Character Creation

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General Rules

Affiliation

• All Traditions and Disparates (Craft Mages and Orphans) are open for play.
• Technocrats, Marauders and Nephandi are not currently available as PCs. (However, it is possible to become these through game events.)

Attributes and Abilities

• No attribute or ability may begin at 5.
• See Judgment Calls for rulings on specific abilities.

Backgrounds

• Antagonist NPCs from the Enemy Flaw will only be approved if another player has agreed to ST the NPC.
• Please note that the Mentor background ONLY applies to NPCs. Any PC can be mentored by any other PC without taking the background. NPC Mentors must either not reside in the city of Denver or be disconnected enough from local events and politics that their presence will not impact the greater game. They should be a tool for occasional character development and advancement - not a regular companion/bodyguard.  I encourage players to make use of other PCs as mentors whenever possible.
• Certification, Chantry/Construct, Legend, Node, and Rank are not being used on this site.  Chantry and Node access can be gained through play (and do not cost anything.)  Certification and Rank relate to a character's background and don't need to be purchased.  Any benefit they might offer will fall under associated backgrounds (Influence, Resources, etc.)
• See Judgment Calls for changes to specific backgrounds.

Arete and Resonance

• Initial Arete is restricted by experience. Characters automatically start with 1, 2 and 3 points of Arete, respectively. Players may not buy up further Arete points at creation. This is something we like to advance in-game.
• We use the Resonance system on this site. All mages must take one Resonance Trait for every dot of Arete.

Quintessence

• The Quintessence score is equal to the Mage's Avatar rating. Any additional Quintessence purchased at the time of creation comes in the form of Tass, and should be listed separately on the sheet. 

Avatar

• At any level, Avatars require at least a basic notation. Avatars at level 4 and 5 require a more thorough description. I need to see that you've put thought into who the avatar is, what their motivations are and what their relationship is going to be like with the character.

Focus and Affinity

• All Characters must declare their Affinity Sphere.
• Standard and Experienced characters must include information relating to the character's Focus, including a list of the character's Paradigm, Practice(s) and Instruments. If any of these are custom-designed, a description will be required.
• Personalized and Unique Instruments must be declared as such to get the benefits. Characters may take 1 Personalized Instrument for their Affinity Sphere (this can also be Unique) and up to 1 Unique Instrument per Sphere.
• Newly Awakened mages do not need to have a Focus write-up, but you're welcome to include one if you wish.

Newly Awakened Character Creation

• Attributes: 7/5/3
• Abilities: 13/9/5
• Backgrounds: 5
• Spheres: Affinity + 2
• Arete: 1
• WP: 3
• Freebies: 18

Restrictions

• No more than 1 Attribute and 2 Abilities may begin at 4.  Any Ability at 4 must fit the character concept and back-story.
• Willpower is capped at 5 on creation.

Backgrounds

• Resources - Capped at 4
• Allies | Alternate Identity | Arcane | Contacts | Fame | Mentor | Retainers - Capped at 3
• Influence | Spies - Capped at 2
• Backup | Library - Capped at 1
• Blessing | Destiny | Enhancement | Patron - Restricted (see Admin)
• Cult | Demesne | Familiar | Sanctum | Status | Totem | Wonder - Unavailable

Affiliation and Focus

• Newly Awakened characters do not have to choose a Tradition/Craft at Creation.
• Newly Awakened characters do not need to begin the game with their Focus already decided. If the character has been Awakened long enough to have figured out their Focus, you may include that information. Otherwise, you should have the character figure out their beliefs and tools/practices in-game. This takes some time - an instrument must be used for at least one month before it can qualify.

Awakening

• You may choose, at creation, whether or not your character has already Awakened, or if you wish to play out their Awakening on-site.
• Another player must agree to ST your character's Awakening before you can submit an unawakened apprentice.
• Regarding character creation for unawakened Mages: you may submit the sheet as usual and then ignore anything magic-related until after Awakening, or you can wait to decide what the character's spheres / resonance will be. Totally up to you.

Standard Character Creation

• Attributes: 7/5/3
• Abilities: 13/9/5
• Backgrounds: 7
• Spheres: Affinity + 5
• Arete: 2
• WP: 5
• Freebies: 35

Restrictions

• No more than 2 Attributes and 2 Abilities may begin at 4.  Any Ability at 4 must fit the character concept and back-story.
• Willpower is capped at 6 on creation.

Backgrounds

• Arcane | Contacts | Resources - Capped at 4
• Demesne | Fame | Influence | Mentor | Spies - Capped at 3
• Backup | Blessing | Cult | Library | Sanctum - Capped at 2
• Status - Capped at 1
• Allies - Restricted after level 3 (see Admin)
• Destiny | Enhancement | Familiar | Patron | Totem | Wonder - Restricted (see Admin)

Experienced Character Creation

Experienced character submissions are restricted on Denver Mage.  If you wish to play one, you need to gain pre-approval from the Admin prior to submitting a character sheet. As a rule, these characters are only approved sparingly. Many factors are taken into account, such as current demographics, player experience and character concept. Characters who have the potential to fill a useful role within the game are more likely to be approved than those who do not.

• Attributes: 7/6/4
• Abilities: 15/11/7
• Backgrounds: 7
• Spheres: Affinity + 7
• Arete: 3
• WP: 5
• Freebies: 35

Restrictions

• No more than 2 Attributes and 3 Abilities may begin at 4.
• Willpower is capped at 7 on creation.

Backgrounds

• Influence | Resources - Capped at 5
• Fame | Mentor | Spies - Capped at 4
• Backup | Blessing | Cult | Library | Sanctum | Status - Capped at 3
• Allies - Restricted after level 3 (see Admin)
• Destiny | Enhancement | Familiar | Patron | Totem | Wonder - Restricted (see Admin)