Time for another character creation post, and this time, it's Mage: The Awakening, one of White Wolf's World of Darkness games. Mage is about people whose souls have awakened to a higher reality, allowing them to perform powerful magic.
Step 1 for any World of Darkness character, as I've said before, is concept. For my mage, I want to make a character who isn't interested in the personal or political force his magic could bring. Instead, he wants to use his new power to help others. He works as an ER nurse on the night shift at a major urban hospital, and he uses his magic to bring some of the most injured patients back from the edge. He's also a modernist, and feels comfortable mixing magic with technology. For a name, I'll go with Stewart Green.
In step 2, I choose attributes. I know that Stewart's physical traits are his least important area. For his primary attributes, both mental and social could fit, but mental wins out in the end. I get 5 dots there, and I put 2 each in Wits and Resolve and 1 in Intelligence. In social, I get 4 dots, 1 each in Presence and Manipulation and 2 in Composure. Finally, 3 dots go into physical, and I put 1 in Strength and 2 in Stamina. Stewart is not the most graceful guy, but he's tough.
Step 3 is skills, and I get 11, 7, and 4 dots. I choose social as my primary, putting 2 dots each in Empathy, Streetwise, and Subterfuge, 3 in Persuasion, and 1 each in Intimidation and Socialize. Mental skills are next, getting 3 dots in Medicine, 2 dots in Science, and 1 dot each in Academics and Computer. Finally, I put 1 dot each in Brawl, Drive, Stealth, and Survival.
Step 4 is skill specialties. I put one in Medicine (Trauma), one in Streetwise (Gangs), and one in Intimidation (Stare-Downs).
Step 5 takes me into the Mage book for the first time, adding a supernatural template to represent the gifts of awakening. First I choose a path, and this is easy. The Thyrsus path specializes in Life and Spirit. As a Thyrsus, Stewart would most easily be able to heal others, and spirit magic would allow him to protect the hospital against malign entities that feed on suffering. Being a Thyrsus gives Stewart and extra dot in Composure, bringing that attribute up to 4. I can choose an Order to join or declare my mage an apostate, but choosing an Order is also simple. The Free Council are modernists who seek to work magic into the modern world.
I then choose my Arcana, the categories of magical knowledge that determine what kinds of spells I can cast. I get 2 dots in one Arcanum, 2 in a second, and 1 in a third. Two of these Arcana have to be my ruling Arcana (Life and Spirit). Right away I put 2 in Life and 2 in Spirit. My third Aracanum will be Death, to allow Stewart to sense the nearness of a patient's passing. Finally, I get a final dot to place in any Arcanum, including one I've already chosen. I put it in Life, raising that Arcanum to 3.
I get to choose 6 dots in rotes. It's important to invest in rotes primarily for spells that require multiple successes (things like healing). Looking through the lists, I choose Forensic Gaze (Death 1), Purify Bodies (Life 2), and Healing Heart (Life 3).
Finally, my Gnosis begins at 1. This trait measures how magically powerful the character is.
Step 6 is working out my advantages. Defense is the lowest of Dexterity (1) and Wits (2). Health is Stamina (3) + Size (5). Initiative is Dexterity (1) + Composure (4). Morality in Mage is called Wisdom, and it starts at 7. Speed is Strength (2) + Dexterity (1) + 5. Willpower is Resolve (3) + Composure (4). Finally, I choose a Virtue and a Vice. Stewart's Virtue is definitely Hope, while I think his Vice is Pride (saving people is a validation of his own skills).
Finally, step 7 is buying merits. I get the High Speech merit for free for being a member of an Order. I also have 7 dots to spend. Stewart has a good job, so he has 2 dots in Resources. His picked up quite a bit of Spanish working in the ER, so he has 2 dots in Language (Spanish). Finally, he has a small apartment which he has secured, allowing him privacy in which to practice his magic (Sanctum with 2 dots in Security and 1 dot in Size).
A few finishing touches. Mages usually take a Shadow Name, a pseudonym they use among other mages to maintain their own privacy. When he was initiated into the Free Council, Stewart took the name "Sel" (French for salt, a mineral with great biological and magical importance). Mages also possess magical tools which they have dedicated themselves to magically and which help avoid the force of Paradox. Stewart always carries around a penny from the year of his birth onto which he has scratched a five-pointed star (the Atlantean pentagram).
And that just about wraps it up for Stewart Green.
Sel
Real Name: Stewart Green
Path: Thyrsus
Order: Free Council
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 3, Resolve 3
Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 1, Stamina 3
Social Attributes: Presence 2, Manipulation 2, Composure 4
Mental Skills: Academics 1, Computer 1, Medicine 3 (Trauma), Science 2
Physical Skills: Brawl 1, Drive 1, Stealth 1, Survival 1
Social Skills: Empathy 2, Intimidation 1 (Stare-Downs), Persuasion 3, Socialize 1, Streetwise 2 (Gangs), Subterfuge 2
Merits: Language (Spanish) 2, Resources 2, Sanctum (Security 2, Size 1)
Willpower: 7
Wisdom: 7
Virtue: Hope
Vice: Pride
Initiative: 5
Defense: 1
Speed: 8
Health: 8
Gnosis: 1
Arcana: Death 1, Life 3, Spirit 2
Rotes: Death - Forensic Gaze (•); Life - Purify Bodies (••), Healing Heart (•••)
Mana: 7/1
Armor: 3 ("Organic Resilience", Life ••)
