Editing Genius The Transgression/Chapter Two: Character Creation (section)

=== Step One: Choose Concept ===

Mad scientists are complex creatures, but many can be described with a few well-chosen words: "Death-obsessed biochemist," "experimental vehicle pilot," "visionary psychic researcher." Using either images of mad science from media or your own unsupported imagination, try to call an image to mind and summarize your character.

Your concept allows you to quickly describe your character to other players, and can give the Storyteller clues about what sorts of stories you want your character to experience.

At the beginning of the chronicle, most geniuses in the collaborative will be new to the whole "mad science" thing, with at most a few months of experience on the job. However, some characters have had previous brushes with Inspiration that they avoided, preventing a full Breakthrough. This is usually linked to a genius' starting Inspiration: a genius with only a single dot in Inspiration has been touched for the first time, while one with more dots has probably fought off the wonders and horrors of becoming a genius before.

At this point, you might want to consider the nature of your genius' Breakthrough, which determines her catalyst. Your genius' personality can also help determine which foundation she joins. You should also consider an aesthetic, what your mad scientist's inventions will look like. Does she slap machinery together from discarded circuitry and engine blocks stolen from junk yards? If so, her inventions will look very different from a genius who builds his wonders out of the finest brass and dark wood, then hand-polishes them until they shine with care and devotion.