Character Creation

Mortal - Mummy - Shifter - Sorcerer - Mage - Age - Secondary Abilities

Okay, I'm going to do something a bit different for this game.  Well, a lot different.  Basically, I've taken Mummy's idea of making a mortal then making a supernatural and extended it out a bit.  You'll make a mortal first, choosing the age at which you want to have had your experience with the supernatural (be it your death and rebirth, first change, encounter with a sorcerer, or awakening), then you'll add the supernatural.  For both stages you'll get more points for being older, but less freebies to allocate, and I've tried to set it up so you can make a standard character with slightly more freebies (for raising arete and balance in the case of mages and mummies) if you take the median age.  In general, there are more points for being old, but more roleplaying benefits from being young, and if you want to be have been training for longer than standard I'll want to have a very good background from you.  Note that I don't want everyone to jump at building your characters now, I just want you to look at you options before deciding on a character, and I'll want to hear at least a paragraph long concept, preferably a sketch of your history, before you start spending points.  I'd really like to have you make mortals and then do a prelude before you spend your supernatural points, but I'm not sure that'll be possible (though I'd probably give out a couple more points if you want to go this route).  The game will probably start, game time, in early 2000, just after the year of the reckoning and development of the new mummies (so mummies are all young in their powers).

A Mortal Beginning

* Twenties and younger must spend freebies to raise abilities over 3.

At this stage of character creation you will be making a normal mortal, perhaps slightly above the human average.  Take care to flesh out your life before you encountered the supernatural, and spend points appropriately.  I may allow supernatural knowledges or powers to be bought with freebies, but only if you have a very, very good reason for it besides just wanting more kewl powerz.  Number in parenthesis by category is freebie point costs to raise.  You may buy merits and flaws at this stage, but you will only be allowed 7 total points from flaws for both stages, so choose carefully.

Mummies

This stage represents the completing experience of the Tem-Akh and its aid in the rushed training that follows.  A younger second life makes the mummy more receptive to the completing knowledge of the Tem-Akh (and the youngest have yet to face years of unbalancing trials), while older individuals find it harder to change their lives based on the new spirit in their body.  However, older individuals tend to have more experience in picking up knowledge requiring discipline, and have more worldly experience to build attributes upon, which is why they get more in the way of hekau and attributes.  Unless freebies are spent (one per spell/ritual) you begin with one spell or ritual per final hekau levels, or four, whichever is higher.  Points spent in this stage should be things learned from the Tem-Akh or in the brief training in Egypt of the past month or so, so should not include many modern things.

Shapeshifters

As noted above, Tried and Rank 2 require a very good background.  Among shifters, a young and untried youth can expect to be protected in battle and to earn a lot of renown for victories.  Conversely, these ages indicate Tried and Rank 2 that are pretty old; especially coupled with a late first change these individuals will have a hard time gaining renown and support because they have not done their great deeds yet, despite their age.

Sorcerers

Like the shapeshifters, a newly initiated sorcerer can expect to gain esteem and training from fellows with much greater ease than one who has worked for many years to master only the most basic of spells.

Mages

Like the others, a mage that has barely improved in magical knowledge over several years will have less clout and respect among his fellows (and possibly his avatar), while a younger willworker can gain great esteem by learning quickly.

Age

Compile your character's final minimum age based on both stages.  If you wind up under 15 you effectively have the Child flaw (strength cannot exceed 2, effectively Short, not usually respected/suspected by mortal authorities) at no bonus.  If you wind up 40 or older, you gain the Age flaw at no bonus for every decade past your thirties (once at 40, again at 50, etc.).  This flaw reduces the physical attribute of your choice by 1.  You may be older than the listed age if you want to, but probably shouldn't be much older unless you're in the last categories.  For every 10 years you're older than the base age you may take the Age flaw for three freebie points (and the concurrent reduction to physicals).

Secondary Abilities

For the purposes of this game there will be two classes of secondary abilities: Incidental and Concentrations.

Incidental

These abilities are ones that are not present on the main character sheet, and therefore potentially less useful, but do not fall under specialties of other abilities.  Examples include Divination, Blatancy, Fortune Telling, and Thanatology.  These abilities cost half normal (1 ability dot buys two in creation, current level x1 to raise with experience) and are otherwise treated as regular abilities.

Incidental Abilties Include:

• Talents - Blatancy, Carousing, Fortune Telling, Instruction, Interrogation, Mimicry, Style, Ventriloquism;
• Skills - Archery, Blind Fighting, Demolitions, Divination, Falconry, Gambling, Game Playing, High Ritual, Hypnotism, Lip Reading, Ride, Sleight of Hand, Speed Reading;
• Knowledges - Alchemy, Area Knowledge, Culture, Finance, Heraldry, Language Harmonics, Politics, Psychology, Stone Lore, Thanatology, Theology

Concentrations

These abilities are not present on the character sheet because they fall under other abilities as specialties.  Examples include Throwing and Acrobatics under Athletics, Computer Hacking under Computers, and Enochian under Linguistics.  The possessor of a concentration in a roll where it would be useful may choose to either roll its parent ability as if it were specialized, or roll the concentration at -2 difficulty.  For example, with Dex 4, Athletics 4, and Acrobatics 2 a character making an acrobatic leap may choose to roll Dex + Athletics (8 dice) and reroll 10s, or choose to roll Dex + Acrobatics (6 dice) at -2 difficulty.  A concentration costs only one freebie or experience point per level, but it cannot exceed its parent attribute.  For concentrations that are specialties of multiple abilities (Acrobatics is a specialty of Athletics and Dodge) the highest parent ability is the cap for the concentration, but you are limited to rolling the parent in an appropriate situation (if the above character had dodge 1, he would treat his Acrobatics as 1 when making acrobatic dodges instead of normal acrobatics).

Concentration Abilities Include:  

• Talents - Acting (Performance), Artistic Expression (Expression), Diplomacy (Etiquette or Empathy), Grace (Subterfuge), Intrigue (Subterfuge or Politics), Scan (Alertness or Investigation), Scrounging (Streetwise), Search (Alertness or Investigation), Seduction (Subterfuge), Sense Deception (Empathy), Throwing (Athletics);
• Skills - Acrobatics (Athletics), Animal Training (Animal Ken), Blacksmith (Crafts), Brewing (Crafts), Camouflage (Stealth), Carpentry (Crafts), Climbing (Athletics), Cooking (Crafts), Dancing (Performance), Disguise (Subterfuge), Escapology (Athletics), Fast Draw (Firearms or Melee), Fast Talk (Subterfuge), First Aid (Medicine), Gunsmithing (Firearms), Herbalism (Medicine or Science), Heavy Weapons (Firearms), Hunting (Survival), Jeweler (Crafts), Leatherworking (Crafts), Misdirection (Subterfuge), Lockpicking (Security or Streetwise), Martial Arts (Brawl), Pickpocket (Streetwise), Pilot (Drive), Psychoanalysis (Psychology), Singing (Performance), Storytelling (Performance), Swimming (Athletics), Torture (Interrogation), Tracking (Survival or Investigation), Traps (Security);
• Knowledges - Astrology (Cosmology), Chantry Politics (Politics), Computer Hacking (Computer), Cryptography (Linguistics), Dead Languages (Linguistics), Enochian (Linguistics), History (Academics), Literature (Academics), Poisons (Medicine), Secret Code Language (Linguistics), Taxidermy (Crafts)

Lores

Lores are essentially Occult concentrations, and, as such, cost 1 per level.  However, they are not limited by the Occult rating of the character.  Every character begins with 3 in their type lore (ie, mummies get Mummy Lore, mages get Mage Lore, etc.), and 6 extra points to be spent into various lores.  Points in Lores may be given out for free if you find teachers in game.

Common Lores include:  Mummy Lore, Mage Lore, Shapeshifter Lore, [Specific Tradition or Craft] Lore, [Specific Bete] Lore, Traditions Lore, Technocracy Lore, Wyrm Lore, Kindred Lore, Camarilla Lore, Sabbat Lore, Wraith Lore, Changeling Lore, Umbral Lore, Shadowlands Lore, and Astral Lore.  Be prepared to explain high levels in enemy lores.  The lores for your own group (e.g. Mage Lore, Traditions Lore, and Order of Hermes Lore for a Hermetic) are rolled at -1 difficulty since you have had more chance of picking up incidental knowledge and your common sense will tell you what sounds false.