I'm pretty sure I mentioned this in some other thread, but it should stand a recap.
The start of one of my current sagas started out with us creating 5-10 year old pre-apprenticeship children. Using the normal rules for 'early life' and the subsequent exp/year rate and 3-4 of our 10 V&Fs. Characteristics were allotted normally, but knowing that 1) they could change during the 15 years of apprenticeship, depending on how training and life was and 2) they were realtive, so a +3 STR was really strong - for a 7 year old, but still weaker than an adult.
Play started with short situations/scenes where we were found and taken by various magi from the covenant. Mostly for flavour. Then followed introduction to the other PC children, the covenant and the whole magic/order tings. The saga had some fairly new ArM players, so a lot of the basics were taught in-character. But still good fun for us veterans.
The concept was, we as players had little or no say in what house we were going to be accepted into. The covenant had one member of each house, and each of them were shortly introduced, with names, appearances, quirks and so on - but with no mention of their House! One would think this was easy to guess, but no!
After a few small stories, where we bungled around as nosy, know-it-all kids, the selection process started. Much of this was tests by the magi, to see what and how we did. The first one involved a ghost, and ended up with us sneaking out during the night, digging up an infant's corpse, hiding it under a bed for a few days, and re-buring it in the woods, recruiting a priest for the correct rites.
We didn't penalize Characteristic- or Ability rolls, since it was the same for all of us, and we interacted little with adults in ways that needed comparison (like fighting against them).
The Alpha SG selected two of the magi to further test each of the PC children, still only with loose guesses as to who was which house. And based on the results and primarily our responses and solutions, one magus chose us. After this, the ASG let the rest of us players choose two masters to test his own PC child, with a single recommendation as to not making him Gurenicus, for saga purposes. We chose two, made up some test and story for this, and SG'ed this ping-pong the three of us. It was great fun, but highly improvised. Based on his solutions, we decided which master chose him. We even had som sub-tests from the master of one house, since we saw 3 main approaches to this concept, making him choose one, without knowing the facts.
I had created a very nosy, willful and rebellious child - obviosuly gunning for Tytalus. He ended up being chosen by the Tremere master, calling him a weak child, but being able to mold him. Luckily he was also ambitious and determined, to a higher degree than a rebel, and after a hard time fell in line with the discipline.
After this we jumped forwards 5 years, allotting 1/3 the xp and spell levels for apprenticeship, and arund 1/3 our remeining V&Fs. This way we'd end up with learning a lot of low level spells, instead of just the highest ones we could take after all 15 years. Each of us became responsible for one of the masters, running smal situations and stories for the PC apprentice, and in general guiding as to what the master would teach, specifically which V&Fs. Like if the master had a Deficiancy, the apprentice would get that too (that most likely isn't RAW, but...), and which Major Hermetic Virtue would be most likely. Also, to coordinate that we didn't all take 'Gentle Gift' and run one player's concept to the ground. A story was run here.
Following this, we advanced another 5 years, ran a story and so on until Gauntlet. Gauntlet sadly wasn't made much story out of, this is perhaps the only thing I'd change for another saga.
And after this, we started 'for real'.
Next time I start a saga, I'd do something like this - if the players are up to it. The apprentice thing for a saga starting just past Gauntlet. If I'm to start a more advanced saga, I'd start with just post-Gauntlet characters (or pre-Gauntlet, and run some story from this). And then a story, advance 5-10 years, story...and so on.
I started a 30 years past Gauntlet once, and that didn't go well, the noobs were confused. It ended almost before it had started.