Backgrounds
Backgrounds cost 3x the new rating in XP. See the XP
Chart.
Most Backgrounds will be
from 0-5, but many can go higher. The
cost remains 3x new rating in XP per point.
Throughout your character’s life, both magical and not, he
has acquired friends, contacts, resources and personal strengths which will aid
him. They aren’t learned, but stem from
social maneuvering, history, and dumb luck.
It may be best, before choosing backgrounds, to work on your character’s history, to make sure their
backgrounds will suit the finished concept.
With many Backgrounds, you should be careful to specify
whether they apply to Earth or Horizon, as the two have little overlap. A rich man on Earth is a pauper in Horizon.
Allies
Allies are
unAwakened people, average folk who are willing to help your character. It’s never something too much – Allies
generally aren’t willing to put their lives on the line – but if you need a place
to sleep, someone to watch your home, or a little cash when you’re broke, your
Allies will give you a hand. They may
not have magic, but they do what they can.
Allies are people who do things.
If you want people who know things, take Contacts below. Your Allies and Contacts could be the same
people!
Generally, you have one Ally who is significant – your
partner of sorts, the kind of fellow you go to for help with anything. You should make sure your background
describes this Ally, and their particular skills and influences. Your other Allies don’t need to be fleshed
out as thoroughly, and it’s fine if they’re just a name.
0 – No Allies: You don’t have any friends you can call on.
1 – One Ally of no significant influence or abilities.
2 – One average Ally, and one with some special abilities
(good electrician, law student, etc.).
3 – Two average Allies, and one influential one (business
owner, police officer, apprentice in your Tradition).
4 – Three average Allies, and one very influential one.
5 – Four average Allies, and one who is extremely
influential.
Arcane
Mages are
on the edge of reality, and sometimes they can be very difficult to find or
even notice. The Arcane background
doesn’t make Mages invisible, but it does make them less noteworthy. Associates tend to misremember the Mage’s
face, misplace his paperwork, and such.
Even his fingerprints may come out smudged, his blood unable to be
tested. The Mage doesn’t need to do anything for this – if anyone tries to
track him down or investigate his actions during Downtime, his Arcane qualities
increase the difficulty of their attempts.
It has no effect during the actual game sessions.
This
Background exists so that you can try to plot and act against your foes without
having to be totally obsessed with covering your tracks, or constantly worry if
someone is digging up information on you.
Arcane gives you a minor barrier of protection.
0 – You’re just as noticeable as anybody else.
1 – You blend in with the crowd.
2 – You’re easy to forget.
3 – You’re difficult to follow.
4 – There are scant photos, papers, or records of you, and
people can’t even agree on what you look like.
5 – In other peoples’ minds, you don’t even exist.
Authority (must specify an area of Authority)
This
Background represents your influence and sway in a certain area. On Earth, a Mage might have Authority in the
Computer Industry, Shipping, or Politics.
In Horizon, he might have Authority in a certain Tradition, in the
Horizon Library, or in one of the Horizon Cabals. Each separate area of Authority is treated as
a separate background, so Authority: Police is entirely separate from
Authority: Virtual Adepts.
0 – Nobody pays much attention to you.
1 – Your peers recognize you.
2 – You have many local associates, and you know who to
call.
3 – You’re respected city-wide; people seek your opinion.
4 – Your word is important to an entire state.
5 – You can exert some influence on a national level.
Avatar
Every Mage
has an Avatar, but not all Avatars are equal.
This Background represents the strength of your Avatar, and directly
influences how much Quintessence you start each game with, and thus how
powerful your magic is. It may also
influence how clearly your Avatar guides you, but even a powerful Avatar will
never clearly show itself to the Mage.
Quintessence
allows you to supercharge your magic, getting more effect out of your Rotes for
less Paradox. Your character begins each
game session with Quintessence equal to his Avatar rating. Barring exceptional circumstances and
high-level magic, there is no other way to gain Quintessence, so this
Background has quite an influence on your character’s magical power.
0 – Your Avatar is barely capable of magic.
1 – Maximum Quintessence: One.
2 – Maximum Quintessence: Two.
3 – Maximum Quintessence: Three.
4 – Maximum Quintessence: Four.
5 – Maximum Quintessence: Five.
Contacts
Your
Contacts are a primary source of information.
They tend to be in higher, more influential positions than Allies. Don’t expect any big favors from a Contact,
though – they’re just there to pass along information, and don’t be surprised
if they want to be repaid for their services.
Each level of Contacts represents a moderately powerful and influential
individual (a small business owner, police officer, member of a company,
priest, or unAwakened member of another Tradition). Generally, you’ll have one primary contact,
and several others of lesser importance.
0 – No contacts. All
your investigation is done with your own two feet.
1 – One minor contact, someone who isn’t influential but
tends to hear things (maybe a bum or bartender).
2 – One minor contact, and one connected one (a worker at a
company, a rent-a-cop, innkeeper).
3 – Two minor contacts, and one significant one (a low-level
manager, a beat cop, a village elder).
4 – Three minor contacts, and one very influential one (head
of a business or division, an information dealer, a crime lord).
5 – Four minor contacts, and one extremely influential one
(a CEO, a Technocratic leader, a high-ranking federal official).
Library
Although
you may not know it off the top of your head, you know where to find it. Your library may include both mundane and
occult elements, books, and later, CD-ROMs.
Of course, the downside is that you have to keep track of the stuff and
keep it safe, but it’s definitely worth it when you need to find some obscure
reference, some new insight, or some historical text.
Learning Spheres: When
learning a Sphere by himself, a Mage cannot learn a Sphere Level higher than
his rating in Library.
0 – You have no particular information resources.
1 – You’ve got some New-Age paperbacks.
2 – Your library is 90% pulp and 10% substance.
3 – You have numerous useful texts.
4 – You have an enviable collection, both occult and
mundane.
5 – You can access lore, lost secrets, common wisdom and
obscure facts.
No Mage in
Horizon exists in a vacuum; there are always people watching over you.
0 – No mentor or teacher – how did you get to Horizon?
1 – Your
2 – Your
3 – Your
4 – Your
5 – Your
Node
One of the
most precious properties a Mage can control is a Node. These are focal points of magic, where
Quintessence springs freely from enchanted places, ley line crossings, and the
like. However, controlling a significant
Node is a challenge of itself; Node raiding is common among the Hollow Ones and
orphans, and other supernatural entities are also attracted to places of
power. This Background allows you to
cast more powerful magic during Downtime – without a Node, you cannot spend
Quintessence on magic cast during Downtime.
0 – No access to a Node; like most Mages, you only have what
power you can scrape up.
1 – A minor Node, barely worthy of mention. Produces 1 point of Quintessence per game to
use during Downtime.
2 – A small Node, holding a useful trickle of energy. Produces 2 points of Quintessence per game to
use during Downtime.
3 – A significant Node, able to power several Mages. Produces 3 points of Quintessence per game to
use during Downtime.
4 – A major Node, hotly contested. Produces 4 points of Quintessence per game to
use during Downtime.
5 – A powerful Node, one of the few sites of true magic
left. Produces 5 points of Quintessence
per game to use during Downtime.
Property
This
Background represents owning buildings or land in Horizon, or at least having a
place to crash. The realm is a big place,
so there generally aren’t any worries about finding a place to settle
down. Having a sizable house or complex
can be useful for social events (such as holding the game in your own
territory).
0 – No access to any buildings.
1 – You’ve got room enough to sleep.
2 – A small house, but comfortable.
3 – A larger house, enough for a cabal or family.
4 – A few small houses, side-buildings, or a larger
warehouse or complex.
5 – A large complex of interconnected buildings, with storehouses,
ritual areas, the works.
Reputation
Your
character has some recognition within your magical society. You may be a Hermetic who uncovered an
ancient ritual, or a Son of Ether who is regularly published in Paradigma. One way or another, you’ve built up a
reputation. This does not mean that the
others in your Tradition will automatically obey you, but you can expect some
manner of respect from your fellows.
0 – Who do you think you are? Most Mages are at this level, so don’t worry
about it.
1 – Close associates respect you. You’ve done something minor, and your name is
occasionally murmured in relation to it.
2 – You have great influence over your Faction, and other
Factions which have regular contact with it.
You’ve done something remarkable.
3 – Others of your Tradition often seek your wisdom, often
from far away. You’ve done something
difficult and important.
4 – Your reputation extends far and wide, potentially even
to other Traditions. You’ve done
something significant for the future.
5 – The Dalai Lama.
You’ve left a legacy that will never die.
Using Reputation: Generally,
Reputation is for tie-breaking in social contests. For example, if two people were striving to
be the Chancellor of their Tradition, and the Tradition couldn’t decide between
them, the one with higher Reputation would win.
Resources
Even Mages
must eat, and this Background represents the character’s financial holdings and
income. A character without this
Background owns the clothes on his back, a little cash, and nothing more. Not conducive to long-term survival. There are plenty of ways for a Mage to get
some quick cash (cheating in Vegas, doing miracles, etc.) but these tend to
attract the wrong attention. It’s
easiest just to have a steady, real source of income.
I won’t be
keeping track of exactly how much money you have, just checking your Resources
level when you want to make a purchase.
Note that Horizon has its own currency, and often values favors and
information above simple cash.
0 – Flat busted: No job, no money, no prospects.
1 – Small savings, tiny apartment, cheap vehicle.
2 – Middle class, apartment or condo, sturdy vehicle.
3 – Large savings, small house, mid-sized vehicle.
4 – Well-off, large house, luxury vehicle.
5 – Rich, mansion, limousine.
Sanctum
You have a
realm, an apartment, a lab, or a shrine where your magic is much easier. This allows you to negate some of the Paradox
from casting magic during Downtime. For
each level of Sanctum you have, you may ignore one point of Paradox total per
game from Rotes cast during Downtime.
Example: If you had Sanctum 2, then cast a Rote with 3 Paradox, you’d
only gain 1 Paradox total. Whereas
Property represents large buildings, Sanctum represents smaller places such as
laboratories, libraries, and ritual spaces.
Generally not the kind of place you want to sleep, or invite friends
over to.
0 – No Sanctum: You have no secret place of power.
1 – Tiny Sanctum: As long as you’re in your secret
closet... Absorbs 1 Paradox per game
from Rotes cast during Downtime.
2 – Small Sanctum: A very small room bends to your
will. Absorbs 2 Paradox per game from
Rotes cast during Downtime.
3 – Moderate Sanctum: You have a workshop, ad maybe an
associated small bedroom, in which you practice. Absorbs 3 Paradox per game from Rotes cast
during Downtime.
4 – Large Sanctum: A small house or set of rooms all hosts
your magic. Absorbs 4 Paradox per game
from Rotes cast during Downtime.
5 – Extravagant Sanctum: An entire manor, a series of
catacombs, a castle or faerie forest…and it all works as you desire. Absorbs 5 Paradox per game from Rotes cast
during Downtime.
Wonder
Wonders are talismans, weird
technology, artifacts, and other trinkets that have power and can produce
magical effects for the Mage. Each
Wonder has a specific purpose. Note that
multiple Wonders are multiple Backgrounds – you pay the XP for each one
individually. However, you can only have
as many Wonders as you have ranks in Arete.
The most important part of the Wonder is its concept, and how it ties
into your character. We’ll worry about
what level of Wonder it is after.
0 – You haven’t run across any magical items.
1 – A Wonder with a trivial Effect.
2 – A Wonder with a useful Effect.
3 – A Wonder with a reasonably handy Effect.
4 – A Wonder with a very useful or commonly used Effect.
5 – A Wonder with an associated potent Effect.
Creating Wonders: To purchase a Wonder, simply think of a Rote you
want the Wonder to be able to cast. The
XP Cost of the Rote becomes the required level of the Wonder Background. For example, a Wonder that could cast Heal
Self (Life 2) would be a level 2 Wonder.
Wonders generally cannot be ‘leveled up’ once they’re created. Paradox:
When using the Wonder, the Mage takes a certain amount of Paradox – usually
half of whatever the Rote would normally give, rounded up. Wonders are less flexible than Rotes, but
suffer less Paradox, so it’s a good tradeoff.