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Timothy Brandus – Mage P.I.

Last weekend, one of the guys in our group ran a Mage: The Awakening one-shot. We all had a lot of fun and decided to make it a campaign. Character creation was relatively simple. The hardest part for me was choosing just-the-right options(tm). I finally decided on a police detective who stumbled upon magic while investigating a serial killer. He awakens as he confronts the killer. Unfortunately, the killer was able to slay his last victim, but only seconds before Tim finished him off. Suddenly, the room began to glow and names appeared on the walls. At first, Tim thought they were names of victims but he soon realized they were the names of other Mages. He added his own and immediately input his resignation from the police force. Since then, he’s worked as a private investigator specializing in the occult. He lives in a house in Quincy, Massachusetts, along with three other Mages who awakened about the same time he did.

For those who have played M:TA before, I ask you look over my character and give any advice you think would help (This is the first time I’ve ever played M:TA).

Shadow Name: Timothy Brandus

Virtue: Justice

Vice: Pride

Concept: Private Investigator

Path: Arcanus

Health: 7

Willpower: 4

Gnosis: 1

Mana: 7

Wisdom: 7

Size: 5

Speed: 10

Defense: 2

Armor: 3 (when Shielding spell is cast)

Initiative Mod: 9

Attributes

Intelligence: 2
Wits: 2
Resolve: 2

Strength: 1
Dexterity: 4
Stamina: 2

Presence: 3
Manipulation: 3
Composure: 3

Skills

Computer (Hacking): 2
Investigation (Crime Scene): 5 (Rote Skill)
Occult: 3

Firearms: 1
Larceny: 1
Weaponry: 2

Empathy (Lies): 3 (Rote Skill)
Intimidation: 1
Persuasion: 2
Socialize: 1

Arcana

Fate (+): 3
Time (+): 2
Mind: 1
Forces (-)

Merits

High Speech
Eidetic Memory
Fighting Finesse (Knife)
Disarm
Fast Reflexes (2)

Rotes

The Perfect Moment (Fate 2)
Fortune’s Protection (Fate 2)
Postcognition (Time 2)

Nimbus

Time seems to slow a bit

Dedicated Magic Tool: Silver Knife

Combat: Silver Knife

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Posted in: Characters, Other Systems, RPG

6 Responses to “Timothy Brandus – Mage P.I.”

Professor Pope January 13th, 2009 at 12:06 PM

This is one of those games I have always wanted to play but never found the right people. Keep us posted on how it goes.

BrianD January 13th, 2009 at 12:17 PM

Like the good Professor, I haven’t had a chance to play M:tA. I’m looking forward to hearing more about this story!

reveal January 13th, 2009 at 12:27 PM

@Nakia – Will do!

pointyman2000 January 14th, 2009 at 6:50 AM

Hey there!

Your Private Eye is looking good so far… I noticed though that you didn’t get to list down your Merits though, did you take Weapon Finesse to help you with using that knife in a fight?

It seems that you’ve angled him towards melee combat with that knife of his, given that you’ve got 2 dots in Weaponry as opposed to the 1 dot in Firearms, and the Weapon Finesse Merit seems to be the best way to make the most out of your 4 dots Dexterity.

Good spread of skills so far, his strengths are very pronounced, and I’m certain that using that 5 dots in Investigation will come in handy in conjunction with your Postcognition Rote.

Good call on taking Fortune’s Protection as a Rote, any of the Mage Armor Rotes are a must have, though I’d recommend getting at least 1 of the Mage Sight spells to go along with it. It’s easy to cast a Mage Sight spell on the fly, but having a bigger dice pool helps to bust through any magic that might be deliberately obscured to avoid detection by a spell of lower Potency. Another Rote to consider would be Exceptional Luck, and eventually Supernal Luck, which are a great way to pad out your dice rolls.

As for gameplay, Fate has odd ways of revealing information. Fate is said to show “themes” relating to events that occur, allowing you to discern a copycat murder from one performed by the real serial killer, for example.

Looking forward to seeing how your campaign goes! As a Mage GM, I’m always on the lookout for ideas to inflict on my own players.

pointyman2000´s last blog post..GM Interviews – Answers #3

reveal January 14th, 2009 at 8:23 AM

@pointman2000 – Thanks for the tips. For the one-shot, I had Exceptional Luck but decided to swap it out for Eidetic Memory. I thought that would be better for long term play.

And, yes, I have Fighting Finesse so I can use Dex to fight with my knife.

Pointyman2000 January 14th, 2009 at 6:06 PM

Glad to have helped! Was starting to worry that my comment had gone on too long. :p

Eidetic Memory does make a lot of sense given his occupation and focus, so I think it’s a good match.

Pointyman2000´s last blog post..Active Listening Rant