I'm not sure this one is really generally applicable enough to be worth serving as an "example character", but I've been going through my backfiles for characters who are close enough to the "corebook only" requirements to be viable, and they fit that requirement at least. People can always borrow them as an NPC if they'd rather!
Tremere
Characteristics: Int +1, Per +2, Pre 0, Com 0, Str 0, Sta 0, Dex +3, Qik -2
Size: 0
Age: 25
Decrepitude: 0
Warping Score: 0 (0)
Confidence Score: 1 (3)
Virtues and Flaws: The Gift; Hermetic Magus; Death Prophecy: Cannot die whilst work is undone; Affinity with Intellego, Affinity with Herbam, Minor Magical Focus (Certamen)*, Premonitions, Strong Willed; Deficient Perdo; Higher Purpose, Lesser Malediction: Premonitions of harm to others always too late to act upon, Temperate, Visions
Personality Traits: Melancholy +2, Determined to do the right thing by her sodales +3, Abstemious +3
Reputations: None
Combat:
Dodging:
Soak: 0
Fatigue Penalties: OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious
Wound Penalties: -1 (1-5), -3 (6-10), -5 (11-15), Incapacitated (16-20)
Abilities: Artes Liberales 1 (ceremonial magic), Athletics 2 (hiking), Awareness 2 (searching), Brawl 1 (dodge), Charm 1 (people she needs information from), Code of Hermes 1 (scrying), Concentration 1 (spells), Craft: Carpenter 4 (coffins), Folk Ken 1 (magi), Guile 1 (disguise), Latin 4 (Hermetic terms), Magic Theory 3 (Intellego), Native Language 5 (poetry), Order of Hermes Lore 1 (Tremere), Parma Magica 1 (Corpus), Penetration 2 (Intellego), Premonitions 3 (threats to Tremere), Stealth 2 (sneak), Swim 1 (underwater)
Arts: Cr 3, In 9, Mu 0, Pe 0, Re 6, An 0, Aq 0, Au 0, Co 6, He 6, Ig 0, Im 0, Me 1, Te 0, Vi 0
Twilight scars: None
Equipment: Wizardly robes
Encumbrance: 0 (0)
Spells known:
Bind Wound (CrCo10) +9
Charm Against Putrefaction (CrCo 10) +9
The Inexorable Search (InCo 20) +23
Tracing the Trail of Death's Stench (InCo 20) +23
Whispers Through the Black Gate (InCo(Me) 15) +18
Rise of the Feathery Body (ReCo 10) +19
Trap of the Entwining Vines (CrHe 15) +9
Piercing Shaft of Wood (Mu(Re)He 10) +6
Wizard's Sidestep (ReIm 10) +6
Customisation Notes
This Tremere specialises in tracking down the dead bodies of their slain sodales and retrieving them for proper buriel. This is aided by the Visions they sometimes receive of the circumstances of the death; however, such Visions are never in time to actually prevent the deaths, only to react to them. Their Death Prophecy reduces the risk of them falling prey to the same fate as affected their sodalis; however, the wording is unclear as to whether it means an individual mission or the entire Order...
In addition to this work, the character also acts as a carpenter for the House, taking on projects too symbolically important or secret to entrust to a mundane or hired Verditius. This includes the coffins of Tremere magi and their voting sigils.
The character can take another three points of Flaws and as many points of Virtues. Removing the lesser malediction would open up the scope for the character to engage in rescue missions; in this case you may also want to revisit the Personality Traits.
Comments
With the additional book content, this is an Artificer member of the Abyssal Bearers vexillation.