Sorcerer Backgrounds

Complete Background descriptions can be found in Chapter Two or in Chapter Six of Mage: the Ascension.

New Sorcerer Backgrounds

Familiar (Lesser)

You have a special helpmate, a minor spirit or odd animal that walks beside you, advises you and sometimes protects you. In game terms, this Background grants you a special "pet"- a talking black cat, a sinister raven, a prankish imp, invisible servant, totem animal or some other weird yet intelligent aide. These creatures are rarely subservient, often rude and always independent. In most cases, the spirit's demands will be simple: respect, shelter, food, attention and the occasional treat. The "treat" part can get complicated - some familiars feel that dead children, king's toenails or tomes of esoteric lore make excellent treats, and a familiar can be very insistent when it wants something.

Traits of Familiar

Powers

1. A small animal that can talk and has one or two occult skills.

2. A small animal that has exceptional savvy and occult knowledge.

3. A large, smart animal, supernatural creature or a small beast with amazing lore and skill.

4. An animal of any natural size or obvious spirit with one or two magical talents in addition to its extensive knowledge and skill.

5. A creature with Otherworldly contacts, exceptional knowledge and three or four supernatural powers.

A Familiar should be created according to the rules presented here, and based on the animal Trait descriptions on page 158 of The Masquerade: Second Edition. Non-animal Familiars have a base of three Attribute Traits.

Every Familiar also has a Trait called Instincts. This Trait relates to the Familiar's tendency to rebel against orders or requests. A wild animal has a base Instincts Trait of 8, while a domesticated animal has an Instincts Trait of 5. Non-animal Familiars have a base Instincts Trait of 6. Rather than take extra Traits for a Familiar, a player can buy up or buy down its Instincts Trait at character creation by one level for each Trait sacrificed. After Familiar creation, the experience cost is two points to increase or reduce one level of Instincts.

A Familiar uses its Instincts when initiating or defending in Social and Mental Challenges, except that a Familiar does not lose Traits of Instincts when it fails in such a Challenge.

Instincts comes into play whenever a character attempts to command his Familiar. A Social Challenge is performed against the Instincts Trait. The mage character must risk a Social Trait and lose it if she loses the command Challenge. Leadership or Animal Ken Abilities may be used to retest this challenge.

Each Familiar has its own "Derangement." Familiar Derangements are the natural tendencies of Familiars, indicating how these creatures behave and in what kinds of situations they lose control.

Because of their unique natures, Familiars often exist outside Pride, Power & Paradox's rules. For instance, their Derangements are often different from those of player characters. The Storyteller and Narrators, but not players, are given wide latitude when playing Familiar characters and they are free to bend the rules whenever a Familiar's nature is best represented by doing so. If a Storyteller feels that these rules throw the game out of balance, she should limit or eliminate the use of Familiars.

Relic

You possess some artifact of supernatural origin. It may be a minor relic, a fetish (see Laws of the Wild) or even a magickal Talisman. The Storyteller will assign a Relic appropriate to the level of the Background taken.

(Note: for crossover purposes, a hedge wizard can employ up to three Trait fetishes or six Trait [Rank three] Talismans. The Storyteller may require a Static Mental Challenge if the sorcerer tries to activate such items. Any Paradox that a magickal Talisman or Device incurs goes against the Talisman; 10 Traits or more destroys the object. A hedge wizard who wishes to buy a Talisman must spend the normal amount of Traits.)

Notoriety

Notoriety represents the reputation that the mage has among spirits. For each Trait that a mage has, he must bid an additional Trait when summoning spirits. The Spirit Keeper assigns or takes away Notoriety Traits based on her estimation the way spirits perceive the character; Notoriety comes and goes depending on the character's actions.

A good rule of thumb about Notoriety is that a character receives a Notoriety Trait every time he damages or otherwise negatively alters a spirit, summons a spirit for no good reason, treats a spirit in a disrespectfully or exhibits abusive behavior. The only good thing about Notoriety is that it can be used in a Social Challenge if a mage is attempting to intimidate a spirit into obeying him. Of course, doing so may very well earn the mage another Notoriety Trait.