FrivYeti/SaGRevisedBackgrounds

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Familiar

Rather than having overly vague Familiar generation, this Background provides the character with a set number of Familiar Points which can be spent on Attributes, Abilities, Willpower, Virtues, and special powers.

All Familiars begin with one dot in each Attribute and Virtue. The Familiar defaults to non-sentient, and is assumed to have a rating of 2 in Social and Mental Attributes, as well as Virtues, and Willpower. However, it cannot raise these stats, use them for sentient thought, or purchase Abilities not on the following list:
Athletics, Awareness, Brawl, Dodge, Endurance, Resistance, Stealth, Survival
If the player wishes for the familiar to be sentient, they must purchase the Sentient Merit for it.

One Familiar Point buys a dot in an Ability or in Willpower, or two Specialties. Two Familiar Points buys a dot in an Attribute or Virtue. Abilities may not be purchased past 5. Attributes cost double to purchase past 5; apply these increased costs before the effects of mutations.
In addition, Familiar Points may be spent one for one on any Merit or general God-Blooded Merit. Specific Merits depend on the Familiar. Flaws may be purchased to gain extra points.
Finally, three Familiar Points purchases the ability to channel Essence; Essence begins at 1. It may be raised at a cost of four Familiar Points each. Solar and Sidereal Charms cost 3 Familiar Points each; Lunar, spirit, and Dragon-Blooded Charms cost 2 Familiar Points each. A Familiar's Essence pool is the same as a mortal's.
Familiar-specific Merits and Flaws.

o - A very weak familiar. 15 points. May not be sentient.
oo - A weak familiar. 27 points.
ooo - A fairly strong familiar. 40 points.
oooo - A powerful familiar. 55 points. Must be sentient.
ooooo - An overwhelming familiar. 75 points. Must be sentient.

Followers

Followers are ordinary or not very incredible mortals. They tend to have Attribute scores of two to three, and will have numerous Abilities at one or two. Assume diepools of five in primary areas of expertise, and 1-4 in other areas.

o - Up to three followers
oo - Up to ten followers
ooo - Up to twenty-five followers
oooo - Up to fifty followers
ooooo - Up to one hundred followers

Heart's Blood

This Charm functions as per the Charm in the Lunar book, except that human forms are just ordinary shapes.

Library

A Library gives a character access to mystical writings, usually beyond those that he or she might own. Instead, the character has access to the writings of an organization. Your rating in Library determines both your access and the size of the library in question.

Libraries have two effects. First, every dot of Library gives you one 'specialty' die that applies to all Lore and Occult rolls made within the Library. No more than half your Library rating may give dice for a single specialty. (Examples: Fair Folk, Spirits, Demons, First Age). If you have three specialties, you may merge them into +1 die on all rolls.

Secondly, having a library gives you a chance of learning spells. Once per story, you may roll your Library rating. If your roll is successful, you may study and learn a Terrestrial Circle spell of your choice. If you have a Level 5 Library, you may roll at +1 difficulty to try and learn a Celestial Circle spell.

Manse

Due to Essence tapping, Manses are more rare in the World of Steel and Glass. A tapped Manse still produces a Hearthstone, but its Essence recovery rate is halved.

o - A Level 1 untapped Demense or tapped Manse.
oo - A Level 2 untapped Demense or tapped Manse, or a Level 1 untapped Manse.
ooo - A Level 3 untapped Demense or tapped Manse, or a Level 2 untapped Manse.
oooo - A Level 4 untapped Demense or tapped Manse, or a Level 3 untapped Manse.
ooooo - A Level 5 untapped Demense or tapped Manse, or a Level 4 untapped Manse.

Renown

This Backgrounds is essentially Silver Pact Backing.

x - Rank amateur, in training. Has not made it onto the Face system yet.
o - Your character is considered to have passed her training, and is Nain-Ya (Face 1).
oo - A skilled Nain-Ya who distinguished herself during her trials.
ooo - Your character has reached Face 2; although still Nain-Ya, she has already distinguished herself.
oooo - Your character is well-established and has become one of the Uf-Ya (Face 3).
ooooo - A high-ranking Uf-Ya, your character is only a short ways away from becoming a true respected leader of the Pact. (Face 4).

Songlines

Your character knows the ways of the songlines, and can tap into their knowledge. This has three uses.

First, the character may spend an hour meditating on any Wisdom-Ability issue for every die she wants to add, and then add up to her Songlines to the roll as she consults its wisdom. A total number of dice equal to the character's Songlines rating can be used in this way per story.

Secondly, the character is considered to have a tutor in all Wisdom Abilities as long as she is raising her Ability to a point equal to or lower than her Songlines score.

Finally, the character may sometimes learn spells from the songline. Once per month, the character may attempt to learn a spell; roll their Songlines, with a difficulty of 1 for Terrestrial spells and 3 for Celestial spells. If successful, the character may learn the spell normally.

Comments

The Familiar Background is not playtested yet; it may get tweaked as time goes on. - FrivYeti