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Perception - The Mage is aware of the presence of the Sphere Pattern

Analysis - The Mage is able to glean levels of information about the Pattern

Manipulation - The Mage is able to trigger impermanent changes in the Pattern

Growth - The Mage is able to increase or decrease the Patterns size. Creating or Destroying aspects

Linking - The Mage is able to connect one Pattern to another for a short time

Transmutation - The Mage is able to change one Pattern into another

Forging - The Mage is able to connect a number of Patterns for an unspecified time, and to restructure the Patterns aspects.

Control - The Mage is able to control and force Pattern behaviours.

Blending - The Mage is able to Mix two or more Patterns.

Mastery - The Mage is able to fully control, reshape and exemplify Patterns.

Turns

What I want from you.

In order to process a turn I will need the following:

Responses to previous turn events. I cannot understand what you are doing unless I know what it is you are reacting to Please include this.

Reactions to questions posed or challenges made. If I require an answer to something please provide it even if it is “I cannot answer this at this time.”

Actions should be outlined Pick something you wan tot do from the list and state to whom or to what you are doing it and why. Each Turn is 3 days. During this time you have 1 major action and two minor actions. You can exchange 1 major action for 2 minor, if you like, but Turns will have to be exceptional to have more than 1 major action.

Aims and ideas of Character direction. Sometimes I wan to surprise you but mostly I will try and move things forwards in the way you want them.

Ultimate Goals. I need to know what you are after in the long run.

Please include all these items, use the headings if need be.

Magical Items and Spell usage. You have 15 slots per turn to outline what you will do in various circumstances with your magic. That should be enough for anyone but if you need more I will allow 5 more for the cost of a minor action (I call this preparation).

Magic will be calculated by totaling the following.

Attribute + Ability + Magical Skill x 2 + Highest Sphere x 5 + Any applicable merit ratings or Backgrounds + Foci bonus -minus- A circumstance rating + a die roll from 0-9.

If you get over the difficulty rating, you succeed. If not then the spell failed, try again later. Spontaneous botch die will be rolled when necessary. Remember, Quintessence is necessary to make any spell independent or permanent.

What you will get back.

I will acknowledge your turn and either ask for more information or give you a new Turn.

Firstly I will chronicle your reactions and the previous situation.

Then I will describe how your major and minor actions transpire including the 3 days of the Turn.

I will include some correspondence and or speech with the turn and try to make it as flavourful as possible. You will usually get some prompting from your daemon (avatar) which can only be heard by the mage. Bear this in mind.

The end will probably be some cliff hanger or challenge. I will try and make each situation unique but some will be standardised or reused as it makes things easier.

Unless I need more information, the turn will then revert to you and we will continue.

Spirit World encounters.

During dreams or quiet times the mages may reach out and get information from others. If players wish to discuss things, great. Please include me in any communication, or advise me on what has transpired.

If I am not informed, it will not be included.

Pay as much attention to your dreams as you may.

Wars of the Roses – Character Creation.

This is a slight variation on Standard Mage: The Sorcerer's Crusade procedure (see Below).

Character Concepts Any (But please bear in mind that you will be interacting with nobility.)

Attributes (9 of these as Standard) 16 points to distribute. No Attribute higher than 4 at this stage.

Abilities (33 of these as Standard, Secondary Abilities can be substituted for Primary Abilities but will no longer receive lower cost.) 30 points to distribute. No Abilities higher than 3 at this stage.

Backgrounds The cost of these is now cumulative (so that level four costs 10 points) 20 points to buy.

Spheres These are now on a 1-10 basis (see Below). 15 points to distribute.

Magical Skills These are Abilities which define your type and tone of magic use. 15 points to distribute. No Skills higher than 3 at this stage.

Arete will NOT be used.

Willpower as Standard (Starting at 5 points)

Spend Development Points (12) at Standard costings.

A pool of 5 points is available for Merits. Flaws which do not have to be taken allow more Merits to be bought but cannot be below 5 points cumulative. These are for colour only and anything game unbalancing will be disqualified.

Standard Mage The Sorcerer's Crusade Character Creation Process

Step One: Character Concept (see Options, below)

Choose Concept, Society, Essence, Nature and Demeanor

Decide style of magick, beliefs and personal history

• Step Two: Select Attributes

Prioritise the three categories: Physical, Social, Mental (7/5/3)

Choose Physical Traits: Strength, Stamina, Dexterity

Choose Social Traits: Charisma, Manipulation, Appearance

Choose Mental Traits: Perception, Intelligence, Wits

No Attribute higher than 4 at this stage

• Step Three: Select Abilities (see below)

Prioritize the three categories: Talents, Skills, Knowledges

Choose Talents, Skills, Knowledges (13/9/5)

No Abilities higher than 3 at this stage

• Step Four: Select Advantages (see Options, below)

Choose Backgrounds ( 7 ) , Spheres (6)

• Step Five: Finishing Touches

Record Arete (1), Willpower (5)

Spend Freebie Points (15)

Concept,

• Artist: Sculptor, painter, singer, architect, poet, patron, writer .

• Bastard: Vengeful child, loyal brother/sister, disinherited child, family aide, lost son/daughter.

• Clergy: Bishop, priest, friar, pardoner, nun, Inquisitor, monk, missionary .

• Courtier: Diplomat, spy, bailiff, courtesan, facilitator, proxy

• Craftsman: Blacksmith, artisan, mapmaker, tailor, physician, midwife, stonecutter, farmer, groom, shepherd, tinker, shoe-maker, brewer, innkeeper

• Explorer: Sailor, Skyrigger, navigator, impressed (unwilling) seaman, stowaway, emissary, rich traveler

• Heretic: Pagan, shaman, false prophet, Muslim, atheist, renunciate, Sephardim, Martano, Protestant/Catholic •

• Merchant: Merchant prince, pardoner, adventuresome trader, peddler, appraiser, accountant

• Nobility: Prince(ss), lady, count/countess, lord, knight, spoiled child, sheik, sultan, chief

• Scholar: Sage, wise one, theorist, philosopher, Classics scholar, monk, scientist, professor

• Servant: Mistress, nurse, groom, cook, scullery maid, manservant, lady in waiting, courier, assassin

• Soldier: Enforcer, mercenary, knight, squire, martial artist, cityguard, artillerist, archer, conquistador, defender of the faith guardsman, sellsword

• Stranger: Tribesman (African or American), Oriental traveler, Arabian visitor, heathen, hermit, Moor

• Swashbuckler: Adventurer, fop, rake, rogue, wench, elite

• Vagabond: Traveling player, beggar, thief, camp follower,

gypsy, war-scarred veteran

Essences

• Castellum: Fortresses of order, such urges slay dragons within and without.

• Furo: Dragons of the soul, these fiery Essences seek Divinity in chaos.

• Mare: Deep as the sea, these primordial souls set their roots in nature and eternity.

• Sussuro: Laughing winds bound on an endless quest.

Societies,

• The Disparate: Independent magi who follow their own Paths.

•

The Council of Traditions

• Ahl-i-Batin: Weavers of the Web of Faith, these Arabian mysticks seek unity for all.

• Akashic Brotherhood: Visitors from faraway lands with devastating mental and martial arts. • Chakravanti/Euthanatoi: Forbidding mysticks riding the Wheel of death and rebirth.

• Chooer Celeste: Christian heretics united by God's song and the call of a greater faith.

•Dream-speakers: Shamans from unknown lands, united by their insight into the spirit ways.

• Order of Hermes: Proud wizards with elaborate and mighty Arts.

• Seers of Chronos: Bizarre visionaries, known for their carnal appetites and transcendent prophecies.

• Solificati: Wealthy alchemists pursuing the Great Art— to refine base matter into perfect spirit.

• Verbena: Hunters and hunted, these witches preserve their Pagan faiths.

•

The Order of Reason

• Artificers: Master craftsmen united by mechanical creativity.

• Cabal of Pure Thought: True believers seeking one world under God,

Celestial Masters: Skymasters charting and exploring the heavens... and beyond.

• Craftmasons: Hard-working folk with ancient secrets and iron will.

• High Guild: Nothing happens without money; these Grand Financiers make things happen.

• Hippocratic Circle: Musters of the healing arts and living flesh.

• Ksirafai: A group that doesn't exist, these intriguers set the Order's plans in motion.

• Void Seekers: Explorers with an eye to the eternal horizon.

Archetypes (Nature and Demeanor)

Architect: You leave a legacy behind.

Benefactor: Wealth is worth nothing unless you share it.

Guardian: Your strength is others' defense.

Martyr: Self-sacrifice is your pleasure and conviction.

Renunciate: Shadowed by an old life, you try to come to terms with the present.

Sage: Learning is your meat, drink and breath.

Sensualist: Life is a banquet for those who truly devour it.

Supplicant: You serve a greater being; its will is your own. Theorist: Great ideas burn within you.

Trickster: Nothing is sacred, and no jest is greater than life itself.

Waif: A lost child, you get all that others can give you.

•

Spheres

• Connection: Undersigning the ties Between people and places.

• Entropy: Mastery of Fate, Fortune and Decay.

• Forces: Command over the elements.

• Life: An insight into living things.

• Matter: A grasp of cold matter and solid materials.

• Mind: A key to the workings of the mind.

• Prime: Command over Quintessence, the cornerstone of the universe.

• Spirit: Insight into the spirit world and its many aspects and inhabitants.

• Time: An understanding of past, present, future and the roads between them,

• protocols

Merits and Flaws (examples)

• Echoes (adds 1-5 merit points): Folklore can harm you — and does!

• True Faith (cost 9+): With piousness and faith, you perform miracles.

Abilities

• Talents: Alertness, Artist, Athletics, Awareness, Brawl, Dodge, Expression, Instruction, Intimidation, Larceny, Subterfuge

• Skills: Animal Ken, Archery, Crafts, Etiquette, Leadership, Meditation, Melee, Research, Riding, Stealth, Survival

• Knowledges: Academies, Culture, Enigmas, Investigation, Law, Linguistics, Lore, Medicine, Metaphysics, Occult, Science

Secondary Abilities

• Talents: Dancing, Intrigue, Invention, Logic, Seduction, Singing

• Skills: Acrobatics, Artillerist, Do , Fencing, Firearms, Torture

• Knowledges: Cosmology, Hearth Wisdom, Herbalism, Moneylending, Poisons, Secret Code

Backgrounds

• Allies: Your companions, from mortal acolytes to supernatural beings.

• Arcane: A mystick ability to avoid attention.

• Covenant: Your cabal's meeting place; it may be a place you own or a fellowship you belong to.

• Cray: A nearby wellspring of Quintessence.

• Daemon: Your mystick self; this Trait reflects the power and personality of that "other half."

• Destiny: Some mages are destined to do great things — or die in great ways.

• Familiar: A magickal companion with some special talents.

• Influence: Your status in the mortal world.

• Library: A repository ot magickal knowledge and helpful lore.

• Magickal Treasure: A powerful item is in your possession.

• Mentor: Your master, teacher and guardian.

• Resources: Your access to cash and property.

• Sanctum: A space you have set tor yourself; your place of power.

• Spies: An information network you control,

Health Levels

Bruised No action penalties.

Hurt -1 Mildly hurt; movement isn't hindered.

Injured -1 Minor injuries; little hindrance to movement.

Wounded -2 Character cannot run, but can still walk.

Mauled -2 Badly injured; character can only hobble about.

Crippled -5 Severely injured; character can only crawl.

Incapacitated Character is unconscious and cannot move.

Development Points

Trait Cost

Attribute 5 per dot

Ability 2 per dot

Sphere 4 per dot

Magical Skills 2 per dot

Background 2 per dot

Willpower 1 per dot

Quintessence 1 for 4 dots

Magical Skills

Conception - A basic Understanding of Magic. Needed to create undefined or spontaneous effects.

Theory - An Understanding of the Spheres. Needed when attempting a new feat.

Practice - Experience of performing Magic and Magickal feats. Used when all else is known.

Precision - The ability to perform delicate and complex feats

Rigour - The ability to perform robust and long lasting effects

Magnitude - The ability to perform powerful and expansive effects

Recognition - The ability to find similarities in practice or feats

Variation - The ability to transfer knowledge from one field to another

Exchange - The ability to adapt or dispense with practices

Conjuration - The ability to create a pattern from quintessence

Delay - The ability to retard a magical effect

Enhance - The ability to add a level to an existing pattern

Summon - The ability to beckon or compel a pattern

Bind - The ability to hold a pattern

Ward - The ability to forbid a pattern

Structuring - The ability to modify or remove a level from a pattern

Analysis - The ability to discern information from a pattern

Skein - The ability to add or change a “flavour” to a pattern

Flow - The ability to move or change the quintessence of a pattern

Resolution - The ability to ignore or circumvent prerequisites

Inherence - The instinctual knowing of Magick

Concentration - Allows Mage to focus on skill or effect whist distractions occur

Interpretation - Allows Mage to gain information an understanding of texts or data

Tradition Lore - Allows Mage to know information or opinion on Tradition History

Wars of the Roses: Mage: the Sorcerer’s Crusade PbEM Game

Announcement:

It has become clear that owing to various factors, not the least being a temporary loss of my primary computer and the files thereon, that this game will not, as previously hoped, go live on June 1^st.

It is hoped that the postponement will be no more than two weeks and that all will be ready to run from June the 15^th.

Please take this time to further coalesce your ideas and put character proposals forward.

The changes from Standard Character Creation and the List of Patron Nobles and their Houses will be posted as soon as I can gain access to the unavailable files.

Thank you for your patience.