Template:Character Creation Finishing Touches

Step Five: Finishing Touches

Paradigm, Practice, and Instruments

Magick is not merely a set of spells—it’s a direct expression of the mage’s belief about how the world works. The Traditions understand that reality is shaped by conviction, meaning that a character’s Paradigm, Practice, and Instruments aren’t just flavor—they’re the spiritual and philosophical backbone of their magic.

Together, these three elements form the Focus: a unified framework through which a Tradition mage interprets the world and enacts change upon it.

Paradigm

The Paradigm is your mage’s core belief about how the universe functions. Is reality a dream? A divine construct? A program running on a higher machine? This belief is more than just a worldview—it’s the lens through which your mage channels their power. Every Effect your character attempts should, in some way, make sense within the logic of their Paradigm. A Dreamspeaker might view reality as shaped by spirits, while a Hermetic may believe in immutable laws of universal correspondences.

When choosing a Paradigm, consider:

• What is the nature of reality?
• What causes things to happen?
• What forces does your mage believe they’re calling upon—or becoming?

Practice

Your Practice is the method by which your mage enacts their Paradigm. It’s the system or discipline they’ve trained in—what they've learned to do in order to make magick work. While two mages may both believe in divine will, one might express it through ascetic meditation while another chants verses from sacred texts. Examples of Practices include High Ritual Magick, Shamanism, Martial Arts, Yoga, Hermetic Invocation, or Alchemical Transmutation.

The Practice serves as a structure that grounds your mage’s understanding and implementation of their beliefs. It also informs which types of Instruments they’re likely to use.

Instruments

Instruments (Also called Foci) are the tools your mage uses to apply their Practice and express their Paradigm. These can be physical items—like prayer beads, ritual daggers, or incense—or symbolic behaviors and routines, like dance, code-writing, fasting, singing, or complex equations. Instruments help your mage focus their will and refine their intention.

A new character must begin with at least seven Instruments that they commonly use, ideally spanning a range of Spheres and situations. Seven is both a symbolic number and a useful one—helping ensure the mage’s focus is broad enough to handle a variety of magical tasks. Over time, as a mage’s Arete (Enlightenment) grows, they may gradually move beyond needing some of these tools, but in the beginning, Instruments are a vital part of performing magick.

You are free to create new Instruments or combine existing ones with Storyteller approval, as long as they make sense for your character’s overall concept. Hybrid focuses are also possible—for example, a Virtual Adept who integrates chaos magick into their hacking rituals, or an Akashic who combines meditation with bone-setting techniques.

Willpower

Mages often refer to themselves as Willworkers. In game terms this is actually quite literally the capital-T truth. Willpower determines a mage’s maximum number of Arete Traits and can be used to boost a spell’s power so that it has a greater effect.

Each character starts with 5 Traits of Willpower at CC.

Rules for what Willpower Traits can be spent on can be found in MET Laws of Ascension on pages 117-118.

Resonance

All mages have a certain Resonance, which can be thought of as a specific flavor tied to each mage's magick. These individual spins on the magic a mage performs colors their magick subtly when they perform them. The larger amount of Resonance a mage has, the more clearly it can be seen in their Effects

During the CC process a character will be assigned one Dynamic, Entropic or Static Resonance Trait.

very mage has human goals, drives and desires. From these emotions spring Resonance, the flavors and alterations that color every piece of magic and make it personal. Just about every magical spell, place and object has some sort of Resonance.

Most mages recognize three broad categories of Resonance, which correspond to the forces of the Tapestry: Dynamism, Entropy and Stasis. You start with one Resonance Trait in one category, describing how your emotions cause your spells to manifest unique qualities. Each type of Resonance tends to be similar to a specific Avatar Essence. Dynamic Resonance is like the Dynamic Essence, Entropic Resonance is like the Primordial Essence, and Static Resonance is like the Pattern Essence. Simply pick an adjective that may be appropriate for one type of Resonance. This adjective influences your magic’s appearance.

As you gain experience and strengthen your magic, your personal style and feelings come through more strongly. Eventually your Resonance will increase in strength. As your Resonance increases, you become noticeably more magical, quirky and different. Your personality traits shine through.

You can gain a new Resonance Trait from the following circumstances, if you lose a Simple Test:

• Going into Quiet
• Finishing a Seeking (whether passing or failing)
• Losing a permanent Willpower Trait
• Learning a Master-level Sphere
• Undergoing a strong magical or emotional event (Storyteller’s discretion)

You don’t typically lose Resonance Traits.

Your character’s Resonance has a few noteworthy effects:

• You gain a one-Trait Arete resolution bonus on all spell Effects that match up with your highest Resonance level. You’re encouraged to describe your spells so that they show off your Resonance. If you have the Dynamic Resonance of Fiery, for instance, then your spells should have contrails of flame and washes of heat. To claim this bonus, you must use the Resonance adjective in your spell description. You would have to elaborate on how fiery your spell is, potentially alerting your adversaries to your Resonance and style.
• You gain a one-Trait Arete resolution penalty on all spells that oppose your highest Resonance. For instance, if you have the Dynamic Resonance Trait Fiery, you take a penalty on all ice-based magic.
• If you have multiple Traits, you start to become more inhuman and magical. You gain cumulative bonus Attribute Traits (which can exceed your normal human limits) and Negative Traits, depending on your Resonance totals, as shown here:

Traits	Dynamic	Entropic	Static
1-2	No Modifier
3-4	Energetic/Clumsy	Fearsome/Ghastly	Rational/Predictable
5	Vigurous/Delicate	Intimidating/Repugnant	Disciplined/Shortsighted

With certain Mind and Prime magics, you can sense Resonance, alter it or tell who cast a given spell. You may also discover that your Resonance opposes the Resonance of a place or piece of Tass, in which case, that Resonance cancels your magic and makes it harder for you to work spells (see Creating Magical Effects).

An expanded explanation can be found starting on page 119 of MET Laws of Ascension.

Negative Traits

Each Negative Trait taken converts to an additional Free Trait that can be spent later when assigning Free Traits. You may take up to five Negative Traits.

EDITORS NOTE:

Should an ST, narrator, or another character in a challenge call out one of your negative traits you must bid an additional trait for the challenge. If you do not possess that negative trait, the aggressor must bid another trait in that challenge.

Common negative traits include Clumsy, Callous, or Forgetful.

Derangements

Derangements taken at CC give 2 Free Traits up to a total of 2 additional Free Traits; these traits count towards your cap of five Negative Traits.

Derangements are personality problems that affect the outlook a character has on the world.

Taking a derangement grants 2 bonus Free Traits that count against the limit of five Negative Traits (note: Does this mean a derangement counts as 2 Negative Traits, or 1 Negative Trait).

Derangements require advanced roleplaying, so consult with a Storyteller before taking one.

List of Possible Derangements

Merits and Flaws

In addition to Attributes, Abilities and Backgrounds, each of which represent a character’s life and experience, characters may have Merits and Flaws which can be found in the MET Laws of Ascension Companion. Merits and Flaws offer characters unique boons and drawbacks which can be used to round out a character concept. They can range anywhere between a major or minor permanent advantage or disadvantage. Merits and Flaws are subject to approval prior to being purchased.

It is highly recommended that you take at least one to two Flaws for your first character.

Some heroic (or even otherwise mundane) individuals possess capabilities beyond the norm - twists of fate, chance knacks or advantages beyond usual skill and talent. Others have, like the Greek heroes, tragic flaws of character that impede or harm. These are Merits and Flaws.

Merit is a special boon or benefit. It has a cost in Traits and is typically purchased with Free Traits equal to this cost. A Flaw, conversely, is a special problem. Taking a Flaw gives you a number of extra Free Traits equal to its rating. You can't take more than five Traits of Flaws normally, though you can take any two Flaws of any value (so you could be both blind and paraplegic, but we don't recommend it, and you couldn't have a whole host of problems all at once).

In some cases you may gain a new Flaw in the course of play. You generally don't gain points for this. You might be able to gain a Merit (at an Experience Trait cost of twice the Merit's rating), but this is unusual and should be specially worked into the story; generally, you either have a Merit or you don't.

Merits

At Character Creation you may purchase Merits at cost, up to seven Traits worth of Merits total, with Free Traits. Once past the first seven Traits of Merits, the cost to purchase a Merit with Free Traits increases to twice the Trait value listed; after CC, Merits may be purchased with XP at twice the cost of the Trait value listed in the Merit’s description.

Flaws

During the Character Creation process, Flaws may be taken for additional Free Traits, to a total of seven Free Traits. In the case you gain a new Flaw in the course of play, you will not be granted new free Traits to spend, even if your character did not take Flaws up to or exceeding the seven Trait cap at CC.

Free Traits

As the name implies, Free Traits are additional traits that can be used to purchase additional Traits such as Attribute, Willpower and Spheres. The full list and cost for this is outlined in the “Free Traits” section below.

A character has a default of five starting Free Traits. Additional Free Traits can be earned by taking Negative Traits, Derangements or Flaws at CC.

Free Trait Costs

• One Free Trait buys an additional Attribute Trait.
• One Free Trait buys an additional Ability Trait.
• One Free Trait converts to an additional Background Trait, subject to Storyteller approval.
• Two Free Traits grants you an additional Arete Trait. You cannot raise that rating above a total of three Arete Traits in this manner, though. A first-time player’s Arete is capped at 2 in Inheritance of Ashes.
• Three Free Traits can be converted to an extra Willpower Trait, to a maximum of 10 permanent Willpower Traits.
• Three Free Traits allows you to learn the first level of any Sphere, subject Storyteller approval.
• Free Traits may be spent on Merits. For additional information see the “Merits” section at the bottom of the preceding page.

Starting XP

All characters are automatically granted an additional 30 XP after character creation. An additional 10 XP can be earned by submitting each of the following:

• Writing a backstory
• Completing the Initial Character Information Sheet
• Submission of a completed Avatar Guide

totaling a max starting XP pool of 60.

Each draft of the backstory will be given an XP value based on the quality and length; if not full value is awarded, a total of up to three backstories may be submitted for revised Additional XP earning. With the initial starting XP, no more than half of the XP earned may be spent on Merits and/or Spheres.

Spending Additional Starting XP

• New Attribute Trait — One Experience per Attribute Trait.
• New Ability Trait — One Experience per Ability Trait.
• New Background Trait — One Experience per Trait with Storyteller approval.
• New Sphere — Four Experience Traits for Initiate or Apprentice level; eight Experience Traits for Disciple or Adept level; 12 Experience Traits for Master level.
  • These costs increase to five/10/15 for Spheres other than your specialty Sphere.
• New Arete — Four Experience per Trait (A first-time player’s Arete is capped at 2 in Inheritance of Ashes. All new characters are capped at Arete 3).
• New Rote — One Experience Trait for each Sphere level used in the rote.
• New Specialization — One Experience Trait in an Ability you have at least four Traits in.
• New Willpower — Three Experience per Trait.
• Buy Off Negative Trait — Two Experience per Trait.
• Buying Merits — Merits may be purchased with XP at twice the cost of the Trait value listed in the Merit’s description.
• Buy Off Flaws — A flaw may be removed from a character’s sheet at twice the cost of the Trait value listed in the Flaw’s description.