Editing The Gift:Characters (section)

==PCs==

PCs should be built on 175 points using GURPS 4th Ed.  IQ may not exceed 15 and a starting mage should know no more than 30 spells.  At least one level of Magery (the proverbial Gift!) is required, but no more than three may be purchased.  Only PCs who pay for the apprentice package of one of the 31 houses of the Peace will be covered by the Peace.  Most mages have social Advantages and Disadvantages reflecting their relationship with the tradition under which they served their apprenticeship.  For instance, their old group might serve as a Patron for them, or provide them with Allies, Contacts or a Claim to Hospitality.  Similarly, they might have a Duty or Sense of Duty to their old tradition.  The cost to play someone who served with a particular group does not include such Advantages and Disadvantages.  Each player should decide for themselves how involved their character is with their old organization.  It goes without saying that if an organization is willing to be helpful to a character, they probably expect help in return.  Mages also frequently have such social connections to groups of mages that are not magical traditions.  Just like a mortal, a mage can become dedicated to ecology, or Christianity or science fiction and mages with similar interests or commitments will tend to get organized.

Supernatural Advantages and Disadvantages are perfectly appropriate and the GM should decide on a case by case basis whether a given Advantage or Disadvantage is appropriate for the tone of their game.  An Advantage might represent a special magical gift or even a special advanced spell that the mage has learned.  The GM should take care that allowed Advantages and Disadvantages seems atmospheric and magical or the game may feel more like a superhero game.  Common magical advantages include Affliction, Blessed, Channeling, Detect, Dominance, Empathy, Enhanced Time Sense, Healing, Medium, Mind Control, Oracle, Precognition, Psychometry, Spirit Empathy, Terror, Trained by a Master, True Faith and Weapon Master.

New Advantage:  Resonance Location.  5 points / level

The PC is in control of a location that has Resonance with one or more magical colleges.  These resonances provide the mage with magical power in that college, providing fatigue and bonuses to skill.  For each level purchased in a college, all spells of that collage cast at that location cost one fewer fatigue and are cast at +1 to skill.  A single location may have Resonance for more than one college and players may wish to pool their points to have joint control over a single powerful location.  For example, an old house where junkies used to squat until they overdosed to death might have 2 levels of Necromancy Resonance and 1 of Illusion and Creation, costing 15 points.  A sacred glen in the forest might have 2 levels of Communication and Empathy Resonance and 2 levels of Plant Resonance, costing 20 points.  A Resonance location is a hotly sought after commodity in mage society and beyond.  Just because the PCs start with a location doesn’t mean that they can’t lose it to competitors.  The more powerful it is, the more trouble they may have to go to to defend it.