MAGE CREATION
Step 1: Concept and Identity
Name, Player, Affiliation (Traditions), Sect, Nature, Demeanor, Essence, & Concept.
Step 2: Rate Attributes
Physical: Strength, Dexterity, & Stamina.
Social: Charisma, Manipulation, & Appearance.
Mental: Perception, Intelligence, & Wits.
Step 3: Pick Abilities
Choose Talents, Skills & Knowledges.
Step 4: Determine Advantages
Choose Backgrounds.
Define Focus: Paradigm, Practice, & Instruments.
Pick Spheres: Correspondence, Entropy, Forces, Life, Matter, Mind, Prime, Spirit, & Time.
Step 5 Finishing Touches
Record Arete, Willpower, Quintessence, & Paradox.
Assign Merits, Languages & Flaws (merits & flaws optional).
Describe appearance / impression, quirks, culture, beliefs, motivations, identity.
MAGE INFO
Sects: Akashayana (Akashic Brotherhood), Celestial Chorus, Cult of Ecstasy, Dreamspeakers, Euthanatoi (Euthanatos), Order of Hermes, Etherites (Sons of Ether), Verbena, & Virtual Adepts.
Note: The sect names listed in the brackets, such as (Euthanatos) depict the Tradition names before they were altered by the 20th Anniversary book and are still optional should you prefer to use instead of the new alternatives.
Essences: Dynamic, Static, Primordial, or Questing.
Backgrounds: Allies, Alternate Identity, Arcane/Cloaking, Avatar/Genius, Backup, Blessing, Certification, Chantry, Contacts, Cult, Demesne, Destiny, Dream/Hypercram, Enhancement, Fame, Familiar, Influence, Legend, Library, Mentor, Node, Past Lives, Patron, Rank, Requisitions, Resources, Retainers, Sanctum/Laboratory, Secret Weapons, Spies, Status, Totem, Wonder.
MAGE FOCUS DETAILS (pg. references from M20)
Common Paradigms, Practices, and Instruments (pg. 566)
How Focus Works
What does the mage believe? = paradigm
How does the mage turn belief into action? = practice
What does the mage use in that practice? = instruments
All combined = focus
Paradigms (pg. 568-571)
A Mechanistic Cosmos, A World of Gods and Monsters, "Bring Back the Golden Age!", Creation's Divine and Alive, Divine Order & Earthly Chaos, Everything is Chaos, Everything is Data, "Everything's an Illusion, Prison or Mistake", "It's All Good - Have Faith!", Might is Right, One-Way Trip to Oblivion, Tech Holds All Answers.
Practices (pg. 573-586)
Alchemy, Art of Desire/ Hypereconomics, Chaos Magick, Craftwork, Crazy Wisdom, Cybernetics, Dominion, Faith, Gutter Magick, High Ritual Magick, Hypertech, Maleficia, Martial Arts, Medicine-Work, Reality Hacking, Shamanism, Voudoun, Weird Science, Witchcraft, & Yoga.
Instruments (pg. 588-600)
Armor, Artwork, Blessings and curses, Blood and fluids, Bodywork, Bones and remains, Books and periodicals, Brain/ computer interface, Brews and concoctions, Cards and instruments of chance, Celestial alignments, Circles and designs, Computer gear, Crossroads and crossing-days, Cups and vessels, Dances and movement, Devices and machines, Drugs and poisons, Elements, Energy, Eye contact, Fashion, Food and drink, Formulae and math, Gadgets and inventions, Gems and stones, Group rites, Herbs and plants, Household tools, Knots and ropes, Labs and gear, Languages, Management and HR, Mass media, Meditation, Money and wealth, Music, Nanotech, Numbers and numerology, Offerings and sacrifices, Ordeals and exertions, Prayers and invocations, Sacred iconography, Sex and sensuality, Social domination, Symbols, Thought-forms, Toys, Tricks and illusions, True Names, Vehicles, Voice and vocalizations, Wands and staves, Weapons, Writings, inscriptions and runes.
Mage Abilities
Below is a list of all available abilities for mage characters. More details about general abilities may be found below and on the forums in the "House Rules" sub-board, "Crossover Rules".
Talents: Alertness, Athletics, Awareness, Blatancy, Brawl, Carousing, Do, Empathy, Expression, Flying, High Ritual, Intimidation, Leadership, Lucid Dreaming, Streetwise, & Subterfuge.
Hobby Talents: Gambling, & Game Playing
Skills: Animal Kinship, Archery, Biotech, Crafts, Drive, Energy Weapons, Etiquette, Firearms, Hypertech, Jetpack, Larceny, Martial Arts, Meditation, Melee, Research, Riding, Performance, Stealth, Survival, & Torture.
Professional Skills: Blacksmith, Brewing/Distilling, Cooking, Forgery, Gunsmith, Navigation, & Pilot.
Knowledges: Academics, Area Knowledge, Belief Systems, Computers, Cosmology, Cryptography, Demolitions, Enigmas, Esoterica, Finance, Investigation, Law, Mage Lore, Media, Medicine, Occult, Pharmacopoeia/Poisons, Politics, Science, & Technology.
Expert Knowledges: Alchemy, Game Theory, Herbalism, Military Science, & Strategy.
Mage Only Abilities
The following Abilities are available only to Mage characters.
Mage Talents
Blatancy
Through theatrical flair, audience appraisal, and raw audacity, you’re good at getting away with blatant acts of magick. Typically, this involves using tried-and-true dodges: “We’re shooting a movie,” “It’s all an illusion,” “Haven’t you ever seen a flash-mob before?” – that sort of thing. As you might expect, such claims typically require props to lend credibility to your claims (a “camera crew,” stage magic gear, a pack of willing conspirators, etc.). If and when you have the goods to back up your dodge, however, you can pull reality over people’s eyes more often than you would be able to do otherwise.
Possessed By: Celebrities, Media Magicians, Pundits,Deejays, SPX Techs, Filmmakers, Stunt Artists, Martial Artists, Black Suits, Show Promoters
Suggested Specialties: Religious Appeal, Political Paranoia, Stage Magic, Film Crew, Appeals to Vanity, Cool Gadgets, Geek Culture, Sheer Balls, Legal Authority, Science!, We’re On a Mission From God.
Do
Often mistaken for a mere martial art, Do is the devotion to a way of life. A time-honored secret of the Akashic Brotherhood (who began to hide its practice when Do was abused by lesser souls), the art is occasionally taught to non-Brothers in the interest of keeping Do alive. Although it’s reflected by a unique collection of combat maneuvers and magickal techniques, the Way is far more than a simple series of advantages. In story terms, Do is a highly disciplined state of being. Diet, philosophy, meditation, internal and external reflection, and a refined sense of one’s place in the cosmos all characterize the study of Do; a character who does not pursue each element of that study cannot master the art’s benefits. The Storyteller should make sure that a practitioner of Do acts accordingly. If the character behaves with selfish excess, he loses his ability to access Do. In many regards, Do is much more than a few dots on a character sheet. To the mages who pursue it, Do invests, guides, and enhances everything they do. The five ranks of Do are often associated with five stages of understanding. Ranging from the humble yet efficient insect stage through the various forms of animal, these levels reflect the growing comprehension of innate potential within a student’s thick head. Especially within this distraction-prone age, few students attain the fifth rank… and though it might be possible for someone outside the Akashayana to reach such mastery, that idea seems like a joke to those who understand the essence of Do. In game terms, Do is more of a way of being than a learned Skill. Even so, it can be taught only by an Akashic mage, and it requires total devotion from the student. The Storyteller may consider Do to be an exclusively Akashic Ability – it’s been that way for thousands of years, after all. A beginning Akashic character may put no more than two dots into Do; all other dots must be earned through in-game experience. (The Storyteller can waive this rule for a “masters-level” chronicle.) A non-Akashic character cannot start the game with any dots in Do – again, those dots must be earned through experience. In order to purchase dots in the Do Talent, a character must also have at least two dots of an appropriate “limb” Ability for each dot in Do. If Samuel “Green Tiger” Nakamura, for example, has three dots in Do, then he must also have at least six dots in Abilities related to the “eight limbs of Do.”
Possessed By: Akashayana and perhaps Their Most Trusted Companions
Suggested Specialties: External (forceful) Style, Internal (meditative) Style, Weapon Forms, Energetic Alchemy, Katas, & Animal-Form Techniques.
Flying
People don’t usually fly. You do. Whether it’s because you’ve got (or can grow) wings and you know how to use them or else you’re simply practiced in the fine art of aerial maneuvers, you’re at home in the air as well as on the ground. Unlike the Jetpack Skill, this Talent reflects a knack for unassisted flying. To possess it, a character must have either wings or the innate (or magickal) power of flight. Really small or precarious flying methods (brooms, carpets, levitation discs, etc.) can count as Flying methods too; such control involves more instinct and comfort than technological expertise. For climbs, plunges, take-offs, landings, fancy moves, chases, aerial combat, or other airborne feats, this Talent comes in handy when you take to the sky.
Possessed By: Witches, Shapeshifters, Bird-Folk, Angelic or Demonic Entities, Magic Carpet Riders, Arcane Athletes, Crouching Tigers and Hidden Dragons
Suggested Specialties: Broomsticks, Sports, Aerial Combat, Hunting, Strafing, Carrying Passengers, & Chi-Based Levitation.
High Ritual
There’s both an art and a science to a good rite. You’ve studied not only the techniques and trappings of ritual practices but also
the symbolic, psychological, and metaphysical principles behind the big show. In general, this Talent reflects a familiarity with rituals appropriate to your spiritual or magickal pursuits; a Catholic priest understands the various Church ceremonies, whereas an Eleusinian priestess knows her way around Greek mystery rites. Beyond that knowledge, though, you understand not only the rituals of your chosen practice but also possess a gift for staging rituals in general. Game-wise, the High Ritual Skill allows you to plan and execute rituals. A successful roll (typically Manipulation or Charisma + High Ritual) lets your character perform or support anything from a wedding feast to a mystic rite. This roll’s difficulty depends upon your character’s familiarity with the practice in question: simple rites in his cultural tradition would be easy, and elaborate rituals in a foreign practice would be pretty damned hard. A successful High Ritual roll might reduce the difficulty of a magickal working, whereas a blown one might add to the difficulty instead. Certain Effects that would probably be considered vulgar magick might be considered coincidental if performed during a successful and appropriate ritual. An Awakened evangelist, for example, could effectively lay on hands or drive out demons during a potent Christian rite – such a setting encourages belief in such events. Although this sort of thing should not be taken for granted, a skillful ritualist can expand the bounds of possibility and evoke apparent miracles. Note that this Talent does not “stack” with the Blatancy Talent. A character with both must choose one or the other, not use both at one time.
Possessed By: Clergy, Occultists, Entertainers, High Magicians, Showboating Frauds, Comparative Religion Specialists, Ritual Mages, Citizen Evangelists, Party Planners, Church or Funeral Directors
Suggested Specialties: High Mass, Obscure Rituals, Spontaneous Rituals, Secular Ceremonies, Music Concerts, Impossible Miracles, & specific cultural rites (Jewish, Catholic, Satanic, Voudoun, etc.)
Lucid Dreaming
Most folks float through dreams with no sense of control. Not you. When you choose to assert yourself in the dreamlands, you may shift the tone of a dream, change locations, confront nightmares head-on, or even construct dreams of your choosing. Cosmologically, you know how to tap into the essence of Maya and turn it in your favor. With practice, you might create a Demesne Background (see below) that suits your temperament. In game terms, this Talent lets you manipulate your surroundings in a dream (Perception + Lucid Dreaming, difficulty 6); shape new structures (difficulty 8); or take complete control over that dream and your place in it (difficulty 9). You can use this Talent to direct conscious meditations, too (difficulties 5, 7, and 8, respectively), which can help you gain insights, unravel riddles, and achieve a state of calm or resolution. If you’re meditating or dreaming about a particular enigma, then your successes – after you wake up – count as if they were successes on an Enigmas roll. Jennifer Rollins, as an example, meditates about a puzzle she wants to solve, and so her successes with a Lucid Dreaming roll count as successes used to solve that puzzle; once she leaves the trance, she understands how those pieces fit together.
Possessed By: Shamans, Sages, Witches, Artists, Savants, Philosophers, Dream Researchers, Marauders, Martial Artists, Fey-Blooded People, The Dream Police
Suggested Specialties: Dream Control, Waking From Nightmares, Puzzling Enigmas, Visionquesting, Omens, Dream Combat, & Demesne.
Mage Skills
Biotech
Bodies are the original machines, and technology invents new machines to go along with them. You understand the connections between organic and mechanical systems and can work the places where they interface. An absolutely essential Skill for the cyborgs and cybernetic engineers of Iteration X, the Progenitors, the Virtual Adepts, and certain Etherite factions, Biotech gives you hands-on training and experience with cybernetic technology. Naturally, you need various Science Knowledges in order to design, invent, and install 296 Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition such technology; with this Skill, though, you’ve got practical applications to back up all that information.
Possessed By: Cyborgs, Cybernetic Maintenance Techs, Q Division, Genegineers, Mad Scientists, Transhumanists
Suggested Specialties: Cloning, Cybernetics, Mad Theories, Repair, Field Mods, Redesign, Nanotech, Floronics, Biomechanisms, Biomods, & Web-Based Interface.
Energy Weapons
When the only things standing between innocent bystanders and a raging Reality Deviant are you, your blaster, and the ability to use it, this becomes a must-have Skill. Laser guns, particle-beam accelerators, plasma hand-cannons, ectoplasmic disrupters, and other advanced weaponry demand advanced handling; any ape can fire a revolver, but only specially trained personnel know how to employ hypertech weaponry. This Ability reflects a basic understanding of energy weapon technology (or at least the ability to turn it on, point it in the right direction, and not blow your own hand off with it), and the essential skills involved in handling, maintaining, adjusting, loading, and storing the tools of Technocratic security.
Possessed By: Cyborgs, Space Marines, Black Suits, Covert Agents, Etherite Heroes
Suggested Specialties: Heavy Weapons, Experimental Tech, Repair, Small Arms, Field Modifications, Cybernetic Weaponry, Micro-Gravitational Operations, Sniper, & Pulp-Tech.
Hypertech
There’s mundane technology, and then there’s the stuff that technomages command. This latter tech is not, of course, “magick” – perish that thought! Still, its principles transcend the limited understanding of the Masses and their convenient little world. The advanced principles employed by the Technocracy, Virtual Adepts, various mad scientists, and even the technomancers of other, more traditional pursuits all range outside everyday sciences. These arcane technologies – nanotech, Trinary computing, extra-dimensional travel, and so on – seem mysterious even to many of the rank-and-file who employ them. You, however, understand how such things work… and through such understanding, you can modify existing Devices, create your own, or employ machines created by other technomancer mages. At Ranks 1 and 2, a character with this Skill understands only the principles behind her own group’s Devices; an Etherite, for example, can puzzle out the workings of a colleague’s contraptions, but she would wind up stymied by, say, an Iteration X Device. At Rank 3 and above, however, that same mag… I mean, scientist could decipher the odd perversions of scientific truth behind such alien Devices – and, by extension, could use or even modify them. In game terms, this means that a successful Hypertech roll would allow a technomancer to employ a tool or Device that would not normally work for him due to its secure or unconventional design. If you’re running a Technocratic operative, this is a pretty big deal; the warped confections of mad scientists begin to make a practical kind of sense… which means, of course, that you can now convert those insane Devices to more sensible purposes. Your Hypertech rating cannot be higher than your rating in the Technology Skill. If you don’t understand the basics, after all, how will you wrap your head around the big stuff? As with the Computer Knowledge, your ability to focus Sphere Effects through hypertech may be limited to the dots in your Hypertech Trait.
Possessed By: Mad Scientists, Renegade Technocrats, Visionary Geniuses, Tech-Hackers, Q Division Ops, Design Specialists, Elite Field Ops, Black Suits, Gadgeteers
Suggested Specialties: Hacking-n-Cracking, Improvisation, Repair, Jury-Rigging, Radical Conversions, Weaponsmith, Computers, Microtech, Nanotech, Experimental Theories, Ethertech Theories, Street Mods, & Anarchtech.
Jetpack
The tricky art of personal flight devices is yours to enjoy. With this Skill, you know how to control body-mounted flying gadgets. Like most tech-based Abilities, your success depends a lot on your familiarity, or lack of it, with the specific kind of tech involved. A Man in Black would have as hard a time with a Son of Ether’s jetpack as an Etherite would have with standard-issue NWO gear. Once you’ve logged some flight-time with a device, however, you’re on your way.
Possessed By: Space Marines, Etherites, Daredevils, Commandos, Black Suits, Research Assistants, Test Pilots
Suggested Specialties: Combat, Tricks, Pursuit, High Speeds, Boot-Jets, & Micro-G.
Martial Arts
The many refinements of hand-to-hand combat have produced thousands of martial art styles, from brutal Greek pankration to sublime t’ai chi. You pursue one or more of these disciplines, so your fighting techniques are more effective than simple punches and kicks. In game terms, the Martial Arts Skill reflects hard-won expertise in some combat form. Because of the intense training, specific techniques, and discipline involved, this Skill must be learned through practice and taught by a teacher who’s skilled in the same martial arts form you pursue. A savate teacher, after all, can’t teach you drunken-monkey kung fu. In return, this Skill grants access to a variety of special combat maneuvers described in the Combat section of Chapter Nine (M20). An accomplished martial artist can also use her practice to focus magickal Effects: powerful strikes, healing techniques, Mind-based powers, and so on.
Possessed By: Cops, Soldiers, Gang Members, Old Masters, Black Suits, Self-Defense Advocates, Athletes, Stunt Artists, The Most Unlikely People.
Suggested Specialties: Soft Style (snake, monkey, drunken style, etc.), Hard Style (tiger, mantis, etc.), Aikido, Judo, Karate, Muay Thai, Kuei Lung Chuan, etc.
Meditation
Ground, center, breathe, and relax. This Skill helps you sweep aside the clutter of everyday existence and find a spot within yourself that offers calm. Depending on your preferred style, your background, and the purpose for which you practice meditation, this could involve simple quiet time, elaborate postures and breath control, religious devotion, and even ecstatic dance or prayer. In game terms, the Meditation Skill can help your character make up for lost sleep, hibernate, gain artistic or mystical insights, unravel patterns or enigmas, or refresh your Quintessence rating. A character with Meditation often has at least one dot in the Esoterica Knowledge Trait. Many forms of magick, or feats like astral travel, also use meditation as an instrument of focus.
Possessed By: Akashics, Yogis, Monks, Hypnotists, Therapists, Clergy, Martial Artists, Hippies
Suggested Specialties: Do, Focus, Grace Under Pressure, Meditative Movement, Nodes, Relaxation, Tantra, Therapy, Trance, T’ai Chi, Virtual Reality, Yoga, & Zen.
Mage Knowledges
Cosmology
Known by Technocrats and many hypertech mystics as Subdimensions, this trait reflects a working knowledge of the puzzling Other worlds beyond the Earthly plane. With it, you stand a decent chance of finding your way around out there without getting yourself killed. (Without it, you’re seriously screwed.) The specific way in which you view the Otherworlds will depend a lot on what you expect to see there; this Knowledge simply gives you the tools to navigate paths, spot hazards, deal with entities, and recognize opportunities or threats when you run across them.
Possessed By: Shamans, Witches, Hermetics, Void Engineers, Etherites, Werewolves, Astral Travelers, Archmages
Suggested Specialties: Astral Voyaging, Courts, Paths, Hazards, Omens, Realms, Navigation, Dimensional Exploration, Threat Factors, & Otherworldly Etiquette.
Belief Systems
You’ve studied what people believe, how they believe it, why they believe what they do, and – perhaps most importantly – where people tend to hold certain beliefs. Why is this important? Because, when reality is your stock-in-trade, knowing why, how, and where people believe certain things gives you a massive edge when you’re trying to suit or change those beliefs. As a Trait, this Knowledge covers general religious, political, economic, and philosophical belief systems throughout the modern mortal world. The higher your rating is, the more extensive and yet specific your understanding becomes. A single dot confers basic information. This sort of understanding can be extremely helpful when you’re crafting coincidental magick, appealing to local traditions, cultivating good impressions, or shifting people’s beliefs in your favor. The Belief Systems Knowledge also helps a mage understand the “reality zones” phenomenon and to turn it to her advantage.
Possessed By: Journalists, Missionaries, Theologians, Historians, Professors, Pundits, Philosophers, Poli-Sci Scholars, Media Manipulators, Political/ Religious Activists, Paradigm-Shifting Mages
Suggested Specialties: Belief Systems: Regional Beliefs, Esoterica, Cults, Current Events, Religious/ Political History, Geopolitics, Comparative Religion, Media Manipulation, Belief Trends, & Paradigm-Hacking.
Cryptography
A world full of secrets is a world filled with codes. You understand how they work, know the principles for crafting and cracking them, and have the kind of mind that curves along the proper corners when hacking various codes. A background in mathematics and historical encryption comes with this Skill, although other Abilities – Linguistics, Esoterica (Alchemy, Bibliomancy, Secret Code Languages, etc.), Science (Mathematics), and so forth – provide invaluable assistance for such tasks. Mages are really good at rendering simple things into obscure gibberish, so this is a valuable skill, though not an especially common one. With this Knowledge, you can create codes that can be broken only by someone who exceeds your Cryptography rating with her own Intelligence + Cryptography dice pool. (Someone with a dice pool of at least four dice could beat Cryptography 3, for example, but not Cryptography 4.) You can also try to unravel codes with your own Intelligence + Cryptography rolls. In both cases, the difficulty depends upon the complexity of the code and the obscurity of the elements involved. If the code demands some knowledge that the would-be cracker does not have, of course, the code remains unbreakable. Japanese cryptographers, for instance, couldn’t have deciphered the Navajo code-talker messages because they didn’t even know that the Navajo language existed. Even without such knowledge, though, a good roll can help you puzzle out the foundation of a code even if you can’t read its contents, which is often half the battle.
Possessed By: Puzzle Fans, Intelligence Specialists, Spies, Alchemists, Communication Analysts, Insurgents, Counter-terrorism Agents
Suggested Specialties: Mathematical Encryption, Secret Languages, Mystical Codes, Occult Lore, Encryption History, Weird Logic, Computers, Art-History Symbolism
Esoterica
Esoteric knowledge comes in many forms: astrology, angelography, fortune-telling, yoga, herbalism, demonology, the lore of stones, even the secret code languages of occult societies. For centuries, such mysteries were the province of selected initiates; these days, it’s relatively easy to find the basics in any decent bookstore or website. Even so, the deeper levels remain obscure to all but the most devoted students of the art. Anyone can take a yoga class in the modern world, but the more arcane applications of that art demand years of practice, study, and devotion. Game-wise, the Esoterica Knowledge reflects your pursuit of esoteric disciplines and, by extension, provides instruments for your magickal focus. The Trait’s overall rating reflects your general knowledge of arcane subjects, whereas each specialty reflects your expertise within a certain field. Unlike the Occult Knowledge – which in Mage 20 reflects an understanding of “secret history” and shadow-cultures – Esoterica represents the practical application of unusual fields. Occult can teach your character who Aleister Crowley was, while Esoterica helps her understand what Crowley did… and to use those principles herself. In short, this Knowledge sums up a lot of previous editions’ Abilities into a single united Trait.
Possessed By: Monks, Professors, Clergy, New Agers, Witches, Weirdos, Artists, Occultists, Teachers, Transhumanists, Paranormal Researchers, Monster Hunters, Fantasy Authors and Editors, Students and Masters of Arcane Arts
Suggested Specialties: Alchemy, Astrology, Bakemono-Jutsu, Celestiography, Crystalmancy, Demonology, Esoteric Musicology, Fortune-Telling, Gematria, Goetia, Herbalism, Hypnosis, I Ching, Iconology, Kabbalah, Numerology, Omens, Prophecies, Sacred Geometry, Stone Lore, Symbolism, T’ai Chi, Tantra, Tarot, Transhumanist Theory, Voodoo, Yoga, Specific Arcane Languages (Enochian, In-o-Musubi, the Language of Flowers, etc.)
Lore
You know more about the Night-Folk than they’d appreciate you knowing. Sure, your understanding gets filtered through the lens of your own group’s perspective, but it’s more than the average person… or mage… comprehends. For mystic mages, such knowledge is considered Lore: the hidden secrets of vampires,werecreatures, and the like. Among Technocrats, it’s known as RD Data: information about the clandestine affairs of Reality Deviants whose very existence presents a threat to the Consensus. Different Lore categories include: Spirits, Fae, Werecreatures, Vampires, Ghosts, Hunters, Demons, Mages (naturally…), and potentially others as well. Each Lore/ RD Data category counts as a separate Lore specialty; knowing about Sabbat Kindred won’t teach you anything about Seelie Fae Kith.
Possessed By: Sages, Wizards, Xenobiologists, Black Suits, Witches, Shamans, Field Ops, Adventurers, Emissaries, Strategists, Interrogators, Intelligence Analysts, Monster-Hunters
Suggested Specialties: Demons, Disparates, Faeries, Ghosts, Hunters, Infernalists, Lupine, Marauders, Spirit, Technocracy, Traditions, Tribal, Vampire, Werebeasts, etc.
Pharmacopoeia
Drugs are your specialty: street drugs, herbal compounds, experimental medications, psychoactives, hypertech concoctions, and the like. You understand the effects of various chemicals on the human animal and perhaps on other animals as well. A specialty of shamans, witches, Progenitors, Ecstatics, alchemists, and other mages who employ pharmaceutical compounds, this Knowledge allows you – with the proper tools, of course – to measure, recognize, analyze, counter, or dose someone with a range of chemicals. As usual, higher ratings reflect greater expertise. You’ll never know everything, of course, but you’re rarely flying blind. A venerable, if underhanded, magickal tool, the variation Knowledge of Poisons allows you to alter the natural chemistry of living things in… shall we say, unfortunate ways. Witches, alchemists, assassins, and other shady types are infamous for their expertise with such compounds, and though you might not want to advertise that information, you’re experienced with such compounds too.
Possessed By: Progenitors, Ecstatics, Alchemists, Entheogenic Mystics, Dope Dealers, Vice Cops, Verbena, Interrogators, Corrupters, Party Animals, Mad Scientists, Medical Professionals
Suggested Specialties: Mundane Meds, Hypermeds, Street Drugs, Entheogens, Magical Concoctions, Designer Compounds, Herbal Remedies, Nutritional Supplements, & Mood-Altering Drugs.