I'm drafting some simple advice on choosing from the overwhelming number of Virtues and Flaws. (Drafting for what? Don't ask so many questions…)
Comments on the following draft welcome.
There are a lot of Virtues and Flaws described in this chapter, and reading through all of them before creating your first character is probably too much work. You can just use the samples given in the character creation chapter to start with, but at some point you will want to create your own character. If you are playing with an experienced troupe, you can ask them for guidance. If not, some suggestions follow.
First, remember that you do not have to take the maximum number of allowed Flaws and Virtues, or, indeed, any at all.
When choosing Virtues, Puissant and Affinity are good, flexible choices, and make your character better at the main thing that they do. They are about equal in effect, but Puissant is better early in a saga, while Affinity comes into its own in a saga that lasts for decades of game time.
It is worth looking at Story and Personality Flaws, as these make the game more engaging and enjoyable for you by telling the rest of the troupe what sort of stories you want to experience with the character. They do not hinder your character, but rather get them involved in enjoyable plots. Read over the names in the lists, later, and look up the ones that sound appealing. (In the main lists of Virtues and Flaws, all the Flaws are in alphabetical order, and are not divided by type.)
Every character needs a social status. This is decided in advance for your magus character — it must be Hermetic Magus — and Covenfolk is a good default choice for any other character, as it makes them an ordinary member of the covenant. On the other hand, your character concept may strongly suggest that a different social status would be appropriate. If you want your character to have a particular social position, you may need to take a particular social status, so it would be a good idea to read through the lists to see whether the position you want is mentioned. Priest and Knight are both Social Status Virtues, for example, but you could be a pious individual without being a priest, and a mounted warrior in armor without being a knight.
Supernatural Virtues and Flaws can be ignored unless your concept is for a character with some sort of supernatural power.
It is a good idea to just read through the list of names of General Virtues and Flaws, or Hermetic Virtues and Flaws for a magus, and then look up ones that sound interesting. No character concept requires any particular Virtue or Flaw, as discussed in the nearby sidebar, so you do not need to worry about missing anything essential. Some of the Virtues and Flaws look very specialized because they are; there is a whole suite of Virtues for people who have studied at medieval universities, for example. You do not need to worry about those Virtues and Flaws unless your saga takes you to those areas.
Fast Virtue and Flaw Picks
Social status is either Hermetic Magus (for a magus character) or Covenfolk (for anyone else).
Fastest: Take one Minor Personality Flaw to reflect the way you want to play the character. Take Puissant Art (for a magus) or Puissant Ability (for any other character), and apply it to your character’s specialty.
Fast: Take one Major Personality or Story Flaw to reflect the sorts of stories you want you character to be involved in. Take Puissant Art and Affinity with Art (for a magus) or Puissant Ability and Affinity with Ability (for any other character), and apply them both to your character’s main specialty. Take Puissant Art (for a magus) or Puissant Ability (for any other character), and apply it to your character’s most important secondary focus. For a magus, it is best to end up with one Puissant Technique, and one Puissant Form.
