(no subject)

[miss_yt]

Finally scheduled Friday's birthday party with drakonous. He says he might be able to put together a one-shot Victorian-era Mage game for my birthday party. 1337! I’d really like to do one of these, centered on the Electrodyne Engineers/Sons of Ether. Simon Archard would make a great Son of Ether if he believed in magic, although with the Sons’ philosophy about Ether, it seems that they don’t think of it as magic, as such. Oh well. Anyway, I’m going to make a character based on Simon.

The game’s going to be a “haunted house” story or murder mystery, drakonous says. Ideal for this sort of thing, and it will help me know how to pick my skills.

First, since it’s my birthday, I’ll ask if I can get extra character points. Worth a shot...

Physical:

Simon’s pretty good in a fight, although I think that has more to do with speed and accuracy than strength. I don’t think the cane’s enchanted in any way, he just uses it well.

Strength…2 or 3

Dexterity…3

Stamina…3

Social:

The man’s a bastard. An entertaining bastard, but a bastard nonetheless.

Charisma…1 (“People don’t much enjoy talking to him")

Manipulation…3 (he needs to be a fast talker)

Appearance…3 (looks pretty good in the comic, but this can be taken down to 2 if necessary)

Mental:

Simon’s a genius of the Sherlock Holmes type. The Mental skills are big for him.

Perception…4

Intelligence…4

Wits…4

Abilities:

Alertness…4 (for a detective, paranoia is a survival skill)

Artist…0

Athletics…2 or 3 (he’s pretty healthy)

Awareness…3 or 4 (has to notice lots of stuff)

Brawl…3 (some training, but best when armed with the cane)

Dodge…3 or 4 (doesn’t let people hit him)

Expression…(check what this means, but I think Simon would be a 0)

Instruction…0 (not essential here, and he’s not patient with other people)

Intimidation…2 or 3 (but this may not be essential)

Larceny…3 (he’s been catching criminals for years, he should know some tricks by now)

Subterfuge…(Forgot what the scores were, but he’s pretty good at lying.)

Animal ken…0 (not essential – though he knows a lot about animals he doesn’t have an affinity with them)

Archery…0 (despite his name, I’ve never seen him use a bow or a gun)

Crafts…4 (in Machinery or Engineering)

Etiquette…(it’s the Victorian era. I’m going to argue that we should all have a high base score)

Leadership…0 (no charisma, no leadership)

Meditation…3 (or higher – he spends long periods sitting and thinking, but this isn’t essential)

Melee…4 (fencing, that’s how he uses the cane)

Research…4 (he’s always doing experiments)

Riding…1 or 2 (a person of his station can ride a horse, but this isn’t essential)

Stealth…3 (he’s good at following people)

Survival…0 (not essential)

Academics…3 or 4 (reads a great deal)

Culture…0 (not essential)

Enigmas…(he likes enigmas, but if this just means riddles, forget it)

Investigation…5 (MUST be 5 at all costs)

Law…2 or 3 (professional knowledge)

Linguistics…1 (“the art of communication is best mastered on a subtle, nonverbal level”)

Lore…(depends what this means. If it’s about the city, this is pretty high)

Medicine…1 or 2 (he knows anatomy, probably, and he obviously knows CPR and first aid)

Metaphysics…0 (has no patience with froofy stuff like philosophy)

Occult…0 (has no patience with froofy occult stuff, either)

Science…4 (for Forensics)

Spheres:

Connection…0

Entropy…0

Forces…2 (seems like a Forces kind of guy to me)

Life…0

Matter…0

Mind…3 (this seems particularly appropriate for him)

Prime…2

Spirit…0

Time…(not sure about this…)

Advantages:

Daemon…3

Reserves…(check ratings, but he’s pretty rich)

Arete…3

Willpower…(should be high. He’s really stubborn)

Also, has a network of contacts, though I don’t know how that will play into the game.

Merits and Flaws: Check the book. Possible that Simon’s faults in personality can cover his mental abilities.

Preferred Enchantments:

I think he’d just stare at something to make it do what he wants, if he has the magic for it. He might have some gadgets.

Magickal Treasures:

Doesn’t have anything like this in the comic, and I don’t think his cane is enchanted, except that as a Son of Ether he’d have some gadgets.

Combat items:
Simon’s cane, besides making a serviceable weapon, contains a charge of flash powder, a vial of acid that can eat through most metals, and a grappling hook.

Yes, I'm an obsessive freak. But it can be argued that since we're doing a one-shot, I've only played Mage once before and character creation takes a while (though not as long as with some other games), it's good for me to be ready.