Common Traits and Terms
Spheres: The nine Spheres represent aspects of reality
Despite the wide range of options, most Mage characters
have the following Traits:
A. Name: On your character sheet, list the name by which
your character is known when the chronicle begins. That
name might change later on, but it’s the way he thinks
of himself at the start of your game.
B. Player: That’d be you.
C. Chronicle: Many gaming groups give their chronicles a
name or title. If your troupe uses a specific title for this
chronicle, put that on your character sheet as well.
D. Nature: An archetype that describes your character’s
true self, Nature goes above…
E. Demeanor: …Demeanor, the archetype that reflects how
ze presents zeself to other people. This social image could
be very close to the mage’s inner Nature, but it might
also present a very different mask to folks who don’t
know your character well. Information about Natures
and Demeanors starts on p. 267.
F. Essence: An Awakened Avatar tends toward one of
four different Essences. These primal forces guide each
mage, shaping magick, behavior, and destiny in subtle
yet pervasive ways. The Essence entries begin on p. 266.
G. Affiliation: Mages tend to be social creatures. The
Affiliation Trait reflects your character’s overall allegiance
(Traditions, Technocracy, Disparate), and the next entry
defines her particular group within that affiliation.
H. Sect: This entry deals with a specific group, like the
Order of Hermes, Progenitors, Wu Lung, and so forth.
You can find the various sects and specific details about
them in the previous chapter.
I. Concept: A shorthand description of the overall idea
behind your character. Is he a Cranky Recluse? Is she
an Ass-Kicking Gutter Punk? Catch the tone of your
character in a handful of words and then use that as
a foundation for the other Traits. For some potential
concepts, see p. 250.
J. Attributes: A character’s innate physical, social, and
mental Traits go by the collective name of Attributes.
Those Trait descriptions begin on p. 273.
K. Abilities: The common range of Talents, Skills, and
Knowledges that reflect a character’s personal and
professional capabilities are collectively referred to as
Abilities. Ability listings begin on p. 275.
248 Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition
L.
that mages can manipulate. Details about these powers
can be found in Chapters Two and Ten.
M. Backgrounds: Mages enjoy a wide range of personal or
group-based benefits. The majority of those benefits are
open to any Awakened character, although a handful of
them are restricted to certain groups. These Background
Traits entries begin on p. 303.
N. Other Abilities: Beyond the typical Abilities (that is,
the ones listed on the character sheet), your mage could
have a number of specialized Abilities too. These Traits
appear in the Other Abilities section and can be found
from p.289 onward.
O. Arete: The enlightened force of Will that allows
Awakened characters to employ magick gets summed
up in a Trait called Arete. Details begin on p. 328.
P. Willpower: There’s a reason mages are often called
willworkers; their unusual strength of confidence and
conviction gives them high Willpower Trait ratings. For
more details, see p. 330.
Q. Quintessence/ Paradox: A spectrum of opposing Traits,
the Quintessence/ Paradox wheel shows how in or
out of tune your mage’s energy is with regards to the
rest of reality. When your mage absorbs Quintessence,
mark these boxes clockwise from the dot onward;
when the character accumulates Paradox, mark them
counterclockwise from the dot. This way, the wheel
reflects the conflicting forces within your mage. Further
information begins on p. 331.
R. Health: When the slings and arrows of outrageous
fortune (and enemy characters) make their mark upon
your mage, you make your own marks upon the Health
chart. Ranging from Bruised to Incapacitated, this Trait
reflects the effects of injury. For details, see Chapter
Nine, p. 406.
S. Experience: Throughout the course of the chronicle, your
mage accumulates experience points that you get to spend
on new or increased Traits. Information about Experience
begins on p. 335.
Mage features space for Merits, Flaws, equipment, and
other details. The primary Traits, however, all fit onto the
main character sheet page, and the following steps and entries
explore them all in detail.
*7C; A *7JKH; D <<?B?7J?ED G
,B7O;H B ;C;7DEH E /;9J H
>HED?9B; C !II;D9; F ED9;FJ I

J JJ
 JJH?8
?8KJ;I
,>OI?97B /E9?7B );DJ7B
Strength __________●
OOOOO
O Charisma_________O●
OOOOO Perception________O ●
OOOOO
Dexterity _________O
●
OOOOO Manipulation______O
●
OOOOO Intelligence _______O
●
OOOOO
Stamina __________O●
OOOOO Appearance _______O
●
OOOOO Wits____________O ●
OOOOO

K 8?B?J
8?B?J?
?B?J?;I
07B;DJI /A?BBI 'DEMB;:=;I
Alertness _________OOOOO Crafts____________ OOOOO Academics________OOOOO
Art______________ OOOOO Drive____________OOOOO Computer_________ OOOOO
Athletics__________OOOOO Etiquette_________OOOOO Cosmologyy________OOOOO
Awareness________OOOOO Firearms__________OOOOO Enigmas__________OOOOO
Brawl____________ OOOOO Martial Arts_______OOOOO Esoterica_________OOOOO
Empathyy_________OOOOO Meditation________OOOOO Investigation_______OOOOO
Expression________OOOOO Melee ___________OOOOO Law_____________OOOOO
Intimidation_______OOOOO Research_________OOOOO Medicine_________OOOOO
Leadership________OOOOO Stealth ___________OOOOO Occult___________OOOOO
Streetwise _________
OOOOO Survival __________OOOOO Politics___________ OOOOO
Subterfuge________OOOOO Technology _______OOOOO Science __________OOOOO
L /F>;H;I
/F>;
>;H;I
Correspondence____OOOOO Life_____________OOOOO Prime____________OOOOO
Entropyy__________OOOOO Matter___________OOOOO Spirit____________OOOOO
Forces___________OOOOO Mind____________OOOOO Time____________OOOOO
:L7DJ7=;I
:L7DJ7=;
M 79A=HEKD:I O H;J; R $;7BJ>
________________OOOOO ●O O O O O O O O O
O Bruised -0
________________OOOOO Hurt -1
________________OOOOO P 3?BBFEM;H Injured -1
________________OOOOO Wounded -2
________________OOOOO O O O O O O O O O O
________________OOOOO ………………………… Mauled -2
Crippled -5
Incapacitated
N +J>;H0H7?JI Q -K?DJ;II;D9;
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO S !NF;H?;D9;
________________OOOOO •
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO
________________OOOOO ,7H7:EN
 Character Creation Process
Step One: Concept and Identity
Decide identity and motivation; choose concept,
Affiliation, Essence, and archetypes.
Step Two: Select Attributes
Place initial dot into each Attribute.
Prioritize primary, secondary, and tertiary Attribute
categories (Physical, Social, Mental) (7/ 5/ 3).
Rate Physical Traits: Strength, Dexterity, Stamina.
Rate Social Traits: Charisma, Manipulation, Appearance.
Rate Mental Traits: Perception, Intelligence, Wits.
Step Three: Select Abilities
Prioritize Abilities as above (13/ 9/ 5).
Choose Talents, Skills, Knowledges.
Check Secondary Abilities for specialized Traits.
No Ability may be higher than 3 at this stage.
Step Four: Select Advantages
Choose Backgrounds (7).
Define focus (paradigm, practice, instruments).
Step Five: Finishing Touches
Record Spheres (6, with the Affinity Sphere receiving
the first dot).
Record beginning Arete (1), Willpower (5), Quintessence
(Avatar rating) and Paradox (0).
Spend freebie points (15).
Describe appearance/ impression, quirks, culture, beliefs,
Avatar, motivations, identity.
Sample Concepts
• Activist – Journalist, blogger, lobbyist, malcontent.
• Artist – Writer, dancer, painter, musician.
• Athlete – Team player, personal trainer, physical artisan,
thrill-seeker.
• Caretaker – Parent, teacher, social worker, medical
professional.
• Criminal – Gang member, con artist, drug dealer, thief.
• Executive – Tycoon, manager, facilitator, power-player.
• Guardian – Cop, security guard, conspiracy theorist,
social watchdog.
• Intellectual – Scholar, professor, philosopher, social critic.
• Kid – Child, student, innocent, gutter-punk.
• Laborer – Factory worker, sales clerk, roadie, construction
worker.
• Mystic – Priest/ ess, hermit, shaman, enlightened weirdo.
250 Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition
• Night-Owl – Bartender, bouncer, club-goer, celebrity.
• Rebel – Vagabond, outlaw, urban tribalist, subculture
devotee.
• Technician – Mechanic, lab tech, craftsman, computer
geek.
• Warrior – Solider, mercenary, vigilante, prophet.
Essences
• Dynamic – Passionate force for progress and change.
• Static – Grounded agent of secure stability.
• Primordial – Elusive figure of primal mystery.
• Questing – Wandering dreamer of new horizons.
Archetypes (Nature & Demeanor)
See pp. 267-273.
• Activist – You fix a broken world.
• Benefactor – You’ve got the power to help, and so you do.
• Contrary – You invert order to reveal greater truths.
• Crusader – You’re a front-line fighter for a better
tomorrow.
• Hacker – You upgrade things by taking them apart.
• Idealist – A greater Truth awaits us, and you know what it is.
• Innovator – Your imagination drives progress forward.
• Kid – Innocent and playful, you inspire others to take
care of you.
• Loner – You need no one else.
• Machine – Weakness is for lesser beings.
• Mad Scientist – True science knows no bounds!
• Martyr – It’s your pleasure to serve.
• Monster – You’re the unapologetic shadow in the mirror
of your world.
• Prophet – Speaking truth to power is your life’s work.
• Rogue – Rebellion is your gospel and your fame.
• Sensualist – Sensation is your drug of choice.
• Survivor – No matter what happens, you endure.
• Traditionalist – As far as you’re concerned, the old ways are
best.
• Trickster – You make the world your toy.
• Visionary – You see beyond the obvious and chase a
greater vision for us all.
Factions
The Affinity Sphere entry under each group gives the
default Sphere for this sect. Some groups have more than
one Sphere listed, but only one Affinity Sphere may be chosen
per character.
 • The Traditions seek a return to the days of High Magick or a
new dawn of mystic potential. Bitter enemies of the Technocracy,
they appear to have been losing the battle for reality.
• The Technocracy enforces global order under their
Enlightened guidance and protection. Dedicated to wiping
out Reality Deviants, they’ve spent over 500 years at war
with the mystic Traditions.
• The Disparates protect their ancestral ways, nurture their
chosen people, and disdain this war that has caused untold
misery. Often dismissed in the battle for reality, these groups
have largely gone underground and now begin to band
together for mutual protection.

The Nine Traditions

See (pp. 148-165).
• Akashayana/Akashic Brotherhood – Masters of mind, body,
and spirit through the Arts of personal discipline.
Affinity Spheres: Mind or Life
• Celestial Chorus – Sacred singers who give a human Voice
to the Divine Song.
Affinity Spheres: Prime, Forces, or Spirit
• Cult of Ecstasy/ Sahajiya – Visionary seers who transcend
limitations through sacred experience.
Affinity Spheres: Time, Life, or Mind
• Dreamspeakers/ Kha’vadi – Preservers and protectors of
both the Spirit Ways and the Earthly cultures that have been
looted, abandoned, and oppressed.
Affinity Spheres: Spirit, Force, Life, or Matter
• Euthanatoi /Chakravanti – Disciples of mortality who purge
corruption and bring merciful release from suffering.
Affinity Spheres: Entropy, Life, or Spirit
• Order of Hermes – Rigorous masters of High Magick and
the Elemental Arts.
Affinity Spheres: Forces
• Society of Ether/Sons of Ether – Graceful saviors of scientific
potential.
Affinity Spheres: Matter, Forces, or Prime
• Verbena – Primal devotees of rough Nature and mystic blood.
Affinity Spheres: Life or Forces
• Virtual Adepts – Reality-hackers devoted to rebooting their
world.
Affinity Spheres: Correspondence/ Data or Forces

The Technocratic Union

See (pp. 186-195).
• Iteration X – Perfectors of the human machine.
Affinity Spheres: Forces, Matter, or Time
• New World Order – Custodians of social order and global
stability.
Affinity Spheres: Mind or Correspondence/ Data
Ch
Chapter
t Six:
Si Creating
C ti g the
th Character
Ch t 251
 • Progenitors – Innovators dedicated to the potential of
organic life.
Affinity Spheres: Life or Prime
• Syndicate – Masters of finance, status, and the power
of wealth.
Affinity Spheres: Entropy, Mind, or Primal Utility
• Void Engineers – Explorers and protectors of
extradimensional space.
Affinity Spheres: Dimensional Science, Correspondence,
or Forces
The Disparate Crafts
See (pp. 202-223).
• Ahl-i-Batin – Seers of Unity through Divine connection
and subtle influence.
Affinity Spheres: Correspondence or Mind (never Entropy)
• Bata’a – Inheritors of voodoo, dedicated to restoring a
broken world.
Affinity Spheres: Life or Spirit
• Children of Knowledge – Crowned Ones devoted to
alchemical perfection.
Affinity Sphere: Forces, Matter, Prime, or Entropy
• Hollow Ones – Dark romantics laughing in the face of
ruin.
Affinity Sphere: Any
• Kopa Loei – Defenders of Nature, the Old Gods, and
their culture.
Affinity Sphere: Any
• Ngoma – African High Magi, sworn to restore what’s
been taken from their home and people.
Affinity Spheres: Life, Mind, Prime, or Spirit
• Orphans – Self-Awakened mages surviving in the
shadows of other sects.
Affinity Sphere: Any
• Sisters of Hippolyta – Guardians of the Sacred Feminine.
Affinity Spheres: Life or Mind
• Taftâni – Middle Eastern mystics shaping the gifts of
Allah and the Arts of man.
Affinity Spheres: Forces, Matter, Prime, or Spirit
• Templar Knights – Bastions of chivalry in a corrupt age.
Affinity Spheres: Forces, Life, Mind, or Prime
• Wu Lung – Preservers of heavenly wisdom, order, and
nobility.
Affinity Sphere: Spirit, Forces, Matter, or Life
252 Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition
Abilities
Primary Abilities
See (pp. 275-289).
• Talents: Alertness, Art, Athletics, Awareness, Brawl,
Empathy, Expression, Intimidation, Leadership,
Streetwise, Subterfuge
• Skills: Crafts, Drive, Etiquette, Firearms, Martial
Arts, Meditation, Melee, Research, Stealth, Survival,
Technology
• Knowledges: Academics, Computer, Cosmology/
Subdimensions, Enigmas, Esoterica, Investigation, Law,
Medicine, Occult, Politics, Science
Secondary Abilities
See (pp. 289-300).
• Talents: Animal Kinship, Blatancy, Carousing, Do, Flying,
High Ritual,Lucid Dreaming, Seduction (optional: Hobby)
• Skills: Acrobatics, Archery, Biotech, Energy Weapons,
Hypertech, Jetpack, Pilot, Riding, Security, Torture
(optional: Professional)
• Knowledges: Area Knowledge, Belief Systems, Cultural Savvy,
Cryptography, Demolitions, Finance, Helmsman, Lore/ RD
Data, Media, Pharmacopeia/ Poisons (optional: Expert)
Backgrounds
See (pp. 301-328).
• Allies – Friends who’ll help you out.
• Alternate Identity – An established alias.
• Arcane/ Cloaking – Mysterious ability to remain
unrecognized.
• Avatar/ Genius – Embodiment of the Awakened/
Enlightened Self.
• Backup – Agents you can call upon in emergencies.
• Certification – Special permits for special things.
• Chantry/ Construct – Mystic or Technocratic
stronghold.
• Contacts – Information sources and social networks.
• Cult – Group of dedicated believers.
• Demesne – Personal inner dream-space.
• Destiny – Inspiring sense of great purpose.
• Dream/ Hypercram – Ability to tap into Abilities you
don’t normally possess.
• Enhancement $ – Cybernetic or biotech improvements
to your body.
• Fame – Notoriety in the Sleeper world.
 • Familiar/ Companion – Non-human helper with special • Spirit – Contact with Otherworldly spaces and entities;
abilities. considered an Art by mystics and a Science by Technocrats,
• Influence – Social clout in the mortal world. though in game terms it’s all the same thing.
• Legend – A potent archetype connected to you. • Time – Perception of, and influence over, temporal
states and time-based phenomena.
• Library – Access to special information.
• Mentor – Awakened/ Enlightened elder with a bond Technocratic Spheres (optional rules)
to you. • Data – Tracing connections through information.
• Node – A place of power that’s more or less in your • Dimensional Science – Hyperphysics of alternate
possession. dimensions.
• Past Lives – Helpful memories from prior incarnations. • Primal Utility – Employment of quantum valuation
• Patron – Influential benefactor with helpful resources. energies.
• Rank – A title of importance among the Masses. Freebie Points
• Requisitions * – Access to Technocratic hardware.
Trait Cost
• Resources – Financial credit, cash flow, and property.
Attribute 5 per dot
• Retainers – Skilled followers.
Ability 2 per dot
• Sanctum/ Laboratory $ – Special place to work your arts.
• Secret Weapons * – Guinea-pig status with Technocratic Background 1 per dot
inventors. Sphere 7 per dot
• Spies – Information networks. Arete 4 per dot (Max. Total: 3)
• Totem $ – A powerful spirit ally. (Shamanic characters only.) Willpower 1 per dot
• Wonder – A Talisman, Fetish, or Device that contains Quintessence 1 per four dots
its own reality-bending power.
Merit cost as per Merit
*Available only to Technocratic Union characters.
Flaw bonus as per Flaw (Max. Total: 7)
$ Costs double the usual amount of points.
Experience Costs
Spheres
See (pp. 512-527). Trait Cost
New Ability 3
• Correspondence – Understanding of the connections
between places, spaces, and things. New Sphere 10
• Entropy – Study of mortality, probability, and chaos. Affinity Sphere current rating x 7
• Forces – Command over elemental energies. Other Sphere current rating x 8
• Life – Influence over organic beings and the physical Arete current rating x 8
structures of living bodies. Attribute current rating x 4
• Matter – Control of inert materials, objects, and solid
Ability 3
elemental structures.
• Mind – Influence over emotions and thoughts, including Background* current rating x 3
the ability to project consciousness from one’s physical body. Willpower current rating x 1
• Prime – Control over primordial energies.
* Storyteller’s option; Backgrounds might not be raised by
experience points. Also, Backgrounds that cost double the usual amount
cost current rating x 6.

Chapter Six: Creating the Character 253