Mage: The Awakening

Long ago, man discovered the secrets of magic. As men are prone to do, they used this new ability to gain power. They created the city of Atlantis, and as they grew more powerful and decadent, they created a Celestial Ladder to take them to the heavens while still alive and rule over the world. A few mages climbed the ladder, but most simply fought over it, and the ladder, along with Atlantis, was destroyed - separating the Supernal Realms, the realms of the heavens, from the earthly realm. Now the Exarchs, those few early mages to climb the Celestial Ladder, have incredible power, and they want to keep it - and so they have erased the memory of Atlantis. But they are opposed by a small group of Atlantean mages who also climbed the ladder, and established Watchtowers in the Supernal Realms, pathways to magic - and they use these Watchtowers to call to humanity across the abyss that lies between the Realms. Those called become mages, and must oppose the earthly forces of the Exarchs - and possibly rise in power to oppose the Exarchs themselves.

This is the premise of Mage, and as with the last few games, it is set in the World of Darkness, and uses the same system. I think I'll make a character who is a historian obsessed with the secret history of mankind. So I'll go Mental, Social, Physical. Intelligence 3, Wits 3, and Resolve 2, then Presence 2, Manipulation 1, and Composure 4, and finally Strength 2, Dexterity 2, and Stamina 2. Then on to Skills; I'll take Academics 3, Computers 1, Investigation 3, Occult 3, and Medicine 1. Then I'll take Empathy 2, Socialize 2, Streetwise 2, and Subterfuge 1. Finally, I'll take Brawl 1, Drive 1, and Stealth 2. For specialties, I want Academics (History), Investigation (Artifacts), and Occult (Atlantis). The I add the Mage template; I choose a Path (my path to magic), Order (my social group of mages), magical abilities, and Gnosis (degree of magical proficiency). My path will be Obrimos; they draw their power from what they perceive as the realm of the divine. This also gives me +1 to my Resolve attribute, and tells me my major Arcana will be Forces and Prime, and I will be weak with Death magic. My group will be the Mysterium, seekers of lore and knowledge. When casting a spell that uses one of the Mysterium's specialties - Investigation, Occult, and Survival - I get +1 die to my pool. For my magical powers, I get 2 dots each in Forces and Prime, and I will take one in Spirit; I then get 6 points to spend on specific rotes, or spells. I will take Influence Light and Control Heat in Forces, Activate Enchanted Item in Prime, and Second Sight in Spirit. I start with Gnosis 1, and increase it to 2 with 3 Merit points, using the rest for the Merit Encyclopedic Knowledge; as a mage, I get the High Speech merit for free. Derived values are Defense 2, Size 5, Health 7, Initiative 6, Wisdom (a Mage's Morality) 7, Speed 9, Willpower 7, Virtue will be Faith, and Vice will be Greed. So the final character will be:

Thomas Coyne
Concept: Secret Historian
Path: Obrimos
Organization: Mysterium
Virtue: Faith
Vice: Greed

Attributes
Intelligence: 3
Wits: 3
Resolve: 3
Strength: 2
Dexterity: 2
Stamina: 2
Presence: 2
Manipulation: 1
Composure: 4

Skills
Academics 3 (Specialty: History)
Computers 1
Investigation 3 (Specialty: Artifacts)
Occult 3 (Specialty: Atlantis)
Medicine 1
Brawl 1
Drive 1
Survival 2
Empathy 2
Socialize 2
Streetwise 2
Subterfuge 1

Merits
High Speech
Encyclopedic Knowledge

Arcanum
Forces 2
Prime 2
Spirit 1

Rotes
Influence Light (Forces 1)
Control Heat (Forces 2)
Activate Enchanted Item (Prime 2)
Second Sight (Spirit 1)

Defense 2
Size 5
Speed 9
Initiative 6
Health 7
Wisdom 7
Willpower 7