To discuss the creation of all of loke's characters (magus, companion, grogs, familiar, apprentices). This includes the concept, drafts, background, advancement, lab work, etc.
Final versions of the characters will have their own topic.
Characteristics Int +4, Per +1, Pre +1, Com +1, Str -2, Sta +2, Dex -2, Qik +1
Age 24 (apprenticed at 9, gauntlet at 24)
Personality Traits Compassionate +6, Consciencious +3, Curious +2, Ambitious +1
Stories Hermetic politics and diplomacy and house commissions. (Not excluding other stories, but those two are essential to make the concept worthwhile.)
Virtues and Flaws
- the Gift (0)
- Hermetic Magus (0)
- Minor Magical Focus in Certamen (0) House Virtue
- Deft, Puissant, and Affinity with Imaginem (3)
- Skilled Parens (1)
- Flexible Formulaic Magic (3) Hermetic
- Compassionate (-3) Major personality
- Driven to Stability of the Order (-1) personality
- Curse of Venus (-3) story The curse is a prank from his satyr cousins upon joining Hermetic training.
- Twilight Prone (-3) Hermetic
- Satyr Blood (+1)
- Study Bonus (+1)
- Great Intelligence (+1)
- Total +10/-10
| Ability | Spec | XP | Score | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High German | Allemaic | 5 | Native | |
| Awareness | Search | 5 | 1 | EC |
| Bargain | Services | 5 | 1 | LL |
| Brawl | Dodge | 5 | 1 | EC |
| Concentration | Spell Concentration | 30 | 3 | LL 15 + App 15 |
| Etiquette | Nobility | 5 | 1 | LL |
| Folk Ken | Authorities | 15 | 2 | EC |
| Guile | Elaborate lies | 15 | 2 | EC |
| Intrigue | Plotting | 30 | 3 | LL |
| Area Lore: Upper Rhine Valley | Politics | 5 | 1 | LL |
| Survival | Mountains | 5 | 1 | EC |
| Artes Liberales | Ritual casting | 5 | 1 | |
| Latin | Hermetic Usage | 50 | 4 | |
| Magic Theory | Spells | 30 | 3 | |
| Hermes Lore | Alliances | 5 | 1 | |
| Code of Hermes | Political intrigue | 5 | 1 | |
| Penetration | Ignem | 5 | 1 | |
| Finesse | Imaginem | 5 | 1 | |
| Tremere Lore | Infrastructure | 5 | 1 | |
| TOTAL | 45/60/125 |
| Art | XP | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Creo | 28 | 7 |
| Intellego | 28 | 7 |
| Muto | 15 | 5 |
| Perdo | 15 | 5 |
| Rego | 21 | 6 |
| Ignem | 15 | 5 |
| Imaginem | 52 (78) | (12) 15 |
| Vim | 1 | 1 |
| TOTAL | 175 |
Spells
- CrIg20 Pilum of Fire
- Re(In)Im30 Image from the Wizard Torn
- InAu15 Whispering Winds
- MuIm15 Disguise of the Transformed Image
- CrIm20 (custom) Remote Apparition of the Talking Head (like Phantasm of the Talking Head but AC range)
- InIm25 Summon the Distant Image
- InIm25 Eyest of the Eagle
Background
- Third son of a minor knight in the Rhine Valley, not far North of Basel.
- Abducted by a Tremere magus to the Greater Alps.
- Trained in the parens' role of signaller.
- Gauntlet at 24.
- Spent 4-5 years in Transylvania for further training in house customs.
- Returned to the Greater Alps when the opening was made in Laimunt Valley
A signaller of the House, he specialises in Imaginem, with Intellego and Creo as the principal techniques, both for the purpose of transmitting and receiving long-distance communication, and for the traditional trickery of the lineage. He is a decent politician and diplomat, and will be contend to the covenant role of ambassador .
He has been sent to this region to monitor the movement towards a Lotharingian tribunal , and report on any events which may threaten to destabilise the Order. Given his role and modest experience, he maintains a low profile, but as any young magus, he engages in anything which can serve to build his experience and standing.
I'll have to spend time looking at your mechanics more closely, but I didn't see anything that jumped out there. I like your start at a proposed background, especially being from Basel originally. I can't really see how your character's mechanics and backstory align yet, but I figure that's coming when you throw more details in.
The background is rather unimportant, I think. His skills and arts are shaped by the parens and the role the House intended for him. What are you looking for in the background?
Hmm ... two more virtue points ... should I go for Strong Faerie Blood or Puissant Concentration/Great Intelligence or maybe a classic like Book Learner?
I think an Imaginem magus might benefit from Puissant Finesse and/or Cautious with Finesse:
Firstly, it helps you getting these illusions right, and secondly, it gives you a battle backup option with vilano spells.
I suppose I meant more along the lines of "seeing a character sheet and a few bullet points doesn't tell me how the character might think or act". Having a more descriptive background really helps me at least figure out who your character is.
I'm not trying to say "I think you should change this or that to fit your background". I don't intend to spend time telling people to change their numbers around in any way.
I see. I prefer to develop the character in play, rather than elaborating the background up front. Yet, I suppose some of what you were missing was in the original concept from the common thread.
P/G Advancement Sketch
- Three years 90xp
- 20xp Magic Theory -> 4
- 15xp Rego, 8xp Creo, 8xp Intellego, 11xp Intellego, 2xp Vim, 1xp Corpus
- 5xp single weapon
- 10xp Tremere Lore
- 10xp Parma Magica
- 1 year to make talisman
- a locket with a mirror
- bronze locket, inlaid mirror, silver lock, and brass necklace
- Tiny silver 1x8 = 8 pawns of vis
- used 4p slots for effects
- First season to invest vis
- Second season to attune and open +7 illusions (mirror)
- Third season, PeIm16 Wizardś sidestep (Per/Conc/Ind, maintain conc, 50 uses), open +3 Ignem (brass), lab total PeIm 18 + Int 4 + MT 4 + aura 3 + talisman 5 = 34
- Fourth season, ReIm18 Veil of Invisibility (Per/Conc/Ind, maintain conc, 6 uses), open +6 display images (mirror)
- a locket with a mirror
I like to see a bit more about the character before play, as it helps us establish what will make good stories and how we can integrate his background into them. That also helps us a lot when doing the narrative post-Gauntlet/pre-play advancement. What you have right now is really bare-bone. We knkow what he is, but not who he is. He doesn't even have a name!
So I'm not going to consider any post-Gauntlet advancement until we see a bit more about his background.