Player: Paul
John Murphy is a twenty-eight-year-old Caucasian man who goes by Jack. Jack has a master’s degree in maritime biology and works at the Boston Aquarium in a specialist capacity; he oversees the seals. He has a one-bedroom apartment at One Back Bay Luxury Apartments in Boston, and between the rent and his student loans, his salary is pretty much spoken for. His parents live in the greater Boston area, and his younger brother is attending college in Worcester. The family is lifelong residents of the Boston area, and were thrilled when Jack got the job at the Aquarium in 2007. Jack was caught in the riot of 2008 but has no clear memories of it. Other than that chunk of missing time, Jack’s life is pretty good right now, although he does not have a girlfriend.
Jack Awakens as a Thyrsus mage.
Real Name: John ‘Jack’ Murphy
Concept:
Age: 29
Path: Thyrsus
Order: Free Council
Virtue: Adaptable
Vice:
Obsessions: The Provincetown ruin
Aspirations:
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 3, Resolve 2
Physical Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3
Social Attributes: Presence 1, Manipulation 2, Composure 4
Mental Skills: Academics 3, Computer 2, Crafts 1, Medicine (Veterinary) 1, Occult 1, Science (Biology) 3
Physical Skills: Athletics (Swimming) 2, Stealth 2, Survival (Wilderness) 2, Weaponry 1
Social Skills: Animal Ken (Training) 2, Empathy 1, Expression 1, Streetwise 1
Merits:
• Contacts 2 (New England Aquarium, Northeastern University): Finn has contacts within these two organizations that can provide him with information (not services). This requires a Manipulation + Social Skill roll, depending on the method he uses and the relationship between the characters. The Storyteller should give a bonus or penalty (from –3 to +3 in most cases) depending on how relevant the information is to that particular Contact, whether accessing the information is dangerous, and if Finn has maintained good relations or done favors for the Contact. If successful, the Contact provides the information.
• High Speech 1: Finn can use High Speech as a Yantra in spellcasting.
• Professional Training 3: Finn chooses three Skills (Animal Ken, Medicine, Science) to be Asset Skills; when making rolls with those Skills, he benefits from the 9-Again quality. He also gains two dots of Contacts related to his field and two Specialties in his Asset Skills.
• Resources 1: Finn has a little spending money here and there. Every item has an Availability rating and once per chapter, he can procure an Availability 1 item without issue. Obtaining an Availability 2 item reduces his effective Resources by one dot for a full month, since he has to rapidly liquidate funds.
• Safe Place (Apartment) 1: Finn feels safe and secure in his apartment; he gains a +1 Initiative bonus whenever he’s there. Any efforts to breach the apartment suffer a -1 penalty. Finn has also installed traps that cause one lethal damage to intruders; the traps may be avoided with a Dexterity + Larceny roll with a -1 penalty.
• Status: Free Council 1: Finn is a probationary Libertine and receives a +1 bonus to any Social roll involving those over whom he has authority or sway. Additionally, he can access Artifacts, Imbued Items, mentors, libraries, Grimoires, and other magical resources. The Storyteller should assign an Availability rating to the item he seeks, related to the power level or regular Merit rating. Finn considers his Status dot as Resources for procuring these magical resources. Merits suitable for requisition include Alternate Identity, Grimoire, Hallow, Imbued Item, Library, Mentor, Resources, Retainer, Safe Place, and Sanctum, all with Availability equal to their dot rating.
• The Train Car (Shared) 12: The Young Turks have discovered and claimed a mysterious train car that shifts between the Red, Orange, and Blue lines; Sleepwalkers only register the car as ‘shut down due to hazard.’ The Train Car combines the Hallow, Safe Place, and Sanctum Merits; it produces 4 points of Mana per day and can store 12 tass before it becomes “dormant” and stops producing Mana until all the tass is harvested. Finn can add +4 to his Gnosis within the Train Car for determining spell control. He can leave the Train Car and retain those benefits on previously cast spells, but if he’s exceeded his Gnosis and adds any additional, controlled spells, the benefit goes away, and Finn must Reach as if he’d cast each of those spells without the benefit. Finally, the Train Car gives Finn a +4 Initiative bonus while inside. Any efforts by rivals to breach the Train Car suffer a -4 penalty and must also contend with traps that cause 4 lethal damage. The traps may be avoided with a Dexterity + Larceny roll with a -4 penalty.
Wisdom: 7
Willpower: 6
Initiative Modifier: +7
Defense: 5
Armor: 0
Size: 5
Speed: 11
Health: 8
Gnosis: 3
Mana/per Turn: 12/3
Nimbus: The sound of crashing waves (Immediate), the smell of salty ocean air (Signature)
Nimbus Tilt: -1 Dexterity, +1 Composure
Dedicated Magical Tool: Shell Necklace
Arcana: Forces 2, Life 2, Spirit 2
Arcana Attainments:
Counterspell
• (Forces, Life, Spirit): Finn can attempt to disrupt a spell using the specified Arcanum that is about to be cast. Counterspell is a Clash of Wills, pitting the acting mage’s Gnosis + Arcanum against Finn’s Gnosis + Arcanum. He can attempt to counter any spell that uses the Arcanum, even if it uses other Arcana as well, but always counters the highest Arcanum of a target spell. Countering the spell of a mage with a higher rating in the target Arcanum requires Finn to spend a point of Mana. Counterspell requires an instant action. If Finn is employing Active Mage Sight, he can attempt to counter a spell of the appropriate Arcanum in combat, regardless of his position in the Initiative order, provided he has not used his action yet.
Lesser Utility Attainments
• Forces 2 – Precise Force: Finn can perfectly direct his energy when striking an object with a mundane attack or spell that involves a physical projectile. If Finn has a full turn to calculate his action, he can take the 9-Again quality on the roll. If he’s applying force to a stationary object, he can ignore two points of Durability, and a successful hit automatically causes two additional Structure damage. Against a stationary, armored target, this strike destroys (and ignores) 1/1 armor if successful. This Attainment doesn’t work against anything moving faster than a casual walk.
• Life 2 – Improved Pattern Restoration: Finn can heal bashing damage at a rate of one wound per point of Mana, and lethal damage at a rate of one wound per two points of Mana. In addition, if Finn Scours a Physical Attribute for Mana, any derived traits based on that Attribute are not affected.
• Spirit 2 – Spirit Eyes: Finn detects spiritual Twilight phenomena with his Periphery and can automatically see spirits and projecting beings in Twilight with his Spirit Sight. If a spirit is using a power to hide, it provokes a Clash of Wills. With the expenditure of one point of Mana, Finn can interact with spirits for a scene; he can speak with them, touch them, and even strike them. However, this renders him vulnerable to their attentions as well.
Mage Armor
Mage Armor requires a point of Mana to activate with a reflexive action, whereupon it remains active for the scene, even if Finn falls unconscious, unless he dies. Finn can only benefit from one form of Mage Armor at a time but can spend Mana to change between Arcana as a reflexive action. Mage Armors that increase Defense work against surprise attacks.
• Forces Armor: Finn applies his full Forces rating as general armor, applicable against all damaging physical attacks and the automatic damage from fire and electricity. It has no effect on mental or psychic attacks.
• Life Armor: Finn adds half his Life rating (round up) as both general armor and a bonus to Defense. He also uses the higher of his Wits and Dexterity as Defense, rather than the lower.
• Spirit Armor: Finn downgrades lethal damage from kinetic attacks (bullets, claws, rocks, etc.) and the attacks of ephemeral entities to bashing.
Praxes:
Rotes:
Asset Skills: Animal Ken, Medicine, Science
Rote Skills: Crafts, Persuasion, Science