30 days of Apprentices

Core book lists 'Healing' as a Minor Magical Focus, not a Major one? Or is there a Major version that does more?

Nope, this is just a typo when I was building the character in notepad, MMF instead of mMF. I'll fix my numbers.

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!

Michael, named after his father, is the fourth son of a small nobleman by his second wife. Michael was never considered for anything great, but he was a bright and eager child. If he was any higher in the succession, his older brothers may have worked against him. As it was, his older brothers just hated having him around, and chased him away. Michael instead spent time with the priests and the servants, and exploring his home. He always travelled with his mother and father when they went between their home near York to visit London, and enjoyed exploring both cities. He often snuck out of his family buildings to go venturing, and somehow managed to always avoid trouble - it turns out something was watching over him, and he was one of the few children who never ran afoul of faeries. Michael begun to call his friendly ghost (actually a Guardian Angel) 'Michael' as well, giving people the impression that he was talking to himself.
Michael is slated in the next year or two to begin studies in a church school, but hasn't yet, so it may be possible to drag him away for apprenticeship. His family has good reputation, and he can use that. He also sometimes finds translucent feathers laying around, which are Divine Intellego vis. And though he's not immediately in succession, he's enough of a threat once one or two people die that he may be set to inherit.

For fun and entertainment, you could add True Faith. It'll cause problems of course. His lack of any weak stats means he can slide into any future role. He is going to be rather weak in cities, but can work well outside of them. You could trade Heir for Close Family Ties if you don't want to play the game where he risks inheritance.

Richard was born on the southern coast of Provence. His father was a soldier, and his mother was a hedge witch. He never knew his father, who left for a Crusade, but has seen a few letters from him. Richard's parents are truly in love, guided by God to be together, though his duty to the church caused him to leave once again with a promise to return. His mother taught him many things, mundane and mystic, and he helped keep their home when she went out to do her witchcraft for the local village. His mother, however, is getting weaker and weaker, withering away in absence of her true love, who has died in Thessaloniki; So his mother is looking for someone to help raise the child when she finally dies of sadness.
Richard believes a faerie curse is the cause of his mother's withering, though in truth it was love of her father that was keeping her from withering for so long.

My suggestions for Richard include Self-Confident, Affinity with Vim.. I'd enjoy Gentle Gift, and he'd be a good Jerbiton. True Love would be a very... appropriate virtue/flaw for Richard, however. Perhaps a way to slow his aging to be with his love forever. Maybe someday he'll forgive the faeries for killing his mom, since they actually had nothing to do with it.

Like many children with special births, Flora was born in a small village on the edge of a magical forest. Flora's mother was a farmer's wife, who's husband had died. The mother was getting older in years, and her first two daughters had married off, and the young boys from the neighboring farms visited the widow to help her tend the farm as a kindness. When the older widow began to show signs of a pregnancy, the few young lads who were helping her retreated for fear of being blamed for it, even if the Widow assured everyone it was not theirs. She never explained to any of the other villagers what she later told Flora - while gathering rare flowers in the nearby magical forest, she had been briefly possessed by a local spirit of the plants. This story seemed quite likely, considering Flora was born with lovely blonde hair that deepened into a green as she grew older, and her pale skin began to grow a bark-like texture and stiffen - and she could often glean information from whispering to the trees nearby.

A pretty self-explanatory character here. Ways of the Forest would be a fun add. A deficiency for ignem may be more appropriate than Aquam but I decided for something different. Her Magical Blood is of a forest spirit. You could add a vulnerability to fire or to dehydration. She needs to sleep in rich wet soil to rest (as her Lesser Malediction)

There was a village in Thebes near Olympos where a magus set up shop to do some experiments away from prying and curious eyes. As things do, when magi are involved, they went wrong, and the entire village got dragged into a regio before and were horribly warped. The trouble in the political landscape meant the noble had not noticed the missing village, but as the wars died down and the nobles began to gather their power again, the magi nearby worried they would be blamed for the problem. Enter, the Great Storm.
A group of magi gathered together and conjured a massive thunderous storm, and let it rampage through the area for a moon, adding illusions to blame the missing village on Zeus. This worked, though there were unintended consequences. In this case, a large number of other villages were ruined by the fortnite of thunderous madness in simulation of Zeus.
Orestes was a child in one of these villages, and his entire village was flooded, eroded, and washed away. Their livelihood was destroyed, those who could flee did, and Orestes' family died. Orestes was lost and alone, and had to learn to survive in the wilds, with only his skills, his wits, and his budding Gift. He managed to befriend a small pack of the wolves living near Olympos to survive. Even when found by people, he has a tendency to communicate with nonverbal cues, growling and howling instead of talking.

This character is spawned from my home campaign, where we're ruining the Theban tribunal. I suggest looking into Inoffensive to Animals, Skinchanger or Wilderness Sense, and some affinities for Animal or Rego. his time with the wolves can give him quite a lot of learning disabilities as well; Poor Student, unimaginative learner, and so on. Any sort of Hermetic flaw regarding wild or uncontrolled spells, weird magic et cetera, would be appropriate as well.

Peri is a princess. Really, she isn't a noble princess, she's been corrected on that enough times. But she still is a princess, Papa told her so, and Papa wouldn't lie to her. She is the most beautiful girl in the world, that is definitely true, since everyone tells her that. Her hair is very long, and beautiful like gold, and curly. Her skin is flawless. And she's smart! She is very smart, which is why she knows she isn't a real noble princess, but she hopes one day to make that true as well. Papa has been busier and busier every day, but he provides for her, so Peri loves him even when he's not around, and he is making life better for her, even when strange and mystic things begin to occur near her, and everyone starts getting more and more jealous of how beautiful she is.

If you don't want Curse of Venus, i'd suggest Close Family ties, perhaps upgrading her Proud from minor to major. Waster of Vis is somewhat appropriate as well thematically. She could easily be a Verditius or a Jerbiton. I really look forwards to the Flambeaux who ends up with her, however.

Peri and Richard are both just so sweet. I am enjoying this thread.

Glad you enjoy it. It's hard selecting the right virtues and flaws, because it feels like a lot of them aren't reasonable to have as a ten-year-old. Home sick from work today, I'll try to catch up on my missing apprentices.

Baltair was born the son of a poor man, and his mother died in childbirth. He grew up on the chill Scottish coasts, helping his father with the fishing and the sales of his goods to market. Despite his poor status, the child and his father made out a modest living together. One day, bringing fish to market with his father, Baltair and his father stayed in a tavern one night to wait out a storm, and the young lad found himself entranced by an old bent man sitting by the fire and telling stories. Though there was nothing magical about the event, it felt magical to the child, who began listening for more stories, and learning to tell them himself, which his Gift blossomed into Enchanting Storytelling.
Baltair has developed an incredible curiosity towards stories and myths, and has begin to see how they fit together. With his father's blessings, he began to collect more stories when he spoke with people in villages nearby, seeking out travelers to ask them of their legends. During one of these trips, while his father slept around a campfire, a small faerie approached him and demanded a sacrifice for safe passage through the woods. Baltair gladly told him stories, and the little nettle-faerie enjoyed it so much that Baltair kept telling him stories until dawn, when the father awoke. Since then, the faerie has followed Baltair wherever he went to continue listening to his stories, though usually he is invisible. This faerie, Cullh, has developed a tendency to steal buttons, string, small bits of food and coin from people that Baltair has entranced with his stories, though Baltair isn't aware of it yet.

Baltair's Enchanting Storytelling might be lost during conversion to the gift, replaced by Performance Magic(as I've suggested before!), however, I like him keeping it. His Lesser Immunity is tied to his faerie Freind, Cullh - technically he just isn't harmed by nettle-plants, but I feel it's not too powerful to be expanded into plant thorns in general. Until his gift is opened, his Hermetic Flaw (magic addiction) is just tied to his storytelling - he can't stop once he starts. You may notice 1 leftover xp from his Linguist, that I put into storytelling. He'd be a great Jerbiton or Merinita, though he is geared towards a fun Ex Misc.

Vittorio's mother was unmarried, the child was a bastard-born. Nobody ever let him forget it. His life started rough, and only got harder as his mother got trouble just as much as the child. She could only protect him for so long; Then it was up to Vittorio to protect his mother, instead. Even growing up young, Vittorio got a lot of scars, and even developed a reputation as a dangerous person to cross - the gangs nearby did not enjoy the idea of tangling with the young boy due to the viciousness he fought with - and some whispered, the dark powers he called upon when enraged. He's killed a few full-grown men for mistreating his mother, and doesn't go down when stabbed, and from that has earned a certain level of respect in the poor part of town.

Perhaps a bit silly, but Vittorio exists because I noticed the berserk virtue doesn't say anything about being unable to use magic or similar; It just says you go into a rage, killing every enemy and then moving on to your friends if necessary. So Berserk magus apprentice! I also like the idea of him being small and tough, easily underestimated. His Blackmail has helped him survive to his current state despite factors against him (being small and angry and a bastard).
If expanding him to greater numbers, I suggest Life-Linked Spontaneous magic, and possibly Chaotic Magic. You could trade Small and Tough for Large and One Eyed(or Clumsy) if you prefer a more traditional berseker, and of course Faerie Blood(Bloodcap) could be an explanation as to his current state.

Roman was raised by a church orphanage. Never a popular child, being tiny, barely able to survive, and Gifted, Roman was only saved from potentially murderous bullying by the kindness of the priests, even though they never were fond of the child either. The priests can only have assumed he was cursed by God. Roman started life miserable... but as he grew older, perhaps as a survival mechanism, he stopped caring. Everything would turn out well; it HAD to, else God was not fair, and God had to be fair. One day, the cheerful young child, while hiding from the bigger boys, found a little stoat in the cellars, and he made friends, feeding it every day, until one day a bully found where Roman was hiding, and forbidden from harming the child by the priests, he sadistically killed the stoat. Roman kept the skin as a reminder of his first friend, and found his ability to transform into the animal useful to hide from the bullies in his orphanage.

A quick one, some of the virtues and flaws are more for the feel of the character instead of developing his story. Still, I always wanted to make a dwarf character who was more than just a dwarf-blooded. Instead, we have a were-stoat who wants to explore the world is quite certain everything will turn out fine!

Well, due to real life, I didn't finish. I've failed (in both getting 30 out, and doing one a day) but I really had fun with this. It was great. It's also really hard to build an interesting and compelling character at the age of 10.