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   Meditation - Regenerates Magic   
      
   Melee - Hand To Hand Weapons   
      
   Performance - Specialized as music etc.   
      
   Stealth - Hiding From Sight   
      
   Survival - Living In Difficult Environments   
      
   Technology - Repairing And Working With Machines   
      
      
   Knowledges:   
      
      
   Academics - Higher Education In A Field   
      
   Computer - From Typing To Hacking   
      
   Cosmology - Knowledge Of The Spirit World   
      
   Enigmas - Solving Puzzles Or Riddles   
      
   Investigation - Forensics Detective Work   
      
   Law - Professional Practice In Law   
      
   Linguistics - Specializing In Other Languages   
      
   Medicine - First Aid, & Surgery Etc.   
      
   Occult - Knowledge Of Magic Practices   
      
   Science - Engineering, Chemistry, & Physics   
      
      
   There are also some other very important traits:   
      
      
   Avatar - Your ability to store quintessence   
      
   Arete - Your mastery of magick   
      
   Willpower - Can be used to force success   
      
   Quintessence - The raw power of magic   
      
   Paradox - The backlash from magic into insanity   
      
   Health - The amount of damage you can take   
      
      
   Getting Started   
      
      
   Now that you know the basics of the Storytelling System, you can proceed   
   to create your own characters. You’ll be able to judge what sort of   
   traits you’ll need based on their titles (they’re mostly self-   
   explanatory), and know that the more dots you have in a trait the better   
   your character will be when accomplishing tasks with it.   
      
      
   Here is a quick overview of how to begin the character creation process:   
      
      
   The 3 categories of attributes are divided into 3 levels of points:   
   7/5/3   
      
   The 3 categories of abilities are also divided into 3 levels of points:   
   13/9/5   
      
   You get 7 points to go into Backgrounds.   
      
   You also get 6 dots that can go into your Mage's magical knowledge   
   called Spheres. The catch is that none of them can be higher than your   
   level of Arete.   
      
   Arete starts at 1 and can’t begin higher than 3.   
      
   Willpower starts at 5 and can’t begin higher than 7.   
      
      
   You also get 15 Freebie Points:   
      
   To increase an Attribute requires 5 freebie points.   
      
   To increase an Ability requires 2 freebie points.   
      
   To increase a Background requires 1 freebie point.   
      
   To increase Willpower requires 1 freebie point.   
      
   To increase Arete requires 4 freebie points.   
      
   To increase a Sphere requires 7 freebie points.   
      
      
   Prioritize the categories with 3 levels of points.   
      
      
   Select Attributes (7/5/3)   
      
      
   Physical: Strength, Dexterity, Stamina   
      
   Social: Charisma, Manipulation, Appearance   
      
   Mental: Perception, Intelligence, Wits   
      
      
   Select Abilities (13/9/5)   
      
      
   Talents: Alertness, Athletics, Awareness, Brawl, Dodge, Expression,   
   Intimidation, Leadership, Streetwise, Subterfuge   
      
   Skills: Crafts, Drive, Etiquette, Firearms, Meditation, Melee,   
   Performance, Stealth, Survival, Technology   
      
   Knowledges: Academics, Computer, Cosmology, Enigmas, Investigation, Law,   
   Linguistics, Medicine, Occult, Science   
      
      
   Additionally, characters also have a number of advantages called   
   Backgrounds.   
      
      
   Backgrounds (7):   
      
      
   Allies - Friends who help you   
      
   Arcane - You are unnoticed as a Mage   
      
   Avatar - The Strength of the soul   
      
   Contacts - Information sources   
      
   Destiny - A greater purpose   
      
   Dream - Visions from the unknown   
      
   Influence - Pull over the mortal world   
      
   Library - Access to metaphysical knowledge   
      
   Node - A place of magical power   
      
   Resources - Extra Money   
      
   Wonder - A Magical talisman or device   
      
      
   Combat   
      
      
   We will now go over the combat system. It is very simple.   
      
   Combat is broken down into three steps, Initiative, Attack, and   
   Resolution.   
      
      
   Stage one - Initiative   
      
      
   During initiative, both players roll Dexterity + Wits. Whoever has more   
   successes gets to go first.   
      
   Each player declares either to attack or defend.   
      
   It is also possible to ambush someone with: Dexterity + Stealth vs   
   Perception + Alertness   
      
      
   Stage two - Attack   
      
      
   The attacker rolls one of these:   
      
   Unarmed Combat: Strength + Brawl   
      
   Armed Combat: Strength + Weaponry   
      
   Firearms: Dexterity + Firearms   
      
   Throwing Objects: Dexterity + Athletics   
      
   Then the defender either takes the hit, or if they chose to defend they   
   roll:   
      
   Block: Dexterity + Brawl   
      
   Dodge: Dexterity + Dodge   
      
   Parry: Dexterity + Melee   
      
   The successes of the attack roll minus the defense roll equals damage,   
   which is either Bashing or Lethal.   
      
   If a weapon is being used the storyteller can increase the modifier for   
   an attack by up to +4. Some guns allow you to shoot multiple times in a   
   turn.   
      
      
   Stage three - Resolution   
      
      
   Roll as many times as your Stamina points to eliminate a point of   
   bashing damage for each success.   
      
   If the fighting continues you roll again for initiative.   
      
   Keep track of the damage to your health with this chart:   
      
      
   Health   
      
      
   1) Bruised -0   
      
   2) Hurt -1   
      
   3) Injured -2   
      
   4) Wounded -3   
      
   5) Mauled -4   
      
   6) Crippled -5   
      
   7) Unconscious   
      
      
   Each point of damage is marked with a / for bashing damage and an X for   
   lethal damage. If you acquire 7 bashing damage you are unconscious,   
   further bashing damage can become lethal damage. Either way, you apply a   
   penalty to everything you roll as the damage goes up.If you acquire more   
   than 7 in lethal damage, you can die.   
      
      
   Finally, your character needs to learn magic!   
      
      
   Magic   
      
      
   There are 12 Spheres in this system that are divided into coincidental &   
   vulgar magic. The first three levels of each sphere are limited to   
   coincidental effects, and the highest levels of the sphere are divided   
   into two levels of more advanced magic.   
      
      
   The Twelve Spheres in alphabetical order are:   
      
      
   Control, Destruction, Feeling, Influence, Penetration, Production,   
   Revelation, Restoration, Transformation, Travel, Understanding, and   
   Vanishing   
      
      
   These are the degrees of power for the Spheres:   
      
      
   1) Awareness   
      
   2) Sympathetic   
      
   3) Coincidental   
      
   4) Manipulative   
      
   5) Miraculous   
      
   -   
      
      
   1) Awareness   
      
   Allows the Mage to sense things with their magic.   
      
      
   2) Sympathetic   
      
      
   The Mage can effect things they’re personally connected to.   
      
      
   3) Coincidental   
      
      
   The Mage can work magic as long as it doesn’t defy physics.   
      
      
   4) Manipulative   
      
      
   The Mage can manipulate and bend the laws of physics.   
      
      
   5) Miraculous   
      
   The Mage can now create impossible miracles.   
      
      
   Mechanics   
      
      
   Casting Magic   
      
      
   You can only cast magic up to the level of your sphere. Arete is the   
   number of dice to roll when casting a spell. No Sphere can be higher   
   than your level of Arete. A mage can optionally roll fewer dice to avoid   
   a potential botch.   
      
      
   Avatar   
      
      
   A Mage’s Avatar is the maximum Quintessence they can store.   
      
      
   Quintessence   
      
      
   Quintessence is the power source for Magic. Spending Quintessence points   
   adds a bonus to your Arete roll for a spell  Meditation is required to   
   regain Quintessence. The maximum Quintessence a Mage can store is their   
   Avatar score. Quintessence can also be stored in things that are carried   
   by a Mage.   
      
      
   Willpower   
      
      
   One point of willpower generates 1 success   
      
   Willpower can resist mind magic   
      
   Willpower can fight Quiet   
      
   Willpower can ignore penalties from fear & damage   
      
   Willpower can be regained after role play   
      
      
   Difficulty   
      
      
   The difficulty for casting magic is determined by the Storyteller. Add +   
   1 for Vulgar magic, if there are no witnesses. Add another +1 if a   
   Sleeper witnesses it.   
      
      
   Bonuses   
      
      
   If you have time to do a ritual, Intelligence + Occult can be rolled.   
   Successes are added to your Arete roll up to a +3. If there isn't time   
   for a full ritual, magical tools can add a +1 bonus.   
      
      
   Successes   
      
      
   Simple magic requires only one success, two successes are required for   
   more powerful magic, and larger effects can take even more.   
      
      
   Botches   
      
      
   If a Mage rolls a failure when casting a spell & they also roll snake   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)