IC Awakening Guidelines Sketch

So you have an approved PC and you want them to Awaken in-game. How does that work?

• If you were approved as a mage and just want to RP through your Awakening, then go ahead and do so.
• The remainder of these rules are for PCs who were approved as something else.

What types of PCs can Awaken?

• Mortal
• Mortal+: Sorcerer/psychic, kinfolk, and/or kinain
  • Ghouls cannot Awaken
  • Possessed cannot Awaken, even if they are also Sorcerer/psychics
  • Merely being blood-bonded does not prevent Awakening

What new things does the PC get/need?

• Faction
  • Traditions (major groups of people who use "magic" in the usual sense; includes Hollow Ones, sort of)
  • Technocracy (people who use "Enlightened Science" and protect the world against Reality Deviants)
  • Wyrm (for Nephandi, people who are permanently corrupted and strive to destroy the world)
  • Other (Orphans, minor Crafts, etc.)
  • PCs may not be Marauders (people who are insane and constantly warp their surroundings)
• Tradition or Technocratic Convention (if any)
• +note for paradigm
  • This informs the flavor of your poses whenever you perform magick
  • If someone ICly asked you how you perform magick, and you answered honestly and reasonably completely, what would you say?
  • Guide to the Traditions pages 58-65 has suggestions
  • Nephandi: Why do you believe the world should be destroyed?
• +note for foci
• Optional: +note describing what your Avatar is like
  • You don't gain an Avatar when you Awaken; it was there all along, just asleep
  • If you have no dots in the Avatar background, you still have an Avatar, just a weak one
• Arete (starts at 1 to 3) and spheres
  • Spheres determine what you can do, Arete determines how good you are at them
  • No sphere can have more dots than Arete
• Avatar background (optional but common)
  • Determines how much Quintessence you can hold (without needing the Prime sphere) and how well you can use it
  • Can be bought with XP when you Awaken
  • Cannot be increased with XP later unless you bought the Shattered Avatar merit
• Essence and Resonance Trait(s)
  • Essence = Dynamic: at least one Resonance Trait should be Dynamic
  • Essence = Pattern: at least one Resonance Trait should be Static
  • Essence = Primordial: at least one Resonance Trait should be Entropic
  • Essence = Questing: Resonance Trait(s) can be any of the above

What does it cost?

• Arete
  • Arete 1: free
  • Arete 2: 8 XP
  • Arete 3: 8+16 = 24 XP
• Willpower: You don't have to buy it up, but it's a good thing to consider
• Mortal and Subrace:Kinfolk get 6 dots in spheres and 2 dots in Avatar free, and can buy more with XP
  • Sorcerer/psychic are expected to buy spheres and Avatar using the refund XP from their numina
  • Subrace:Kinain are expected to buy spheres and Avatar using the refund XP from their arts and realms
• Mortal+: Anything specific to your mortal+ type(s) is refunded in XP. (You get as much as it would cost for you to buy that thing from 0 to its current level.) This includes (but is not limited to):
  • Sorcerer/psychic - Numina, Mana background
  • Kinfolk - Gnosis merit, gifts
  • Kinain - Arts, realms
• XP refunded to a mortal+ must immediately be spent on mage-specific stuff (e.g. Arete, spheres, Avatar, merits). Any excess is lost.
  • You may spend existing XP in addition to the refund.
  • Flaws may be gained. Each dot adds 2 XP to the refund.
  • Flaws specific to your old mortal+ type(s) must be bought off. Each dot costs 2 XP to buy off. This can come out of the refund.
  • Spheres may be similar to your old powers (e.g. Telepathy -> Mind), but this is not required.
  • Merits and flaws gained may be mage-specific (e.g. Echoes) or general (e.g. Phobia).
  • Subrace:Kinfolk must buy the Kinfolk merit (4 dots = 12 XP).
  • Subrace:Kinain must buy the Kinain merit (4 dots = 12 XP).

RP leading up to Awakening

• IC teachers are fun (more RP!) but not required
  • You may end up with a different Tradition/Convention (or even faction) than your IC teacher, but you should OOCly discuss it as soon as possible
  • IC teaching may be strict and elaborate, or hectic and school-of-hard-knocks
  • Other possible lead-ins are Occult Library, a mage Contact, or an encounter with a non-mage supernatural
  • You may want to buy Lore Mage (to represent IC teaching sinking in)
  • Or your Awakening can be utterly spontaneous
• For your Awakening scene, you can handwave that others (PC and/or NPC, friendly and/or hostile) saw it coming (e.g. Time sphere, Oracular Ability merit) and are ready for it