FSN: Clock Tower
New: First Game is being run on Sunday, September 5th, at 10pm GMT (5pm EST). Have your characters up by Saturday at the latest, so I can check them over and decide on certain things.
The Mage Association is the foremost magical institute in the world, serving as a knowledge repository and support net for magisters worldwide. In addition to being a collection of regional supervisors and teaching enclaves, the heart of the organization rest in London, in the facility known as 'the Clock Tower'. Hidden from mundane scrutiny, this facility functions as the nerve center for the group's administrative body, a reliquary for mystical wonders - and an academy for the teaching and development of mages, young and old.
You are students at the Clock Tower - initiates into the Mage Association and its politics. Study hard, have fun, and survive.
Oops, did I type the last one?
Game run by BM, in case there was any confusion.
Game is capped at six people; certain people have come to me in private, but I don't know who all is committed to this. This will be decided as events warrant.
Suggestions regarding starting points and other chargen concerns go in the Discussion page.
Characters
Mildred Wattenberg
Alicia Winters
Jessica Thompson
Lucinda McRae
Beatrice Winslow
The Clock Tower
The Mage Association's headquarters lies underneath the British Museum, in a series of underground structures and catacombs. This houses the homes of the Council leaders, as well as the university facilities and the dorms for professors and students.
Students who enroll at Clock tower spend most of their time studying in the main underground complex, a collection of ornately-designed hallways and laboratories dedicated to magical study. Obviously, this is not common knowledge to anyone who is not a magician (how much the British government knows is a topic of debate amongst students), so students are ostensibly affiliated with one of the local London Universities, traditionally the University of London. Students are able to participate in sporting events through their affiliated school, or study standard degrees in addition to their study of magic, if they're so inclined.
Clock Tower is run by a Council of Archmagi, who are the local leaders for England's Mage Association and the defacto head of the worldwide organization. Few of them actually teach, leaving that to lesser masters while they spend their time on their personal projects and factionalism. Professors are usually seasoned mages, who are responsible for a certain class or discipline within magic.
Students who come to Clock Tower have already been apprenticed in their youth, and have been sponsored by their master or another mage to join the tower. Some students are apprenticed to mages residing in the tower, who shepherd their study as they attend classes; others are free agents who come recommended by a distant member. Some students distinguished themselves due to events in their youth, particularly supernatural occurrences they were involved in; solving a prickly supernatural problem is an instant recommendation. There are even rare students on exchange from the Church who train to join the Burial Agency – rivals of the Mage Association, these goodwill exchanges are viewed with quiet wariness at best and magical surveillance at worst.
Clock Tower is not just a school, but a repository for magical artifacts and lore – including some top-secret materials. These are kept in secure museums for careful observation, with the most dangerous placed in heavily-defended or secret vaults. The most well-known of this is White Vault, a giant sealed chamber guarded by powerful wards located in the lower reaches. Magical guardians protect restricted areas, and most are polite enough to warn students before trying to eat them – that is, the ones who students are expected to see are. When you're inside, you're fair prey for the really scary stuff.
Most players are students in their first year attendance to the Clock Tower. Think about why they've come to study, who mentored them, how they were admitted, and what they seek to do with their magical knowledge.
Otherwise, have fun! And don't go in the White Vault.
Character Creation
If you’ve played any White Wolf game, you’ll have no trouble with this. Rules are fairly light, because I’ll invariably end up ignoring anything too complex for the sake of narrative. Primarily, these rules are to give a concrete guideline for what your characters are capable of.
Starting CP: 70
CP costs:
Attributes: Current Rating + 1
Specialites: Current Rating + 1
Willpower: [Current Rating + 1] X3. You get one dot free because
Magic Circuit: [Current Rating + 1] X4. You get one dot for free because.
Magic Knowledge: [Current Rating + 1] X3
Merits: As noted in descriptions
Attribute costs per level
1: 1 CP
2: 3 CP
3: 6 CP
4: 10 CP
5: 15 CP
Willpower costs per level
1: Free
2: 9 CP
3: 18 CP
Circuits costs per level
1: Free
2: 12 CP
3: 24 CP
4: 40 CP
5: 60 CP
Discipline costs per level
1: 3 CP
2: 9 CP
3: 18 CP
Traits
Attributes
This is pretty simple: it’s largely taken from the common system used in Expanse or FRW, for the sake of ease. Attributes represent general capacities the person may have. They may be anywhere between 1 and 5, with higher meaning better.
Physical: Your capacities for physical action, such as strength and agility.
Endurance: Your ability to resist physical pain and to perform strenuous activity.
Intelligence: Your focus on cerebral action and your general skill at using your mind.
Integrity: Your ability to keep your cool and your wits about you.
Charisma: Your personal magnitude and ability to affect people.
Perception: Your ability to notice things, and your general awareness.
Specialties
These represent areas in which you possess specific knowledge or training in a particular field. These are associated with the most relevant Attribute (though may be used with others in specific circumstances and with GM approval). Specialties cannot be higher than 3 dots total.
Common examples include Physical (melee), Physical (guns), Intelligence (science), Endurance: (rowing), Integrity (focus), Perception (body language) and Charisma (cuteness). Specialties are capped at half your Attribute, rounded up.
Willpower
Willpower represents your raw reserves of mental fortitude, the staying power and force of will necessary to persist in the world. Only the weakest-willed and most traumatized lack this; mages who do are broken birds at the mercy of greater minds.
Willpower is never rolled as a stat - rather, it represents a reserve of points that can be used to modify actions. By exerting your will, you can push yourself just a bit harder and succeed against negative odds.
Spending a willpower point lets you:
- Add an automatic success to a roll, preventing a botch and ensuring at least minimal success. On a botch roll, you merely fail.
- Reroll a bad roll, allowing you to potentially get a much better result. You take the outcome of the reroll, even if it's worse (or a botch).
- Force a roll against mental influence, such as mind magic, supernatural fear, drugs, agony, mystic repulsion, or illusion. This may be used to resist the effects of personal Flaws (or Merits, if necessary). Success usually means the person gets a degree of control, or breaks free entirely. The roll is decided based on the nature of the influence, but is usually Endurance, Integrity, or Perception.
- Spending TWO willpower against mental influence instantly counters the effect as if you rolled all successes on your full dice pool, and makes you immune to the effects until you next sleep (or 24 hours have past, whichever comes first).
- Instantly replenish 5 mana as you force ambient energy from the surrounding area to bend to your will. This is enough for a last moderate spell, or a bit of energy for that big ritual that you're just short of while the horrible demon is looking at you like he's flensing you with his eyes. Note that this tends to drain the surrounding area, making it difficult to use rituals or Willpower to regain mana in the same place. You may even damage some very minor enchantments. Because of how easy it is to gain mana, this is mostly done in pitched battle or other situations where you can't stop and meditate/ritually-drain something.
You start with one willpower dot automatically. You may buy up to three dots worth of it. Willpower is regained by resting, by accomplishing something affirming to your personality (GM discretion), or after downtime.
Magic
‘Magic’ is a difficult term to pin down. Most respond to the question of what it is with an Arthur. C. Clarke quote, if they choose to respond at all. Magic as recognized by the Mage Association is a collection of disciplines and techniques that create events of miraculous power, by evoking and controlling the energy known as ‘Mana’. This broad definition is as close as anyone has gotten to creating a single definition of what magic is, even though ‘mana’ is extremely common – in fact, all living being generate mana, and their vital functions are tied to its presence.
The martial arts and spells wielded by mages comprise the arts known as magic, as used by ‘mages’. These spells shape mana into other effects, allowing the mage to create specific phenomena. Manipulating mana without spells requires supernatural heritage (being an entity with an innate method of channeling mana), or the ability to use powerful reality-warping methods (Sorcery). Otherwise, Mana is inert and bound into other mundane functions. Drawing it out requires a mechanism – that mechanism is spells.
The majority of magic is hermetic – evoking and shaping energies through phrases and symbols. The magic manifests as glyphic patterns which glow with the energies contained within, appearing on the skin or the surface so enchanted. The exact nature and motif of the patterns depends on the spells, the caster who created them, and even the caster’s own body. Latin and German are common languages for magic spells, due to their ties to many of the great mage clans; the nationality of the caster’s training and knowledge may effect this.
Magic is based on two factors that define one’s capacity for mystical energy and their understanding of magical practice.
Magic Circuit
The first of these factors is the Magic Circuit. Mana accumulates naturally in all living things as a naturally-occurring phenomena; a body drained of mana loses its life-functions. Magic Circuits represent ones ability to store and channel the mana in their bodies, to fuel acts of mystical wonder. Mundane humans have only the mana that naturally accumulates in their body, their Magic Circuit rating is 0, representing no special capacity for energy storage. Mages have a rating of 1 to 5, representing their reserve capacity. Magic Circuits are defined somewhat by birth, with some mages being naturally capable; mage families specifically breed magical capacity into their bloodlines. They can also be trained with rigorous practice and self-discipline.
Note that most mages cannot use all of the mana in their bodies without the help of spells or innate abilities (see Energy Storage or Body Burn). The Magic Circuit represents the amount of ‘free’ mana one can store within themselves; released the mana bound into one’s flesh takes some skill and risk (as it is directly tied to one’s continued living…)
Magic Circuit defines how much Mana one can store, which in turn defines how many spell one can cast.
0: Not a mage. You can’t play as this as you start off with one free dot.
1: Very minor storage capacity; Maybe one or two circuits. 5 Mana.
2: Average Storage capacity; A handful of circuits 10 Mana.
3: Notable storage capacity, with several circuits. 15 Mana.
4: A potent mage with many circuits. Archmages strive for this. 20 Mana
5: A mystic of staggering power and capacity. Archmages envy this; why does a mere student have this much power? 25 Mana.
There are other methods of storing and channeling mana beyond Magic Circuits. Study of Energy Control/Storage allows for mana to be stored into other objects (or people) for a variety of reasons. Particularly creative and unscrupulous mages can convert their nerves or blood into impromptu magic circuits (or those of others), at the risk of doing permanent damage. Other, stranger methods exist; these are often the byproduct of different supernatural creatures, and their innate powers. Dead Apostles, for example, can distil mana from blood without any prior mystical knowledge.
Magic Circuit also decides how long you can sustain magic, and how many spells you can sustain at a time. The greater your Circuit rating, the more magic you can sustain without conscious effort.
Regaining Mana
Mana regenerates naturally in one’s body at rest. Sleeping restores mana at a rate of your Magic Circuit per hour; mediation techniques also restore it at the same rate.
Another method to gain mana is to take it from another source, primarily through the use of Energy Control magic. While casting the actual effects costs mana, the amount regained will often be greater depending on the source (and overflow can be stored using the same Knowledge). Drawing mana from an object drains whatever is stored (very little if it is not enchanted for storage) or from people if you’re unscrupulous. Spell fields are often used to drain all the mana sources in an area, used to devastating effect against people.
Finally, there are other supernatural methods of gaining mana besides magic. See Merits below.
Magic Knowledges
The second factor is Magic Knowledge, representing how much one knows of the various fields of magic and how much one understands about manipulating mana through the field’s rotes. Unlike Magic Circuits, these are rarely gained innately (though some do have affinities; see Merits/Flaws below), requiring instruction and study. Magical knowledge is not necessarily dependent on Magic Circuit, though a high magical circuit helps one actually use greater echelons of knowledge.
Each discipline is divided up into categories, based on learning and proficiency:
Discipline Ranks
0: No knowledge. You know nothing of this field. Obviously, you can’t cast spells.
1: Initiate: The bare basics. Minor effects with some utility. You may use C-class spells of this type; B-class can be cast with a ritual, though it’s usually not that useful to take so much time for such a little effect.
2: Adept: Middling effects, often quite potent. You may cast B-class spells and A-class ritual.
3: Master: You are awesome in this field, well beyond most students and even mages. You may cast A-class spells, and S-class rituals.
4: Prodigy: You have powers beyond that of mortals. You either have access to Sorcery that enlightens you to some standard magical fundamentals, or your essence than thinking lends itself particularly well to some magic. Maybe there’s no reason at all. Regardless, you can cast S-class Spells. This can only be gained by someone who possesses the Prodigy Merit.
Disciplines
The magical disciplines are as follows:
Energy Control/Storage: The ability to direct mana itself. This can be used to store magical energy into something, or to drain something (or someone) of it. This is not strictly necessary to use magic - your natural mana reserves are not reliant on this discipline - you need this to draw on outer sources of mana and to regain power beyond your natural recovery.
Projection: The ability to conjure objects out of magic, such as swords, armour, and mundane objects. Objects created are sustained with mana, allowing them to persist, though mages often reduce certain aspects of them (like durability) to reduce mana cost at the expense of having it break after a few hits. These items are not permanent, and dissolve when the mage ceases to focus on them (unless enchanted with Energy Control to continuously draw on mana for sustenance).
Augmentation: The ability to strengthen ones attributes in a temporary fashion, and that of others. This can include hardening one’s body, increasing strength or speed, or mutating or transforming into other shapes. It also includes healing. Note that how much you can augment is based on your natural attributes - someone who is mundanely strong or skilled will benefit more from Augmentation than someone who is not.
Necromancy: The ability to summon the spirits of the dead, and to animate corpses to do your bidding. Offensive uses are generally limited to the undead, damaging their unnatural essence.
Puppetry: The art of creating homunculi, artificial living beings fueled by magic, and other constructs like golems. Also includes the ability to animate them (and other suitable objects, if necessary). The most notable creatures are ‘puppets’, mannequin-like being with artificial flesh and bone. The creation of homunculi, or artificial people, is also possible.
Spiritualism: The art of summoning supernatural entities, likes elementals and demons, to serve as familiars. It also includes the skills to bind and command such entities.
Warding: This covers defensive magic, such as energy shields and anti-magic defenses. Wards can be placed on people or on areas.
Mentalism: The art of controlling people's minds, either my influencing them into believing illusions or outright dominating them.
Elementalism: The ability to command energies and matter to obey you. For example, one can generate fire, raise stone to shield them, or conjure ice to encase their foes. This also includes more abstract energy, like ‘light’ or ‘darkness’.
Note that disciplines can be combined to produce effects that draw on more than one. For example, a Ward against the undead would require Warding and Necromancy; turning one of your arms into a blade would require Projection and Augmentation. Energy Control is commonly combined with effects to create long-lasting magics.
Spells
For the sake of convenience, magic spells can be divided into four power categories, based on the effect’s potency and scope.
C-level: Minor spells, basic attacks and effects with specific utility. Costs 2 mana.
B-level: The common middle-ground of spells, this denotes powerful effects and attacks. Costs 5 mana.
A-level: Very strong spells capable of devastating and altering the tide of battle and clearing rooms. Noble Phantasm powers are on this level. Costs 10 mana.
S-level: Spells of decisive magnitude. Bowls over lesser magic and overwhelms all but the most potent defenses. Most Sorcery de facto operates on this level. Costs 20 mana.
Ritual
Ritual is an extended form of spellcasting. By using complex reagents and a long series of oblations and planning, a spell of greater effect can be enacted than might normally be possible.
Using rituals allow you to cast magic that normally would be too difficult for you to cast as spells, and allows you to incorporate complex reagents. Conversely, it allows you to create more permanent effects, enchanting a place or person for a longer span of time. The downside is that it requires prep time and components, and isn’t very mobile. It can also be disrupted more easily than standard spells.
Sorcery
In addition to the standard schools of magic, there are also Sorcery – true magic, the fundamental principles of the universe. Unlike standard magic, which is a bending of reality through external processes, Sorcery IS reality, and those who can manipulate it gain abilities far beyond that of mortal spells. Note that this does not necessarily mean that one is better at standard magical Knowledges, though this can be the case (and is better represented with higher ratings or other merits; see below)
There are three notable kinds of Sorcery. All three kinds of Sorcery work differently, but generally are composed of a Minor Power and a Major Power, with different cost and effects. They are detailed below.
Reality Marbles
A Reality Marble is a manifestation of Sorcery – it is a mote of existence that depicts its sorcerer’s inner world. With proper training and mana, a sorcerer can project this world outward, engulfing anyone within a certain radius. Note that this actually does alter the real world around the caster – the area of the spell literally becomes the Marble for a time – but it also separates it from the rest of the world.
Reality marbles require an equivalent of a ritual to cast. Note that Spell Knowledge or Magic Circuit do not change that this is a ritual; Sorcery is not standard magic. A Marble is sustained much like a regular spell, though consumes tremendous power; and unlike normal spells, it cannot be soaked up by Circuit alone. Mana is expended each turn the Marble is active, sustaining its effect until the mage chooses to dismiss it or runs out of power. Only the strongest Circuits can sustain it for longer than a minute or so. Consider it S-class magic for the purposes of comparing it to other magic.
The nature of the Marble depends on its theme. This can be almost anything that the player desires, but it always exists as some tangible effect. A barren hill full of swords the caster can control depicting every weapon he’s seen, a vast glacier containing the bodies of defeated warriors, a mighty cavern where the stones animate to crush their targets, or tower of mirrors that the caster can slip in and out of to evade his foes are all suitable.
Mystic Eyes
These powers are natural magic embodied within a person themselves, notably incarnate in the person’s eyes. One who possesses such powers has unnatural looks to their eyes: strange colours, oddly-shaped pupils, and even completely bizarre patterns are all possible.
Mystic eyes do not just grant magical perceptions. They often do as part of their greater powers, but they are primarily based around an deliberate and constant effect that is projected onto whatever one sees. Some of these require deliberate action to enact (Mystic Eyes of Death allow a person to attack death lines in people and things, destroying them utterly), while some are simply automatic (Mystic Eyes of Captivation cause people to fall in love with the viewer; Mystic Eyes of Petrification paralyses or petrifies the viewed entity).
Mystic eyes are difficult to control and to resist. As a form of sorcery, they overcome most standard magic unless it is extremely powerful (and if the mage is particularly willful). Conversely, humans who possess such power cannot suppress its effects without some sort of enchanted item or constant magical warding. Such people often have issues controlling their Eyes, and can cause a lot of damage if they are not careful.
Supernatural creatures commonly possess Mystic Eyes, developed due to their sorcerous natures. These beings often have innate ability to activate and deactivate these powers.
Mechanically, Mystic Eyes grant a power that functions constantly upon whatever the target looks upon, unless they have some method of blocking their mystic gaze (or closing their eyes). Generally, this ability can be enhanced or supplemented with a magical action that applies the gaze’s purview (Usually a A- or B-level spell). The nature of this power is best discussed with the GM.
Noble Phantasms
These are legendary objects of staggering power, given purchase in the laws of reality through the exalted deeds bound to them. Some are based on real objects used by heroes in life; others start as Phantasms, created by Sorcery or powerful supernatural beings; some are even solidified manifestations of abstracts. The most notable of these are used by Servants in the Grail War as their primary weapons or defenses. These artifacts rival Sorcery in their power, allowing them to bypass some common defenses entirely. Examples include King Arthur’s Excalibur, Ajax’s Shield, Heracles’ divine body and the Rule Breaker dagger manifested out of Medea’s history of betrayal.
These artifacts have a wide variety of magical effects, limited only by imagination and design. Like most sorceries, they generally have a minor and a major effect, though this is much broader than the other kinds. Minor effects represent the item’s manifestation, and usually reflect the superlative design; for example, a Noble Phantasm sword is incredibly sharp and potent, armour is super-strong, etc. Other items may have stranger minor effects. Major effects are practically limitless; they’re often the reason for the legend surrounding them.
Minor effects are often automatic, requiring little or no expenditure of power, though some have a recharge time or require an investment of mana identical to a C-level spell. Major powers usually require an A-level spell casting or higher, depending on the effect.
Health and Damage
You get five health levels of damage you can take. This is an abstract value, more of a score-card to indicate how hurt you are. There's no penalty for being hurt up until the five levels are ticked; if they're filled, you're on your last legs, and probably not even that. You're bloodied, broken, and can barely crawl; you're a step away from the Bad End.
If you take one more level of damage, you can still survive; you're knocked out and are quickly fading. Healing magic or medical attention might be able to stabilize you - if not, or if you take more damage, you're dead. Too bad.
Wounds
Sometimes specific damage will be done to you - the enemy cuts off your arm, slashes your legs, freezes your face. This may or may not cause health level damage, but is mostly handled narratively - if you've lost an arm, you obviously cannot wield the weapon you were holding in that hand. Basically, it's up to GM discretion, tempered by how much damage the attack did.
Merits and Flaws
These are some general traits to round out the character. Not needed, but I fully expect everyone to take one as a matter of course. Don’t be stupid when picking these; obviously-contradictory merits and flaws will be punished.
Justify your merits to the GM in your backstory. All players have the right to allow the GM to pick flaws and leave the GM to define them, if they don't wish to; you are obligated to accept these flaws (but you are not obligated to know their nature).
Merits
Cloaked
You don’t radiate magic. Maybe your supernatural nature or some trick of your bloodline makes it difficult to sense your Circuit and spells, or maybe you know some secret technique. Either way, you don’t radiate magic. You need to work out why you don’t appear magical with the GM.
There are two versions of this power. The lesser version of this makes you appear as having Magic Circuit of one, appearing to be a weak mage. You fall under the radar, and people only notice you’re more than you seem when they see the results of your magic. The greater version means that you appear as a normal human if you wish, or a Magic Circuit 1 mage. You can switch these at will. Weak spells are practically invisible, while S-class powers can still be sensed fairly easily. Note that long-term and permanent effects lose this quality after they leave your presence – cloaking is tied to your essence, and once the spell is sustaining itself, it loses its invisibility.
You cannot choose to suppress this ability.
Cost: 2 or 5 points
Prereq: Magic Circuit of 3 or higher.
Rich
You have a lot of wealth, either from family background or business sense. You have access to substantial funds, making large purchases remarkably easy. You have a lot of people wanting to be friends, and may not want to walk alone on certain streets. The lower cost is moderately wealthy (upper-class, big houses, hired help), the latter is true opulence (mansions and butlers and such)
Cost: 2 or 4
Prereqs: A valid reason why you have access to this money
Prodigy
You are unnaturally good with a certain Sphere of magic; so good, in fact, that you have the potential to rival Sorcery at the height of your power. Your power may be due to Sorcery, or some other trick of your nature, but the effect is the same.
You automatically gain one rank in the sphere of your choice, applied after normal ranks. Thus, you do not factor it into CP costs for raising magic. In addition, this is the only way to get Prodigy Rank in any field of magic.
Cost: 4 CP.
Prereqs: May not have more than one purchase of this skill.
Famous Mentor
You were trained, or merely taken under the wing of a powerful and/or noteworthy magus at some point in your early career. As such, some of his or her reputation has rubbed off on you - the downside being that expectations of you are much higher. Think about who your mentor is and why he/she/I dunno is so regarded.
Also, you may call on your mentor to help you out, either with advice of varying usefulness, loans of magical items, or actual physical intervention. Mages can't always be running to Master for help, though, and mentors who are abused become a bit irate. They also tend to ask for favors in return - this is adventure meat and is GM perogative to do fun things.
For 2 CP, your mentor is far away, in another country or the depths of the wilderness, or is currently absent. Hard to contact outside of magic, and is not able to provide much tangible help. For 5 CP, your Mentor actually lives in London, and probably resides in Clock Tower; people tend to be reminded of your association, see you talking in the halls, spread rumours of you two having sex, you know the score. Also, it's easier to get help.
If your mentor is dead, you can only buy the 2 CP option, and your contact is attendants or agents of the departed mentor, or other legacies left for you (decide this with the GM like coming up with the mentor).
Cost: 2 CP or 5 CP.
Prereqs: None
Natural Mana Regain
You have a method to regain mana that doesn’t involve Energy Control/Storage or rest. This isn’t Sorcery, but rather a minor form of supernatural power that allows one to take mana from a specific source. A primary example of this is the Dead Apostles’ ability to drain mana from human blood. Others include performing a ritual to a certain sun god to receive an influx of mana or injesting and experiencing a certain substance to achieve a transcendent state. These methods are always personal to the Merit’s bearer, and cannot benefit another person who copies them exactly.
Specify what the source of the mana is, and what method you use to transfer it to yourself. Note that some sources are greater than others – human blood draws the mana of a human body, and ritual connects you to a higher power for a moment, and the drugs awaken some mystical trigger within you that generates a flux of power (where most would just OD – which you can still do if you take enough). Eating wood might be a valid choice, but wood doesn’t have that much mana, so you’ll be chowing down for a while.
Cost: 4
Prereq: Magic Circuit 2 or more
Magical Bloodline
You are the scion of one of the renowned mage families, known for their magical-potent genealogy and history of mages. You were exposed to magic from birth, perhaps even tutored since a young age, and are more at home around it than in the mundane world. You may have brothers and sisters who share the gifts of your blood, but you are selected to carry on the family’s greatest honor – the Magic Crest.
The Crest is a magical item, a small, metal object depicting the family heraldry. As a symbol of the family, it can allow access to some special locations within the Clock Tower (special archives or lounges, research labs, etc) and denotes the bearer as representative of the family concern. Its actual power is tied to the bearer, as well; the seal can open family-created wards and reveal special caches designed for the bearer. The Crest’s true power, however, is it’s ability to keep the bearer alive, provided enough mana is present to power it. If a bearer is reduced to death, the Crest spends 5 mana to save their life, from the mage’s reserve or from any mana-storage devices on their body (not Body Burn, however). If the damage is very severe (like disintegration), it can cost more. It does not affect anything that is not fatal, so continuous damage will result in multiple ‘deaths’ until mana is exhausted or the effect is stopped (like poison, or being tossed onto a bonfire)
Cost: 4
Prereq: Magic Circuit 3 or more
Approaching Fate
Most people make their destiny by their actions, their will defining their place in the world. For you, the process is reversed. You have a destiny enforced by Sorcery, supernatural agency, or something even more esoteric. This is not just people manipulating events to lead you to a certain outcome - the universe actually enforces your destiny, adding metaphysical weight to your set path. This can both help and hurt you. You destiny may be good or bad for you or others - whether you ascend to godhood or are tortured forever, you are still granted the same force of causality.
Mechanically, for every 3 CP you spend on this, you gain a reroll that can be used in any situation where failure would delay you from your destiny. This is up to GM discretion, but is generally pretty flexible (dying would be a sever crack in the divine plan, for example). You use these rerolls as you would use Willpower points, except that you can only reroll. These refresh at the end of each arc, as dictated by the GM.
There is a downside, however - just as you can resist attempts to twart your destiny, so does your fate prevent you from defying or delaying it. Basically, every point of this gives the GM license to cheat - to bend the rules and reality to keep you on your chosen path. The more rerolls you buy with this, the stronger your destiny is, and the more causality forces you along the path towards your final fate. Be warned.
Cost: 3, 6, or 9 CP Prereq: you need a destiny.
Supernatural Potence
Your supernatural nature grants you an empowered Attribute. Choose one attribute to attach this merit to: when rolling dice for that merit, add half the rating again to the pool, rounded up (so if you have 3 in an Attribute with this, add 2 for a total of 5).
You may not take more than two versions of this Merit at one time.
Cost: 4 CP Prereq: Supernatural flaw, and a reason why your kind of supernatural grants this bonus
Healing Factor
Because of your inhuman nature, you can heal yourself without magic, using only mana to restore your health. If you have this merit, you may use Mana points to heal health levels at 2 mana per level. You may do this reflexively.
Cost: 4 CP Prereq: Supernatural flaw, and a reason why your kind of supernatural grants this bonus
Body Burn
You have converted part of your body into a Magic Circuit beyond your own. You have done this either as a response to a weak magic circuit, as part of powerful sorcery, or as part of a supernatural or construct nature. This is very unusual to have in anyone who was not specifically created with this in mind, and requires esoteric circumstances.
You receive an effective increase in your Magic Circuit rating by 1, which adds 5 mana to your pool. However, there are some stipulations on its use. Firstly, it can only be recovered through rest, not through drawing energy through another.
Cost: 5 CP
Ghost Shape
You are the victim of a new phenomenon to hit mages, which has aroused a lot of attention - you are a 'fuzzy presence', a person only loosely rooted in the material world. Most mages refer to this as the 'Ghost Aura', because it appears as a translucent after-image over the person in magical sight.
You naturally slip through weak points in the gaps between words, often getting funny feelings near them without the aid of magic, and sometimes disappear during particularly powerful rituals that open portals into other dimensions. Getting back is simple as finding another weak point (just as easy to do on that side as on ours), but the downsides of accidentally falling through is obvious. This can also assist with teleportation and other travel magics, making it easier at GM's discretion.
Paradoxically, you are more 'real' to spirits and other otherworldly beings, able to engage with them as easily as with anyone else (including hurting them with fists and feet). The 'aura' extends just enough to include basic clothing; bulkier things can be actively enchanted by the mage to extend the aura over it. Weapons like swords can be so enchanted as well, provided they're not ridiculously large or long (no wielding a mast with superstrength enchanted to hit ghosts!). Anything you create with you magic, from swords to fireballs, shares this effect.
The downside to this is that it's always on, and is distinct enough that mages will notice with magical sight. Cloaking and concealment magic can mask it, but like all magic, it tends to bleed through when actively employed and noticed by clever mages who know that ifrite don't take baseball bat hits to the face like that. In addition, spirits of various kinds notice you and may react according to their natures. Not having Spiritualism while you possess Ghost Aura is considered foolhardy, since you don't have any refined means of defense (or to conflict with enforced boundaries if you're trapped in another world).
Cost: 5 CP
Sorcery
You have access to true magic, the fundamental workings of reality. This comes in either the Mystic Eyes or Reality Marble variant. This is extremely rare among humans, and bearers are often hunted by Burial agents and the Mage Association alike. Supernatural beings possess these more often than mortals do.
Cost: 7 points.
Prereq: None, but you probably can’t use (or control) it fully if you’re not a strong mage.
Noble Phantasm
You’ve somehow acquired a magical artifact of frightening power; a legendary weapon used by great heroes or villains. These are practically unheard of for anyone to possess, even skilled mages; the most common users are the Servants of the Holy Grail War.
Having a Phantasm is extremely rare, and the Mage Association frown upon students or neophytes possessing such legendary wonders. Don’t let people know you have these or you may get yourself killed and/or your treasure seized.
Cost: 7
Prereqs: None to have, but it’s pretty much useless unless you’ve a decent Magic Circuit.
Flaws
These are negative traits that give you points back for use in creating your character. You can use them for anything, though I recommend you use some for merits (recommendations are in the descriptive text). Flaw-farming damages the economy and will be punished by liberal use of Angra Mainyu lovin’. I really don't want to have to impose flaw maxes, that would upset me.
These generally don’t have formal prerequisites. They provide Bonus CP as listed.
Wanted
Somebody wants your ass, and not in the good dominatrix way. This could be anything from mundane authorities to the big scaries of the universe.
Bonus: As follows:
1: Mundane authorities, or some guy with considerable mundane resources but no magic. Stop boning the Mafioso’s daughter.
3. A magically-bolstered group other than the Mage Association, like the Church or the Black Command Society, or a single very well-connected mage. Stop boning the Archmage’s daughter.
5: Some powerful supernatural entity, like a Dead Apostle, demon, or something altogether worse. Good god, what did you bone?
7: The Mage Association. Good god, why are you in school?! You’d better have a good cover identity and hope nobody figures it out (or hope no-one blames you for the fatalities). This is worse than supernaturals, because you’re IN the Mage Association heart. You probably will be found out sooner than later.
Infamous Mentor
Your mentor is insane, a criminal, or merely not the right sort in the eyes of polite magus society. Others will look on you as if you were your mentor at worst and at best as only potentially as bad he, or she, or it, was or is. You might have eyes on you at all times. Think about why your mentor is feared or hated so, and where they are now.
Your mentor can provide advice for you, despite this being a flaw. However, because your mentor is not welcome in Clock Tower and is on the run from general magus society, you generally won't get items that aren't confiscated, and result in your punishment and possibly in you being attacked outright. The mentor coming to get you is out of the question; they're not going to get themselves killed for you.
This flaw has only one level, because unless your Mentor is dead or sealed inside of 1000 tons of solid steel, they're not going to be in Clock Tower.
Bonus: 2 CP.
Bound Item
One of your traits is dependant on an item. Choose an Attribute, Magical Knowledge, or Merit; that ability is tied to your item. Losing it can strip you of some of that trait, possibly all. Don’t let her cut your hair, Sampson-sama.
Bonus: 2 CP, 1 CP if tied to the Cloaked power, because fuck you, munchkin.
Prereq: Some other bound trait. This cannot be paired with powers that cost less than 2 CP. Also, if paired with flaws, the total CP bound must be equal or higher than the total flaws.
Broken Will
You have had your will broken by something horrible. You might have been possessed by a demon, abused in childhood, witnessed the face of Yogg-Sothoth, or read one of Nasu's hentai scenes without protective drugs.
You still have Willpower, and it still works in the same way. However, if you run OUT of willpower, your madness spills out like entrails from a cloven demon. You will suffer dice penalties, horribly flashbacks, and various other joyous things. Even when you do have willpower, you may still have reactions to things that remind you of your horrible past (roleplaying this is awesome and I recommend it). You also will have trouble regaining willpower - the GM may decide that you do not regain willpower in certain situations. Having your fear forced on you for whatever reason may cause you to LOSE willpower, the only real way this ever happens.
Bonus: 3 CP
Prereq: Nothing beyond why you're broken.
Beacon
You radiate magic like you're on fire. You can't hide your nature with anything less than Sorcery, and even that breaks down when you start casting. You are generally naturally powerful, and you attract all sorts of attention, good bad and worse. You obviously can't take this with Cloaked.
Bonus: 4 CP Prereq: Magic Circuit 3 or higher
Black Command Society Member
You have a very dark secret: You are a member of the Black Command Society, a secret organization within mages dedicated to restarting the Grail War. After the Fifth War in Japan, the Holy Grail contest was abolished; the Society was formed shortly after with the intent of forcing the contest to resume, by any means necessary. The organization has grown with the simmering discontent over the loss of two priceless boons - the Grail's power to grant wishes, and the ability to summon Heroic Spirits safely - especially amongst the younger magi. You are one such apprentice, hoping to restore the ancient trial for whatever personal reason.
As an initiate into the Society, you have been inscribed with three Black Command Seals - a false copy of the mark manifested by the Masters of the Grail War. The mark has purportedly been tested on summoned Servants, though none but the Masters of the Society know for certain. The mark grants you increased power over spirits of various kinds, allowing you to more easily bind, control, and resist them. The marks are believed to allow one to establish a bond with Heroic Servants, like a true Grail Master, and to be expended to force orders in the same way. In addition, the mark reacts to some Black Command magics, allowing one to trigger objects and access secret passages. No one is entirely sure of how the marks are created - their magic seems entirely unique, unlike anything ever seen. The marks are often in an easily-concealable area, often on the back or chest.
Clock Tower executes anyone who is found to have a Black Command Seal, often with very little trial. Some are taken away and never seen again, presumed killed or worse; either way, it's the end for you. In addition, the Burial Agency knows of the Seals, and will send agents after anyone who is known to bear one. Even worse, the Seal's magic is unmistakable; lots of upper magi are trained to recognize them on sight. Magic can be used to conceal it, but the seal tends to stand out and can be detected more easily than most magics; even the Cloaked merit is not a guarantee that it will remain hidden. Also, there are rumours of other side effects to bearing such a mark, and none of them are particularly good.
Bonus: 7 CP Prereq: A willingness to restart the Grail War, even at the cost of being branded anathema.
Geas
You have been mystically compelled to do something or not do something. The compulsion is something difficult to remove, such as powerful Sorcery or other divine-level agency; this is something that requires a great deal of effort to remove. Even if you have access to Sorcery for some reason, or some magic-dispelling power, you will have trouble with this. Minor geases and standard curses don't count: this is something that even someone with prodigy-level magic isn't going to have an easy time dispelling. Give a reason why you have this: what tomb did you disturb or powerful god did you kick to get so trounced. Maybe you took a sacred vow of the Burial Agency or of some ancient magi order. Maybe it's in your blood.
The compulsion must be broad enough to actually apply in the scope of the game. Good Geasa include: "I must never harm someone of aristocratic bloodline", "I must stop any attempts to summon a creature from another world", "I must not challenge one in the employ of the Burial Agency", "I must suckle the bone marrow from the bones of those I kill", and so forth. As an option, you can also outline a method of atonement in the case that you do break the geas: "I will sacrifice someone dear to me to Dagon" "I will summon and battle a powerful demon on my own" "I will go without food for a week to cleanse myself" are all good examples. Talk with the GM about your idea and he'll evaluate it.
The punishment for breaking a geas come in two increments. For 2 CP, the effect is a moderate spurt of bad luck (secret penalty to a choice roll, one trait withering, spirits summoned to stymie you) until the geas is fulfilled, until enough time has passed, or until you atone. 4 CP means a near-fatal backlash; magic fails and lashes at you, demons appear around you to carry you off, you will explode in an hour, that kinda fun stuff. If you have an atonement, do it fast; if you are denying your geas, do it and don't be a wuss. This does *not* get better over time.
Bonus: 2 or 4 CP
Supernatural
You are not human. You may have once been, but that’s generally immaterial now. You may want to be again. But for now, you’re separate from the human herd.
As a supernatural, a few rules are different for you. Magic that effects normal humans doesn’t effect you the same way, and your nature makes you susceptible to some magic, such as spirit-binding or warding, and vulnerabilities to certain things beyond what normal humans are affected. You also often have other supernatural powers (represented by other Merits). The benefits of this Flaw are outweighed by the downsides.
Bonus: Varies depending on how powerful one is, as follows:
2: A fey-blooded individual, with supernatural lineage. Minorly effected by wards and possessing some specific resistances.
4: Something significant, like a half-demon or homunculus. Generally can pass for human, but can be harmed some mystical forces that normally don’t affect humans.
6: A big-time supernatural like a Dead Apostle, full-blooded demon, combat android, or eldritch horror in a skin suit. You are subject to wards and magic as most supernatural beings are. You often have sorcerous powers in conjunction with your nature.