Mage: The Ascension

[Charon]

I might take a look-see at our Mage book and see if any thoughts catch my interest. Man I don't even remember all the traditions anymore, though VA and Akashic are sticking out in my head at the moment.

EDIT: Turns out I'm in a Sons of Ether mood.

[Comrade Tortoise]

That's not going to fly Ben. You're not having a dangerous apprenticeship, you're not getting a half crazy Bonisagus teacher, and you're not getting dropped out of the world in such a way that your parents think you've joined a cult.

No problem. I can edit the details. Trying to figure out what sort of cover story to give to your Old Money parents that results in being cut off because of the "Shame" or "Its for his own good" is a pain in the ass.

"Mom, Dad, I am a wizard" just does not fly.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Details have been modified. I figured "hey, a master like Dr. Formanowicz will work"

:P

[Cynical Cat]

I'm not saying you have to do this Ben, but you might want to modify your character's relationship with your parents. You seem to be trying to force a break with them over somewhat dubious circumstances. In my not at all humble opinion, you should take a look at why you're trying to do that and consider other solutions that are a better fit.

Now this isn't saying you have to change, but as someone reading your character bio it feels like a false note to me.

[Comrade Tortoise]

I'm not saying you have to do this Ben, but you might want to modify your character's relationship with your parents. You seem to be trying to force a break with them over somewhat dubious circumstances. In my not at all humble opinion, you should take a look at why you're trying to do that and consider other solutions that are a better fit.

Now this isn't saying you have to change, but as someone reading your character bio it feels like a false note to me.

hmmm. Alright. What I am going for here is a british guy who was an Oxford Matriculated trust fund baby, but who is not anymore. You are right. It does not need to be parental conflict, hell it could have been the economy. Shit, he may have just said "hey mum, dad, I would rather be self-supporting."

I will give it some ponder-time.

[Cynical Cat]

He doesn't need to be a trust fund baby to be from an upper crust family. Being from a wealthy family that can send him to all the right schools and support him through university to get a degree from Oxford will already open an enormous number of doors. That's plenty of paid for parental advantage in that.

[Charon]

Been awhile since I made a Mage, so I might have made a mistake or two.

Name: Girisha Patel
Tradition: Sons of Ether, Royal Ethernautical Society, Material Sciences Division.
Essence: Primordial
Nature: Perfectionist
Demeanor: Visionary

Concept: Pulp Science Ethernaut

Attributes:
Physical:
Str: 3
Dex: 2
Stam: 3

Social:
Chr: 2
Manip: 2
App: 2

Mental:
Perc: 4 (Thorough)
Wits: 3
Int: 4 (Book-Smart)

Abilities:
Talents:
Alertness: 3
Awareness: 3
Dodge: 2
Scrounging: 2

Skills:
Etiquette: 1
Technology: 3
Firearms: 2


Knowledges:
Academics: 2
Alchemy: 2
Cosmology: 3
Linguistics: 1 (English, Hindi)
Occult: 2
Science: 3

Backgrounds:
Arcane: 2
Avatar: 3
Resources: 3

Merit/Flaw:
Lightning Calculator (-1)
Prestigious Mentor (-1)
Primal Marks (+2)

Spheres:
Matter: 3 (Toolbelt- Belt with various gizmos and whirlygigs that help him to make things)
Forces: 1 (Gyroscope)
Prime: 2 (Copy of Kitab al-Alacir)


Arete: 3
Willpower: 7
Quintessence: 7
Resonance:

Freebies Spent:5/15
+1 Arete- 5
+2 Willpower- 7
+1 Perception- 12
+4 Quintessence- 13
+1 Technology- 15


Appearance:
Girisha has the look of an architect to him. One who plans great things with the steady surety of having done so before. His frame is that of a mechanic, though those who believe he is any less a scientist are quickly proven wrong. He wears a long thick mustache which seems to point up of its own accord at times and his wild, untamed black hair seems to permanently be beyond his control. His skin is dark, though a shade more red than is normal. The faithful sometimes say he has a figure very much like the old gods, and the eccentricity to carry the impression to fruition.

History:
Girisha Patel hails from a wealthy family from central India. His family's money ensured that he always had an excellent education and Girisha proved to be an able student who loved science and learning. When he finished primary education, he was sent off to England to continue his education there and it was at the University of London that he garnered the attention of Sir William Gainsborough, a Professor Emiratus of the school, as well as a Son of Ether. The two began to work together and after only a few years, Gainsborough introduced Girisha to the Kitab al-Alacir. It was a reading that opened Girisha up to the world in more than one way. In an instant his worldviews were changed, and his spirit which had always been on the verge finally awakened.

Girisha was inducted into the Sons of Ether and became a Researcher under his old teacher Sir William Gainsborough, a man who was, it turned out, an eminent fellow among the Sons of Ether and a renowned Ethernaut who had made more trips into the Deep Umbra than any other before him. Though Girisha was not his only researcher, he was one of the man's favorites for his inestimable desire to build. Girisha overcame the adversity of being one of the few non-Englishmen in his field when he came up with the designs for a fast hardening ether-charged material that could be used to plug holes in the ship to better survive the Avatar Storm The development was to be tested on Sir Gainsborough's next journey into the Deep Umbra.

It was a whole year before his mentor returned, but he had proved that Girisha's design worked. Girisha got to work on seeing his work published among the Sons of Ether but the process was long and soon enough his mentor was making another journey into the umbra, this time without Girisha. It is a journey that he still has not come back from. After several years as an apprentice, Girisha finally has published work that has garnered him enough interest from others, on top of his glowing praise from his now missing mentor, to grant him status as a full-fledged Ethernaut in his own regard. Girisha continues his work on what he refers to as the "Avatar Storm problem" in hopes of one day going back in to find his lost mentor.

[Cynical Cat]

Denied. You may not have Ethership journeys in your background.

[Charon]

Such heretical talk has been expunged from the records.

[Cynical Cat]

Your ability points are off.

[frigidmagi]

Hey Cat? I got a question if you don't mind.

Since my dirt poor character invested nothing in resources, what do I get to start with? Is a pistol out of my reach? Do I have shoes? Am I allowed to have a hat as part of the clothes on my back?

My current thought is that Owen has been making his way through a combination of working (either mudane or magical, mind jacking people to make his way easier doesn't seem Just) and whatever cash he finds from taking care of the scum of society (he finds great irony in following the path of Omar, although he's less likely to outright kill a dealer given his past).

[Cynical Cat]

Clothes and a pistol are fine, but replacing them will require effort if anything happens to them.

[Charon]

Your ability points are off.

I don't know how I got mixed up into thinking it was 13/9/7...

Should be fixed now. Also spotted my own oops in backgrounds (I swear that Avatar rating was at 3, I have no idea how it got to 4) and fixed that too.

[Cynical Cat]

Your abilities are still off. Scrounging is a secondary and costs half as much.

[Cynical Cat]

IMPORTANT NOTICE

It's necessary that I have some lead time in order to fine tune things for the number and kind of characters in the group. As such I'll need to have everyone's characters pretty much done, including back story, by end of day Monday. Tinkering can be done after that, but I need to know basically who I'm dealing with by then. If it's not on time you're going to have to take the consequences, which may include not having a spot in the game.

[General Havoc]

Given that you posted this after end of day Monday, should I assume you mean next Monday? Because one way or another I don't have the bandwidth to finish the entire thing tonight.

[Cynical Cat]

Yes, I mean next Monday.

[General Havoc]

Well I'm playing an Ecstatic, whose primary sphere is Time, so does that mean I can warp that to March?

[LadyTevar]

I'm working on something, but she's fighting me, trying to keep how she became Euthanatos a mystery. I"m working the angles now.

[Marcao]

General Information

Name: Oliver Harrington
Player: Alan V.
Tradition: Euthanatos
Concept: Doctor

Attributes

Strength: 2
Dexterity: 4 (Cat Like Reflexes)
Stamina: 2

Charisma: 2
Manipulation: 2
Appearance: 2

Perception: 3
Intelligence: 4 (Analytical)
Wits: 3

Abilities

Alertness: 3
Athletics: 1
Awareness: 2
Brawl: 1
Dodge: 2
Expression: 3
Intimidation:
Leadership:
Streetwise:
Subterfuge: 1

Crafts:
Drive: 1
Etiquette: 1
Firearms: 2
Meditation: 1
Melee: 2
Performance:
Stealth: 1
Survival:
Technology: 1

Academics:
Computer: 1
Cosmology:
Enigmas:
Investigation:
Law:
Linguistics: 1 (Hindi)
Medicine: 4 (Emergency Medical)
Occult:
Science:

Spheres

Entropy: 3 (Ashes)
Life: 3 (Mantras)

Advantages

Backgrounds: Arcane 3, Avatar 4, Resources 3, Wonder 3
Arete: 3
Health:
Willpower: 8
Resonance: Entropic
Quintessence: 4
Experience: 0
Wonder: Periapt (4/15 Quintessence Capacity)
Freebies (15): Arete (2->3) 5 FB, Willpower (5->8) 3 FB, Avatar (3->4) 1 FB, Medicine (3->4) 2 FB, Wonder (0->3) 3 FB, Quintessence 1 FB

Perk: Ability Aptitude (Medicine) 1 pt,
Perk: Concentration 1 pt
Flaw: Enemy 2 pt


Background: Oliver Harrington was born in Vermont to an English mother and an American father. He was raised alongside his siblings an older brother (Christopher) and a younger sister (Helena). His mother was a pediatrician while his father was an executive in a local green energy business. From an early age, Oliver was taught about his responsibility not only towards his family but also humanity as a whole. His early years were uneventful as he was molded beneath the presence of a loving family and an idyllic environment.

By the time that he entered middle school his love of science and biology was apparent. Having spent many hours beneath the watchful eyes of his mother, he had developed a keen interest in the science of medicine. He spent a year in the local middle school before entering a "gifted" program which was paid in part by his parents and a scholarship by a local businessman. The work was challenging but his passion and work ethic moved him ever onward. He attended high school in a boarding school in Massachusetts. He spent the next four years shuttling back and forth between his school and his family home.

He attended College in Boston where he focused primarily on his studies experiencing a series of fiery and short lived relationships. It was difficult for him to relate to his peers given his focus and drive on accomplishing his primary objective. After three years, he entered medical school. Upon his graduation, he chose to leave the United States and secured his residency in a Hospital in London. It was during his residency that his life truly began as he applied his skills beneath the watchful eyes of his supervisors and peers he began to discover the depth of the path that he had taken. He had originally hoped to do his residency while focusing in pediatrics like his mother but ended up in emergency care due to the needs of his hospital. Rather than complain about the change, he gave himself and opportunity to explore the area of medicine where life and death most commonly seemed to meet.

His residency was both challenging and exciting. He discovered that he had a natural aptitude for making accurate decisions and correct choices while beneath stressful and time sensitive situations. The more challenging the case, the easier it seemed it was for him to focus on the problem and identify the most straight forward solution. His initial hesitance vanished within the first month as he found that working "in the trenches" was a fulfilling experience. After his second month, he was a rising star his talent and demeanor praised by those that worked alongside him as well as his supervisors. It was his third month on the emergency room that he found his most unusual case. A young woman of Indian descent was brought to the emergency room during his shift. She was suffering from a myriad of ailments ranging from internal bleeding to broken bones and lacerations.

It was fate that led her to his care and he wasted little time in seeking to save his patient. He spent three and half hours with her on his table. Each time that she turned for the worse, he guided her back towards life using every ounce of skill, determination and drive that he possessed. In the end it seemed that all he had managed to do was stabilize her condition. His supervisor stated the odds of her survival rate at less than twenty percent, her likelihood of recovery slim. Using the information provided to him by the ambulance driver, he called Ananya's next of kin and after leaving a message on the answering machine went to sleep in one the rooms reserved for doctors within the Hospital.

He woke up four hours later and sought Ananya once more. She had been transferred from the emergency room to the intensive care unit where she remained unconscious. For over a week, he maintained his vigil over Ananya visiting her every day during his break in the hospital. The eight day after she had arrived she was gone. Upon inquiring as to what had transpired with the patient, he was informed that Ananya's father had transferred her to another hospital with his thanks for the care that had been given to her. Within the week, he received a letter with a dinner invitation which would occur within three days the letter was signed Ananya. He wasted little time in accepting it driven by a myriad of emotions but chief among them being curiosity.

His arrival to the dinner location was met with some apprehension. He expected to see the woman he had saved on a wheelchair at best instead he found a young woman wearing a dress and eyes that seemed to sparkle with inner light. His surprise was almost absolute, although the surprise only grew when the woman that a mere week prior had been in an intensive care unit left her table and seemed to glide to his side. He could see no marks upon her skin as he took her hand upon his and accepted an offer to dance. After their dance was over they both sat. She answered many of his questions but she did not answer them all. Instead, he found his own life and experiences probed. By the end of the dinner, he felt that he had offered her more answers than she had offered him. Ananya thanked him for his life and offered him an opportunity. She would not remain in London for long. She would be returning to her native India but there was a need for skilled and passionate practitioners of the healing arts there. Ananya promised more answers should he deem it to fit to come to India and spend a year there. She left him with a note with information as to where she could be found as well as numbers that could be used to arrange passage should he wished to accept her offer. He watched her back as she walked away, his eyes glancing at the delicate writing on the note that she had given him.

He returned to work the next day still torn on his decision. He still had nine months left on his residency but day by day the work that had brought him so much challenge and pleasure dimmed. Each day seemed to drag, each night he felt a tug at his heart as if he needed to go. He had to go. He called his parents, spoke with his siblings but their words and wisdom brought him little comfort. He resisted the pull within him, sought to reground himself on his work but with each passing week he felt his passion towards his work ebbing way day by day, hour by hour. The promise of India and Ananya beckoned him in the eyes of every patient and the lips of every man or woman he saw. He lasted nine months his sense of obligation carrying him to the Hospital and his own sense of responsibility overriding the gossamer strings that Ananya's offer and memory seemed to press upon his heart. It was conversation with his mother finally gave him the clarity he had sought. He could be a doctor anywhere, but he would be restless forever if he did not pursue the offer that had been so present in his mind.

He did not use the card that Ananya had given him. Instead, he simply booked a flight and went on his own as he had the means to do so. Upon arriving on Kanpur he was surprised to discover an Indian man holding a sign with his name as he prepared to exit the airport. After introducing himself, the man led him to a vehicle with tinted windows. Ananya awaited him in the back seat a familiar smile dancing upon her lips. When asked how she had known he would be arriving here on this day, she simply answered that she had "seen it in a dream". That was the first day of his new life for Ananya kept her side of the bargain. She had the answers for him that she had alluded to almost ten months prior. Three and half hours later when they arrived upon the estate that served as Ananya's home the world that he had known had become both smaller and larger beyond his imagining.

He spent the next three years under the tutelage of Ananya who taught to him the ways of the Natatapas. Her father was initially resistant to his daughter's wishes of transforming the tall, foreign doctor into a fully fledged member of the Natatapas sect but his daughter was adamant. In the end, the father could not deny his youngest daughter's desires the intensity in her eyes unlike any he had ever seen before in his daughter. Oliver was taught Buddhism as well as Hinduism. He was taught the true history of India and that of the Natatapas sect. He was taught the ways of the Euthanatos as well as their allies and rivals amongst the traditions. Oliver was a quick study in the history and religious ideologies but he struggled with the magical aptitudes. Ananya had been with him when he awakened and it seemed that he responded best to magical studies and aptitudes when she was present. Their years together led to an understanding. After his first year in India, everyone that saw him and Ananya together understood that they shared an unusual bond.

By the second year, it was apparent to anyone that truly looked that their time together had blossomed from mutual friendships to something else. However, the relationship was strained by the perception of Oliver as an outsider and Ananya's responsabilities to him as a mentor. Since her father refused to train him, she had taken it upon herself to train him as best as she could. Ananya was an excellent teacher but there were gaps to her own knowledge that she struggled to impart upon her charge. While Oliver was able to quickly grasp the spheres of Entropy and Life, he struggled with the others. Prime in particular proved to be elusive and after months of attempts, Ananya decided that any further attempts in harnessing Prime would have to be postponed until both her understanding and that of her charge grew.

Their third year together marked a radical change in his perception by those around him. After three years of toiling, working and learning alongside them he began to see something other than neutrality in the eyes of the men and women around him within the compound. In February, he reached a level of adept in the sphere of Entropy a level of understanding and power that earned him the respect of many. In April, he had his first private conversation with Ananya's father. In June, he earned a basic level of proficiency in two of the fighting arts employed by the Natatapas. In July, he spoke with Ananya about seeking her parent's permission for her hand in marriage. In September, Ananya died.

Her death was ruled accidental a tragic accident by the local authorities but the Natatapas and Oliver himself were not convinced. Her vehicle had been protected from tampering by various arts and only magic could have accomplished the series of events that had led to Ananya's passing. After the death rites had been completed, Her father led a cadre of men away from the compound. They returned eight days later with the assassin and he was led into the bottom of the compound where any information of value was extracted and he paid for his sin. The loss that the Natatapas felt was enormous and so was the toll that the assassin and his future generations would pay. Such was the grief of Ananya's father that an entire line was blighted for as long as the memory of Ananya would exist in the mind and heart of the Natatapas so too would suffering exist in the line of the assassin and his descendants. With the tool caught and dealt with, the focus shifted to those that had ordered the deed performed. Some of those men and women would meet untimely ends in the weeks to come, but the true mastermind behind the deed remained elusive and at large.

The loss of Ananya was a monumental blow to Oliver and his growth suffered. Like a plant removed from its sun or a world no longer spinning in its proper orbit, his studies suffered. He spent a week without leaving his room every physical object around him a reminder of the remarkable woman that had opened the door to a wonderful and terrifying world. A month passed and he felt as if in the midst of a dream. Forty one days after Ananya's death rites, her father came to him and offered him words of encouragement. The first, was a reminder that he had an obligation to the Natatapas and the tradition of the Euthanatos. The second, was an acknowledgement that while he had originally little love for the man that his daughter had brought into his world, that he had worked as hard as any other man that had ever joined their sect. Thirdly, he acknowledged that should he had asked for his daughter's hand he would have granted it. Ananya had never been as alive as she had been during the time that they had shared together. Ananya's father left then allowing him to contemplate all that he had said.

Oliver spent another day in solitude before emerging from his self-imposed exile and he threw himself into his studies with abandon. In the following three months he regained his strength both physical and spiritual and took his place amongst the Natatapas. It was during this time that he carried out his first and final mission in India. The mission was successful and while the part that he played was small, it cemented the fact that in the eyes of his peers that he was indeed one of their own. Shortly after his return from that mission, he was informed that an opportunity had presented itself that he may be interested in...

Equipment
1. Rental Contract (Chrysler 300C)

[rhoenix]

Name: Alexander Meviello
Nature: Cavalier
Demeanor: Guardian
Concept: Wandering Student of The Way
Tradition: Akashic Brotherhood

Essence:

STR: xx
DEX: xxxx
STA: xx

CHA: xx
MAN: xx
APP: xx

PER: xxxx
INT: xxx
WIT: xxx

Abilities:
Alertness xx
Athletics xx
Awareness xx
Do xxx
Dodge xxxx
Leadership x

Drive x
Etiquette x
Firearms x
Meditation xx
Melee x
Stealth xx
Survival x

Enigmas xx
Investigation x
Medicine x
Occult x

Spheres:
Mind xx
Correspondence xx
Entropy xx

Backgrounds:
Mentor xx
Resources x
Arcane xx
Avatar xxxxx

Willpower: xxxxxxxx

Arete: xxx

(freebies spent: 15)
Arete to 3 (-5)
Willpower to 8 (-3)
Avatar to 5 (-2)
Arcane to 2 (-1)
Dodge to 4 (-3)

Merits & Flaws:
Soft-Hearted (flaw, -1)
Code of Honor (merit, +1)

Background: After having joined the Army when he was eighteen, and returned, Alexander wasn't quite sure how to get back to "normal" life. He finally returned to his old martial art studio for a while, and it helped him center himself more than he thought it would. Things became more calm, and more clear - and he was in the studio practicing when he first became aware that his teacher was something more than ordinary. One who showed him that reality was as thin as paper, and just as easily folded into beautiful and terrifying figures both.

Soon enough, he was sent out to journey, to discover himself, and his own way, now that he was "awake" enough to give himself his own direction, his teacher said. And thus began his journey, wandering from place to place. He thought back to the old TV show he loved as a kid - Kung Fu, and how the wandering monk attempted to help others and right wrongs wherever he went - and he would try to do the same.

[Charon]

Your abilities are still off. Scrounging is a secondary and costs half as much.

Rasi-frassin... *kicks confounded abilities*

There. Fixed?

[LadyTevar]

Sorry, Marcao, I posted an Euthanatos first

EDITED to remove the secondary skills, but that leaves me confused on points. Please help

Name: Allyson Pauley
Tradition: Euthantos
Essence: Dynamic

Concept: Death,the Endless

Background:
You really never realize how much Death you see in your life until you look back on it. Pets die of old age. Grandparents die, as do your aunts and uncles and cousins. If you're lucky, they go fast, so you don't have to see them suffer. Your schoolmates die too, sometimes in accidents, sometimes because they were stupid about drugs and alcohol. It's everywhere.
My first Good Death was my grandma, tho I didn't know it at the time. She had spent five years in a nursing home with senile dementia, and I just hated visits, seeing her like that. The last visit, I put my hand on her head and told her "it's ok, Grandma, you can go now."
She was dead the next morning.
After that, I just seemed to know when someone was close to dying, so I told them it was ok. It never took more than a day for them to be gone. In college I went Pre-Med, becuase I knew so many people were in nursing homes and hospitals suffering when they shouldn't have to.
Then I found Neil Gaimon's Dream saga, and his sister Death. She was just as I imagined her! At some point during cramming for tests, she started talking to me, teaching me. She led me to Arwan, just a little kitten with a massive infection on her face. I call her my familiar now, and you'd never know about the infection but for a tiny scar on her nose where no hair grows.

Attributes:
Physical:
Str: 2
Dex: 2
Stam: 2

Social:
Chr: 3
Manip: 2
App: 3

Mental:
Perc: 3
Wits: 3
Int: 4

Abilities:
Talents:
Alertness 3
Awareness 1
Dodge 1


Skills:
Drive 1
Firearms 1
Gambling 1
Melee 2
Research 2
Stealth 2

Knowledges:
Investigation 1
Law 1
Medicine 1
Occult 1
Science 4
-- Forensics
Alchemy 2
Herbalism 1
Poison 1

Backgrounds:
Avatar : 4
Resources: 2
Arcane: 3
Familiar: 1

Merit/Flaw:
Jack of All Trades +5
Curiousity -3

Spheres:
Entropy 2
Life 2
Mind 1
Prime 1

Arete: 3
Willpower: 5
Quintessence: 6

Freebies Spent:15
5 to Arete
2 to buy Merit
2 to Backgrounds

[SirNitram]

Name: Alexander Tahalashia Bani Thig
Tradition: Order Of Hermes
Essence: Dynamic
Concept: Madman With A Box

Background: I was a simple man. An interest in the occult via history; the traditions of many cultures of the concept of willworking. Mythology.. At least, I thought so. One night I was contacted, by an individual promising unique insight. And then.. Well, Hermetic instruction is boring. Experimentally verifiable, repeatable, falsifiable, but rote to the point of calcifying. ...Calcifying. Why did I think of that word.....? Where was I? Oh yes. After the end of my instruction, like so many others, I was accepted as a full member. I joined House Thig as an idealist; reforming Hermes! New magic, on the bleeding edge, fusing magic and technology; here, we would find the secrets. It wasn't to last. Lyta and her lackies, the unification with Veriditius.. It left me in the dust. Most of it happened after a tragedy struck me... My wife was shot. It wasn't the Technocracy, a political foe, or any of the those other supernaturals. It was a stupid kid holding up a store. The doctors said it was no use; she was beyond medicine. I refused. I healed her! We're together now, and NOTHING will stop us from being together!

(Stats soon; He will have a Derangement Delusion.)

[Cynical Cat]

No.