Background Traits specify a wide variety of outside resources towhich you have access. These Traits should be taken only when they fit the character concept, not just because they are convenient to have. You need to make sense out of your Backgrounds and integrate them into your character history.

 

Sorcerers get five Traits to allocate among the various Backgrounds,

including Influences and Equipment

 

 

 

 

 

Arcane:

 

Part of a your talent for magic includes the ability to slip quietly past common notice. This Background is not synonymous with invisibility. Rather, it causes people to not pay attention to you or to forget you after you have left the area. For each Trait in this Background, your opponent must bid one additional Trait on any attempts to detect or remember you. This includes pesky reporters, government agents and the werewolf you annoyed last week. Unfortunately, it also includes the friend who needs your help, the bank you used to have an account at and the person at the dry cleaners who seems to have misplaced your clothes. A character with

Arcane may not also have the Background: Prestige, nor may you take the Flaw: Surreal Quality.

 

Artifact: 

 

This Background grants you access to some form of magic item. This may have been created using the art of Enchantment or perhaps it is an item of True Faith. This Background could even represent a Garou fetish or chimerical treasure. You must describe the abilities and functions of the Artifact, at which point the Storyteller will assign a cost for the item. For anything other than a minor (1-2 Trait) item, you must also detail the origin of this prize in your character history. The Storyteller has aright to limit the kind of Artifacts you may possess.

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Fame

 

Your reputation precedes you. You are so well-known within your circles of influence that your name alone can often get things done, no matter where you happen to be. Be specific when you take this background on the details of your character's fame.

 

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Familiar: 

 

You are not alone on your journey of discovery. This Background describes a mystical companion, some spirit incarnate who is willing to aid you in your endeavors. Such relationships are a two-way street, however, as the familiar also requires things in return. The type and nature of your company varies depending upon your magical heritage, from the traditional witch’s black cat to the hawk-spirit of the Native American shaman. Each Trait provides five freebie Traits, which are used to build your familiar. Attributes, Abilities, Willpower, Backgrounds, Merits and Flaws cost the same as for mortal characters. If you have access to Laws of the Wild, familiars may even purchase any of the Charms listed in that book. In addition, this spirit has as many Corpus Levels as you have Traits in this

Background. These function as Health Levels, though the familiar does not suffer any wound penalties due to accumulated damage.

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Mana Pool: 

 

You have an additional set of Traits that you may use to power your magic. Your rating in this Background creates a pool with permanent and temporary Traits similar in function to Willpower. Rather than forfeiting an Attribute or other Trait to cast a particular spell, you may instead spend temporary Traits from this pool. The decision to substitute Mum Traits is made when the path is first learned. Each Trait spent on Mum Pool grants two Traits in the pool for use with sorcery. You must specify the nature of this reserve in your character history, as well as the conditions under which it is refreshed. For example, you may have learned the art of Chi Kung during your studies in Asia, and you recover Traits by meditating.

 

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Mentor: 

 

Most sorcerers and priests receive their initial training at the hands of an older, more experienced practitioner. You were wise or lucky enough to continue this relationship even after striking out on your own. This Background represents the relative power level and availability of your teacher. A mentor is not a protector and will not solve all of your problems. However, he might be available between games for instruction or other assistance.

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In play, you can use a Rock-Paper-Scissors test with a Storyteller to call on your Mentor's aid. Win, and your Mentor will help you, no questions asked. Tie, and your Mentor will help, but she will want a favor in return. Fail, and your Mentor will help you after you deliver that favor.

 

Between games, your Mentor may be able to instruct you in secret knowledge. A Mentor can teach a few specialized Lores up to your level in the Background. They can also teach appropriate praxis paths and powers.

• Restrictions: Glass Walker and Shadow Lord characters may not possess the Mentor Background.

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Pure Breed:

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Pure Breed is your pedigree, a measure of your noble lineage. In your appearance and demeanor you bear a resemblance to your tribe's ancestral heroes: Silver Fangs have a regal bearing and a silver pelt, Shadow Lords have jet-black fur and a subtle intensity, Silent Striders appear as lithe-limbed Egyptian royalty, etc. Other Garou sense your good breeding instinctively and cannot help but concede a measure of deference to it. Each level of Pure Breed you possess provides a bonus to your Social Traits in Social Challenges with Garou.

 

Kinfolk characters who possess Pure Breed are very highly desired as breeding stock. Note that Garou respond to a Kinfolk's Pure Breed, but Kinfolk do not have the same instinct to respond to a Garou's Pure Breed.

 

If you have Pure Breed from a different tribe than your own -- if, say, you were a well-bred child of the Black Furies, given to the Children of Gaia for being male -- your Pure Breed provides no bonus. The spiritual incongruity between your tribe and your lineage confuses the Garou instinct to defer.

• Restrictions: Bone Gnawer and Glass Walker characters may not possess the Pure Breed Background. Silver Fang characters must possess at least three levels of it. Pure Breed at levels higher than three is restricted by the Storytellers.

 

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Resources: 

 

You've got a source of cash income. You might hold down a job, receive money from a trust fund, or deal in illegal commodities on the side. At the beginning of a game session or during a Downtime, you may talk to a Storyteller to spend the standard income you earn. By permanently spending a level of Resources, you can spend ten times the standard amount -- effectively by liquidating some of your assets and holdings.

 

Resources Income per Month

Example 

None $100 Poverty -- you have roommates and a bus pass.

One Trait $250 You have an apartment and cheap transportation. 

Two Traits $500 You have a townhome or condo, plus a motorcycle or an economy car.

Three Traits$1,500 You have a decent savings; you own your house and a good car. 

Four Traits $5,000 You have a significant savings, a spacious house, two vehicles and expensive toys.

Five Traits $15,000 You're downright wealthy: you have land and an estate or multiple properties across the city, more vehicles than you can use, and frivolous luxuries.

• Restrictions: Bone Gnawer, Silent Strider, and Wendigo characters may not possess the Resources Background.

 

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Sanctuary:

 

This is a general term for a sorcerer’s haven. These locations vary greatly according to your heritage, from uptown apartments to out-of-the-way chapels. Sanctuaries may also contain many of the bulkier ritual components that you might use, such as alchemical ovens, cauldrons or permanent circles. Each Trait in this Background suggests the level of wealth and space available to you. You may be working out of your parents’ basement, have a single room in a group house, an apartment in a trendy district, or even your own house.