few words), Nature, and Demeanor

Choose Tradition, (Convention for Technocrats), Essence (Dynamic, Pattern, Primordial, Questing), Resonance (see bottom of page for more info on this)

• Faction should be Traditions, Technocracy, or None
  • If Tradition is Order of Hermes, also set Degree and House
• Tradition mages may also set Type (e.g. Reality Hacker)
• Technocrats may also set Methodology (e.g. Genegineer)

Set +note for Paradigm

• If someone ICly asked you how you perform magick, and you answered honestly and reasonably completely, what would you say?
• Guide to the Traditions pages 58-65 has suggestions

Set +note for Foci

• Your +note should separate by sphere what foci are used.
• The same focus can be used for more than one sphere.
• This +note should be updated and reapproved later by staff if/when you learn new spheres, or as IC RP dictates post approval.
• Having only one focus for all spheres will generally be rejected at staff discretion, unless you have the Phylactery flaw.

Set +note for Avatar/Genius

Stat	Baseline	Freebies per additional dot
Attributes	1 in each + 7/5/3	5
Abilities	13/9/5	2
Spheres	6	7
Backgrounds	7	1
Arete	1	4 (max total 3)
Willpower	5	1 (max total 8)
Quintessence	equal to Avatar	+4 dots per freebie (requires Prime sphere, max total 20) (not replaced once spent)
Freebies	15

Spheres:

• Tradition mages should allocate at least one of the six dots to their Tradition's specialty sphere.
• Hollow Ones and Orphans still get a total of 6 dots baseline. (MtA 90: "Some Orphans, especially Hollow Ones, have no specialty sphere." Emphasis added.)
• List of specialty spheres by Tradition / Convention

Backgrounds:

• Familiar Companion stats

Select Resonance Trait(s) (if link is not working, go here: Resonance )

• Essence = Dynamic: at least one Resonance Trait should be of type Dynamic
• Essence = Pattern: at least one Resonance Trait should be of type Static
• Essence = Primordial: at least one Resonance Trait should be of type Entropic
• Essence = Questing: Resonance Trait(s) can be any of the above types
• Your Resonance Trait should not literally be "Dynamic", it should be a more specific adjective whose type is Dynamic (or whatever) - see above link for examples

Backstory

These questions (MtA 92-94) are meant to be used as a springboard to fill out your character's backstory as much as possible. While we do not require a formal write-up, we do suggest you review these and consider which answers would lead to enjoyable RP for yourself and others. This will also help your character seem like an actual three-dimensional character, not just a laundry list of stats.

IC questions How old are you? Some mages Awaken at an early age, as children; others don't Awaken until much later in life. Your character could be one of these exceptions, or perhaps someone who Awakened in the years between. Has your character been a mage for a while, or is this all new? How was your life different? Even before mages Awaken, they often lead strange lives or endure unusual happenings in their early years, especially if they have powerful destinies. Did your character have an unusually placid life or a very odd one? How was your upbringing, and did your family and friends remark on anything strange about you? Did you notice these events or just think that everyone had quirks in their lives? What was your upbringing? Aside from the magely difficulties of growing up, how did your character's normal life develop? Look at your character's Abilities and see how they might have been learned. Were the character's parents present, or did she come from a broken home? Did she go to school or learn at home? What sorts of values and mores did she learn? Delve into where your character grew up and whether she was satisfied with her life and the consequences thereof. Who are your friends and family? Since your mage came from somewhere, chances are that she has friends and family. Who does your mage count as her friends? What was her family like? Are any of these people still around? If not, why not? If so, do they know about your character's magic? Do they approve of, understand or despise it? For that matter, does your character still have any contact with them? Does your character actually have a good relationship with her friends, or does she tend to just use people? See how your character's network offers opportunities and duties. When did you first encounter magic? Many mages undergo some strange experiences even before they Awaken. Did your character have unusual dreams or visions before Awakening? Did she encounter strange, supernatural creatures? Was someone in the character's family a magician, vampire or other strange being? Or did the Awakening come as a total shock and surprise? From the first encounter with magic, look at your character's response to this sudden revelation. Many people refuse to acknowledge the existence or presence of magic, even after it's shown to them. How long did it take your character to accept that magic is "real"? Did your character have a feeling all along that something was missing, a hole that was filled with magic, or did she kick, scream and struggle to avoid shattering her safe preconceptions of an orderly world?

How did you join your faction? Once Awakened, a mage-to-be finds many groups vying for her attention-- Technocrats, Traditionalists, Nephandi and others. Presuming that your character is a Tradition mage, how did she get inducted into a Tradition? What drew her to a particular group? Did she think that she could get something out of a particular Tradition, or was she raised to respect a certain Tradition's beliefs as a by-product of her own culture and lifestyle? Did your character have a specific mentor, or did she simply "hang around" with Tradition mages and pick up some of their style? Here you can determine whether your character had or has a mentor, and the relationship between the two. Was your mage's mentor harsh and cruel, demanding, domineering, helpful, compassionate, distracted, distant, enlightened? Did your character have regular contact with her mentor, or just sporadic letters and mysterious notes? Did the mentor develop your character into a full Tradition mage, or disappear somewhere along the way, perhaps captured/killed/converted by another faction? Did your mage start out with a different group but later change to the Traditions due to the influence of a good mentor on one side or a bad mentor on the other? How did you join your cabal? Typically, a mage hangs out with other mages of similar mind. How did your mage get introduced to other mages? Did your character's mentor, if any, introduce her to other neophytes? If the characters are of different Traditions, then what common bond caused them to stay together? If they are of similar Traditions, then what diverse elements make them unique? Did your character join due to similar goals, or is she now stuck in a cabal that doesn't really mesh with her own drives? Looking for an answer to this question is a good opportunity to talk to the other players and develop some group concepts or hooks to make the characters mesh. How do you deal with the mundane world? Despite their phenomenal powers, mages must deal with the mortal world. There are billions of humans out there, after all. Few mages have the wherewithal to cross into the spirit worlds and live there, which means that the mage must pay rent, deal with a job and handle all of the various exigencies of everyday living. Does your character still have a job, or does she try to use magic to fulfill her needs? Does she deal well with Sleepers, or see them as "crippled"? What steps does she take to minimize exposure to the Technocracy while maintaining something resembling a normal cover of life? Is she flashy with her magic in front of Sleepers, or has she learned caution? There may only be half a dozen members in the cabal, while there are hundreds of mortals out there with whom the mage interacts every day.

OOC questions What's your OOC motive? Roleplaying games are all for fun, but we all get fun from different things. Examine your motives in building your character. What do you want to get out of this game? Do you want drama? Romance? Social interaction? Pure action? Puzzles? Philosophical conundrums? Once you've got a few basic motives, decide how your character might achieve them. You've got a well-trained ass-kicker or a seductive socialite, but what are their usual tricks and modus operandi? What the character wants is important in how she gets it. The hope is that your character will make the way to enlightenment eventually, but in the meantime, there are a variety of ways to deal with the world. Does your PC have a sense of their future? Some mages have a powerful destiny leading them to some unavoidable fate. Others have a more clouded vision, simply going wherever the winds of chance blow them. Your character may have some idea of her future, or some plan of her own. Some mages like to think that they are preordained for greatness and it's not always possible to sort the chaff from the grain! Do you have a goal in mind for your character - something to accomplish or avoid - or is she just drifting? How does your PC see their mystic path? Most mages had some sort of plan for their mortal lives before realizing their mystical ones. Now, your mage might have a goal in mind for her mystical path-- Ascension? Archmastery? Unlocking some fundamental mystery or historical anomaly? Developing her Tradition's base of influence? On the other hand, your mage might try to reject her magical powers, or just ignore her potential. Eventually the mage may have a slap in the face. How will you react to your mage's new development in magic, or lack thereof, and what's your response if it doesn't turn out the way that she intended? What conflicts wait in the road of magical development? Eventually your mage will have to choose between her magical heritage and her mortal life, if she hasn't already. The Avatar also has a tendency to manifest in dreams or subconscious impulses while pushing the mage in surprising ways. Your mage may find her magical and moral conflicts taking her away from her Tradition, away from her goals, into danger with her flaws or into the forge-fires that will temper her into a true hero. Your mage can't see everything that lies ahead, but you can make some guesses and think about how your mage will be affected by the inevitable conflicts.