Companion Creation Guide – Liberation MUSH

Companion CGEN

Note: Humans, including Hedge Wizards, Psychics and Extraordinary Citizens should use the guides here instead:

CGEN: Mortal
Numina Guide (Including Hedge Wizard/Psychic CGEN)

Archetype: Nature and Demeanor
Attributes: 6/4/3
Abilities: 13/9/5
Backgrounds: 5
Special Advantages + Charms: Base 0 (Companions only)
Willpower: Base 3 (max 6 in CG)
Merits & Flaws: Base 0
Freebies: 21 (Mortals and Sorcerers), 25 (Companions). Note that Companions get no freebie points for any flaws that are mandatory for their types.
- Freebie Cost
  - As per Gods & Monsters but with the following additions:
    - Abilities below 4 cost 1 Freebie
    - Abilities above 3 cost 2 Freebies
    - Numina cost 7 freebies per dot (Sorcerers only)
    - Special Advantages: 1 freebie per point (Companions only)
    - Charms: 1 freebie per point (Appropriate companions only)

Concept: Who were you before encountered mages?
Motivation: Why are you involved with mages?
Affiliation: Traditions, Technocracy
- Traditions – Over the 500 years the Council has existed it has found itself many strange bedfellows. The Traditions draw from both rich cultural traditions, and more modern folks who get a taste for magick and want more. Companions are generally attached to a chantry, as guardians, servants, wards, allies, or ally inhabitants. In the case of acolytes or apprentices they are assigned to a single mage. Please define your role within Council society or who your mentor is. PCs are encouraged, but NPCs are fine as well.
  - Examples: The Hermetic’s apprentice, the Chorister’s cleric, the Cult of Ecstasy’s bass player, the Euthanatos’ wheelman, the Etherite’s android, the Dreamspeakers’ spirit-woken car, or the Verbena’s cat.
- Technocracy – All Companions are assigned to a construct, and have a defined place within the Union’s rigid hierarchy.
  - Examples: Technocratic sympathizer or affiliate. The nosy librarian at the university. The janitor with the prosthetic arm. Those guys in the white van parked outside your chantry. The Iterator’s bionic tiger, the Progenitor’s research assistant, the Syndicate’s handler, the New World Order’s secretary, or the calico cat on the Void Engineer’s ship.
Types: What are you?
- Humans: The most common Companions are the least exotic: other humans. Mages employ a number of unAwakened people in the Ascension War.
  - Acolytes: Devotees of the mystic mages some in many forms: clergy, lab techs, cult members, or medicine people. Acolytes may have been blessed with powers by their Awakened leaders, or were lead to the Awakened world by stumbling into magick. Acolytes. Acolytes are the mystic’s faithful who often do the menial or mundane work that allows the Awakened to pursue their magickal path.
  - Consors: Consors either come to the chantry imbued with powers, or are granted them so as to perform some important work for the Awakened. More often than not Consors serve as guardians, but they may play other vital roles in the lives of the Awakened.
  - Custos: Custos are the backbone of any chantry. Someone has to tidy up, do the shopping, and get the bloodstains out of the carpet. Unlike Acolytes, the Custos do purely mundane work, but might be blessed with some magick as a result of associating with the Awakened.
  - Citizens: The Technocratic analog to Custos, Citizens are un-Enlightened members of the Technocratic Union. They remain largely unaware of the nature of the Technocrats, but might be “advanced” should their jobs require it. Secretaries, research assistants, nurses, or even janitors make up the the lowest, most numerous rank of the Technocratic hierarchy. With out its Citizens the Technocracy would not be what it is today.
  - Extraordinary Citizen: Extraordinary Citizens are the Technocracy’s answer to mystic Consors. While they are also un-Enlightened, these operatives have a better understanding of the Union’s agenda. Extraordinary Citizen are often specialists in one field or another, and are given Enhancements or other advantages in give them an edge in their role. Most Technocratic operatives come from this rank.
- Aliens: Aliens are beings, lifeforms, or intelligences from a world other than Earth. These are not Spirits or Bygones, but some form of life that originated on a distant world, but found their way to Earth. Aliens do exist within the World of Darkness, but most are exceedingly rare or at least well hidden. Aliens are allowed, but please work closely with the Mage staff to ensure a smooth transition into the sphere.
  - Aliens not suffer from Unbelief, but all Alien PCs have the Vulnerability Flaw. This can be represented as a single, powerful Vulnerability or a few less powerful ones.
- Animal: You started off as a mundane animal, but have somehow been advanced to be more than you were.
  - Animal companions are usually much more intelligent, faster, more hardy or stronger than their natural counterparts, but their form remains largely the same. Cats with wings or dogs that breath fire are either Constructs or Bygones.
  - Animals can have “legendary” abilities, like a black cat bringing good or bad luck, for example.
  - Animal characters should begin with the base stats given in M20 (pages 618-620) or Gods And Monsters (pages 103-107). These stats can be improved with Advantages.
- Bygones: Fantastic beasts of old that have managed to survive into the modern world.
  - Unless they can take an acceptable form, Bygones suffer from Unbelief Paradox so as a result they either stay in the Umbra or require a great deal of Quintessence to survive outside the Umbrae, chantry, or Realm.
  - All Bygones begin with the Thaumnivore and Unbelief Flaws.
  - Player character Bygones may take the 2 or 4 point Human Guise Merit. So long as they remain in this guise they do not suffer from Unbelief, but still must consume Tass to survive.
    - Any Advantages they possess in their native form must be purchased a second time for the human form, but otherwise do not transfer. Use of these powers triggers Unbelief.
- Familiars: Spirits bound by pact to Mages. A PC Mage must purchase one dot of familiar to bind to a PC Familiar, rather than the 3 dots listed in the book.
- Objects: Objects granted sentience by means other than a spirit binding. One classic example of this from other RPGs would be an Ego Weapon from Dungeons and Dragons.
- Constructs: Living creatures that are advanced or created by magick or hypertech.
  - Bioconstruct: These Constructs have either a biological form with cybernetic and biotech enhancements, or are biologically engineered creatures.
    - Bioconstructs all have Enhancements but also Genetic Flaws.
    - Outlandish Bioconstructs have the Unbelief Flaw.
  - Material Constructs: Constructs shaped from the elements such as glass, clay, or metal.
    - Material Constructs begin with the Soak Fatal Damage Advantage due the inherent nature of their materials.
    - They must also have the Unbelief and Thaumavore vulnerabilities.
  - Mental Constructs: Mental Constructs have been created via psionics or Mind magicks. Artificial Intelligences, liberated Psionic presences, and disembodied psyches, they are most commonly found in the Digital Web.
    - Mental Constructs have the Unbelief Flaw.
  - Reanimate: Returned from the grave, these Constructs are made from corpses and the raw power of death.
    - All Reanimates begin with Soak Lethal Damage.
    - Most Reanimates have at least the Repulsive Flaw. At least.
    - Reanimates can take a variety of forms, but may suffer from Unbelief.
      - Zombie Reanimates begin with the following:
        
        Vulnerability (Fire – 5 pt. Flaw)
        
        Bizarre Hunger (Living Flesh – 5 pt. Flaw)
        
        Addiction (Living Flesh – 3pt Flaw. Not a literal addiction, but functions the same mechanically.)
        
        Smell of the Grave (1pt Flaw – Zombies stink like rotted flowers and old decay.)
        
        Weak Spot (Neck – 3pt Flaw, but kills the zombie instantly.)
        
        One of the following: Repulsive Feature (2 pt Flaw), Monstrous (3pt Flaw), or Horrific (5pt Flaw) representing the lesser or greater spectrum of abject horror.
        
        Zombie also frequently have the following option:
        
        Advantages: Zombie Reanimates frequently have traditional Advantages like Acute Senses, Alacrity, Nightsight, Speed, Claws, or Ferocity.
  - Robots: Constructs made entirely of machines. These range from automated drones to elegant androids who seem uncannily human.
    - All robots have the Soak Aggravated Damage option, but require a Power Supply.
    - Outlandish or extremely advanced robots suffer Unbelief.