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

== Example of Character Creation: ==

Kirsten creates a character for Andrea's upcoming Genius game. The game will revolve around the 
collaborative inhabiting an old mansion that was used, centuries ago, by a legendary genius, and that is full of orphan wonders and strange creatures. Andrea's requirements are that all characters belong to a foundation and that they must spend at least one point on the Orphan Merit, to represent orphans that they have already befriended or bound to service.

Kirsten wants to play a kind of too-clever-by-half figure, a trickster, someone really good at getting into trouble―a figure that the other characters may hate, though the other players will enjoy because she serves as a springboard for stories. She kicks a few ideas around with the Storyteller and the rest of the troupe, finding someone who will fit in with the rest of the collaborative―the cave spider-obsessed Progenitor who inherited the castle, a nerdy Artificer who wants to catalog the castle's orphans, and an honorable Navigator, last of an ancient line of mechanical knights-errant.

===Step One: Concept===
The collaborative already has a good spread of abilities, so Kirsten focuses on giving her character an interesting thematic edge. She has always been interested in "weird" mathematics like non-Euclidean geometry, and decides to make that the focus for her character. She asks the Storyteller if there are weird non-Euclidean spaces in the ancient mad scientist's mansion, and the Storyteller says yes, of course there are weird non-Euclidean spaces, what sort of game do you think I'm running here? So she has her concept.

To give her some focus, Kirsten comes up with a name: Sanjula Goud. She pictures a young Indian woman, in the States on a scholarship, enjoying the freedom that can only come from being several continents away from one's family. In her genius persona, she's a dimensional hacker, her wonders wreathed in flowing "Tron-like" streams of alphanumeric data.

Kirsten also takes this time to think ahead, planning the wonders she wants. Sanjula, she decides, should start the chronicle with a holograph generator and an Epikrato device-controller. Kirsten keeps those plans in the back of her mind during future steps, when she selects Axioms and Skills.

====Build your Genius Based on What You Want your Genius to Build:====
Geniuses are limited both by what Axioms they have selected and what they've actually constructed. This can be a double-whammy for players who don't think ahead. Playing an effective genius requires forethought, lest you litter your character sheet with disused Axioms while lamenting your mad scientist's lack of potency. To avoid this fate, focus first on what you want your character to build right now (not once you have fifty experience points), then select the Axioms that will let you build those wonders, then choose Skills that will help you in construction. Once you have a rough sketch of what you need, you can go through the regular character creation process and select what you want.

And if that fails, kitbash like crazy. Kitbashing is almost always a good idea.

===Step Two: Attributes===
Keeping with the trickster theme, Kirsten wants Sanjula to be smart. She also wants the young genius to be irascible, difficult, annoying, and vain. To that end, she categorizes Mental Attributes as Primary, Physical Attributes as Secondary, and Social Attributes as Tertiary.

Kirsten wants Sanjula to be both well-educated and deadly-clever―a real thunderbolt of intellect. Her Primary category receives five dots. She assigns two to Wits, two to Intelligence, and one to Resolve. Sanjula is a bit lazy (Resolve 2) and relies mostly on insight and lucky guesses (Wits 3), but she can also brute-force her way through a problem despite not yet having her degree (Intelligence 3).

For her Secondary category, Sanjula has four dots to spread around her Physical attributes. Kirsten imagines Sanjula as small and fast, so she puts three dots into Dexterity (Dexterity 4), and she's pretty tough, so there's one dot to Strength (Strength 2). Kirsten decides that Sanjula has chronic health problems that she tries not to share with anyone else (Stamina 1).

Sanjula suffers in her Tertiary category, Social attributes, where she only has three dots to spread around. Kirsten decides to drop two dots into Manipulation (Manipulation 3): Sanjula is a scheming, treacherous little creature when the mood strikes her. Presence gets one dot (Presence 2): Sanjula is most noticeable when she's getting into trouble. Her Composure remains low (Composure 1): our young dimensional scientist has a gift for flying off the handle and going into hysterics.

===Step Three: Skills===
Next Kirsten needs to prioritize Skills, much as she prioritized Sanjula's Attributes. Kirsten is getting a better feel for her character: she's imagining a mix of computer science and dimensional study, with a bit of good-old fashioned exploration and investigation thrown in so her character is useful outside the lab.

Getting a bit experimental, Kirsten decides that Sanjula will focus on Physical Skills, giving her eleven dots to spread around there. (The other characters, Kirsten decides, are a bit wimpy, even the knight―he has four dots in Academics and a Heraldry specialization, for Riemann's sake!) Sanjula will need a lot of Mental Skills for building wonders, so that gets secondary priority (seven dots), and Social Skills bring up the rear―four dots there.

Kirsten reasons as follows: Athletics is good for spelunking and getting away from monsters (two dots) and Sanjula has spent her time in her new home fiddling with locked doors: hence Larceny (three dots). She imagines Sanjula as a bit of a fighter with just enough actual training to back it up (two dots in Brawl), and Sanjula has been practicing with the bows and crossbows located at the old archery range inside the hedge maze (two dots in Firearms). One dot each in Drive and Stealth imply that Sanjula is a "natural" for most Physical Skills: were she not so devoted to mad science, she could become a gifted athlete, dancer, or martial artist, but her frail health keeps her from excelling in any one field.

Next, Mental Skills. Kirsten flips ahead and considers what Axioms Sanjula would want. She takes one dot in Academics, one in Computer, one in Crafts, one in Occult, and two in Science, implying a general and unfocused technical education―Sanjula is smart, but she's a dreadfully lazy student. A dot in Investigation explains the young genius' natural curiosity.

Finally, Sanjula gets four dots in Social Skills. Kirsten drops two of them into Subterfuge: Sanjula lies like a rug. The other two go into Expression: Sanjula has an artistic streak.

===Step Four: Skill Specialties===
Kirsten then picks three Specialties to further define Sanjula's skill set. Looking forward to the Axiom of Metaptropi, she picks Digital Art under Expression, to help her create holographic images. She also takes a Specialization in Small Spaces under Stealth: Sanjula can stuff herself into unlikely places and go unnoticed. Athletics receives the Specialization Clinging: after one too many near-drops, our genius has mastered the art of desperately holding on until help can arrive.

===Step Five: The Genius Template===
Now Kirsten needs to decide on Sanjula's Inspired abilities: her foundation, her catalyst, and her Axioms.

Despite her impish disposition and love of exploration, Sanjula catalyzed in despair and regret: her mother had always had a history of heart complications, and in Sanjula's freshman year, just as Sanjula was exalting in her newfound freedom, her mother died suddenly. The tragedy hit her like a hammer-blow, but she did not give in to despair; instead, a newfound feeling of mortality afflicted Sanjula, coupled with bitter regret at her harsh parting with her mother and a fear of her own vulnerability: Sanjula, due to her own health problems, does not expect to live long, and that has made her bitter. She hides it, but Sanjula is a Neid. Every day she feels more isolated from the mere mortals whom she used to consider her peers, and every day they hate and fear her more.

Kirsten wants something a bit brighter for a foundation, and selects the Scholastics: Sanjula resents normal people, but she also exalts in her newfound knowledge. She enjoys playing up her role as a living cipher, and delights in mysteries and puzzles of all kinds. She also has a gift for computing and mathematics.

Kirsten can choose any Mental Attribute to increase. She decides to increase Wits by one dot: deviousness and cunning defines Sanjula, more than raw intellect.

Sanjula receives Epikrato as a favored Axiom for being a Neid and may choose between Apokalypsi and Metaptropi; Kirsten chooses the latter because she wants a holo-machine. For Sanjula's third favored Axiom, Kirsten chooses Apokalypsi, because she eventually plans to build dimensional scanning devices.

Sanjula has three dots that she can place in her favored Axioms. She puts one dot in Epikrato and two in Metaptropi.

Sanjula's Inspiration begins at one dot. This gives her a maximum Mania pool of ten points, some of which will be bound into her first wonders.

===Step Six: Merits===
Kirsten has seven dots in Merits to give to Sanjula―actually six, since one is taken automatically with the one required dot in the Orphan Merit. Kirsten considers that Merit, and actually decides to place two dots in Orphan. For her troubles she gets a sophisticated mechanical hand crossbow that she found in the hedge maze: Katastrofi 2, Size 3, Damage 5, Costs 2 Mania to activate, Dexterity + Firearms + 4 (10 dice), Range 100/200/400 (two hands), with the fault that it is afraid of water and will whine and squeal abominably if near a body of it.

To reflect her restless and exploratory nature, Kirsten gives Sanjula the Direction Sense Merit (one dot). Kirsten considers grabbing an extra dot of Inspiration, but Sanjula is young, so instead she gets two dots in Resources: she works tutoring the children of the idiot-rich a few mansions over. That should give her enough money not to suffer too much when building wonders. Kirsten considers picking up a utility belt for Sanjula, but is instead cajoled into chipping in for part of the combined laboratory. (She places both dots in Security, representing that together the collaborative has re-activated parts of the mansion's security system.) She plans to pick up better kitbashing talents in the future.

===Step Seven: Advantages===
With all of Sanjula's Traits recorded, it's time for some quick calculation to determine her Advantages. Sanjula has a Resolve of two dots and one dot in Composure, giving her three pitiful Willpower dots. Her Obligation begins at 7, and Kirsten elects not to lower it: Sanjula has a bit of a temper, but she's still a good person at heart―so far. Her Virtue is Charity: Sanjula is generous and open-minded, especially with anyone who solves one of her riddles or impresses her with their cleverness. Sanjula's Vice is Pride: she's smart, but not as smart as she thinks she is.

Sanjula's Size is 5 and her Stamina is 1, giving her six dots of Health. Her Initiative, equal to the total of her Dexterity and Composure, is 5 (she's fast, but without much of a head on her shoulders). Her Defense, equal to the lower of Dexterity or Wits, is 4―a combination of quickness and fast thinking will keep Sanjula from getting smeared in a fight as long as she's careful. Sanjula's Strength + Dexterity + 5 (the species factor for humans) gives her a Speed of 11.

===Step Eight: The First Wonders===
Sanjula can build wonders from Metaptropi (two dots) or Epikrato (one dot), and she can make up to five attempts.

First, Sanjula needs her illusion-making device: Size 2 (a statue of a woman, stuffed with circuitry). Range 10'. Roll Wits + Expression (6 dice). Costs 1 Mania per five Size points of the illusion.

Kirsten rolls Inspiration + Intelligence + Science +1 (Metaptropi is a favored Axiom) +2 (the group's laboratory has two dots in Equipment) -2 (the wonder's rank). Since Sanjula's Resources is not less than the wonder's rank, there is no additional penalty.

So, that's 1 (Inspiration) + 3 (Sanjula's Intelligence) + 2 (Sanjula's Science Skill) +1 (for Apokalypsi as a favored Axiom) +2 (Laboratory Equipment) -2 (the wonder's rank), for a total of 7 dice.

The first roll fails, but the second comes up as a success, so Sanjula has her illusion-maker after using two of her five rolls. The Storyteller determines a fault. Due to some bad code she borrowed from a shady online source, all the illusions she can create are shockingly ugly. Creating something pretty is beyond this wonder.

Sanjula also wants to build a mechanical controller with Epikrato, a simple wonder that can throw a switch or open or close a door, at range. Size 1. Range 20'. Roll Intelligence + Science -1 (4 dice). Cost 1 Mania to activate. Variables: Fragile, Increased Range (+10')

This calls for another check: 1 (Inspiration) +3 (Intelligence) +2 (Science) +1 (for Epikrato as a favored Axiom) +2 (Laboratory Equipment) -1 (for the wonder's rank). That's a total of 8 dice. This wonder succeeds on the first roll. But it picks up an annoying fault: it only works when plugged in. Kirsten doesn't want this fault, so she rolls again. The next roll also succeeds, and the Storyteller generates a new fault: anyone using the wonder suffers from Narcissism for the duration of the scene (anyone with Narcissism suffers from Megalomania). That works better: Kirsten has Sanjula scrap Switcher #1 so it won't bind up Mania. Switcher #2 she calls the Digital-Analog Reprogrammer. It's a narrow titanium wand covered in delicate "frozen mercury" circuitry; the femtometamorphic field it generates access a semi-Platonic reality of "activation" and causes only moderate brain damage.

Though Sanjula still has time and resources (Kirsten has one roll left), she decides not to build another wonder, since she expects to burn a lot of Mania avoiding injury and she doesn't want to bind too many into wonders until she increases her Inspiration. Sanjula has plans for a shapeshifter mask, a transmuting cauldron, and (when she studies Apokalypsi) a dimensional scanner, hanging in her corner of the laboratory, that will have to wait until later.

Since Sanjula has 10 Mania due to her Inspiration, a rank-1 wonder (the controller), a rank-2 wonder (the illusion machine), and a rank-2 orphan (the crossbow), and she belongs to a foundation (which binds one Mania), she begins the chronicle with four points of usable Mania.

===Step Nine: A New Genius Is Born===
Once Sanjula has all her Traits in a row and a few wonders, Kirsten looks at her character and makes a few final touches. She decides that Sanjula dreams of studying mad geometry. She wants to find a master of that science, but first she needs to improve her Science Skill, pick up one or more relevant Specializations, and improve her knowledge of Apokalypsi.

Those are her professional goals. Sanjula's personal goals involve, eventually, reuniting with her father in India, who is both a talented mathematician in his own right and a conservative politico with attitudes that disgust his daughter. The chronicle starts in the summer after Sanjula's freshman year, so eventually she will have to decide whether or not she will return to college, and what studies she will pursue when gets there. Kirsten thinks that Sanjula will try to return, though she expects that the Storyteller will put plenty of obstacles between Sanjula and a normal college education.

Kirsten also selects an aesthetic for Sanjula, though the young Scholastic is mostly defined by her approach, rather than her appearance. Her family was largely Westernized, but during her Breakthrough she found herself studying Greco-Buddhist art, the result of Alexander the Great's forays into India. The statuary fascinated her, but so did the works of Rucker and Gibson she read in high school, around the time that she found her older brother's collection of David Bowie and Sex Pistols CDs. Her aesthetic, which she calls Circuit Statue, is a mix of Digital Chrome and older clay-fired styles. She favors lots of traditional jewelry, a bright green plastic raincoat for labwork, and wraparound mirrorshades under a thatch of neon pink hair. It's not exactly cutting edge, but it works for her.

Finally, Kirsten decides that Sanjula will use her normal name. No "Dr. Parabola" for her; the young mad scientist wants to maintain some level of normality in her life.