Traditionalist Character Creation

Table of Contents

Part One: Character Creation Overview

The below list of steps is a high-level overview for the making of a well-defined and compelling character. Each area of the Character Creation (abbreviated CC) process is further expanded upon in greater detail later in the document. The five general steps as outlined below are meant to be a guide for initial thoughts and a simple reference for more experienced players.

Note: The below steps do NOT need to be done in the order in which they are presented. It is perfectly ok to come up with the Traits your character has before deciding who they are. With that said, the concept should still result in a fully rounded “person” whose Traits reflect the past, current wants/needs and future goals of the character. It should also be noted that the differences for the steps of making a Sorcerer—an individual who practices magick in a more defined and less dynamic way than a Mage—are outlined in Laws of the Hunt Revised.

Step One: Concept and Identity

Define your concept

Who are they? What are they like?

This is a high-level idea for who your character is. Don’t worry about the details yet. Try and keep the initial concept to five words or less. Some examples of concepts are: “modern witch”, “physical fitness coach” or “inquisitive academic scholar.” Once you have a few words to guide your thoughts, begin to break that initial thought down into more specific details.

Come up with both a Nature and a Demeanor Archetype

Your character’s Nature and Demeanor are another one of the fundamental lenses from which they view their perception of the world around them. Oftentimes, a character’s Nature and Demeanor will offer potential motivations, give a way to define how a character acts versus what they believe and can offer a few sentences to help shape the core of your character’s personality.

Create an Avatar & pick its Essence

Choose an Avatar that reflects your mage’s inner guide. Then, select an Essence (Dynamic, Pattern, Primordial, or Questing) to define how that Avatar communicates and the way it pushes your mage toward growth, whether through chaos, structure, instinct, or personal discovery. This relationship shapes your mystic journey.

Picking a Tradition

Select the Tradition your mage trained under—the mystical society whose beliefs, practices, and worldview shaped their path. Each Tradition offers a unique magical paradigm and specializes in a particular Sphere, influencing how your character approaches magic. Your choice will also define your mage’s allies, rivals, and place within the broader landscape of Awakened society.

The Nine Traditions are: Akashic Brotherhood, Celestial Chorus, Cult of Ecstasy, Dreamspeakers, Euthanatos, Order of Hermes, Sons of Ether, Verbena, and Virtual Adepts.

Arete

Arete represents your mage’s enlightenment—their ability to perceive and shape reality through magic. It governs the strength and success of your character’s magick, as well as the depth of their understanding of the Spheres. All mages begin with one Trait in Arete unless Free Traits are spent to raise it (up to a maximum of 2 for new players in Inheritance of Ashes).

Step Two: Select Attributes

What are their core competencies?

A character’s Attribute Traits represent their core competencies and help define what they’re good at both naturally and on what they’ve focused their passions on. Use these to start and get a feel for what your character is good at. If they’re a physical fitness coach they’ll likely be good at Physical activities. If they’re an academic scholar they would likely be focused on their Mental faculties. An occult-oriented modern witch might have focused on using their Social skills to build a coven rather than be focused on purely academic pursuits and knowledge.

The important thing to remember is that while a character doesn’t need to fit a stereotype. You could have a charismatic physical fitness coach, or a scholar who’s not afraid to get their hands dirty for scraps of knowledge. Regardless, there should at least be reasons in their history, background, and experiences that has molded them to into who they are today.