Aesthetic Hermetic Wizardry
Nicknames: Will workers (polite), astral gazers, (derogatory)
Aesthetic Hermetic Wizards unlock their magic through rigorous practice, study, and great self-discipline.
Aesthetic hermetic wizards can and do use arcane foci, spell books, and they teach that these things are to be used as tools, not crutches. Much like a warrior can use a sword, but should be able to fight competently unarmed, an aesthetic hermetic wizard is expected to be able to use magic without any tools or at least aspire to be able to cast magic without tools.
Most aesthetic hermetic wizards aspire to be well-rounded. They are often less magically powerful than other mages but they tend to develop a wide variety of mundane skills in addition to their magical abilities. They tend to be make due with a relatively small number of utilitarian spells that enhance their routine activities rather than seek magic for its own sake.
Required: Arcane Spell caster Merit, Willpower 5+ and Intelligence 3+ and Wits 3+ OR Willpower 8+ and Intelligence 2+ and Wits 2+
Highly Recommended: Cross Disciplinary Mage Merit
Recommended: a high Willpower score, at least a few dots of Enigmas, practiced silent caster, practiced still caster.
Forbidden: Bardic Mage Flaw
Body wizardry
Nicknames: barbarian wizards, tribal mystics, tattoo wizards(polite), savage wizards, (derogatory)
Like all wizards, body wizards follow formulas and rituals handed down over generations. Body wizards stand out because they don’t carry a spell book, they are a spell book. They mark their mystic abilities on their skin with ritual tattoos or scarification. These marks grow more extensive as the wizard becomes more powerful.
Required: Arcane Spell caster Merit, Willpower 5+ and Stamina 3+, OR Willpower 8+ and Stamina 2+
Highly Recommended: Arcane Marks Flaw, at least a few dots in Enigmas, and Survival,
Recommended: at least a few dots in Melee and Hearth Wisdom, Pain Tolerant Caster, Spell Book Illiterate Flaw
Forbidden: None
Classical Hermetic Wizardry
Nicknames: Sage mages, viziers (polite), scroll heads, ink sniffers, pointy hats (derogatory)
Classical Hermetic wizards unlock their magic through rigorous practice and study and lots of reading and practice of ancient tried and true formulas.
All magic uses some form of ancient formulas and many use books and tomes of lore, but classical hermetic wizards are said to be chained to their books. Most hermetic wizards have difficulty regaining quintessence or learning new spells when separated from their spell books and laboratories.
Given that hermetic wizards are comfortable among books and that most hermetic apprentices are recruited from among existing scholars, most classical hermetic wizards are also learned sages in one or more non-magical disciplines.
While more than a few classical hermetic wizards are content with being dabblers, many classical hermetic wizards are obsessed with gaining as much magical power as possible. The stereotype of a wise sage that is highly educated but lacks in “real world” practical skills frequently applies to hermetic wizards. Many of the most powerful mages in the world are hermetic wizards but these powerful wizards often are socially awkward wall flowers that aren’t physically gifted and can barely tie their shoes without magic.
Required: Arcane Spell caster Merit, Willpower 5+ and Intelligence 3+, OR Willpower 8+ and Intelligence 2+
Highly Recommended: Book Bound Flaw, Book Savant Merit
Recommended: at least a few dots in erudite abilities, Scribe Scroll Merit
Forbidden: Illiterate Flaw
Fae Warlocks/Witches
Nicknames: faerie mages (polite), fae struck, mad mages (derogatory)
Fae warlocks (and fae witches) are mortals who gain power from making pacts with
Fair Folk. Some of these pacts do not involve the acquisition or use of arcane magic. Many mortals make a pact to gain strength, beauty, musical talent or some other enhanced trait other than spell casting but these are not true witches or warlocks. Some mortals make bargains with fae that don’t alter their bodies or minds at all, these are really mystically significant than two mortals trading favors or performing barter.
It is not clear what
Fair Folk want when they empower a warlock. Some believe they are after souls, emotions, pawns, spies, breeding stock, or simply for amusement. Often Fae warlocks find themselves getting dragged into the squabbles of
Fair Folk wars and intrigues and other times a witch or warlock barely every sees a Fae creature after their initial pact. Like with most things concerning the
Fair Folk, the lives of witches and warlocks are hard to pigeonhole and predict.
Required: Arcane Spell caster Merit
Highly Recommended: A few seemingly random supernatural merits and flaws
Recommended: A couple dots of Engimas and Hearth Wisdom, flaws related to being a social outsider, a mix of very high and very low attributes, Eureka Moments
Forbidden: May not be able to take the Merit Divine Spellcaster
Folk Magicians
Nicknames: good witches, medicine women/men (polite), hedge mages, rustic witches, swamp/mountain/desert mages (derogatory)
Folk magicians blur the line between savage wizards, hermetic wizards, and warlocks. They develop their magic through a combination of memorizing oral lore, reading written lore, self-discipline, meditation, and occasionally communing with otherworldly beings.
Stereotypically folk magicians are the weird hermit men and women that live on the periphery of a rural community or the eccentric spiritualist in a nomadic tribe that the other tribesmen simultaneously fear and respect but never fully embrace.
While it is rare for a mages in general to be also be
spirit loas, it is somewhat less rare for folk magicians to be
spirit loas.
Required: Arcane Spell caster Merit, Willpower 5+ and Intelligence 3+, OR Willpower 8+ and Intelligence 2+
Highly Recommended: at least a few dots in Enigmas, Hearth Wisdom, and Survival, Brew Potion Merit
Recommended: at least a few dots in Arcana, at least a few dots in Medicine, Cross Disciplinary Mage Merit
Forbidden: None
Nicknames: Spirit mages, Twice born, (polite) dark mages,
Greymoria's bastards
As the goddess of magic,
Greymoria has more practice manipulating arcane magic forces than the rest of
the Nine and she frequently uses this ability to bestow magical aptitude on mortals she favors, causing them to be reborn as witches or warlocks.
Greymoria has great power, but her power is not infinite, it takes real effort to empower a witch or warlock and
Greymoria expects repayment of her investment.
Usually this payment is primarily in the form of a service, but it can also be paid in the form of a personal sacrifice. Some sort of sacrifice is always required, but if the mortal in question is already predispositioned to serve
Greymoria and her goals, they are typically required to make only a small sacrifice. If the witch or warlock in question is not already predisposed to serve
Greymoria, a large sacrifice is required.
Required: Arcane Spell caster Merit, Willpower 5+
Highly Recommended: A few seemingly random supernatural merits and flaws
Recommended: Eureka Moments, Social merits and possibly Flaws tying the warlock to the
Children
Forbidden: None
Nami Warlocks/Witches
Nicknames: wind witches (polite), orphan
Rovers (derogatory)
As the goddess of magic,
Greymoria also took the title of goddess of warlocks and forbid the rest of
the Nine from empowering warlocks. Most of
the Nine were content leave her to this, but
Nami doesn’t like being told what she can or can’t do, so she opted to empower a few warlocks just to assert herself and spite
Greymoria.
Nami warlocks can potentially wield any magic but their initial magic usually falls in with the wishes of warlock or their powers fall in line with their basic personality.
Nami warlocks are to pigeonhole or predict but they are never boring, often finding themselves the unwitting center of major events. Many believe
Nami empowers warlocks simply to watch their lives for the entertainment value.
Required: Arcane Spell caster Merit, Willpower 5+
Highly Recommended: A few seemingly random supernatural merits and flaws
Recommended: Eureka Moments, Social merits and possibly Flaws tying the warlock to the
Rovers
Forbidden: None
Rune casting Wizardry
Nicknames: rune mages, rune wizards (polite), tile throwers (derogatory)
Rune casters use runes as the primary method of spellcasting. Usually this means they carry a pouch of runes. They typically brandish a rune (or a couple related runes) when spellcasting.
Runes are typically carved out of fairly rarified materials, monster bones, volcanic rock,
Silverwood. In most cases rune casters make their own runes or only use runes made by very trusted friends and family members.
Rune casters are not entirely dependent on physical, they can trace runes in the air as part of their somatic component and chant the rune’s name out loud while casting.
Relative to other mages, rune casters tend to show great aptitude in magical item creation which they do by permanently infusing magic into runes and carving or attaching runes to items. Most rune casters are either recruited from among skilled craftsmen or they quickly learn some skilled crafts shortly after becoming apprentice rune casters.
Required: Arcane Spell caster Merit, Willpower 5+, Intelligence 3+, Stamina 3+ OR Willpower 8+ Intelligence 2+, Stamina 2+
Highly Recommended: Focused Bound Flaw (physical runes), Magic Blood Merit (by carving runes on the caster’s body)
Recommended: At least a few dots in the Crafts ability, Scribe Scroll Merit, Pain Tolerant Caster, Craft Permanent Magic Item Merit, Craft Charged Magic Item Merit, Magic Blood Merit
Forbidden: None
Sorcerers
Nicknames: Dragon mages, night mages, sorcerers (polite) Witch-touched, wild mages, idiot savants (derogatory)
Most mages are normal people that unlock their magic through their choices and specific upbringing, but sorcerers and sorceresses are born. Sorcerers and sorceresses are either the genetic legacies of highly magical beings or there were unusual supernatural occurrences around their conception or their mother’s early pregnancy, or as some arcane scholars surmise, both.
Like all mages, sorcerers and sorceresses become stronger through the continued use of their magic, but sorcerers are largely unique in that they always have something called “Eureka Moments”, a trait rare among non-sorcery wielding mages. This means sorcerers and sorceresses can gain new magic seemingly out of nowhere. Sorcerers and sorceresses can recover quintessence quicker and easier than most other mages.
On average, sorcerers and sorceresses have less skill in making potions, scrolls, and permanent magical items than most other mages.
Required: Arcane Spell caster Merit, Eureka Moments, Natural Quintessence Generation
Highly Recommended: Magic Blood Merit
Recommended: Spell Book Illiterate Flaw, Distinctive Appearance Flaw, Draconic Heritage Merit, Pain Tolerant Caster Merit
Forbidden: None
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