Mateo was always a troubled child, like many who were gifted. The troubles and wars in the Iberian peninsula left him an orphan, and the young child was raised by the church. He proved to be an intelligent child, and the priest in charge of the orphanage seemed unaware of the gifted nature of his charge, and began to teach him reading, writing, and church lore. The troubles really started when he grew older, and started to sense strange things about his town; at first it was seemingly benevolent, the young clerk-in-training was finding interesting scholars to talk to by seemingly inconsequential signs. But As he grew older, he began to have portentous visions of the future, often while he was in prayer, in the church. Sometimes, when the youth's emotions run more wild, he feels ghostly stigmata on his skin, which he interprets as being punishment from an angel for his lack of self-control. So far, he has managed to keep his visions and ghost-stigmata under control, as he is worried of upsetting the mentoring priest who raised him.
If you wanted to expand this, it would be a fun candidate for True Faith or Holy Magic, though I like Gently Gifted as an option as well. Book Learner could be a good symbol of his studious nature. Technically, the Clerk virtue is a bit of a waste, but was needed to get him access to the Abilities he needed for his story; If he was older, he could trade it for the Educated virtue if you prefer that. The relic is something I don't have much experience working with, but I like it as a lesser version of True Faith, though in retrospect, I may prefer Social Contacts with local clergy.
Young Jeanne was the daughter of a baker in a rural village in Western France, and her mother died at a young age. Like all Gifted children, her time growing up had a lot of social strife. She compensated by helping her father around the bakery, often gathering eggs and tending to the family's single sheep. Things changed when she got older, like all Gifted children, and she was pulled into a faerie's story. Many of the local children were taunted or tormented by a faerie known as the Queen of Bees, Reine des Abeilles, tempting them into her realm with sweet scents and flavors and making them work for their freedom. Jeanne, like many, spent a few nights in service to the queen to earn freedom from her, but unlike most, Jeanne decided to go back. She sought out the Queen's realm to steal the queen's faerie honey for her father's sweets - but she was overpowered by the scent of it as she was escaping, and ended up eating it all... and then she tried again.. and again, until she found herself sneaking into the Queen's realm every week to eat her royal honey.
Since then, Jeanne has been finding herself in a sweeter position in life, with many of the formerly dismissive children willing to do things for her, seeking her favor, and oftentimes she is attended by a few small bees. Unbeknownst to her, Jeanne has been stealing Reine des Abeilles' power, and her Gift has been adapting to it. Her gift has been touched by faeries, and when she cast spells, she often creates a small bee that flies around and attends her as its queen (one bee per magnitude of spell). The Queen of Bees, however, wants to trap Jeanne back in her realm to 'pay' for the stolen honey.
This character idea stole concepts from a discussion with my girlfriend. Obviously, she'd make a good Merinita, but she could succeed as a Tytalus or Tremere if she was taught properly. Or a Jerbiton with Gently Gifted. I'd enjoy seeing her be in a position where she was being groomed by the Queen of Bees to replace her, trapping her forever in a Regio and eventually turning her into a Faerie. Her Inoffensive to Animals means that she wouldn't be attacked by the bees she summons immediately, but the bees probably cause trouble with other people nearby...
Making up for missing yesterday, I had a busy day. I'll post another tonight for today.
Gabriel was always a popular boy. He grew up in Paris, a merchant's son. Though he always was well-off, his father was very busy to keep their lifestyle well-off, and as he grew older, Garbriel had to help when he can. Although Gabriel's father was a generally good man, he was a very impious and conceited one, never attributing his successes to anything but his own hard work, even when things came about by sheer luck. Even with this busy life, Gabriel found time to enjoy himself, spending time with his friends out around the city, and he was a very, very popular child. He was growing up to be a handsome man, and he had become quite aware of the young ladies about him. Everything changed when Gabriel fell ill. The physicians and apothecaries of the city could do nothing to stop young, beautiful Gabriel's slow wasting away. As he grew sicker and sicker, the boy's father, who was never a man to turn to God for help, finally came to a church. His sick, dying son at home, the father prayed with desperation and honesty, and he finally received the answer he had been looking for: Gabriel had been cursed by a demon.
Gabriel was brought to the priests in a remote French monastery, and the monks, with generous donations from his father, tended to him and prayed over him. Gabriel got sicker and sicker, but his father finally put trust in God, and the boy received a visit from a stranger, claiming to be a travelling healer-monk, late at night, on what might be the last night of the boy's sick life. The healer laid a clean white sheet over the boy's chest, and with a prayer, the sheet was stained black. The man whispered to the suddenly-lucid young Gabriel, and then he left. The monks had now knowledge of the healer ever having been there, or who let him inside, but Gabriel and his father have been convinced it was an angel, come to save a young boy and to reward his father for his piety.
The words whispered to him Gabriel will never forget: "You cannot die here. You have many great acts to perform. You must conquer many enemies, including yourself. Your death will stalk you but never find you. When your work is nearly done, when you have passed your great gifts onto your children, one of them will finally destroy you."
This character was originally a Companion concept for my current game, but I went with a pirate prince instead. Expanding his character more, I'd give him some Hermetic virtues, and maybe Great Presence or Good Teacher. I would probably also upgrade his Lecherous to major to really make his (probably succubus-cursed) future interesting.
The young Ewald was never liked in his village. He was big, slow, and (everyone assumed) stupid. He was very helpful, however, easily convinced to help the other children in their tasks while he was trying to make friends. Ewald, however, was much smarter than he pretended, and often got out of trouble because the other children 'bullied him' into it. He grew older, stronger, and more useful to his village, even though he was never too popular, and at the age of six, he was taken in by the town's Blacksmith as an apprentice.
In brief thoughts for Ewald; He'd make a fair Flambeaux or militant wizard, could be a good Verditius, and I would love to see him going an artistic route in his crafts.
The little girl named Zofia grew up in Poland. Her father was a game warden who watched over a noble's hunting grounds. The noble never bothered to hunt, but enjoyed the prestige of having the area under control, and most of her father's business was chasing off poachers and other hunters. The young girl was born with bright, bright blonde hair, almost like pale sunshine, and often was teased and tormented around town for it. Nobody ever had met her mother, and often accused her of being the spawn of a witch, though her father was respected enough that it never came out in more than whispers. Zofia often explored the areas near her home, and for some reason the animals never bothered her, never attacked her, and never ran from her. When she was six, Zofia was with her father while he was checking the edges of the forest, and she found a wounded fox, white of pelt, and begged her father to help her care for it. Reluctantly, but inevitably, the father agreed, and a few months later, the white vixen gave birth to a litter of fox kits. The vixen whispered into Zofia's dreams that night, thanking her for her kindness, and granting her a boon: as long as she cared for these foxes, they would lend her their magic. The vixen was gone the next morning, but Zofia soon found her ability to transform into a fox; She promised the fox kits she would care for them, and their kits, forever. And now, she's recently started having dreams about a wounded deer out in the woods....
I would totally give her subtle and Quiet Magic, and Ways of the Forest. Animal Companion could easily Magical Animal Companion. The vixen could have been a Bjornaer, or a folk witch, or a magic animal, or an totemic spirit. One way or another, factual or not, Zofia believes that she can only keep her shapeshifting as long as she keeps her family of foxes alive.
Isabel was born to a stone-cutter's family who lived in the lowlands of the Swiss mountains. Her father was convinced she was not born of his seed, certain of it due to ...sensitive... wounds he had suffered a few years before she was born. Still, the disapproving stonecutter was a good and pious man, and did not punish the girl for her birth, even when she began to display strange tendencies. Her skin gained a strange pallor as she grew older, and she grew very large for her age, and bent twisted. As if sensing the disapproval in her existence, Isabel tried to help her father and mother whenever she could. This developed into a tendency for the big girl Isabel to offer her help to everyone she felt needed help, much to her parent's chagrin. This situation only got worse as she grew older, and her developing Gift started to cause people to fear her and revile her, when paired with her unhealthy appearance - and the people in the town unfortunately learned to politely accept her aid, since turning her down her assistance repeatedly often caused the troll-blooded girl to fly into an unholesome rage - and her embarrassment at her actions causes her to apologize and offer more assistance...
Her father is now looking for some way to get rid of her without being a bad Christian and abandoning her in the woods.
Suggestions to expand Isabel include Giant blood or Large, affinity with Perdo or Terram, possibly a Lesser or Greater Malediction that activates in the sunlight. Also, giving her Second Sight or Special Circumstances (when barefoot on the earth) would be fun...
I'm not certain if this Mythic Blood quite fits, since they tend to be for great wizards, but I don't know that many great wizards who haven't been mentioned already, so instead I made one up while listening to classical music.
There is a faerie in Provence, near Avignon, who is oft told of, and is quite a monster. He is known by many names, but the Lord of Winter is his most common name - people do not whisper his proper name, and the Faerie Lord enjoys this respect. The Lord of Winter is known to have his servants seduce and kidnap young virgins and take them as wife, until they displease him. The children of these stolen wives often are raised amid the faerie, and become deeply bound into the Lord's story. Jacque, however, was uniquely gifted, and instead of disappearing into Faerie, was taken in by a courtier of the Lord of Winter at the machinations of his doomed mother. He was taught courtesy and romance, as the faeries understood it, and was intended to help find more wives for his father, though he did not understand the implications. Of course, one of his faerie 'brothers' would often take him out to meet the nobles and rich merchants around the area, finding the young Jacque a boon to his gathering of vitality. It was on one of these journeys that he was found by a magus, and taken away to apprentice.
A relatively simple character today: Jacque is based on a Companion character of my friend's. Obviously, the Lord of Winter is based on the information given on Lord Marsyne in the Ars Magica core book. Suggestions for more virtues and flaws include a minor magical focus in ice or snow, cyclical magic either benefitting from winter or hindered by summer and spring. The 'brother' who was wandering with him could be a paternal sort of Faerie friend, or he could get a Plagued by Supernatural Entities for the Lord of Winter wanting his 'son' back.
In the southern Germanic states, a small township on the edge of the forest was destroyed to defend the Magical Aura of the forests from encroaching Dominion. When the town was eventually resettled, the village's church was never rebuilt. A demon infested the village, trying to coax the villages towards infernal worship, and trying to taint the forest's Magical aura towards demonic uses.
Like these things go, the situation was noticed by magi of the Order, who decided to fix the problem. The Flambeaux got involved, the Tytalus got involved, the Quesitors got involved... Konrad was found, a young child who was gifted, though the demon at the head of the cult was trying to hide him from the magi. He had been raised amid the cult, with a dark purpose in mind. But he was Gifted and clever, so he was taken from the village, and the demons and cultists were purged.. brutally, and efficiently. The darkness of his past was revealed to Konrad, and he strives to become greater than his history.
A nice, simple infernal rescue here: Nothing too complicated, he seeks redemption but has frightening powers. Cthonic Magic is a good fit here, and you could probably give him bonuses from a divine source, but I like the concept of his Second Sight being from the Infernal. He could use another personality trait, but redemption is this character's goal. You can bet he's going to start studying Dominion Lore as soon as he can.
The child Horatio was born on the eastern coast of Italy, under good star-signs and prosperous seasons. The people in his village did not like the child; but they respected him, and more importantly, they respected the wise-woman who took him in to raise him after his mother died in childbirth. Horatio grew up not understanding why everyone avoided him, but he loved his 'grandmother' and he helped her around the village whenever he could. He tended her garden, and helped her gather herbs in the nearby forest.
Despite being born frail and weak, Horatio was bright and interested in Grandomther's work, and begun learning from Grandmother, and the soft-hearted old woman could not say no to her adopted child. She was a member of a circle of wise-women in the nearby villages, folk-healers who brought prosperity to their communities; Many of the folk healers did not like a man being shown some of their womanly secrets, but Horatio's grandmother did not care, and when she discovered that when Horatio aided her in the tending of wounds, the people came healthier faster, she was more insistent on the child learning some of the trade, and he earned some measure of appreciation from the wise-women who spoke with his grandmother - until a Magus of the Order heard about the gifted child.
Horatio is a weak and fragile boy, raised by a kindly old woman who loved him very much. She begun to teach him a few aspects of her healing arts, which helped shape his gift into what it is. His Lesser Purifying Touch can banish infections from wounds, and in his brief time as a folk-healer apprentice, he earned some respect from his grandmother's circle of wisewomen. He can never be one of them, but he's proven he is worth their attention, if not their secrets.
Inspiration came from an Anime. There are lots of ways to go here, I probably would take a second Weak Characteristics, and might take Plagued by Supernatural Entity (angel of mercy), have an angel who distrusts the Order of Hermes trying to turn him to the Church to be a holy magus healer. ANd maybe Noncombatant. He's so gentle....
Would make a good Jerbiton if he was Gently Gifted, but he can't be - Still could be a good Jerbiton though. A Bonisagus, Trianoma maybe. He's pretty much designed to become an Ex Misc healer.
Born in a small town in Sicily, the young lad named Giro never knew his family. He grew up amid street urchins and thugs, and survived by being useful, and finding the right people to serve. He always was good at stealth and sneaking, and become quite an accomplished pickpocket in the local markets. He was well-appreciated (if not liked) by the thug running his gang, except for the regular trouble he got into when he adopted stray kittens, lost puppies, and baby rats. Something about the helpless creatures just struck a chord in the young boy, and he had a tendency to pick up pets - they never stayed around long (the gang's head kept killing them when Giro wasn't around), but the boy was always happy to share his meager food rations with a rat or cat. Everything changed when Giro found himself witnessing a murder, killing a wedded couple, and the squalling baby child was left to die in the gutter. Bringing that stray home got Giro a rather savage beating, and he had to flee with the child to find a church orphanage that would take the child in. He isn't welcome back in his gang, and his Gift make sit hard for him to find welcome in most places.
I suggest Secondary Insight to give him a broad base of arts to use his utterly stealthy magic fore. He'd be a great Tytalus, especially with that weakness making him take in foundlings.
Born in Thessaloniki, Ikario and his brothers were talented, though Ikario was the most talented of them all. Unlike his older brothers, however, Ikario was truly Gifted. His family was part of a cult of titan-worshippers, some of who even had supernatural abilities from the cult. The brothers each had been taught their magical arts, each 'blessed' by a titan power. Ikario, however, knew he was the strongest of his brothers, though he was the youngest. He heard the whispers of the titans, coaxing him to greater things.
Thus it was that he found his brothers while they were performing their cult rituals, and each one he killed to steal their power. Each one, he stole a bit of the Titan's magic for his own, aided by one of the priests. Then he framed the priest for the murders and had him killed. His abilities as the sole heir to the magical legacy brought him attention from certain mystical circles, but the betrayals had his original titan masters abandon him.
Paul, young Paul, was a very bright and precocious boy. He was smarter than his peers, and he knew it. All his peers knew it too. He was talking before any of them, and could solve problems faster than any of them. Everyone knew how smart he was, that was why none of them like Paul - Jealousy. That must be the case, he couldn't think of any other reason why they didn't like him. But he had to prove himself to them, to make them admit he was able to best them at anything. Young Paul found himself suceeding even when he thought he shouldn't - clearly Paul was greater than he himself had anticipated. The bright, brazen young lad is starting to draw attention from people.
Paul's a prodigy. As he gets older, Deft Intelligence (as a child only virtue) should be replaced by Great Intelligence. His plagued by Supernatural Entity is a demon of Pride who has been helping Paul succeed when he shouldn't have, feeding his pride and overconfidence. Jack of all Trades is a good virtue to throw in if you're looking for more. Probably want to find a fun hermetic flaw for him, but that'll turn into taste based on how he's trained from here. He's well set-up to be a Bonisagus, but obviously he would succeed as any House, because Paul is just amazing!
There was a swordsman named Adolphe living on Corsica, in service to the magi there. French by birth, he left his home to seek greater challenges. He was a superb swordsman, and he trained himself to be even better. He was, in a word, obsessed. He had trouble finding people who could challenge him, and eventually, this caused his depression before falling into silent, morose service to the magi. Not the most sociable person, so everyone was rather surprised when they found out he had a daughter.
She was generally called Adolfille, or Fille, by the Corsican covenant folk who she interacted with. Adolfille was a cheerful, charming young girl who loved to help out around the village - she grew up amid the farms surrounding the covenant, rather than inside the covenant itself. It took quite a long time for the farmers, merchants, and covenant folk to warm up to her presence, but she was such a cheerful and precocious girl that everyone eventually came to like her. It came as a great surprise when they found out her father, obsessive as he was, had taught his daughter how to fight. Little Adolfille got a hold of one of her father's swords, and slew three bandits who had threatened a young farmer's boy she had a crush on.
The villagers, living near a covenant and used to strange things, had no knowledge that little Adolfille was Gifted, and only the unexpected show of her martial prowess drew her attention of nearby Magi - who had thought she might make a good grog.
Something more extreme and unrealistic than my usual, at the prodding of my friends. This is the daughter of our old covenant's favorite swordsgrog, Adolphe, who descended into drinking because he couldn't find anyone to challenge his obsessive level of sword skill. I mean, sure she can defeat most full-grown men in a fight if you give her a short sword, but obviously she'd rather be flirting with the handsome farmer boys nearby.
I kind of suggest giving her a bunch of Improved Characteristics and Covenant Upbringing. Venus's Blessing might be appropriate, and she has no real Hermetic virtues yet. Is 'can't stop talking' a 'Social Handicap' flaw?
Also, BOYS.
There are many lost magical traditions, possibly the oldest known coming from ancient Egypt. When the Kingdom of the Nile was joined to the Greek Empire of Alexander, their ways spread, and sometimes, those lost magical traditions can spring up again. This family line went from Egypt, to Greece, to Malta, to Tunisia, and to Sicily, with a hidden power sleeping within them. It is only in this generation that the Gift finally came to manifest, and the hidden power could awaken again.
Twice.
Diego and Damiano were born to immigrants to Sicily. Their family was poor, but loyal. Even though the children were causing trouble, time and again (the Gift can make life for the parents very hard) their parents worked hard, migrating from farm town to farm town. And the Gift manifested - first in younger Damiano, then in Diego. The two twin brothers often and always fought, but banded together when something threatened their family. While they do not have the control of their powers, they are obviously magical by their existence, and can do great things - Diego and Damiano can both see the future, to some degree. However, Diego's visions were less powerful, and often times helped the family avoid trouble, but Damiano's visions lead them through strife and often to greater wealth and success. Still, the brothers Everything went wrong when their visions finally clashed against each other; Diego claimed death would stalk them come from the sea, and Damiano believed that wealth would flow from death on the sea. The father followed Damiano's visions to help a shipwreck on the Sicilian coast, and he drowned. Diego blamed his younger brother for the death of their father, and they fought with almost murderous intent, their mother finally separating them - Diego's eyes damaged and Damiano's legs scarred brutally. Diego ran away that night, staggering through the darkness, and leaving his younger brother and his mother.
If you want the brothers working together, you can get rid of Enemies for some sort of mystical problem; I like Deficient Perdo because of their creation-god heritage. I selected Wrathful rather than Proud for the bloodline flaw, because it worked better for their backstory.
Perhaps a bit lazy, but I wanted to provide a different view the Diego/Damiano story. This other version has them working together, as brothers, who are still in conflict. These brothers are descended from the Egyptian Priesthood, but as the nobles and priests intermingled, their two bloodlines merged, and the twins both bear a different divine gift. This was my original idea, the dichotomy of opposing forces in a family, but the idea I posted yesterday, with the same blood, seemed a better story.
Klaus is a child born cursed. His birth killed his mother, and the rumors of his evil nature haunted him as a child. Little Klaus did not stay little for long - his giant blooded nature became very evident, as did his gentle heart. The child Klaus was large, bullied by other children, and they quickly figured out he would not fight back, which meant even the younger, smaller children could bully him. He began to run and hide, but his size meant he could not hide near town. He began to explore the beaches and rivers. One day, he didn't come home, and... nobody worried. The rumors of a massive, dangerous child stalking the shores have only begun to grow. It is made even worse by the rumors that his hometown's fishing boats are plagued by a frightening water-beast every full moon.
Klaus is a giant-blooded were-orca. PLOT ACQUIRED. It feels weird to have someone at age 8 be a were-beast, but that's a persistent problem with all of the apprentices- a lot of the plots don't quite make sense for young age. Also, I can't find anywhere where they actually describe what Lycanthropy is and where it comes from. But back to Klaus, he is a gentle kind soul who can't bear to hurt anyone - but when he changes his Soft-Hearted goes out the window, and the monstrous beast wrecks the fishing fleet of the town who tortured him a few years before. Side note: Technically, Orcas are much too large to be were-creatures, but I'm just ignoring that because of the Giant-blood, and I like it. Hah!
